"Nyaaugh! Why you only calling us when you got your dramas? One of these days we'll repay you, we'll slay you. Gonna draw your last breath at the end of our Mek'leths. Your eternal torture is every Klingon's dream. You know what I mean? Make your blood scream!"
- The Obsidian Lord
"Honey, whatcha waitin' for? Welcome to my candy store. Time to prove you're not a loser anymore."
- Haruka, Shizuru, and Nao
A pair bright brown irises glittered in the shadows underneath the fishing docks. Mahya diligently crawled deeper into the gloom as her apron dragged through the sand and dirt. After all, being a Column sometimes required a bit of dirty work.
The small outline staring at her shrank backwards in fear. Mahya expected it, and gently waved her hand in an inviting motion.
"Tsk, tsk. It's okay, Little Sister. I'm just here to get you out of this dump."
Akane's shivering face flickered in the thin streams of sunlight shining through the boardwalk. The girl smelled strongly of fish. Her cheeks were covered with soot from the buccan stoves on the beach. Her Florince uniform was soaked with mud and practically threadbare. Her eyes showed nothing but constant anxiety and terror.
In other words, she was a total wreck. But that's why Mahya was always brought in to be a fixer.
If nothing else, this stray rascal figured out how to keep herself fed in the two weeks it took Mahya to track her down. She certainly passed some kind of test for undercover survival tactics, and "Survival" was the first thing the Otome system needed to focus on right now.
"Am I in trouble?" Akane whispered when Mahya had her within arm's reach. She swallowed nervously as she stopped retreating backwards.
"No, not at all," Mahya whispered in response, hesitating while she smiled. "…Well, actually you're in a lot of trouble for your graduation stunt. But you don't have to worry about any of that as long as you do everything I tell you."
The older Otome Enforcer reached into the front of her sand-colored shawl and rummaged for something in her apron.
"I had a hunch this was gonna be the day I finally catch ya, so I brought some extra emergency supplies."
Akane frantically slinked backwards on her tattered dress skirt. She was certain her superior was going to be holding a gun, or maybe a small dagger.
Instead, she was offering Akane a very recognizable chocolate Fumint™ bar. It was one of Garderobe's product entries in the sports nutrition market. The younger Otome froze in mid-action once she saw it.
Mahya started to unravel the bar's packaging to make things easier for her tired ally.
"Here. I know you'd probably like some catnip, but this is just what any Otome needs to keep herself in shape."
Akane nervously blinked as she stared at Mahya's extended arm. Mahya sighed patiently.
"It's not a trick. I'm not someone's evil stepmother trying to poison you." There was a friendly giggle in Mahya's voice when she said that. "If I was trying to kill you, I could just Materialise and break your neck between my elbows easy-peasy. I have to capture you alive if this operation is going to be worthwhile for any of us."
Akane crouched forward in the shadows and cautiously studied the chocolate bar for a few seconds. Then she clawed it straight out of Mahya's hand and started greedily chewing on it.
"That's a girl." Mahya grinned in relief. She stretched out her legs in a more comfortable position on the sand while she continued her conversation.
"You're pretty stuck, aren't you?"
Akane shyly nodded while she eating.
"If you go back to your king's lap in Florince, they'll probably execute you as a traitor?"
Akane nodded more urgently.
"And if you try to reunite with your charming prince in Cardair, they'll probably execute you as a spy?"
Akane nodded with her eyes bulging in terror. She paused in the middle of her snack and whimpered in heartbreak.
"They took him away from me. They were all in hoods. They came in a big black car. They ripped him right out of my arms and left me all alone outside the hotel. We didn't even have time to…"
"You don't need to say it," Mahya politely interrupted her by wagging her index finger. "The fact you can still use your GEM is a saving grace for a poor girl in your position."
The Otome fugitive stared down at her empty, dirty, worthless Florince apron. She began to weep with her head hanging lifelessly from her shoulders.
"Shh-shh." Mahya quietly raised her finger to her mouth. "You've suffered enough already, Little Sister. I'm going to make an eligible princess out of you so you can have your Happy Ending."
The Column slowly shook her head while Akane continued eating.
"You were our brightest star this past year. Best with knowledge retention, best with diplomatic communication, best with housekeeping, only lagging a little bit in offensive tactics. And now I find out you can pretty much hold your own for a couple of weeks even when you're completely cut off from all resources. You had the whole world ahead of you. But then your sweet little heart feel in love with someone from the complete opposite side of the world. You can't be blamed for all of this." The Column gave her subordinate a smirk that was both supportive and teasing.
"So how long were you planning on living like a hobo?" Her expression became gravely more serious. "You have to realize there's more to life than starring at the stars at night mumbling your boyfriend's name over and over again."
"I… I don't know," Akane gulped down her next bite. "I don't know what I should do anymore. I have nothing left to live for…"
"I'll tell you what you can do." Mahya's scheming grin was returning. "You can become a national heroine. We'll make all of Cardair fall in love with you just like he did. You'll have a safe home—Much safer than living out here under some rickety old harbor. And he'll have a peaceful Meister protecting him and making sure his kingdom doesn't get dragged into any more nasty wars."
"Me… ?" Akane gasped softly in disbelief. A speck of melting chocolate clung to the corner of her mouth.
"Well, it's better than having no one assigned to him." The Column playfully shrugged. She started to scratch her chin in thought. "What was it called on the old planet when France sent over that big idol as a peace offering after they helped the Americas become independent? Libertas Something or Other?"
"The Statyoof of Rifberdy?" the younger Otome responded as she finished scarfing down her protein bar.
"Ah, I knew our little history librarian was still in there somewhere." Mahya proudly smirked. "Irina's the only one who can probably nudge you out in department. She might be our new Trias I next year, since Arika and Nina officially aren't part of the classes anymore."
"She's a reliable girl. She'll make up for what happened to Erstin," Akane sadly murmured.
"Hm. You can help with that too, as long as you behave from now on," Mahya said with the smallest hint of encouragement. "Do you really think your own dorm attendant would want to see you like this? Hiding in a gutter, sneaking out only so you can steal your next meal, never knowing if your life will ever be normal again, always scared of what could happen if anyone catches you?"
Akane let the candy wrapper fall on her apron when she was done. She stared at her now-empty hands crossed on her lap.
"I'll never be able to write to mom and dad again if I do what you're saying. They were always looking forward to when I'd become a Meister. What if Kazu is the only person in Cardair who even accepts me?"
Mahya was already rolling her eyes in amusement.
"What makes you think the whole country hates you? You were already becoming a minor international star when you were our lead Pearl. The royals might not be the friendliest people toward you, but almost everyone below that is putting their faith in you. Sales for your posters at Backstage have only gone up in the last couple of weeks. You've become a valuable rarity, Miss Soir. We all want to know when you're going to make your next celebrity appearance."
Her eyes stopped rolling and coyly narrowed.
"If you and your Master do a good job reforming Cardair from the inside, you won't have to worry about any bad relations with Florince separating you from your family. You can fly over and see them as much as you like. You'll even have your own security detail escorting you once you're… well, let's worry about that part later, okay?"
Mahya quietly shifted from where she was sitting so she get a better look at Akane in the shade. She held her bare palm lightly against the soot splotches on Akane's forehead and closed her eyes for a second of meditation. The close-range contact between the nanotech flowing in both their bloodstreams gave Mahya a complete digital report on her subordinate's health status.
"Oh. Poor dear. You've been putting yourself through a ton of mental stress since they abandoned you. Dehydration's starting to wear you down. We'll get you all fixed up."
Mahya's palm left Akane's forehead and traveled down to the center of her Florince apron, settling just over her belly. Mahya's expression changed from concerned to relieved as she whispered.
"Good. All of that equipment is still in working order. We're going to need your help with that… eventually."
Mahya sat backwards again once she finished her small inspection. Akane glanced at her with crumbling self-esteem.
"I don't know what I can do for Garderobe anymore. I've already made a mockery of everything they taught me."
Mahya tilted her head, cupped her knuckles against her chin, and squinted curiously at her grieving colleague.
"Do you still want to be the Pure Heart Malachite? Do you want to become a graceful waltzing Meister Otome who will be remembered as a champion to her kingdom, and make all of her Sisters proud?"
Akane nodded with hopeless disappointment in her eyes.
"Do you still want to be with him?" Mahya added a bit of a playful leer in her voice.
Akane nodded much more anxiously and decisively this time.
"Then don't be afraid," the Column said to her with a nurturing smile. "I'm not going to drag you back to the Academy and burn you at the stake. I'm going to work with you until you can have it both ways."
Akane sighed in exhaustion as all of her worst fears were alleviated at once. All of her emotions came flooding out as she threw her arms around her superior and sobbed into her shoulder with both remorse and joy.
"There, there. We all make mistakes. Mama Mahya's here to put you back on the right track." the Column spoke soothingly as she patted the back of Akane's muddy uniform.
Author's note: Awww, kitten found her mittens. Isn't that heartwarming?
Author's note 2: I've been doing this thing lately where it's like "Other girls with nanomachines check in to see how Akane's nanomachines are doing." I already used different instances of this in "The Bolivian Akane Ending (chapter 2)" and "What Happened at the Launch Cradle." And, I dunno…? I think it kind of works in a strange magical girl way? It shows how supportive and connected the Otomes are toward each other, both figuratively and literally.