The Regret

Chapter III

Ascension to Valkyrie

Mystina had been careful to hide her apprehension the entire journey. Fighting Hrist Valkyrie alongside Brahms had been surprisingly simple with the assistance of the Lord of the Undead. She hadn't thought much of what Brahms said of Hrist 'not being fully awakened' but during the battle it was evident Lenneth had been stronger. Whether it was because Hrist had just awakened or Lenneth was simply stronger, she didn't know.

Lezard had said her soul suffered great degeneration and that any changes to her psyche could be amplified by the half-elf homunculus, but she had no idea how that could impact her memories and personality. At one point on their way back to the Academy Lezard had mentioned a previous life Valkyrie had lead as a human.

Lenneth… Mystina remembered randomly. Her real name is Lenneth. I don't know why I never asked…why wouldn't 'Valkyrie' simply be her position? It was foolish to think she didn't have an actual name.

…I wonder if it ever hurt her. None of her einherjar not thinking enough of her to be curious enough to ask. Most of us didn't think too much of Lenneth as a person. Only Lucian really tried reaching out to her…but he's dead now. At leas that's what Lezard said.

She furrowed her brows slightly as another question popped into her head; just how does Lezard know all this? Granted, he has the Philosopher's Stone but with how much he complains about how slowly it works he must have some other way of keeping track of things in Asgard…

She shook her head and dismissed all other thoughts as Lezard called to her to begin the spell. She nodded and straightened, clearing her mind completely before summoning the thoughts and power required for the spell. She looked under half-closed eyelids as Arngrim stepped back and away from the magic to stand near the stairs.

Spirals of yellow and green jumped up from the floor and encircled both mages as they collectively began the spell. They arched in semispherical forms around them and gave off a radiant glow. A pale white glow spread over the figure of the young homunculus and she began to fade. As the bed sheets below her became visible the form of a crystal directly above her heart gained solidity.

She floated into the air, the sheet that had covered her falling back down sloppily on the bed. Her nightgown blew gently in the breeze circulating in the room. Her eyes remained closed as that step of the processes neared completion. Mystina allowed the other crystal, containing the body of Lenneth in which Hrist had taken over, appear beside the other one. Mystina blinked in surprise, though it could have been a glint of light, as a single tear slid down the homunculus' cheek before she was gone.

She dismissed the thoughts and refocus on the next part of the spell. It would be the most difficult, without a doubt. She closed her eyes and summoned up more of the elusive power over the forbidden magicks Lezard had been schooling her in. She had great difficulty maintaining control over them and it bothered her deeply how her greasy and perverted teacher seemed to command them effortlessly.

She sensed the light in the room brighten though her eyelids as the breeze amplified into a wind. She opened her eyes and watched as the two crystals began to flash before sinking into each other. The light illuminated the room so suddenly she imagined any passerby even on the ground floor of the castle would have seen the flash from the window.

And Lezard thinks having the suit at the very top of the school is shabby…we'd have been bothered by a myriad of people by now if it wasn't so private. Then again, he does have his own tower so I suppose his lab is a tiny bit more apt for this sort of thing…

She shook her head slightly and refocused on the spell. The outline of Lenneth Valkyrie's body was coming into view as the single crystal began to fade. Mystina watched as the solidity of her armor increased. Her skin was pale and seemed to take longer to come into view. Her braid was blown back and forth in the wind, her head hanging down with her helmet obscuring her expression from view.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her as the light of the spells faded and Lenneth's body became completely solid and she drifted down to the floor. She couldn't help but smile slightly, wondering how the Valkyrie would react. Nevertheless, Lenneth Valkyrie's reaction was nothing like the possible scenarios that played out in her mind.

She sank to her knees, hugging her arms close to her torso. Lezard's expression was impassive as she began to tremble. Mystina felt disappointment and worry wash over her. She was all too aware of Lezard's warning regarding soul degeneration. What if they'd successfully reclaimed her body but her soul was so incomplete, she would simply cease to exist after all?

"What's…" Mystina finally broke the silence, "wrong with her?"

Lezard slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose so the lamplight glinted off the lenses and hid his eyes saying, "Her persona may be gone. If we are lucky, that is the least that is wrong with her."

"Are you saying none of this worked?" Arngrim asked from his place in the corner, his tone flat and cold. "It was all a waste of time?"

"Look, if you hadn't-" Lezard began, but was quickly interrupted.

"No…" Lenneth whispered suddenly, silencing the potential argument.

"Shhh!" Mystina said reproachfully. "What'd she say?"

"I hate this!" Lenneth exclaimed suddenly, throwing her head back as her Valkyrie wings appearing.

Lezard jumped back not to be hit by them, falling back on a chair and bring it down with him. Mystina held her arms up in defense, feeling the abrupt gust of wind push her back slightly. She'd seen the Valkyrie's wings many time but most of the time the view was so brief they were only a flash of silver.

This time she saw the fullness of her wings, in their complete form. The arch of the wings was discernible as were the individual feathers. Mystina could tell her eyes were open and despite the flurry of feathers, noticed the tears sliding silently down her cheeks. She a pang of uncertainty and regret over what they'd done. The Valkyrie she'd known was rather stoic and very serious…what could have brought her such great pain upon reawakening?

She fell forward, her hands clenched into fists against the floor. As quickly as her wings unfurled and filled the room they arched around her again. With a definitive flash of light Lenneth Valkyrie was gone. Pure white feathers drifted around the room to settle on the furniture and floor.

Mystina watched numbly, feeling from detached from the situation and severity of what had just transpired. Lezard was swearing to himself as he practically crawled around the floor on his hands and knees groping blindly for his glasses. A little, unfazed, but sadistic voice in the back of her mind was glad he'd finally missed something he'd wanted to see involving the Valkyrie. She'd decided his obsession with her was far beyond unhealthy in the past days.

Arngrim sighed and walked forward, plucking Lezard's glasses from where they'd fallen and broken in mere seconds before handing them to the mage. Lezard's eyesight was completely inefficient, for he didn't realize they were broken before placing them on his face and swearing again.

Mystina sat down on her bed, feeling empty. Her thoughts were tumultuous as she watched halfheartedly as Lezard repaired his glasses with magic. He straightened when he was done and brushed nonexistent dust off his clothes. She felt his eyes on her and anticipated him speaking, and voiced her thoughts before he could.

"Where do you think she went?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lezard asked bluntly.

She scowled at the other mage asking, "What, you know?"

"Of course." Lezard said snidely.

"Mind telling us, then?" Arngrim asked, apparently not nearly as bothered as Mystina was by his rudeness. She supposed at least one of them wasn't easily distracted…

"It would seem her persona isn't as decayed as we feared. Did you ever hear the term about a criminal returning to the scene of the crime."

"Lenneth isn't a criminal!" Mystina said coldly.

Lezard sighed loudly, taking his time before explaining, "It's a mere comparison. If you're not going to pick up on it, I'm not going to keep giving you hints."

"Just tell us where the hell she is." Arngrim said brusquely, scowling down at the mage.

Lezard eyed the berserker momentarily before saying, "She's returned to Weeping Lily Meadow. I can transport us there immediately."

Mystina stood and nodded, his assumption making sense. "Fine. But if you don't know for sure, just remember when assuming does."

He smirked at her saying, "Yes, I remember what assuming does. It makes an ass out of both you and me. As you can see, I wouldn't be the only fool in that circumstance."

Mystina rolled her eyes as Arngrim shook his head at them both saying, "Let's hurry."

--

Final Hikari here! And if you're reading this note at the end, that means you've probably read the chapter proceeding it, so thanks for dropping by! Feel free to review. Suggestions for future installments are always welcomed!

But, yes, it's yet another addition to The Regret! This is another scene right after the last one that I felt moved too fast in VP. I enjoyed writing Mystina and Lezard's bickering, since they were always at each other's throats just about every chance they got. The last bit with assuming was a freak idea I simply couldn't resist adding. XD

Also, I was asked about the title. Since in the VP1 remake for the PSP has the scene where Lucian is released in Weeping Lily Meadow done up with the FMV animation of modern gaming, it can be replayed from the start menu. Furthermore, it is titled "The Regret." I have yet to determine if it has the same title in the PS1 original, or if they even gave that scene some anime animation back then, and I'd imagine anybody who has broadband and uses YouTube knows that, but I thought I should inform you anyway. And yes…that'll be the last run on sentence in this author's note, don't worry.

Now that the story has grow into a collection of one shots, rather than the single one shot it started out as (both on this website and in my mind) I could change the titled but I'm happy with it the way it is. It's fitting either way, since no matter how you word it the plotline revolving around Lenneth and Lucian is very regretful.

Think of it; though it was summarized briefly in Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, it's quite sad. Lucian finally gets to meet the true self of the girl he'd cared for all his life and was unable to forget even after her death, but she doesn't remember him at all. Additionally, it's not like he could explain much of that to her. For the obsessive fans who like to lizard over their pairing (yeah, twisted choice of words, I know) and enjoy manually translating Romaji scripts from the original Japanese version, the scene in VP:L in where Lucian is released is a tad longer. In other words, they say more. And it's worded better.

But anyway, the finish that thought up… By the time Lucian learns Lenneth is indeed Platina, he doesn't really have time to tell her. So there's another part of this cycle of remorse. Then when he's tricked by Loki and does get to talk to get shortly before dying, she yells at him and says his actions are unforgivable. Frankly, that's some dedication he's got working not to be even a little bothered later in the plot, but anyway… When Lenneth realizes the severity of her actions, she can't apologize. So even though she knows her voice can never reach him, she continues to mourn his loss. Yay for abundant regret.

All right, that's all the ranting you'll have to endue from me for one author's note! Also, I don't own anything Valkyrie Profile. No disclaimers for this story…unless the readers ask for them, then I'd be happy to supply. XD

Besides…who doesn't like the pairing of Hero McGenericGuy and Medieval Goddess KOS-MOS? -fends off LezardxLenneth pairing fans with stick-

-stick breaks-

-fans glare-

Final Hikari: -gulp- Oh shit…