It was finally time for her N-Field to grow.
How long had she waited to grow her garden? How many potential seedlings had been lost due to the machinations of the crown? How many little toys for her Master had been lost to the annals of time, in order to preserve the future in which Ruby Rose and Kirakishou reunited?
She giggled.
Why, Kirakishou felt as if she would sacrifice as many as was necessary, just to finally have her Master back. For them to be happy, together. Ever blossoming, ever-blooming.
Were it not for the machinations of Arthur Watts and the contextual resourcefulness of Spider, aided and manipulated through the crown's influence and her own featherlight touch, none of this would be possible without considerable damage to both Kirakishou herself and the toys in which Ruby and Kirakishou would focus their attentions on in the immediate future.
And, as Kirakishou and Arthur Watts went their separate ways, the seventh and youngest Rozen Maiden honoured her side of the bargain that she had struck with the disgraced Atlesian researcher. She did not add Arthur Watts to her N-Field. In fact, she did everything in her power to ensure his escape.
Kirakishou turned and focused her attention upon the sealed door at the entrance to Arthur Watt's bunker, and the secret exit the man had created was promptly hidden underneath layers upon layers of illusions. Even here, deep within the bunker, she could still hear the storm outside as it raged unchecked, thunder coinciding with the sound of explosive charges detonating. Closer and closer they came, digging for her.
An errant thought and the turrets outside short-circuited. They would only get in the way. They were a distraction, one that was both meaningful and meaningless to two opposing parties.
She was so close. It was finally time, and she was still so very far away. Thoughts and precognition of past and future intermingled, and Kirakishou pulled the crown off her head.
Her hands were shaking.
It was so very strange.
She could feel the multitude of threaded vines inside her jointed body and they were all shaking. It was quite uncomfortable.
She stared down at the crown, held in her hands. Without its influence, her hair flowed freely, as braids came undone and peach-blonde curls trailed down her body.
...The final future offered had been a distant one. A final temptation for her to keep the crown affixed atop her head. A vision of a distant possibility, of smiling faces and happy giggles. Of little dolls running about, messing about, as two lovers watched their progeny flourish. A vision of warmth and love.
The N-Field opened up before her, as aura flooded her very self. The imbued powers of hundreds of thousands of seedlings were all accumulated and spent in an instant. She could see it. A tear in reality, forcing the material into the immaterial into the material once again. A connection from here to there.
How far had she gone? How far would she go? Did she even know, anymore? Did it matter?
No. She was happy. She would be happy. And to be happy, she needed to remove the crown, lest its visions spoil all the fun that she would have with her Master.
With a small little nod to herself, Kirakishou deposited the Relic of Choice inside her N-Field, setting the crown deep inside a forgotten section of nowhere, before removing the connection point from her N-Field. Taking a brief moment of solace before the time arrived, Kirakishou used the opportunity to restructure the dreams of her seedlings away from their current setup, which had been wholly designed to process the visions granted by the Relic of Choice. Instead, she returned the dreams to their original setup.
"...So… that's what it's like…"
Tasting the feeling with her body, Kirakishou gave a little tilt of her head. It felt oddly satisfying, to be without the influence of the Relic of Choice. Such unique clarity. She wasn't entirely certain how to process the current feeling. Or, more precisely, lack of feeling.
Freeing.
Yes.
That would do.
It was a freeing sensation, to be without the crown.
A horrid artifact. However, a useful one to be sure. She was not so blind as to be oblivious to the resourcefulness such a relic could generate for one such as herself. Regardless, she found herself feeling better off without the relic. It would do little more than spoil everything that she was reaching towards.
Besides. Kirakishou knew what would happen in Atlas. The visions had stretched on for some time, before abruptly stopping. Only in hypothetical scenarios did they stretch further, in timelines that were more fantasy than reality, powered by the will of a lonely doll and her sad little N-Field. She knew what would occur.
And, even if she had not possessed the Relic of Choice, the signs had all been there for a pure rose to understand. Why she was certain that even the other roses would have garnered some manner of curiosity by this very moment. Even if she hadn't dared to garner certainty using the Relic of Choice.
Now, here it was. The moment.
...
..…
Ah. Was she a little bit off in her timing…?
A violent burst of energy thundered ahead, artificial in nature and explosive in compound. The steel bunker door leading to her chamber was blown right off the wall, flying towards her at a somewhat rapid pace. Kirakishou merely raised her hand and sent forth a mass of pale white vines to intercept the door, depositing it to the side and, unfortunately, destroying a fair number of technological systems that had been a passion project for Arthur Watts. Some kind of video game, she believed. Unfortunate.
Kirakishou surveyed the damage. There was a fair amount of smoke and dust in the room, much of which was steadily thinning due to the impressive ventilation system. There were also several fires that had seemingly triggered a security measure of some kind. There were little blue shields covering the electronic equipment, while sprinkler systems dispensed water everywhere.
She blinked. Curious. Something felt weird.
Ah. Her dress was wet. And her hair was wet, too. An odd feeling, to be certain. She could feel her undergarments sticking to the joints and seams of her body as she moved.
A thought dispelled the liquid, and a flourish of the N-Field disabled the sprinklers. She was pristine once more.
The room was soon quickly flooded with people. Huntsmen and huntresses? No. Huntresses only. The Happy Huntresses? Yes. She recalled them from the memories of General James Ironwood. Political rivals and expert huntresses who operated solely for Mantle, while typically ignoring the happenings of Atlas. General James Ironwood believed they were somewhat good-intentioned, while in actuality their own actions were indirectly causing a schism between Atlas and Mantle that he also feared would eventually lead to hostile action.
Looking down, she spied a small device rolling toward her. It bumped her boot, and suddenly Kirakishou was flying backward. She registered the device as an explosive of some sort, and once again tapped into her N-Field to repair the damage to her body. Bumping against the wall behind her, and unfortunately bouncing off some rather well-designed shields, Kirakishou collapsed to the ground.
A quick movement and she was standing again. She cocked her head to the side, oddly amused by the scenario.
This had not been the first time that explosive devices had been somewhat effective on her person. Perhaps Rozen Maiden held a unique susceptibility to explosives? Or, perhaps, explosives in general were highly effective on small targets? She was pretty small, after all. And a small explosive device such as the one that had been used on her was typically used in combat scenarios against 'people' or 'grimm', according to the memories she had gathered.
Ruby Rose had avoided such devices, finding them to be somewhat clunky and annoying to use. Plus, she was uncomfortable with the idea of carrying explosive ordinance on her person while specialising in medium-range and melee combat. Perhaps these Happy Huntresses were more comfortable with explosives, then?
"So, you're the one that they're all going nuts for, huh? Hard to believe a single little doll is responsible for one of the greatest calamities of the modern age."
A woman with strikingly blue hair addressed Kirakishou with a frown on her face. May Marigold according to her accessed stores of memories. She carried an interesting staff weapon with ranged capabilities.
Beside her were three others. Two humans and a faunus.
She knew their names, of course, and Robyn Hill was of particular interest to her due to her considerable influence in several of her discarded hypothetical timelines, but as a whole, they were largely insignificant to Kirakishou's own machinations.
They were well armed, sporting the newest in Atlesian developments, and willingly working alongside the higher-ups of the Atlesian Military for the first time since their founding out of Atlas Academy several years ago.
"...Not much of a talker, are you?" Robyn Hill commented with a deceptively calm tone. Were she not privy to the strength behind the woman, Kirakishou would have gone so far as to label her a somewhat pleasant conversationalist. However, her knowledge both from her stored memories and those of the various futures accessed by the Relic of Choice had alerted her to the fact that Robyn Hill was a dangerous woman once crossed.
And, apparently, her efforts in Vale had done Kirakishou no favours for earning the merit of Robyn Hill. Only her ire.
Not that she really cared how some random denizen of this world saw her. She had experienced her Master's interest in the past, and would again in the future. Such was enough for Kirakishou.
"There is nothing to be said," Kirakishou spoke, shaking her head. Despite her words, she was indeed quite amused by the Happy Huntresses. They had progressed quite far through the ranks of the Atlesian Military despite their apparent ire for Atlas as a whole. It would seem that the opposing champions of Atlas and Mantle had joined together to fight a perceived shared opponent.
Even now, she could sense them. She could sense her.
Little Kanaria. A beautiful rose, to be sure. Only the guidance of a rose could cause a garden to flourish in such a way.
She collapsed to the ground of her own volition, the action enough to somewhat startle the group of huntresses. Ah. There were more of them, now. Those that called themselves the Atlesian Military. Their soldiers were present. Backup. They had been expecting something resembling a fierce resistance.
They all had a connection to the one in control. The one that controlled the rose of Kanaria. Orders that were sent from a gilded fortress, a cage that Kirakishou found herself somewhat disliking even now that she was freed from the Relic of Choice's influence. Those connected soldiers, obeying orders. Waiting for the moment.
That one moment. Why one could say that the battle for Atlas was filled with those waiting. Endlessly waiting. For that one… single… moment.
And, indeed, after a pause, a barrage of dust-laden shells was sent flying toward her. While she watched the bullets fly toward her pure self, time appeared to slow as Kirakishou turned her attention inward and away from a lost cause.
Instead, she turned her attention to her N-Field.
It was so pretty.
So very pretty.
She had made it, so very long ago, doing everything in her power to survive in the immaterial world.
Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings was the first thing she had ever held in her possession.
When she was just a little shell of a girl, a fragment of a soul given off by a grieving Father who had lost his way, she had been all alone.
The N-Field, her N-Field, her Palace of Beginnings, it had been her first little solace.
The one reprieve.
The one thing she had.
But…
...Kirakishou supposed that she had found something else that was pretty. Something else that would support her, and help her grow. Someone. Someone that would grow alongside her, and call out to her in want. In need.
It was so very lovely to be needed. To be loved.
She had been alone for so long.
And Ruby Rose had been the one to solve all of that. She had appeared in her life so very suddenly, and Kirakishou had found that her attentions had turned away from loneliness, from the Alice Game, from the Rozen Maiden, from everything else that wasn't her beloved.
She is a Rozen Maiden. The Seventh Rozen Maiden. Kirakishou. A doll without a body, given a body and a new world. A new chance.
And, now, in order to bond with the one she needs, she found herself needing to damage that which had stood by her since the very beginning.
...This was to be it. The final moment.
It happened all of a sudden. There was a still to the air, a pause to the conflict and the worry. And suddenly the world surrounding Atlas began to change.
Gone was the rain. Gone were the clouds, revealing a darkened starry night sky. Gone were the two little dolls fighting on the outskirts of Atlas. Judica and Madulin ended, their strings cut. The N-Field surrounding Atlas stilled, and little Kanaria of the Rozen Maiden shook.
For she could feel it. That moment.
She could see it through the cameras that her Master, General Winter Schnee of the Atlesian Military, had installed throughout both Atlas and Mantle. They were everywhere. Moving. Shifting about. Searching.
Crystals.
The N-Field, the immaterial field of the Rozen Maiden, had been harnessed by Kirakishou once again. She had felt the moment that a portal to Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings had been opened. Kanaria hadn't had the opportunity to voice her awareness of the fact before the skies had changed and alarms started to flood the secure military facility that she was housed inside with her Master and those she deemed privy to learning of the Alice Game. Men and women rushed about, relaying sensitive communications data to a frantic General Winter, while Kanaria stood in a daze.
Crystals.
They were everywhere!
Every street the cameras picked up in Mantle, every visible angle. Kanaria would glimpse an empty street at one point, only to blink and find the very same street overtaken by teal-green crystals that spread like a thin film. And yet, their surveillance devices continued to function, even as they too were overtaken by crystals, giving those inside Atlas a pristine view of Kirakishou's sudden explosive growth. A growth that moved at such speeds that it became difficult to track.
One moment the city had been silent, with civilians barricaded inside their homes. And, the next, it was all… hers.
Kirakishou wasn't even targeting the citizens she so desired. They had always been little more than a means to an end for Kirakishou, as she had explained to everyone time and time again. And, now, Kanaria found herself once again made witness to the belief that Kirakishou was singleminded in her goal to reunite with Ruby Rose.
Only a Rozen Maiden like Kirakishou, armed with the combined aura of nearing a million individuals, would ever choose to expend so much energy at once. With the amount of energy that she was draining for a manifested physical growth of this sheer size and scale, she knew that the youngest Rozen Maiden wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer. Even with the amount that she had, even with everything that she had done during her time in the world of Remnant in gathering a physical body and forcing her N-Field into a physical state, her powers were simply far too inefficient in energy expenditure.
She could even see it on the screens.
Even now, as General Winter received intelligence and continued to speculate amongst her peers, barking orders about, Kanaria still could not voice her thoughts.
She knew what was happening.
As a Rozen Maiden herself, and a somewhat learned soul that understood a bunch of technical energy nonsense, Kanaria knew that expending as much energy as Kirakishou was outputting was not without colossal risk. To both Kirakishou herself and to each and every one of her seedlings housed inside her Palace of Beginnings. She was truly invested in her focus, in her singular goal, to go so far.
One wrong move meant death. Even for her. There was simply too much energy being channeled. Too much being controlled. This was not a reaction that could be interrupted.
The energy all had to go somewhere.
And it did.
It kept moving.
Chasing. Shifting about. Tearing through streets in a mass of devastation and continuing ever onward. A wave of change, expanding outward, centered on her previous known location.
"...She's not aiming for the people, she's aiming for Mantle," Kanaria realised, in horrid clarity. It took some time for the doll to even notice that she was even speaking aloud, but when she did notice, she found that she couldn't rightly stop herself. "Kirakishou knows what will happen if she removes the relic. Atlas will collapse atop Mantle and end us all. But… if she controls Mantle… She could prevent that."
She was protecting the seedlings, useless as they were to Kirakishou outside of energy expenditure.
All of this growth. She intended to make it permanent. And physical growth of this scale originating from the immaterial world required more aura than Kirakishou currently possessed, even with everyone that she had gathered during all of her time in Remnant. It just wasn't enough for her powers, as inefficient as they were in terms of energy expenditure. She was stretching herself thin. All in order to collect the Relic of Choice from within Atlas.
General Winter had previously identified that Kirakishou required the Relic of Creation in order to forcefully bring Ruby Rose to Atlas, and the Relic of Creation was not housed inside Mantle. Thus, her actions in Mantle were only a means to an end.
The Relic of Creation was housed inside Atlas. Where exactly, Kanaria did not know.
But Kirakishou likely did.
If Winter knew, then it stood to reason that James Ironwood had known as well, during his time as General of the Atlesian Military. When Kirakishou had unleashed her Palace of Beginnings in Vale, she had captured James Ironwood. From there, she would have been able to access and eventually decipher her memories. She would have discovered a great many Atlesian secrets just through her one capture. All she needed to do was get to it.
And, so, she had arrived at the Atlesian border. Stood beside false dolls, false flags, diversions, and from there she made her move. She had forced the people to fall to her N-Field. Forced a tentative connection to the N-Field, to her Palace of Beginnings that had forever followed behind her since its materialisation in Vale, and from there she had only needed to gather power.
With every second that passed, her Palace of Beginnings was generating aura. So much so that Kirakishou had begun having issues containing the vast amounts of energy, even with all of the expansion she had been doing. And, then, when she was practically overflowing with aura, she had unleashed it all in this singular frantic dash for the Relic of Creation.
They needed to get to the Relic of Creation. Move it. Destroy it. Hide it in a box or something. Anything. Before it was too late.
Suigintou froze.
Beside her, she could see the realisation flooding the faces of the other gathered Rozen Maiden. That same sensation, that only the Rozen Maiden could sense. They all froze, a lull in combat as the Alice Game hit a new chapter.
An N-Field had just opened up somewhere in the world, and an immense amount of energy had been pushed through it.
There could only be one that could be the culprit.
The doll that had started it all.
Kirakishou.
Somewhere. Somewhere in the world, Kirakishou had broken through the N-Field and established a connection to Remnant once again. No doubt, were she to journey through her own N-Field and into Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings, she would find herself situated in the material world once again. As Kirakishou had done once before in the past, an overwhelming amount of energy had been made manifest in the world of Remnant, for use in strange and twisted designs that made sense only to the little peach-blonde doll herself.
And, yet, as each and every one of the gathered Rozen Maiden looked around, seeking their adversary, there was no sign of her.
Even Ruby Rose, the girl torn and twisted by her own inner strength until she was a mere shade of her former self, stood alone and without the Rozen Maiden Kirakishou, despite the blonde possessing more than enough power to simply force herself into the world beside Ruby Rose.
And, yet, she did not.
Had their contract truly been shattered to such a degree as to completely remove any connection Kirakishou once had with the girl? How could such a thing even be possible? It flew in the face of everything that she knew about the Alice Game.
Even now, standing alongside her Medium and Master Yang Xiao-Long, she still did not believe that the girl had been able to sever Kirakishou's contract with Ruby Rose. It didn't make sense. It couldn't make sense. Because that simply wasn't how the world worked. It wasn't how the Alice Game functioned.
And, yet, it had. In this twisted world that would force them to the height of pubescent ningen, it had seemingly worked despite all of her former knowledge suggesting otherwise. Now, once more, Suigintou was given more evidence that their contract had been shattered completely and utterly, to the point where even Kirakishou could not appear beside her beloved Master.
"...What's with the looks?" Yang was first the question, the blonde's crimson eyes flickering to meet her own. Torn between Ruby Rose and the Rozen Maiden, her Master seemed decidedly out of the loop, appearing similarly confused alongside Weiss Schee and Blake Belladonna.
But not Ruby Rose.
Ruby Rose stood there, before them. Her expression was flat. Vacant. Distant, as if she wasn't really there. Save for a subtle crease in her brow, she seemed utterly frozen, just like the rest of them. Had she, too, sensed the activation of Kirakishou's N-Field? And, just as they had supposedly been making strides in placating the girl, too. Figures that Kirakishou would pick the absolute worst time to influence the world of Remnant.
Were Shinku's assumptions regarding Ruby Rose correct, and the girl had indeed developed a fully-fledged N-Field capable of interacting with the world just like a Rozen Maiden, it stood to reason that such a sensory observation would indeed be possible. Albeit improbable.
"An N-Field just opened. One of great size and scale. And a colossal amount of energy was filtered through it," Suigintou huffed in annoyance, nodding her head toward Shinku. "You know what this means, Shinku. She's back. And she's not here."
The blonde twintailed Rozen Maiden frowned, while Suiseiseki and Souseiseki looked around as if expecting Kirakishou to pop out at any given moment. While not entirely out of the question given Kirakishou's abilities, she would have been able to sense Kirakishou's imminent arrival were that the case.
She did not bother looking and inspecting the reaction of Shinku's medium. He was still safe, and that was all that mattered for the moment.
N-Not that she cared, of course. His purpose was only to fuel Shinku and the others, so that the Alice Game may continue. It shouldn't matter how he feels, or how he is fairing with the current development.
Just that…
She shook her head, refocusing.
"...An N-Field…" the murmur came not from the group, but from Ruby Rose herself, and Yang Xiao-Long whipped around to refocus on her sister. The girl seemed lost in thought.
The reaction, however, all but confirmed Suigintou's suspicions that the girl was indeed capable of sensing N-Field portals, just like a Rozen Maiden. It was absurd that a ningen could develop such an ability in the first place, and it was an utter affront to the Alice Game.
Not that she could do much about it, in her current state. She was proud of her abilities, but she wasn't blinded by them. The girl required all their combined power to handle, much like how her Rozen Maiden had required similarly combined strength in their last chance encounter.
Provided that Ruby Rose continued to keep her head in the clouds, they all had a chance to discuss the development and plan their future actions.
"She's trying to understand her abilities," Shinku pointlessly explained to the group, and Suigintou crossed her arms in annoyance. Same old Shinku. Always the team player.
"Well, obviously," she sighed, before turning slightly as Sakurada Jun cautiously approached. If only to include the boy in their discussions. She kept herself between the boy and Ruby Rose, however, lest the crazed girl inadvertently ruin everything. "If an N-Field has connected her to Remnant and she hasn't immediately appeared beside her Master, then it stands to reason that she cannot, whatever the cause for that inability may be."
"...Though that does make a girl wonder where exactly she's appeared at," Yang pointed out with a surprising degree of insight. She supposed that Yang's lessons with Raven were finally bearing fruit.
"Wherever Kirakishou has appeared, it will not take her long in order to discover Ruby's whereabouts," Sakurada Jun explained. "Kirakishou has always been good at gathering information, and eventually she'll discover a link. Wherever it may be."
Suigintou nodded. "I agree," the simple suggestion garnered a raised brow from Shinku, and she glowered at the doll. "Don't give me that look. We need to wrap things up here and move out. If we limit the number of people in the know, it will slow Kirakishou's arrival. Then, we can plan out how we're going to deal with her."
"Then, we'd best settle things here," Yang concluded, giving a hard look to her two huntress allies, before refocusing on Ruby Rose. The rest of the group nodded at the conclusion, moving into battle stances.
And Kirakishou's chosen Master was staring at them all, disbelievingly.
"...Wow. Did that really actually work?" Ruby broke out in giggles that were a few pitches short of a proper laugh, more sarcasm than actual amusement. "Just swish about all lackadaisically and you all forget about me?" the girl shook her head. "Thanks for the information dump, though. And, I think I will decline your offer. I will not be forgetting who I am anytime soon."
So, she had been feigning weakness, hm? A solid strategy. Though, impressive strategy or not, it did little to serve the girl in the immediate moment. Whether she was Ruby Rose, the strange power that Shinku's group had faced in the N-Field, or something in between, the group had handled her before and they could do so again.
Plus, now they had Suigintou there as well.
Ruby Rose burst forward in a sudden flash of silver flames, greatsword raised high. Souseiseki met the blade with her own, while Weiss Schnee propelled the rest of the group backward with her glyph semblance. Suigintou took advantage of the momentum granted by Weiss Schnee to take to the air using her wings, unleashing a volley of black feathers toward Ruby and Souseiseki.
As silver flames began to appear around Ruby Rose, Souseiseki jumped away from the girl, just as Suigintou's feathers moved in to strike. A fair amount of the feathers impacted Ruby's cloak of silver flames, however, several made it through and sheared across her aura. The Silver-Eyed girl winced at the impact, before glaring up at her in apparent fury.
However, Ruby Rose was forced to react quickly as a barrage of dust-laden shots peppered her vicinity, courtesy of Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao-Long. The former of the two held a weapon that possessed a high fire rate, which drew the most of Ruby's attention as she was forced to shift her blade to block the shots.
With a fierce yell, Ruby Rose swung her greatsword to the side, as a thin film of silver flames raced toward the group in a crescent pattern. Red petals raced to meet the attack, thanks to Shinku's timely intervention, and the two attacks seemingly canceled each other out, leaving a mess of petrified petals on the ground below.
A quick glance from her position in the air confirmed that Sakurada Jun had done the smart thing and retreated to a safe distance, alongside Suiseiseki, with the two standing near the base of the cave. With her abilities, the boy would be safe, and his dolls would be continually supplied with power.
Not to mention, his doll healing semblance was there, in case the worst occurred. Though Suigintou doubted its effectiveness against petrification.
Eyes widening in sudden alarm, Suigintou hastily beat her wings and propelled herself upward, narrowly escaping a sudden slash from Ruby Rose. Apparently, the girl had jumped a solid thirty feet in the air through a combination of her aura and her own twisted semblance. Their eyes met for a brief moment as Ruby Rose plummeted to the ground, and Suigintou could see the hate in her eyes. The spite. Before, in a sharp moment, the girl's lips curled into a grin and she turned her gaze downward.
She's aiming for Sakurada Jun.
Faster and faster the girl moved until she was naught but a flare of silver petals and flames that trailed through the sky at breakneck speeds. Suigintou was chasing after her, pushing her body to the limit and drawing as much aura as she could from Yang Xiao-Long, watching as the world seemingly responded in slow motion, such was her haste.
As Ruby Rose approached, the girl was seemingly blindsided by a barrage of crimson petals courtesy of Shinku, where a glyph was spinning beneath her feet. A glyph that Suigintou recognised. Time dilation, courtesy of Weiss Schnee. Petals of silver and crimson clashed, and the momentum generated by their impact was enough to send Ruby colliding against the mountain with a significant amount of force.
The collision was enough to shake the mountain, and Suiseiseki was smart to summon her vines, supporting the cave entrance and preventing a cave-in. And, as Ruby Rose continued to tumble down the mountain, seemingly dazed, Yang Xiao-Long took the opportunity to jump upward and meet her sister head-on, grabbing the younger girl by her feet and slamming her down on the ground with enough force to shatter her aura, alongside creating a sizable indent in the ground.
Suigintou quickly flew toward Sakurada Jun, and without so much as a word, scooped up the boy in her arms and took off once again. The ground was too much of a danger for Sakurada Jun, and provided that she kept her fair distance and paid attention, she would be able to dodge any of Ruby Rose's attacks with little difficulty.
And, if Sakurada Jun clung to her body a little too tightly than strictly necessary, Suigintou certainly didn't say anything about it.
From their safe distance, both Suigintou and Sakurada Jun watched as Weiss Schnee summoned forth a mass amount of ice to seal Ruby Rose in the ground, further strengthened by Suiseiseki summoning vines once again to wrap around the impromptu prison.
"...It won't hold her for long," Sakurada Jun voiced softly, before blushing a little bit as she looked toward him. "Shinku and Suiseiseki tried this before in the N-Field with the Knight projection. It slowed the Knight down, but it wasn't permanent. It stands to reason that Ruby Rose will behave in a similar manner."
"Then, perhaps, it is time that we do something about this development," Suigintou mused, staring down at the gathered collection of Rozen Maiden.
"...Yes, well, can you take us down, now? Flying this high isn't something I necessarily prepared for while living in a cave."
Suigintou chuckled in derision, faintly amused by the snark. Seems that Shinku was rubbing off on the boy. Deciding to let actions speak louder than words, she flew back down to the ground beside the gathered Rozen Maiden, and Sakurada Jun was quick to escape her grip. Shinku sent her a withering look, and she smirked.
"Jun seems to think that this won't hold her," Suigintou decided to take the blunt approach, moving over to the red-clad doll that had been the source of her ire for so many thousands of hours. "I'm inclined to agree. She's too powerful. We need to deal with her."
"I agree as well," Yang Xiao-Long joined the discussion, taking her side as was right. "Even in the N-Field, and supported by Kirakishou, the Knight took a lot more of a beating to stop than just this. And Ruby has been acting just like that thing, if a little crazier this time. We have to stop her. Quickly. Before she gets out of hand."
Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna walked over, while Suiseiseki and Souseiseki seemed unwilling to tear their eyes off Ruby's frozen form, as if expecting a surprise attack.
"And we all saw how well that went, last time," Blake Belladonna raised an interesting point. "Who is to say that it will work, this time?"
"We still have to try!" Yang argued fiercely, crimson red eyes glaring at the faunus. "Even with everything that she's done, she can still be saved!"
"And we're not denying that," Weiss interjected tentatively, standing beside her paramour. "But we all saw what just happened. And we all have our suspicions. This was more than just Kirakishou. The silver flames, the greatsword, the Knight. Even if we seal her memories, if such is even possible, Ruby is still smart enough to recognise that something is wrong."
Yang went to argue, only to flinch and look down, seemingly unsure.
"...Um… If I may?"
Suigintou looked over at Jun, as the boy cast uncertain looks at her own Master as if Yang would squish him like a bug for disobedience. It was hilariously cowardly, yet admittedly not without possibility.
"Please, Jun," Shinku captured her Master's attention, her voice soft and delicate. The look she sent him was enough to make the boy blush. "If you have anything to contribute, please do."
"...Why don't you all just tell her the truth?"
All of her forces, annihilated in an instant.
General Winter Schnee of the Atlesian Military found herself forced into sudden clarity regarding her current situation, in that she was dealing with an entity that could render entire cities barren in the blink of an eye. And, in this instance, she had brought friends.
The two dolls, speaking to themselves as Judica and Madulin, were a highly effective counter to any and all forces that Winter Schnee could throw at them, for they seemingly possessed N-Fields of their own, and were capable of accessing the semblances of those caught within their immaterial webs.
Clover Ebi. Vine Zeki. Elm Ederne. Harriet Bree.
And, much to her consternation, Marrow Amin.
The Ace Operatives.
Where once the Ace Operatives had been felled in Vale following a classified Atlesian development crucial for securing their future, Atlas's own past had been torn asunder and the identities of four of the five operatives had been hidden from the world. A combination of Atlesian R&D coupled with information secured from Kanaria had suggested that their identities had been purposefully hidden by Kirakishou, and her sudden return to the N-Field courtesy of Team RWBY had disrupted her veiled illusion, until only Marrow Amin had remained as the supposed 'Lone Wolf'. A singular unit that, without the support of his comrades, had seemingly perished outside Vale.
Only, now, the dolls known as Judica and Madulin had disposed of this theory, by utilising Marrow's own semblance in conjunction with the semblances formerly belonging to the rest of the Ace Operatives.
It would seem that General Winter had found the culprits behind the disappearances of Atlas's finest. Ones that explained how exactly Kirakishou had been able to defeat the group while being absent from her own Palace of Beginnings. She had, much like with Summer Rose, created more dolls.
Dolls that, as Kanaria assured her were certainly not Rozen Maiden, but instead were fully functional sentient artificial beings that seemed wholly loyal to the seventh Rozen Maiden, and were seemingly supported by her monumental amount of captured aura. Supposedly, the fifth Rozen Maiden, Shinku, had used a similar technique to gain a body. However, Kanaria assured her that the replica Rozen Maiden body was limited, far less stable than that of a genuine Rozen Maiden. Bolstered with aura, however, Kanaria wasn't certain how long they would last on the battlefield.
Their plan, as it would appear, had been simple.
Kirakishou had taken to the skies, while Judica and Madulin had opted for a ground assault. Together, the three dolls had effortlessly trampled over everything that Atlas could throw at them with little difficulty.
As was expected.
Winter did not like this.
This gambit, one that would see Winter use her people like pawns in some twisted match of chess. Sacrifices to control the battlefield from a perceived state of disadvantage. She had played enough games with Jacques Schnee over the years to know that a perceived position of power could easily be overturned by a veteran player, and any semblance of power they held could be ruthlessly crushed and turned into a crippling weakness.
And, as Kanaria had just voiced, Kirakishou was an opponent directly outside the experiences of Atlesian and Vale-born strategies. Ozpin, Winter, Jacques, and the Atlesian Council, none of them truly understood what they were facing. Only Kanaria did. And, according to the little Rozen Maiden, Kirakishou aimed to both save and destroy both Atlas and Mantle, by utilising a strategy twisted by her own particular worldview.
It was the strangest thing.
She wanted to destroy Mantle. Destroy Atlas. She needed to do so, in order to reunite with Ruby Rose. But, she also wanted to 'save' the people she fought, by trapping them inside her N-Field. And, to do that, she needed to prevent Atlas from killing them all.
And, her first attempt to do so had been to expend an absolutely absurd amount of captured aura to force a growth cycle of her N-Field over Mantle. She wasn't aiming to prevent Atlas from falling over Mantle. No, her plan required Atlas to fall. She wasn't planning to stop the destruction.
She was planning on capturing Atlas. Holding it. Physically suspending an entire city atop another. Supporting the weight of an entire city atop her crystalline towers. And as they continued to spike ever toward Atlas, growing out of Mantle without pause, without failure, General Winter Schnee knew that there was little she could do to stop the girl, before it was too late.
This was her moment. Any longer and her actions would directly lead to the death of all those who called Atlas and Mantle their home.
"Kanaria."
The little doll turned to her.
The world stilled, just for them.
For a brief moment, the arguments throughout the bunker were silenced. The unrelenting err of shouts and screams from the gathered Councilors and military personnel faded into a distant discordant tone, and, for that singular fleeting instance, it was just the two of them.
Kanaria and Winter.
...It was almost like some kind of cruel irony. She had always loved dolls as a little girl. She had grown to love the little doll that would see her as a woman, rather than a military figure. To her, speaking with Kanaria felt like speaking with a close family member. One who truly cared for her.
And, now, she was sending her away. All for the sake of the Alice Game and the betterment of Atlas.
She was a horrible, despicable person.
And she knew what would happen.
But, she didn't have a choice.
For the good of all, she would do what was necessary.
"...The time has come, Kanaria. If you would call upon pizzicato, and move to the Composer. Tell Pietro that he may connect to the system. And, when he does, you may begin."
The green-haired doll looked at her. Truly looked at her. And it took everything in Winter's power to maintain a neutral expression.
"You know what will happen if I do that…"
"I know, Kanaria. But it has to be done. I'm…" despite her strength, her voice cracked ever so slightly, "...I'm sorry."
Kanaria paused, shaking her head, and her lips curled into a rueful smile.
"Very well, then. Pizzicato!"
Jacques Schnee was the first to respond to the development, holding up a hand to cut through the arguments that had apparently been echoing throughout the room during their moment in order to direct attention towards the little Rozen Maiden. A deep emerald hue moved from the green-haired doll, as her artificial spirit was made manifest to the world. It was rather beautiful, a shining light in the dark, and Winter Schnee loathed the very sight of it.
"...Fascinating…" Ozpin murmured aloud, clutching his chin as he stared at the green glow. "Functionally none too dissimilar to a bygone era… Why, one may even label it as unsettlingly familiar. How curious."
Neither Winter, nor by extension the rest of the gathered Atlesian councilors or military personnel seemed to know what Ozpin was talking about, judging by their shared looks, nor did any of them precisely care at the moment. Instead, their attention was solely focused on little Kanaria and Pizzicato.
And, without prompt, the little doll marched right out of the room, her artificial spirit floating beside her.
There was a brief second of stunned silence before the group exploded into motion.
"What in the world is going on, Winter?" Jacques Schnee turned to her, all traces of cordiality vanishing in the face of Kanaria's sudden disappearance. "What do you have planned?"
"Tell me," Winter instead answered Jacques Schnee's prodding with her own question, "to what reason do you believe that one Pietro Polendina was made head of Atlesian R&D following the events of the Vytal Festival Tournament?"
"...That man…" Councilman Sleet spoke up, eyes wide. "The one behind Penny Polendina. The one whose actions lead to the departure of Arthur Watts and the inadvertent reveal of confidential Atlesian Military technology to the world, all over a man's foolish desire to create an artificial daughter of his own. We knew that your decision to bring Pietro into the fold held ulterior motives. What in the world does he have to do with any of this?"
"There is no single person, not one person, that was more well-suited for the head of Atlesian R&D following the rise of the Rozen Maiden and our discovery of the Alice Game," Winter explained simply. "Pietro Polendina is, in many ways, uniquely qualified for handling the Rozen Maiden. Indeed, much of our progress with Kanaria can be directly attributed to Pietro's understanding of artificial lifeforms, and desire to serve Atlas following the death of Penny Polendina at the hands of Ruby Rose."
As expected, unfortunately, it was Jacques Schnee that was the first to catch on. And the look that the man gave her, critical and assessing, cut deeper than any blade.
"...You don't actually care for the man and his supposed empathy with the Rozen Maiden. You're just using his grief over Penny Polendina's loss to secure yourself an avid researcher and technological savant, with Kanaria serving as little more than a research focus for the R&D think-tank."
Despite being somewhat prepared for the words, Winter Schnee could not deny that they were still far more painful to hear than any number of horrid discourses she had participated in over the years.
General Winter Schnee, General of the Atlesian Military and proud protector of the Atlesian way of life, could not deny what she had done.
Dealing with Kanaria, interacting with her, and spending time with the doll over several months…
It hurt.
It hurt to see the girl. To see her interact, to see her smile. To see her plan adorably, working through every little detail only to bumble and bluster on the littlest things and get all self-conscious. It hurt to see her cry. And it hurt to feel some semblance of empathy for the artificial girl, as she was used to fuel the war machine of Atlas just like it had done to each and every one of them in the past.
It hurt to know that, after all this time, she had grown to love the girl like she would her own sister. To care for her, beyond that of a subordinate. It wasn't right. It was an affront to her status as General of the Atlesian Military. She had a duty to the good people of Atlas, and letting Pietro Polendina use her for his research, had been one of the most difficult decisions of her life.
She didn't want Kanaria to be hurt. She didn't want her to cry. She didn't want to be forced to hold the little doll at night, and tell her everything was going to be okay.
She didn't want to lie anymore.
Why, oh why, did Kanaria have to choose her? Why couldn't she have chosen anyone else?
She could have been safe.
Instead, here Kanaria lived, within Atlas, forced to venture out and defend the people against an adversary that held a high chance of defeating them all. Forced to battle her own sister, over some asinine dream of becoming a perfect girl, whatever that meant.
Kanaria was already perfect, to her. And Winter had been forced to have her tested, have her experimented on and studied, just so that the good people of Atlas may continue to fight another day.
"...You're right. That was the plan, originally. Kanaria was to be the tool that would lead to Kirakishou's destruction, and to do so we needed one with the proper motivation and incentive to do so. And, who else would have more of a reason than a Father who had lost his only daughter?"
She chuckled bitterly at the very thought.
The mighty Atlas, floating above Mantle, being forced to use an innocent doll as fodder, as a sacrifice, so that they may live. All under the supervision of a man driven solely by a rampant desire for revenge.
"And here I thought you were different, compared to James," Jacques scoffed. "In truth, I should have expected nothing less of his protégé. You would doom an innocent girl and manipulate a grieving man, just to further your own goals. You're pathetic."
"And what you have me do?!" Winter rounded on him, furious. "You have seen the threat that Kirakishou poses. An entire city was wiped off the map! And not just any city, but Vale! The one force strong enough to end the Great War was destroyed, just like that. Now that Atlas stands to suffer the same fate, what would you have done?! Let us not forget, that it was you who elected to send Ruby away when we had her! You're the one that forced me into this!"
Jacques Schnee stood calm in the face of her rage, and Winter's eyes darted around the room, glaring at those that were looking at her with such cowardly, judgemental looks. As if they knew any better.
"Yes, indeed, I was the one who allowed Ruby Rose to be taken away from Atlas," Jacques Schnee sneered, shaking his head. "Choosing to keep the girl in Atlas, or worse, execute her, would have turned a demented doll's twisted love for the girl into utter hate for us all. We would all be suffering a far worse fate than the girl simply aiming to trap us all in some pleasant dreams. Sending Ruby Rose away gave us another avenue. Another method to defeat Kirakishou."
"And what method is that?" Winter rolled her eyes. "We've thrown out our only bargaining chip."
"No. We haven't," Jacques Schnee countered, nodding toward Ozpin. "These relics you all speak of, this purpose that you all propose Kirakishou is all here for, this relic is our bargaining chip. Kirakishou wishes to reunite with Ruby Rose. She doesn't care for Atlas, for Mantle, or for Remnant as a whole. If we have the one tool that can reunite the two, I say we give it to her."
"That's not possible," Ozpin interrupted. "Ruby Rose is a Silver-Eyed Maiden. United with Kirakishou, the two hold the possibility to erase the world. Whether it be through Kirakishou's crystals or through Ruby Rose's Silver Flames, nothing good can come from their partnership. They are, simply put, far too dangerous to be together."
"And, that is where you are wrong," Jacques Schnee merely shook his head. "Kirakishou and Ruby Rose were perfectly stable during their time in Vale and Beacon Academy. If you were able to recall, it was a third party that set off the bomb in Kirakishou's room, which set forth her N-Field and resulted in the destruction of Vale. Before such an action, the two acted merely as powerful students. Teenage lovers. It was outside interference that turned them into potentially world-ending threats. An outside influence, mind you, that has gone completely ignored in favour of stopping two little girls."
Watching Whitley Schnee's lips contort into a mix between a frown and a scowl was more visually unsettling than Winter would like to admit. With Ozpin reincarnated inside Whitley, she found that she could not understand the boy anymore. Lost, seemingly, to Ozpin.
"Choosing where to place blame is irrelevant," Ozpin dismissed, crossing his arms. "If Kirakishou does indeed seek the staff, we must stop her. The staff is too dangerous to be in the hands of Kirakishou, especially if she seeks to reunite with Ruby Rose. If General Winter has found an opportunity to stop Kirakishou, then there is no harm in having her attempt to use it. Of the two, Kirakishou is a more immediate threat. A Silver-Eyed Maiden can be contained, but a Rozen Maiden, seemingly, can only be dealt with by those who possess an understanding of the Rozen Maiden."
"You can choose to despise the plan if you want," Winter Schnee decided to speak up, cutting through the two's bickering with a heated glare. "However, your thoughts on the matter do not change my decision. Kanaria will activate the weapon, and Kirakishou will fall. Then, and only then, will we discuss what to do about Ruby Rose."
Jacques Schnee sighed, shaking his head. There was a brief moment of silence, as the tenseness of his posture seemingly bled out of him until a calm man remained. Only, his eyes betrayed him and displayed his true intent.
Fury. Utter fury.
"Very well, General. Then, we'd best rely upon your supposed weapon and the apparent mechanical ingenuity of Pietro Polendina. As it's not like we have any other choice in the matter. You have chosen your route, and I have chosen mine. I shall not stand here and listen to your machinations any longer, nor will I advise this pathetic farce of a council anymore. You are no daughter of mine. Goodbye."
And Jacques Schnee marched out of the room, leaving a group of shocked military personnel and councilors in his wake.
Kanaria walked out of the Atlesian bunker with as much grace as she was able, wincing as she picked up the beginnings of an argument stirring in the wake of her departure. With Pizzicato floating beside her, none dared to block her passage, having been taught to keep their distance in the presence of an artificial spirit.
And, still, despite her single-minded focus in keeping to the plan that her Master, Winter Schnee, had come up with, Kanaria wasn't blind enough to not notice the energy in the air. The people of Atlas, their military personnel, were frantic. Rushing about as orders came through, desperate to keep some semblance of order amidst the chaos that Kirakishou had caused with her very presence.
To think that the Alice Game had progressed to such a point as to have the backing of an entire nation behind her, was still somewhat daunting to think about, even for her. She could only begin to imagine how the likes of Shinku and Suigintou were handling things, as both dolls were more than capable of imagining the various scenarios that were likely to occur if Kirakishou were to gain any more traction than she already had. Where in the previous world, Kirakishou had been somewhat limited to gathering former Masters, in this world of Remnant where the people used the strength of their soul for combat, her ability to feed put her at a distinct advantage.
Of course, Kanaria was aware that it was technically within the power of all Rozen Maiden to gather strength from those trapped within their N-Field, however, only Kirakishou had the temperament to actually enact such a twisted scheme. As she understood it, at first it had been all that the doll could do in order to survive.
Now, however, she had grown too powerful, and it was up to Kanaria to stop Kirakishou before the world of Remnant was forced to suffer due to Kirakishou's machinations.
Moving through the hallways of the Atlesian bunker as doors were opened by staff members as she passed by, Kanaria wrung her hands anxiously. She always felt this way when going to find Dr. Polendina. The way that he looked at her made her feel uncomfortable. It felt as if the man saw her only as a means to an end, rather than as an actual girl. It was why she preferred spending time with Winter, as her Master actually recognised her as a person.
The final door was opened, and Kanaria found herself bathed in the tell-tale pale blue glow of the city shield, a colour that shined brilliantly in the late afternoon, turning a dark day bright.
According to General Winter, who had first authorised the activation of the city shield, Atlas had been under its glow hours before Kirakishou had even appeared outside their border, and even now the shield continued to stay strong. As she wasn't much of a technical person herself, Kanaria wasn't entirely certain how impressive it was to keep a shield active for so long, but she figured it was pretty awesome nonetheless. Supposedly, the shield was also self-sustaining, using energy reserves wholly produced inside Atlas, rather than Mantle, which allowed the shield to stay active almost indefinitely.
However, as more than one screaming civilian appeared to notice, the shield was doing little to belay Kirakishou's movements.
Leaping upward, using her umbrella and the movement device Winter devised as leverage, Kanaria quickly made it up to the top of a large building, which enabled her to see down into the city of Mantle. Now, with her view distance expanded, Kanaria could truly comprehend the scope of Kirakishou's N-Field growth.
The entirety of Mantle, at least the amount that Kanaria could see, was covered in her teal-green crystals. And they were moving. Hardened edges belonging to buildings were gradually being smoothed down and compressed, as the city appeared almost fluid-like, shifting and changing with slow speeds that were barely recognisable to the naked eye.
And it was growing. Crawling up the cable anchors tying Atlas to Mantle, they quickly reached the shield and continued spreading over the shield. It was clear that, even at her current strength, Kirakishou could not reliably penetrate the shield surrounding Atlas. Not that she particularly needed to, however. If Kirakishou continued growing, perhaps to the point of eclipsing the shield entirely, all that would happen would be that their battle with Kirakishou would turn into a war of attrition.
And, against a Rozen Maiden who had demonstrated a single-minded desire to reunite with Ruby Rose, the might of Atlas would eventually fall victim to the inevitability of a timeless Rozen Maiden.
She did not even need to take into account the mortality of Kirakishou's chosen Master, or the passage of time. After all, Kirakishou had demonstrated to Atlas that she was more than capable of resurrecting those she deems necessary. Even if Kanaria did not fully understand the mechanics behind Kirakishou's ability, she knew that the doll herself would have taken every possible step necessary to assure Ruby's longevity. One way or another.
No. If this turned into a war of attrition, Atlas would lose.
"Hello, maiden of the yellow rose. It has been so very long since we last met, dear sister."
Whirling around with a sudden cry of alarm, Kanaria came face-to-face with the very same doll that had held the attention of the Atlesian Military for so very long. Kirakishou, herself.
She was clad in a strange garment outside Father's design, Kanaria noticed. A flowing white dress with black and gold adornments, wholly dissimilar to her original outfit. An intentional choice, perhaps?
Of note was that her hair was resting in a particularly loose format. Kirakishou had styled her hair to be loose and flowing in the past, yes, but there was a braid resting across the top of her head that appeared to be damaged. Had she changed her hair recently? For what purpose? Something designed for her Master, perhaps?
A moment of tensity was left behind, and Kanaria allowed herself to relax. She could see it, now.
This copy of Kirakishou was nothing more than an illusion. Motes of light refracted from the crystals of Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings that were growing over the Atlesian city-shield, twisted in a way to form a rudimentary hologram none too dissimilar from the older iterations of Atlesian holographic technology. Translating her speech into audible dialogue, however, was only possible due to Kirakishou's own command over the N-Field. A unique bending of reality, just for her, perhaps.
"...Kirakishou," Kanaria glared heatedly at the doll, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance as she continued on her stride towards her goal, even as the illusion of Kirakishou trailed after her. "You're not going to distract me, and you can't stop me with this illusion."
The figure of Kirakishou giggled, a discordant rippling of sound condensed into a singular intent, one that shushed the hushed whispers and fearful expressions on the poor civilians that glanced at her appearance nearby.
"I don't need to stop you, sweet sister, nor do I need to delay you. As you can see, my N-Field is moving to cover this shield you all have constructed over Atlas. Given time, either it shall fall, or the people inside it will. And my garden will continue to grow either way."
Despite herself, Kanaria shivered. There was a deep conviction present within each and every one of Kirakishou's words that felt wholly unsettling to hear.
"My Master will stop you. And Shinku and the others will eventually discover what's happening. They'll come, and they'll defeat you like they did last time."
"Perhaps!~" Kirakishou shrugged her shoulders, seemingly amused by the very idea of such a scenario occurring, which Kanaria deemed oddly out of place for the doll. After how Kirakishou had reacted to Shinku, Suigintou, Suiseiseki, and her own intervention with the unwound Jun, she would have thought that Kirakishou would be hesitant to face so many dolls in open combat.
Kanaria soon arrived at her destination, a nondescript building on the outskirts of Atlas. Something of a run-down network broadcasting center that had been appropriated by the Atlesian Military following the nature of Pietro Polendina's continuing work with the Rozen Maiden. From the numerous hours she had spent inside the building, Kanaria knew that there was much more to the building than what initial impressions might imply.
She turned to find Kirakishou, only to find herself alone once more.
And she shivered at the feeling.
Kirakishou should have been able to continue applying her illusionary appearance and transmitting her voice. Instead, she had seemingly disappeared at the precise moment that Kanaria had come to the very building that could potentially hold the key to Kirakishou's defeat. And, even if Kirakishou possessed no real way of knowing about Pietro Polendina and his work on the Rozen Maiden, her disappearance sent a flicker of worry into Kanaria's core nonetheless.
Shaking her head, she continued inside, idly flicking a flare of her power toward a terminal at the entrance to the building in order to grant her passageway. She smirked as the door automatically opened. Everyone else had to use stupid keycards. But not Kanaria. And, by extension, her Master. They were special.
This whole building was special, really. Attuned, just to her.
And, well, her Master of course, but Winter was hilariously terrible when it came to musical talent, so the point was moot. It was strange, for such a tone-deaf person, her own younger sister had one of the more pleasant singing voices that Kanaria had heard in recent hours. Not that Weiss Schnee ever performed anymore. Not since she had been accepted into Beacon Academy in Vale, only for Kirakishou to corrupt the continent with her very existence. After that, everybody understood why Weiss Schnee had never sung again.
She really needed to focus.
"...You, there," she gestured to a nondescript scientist. One with brown hair and tanned skin. "I'm looking for Pietro. Do you know where he is?"
"Ah, Kanaria. Yes, indeed, he's inside his office, I believe. Do you want me to lead you there?"
"No, thank you. I can get there on my own."
"...Of course. Just remember to follow the blue line, and it will take you right there," the scientist explained, before quickly vanishing at the sight of the angry pout growing on her face.
Those stupid lines. She gets lost in the building one time! Or, a couple of times… and Atlesian R&D suddenly decides to implement a guiding schema for her to follow. Just for her! It was so embarrassing. Well, it was a little embarrassing. She did have a bit of a habit of getting lost at times, and she wasn't silly enough not to admit it. So, in a way it was sweet. But it was still embarrassing!