-Chapter 8, The voice
Sam walked into her kitchen, gesturing for her guest to take a seat at the small breakfast table in the corner. The girl gladly obliged and made herself comfortable in the modest apartment. "Tea?" Sam asked.
The guest politely refused, "No, thank you. Don't let me stop you, though."
"Oh, sure," came a surprised reply. In fact, Sam didn't even really like tea that much, she had just been trying to be courteous. Subtly, she switched to making a pot of coffee. "So, do you have a name?"
"Mio. Mio Takamiya," the girl answered.
"Mio?" Sam stopped and cocked her hip out in thought. "Like, thirtieth?"
Mio nodded. "Mm-hm. Why do you ask?"
Sam shook her head, smiling. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that I've got a friend who'd get on well with you." She chuckled to herself.
Mio allowed herself to let out a quiet chuckle, too. "I think I understand."
Sam sat down at the table, facing her guest, then studied Mio more closely. Her hair was long, an almost-white shade of light blue, and flowed down to the seat of the chair, framing her soft blue eyes and confident, bubbly expression. She wore a zipped hoodie, left undone, over a frilly, light-coloured T-shirt, and a pair of loose-fitting shorts. Sam wasn't sure where to start. "So, umm, what can I do for you? Showing up at my door was kind of a shock, if I'm being honest."
To this, Mio just poked out her tongue. "Actually, I think we can both do something for each other."
"Excuse me?" Sam queried.
"Tell me, how confident are you on the topic of Spirits?"
Sam's stomach dropped, and found herself repeating her earlier question, "Excuse me?"
Unfazed, Mio repeated, "I said, how confident are you on the topic of Spirits?"
Cautiously, Sam replied, "Pretty confident, I suppose." Her eyes looked suspiciously at the girl.
"There's no reason to freak out, I promise. The sooner you get used to more people – and I mean a lot more – knowing about the Spirits, the better," Mio assured, holding her palms up to show she was harmless.
After a moment's hesitation, Sam conceded and relaxed, letting her muscles ease up. "How do you know about them?" she asked.
"Well, that's pretty easy. I am one, after all," Mio replied. The face she got back from Sam made her acutely smug, but well-meaning.
"You-" Sam cut herself off with her own sudden recognition. "That voice… You're the one who helped me save Tohka, aren't you?"
"Yup, yup! But, I did tell you not to thank me," Mio reminded.
Obviously, Sam remembered. Those words still echoed in her ears like the ring of a bell. "Why, though? Why shouldn't I thank you?"
"You'll find out, eventually." Mio was unwilling to speak any more about saving Tohka.
Frustrated, Sam made a face, but did reluctantly let the topic go, only to replace it with another important question she had: "If you're a Spirit, then how come you're just out and about? A-and why did you come here, for that matter?"
"Ah, now that's a doozy!" Mio stood up and, with a snap of her fingers, dispersed Sam's kitchen into a million pieces, only to be replaced by an endless expanse of shadow.
Sam bolted onto her feet, her chair falling away from her and into the void below. It took her a second of panicking before she realised she could stand perfectly normally, despite the absence of a floor. "What the hell?!" she cried.
Mio looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, that was needless of me. I could of just told you."
"T-told me what?" Sam stammered.
Mio flaunted towards the endless expanse around them. "We're in your head, Sam. It's just you and I in here."
Sam snorted. "It's pretty empty." Then, she slapped her forehead. "What the hell am I talking about? You just said we were in my head!"
"This is correct. I only exist within your mind and your heart," Mio explained, her tone much calmer. "I have no physical form."
Sam took a deep breath and held her hand out to shush the girl. "I hope you know, you're dumping a who-o-ole lotta stuff on me, right now."
The Spirit's face brightened. "Yes, I do know, and I am sorry for that. I just figured that I might need to make an appearance after helping you and your friend." Mio noticed the confused look on Sam's face. "What, you thought that Nat boy helped you all on your own?"
"Being helped by a Spirit who only exists in my head wasn't my first guess, no," Sam replied, drily.
The girl laughed at that. "You've got quite the dry sense of humour, you know that?"
Sam nodded, waiting for the Spirit to explain.
"Yes, I helped your friend. For obvious reasons, I couldn't exactly let you die." Mio held her arms up to her sides, balled her fists, then drew inwards. The outcrop formed around them, complete with the sunset Sam remembered.
As an aside, Sam asked, "When do I learn how to do that?"
"I'll teach you...probably." Takamiya walked over to the edge and looked out over the railing in a similar manner to how Tohka had before. Sam sidled up next to the supposed Spirit.
"I'm curious, what does that mean for me?" Sam asked, gazing off into the twilight's far distance.
"How so?" Mio turned around and leant her back against the railings, arms crossed and looking over at the melancholy girl.
"I'm going to go off on a whim here, but I'm assuming not everyone has a Spirit inside them? So why me? Why am I special?"
For once, Mio had no answer. "I actually don't know. I didn't come here by choice, either. It kind of just...happened." She frowned.
Sam closed her eyes and dropped her head. "Well, as long as you keep getting us out of dire situations, I guess you can hang around inside my head for a while."
"Hah, thanks. I appreciate it."
The two went quiet for a little bit, both soaking up the spring breeze. It was an alarmingly accurate recreation of the setting on that day, and, fortunately, minus the body. That reminded Sam, there was more she wanted to ask. "How did you help Nat? Are you in his head, too?"
"No, but you've already seen the process before. I don't have to spell everything out, do I?" Mio hinted.
Sam gave Mio a dirty look, before combing over all she could remember about the Spirits and their powers. Transferring power? Was that a thing? "Oh! Tohka and Shido! If you've been here for at least a month, then when me and Nat kissed…"
"Bingo!" Mio gave a short round of applause. "Reiryoku, or Spirit Mana, depending on who you ask, works primarily on emotion, the strongest of which being love and anger."
"So, I reverse-sealed Nat?" Sam asked, perplexed.
"It's a bit more complex than that."
Sam frowned again, but it seemed Mio was unwilling to expand upon how it was more 'complex', so she stuck to that idea.
Hinata couldn't stop his leg from bouncing as he waited for the news from Kotori. Beyond the door to his right was the Fraxinus' medbay, and beyond that lay Sam, hooked up to a number of various medical devices. The door opened with a soft swish, followed by Kotori and Reine. Nat shot up. "How is she?"
Reine answered first, "She'll be okay."
"Yeah, that girl's a fighter. She'll be out for a week, though. Maybe longer," Kotori added, before offering to let the boy in. Anxiously, Nat entered the room, then rushed over to Sam's side as he saw her lying beneath a thick blanket.
He squeezed her hand. It was ice cold. "Are you sure she's gonna be alright?" he pressed, a chill dancing up his fingertips.
"I promise," Kotori reassured. "She said it herself, after all."
Nat recalled that scream. The sheer determination she had shown almost knocked him flat. Still…
"Come on, we've done everything we can for her, now. Let's go," the girl prompted, lifting Nat back onto his feet. "There's a few things you and I need to clear up too, you know." Kotori made to leave.
Before doing the same, Nat leant over and planted a kiss on Sam's forehead, once more feeling a tingling sensation from her icy skin. "You better come back to us, Sam." He closed his eyes and sighed, then followed Kotori back outside, sparing one more glance back before the doors slid shut.
Sam cracked her knuckles and hopped on the spot, rolling her head and shoulders and loosening herself up. Around them was Mio's best recreation of the Fraxinus' training hall, complete with a high ceiling, open space, and smattering of cover. "How's that?" Mio asked.
"That's pretty close!" Sam looked around at the new scenery, combing over the finer details, then nodding appreciatively at the accuracy. "Still, you definitely need to teach me how to do that."
"In due time, I will, but it's a little complicated." Mio focused once more, bringing her attention to Sam's body, and drawing on the image of her armour in her mind. With a satisfying pop of displaced air, it appeared, cladding Sam's body.
"Woah!" Sam turned her arms and hands over, inspecting her suit. "You're really good at this!" she cheered, flexing her fingers.
"I've had a lot of practice, being all cooped up in here for a year."
"A year?"
"Yup. Had the whole place to myself until you decided to go ahead and get shot." Making a cheeky face, Mio closed one eye and stuck her tongue out.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm surprised I'm even still alive." Sam scratched her head, thinking, before shaking the thought away. "Either way, I'm here. And, while we're stuck in my head, I could always get a bit more training in."
"Yes, yes. I'd be glad to help, but, don't think it's gonna be easy." Mio chuckled, then clenched her fists.
Sam cocked her head. "No Angel or Spirit Armour?"
"No, I won't need it."
Sam made a face. "Awfully confident," she whispered, eyeing up the Spirit as she made herself ready. The ArchAngel array on Sam's back stretched out, overlapping metal unfolding like a bird's wings. "Ready when you are."
"Likewise, Samanya. Likewise." Mio smiled, then charged.
A shockwave rippled throughout the hall; a testament to the speed on display. Sam had her arms up just barely in time to meet Mio's flying kick. It staggered Sam, sending her pacing back, before an impact from behind sent her tumbling forwards. She tucked and rolled, pushing down with her hands to flip back onto her feet. Mio, however, wasn't going to give Sam any time to rest, and was upon her again in the blink of an eye. A flurry of punches and kicks followed, stressing Sam's guard. She grunted under the rapid-fire hits, unable to find an opening in the Spirit's relentless assault.
Sam gritted her teeth and let loose a round from her gauss cannon, forcing Mio away. Dashing in, Sam followed-up with a fast uppercut that grazed Mio's cheek, then a left straight that went sailing past. Sam grimaced as Mio sidestepped and brought her elbow down into Sam's back. A crack rung out as she bounced off the ground, then another crack as Mio brought her knee up into Sam's ribcage. After being tossed twenty feet, Sam hastily stood up, her legs shaking from the sudden damage. Mio, once more, chased Sam down, unleashing an avalanche of energy as she came.
Sam's guard came up once more, shields sparking under the assault, her eyes clamped shut. "Jesus Christ! I can't take much more of this!" Sam bore the forefront of Mio's attacks with all the defence she could manage, but she could feel her foot slipping. It edged back. She'd be off balance soon. Baring her teeth, the missile pods on her back opened up, and let loose a swarm of tiny warheads. They detonated around the two, throwing up a cloud of smoke and fire in an instant. It was like the hall itself belched forth the spire of flame that stretched up toward the ceiling, shrouding the two with searing heat. Blinded, Sam thrust her head forward, clashing her forehead against Mio's. Dazed, the Spirit stepped back, then caught Sam's gut punch. It lingered in her torso and forced her to double-over, leaving her in a prime position to take Sam's rocket powered kick to the chin. She staggered back, blood following the same arc as her head. But, Sam also wasn't about to give Mio a moment to rest, and came out of the smokescreen swinging.
Crack!
A hook to the temple.
Bang!
A shot to the face.
Thwack!
An arching kick to the arm that sent the Spirit flying.
Mio crashed into the wall, leaving a crater in the reinforced steel, then flopped to the ground. Sam looked on, drawing in heavy, broken breaths, her wings clipped from the explosions. Mio managed to tilt her head up from off the floor, and through squinting eyes, saw Sam's body sag. Had that final burst really done her in? Mio rose, putting one foot under her before collapsing to her knees. She tried again, this time getting a little higher before falling back.
"D-don't get up... Please..." Sam pleaded.
One last time, inching her left foot under her, Mio started to rise. She was shaky, and her favourite clothes were all torn up, but little by little, she clambered onto her feet. Now with one foot under her, she pushed against her knee, and slid her right foot into place. It buckled, but stayed firm, and dutifully supported her weight. Her right arm sagged uselessly, so she clenched her left hand into a fist instead. "Heh…" Mio took a long breath, almost slipping in the process, as she regained her strength. "I'm up…"
Sam narrowed her eyes, and with a grunt of effort, moved to attack the Spirit. To her horror, she didn't budge. Her suit was too damaged, and the servos in her legs refused to respond. Wings clipped and legs frozen, she couldn't move, and was trapped in her suit. All she could do now was hope that she didn't tip over and risk being crushed under its weight. She quickly took stock of her remaining ammunition. "Twelve missiles, ten rounds but the cannon is busted. I've still got the two rotary cannons under my arms, but they're so bulky… And my plasma lances, which suck when I'm trying to conserve power." Sam sighed. "Basically nothing, then."
Mio limped toward Sam, a spear of light flickering above her hand.
Sam spun up the rotary cannons, a soft whir echoing about the room.
They drew near, and faced each other, what little offence they could each conjure up pointed at the other's throat.
"Back down, Sam. You lost," Mio advised, knowing full well the state the girl was in.
"Nuh-uh. As long as I'm still breathing, I'm not out. I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Sam steeled her resolve, but couldn't stop herself glancing down at her legs. She hoped the visor would hide her hesitation.
Mio sighed and shook her head. "Don't blame me for what comes next." She slung the spear at Sam, sending a cascade of energy over her. The armour took the brunt of the impact, but it wouldn't last, and Mio had many more coming. One after another, she slung those same spears, sending each one shattering against Sam's body. They twisted through the air, sending dazzling light in a thousand directions, before bursting with pure colour as they impacted, each exploding with sparks of pain. With each throw, Mio's grip slipped. How long was she gonna take this? It's just training! "Rargh!" Mio pitched back, preparing one last spear to end it off. She brought it high behind her, pointed straight at Sam.
Cracked, Sam's visor slid off her face and shattered against the ground. Behind it, were two hollow, sunken eyes. Mio paused and stared at those eyes. Sam's legs shook. Her arms dangled by her sides.
Yet, she stood. She stayed standing.
Mio's eyes widened. "Wh-what are you doing?! She's still standing because of you! That's your courage!" The sudden realisation sent a sparkling feeling up her arm, and she struck out, embedding the spear in the ground beside Sam's broken form. Mio rushed forward and held Sam in her arms, nuzzling her head into Sam's cheek. "I-I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"
Sam managed to part her lips, but her voice was dry and raspy. "Wh...what do you...mean?"
Mio held her tightly. All this had proven one thing to her:
"Every time you destroy yourself for others, it's my fault…"
"H-huh?" Sam gasped.
Mio closed her eyes. "Nothing…"