Hello everyone! Last time, we witnessed the aftermath of the heroes and villains reeling from their first battle, with Es about to recount her dreadful battle with Unomaru while the Mad Scientist himself explains his ties with Mei in an effort to win Wendy over to his side.
How will this all unfold? Especially with Yuki overhearing Es' recollection and Wendy deciding whether to assist Unomaru or stand alone...
We'll see it all unfold now...
The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]
It was now 9:00 PM when Unomaru finished telling Wendy what he told Haruki along with explaining his ties with Mei. While they were working on a project to usher in an age of peace for mankind, something went wrong, killing nearly 300 people in Wadatsumi, supposedly including the culpret Ryoko Kagari and Mei's mother, Sui. While Mei's father was recovered, he was put on life support with Unomaru funding it while asking for Mei's help. Eventually, Mei ultimately turned against Unomaru and just when he was murdered by Sechs of the Ten Sages, his project was destroyed with Mei taking his position as Sleipnir's Commander in the Mitsurugi Agency. Needless to say, Wendy was still unconvinced...
"Does that clear up things now?" Unomaru asked both Wendy and Haruki on the subject at hand, hoping it convinced them on who the real heroes are.
"What happened to that girl's, Mei's old man? Without you to support his medical bills I mean?" Haruki asked the Metal Scientist in regards to what happened to Mei's father if he was paying for it.
"Well, when she betrayed me, I called the hospital to take off his life support..." Unomaru began to explain until...
"What?! Man, isn't that a bit much?!" Haruki replied in disgust that Unomaru would do that to Mei, even if she was in the wrong for betraying him from hiw the thief sees it.
"Let me finish. I was until I found out that Mei took off her father's life support herself!" Unomaru continued as Haruki was even dumbfounded than ever.
"She... killed her father...?" Haruki asked in disbelief that Mei would willfully turn off her father's life support. What if he could have recovered? Was she really that heartless? Just as he was thinking about it, Wendy stood up with an annoyed expression...
"Are you saying that's the truth? Because that contrasts heavily with what I saw up there!" Wendy said in an angry tone to Unomaru as he held his ground. Just because he had no weapons and fighting skills doesn't mean he's going to back down from the Wind Mage.
"What's to lie about?! She killed her own father of her own accord before trying to stop my efforts to save mankind from themselves!" Unomaru argued back as his eyes glowed an intense glow to frighten Wendy into submission, witch only served to aggravate the Wind Mage further as she glarred daggers into Unomaru's "eyes".
"Sounds to me like she ended her father's suffering and you were JUST using him as leverage to get the Shrine Maiden to do your dirty work and to satisfy your sick little desires!" Wendy fired back at the scientist as Haruki watched the back and forth, not knowing what to think of the situation. Unomaru freed him and reassured him they're the good guys, yet Wendy is making things harder for him to think of the situation.
"You dare assume me a manipulating sociopath?! She's the one who stole my organization and is using it for her own selfish goals, not to mention that Embryo Storage was PERSONALLY responsible for destroying the one thing to lead mankind into a new era of peace! THEY ARE ALL EVIL!" Unomaru raised his voice against Wendy until a sudden gust of wind pushed him back into the wall, earning a look of surprise from the thief.
"Wendy, chill lady! What's he got to lie to us about?!" Haruki questioned the Wind Mage as she's acting out of line in his eyes while defending Unomaru.
"I think he's only telling us what we want to hear! What's this "project" he's talking about? He's being awfully vague about all of this and he's trying to tell us that the Shrine Maiden would kill her own father for the hell of it? No! She! Wasn't! SHE WAS CRYING! She even spoke about how Unomaru is a complete monster while calling out for her parents before she passed out!" Wendy yelled back at Haruki as the thief shrinked back a bit at the Wind Mage's hostility as Unomaru pulled himself out of the wall.
'This is bad, at this rate, I'll lose my only mage ally because she doesn't understand the real truth here!' Unomaru thought to himself as he truly believed he's in the right in addition to the fact thay if Wendy leaves, he can't do anything to stop her as without any weapons or combat data, he can't keep her from leaving.
"I bet you're only just helping him because he broke you out of prison! Yeah, it's true your a thief, but at least you have a conscience! I bet he doesn't even have one, let alone a heart!" Wendy said and with a huff with a tip of her hat began to head toward the entrance and needless to say, Unomaru didn't like this one bit.
"Where are you going?! You do realize that I won't protect you from Mei if you step out that door, right?! You'll be hunted down by the Magic Guild and that Shrine Maiden's tools!" Unomaru yelled, hoping that bringing this up will make Wendy stay but what she said next was not what he expected...
"I'm aware of the consequences of my actions and I'm willing to live with them. I will get revenge on the Shrine Madison and Kuon for Acht's death, but for now I intend to seek the real truth instead of dancing in your palm! YOU MISANTHROPIC, HEARTLESS, SOCIOPATHIC ASSHOLE!" Wendy argured back before yelling out one last insult before leaving the secret lab, slamming the metal door on the way out, causing a loud noise along with some items shaking and falling. After that had passed, a moment of silence filled the room as Haruki stared in shock and even though Unomaru currently doesn't have a mouth, it would have fell open at what just happened as when he makes valid points, they usually stutter. First Es and Touya are no longer susceptible to his words and NOW Wendy?
"What now man? I don't think she's coming back..." Haruki asked Unomaru in regards to what there next move is. Needless to say, Unomaru placed a hand to his robotic "face".
"This comprises things. If Wendy decides to seek out the Mitsurugi Agency, they could be lead back here. Not to mention that Diablo still needs to fully thaw out before we resuscitate him." Unomaru explained about how Wendy leaving puts the whole mission in jeopardy while staring at the Strange Red Union's cryogenic capsule.
"We must gather what we can, including Diablo. Then we destory everything here and move to the second secret lab I made in advance." Unomaru said solemnly as he began to unplug Diablo's capsule and the blanketed spare body he's working on. If there's a benifect to being a robot, it's having limitless tireless strengthcalong with no chance of throwing out his back.
"What can I do, man?" Haruki asked Unomaru as he got up, still believing what the Mad Scientist had told him.
"Grab the harddrive on my computer along with my tools. Once you do that, break everything in here. We can't risk the enemy getting my data." Unomaru said as he and Haruki began their plans to leave this laboratory behind them in an effort to continue thier masterplan.
The Wharf
It was 9:10 PM as Wendy left Unomaru and Haruki behind, but she didn't go very far as she just went to the far end of the Wharf to ponder about what to do next and currently, for the first time in her life, she's at a loss of what to do.
'What... can I do? Should... should I really kill Kuon and the Shrine Maiden? Just to make myself feel better?' Wendy thought to herself as she once recalled from an old saying about how revenge won't make her happy, but Acht was like a sister to her. Yet, Kuon and Elise were also like sisters to her, yet Kuon had a hand in Acht's death. Thinking about how violent she has become, Wendy began to shed some tears...
'Acht... my friend... did you resent them as you died...? Would you want this of me... sis...?' Wendy thought in regards of her friend, clearing wanting to know what should she do.
While shuffling through her thoughts, a pair of shoes make a landing sound behind her, prompting her to immediately turn around with her staff to see a hooded man before her...
"Is that how you treat someone you hired?" Avenge said with his usual scowl at the Wind Mage.
"Avenge?!" Wendy replied, recalling that she saw him fighting Unomaru. If he's here, does that he mean he came for him or for her? Considering that Kuon and Mei are with him, it makes sense.
"Did you come to kill me?" Wendy asked the Bounty Hunter in regards to herself. Just because she's emotionally exhausted, it doesn't mean she's tired herself as she has plenty of Stamina to spare and she will defend herself.
"I make it a point to only hunt Unions and anything "Non-Human" with rare exceptions. However, you will tell me where that so called "Scientist" is." Avenge asked the Wind Mage as she just stood there, wondering what to say or do. Granted, she called off her ties with Unomaru, but should she tell him?
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay] (10 Minutes ago)
It was around 9:00 PM when Es finished recounted EVERYTHING about the battle with Unomaru, from witnessing Mei's anger filled strike on Unomaru, to being nearly choked to death, to Touya being shot down and then, much to the surprise of Mei, Kuon and Elise, somehow activated her Phantom Memory Grimoire within her left eye before suppressing her emotions to be like her old unfeeling self to tear apart and destroy Unomaru completely with no hesitation until Touya snapped her out of it. Ultimately, Es was ashamed that she regressed back to her old emotionless self just to avoid the pain of her dearest friend being mortally wounded and to make Unomaru suffer as much as she could. This brought the Azure Maiden nothing but pain and self-hatred as she started to cry again.
While Es was explaining this, Yuki overheard it all without revealing herself as she thought about everything over in her own mind. There were many times when she didn't want her little brother out there fighting with the possibility of never coming back home alive, but she ultimately chose to trust in him to do what is needed to keep the city safe and would worry about crossing that bridge if the worst occurred. Regardless, what happened tonight hasn't changed her resolve and belief one bit as it wouldn't be fair to him, Es or Mei if she suddenly became overprotective with them and restricted how they lived their lives. However, at this moment in time, Yuki now understands that Es is a LOT more vulnerable than she was willing to admit. Yuki knew the Azure Maiden cared for everyone present, including Touya, so seeing this happen in front of her eyes must have hurt her. Not physically, but in her mind and her heart. Yuki knew it all too well as that was the same pain she suffered when Ripper murdered her parents...
"I'm... I'm... so sorry..." Es said as she broke down in tears in shame at herself as she was running away from her problems to avoid dealing with the grief she felt. Even Mei was surprised to hear that Es would do that to herself, doing the exact opposite of what she did as the Shrine Maiden allowed her own pain to consume her entire being while Es drowned it out by numbing herself, all because of this one man who never showed them any form of human decency while he was alive.
"Es... you don't need to apologize. If anything, it was my fault for letting my guard down and making you go through that..." Touya replied as he tried to reassure the Azure Maiden. He wasn't angry as Es' emotional suppression, he was worried and afraid that she wouldn't come back from what she was doing. Plus, he was right that he shouldn't have lowered his guard just because their enemy was motionless for a moment.
"B-but...!" Es cried back as more tears came down her face when she turned to face her beloved. To Mei and Kuon, seeing the Azure Maiden break down like this was unheard of and it deeply saddened them to see how hard Es fell from the events tonight.
"Es... while it's true suppressing your emotions wasn't good, your reaction at what happened is valid. I can't stand it when any of you guys get hurt, but that's why we can let our emotions run wild or run away from them. We have to take the bad with the good and not let our judgement get clouded." Kuon told Es as she hopes the Azure Maiden will remember so that this won't happen to her again. As Mei heard this, she knew Kuon was also referring to her as well and truth be told, the Shrine Maiden knew the Fire Empress was right and knew she can't lose control of her emotions like that again.
"Y-you're right Kuon..." Mei let out in agreement, with the Fire Empress smiling softly. With this, Mei turned her face toward Es.
"Es, it's true that my behavior was unacceptable tonight, but that's why I have to be better than I am now. The same goes for you as well too, Es. That's why we must take this to heart if we want to stop him..." Mei replied as she reaffirmed herself. She knows that she can't let herself lose it again or Unomaru would forever have a grip on her mind and heart in addition to letting Es know that she can't become the machine that Unomaru believes she is.
"Kuon... Mei..." Es let out in surprise as Kuon gave sound advice with Mei agreeing with it. Es understood that is she gave up her emotions to focus on the task, she will prove Unomaru right by becoming nothing more than an unfeeling tool. With that, Es nodded in agreement with Kuon and Mei as they returned it with a nod of their own.
"Es... I promise you this now. We WILL stop Unomaru and make sure he NEVER hurts anyone close to us ever again. We'll make him face the crimes he's done to you, Mei and everyone else." Touya said with a determined expression to the Azure Maiden, hoping this will at least bring solcae and resolution to Es' wounded heart. With that, Es wiped her eyes and faced her beloved.
"And I promise this to you, that we will all get through this alive like before. We will apprehend him for everyone's happiness and future. To give us all a new start like before..." Es replied with a new promise of her own. A promise she intends to keep like she and Touya did before. Hearing this earned Touya a smile, which allowed Es to finally return a smile of her own for the first time tonight. Even Mei smiled a little herself as a burden was lifted from her shoulders...
"I think that's something all of us can get behind." Elise replied in agreement to hearing the promises the two gave to each other. A true bond indeed!
"We'll stay by your side tonight guys. Just know that you don't need to apologize and that we aren't angry with you or Es, Mei." Kuon continued, reassuring that what happened tonight doesn't change things between them and once again, the bond between them has grown stronger than ever. A bond that not even Unomaru can break, a bond of trust and forgiveness.
"Thank you... everyone..." Mei thanked everyone as she wiped a small tear from her eye.
"Same here. Thank you for supporting us..." Es followed up with her own thanks as she allowed one more tear to fall, this time out of gratitude.
As Yuki overheard this, she smiled softly to herself as a single tear escaped her eye. Worried as she gets about everyone, she knew that she will always be there to patch up any wounds they have and give them her full support. While she was concerned about Mei's volatile outburst and Es suppressing her emotions, she understood that to 'Err is Human' and that she can't bring herself to be angry with them. With that, she began to head to where Hinata, Akira, Kiri and Ringo are spending the night to check on them before coming back.
'Touya, Es, Mei... all three of you have grown up so much. I'm so proud of you all...' Yuki thought to in regards to her brother and the two girls who have become sisters to her as tears went down her face for their muture resolution, fully intending to tell them this herself. The fact that mere children showed great capacity for growth like this is inspiring and she knew that they'll be great adults one day.
The Wharf
It was 9:15 PM as Wendy stood face to face with Avenge, the same Bounty Hunter she hired to track down Unomaru so she can meet with the strange robot that she just walked out on moments ago. She figured telling Avenge about Unomaru would be good payback against the so called "man" for hiding the real truth from her and yet...
"If it's Unomaru you want, he's hiding in a silver metal crate that leads to a secret lab in the Wharf. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they left the place by now with what they need." Wendy responded truthfully to the Bounty Hunter, who looked at her with a surprised expression for a brief moment at the idea that Wnedy would just tell him straight up before regaining his composer, figuring this was too easy.
"You want me to believe that? Considering that you left me in the dark after making contact with Unomaru along with the fact that you didn't tell me that you were connected with those other Ishana Mages?" Avenge replied to the Wind Mage in regards to the fact that she neglected to contact him on the matter.
"Yeah, here's the thing. It's true I hired you to track him down, but he found me two days after I contacted you for the Job. When he told me who killed Acht and how I can get revenge, I couldn't resist the chance to do so. Souichiro told me to destory the ferry boat that leads to Shin Yokosaki from Ishana to prevent any mages from coming here, but I made sure the boat captain was off before I sunk it..." Wendy explained herself as the Bounty Hunter listened, contemplating if the Wind Mage is to be trusted.
"I was caught up in the whole thing that I forgot to call you that I found him and needless to say, you shouldn't waste your time with that scumbag. But if it means anything, I apologize for neglecting to let you know..." Wendy replied, hiding her anger filled eyes underneath her hat as she recalled how Unomaru's words were laced like honey, drawing Wendy in with his playful voice and charisma.
"Why tell me all of this? I thought your goals alinged with his methods..." Avenge questioned Wendy as she was just helping him, only to suddenly turn on him? It made no sense to him, especially considering that she could have led him into a trap.
"Don't get me wrong... I still intend to make the Shrine Maiden pay for what she did to my friend, but I would rather know the truth than be left in the dark. I hate that bitch, but I'd rather do it honestly!" Wendy replied as she revealed her grudge was still in motion, but Avenge can confirm that Wendy has no intention of staying with Unomaru, prompting the Bounty Hunter to ease up with her. With that, Wendy turned her back to him as she prepared to leave...
"Tell them that once I find out the truth, I will come for them! Whether their blood will be spilled or not, depends on what I find out. One last thing though... I don't know where it is, but Unomaru has a second secret lab that he is likely heading towards right now along with two other people, a thief named Haruki Kiyama and a Strange Red Union..." Wendy explained to Avenge while recalling what few details Unomaru told her in advance before they went to the Restricted Ward. However, hearing the term "Strange Red" set off an alarm in Avenge.
"Strange Red?! How is that possible?!" Avenge replied in shock, recalling that there are three Strange Red Unions, with Ripper A.K.A. Freaks being one of them. With that degenerate Serial Killer dead, who would join Unomaru?
"He's currently being thawed out from cryo stasis if that's the answer you want. All I know is that he's called Diablo and his Drive is called Giga Blade. You better watch yourself... see you around..." Wendy repled as she used her wind magic to fly away to a different part of the City. While Avenge could have chased her, he knew he'd be wasting his time while noting that while he can still catch up to Unomaru and cut him off with the element of surprise, it would be difficult to track him in a crowded area like this. With that, he decided to take what he obtained with a grain of salt and head back to Mitsurugi HQ to notify Mei on the matter.
'Diablo... Giga Blade... where have I heard that before?' Avenge thought to himself as he began making his way back. As for his "Client", he'll worry about her later, but for the time being, he knows thay Wendy no longer trusts the mad scientist, as she should...
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay]
It was around 9:40 PM, 30 minutes after the deep conversation and resolution everyone had, with Es, Touya, and Mei having fallen alseep soundly with Kuon and Elise sleeping on two of the empty beds in upright sitting positions to keep watch over them in case Unomaru or Wendy came back to attack them. The door creeked slightly as Yuki snuck in into the room, the light now having turned off save for some dim lighting, without waking anyone up as she walked over to an unoccupied bed before sitting down and observing everyone to check on them, wondering how she's going to speak with them about what she heard tonight. After all, thinking about how the conversation would go is much easier than actually speaking about it. Not to mention that while Mei would be able to attend school tomorrow as she had very little injuries once again, Touya and Es are a different story. Es hasn't received any major injuries outside of her bruised throat and even than, it's healed quickly thankfully, so she may be able to attend tomorrow depending on how she feels. Touya might be difficult however as while his wound is a tiny shot, it's still a wound that needs to heal, so he may need to stay from school for a day or two before he can get out of bed, but he might be able to return to the Himezuru Residence safely with some help tomorrow morning. With that, her phone rumbled as she set it on vibrate. Yuki got out her phone to see a text that reads;
Meet me in the laboratory with Mei and the two
girls from Ishana. We need to talk.
- Kazuto
As Yuki finished reading, she turned it off. How irresponsible can he get? Mei clearly needs her rest afterward and doesn't need this now. Then again... he'll probably find a way to speak with her anyway. Yuki figured that as long as it's not too long, Mei should be fine. With that, Yuki snuck over to Mei's bed and gently shook her shoulder until Mei opened her eyes to see the Elder Himezuru.
"Y-Yuki...? What is it?" Mei asked in a tired tone as she got up slightly. Yuki stared at her a little bit before saying something.
"Kazuto wants to see you, me, Kuon and Elise." Yuki whispered to the Shrine Maiden as Mei rubbed her eye with a small face of concern.
"Can you walk?" Yuki whispered in concern as Mei slowly got out of bed quietly as to not wake Touya and Es.
"Nothing's broken, I'll be fine." Mei whispered as she and Yuki quietly woke Kuon and Elise up, telling them both the same thing before leaving the room, all unaware that Es faintly caught them leaving. Despite seeing this, Es decided not to follow them and instead focus on speaking with Touya now that her mind is clear.
'I... I know I shouldn't wake him, but now that Kuon and Elise aren't here...' Es thought as she tried to reach Touya despite the beds being three feet apart, but pulled her arm back despite trying and just decided to call out instead.
"Touya... Touya... wake up... Touya..." Es whispered as Touya slowly opened his eyes to meet Es' despite the lights being lowered.
"Es...? What is it...?" Touya asked the Azure Maiden in why she woke him up. Es looked up to the ceiling as Touya noticed that Mei, Kuon and Elise aren't in the room.
"Where are the others?" Touya asked Es in regards to where everyone went.
"They went with Yuki to speak with Avenge I assume." Es whispered back as she continued to look at the ceiling.
"Shouldn't we see what's up?" Touya whispered, not wishing to be left out of the situation.
"No. I'm certain Mei will tell us tomorrow. Besides, I... I just want to talk with you now that it's just us here." Es whispered as she turned to face Touya with a sad look.
"S-sure Es. What is it?" Touya whispered back, his body agreeing that it doesn't want to get up just to evesdrop on everyone anyway, in addition to not wishing to be scolded by Yuki. With that, Es began to shift through her thoughts about what she wanted to say to Touya...
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Hallway]
As Mei, Kuon, Elise and Yuki walked down the hallway to the laboratory, the four remained in silence for some time. Yuki knew she needed to speak with Mei about earlier, but wasn't sure how, but eventually...
"While we have the time Mei, I wanted to talk with you about something..." Yuki asked as the Shrine Maiden stopped with Kuon and Elise halting as well.
"You.. you overheard our conversation, right Yuki?" Mei guessed before Yuki could say anything as the Shrine Maiden didn't turn to face the Elder Himezuru, surprising Kuon and Elise that Yuki listened in on them.
"Yuki... I know Mei overreacted but...!" Kuon tried to explain before Yuki gave a her a calm but stern look, prompting the Fire Empress to stop speaking.
"Yuki... I know it doesn't make up for what I almost done, but I'm..." Mei began to speak before Yuki wrapped her arms in front of Mei and hugged her from behind with tender tears in her eyes. She already heard about what happened earlier from Mei, but couldn't say anything earlier as it was more of a private matter, but even with Kuon and Elise here, she knew it was okay to tell her now.
"H-How can you just be okay with this...? I thought you'd be furious with me..." Mei said as she unconsciously placed her hands on Yuki's arms, clearly wondering why the Elder Himezuru would be so kind and forgiving to her.
"Because I know that you would never hurt Touya, Es or Kazuto and I understand fully well the pain and rage that comes with losing your family. For three years, I lost myself and I can tell you lost yourself briefly this night, that's why I can't blame you for what happened. Besides, you're clearly torn up about all of this and anyone who feels this way is not a person that should be turned away." Yuki explained with a gentle voice as Mei began to shed warm tears down her face.
"I... I'm sorry... I swear I won't let this happen again, Yuki..." Mei whispered as she clutched Yuki's hand tightly. It was thanks to her friendship with Yuki throughout her grueling ten years with Unomaru that helped through the painful times she visited her spiritually dead father and being there when the Shrine Maiden ended her father's suffering by turning off his life support.
"There's nothing to apologize for, but please remember that you aren't alone anymore Mei and that we're all here for you." Yuki explained with a small smile, showing that in spite of her own tragedies, Yuki's big heart shined through with boundless love for the people who became her family. The two stood still for a moment as Kuon and Elise smiled at the sight before them, happy that Yuki understood Mei deapite what occurred tonight.
To Be Continued...
Wendy has left Unomaru's side while Es and Mei have began to recover from the tragic sorrow and pain they both endured, with Mei receiving Yuki's compassion and understanding.
How will Mei, Kuon, Elise and Yuki take the new information Avenge got from Wendy?
Where will Wendy go now that she's left Unomaru?
What does Es want to speak with Touya about?
And... just who or what is the mysterious Diablo?
We'll find out next time.
