Chapter 15 – Sisters Part 2

Pre-chapter Author's Note: Okay, so I might not be able to put in that joke I said I'd put in during the last Author's Note. Eh, whatevs. Why did I say that….?

Violet and Jacky woke up the next morning and decided to heat up some of the meat that Bang gave them before leaving. Jacky, of course, started the fire and Violet cooked as Noel and Ragna got up and served them all portions of the meat for breakfast.
"It's been a really long time since Taokaka left; do you think she'll be okay?" Violet pondered. "That kid is real annoying, but she'll be fine, Violet, trust me," Ragna replied. Everyone just ate in silence afterwards before heading out to find Tao for one more day. They agreed that if they couldn't find her, they were leaving her to fumble her way back to her village. They searched for ten hours before finally giving up. "That's it; I'm tired of waiting on that damn cat. We're leaving her behind tomorrow," Ragna proclaimed. Nobody wanted to just leave Tao behind, but their fruitless search for her was hindering their progress and they couldn't allow themselves to stick around any longer. For wanted criminals, you can never stay in one place for too long, you have to keep moving. They went back to their tents and decided to go to sleep for one more night in the woods. After Noel and Ragna fell asleep, Violet visited Jacky's tent. "Do you think we might be able to do something for them?"
"For who?" Jacky asked. "My family. I did tell you that they were going to be arrested if they try to rebel."
"I don't know if we can do anything at the moment. Maybe we might, in time, but for now, I don't think we can do anything. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."
Violet lowered her head and looked at the ground. "Then what do we do from here?"
"We just keep moving until we reach our destination. That's all we can for the time being." He gave Violet a quick hug before excusing himself to his tent. She grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go, though. As he looked down at her, he felt her lips press against his. Before long, she separated herself from him. "What was that for, Vi?"
"That was my thanks for everything you've done. You might think you haven't done much, but to me you've done a lot." He was stunned and didn't realize he was smiling back at her. He returned her thanks by kissing her again.
The mage-in-training felt two feelings as she kissed him: Sadness for her family's situation, happiness for Jacky accepting her feelings.

The Next Morning…

Ragna and Noel woke up. While Ragna prepared dinner, Noel went to Violet's tent to wake her up. When she found the tent empty, she panicked. Noel ran to Jacky's tent to wake him up and tell him that Violet was missing. When she opened Jacky's tent though, rather than finding Jacky sleeping alone, she found both Jacky and Violet, sleeping side by side, half naked.
Noel's face turned red and she immediately closed the tent. Ragna saw her face and asked what was wrong. "J-J-Jacky a-and V-Violet were…" She began, but couldn't finish. Annoyed by Noel's constant stuttering, Ragna looked into the tent himself.
When he saw what Noel had seen, even his face turned red. He closed the tent and turned to Noel. "Let's just pack our stuff up." Noel nodded in response and the two got to work, not even taking a glance back at Jacky's tent.
After half an hour, Jacky woke up. He got dressed and headed out, where he began to get stares from Ragna and Noel. Knowing what it was they were staring at him for, Jacky packed up his stuff and proceeded to wake Violet up. After they all finished packing up and resumed their travelling, Ragna walked over to Jacky and whispered, "Did you and that Violet chick really do what I think you did last night?" Jacky nodded with an awkward laugh and smile. "It sort of just happened, Ragna."
Ragna groaned and separated from Jacky again. Their travels were full of awkward silence between the four of them. They travelled a long way before stopping at an inn in Shinatsu. "Isn't this city where you were born, Jacky?" Violet asked. "Yeah, I was born in Shinatsu. I had a decent life, I suppose, but I was also orphaned while I was still young."
"Oh, I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories." Jacky smiled gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It's fine, Violet, I'm over it." Ragna and Noel looked at the happy couple and sighed. "Well, at least they're happy," Noel said. "And at least they won't bother me too much," Ragna added.
Noel slowly inched her hand towards Ragna's and locked her fingers around his. He looked down at her. "What are you doing Noel?"
Noel blushed and quickly released her fragile grip on Ragna's hand. "I was just wondering if we could go to this nice café I know," she muttered. "Why do you want to do that?"
She looked up at him. "B-because, I-!" Her sentence was interrupted by an explosion. A burst of fire blew up the center of the street, just as Jacky and Violet were crossing. Noel and Ragna were just about to run to see if their friends were alright, but Ignis jumped from the roof of a nearby building and landed in front of them, blocking them.
Ragna drew Blood Scythe while Noel summoned up Bolverk. Relius Clover appeared from one of the stores as Ignis did battle with the two. "A little too showy, Lieutenant," he called out to Scarlet. She stood on the opposite side of the inferno, her scythe still gripped tightly within her hands. Before she could assume it was safe, the fire flew up into the air, revealing Jacky and Violet to be unscathed by the fire. The fire from Scarlet's attack dove down and impacted the Drakos' blade, being absorbed almost instantly.
"I assume that you're Violet's sister then?" He called out. Scarlet didn't speak, only responding with a furious glare. "I'll take that as a yes." He stepped forward, but Violet grabbed his shoulder. "Wait, don't-!" She began. "I'll only use the Drakos to block her scythe. I can't promise that I won't beat her into the dirt, though." They both advanced on each other, swinging their respective weapons. Scarlet's scythe to kill, Jacky's sword to defend. Jacky managed to completely stop her assault with only one hand wielding Drakos. He immediately swung his fist and connected it with her gut. Scarlet felt the wind get knocked out of her before jumping back.
"I guess the bounty they put on your head isn't for show then," Scarlet growled, "You are quite a skilled criminal."
"In the eyes of the NOL, I AM a criminal. However, what about your sister? You didn't even hold back for your sister's sake. If I weren't with her, you could have killed her. Then again, that's what happens when a corrupt government like the NOL forces you to hunt down and kill your family, am I right?" Scarlet growled and charged forward, swinging her scythe at him again, but he ducked under the blade and kicked her legs, tripping her.
"Shut up, you damn Beastkin. You think I don't realize this? You think I like killing my sister?" She said as she got back up. "I want more than anything to protect my family, but I can't do that by going against the largest organization in the world!"
"So you're just going to give in and do whatever they tell you to? I can't believe you. I won't believe you until you get your shit together and start thinking for yourself and doing what you think you should do. And if it means getting help, then you shouldn't hesitate." Again, she tried to swing her scythe at him, but he dodged the blade and kicked her back down to the ground. "If you think that there's a chance to save everyone you love, not just a few of them, you should take that chance and do your best to achieve your goals. Otherwise, you're dead to the world."
He stepped on her back and pushed her back down before she could get back up. "Now, I have two suggestions for you. Either you leave my sight and hope to god I never see you again or you can stop whining and start thinking for yourself and standing up for yourself. You're not some kid anymore. You're too old to be following every little instruction, you know." Jacky took his foot off of Scarlet's back before he heard Ragna call out, "Look out!" He managed to dodge Ignis's claws just in time and swung Drakos at her extended arm, effectively dismembering the mechanical limb before the doll could retract it.
"Well, I can't believe you actually managed to damage Ignis," Relius stated as he stepped forward. "I suppose I'll need to do extensive repairs when I get back. Off topic, though, I expected more from Lieutenant Trove. She uses explosives, but she uses them effectively. However, that proved to be ineffective against you. You saw the explosive being lobbed at you, and so you put up a protective wall utilizing Ars Magus, with the addition of your own power to ensure no fire was unaccounted for. I must admit, I'm impressed. But enough of that, I must return to the Imperator's side and report what I've learned from this. Ignis, pick up Lieutenant Trove and let's be on our way." Jacky charged Ignis with Drakos in hand. "You're not leaving with her." Before Jacky could grab Scarlet, Ignis slammed its remaining arm into the side of his face and flung him into a convenient store.
Ignis picked up Scarlet with its remaining arm and retreated with Relius. "Damn it," Jacky groaned as he got up, ignoring the pain. He attempted to follow them, but Violet grabbed his arm. "We don't need to follow them."
"What are you talking about?"

I had her attach a tracker to Relius.

"Kokonoe?"

You did a good job distracting Ignis and Relius, Jacky. It gave Violet the opportunity to concentrate and use magic to transport a tracking device onto Relius. Why do you think she didn't help you fight at any moment?

"Alright, we've got the means to find them, thanks for the explanation, Kokonoe."

No trouble at all. Besides, I've been trying to find his base of operations for a while now.

"Now what?" Ragna asked. "Yeah, what about my sister, Professor?" Violet added.

You're going to have to wait a while before you can do anything for her, Violet. We can't afford to make any rash decisions.

"That's bullshit," Jacky yelled, "We can't just leave her sister in the hands of the NOL!" He could hear Kokonoe sigh.

I know you're all worried, but…wait, what the hell?

"What is it Kokonoe?"

The tracking device has stopped travelling. I've got a very bad feeling about this. Forget waiting. I need you all to go to the tracker's location and find Relius.

"Now that's more like it," Jacky said. Violet grabbed Jacky's arm and had Ragna and Noel grab her other hand. She pictured the tracking device and teleported. When they were finished teleporting, they could all see a small mechanical device on the ground. Ragna picked it up. "Is this the tracking device?" He asked.
"Yeah, that's the one. I guess Relius knew it was there," Violet replied. "Damn it! What do we do now?"

I guess we wait…

"To hell with that," Violet screamed. She pictured Scarlet in her mind and teleported. "Wait, Violet!" When Violet materialized, she was indeed by Scarlet's side, but she was suddenly paralyzed. She fell to the floor and Scarlet rushed to her side. "I knew you'd come for her. That's why we set up this magic barrier," Terumi said, kneeling down next to Violet. "Well, Lieutenant Trove, it's time to do your duties. Kill your sister and finish your assignment."
Scarlet reached for her scythe, but the moment her hand touched the pole, she refused to grab it. "What's wrong, Lieutenant? Just pick it up and slit her throat with it." She still remained unresponsive to his command. Terumi growled, "What? Do you need help?" He kicked Scarlet in the side of her face and knocked her down. He drew his butterfly knife and prepared to kill Violet, but he felt a hand grab his shoulder. "Hold on, Terumi," Relius said.
"What now?"
"This girl was trained in the art of magic by Kokonoe. The professor is not likely to allow a valuable pawn to die. It is my belief that she will be more useful to us alive rather than dead," he responded, "The group that she was accompanied by care for her, so I doubt that they would want to see her dead either. Most likely, they will probably attempt to rescue her if the possibility exists, and it does. If we let them come to us, we can take care of a group of very unwanted obstacles." Terumi groaned and got back on his feet. "Alright, fine, I'll along with this for now, but if I have to wait too long, I'll get anxious."
"No need to worry, Terumi, we shall send them an invitation that I am certain they'll accept." Relius ordered Phantom to let the magic barrier weaken a little.
Kokonoe picked up on the signal and called out to everyone. Jacky and the others prepared themselves and headed out. All the while, Rachel sat back and observed them.
"The climax is fast approaching and so shall the end follow."

Post-chapter Author's Note:
That's right everyone, the end of the story is coming soon. I'd say about three to six chapter left. Anyways, I don't really have anything to say for this Author's note, so I guess I'll just sign off. Reviews are always appreciated.

Reploid7,

Signing off!