Bell didn't know how they managed it, but somehow, all the Xenos managed to escape one way or the other into the sewers. Not that they could've done it on their own. He had heard that Ganesha and Hermes Familia supported them alongside Hans. On top of that, apparently Fels was running interference as well, as he had heard of a golem that wasted precious time for their pursuers as well as sharing special magic items for distraction. After that, they managed to return to the Stardust Garden and promptly collapsed with their goddesses fussing over them.
Naturally, they wouldn't get to rest for long. Not in the way they intended. It was to be expected, after all their actions, but as Bell looked out the window from the couch he was sitting, he bit his lip. The rooftops of the neighboring buildings had several sentries looking over the Stardust Garden from every angle. Essentially, they became prisoners of their own home. The only exception allowed to leave was Kaguya and that was because…
"Hey, we told you-"
"Wanna fuckin' die?"
"Go ahead, ma'am!"
…Yeah, she was not in the best of moods after what apparently happened with Nana. Or whatever possessed her. Seeing her so beaten up, and then hearing her story on top, as she hugged her goddess and recounted the events in such a numb tone? Once more, Bell grit his teeth at the memory before he shook his head. There was nothing he could do for his senior, who was patrolling to find her sister in the city. So instead, he had to focus on his own situation, which didn't exactly looked too good at the moment. Honestly, they should've been glad that the adventurers didn't escalate anything by trying to burn down their mansion or anything. It appeared that Finn decided that as long as they stayed put, everything would sort itself out. However, that led to their predicament now. Being stuck in one place, having nothing to do, being unable to do anything. Some took it better than others.
Kojiro took this time to focus on his visual abilities, calmly mediating in his cross legged position, eyes closed and his blade resting on his lap. Astraea was equally as calm, as she worked through paperwork. Bell wasn't sure whether it was about charity or the Familia's 'acts of justice' as Alise liked to coin the term. Then there was Haruhime and him, who tried to distract themselves, but fidgeted a lot. Bell was unable to properly focus on the books he was reading, the letters passing by his eyes and leaving out of his skull without leaving behind any trace. Haruhime on the other hand tried to practice her kata and forms, muttering under her breath as she tried to get a handle on her magical energy, but given how awkward she moved, her mind was elsewhere as well. Not that he could blame her, his nights were plagued with the images of the Xenos being mercilessly slaughtered or imprisoned to be interrogated without any human rights.
Naturally, with these two days being holed up in one place with nothing but their own thoughts, there was bound to be an explosion of temper. Bell wasn't exactly surprised it was her out of all people.
"Lemme out, I need to earn a penny! You know how much it costs to feed a Familia, you bullies?!"
"Apologies, Lady Hestia, but orders are orders! Now get back in there!"
Hestia in response merely intensified her arm flailing as she tried to enter through the window, pushing against Anakitty, a level four who was only bothered because of the amount of hands slapping against her face. Over and over, she shoved the goddess back through the window, only for her to jump out again and flail her arms like whips with growling that would suit an angry puppy more than a divine being.
"I'm a goddess, I can't just be holed up in her forever! I know my rights!"
At this point, other adventurers joined in, some even bringing out wooden planks. One last time, they pushed the small goddess into the house. Anakitty sighed, dusting her hands off before glaring inside, directly at Bell flinched at the narrowed eyes directed at him.
"With all due respect, you should be glad you get to stay at your house instead of being in a jail cell with what your Familia pulled!"
"What, the right thing?! Pah, we're done talking!" Hestia slammed the windows shut, crossing her arms with a huff and spinning away. "Meanies…"
Bell and the others couldn't smile a bit. Despite all that happened, the derision from the public, their goddess was as supportive of them as ever. Astraea then giggled a bit, shaking her head mirthfully. It earned her a pout from Hestia.
"What's so funny, Astraea?!"
"Oh, I just remember when you used to be a big couch potato. The past you would have loved to have this excuse."
Blushing furiously, Hestia looked away, hiding her face from her friend and Familia.
"I've grown up!"
At this, the entire group in the house couldn't help but laugh at her expense. It did make Bell wonder about the stories about their goddess before she got her own Familia. As they calmed down just a bit, he couldn't help but that it felt a bit too empty right now. So as his smile fell, he bit his lip.
"Nothing about Solaris yet?"
Haruhime flinched at their captain's name while Hestia sighed, shaking her head.
"Either they gave her a pardon for helping them out or she did the smart thing and hid away somewhere else." She bit her thumb as she began to pace around the house."I hope she's eating well…"
"Were you trying to look for her?" Kojiro asked, opening one eye. Hestia send him an incredulous look before putting her hands on her hip.
"Well, obviously. She's my first child." Licking her lips, she lowered her head a bit. "I've been neglecting her way too much. She needs a hug and then a good slap on the face." She glared at her Familia a bit. "Can't believe you fought with each other like that!"
Her voice lacked genuine heat, but Haruhime and Bell couldn't help but wince at the reminder. As valid reasons as both sides had for their actions, it still felt terrible to engage each other, even just by a little bit. He jumped a bit when a hand gently squeezed his shoulder.
"In my experience, it was unnatural that they never butted heads with each other." Astraea nodded, eyes closed as she seemed to remember something. "Be grateful. Their bonds will only get stronger from this."
"If you say so…" Hestia muttered. Bell couldn't help but agree with that doubt. As much as they messed with each other, he couldn't imagine Astraea Familia ever actually having this kind of conflict. Then again, he didn't know their complete history yet. Just as he pondered over that however, the door was knocked on, causing Hestia to growl as she slammed the door open.
"Oh, who the hell is it now?!"
Surprisingly enough, a bright smile greeted them.
"Hullo!" Tiona waved her hand cheerfully, leaning forward as she looked around a bit. "Huh, you guys really have a nice house. Feels…housey!"
Hestia growled a bit, only for her to yelp when Astraea lightly hit her head.
"Hestia, down." She tilted her head politely. "How can we help you?"
"Just wanna talk a bit. The two of us."
Bell blinked. The two? Leaning to the side, his eyes widened when he saw Tiona entering, followed by a certain elf, bandaged up all over the place, including her left eye. Her head hung low as they were brought to the seats.
"Lefiya, are you okay?!" Bell asked, his voice filled with worry. To his shock, the elf blinked slowly with a blank expression before looking up, staring at him. A few moments passed before some light returned. In the end, she shrugged before looking back down on the ground.
"...m'fine."
Tiona scratched the back of her head, frowning just a bit.
"She got lucky. Found her in one heck of a broken building. Nothing really landed on her." She smiled lightly. "Talk about bad aim, huh?"
"Still waiting for an answer here!" Hestia shouted, arms crossed. Tiona blinked before shrugging casually.
"Basically, we're here to get some information out of you while making sure you are actually staying inside here."
"Are you supposed to tell us that?" Haruhime asked, tilting her head with curiosity. In response, all they received was a dismissive snort.
"Our Familia really is losing its marbles if they think I out of all people can do this whole interrogation thing." She gave them a pointed look. "Not to mention, I doubt you got anything shady going on. So how about it? Lil' exchange?"
They all shared a look. Well, ignoring the entire predicament with the Xenos, there was the entire debacle of Evilus' manmade dungeon, which was vital information to be shared. So as one, they all nodded to each other, before silence fell once more. Bell tilted his head, when he noticed that everyone was staring at him before he let out a small 'ah' sound. Right. Vice captain. Clearing his throat with a small blush, he took a deep breath.
"Well, there are a few things…"
So he told Tiona everything. About Nana. About how they got into the artificial dungeon with that key of theirs. The…identity of the Night Queen. The amazon was quiet for a while, digesting the information as she hummed to herself. Then breathing out a bit, she leaned back on the couch.
"Damn, you got a key for that? Talk about lucky." Tapping with her finger, she nodded to herself. "I won't say anything about the key yet."
"Are you sure?" Bell asked with concern. He felt that the earlier everyone knew the better. Yet Tiona shook her head.
"Until captain and everyone else get their head straight. They are focusing too much on the whole Xenos thing right now. Maybe after all that I'll ask if you can hand that thing over but not a minute before that." Tiona ran a hand through her hair. "But man…talk about bait."
The mood plummeted at the reminder. How the Night Queen was essentially playing the board with ease. Bell liked to believe they were dealing damage to her, but in moments like these? It was hard to believe that. Slapping her own cheeks, Hestia stood up and pointed at Tiona.
"Now then, we spilled, now you spi-"
"Filvis is part of Evilus."
The group blinked before turning slowly to Lefiya, her voice barely a whisper. She stared down at the ground, her fingers curling and tightening around the cloth of her thighs. She let out a shivering breath before continuing on with her words.
"Lady Loki shared some information with me. How Filvis was a hybrid…and had a spell that allowed her to create a double of herself. For years apparently." A strangled laugh escaped her before she covered her eyes, her body shaking. Tiona began to rub her back as Lefiya sniffed. "All this time…I spent time around her double…while her other self was locked up…"
"Then she got broken out?" Kojiro asked quietly. Tiona bit her lip before nodding in confirmation.
"That Night Queen and the other Gojouno, yes."
Part of Bell wondered how strong that prison was, or rather, how strong Filvis was. He had never faced a 'hybrid' like this before. Not a human monster one. The spirit ones were on a different level from regular monsters…but how strong would an adventurer be, even if imprisoned? And how strong would Nana, or whatever possessed her, be to break a seal designed to keep Filvis away? But before he could ask about any of those things, asking how Lefiya was doing, anything to lift her spirits, the girl herself looked straight into his eyes. He was taken aback by how frail she looked. Her lips quivered, her eyes red, tired and wet.
"Bell, how did you feel when you realized that Nyx lied to you? Played an act this entire time?"
His eyes widened at that. So that was why she was here. Not to inform them about how her best friend betrayed them all. No, she was looking for guidance. Any, to bring her out of the spiraling darkness she found herself in. Which meant him, in this context. And it would make sense, to share his own experience, his own way with how he dealt with betrayal…
Bell took a deep breath as he couldn't help but laugh at himself, causing many eyebrows to be raised by that. Yeah, it would make sense for Lefiya to approach him…
"...She never called herself Nyx."
…if it weren't for the fact that Bell didn't feel betrayed. Eyes widened at his words, realizing what he was referring to.
"Wouldn't that be too obvious?" Tiona pointed out, causing Bell to nod a few times.
"Maybe. Maybe I am looking too much into this. Maybe I'm in denial…" He shook his head and looked Lefiya back in the eyes, his heart calmly beating without a single doubt clouding it. "But I refuse to believe that was the real Nyx."
"Bell-"
He raised his hand at the almost pitying sound of Haruhime. He shook his head before letting out a sigh.
"I get it. The facts staring at me are obvious. But still."
He remembered the shy young woman who offered him stomach medicine on that ship. He remembered how talking with her put his heart at ease a bit, after his first kill. He remembered her genuine fear during the attack in Yggdrasil. Her joy when they met again. Her guilt, and determination, before the Ishtar incident…Considering the skills of the Night Queen, this could all be a long term play, a trick, playing Bell ever since. And yet…
"The time we spent weren't a lie. I don't know if she is controlled, used as a scapegoat or…something. But the Nyx I knew wouldn't do this if she had a choice. The one I call my friend…wouldn't be capable of this."
Even the usually upbeat tomboy pressed her lips together. Tiona wasn't the only one who showed doubt. Hestia shared a concerned look with Haruhime, while Astraea kept a calm expression, same as Kojiro. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that Bell was serious and honest about his words, towards the one who looked for him out of all people for help. Lefiya stared at him with wide eyes, gulping as she tried to process his words.
"So you keep trusting?" She whispered quietly. Bell smiled softly and nodded.
"So I keep trusting." He looked down at his hand before clenching it into a fist. "Until I meet her again and get to the bottom of this. Night Queen…or Nyx."
If he was wrong, he would be wrong. But he refused to stop believing in his friend until he was absolutely certain he had to. The world was vast after all with possibilities, with magic. Liliruca had disguise magic for goodness sake. It wouldn't be weird to imagine that the Night Queen had some way to impersonate a goddess. He looked back up, seeing Lefiya stare at the ground for a while, her eyes misting over. He didn't know what she was thinking of, but he imagined she was remembering things. A shuddering breath escaped her but Bell could see as the light slowly returned to Lefiya's eyes.
"...I think…she apologized to me…before she left me behind…Maybe it's just in my head but…" Closing her eyes, the elf took a deep breath…before opening them, this time showing the clarity of the blue they possessed. It was a smile of relief, her features completely relaxed now as she tilted her head a bit, showing her gratitude for Bell. "...Thank you."
He couldn't help but blush a bit as he scratched the side of his cheek. He wasn't sure he deserved that much credit. For some reason, Lefiya's smile wavered as a faint flush appeared on her face too. Ah, was he staring too much? Better to break the ice a bit.
"You should smile more. It suits you."
He froze. She froze. He cursed his grandpa in his mind for infecting his instincts like this. As expected, Lefiya stood up, arms crossed before turning away with an angry huff.
"Hmph! Honestly, give you a finger and you pull in the entire arm. Know your place, rival!"
Ah, just when they were starting to get along. Now she was like this again. He let out a sigh…only to hear a lot of giggling around him. Oh. His face turned even more red. Right, they weren't alone. He winced when his cheeks were being pulled by a pouting Hestia. Tiona wiped a tear from her eye before clapping her hands together.
"Anywho, as for the other stuff…well, we still didn't find any of the Xenos, if that's what you're concerned about. So far, Finn is keeping a tight watch on Daedalus Street."
"So he did listen a little bit at least," Bell muttered, a bit of relief sinking in. Still, it would certainly limit their options in getting the Xenos out of the city. Tiona meanwhile shrugged in response.
"Hey, Evilus is still our main enemy. Also his logic is, if the Xenos came out from there, they might also leave through there."
"Easier said than done, given it's an Evilus controlled death trap," Kojiro commented idly.
"Cover all our bases." Tiona's ear twitched and she glanced out the window. A light laugh escaped her before she stood up as well. "Oop, looks like time's up."
Just as they were about to leave however, Bell still had a burning question in his heart. Clearing his throat, he got the girls' attention. Biting his lip, he couldn't help but avert his eyes a bit.
"Is…everyone okay?"
The two blinked a moment before realizing what he meant. Tiona waved him off immediately.
"Eh, some bruises. Broken bone here and there. Nothing major."
"Broken?!" Bell shouted, his eyes almost falling out of his skull. He knew the Xenos were strong, but there was no way they could've done such damage! Lefiya narrowed her eyes at his reaction before shaking her head.
"It's not that bad. Also it's not your fault, don't get cocky."
Tiona nodded in agreement before twirling her hand.
"Yeah, we assume that one was like a level seven in potential. Probably the Xenos' strongest." She paused before staring at Bell with a hum. "Even funnier, it was a minotaur of some sorts."
"Minotaur…?" Why did that ring a bell? He shuddered at the memories of his first level up. No, the Xenos could be trusted, so it was unlikely that the one they were talking about was…under some form of spell. Anyway, at least that answered that question…as much as he didn't like that answer. Tiona smiled a bit before patting his shoulder in encouragement.
"Just sit tight and this whole thing will blow over in no time! See you around!"
"Don't start anything crazy," Lefiya said with a pointed look before following the amazon out as well. Thus, the Familia was left alone once more within the house. Astraea clapped her hands together before turning to the girls.
"Alright, Kaguya should be returning shortly. Mind helping me in the kitchen!"
"Sure!"
"I'd love to."
Thus, Kojiro and Bell were left alone in the living room, sitting in silence. Bell had his hands folded, tapping the ground with his foot a few times before clenching his eyes shut. He imagined it. How the Loki Familia…Aiz could've gotten hurt. By massive horns piercing their flesh. By hooves smashing their bones against the ground. Exhaling deeply, he turned to Kojiro, who was staring at him almost in expectation.
"...Kojiro, do you think I made a mistake?"
"Do you?" He asked calmly, contrasting the quiet voice of Bell. The young man pressed his lips together before clenching his hands together tightly.
"A small part of me feels like that." He shook his head. "I…I don't regret standing up for the Xenos. Never. But…" He lowered his gaze."I hate that I'm putting everyone through this situation. I…I wish I could do more than preaching and escalate matters when things don't go my way."
Because that was all he did. He talked big about peace, coexistence, only to end up having to beg the stronger people to spare the weaker ones. And when that didn't work, he drew his swords like some common thug. What could he have done to have solved that situation? Catching the Night Queen properly? Be a better talker? Or should he have developed his relations with the Loki Familia more, to make sure they would trust him more? So many what ifs and Bell didn't know what the solution would've been. So in the end, he lowered his head with a tired sigh.
"I wish I was better."
"That's good."
He blinked, looking up at Kojiro. The man nodded, arms crossed.
"Heroes make mistakes all the time, young master. And quite frankly? I do not believe there was a mistake you have made. Perhaps you weren't good enough. Perhaps there was a different way. However, would that way be yours? Because any other choice would've meant leaving the Xenos behind. Would you have done so?"
Pretending to join the hunters to give them an opening maybe. Or just lie about being egotistical to save the Xenos. But that would have meant pretending that the Xenos weren't people…and he couldn't do that. Never. So the only alternative was standing his ground, because they were his friends, because they deserved someone to fight for them, no matter the opposition. Maybe he was turning to stubborn about this…but Bell smiled weakly.
"...sometimes things are out of our control, hm?" His smile wavered as he shook his head. "But…I know that I misjudged the entire situation. All that fear and anger…I can't comprehend how many people lost something to monsters, for them to react like that to the idea of Xenos. It just shows that I was naive when it comes to coexistence…I should've tried harder to come to a compromise, before all of this happened. Do better than just that." He licked his lips and glanced at the exit of the mansion. "I understand where Solaris was coming from. And what she was trying to protect us from."
Solaris always did care more on a personal level than on an altruistic one. And quite frankly? Bell recognized that. Not everyone could care for everyone. Prioritization was necessary for most people. And he recognized that Solaris' heart was in the right place. Nevertheless…
"So will you give up on that?"
Bell shook his head, laughing a little.
"Never. Besides, Hans told me I was doing good, didn't he?"
Kojiro chuckled and ruffled his student's hair a bit.
"Good words. Nothing worth fighting for is easy."
Bell looked down at this fist. That included Solaris. He had to have a good talk with her when they had the chance. Just as he thought that however, the door slammed open. The girls peaked out of the kitchen, as their eyes widened at the one who entered with slumped shoulders.
"Kaguya…!"
"Nothing found yet?" Astraea asked gently, seeing the bags under Kaguya's eyes. Without even looking at any of them, she threw something at the table.
"Must be out of town at this point…" She muttered before shaking her head and ascending the stairs. "I'll go to sleep. Wake me up when you're ready."
Her goddess stared at the retreating back of her child until the door closed. With a sigh, she took off her apron before they all turned to the crystal in the room. Wordlessly, they gathered around it, with Haruhime carefully taking it in her hands, admiring its form.
"Magic items sure are amazing…"
"Why thank you."
"Eep!"
The voice that echoed from the crystal almost made Haruhime drop it. With a breath of relief, she managed to catch it in time. Astraea leaned forward, humming thoughtfully.
"Everything alright on your side, Fels?"
"Everyone should have one for this conversation. Lido?"
"Xenos accounted for, my friend!"
"Lord Hermes?"
"All gathered on my side."
"And I am with Hans and Lord Gan-"
"I AM GANESHA!"
They all winced at the sudden volume. Silence filled the air, only for a soft whining in the background and…slapping to occur?
"...as I was saying…" Fels cleared his throat. "We are all here."
"So, we got a plan?" Hestia asked, eyebrow raised. At those words, Hermes chuckled as he adjusted his hat.
"Oh, I certainly have a plan."
/
"Get the hell out!"
"We have real reasons to suspect-"
"If you aren't buying anything, you aren't welcome! Screw off!"
The door slammed shut, causing the blacksmith to sigh in exhaustion as he dusted off his hands.
"Damn…ever heard of property rights…? That was the fourth time already…"
Cracking his neck, Welf spun around, walking towards his forge. Now if only he could actually find the peace and quiet to smelt some damn steel, that would be nice. Alas, he felt that he would get a lot more visits like these, so he couldn't actually work on anything mature. So instead, he focused on good ol' repair work. He carefully picked up the chains, checking each link for any damages, deformation. He whistled before shaking his head.
"You really put this baby through the wringer. Normally you'd be hitting stuff way better than this, sis."
He glanced to the side, seeing Solaris hugging her knees as she sat on a chair in the corner of his forge. It reminded him of their youth, when she was only recently adopted. When their father didn't treated her as garbage just for the lack of her forging skills, where Welf out of all people had to step up. Shaking his head, he focused back on fixing her chain, hammering and filing away. Only the flames of the forge and the work of his tools filled the silence in his workshop.
"Why are you still covering for me?"
Welf scoffed, not even looking up as he did his finishing touches.
"What, you want me to kick you out?"
"Just answer the damn question," Solaris grumbled. He rolled his eyes, throwing Kira-Kusari at his sister before crossing his arms, leaning back on his anvil.
"A big brother should take care of his little sister, no matter how dumb she's being."
Catching it with ease, Solaris clicked her tongue in annoyance as she holstered her personal weapon. Then she went back to hugging her knees, burying her face behind her arms.
"Tch, so you think I'm dumb too…"
"I never made a secret out of that one." At his shrug, she threw a hammer at him, which he easily dodged. At the very least, he smirked at the small smile Solaris had.
"Jackass."
Unfortunately the smile fell as she let out a shivering breath.
"I just…" She struggled for the words before she stretched her legs out, shoulders slumped. "I just feel so alone."
She looked up at the ceiling with a sigh.
"I'm used to the public shitting on me no matter what. So fuck them. But to have my own Familia oppose me…I mean, yeah, I opposed them first in a way, but still…"
Welf hummed. If it were only that, he'd leave it at that. Heavens know he missed a lot. Sapient monsters. Evilus. All of that stuff. And not to mention, his sister throwing hands with her own Familia. But if there was one thing he knew about her…was that she had layers.
"You think you did the right thing?"
"I wasn't wrong in protecting them... Well, at least I tried to protect them." She shook her head. "Just…I know I act like a hotshot all the time, and pretend it doesn't bother me. But…" She weakly twirled her hand. "All those comments? Those sneers and what not?" She looked at her brother. "They hurt. Every single fucking time. I don't want my Familia to go through the same thing just for some m-monsters."
"You really think you can still salvage this? Your rep?" Welf asked, trying to suppress his anger and his desire to hunt down anyone who talked shit about his sister. Yet Solaris nodded stubbornly, determined to stick to her course.
"Doesn't matter if I do, a captain's gotta do it either way." She bit her lips. "Only way I could see fixing this was…turning Bell and the others into misguided idiots instead of utter maniacs. Still bad, but sometimes you only got bad choices and worse choices."
It certainly sounded bad in that regard. Nevertheless…
"You really think Bell is wrong? That they really just some monsters?" He asked, genuinely curious. Solaris knew he never met them himself, so she knew he wasn't taking any sides right now. The fact that the girl flinched told him everything he needed to know however.
"Judge a book by its cover, bro," she said, too quickly, too casual. He gave her a pointed look in response.
"Yeah, that's not how the saying goes."
She let out a hiss, rubbing the back of her head.
"...I don't want to think about it. Don't wanna talk about it. Cause if I do…it means everything I've done so far was a waste of time."
Damn, she really was in that black and white mode right now. Walking up to her, he ruffled her hair. She tried to slap his hand away like an angry cat, but he wouldn't be rejected his big brother privileges.
"I wouldn't say that. Familia disagree all the time. It helps growth. You guys are bound to get something out of this at least."
"At the cost of our reputation?" She asked quietly. Welf raised an eyebrow at that.
"Wouldn't be the first time it hit rock bottom. Just get back up from that again."
"Easy for you to say, Character," she mumbled, jabbing his side with her elbow.
"Ouch." Patting her head one last time, he took a step back. "Anyway…Don't throw your relationship with your Familia down the drain. You wanna protect them, fine, but sometimes, instead of doing the correct thing, you gotta just stick to them, right or wrong. As painful as it would be."
Solaris nodded slowly, before her eyes started to widen. She stared at him for a while, mouth slightly agape, as if realizing something.
"...Down the drain... ?"
He gave her a flat look.
"Really? That's your takeaway? I know I'm not good-"
Suddenly, Solaris shot up to her feet and pushed past him without hesitation.
"I gotta go."
"Oi!"
Yet the door shut immediately. She should've at least made sure the air was clear!