The shores of Seven were quiet. The crew of the Eden's Zero sat at the beach after defeating the Crimson Dragon, and most of the people dispersed as well. One man stayed behind with a serious expression while talking to Cynthia. Cynthia gave an understanding nod and the two parted ways, and she returned to the group. "Well...that went about as well as I expected."
"What did he say?" Rebecca asked. The group was gathering around a bonfire on the beach after Sister healed their injuries. The Eden's Zero itself was docked nearby so they could leave at any moment.
"He said that he appreciated all the work I've done while I'm here, but he would really like it if I left, you guys too." Cynthia replied while scratching her cheek. "I kind of expected they wanted to kick us out after that. We did basically kill their deity in front of them."
"They're kicking us out?" Weisz lifted a brow. "How exactly are they gonna try and enforce that?"
"Well, they're just civilians after all. So the best they can do is just completely refuse to serve us." Cynthia shrugged. "This also goes without saying but I got fired, aha..."
"Wow, I was not expecting that." Geno rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about all that..."
"No, it's fine." Cynthia shook her head. "It's better this way. I like it here, but I don't belong here. It's not my home. I had to leave eventually, so there is no better time than now."
"So this means we're not gonna get to eat before we go?" Couchpo deflated. The food here was so good, too!
"We can worry about that after we finally tell her everything." Blair was sitting not too far away from the group. Not close...but not far. Yet the distance she had felt different than before. She wasn't sitting in the corner like she usually would.
"Yeah, we've been keeping her pretty in the dark..." Omega nodded. "Sit down, kid. There's a lot you need to know."
"Okay." Cynthia nodded, sitting in front of the fire along with everyone else. "So, what's going on exactly? There was that strange message from my dad, and apparently I've been missing a lot back home, too. What happened these last few years?"
"Let's start from the beginning." Hermit said while pulling out her laptop. "So, right now, we are on a mission to find the five pieces of the Black Moon Star, which will lead us to the Black Moon. Now, before this, we were flying around the Cosmoses, trying to free numerous planets from Ziggy's grip. This was our primary objective, and it's part of the reason we landed on Delta Ridge to begin with."
"It was a two birds one stone situation. Free the planet and get the shard." Rebecca explained. "And it's there that things start getting complicated..."
"Complicated...?" Cynthia tilted her head.
"Geno, do you wanna...?" Kleene cleared her throat. This is the awkward part.
"I can if you don't..." Hermit offered.
"It's okay." Geno shook his head. "For the last two years, Cynthia, our home was under android tyranny. We had to fight androids and even humans."
"W-What?" Cynthia's eyes were wide. This was her first time hearing this.
"We...lost a lot of good people during that two year struggle." Geno looked up at the stars. "My dad. Sarisse...They all died. They didn't have to, but...we were betrayed by your father."
That news struck Cynthia like a lightning bolt. "W-What?! No. My dad was friends with your parents! With everyone...!"
"Yeah, I know." Geno closed his eyes. He wasn't there for the moment of Aiden's betrayal, but he still felt it strongly. "He didn't survive the battle either..." When Geno said that, Blair quietly looked off to the side.
"It's true. It all happened." Omega said with a nod. "I'm gonna guess that's what that message was for, too."
"Message?" Jinn asked.
"We had to debug Cynthia's ship. Apparently, Aiden left a virus to keep Cynthia here while he went off to betray Delta Ridge." Hermit said. "He did it because he wanted to protect her, I think. But...well..." She glanced over at Cynthia, who was still processing this information. It made sense she needed time.
"Sorry this is coming so suddenly." Sister said with a small frown. She knew this was having a hard effect on Cynthia's mentality.
"I just...don't know what to think..." Cynthia said quietly. "I always thought highly of my Father. I never once thought he would resort to betraying the people we knew for so long..."
"Unfortunately, the news doesn't end there." Blair finally spoke up.
"Hey, wait, are you sure you should tell her so soon?" Happy spoke with concern.
"Tell me...what?" Cynthia looked up. She was already trying to brace herself for more concerning news.
"This one is about your mother." Blair said while standing up. "And the things she did to me."
"W-What did my mom do to you...?" Cynthia looked at Blair worriedly. She had such good memories of her parents, and now her entire world about them was being flipped on its head.
"Do you remember what sort of thing your mother was into?" Blair asked.
"Um. She was super into Therions." Cynthia said in response. She'd never forget that. "She told me about them, I was interested in her research, but she left and my dad and I left to find her. I don't know if she ever found one."
"Oh, she did." Blair said as her bandaged arm roared to life. "She found one and brought it to my planet. It destroyed my home and even though I killed it, I ended up becoming the last living Therion in the entire universe. Your mother took the chance to experiment on me for two years after that."
"I..." Cynthia's eyes were wide.
"Blair, you could've been a little gentler with that delivery..." Rebecca said with a hushed down.
"You know that was never going to happen." Laguna expected this the moment Blair opened her mouth. "She doesn't mince her words. But it is that brutal honesty that can be refreshing at times."
"She needs to know what happened." Blair told the others, watching as Cynthia was trying to focus on the information she was told. "And I'll be honest, I didn't trust your existence at first. Having been exposed to your mother and father, I had a strong feeling the apple didn't fall too far from the tree."
"..." Cynthia didn't say anything at first. But she opened her mouth. "I..."
"If you're going to apologize, I don't want to hear it." Blair shook her head. She didn't deserve any apology. The fact she was able to look Cynthia in the eyes was shocking to herself. After all, she was the one who lost to her impulses and killed her father. "I still have my doubts, but after seeing how hard you were willing to fight for these people...I won't lump you with them for now."
"T-Thanks...?" Cynthia wasn't sure what to think of that. "I just...I don't want to leave anyone to die. No matter what. Call it what you want, but that's just who I am."
"Wow, Blair. That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to another person." Sister teased.
"That...was nice?" Cynthia blinked.
"She's been with us since we started looking for the Black Moon Shard." Homura said. "Admittedly, Blair is quite the scary individual, but she is reliable and I think she has a good heart. Nay, I know she has a good heart."
"For a vampire, anyway." Hermit added.
"I'll eat you!" Blair barked. Scary as usual, but she was flustered as well.
"I...I see..." Cynthia was still processing everything.
"We came to find you, because it sounds as if your mother is on the opposing side." Pino spoke up. "There is another group of people who seek to use the Black Moon for their own evil deeds: The Galactic Fleet. We have information that your mother is apart of that group."
"The Black Moon is supposedly an alternate path to find Mother." Shiki said. "So...I'm assuming she has her reasons...I'm sorry you had to find out everything this way. But you deserved to know it all before you decided to join us or not."
"I do appreciate that." Cynthia offered a slight smile. The honesty of the crew made everything easier to swallow. "...Um, how many shards do you have now?"
"We only have one." Weisz grunted. "Another group known as the Eclipse Ark crew stole the one from Delta Ridge while we were saving it, and the Galactic Fleet has two. The last shard, to our knowledge, is somewhere here in the Sakura Cosmos. And wherever it is, I doubt we won't be encountering both of them."
Cynthia was quiet for a little while. She had so many questions, but she knew the Eden's Zero couldn't answer them. They did quite a bit already, and went through a lot. "...I'll join you." She said suddenly.
"Whoa, are you sure?" Sister asked.
"Yes." Cynthia nodded, resolutely. "I've been looking for my Mother for years. I...I want to know why she's done the things she's done. I want to hear it from her mouth. I can't...do anything about my father. That one I have to think about some more. But I can look my mother in the eyes. It's a little selfish for me to join, but..."
"Haha, that's okay!" Shiki smiled. Cynthia's reasoning didn't bother him.
"I had that same mentality as well." Laguna remarked. He joined the crew for his own selfish reasons. It was temporary at first, but he then became a full fledged member soon after.
"Good thing we already moved your ship into our dock." Rebecca smiled. "It'll be nice to have you!"
"...Oh my goodness, I'm gonna be in the same ship as Rebecca and Couchpo." It just then hit Cynthia that she hit the jackpot. Living with her favorite B-cubers!? This was the dream!
"Looks like we have a big fan, Rebecca." Couchpo said with a small laugh.
"So we're friends, right?" Cynthia looked to everyone.
"Friends!" Shiki answered for everyone.
Blair, however, caught onto this and her brow twitched. "Hey, don't speak for me! I'm not everyone's friend," She said quickly, and huffed as well.
"Hehe..." Cynthia giggled for the first time in a while. She scooted closer to Geno, who was sitting between Omega and Hermit. "You made a lot of friends, Geno. I'm happy for you. They all look like good people."
"I did most of the work." Omega said with a guaff.
"Don't take credit for my work." Hermit poked her tongue out. She was not letting Omega take credit for her efforts with Geno.
"Wow, Hermit. I didn't think you'd fight for him that badly." Sister teased. Hermit's cheeks went red and she immediately grunted and went quiet. Even Geno was quiet while Cynthia just giggled.
"But man...I sure could go for some food." Couchpo was still hungry. They were having a nice talk, but she couldn't ignore her stomach.
"I guess we should head back into the ship then." Rebecca said while standing up. "I wanted to enjoy the beach a little bit more. It is really nice..." The others looked like they shared that same sentiment.
"...Hey." Blair approached Weisz. "You can make a grill, right?"
"What?" Weisz blinked from Blair's sudden question. "I can't just make one appear out of thin air! I'm not a magician. Why are you asking that anyway?"
"Ugh, you're useless." Blair rolled her eyes and started walking towards the ship. "Come on, we don't have all night."
"I'm getting drafted?" Weisz had no idea what Blair was thinking. But hey...he was walking behind her. So he would just take the chance to quietly glance at...
"Eyes up or you'll lose them." Blair added. She knew Weisz was looking.
"Yes ma'am..." Weisz straightened up and followed Blair back into the ship.
"What is she up to...?" Cynthia looked at the others.
"Hard to say." Jinn shrugged. "She is a little hard to read, but we know that she means well at the end of the day. She was the reason we were able to save the androids of Delta Ridge when they were forced to attack us."
"Really?" Cynthia blinked. "But she's so..."
"Oh, we know." Sister said with a snicker. "Trust us. If there is one thing we can say for sure about Blair. She really values life. Even though she's been forced into a role that has to consume life, we've seen she does everything she can to fight against it. I know it's hard for her too, so we do what we can."
"We trust her." Homura said with a firm nod. "She may not want to admit it, but she is our friend."
"The moment one steps upon our ship, they become family." Kleene said with a soft smile. As she said that, Blair just so happened to return. She had some ingredients in hand, while Weisz was forced to carry a grill. It was heavy, so he had to use his Arsenal suit to carry it to the bonfire.
"What are you two up to?" Hermit asked.
Weisz set up the grill and after that, Blair started putting various things onto it; hotdogs and hamburgers, coupled with buns and condiments. "Cookout." Blair simply replied, focusing on making sure everything turned out well. Everyone was shocked by this.
"You're...cooking for us?" Geno blinked.
"I thought you didn't like food." Laguna asked.
"I can't taste food, but I can still eat it." Blair replied, but she paused for a second. "Besides, I used to cook back home, too. It's been a while, so I just wanted to. No real reason." It let them stay out a bit longer too.
"Thanks, Blair." Rebecca smiled softly at Blair. Blair glanced at her for a second, before turning away with a slight blush.
"...I guess she's not so bad after all." Cynthia said with a whisper.
"It won't be anything special. It's just standard cookout stuff." Blair said. "I'm usually much better than this, but I haven't made anything in a while for obvious reasons. It'll be a bit."
"Where's the kiss the chef apron? I know I had one you can borrow." Sister tease.
"Shut the hell up. I'll eat you." Blair snarled.
"Oh, please." Sister said with a widening grin.
"I hate you so much." Blair groaned. She forgot Sister was the biggest freak among them. The others did just laugh though. It was a quiet late night beach cookout. It was taking a little while for everything to be done, since Blair insisted she do it herself. They got to enjoy the peace and quiet for a time, until Blair was finished. "Okay, there. Get it while it's all hot."
Everyone filed nicely to try Blair's cooking. They grabbed some food from the grill and proceeded to take the chance to eat. The reception? Amazing. "Whoa, this is good, Blair!" Shiki said.
"You should cook more often!" Kleene beamed.
"It is delicious, Moscoy!" Mosco said. He didn't have to eat, but he did so anyway. Sister and Hermit were obviously the same, but they couldn't say no to a good meal anyway.
"Tis incredible!" Homura said, although she did have to wait a bit for her hotdog to cool down because, well...it was hot.
"This is a great hotdog." Jinn said. "It might even be better than my own. I'd still like to show you sometime."
"Dude, seriously, you can't keep getting away with that!" Weisz shouted. Did Jinn seriously not hear it, or was he just doing it on purpose!?
The compliments made Blair blush and she turned her head to the side. "It's just grill stuff, it's nothing special. If I actually used the kitchen, then you could say that." The only reason she didn't try cooking is because the Eden's Kitchen already had everything anyone could ask for.
"Are you offering to actually cook for us?!" Couchpo was down for that idea.
"I'd like to try Blair's cooking." Pino raised a hand.
"It sounds like it's great." Happy added.
"Tch..." Blair didn't say anything, but she silenced herself with a cheeseburger. She couldn't taste it, but it did fill her stomach at least.
"You've changed, Blair." Shiki stated.
"Huh?" Blair looked at Shiki. "What are you talking about?"
"Well...maybe not changed is the right word." Shiki stroked his chin. "But you've become more open and comfortable with us. You've really become a part of the crew."
"Yeah. I couldn't imagine you doing this when you first came aboard." Hermit said. "You surprised us."
"Well, I just..." Blair wasn't sure what to say. She was still standoffish and harsh, but...
"It's a good thing." Kleene said warmly. "You're a member of our crew. Your our friend. Our family."
"F-Family...?" That strong word made Blair's eyes widened. "Don't say that stupid thing. 'I'm not..."
"Oh, come on." Rebecca said with a giggle. "You've taken part in my videos, played games with us, stood up for us, fought for and with us, and you're cooking for us now! Whether you want to admit it or not, you're our friend, Blair."
"Nobody's complaining." Laguna said. "You may be very rough around the edges due to your circumstances, but the character you've shown has told us the kind of person you are."
"...I can't be your friend." Blair mumbled. She broke the one promise she made when she joined them. Not to eat someone, but she did that. She killed Aiden and kept that to herself. The fact they were being so nice to her made it even harder to admit to her lie and wrongdoing. A friend wouldn't do this...
"Did you say something?" Omega asked. "Your mumblin' over there."
"Nothing. Shut it, freak." Blair said, stuffing a hamburger into Omega's mouth to silence him. "When you're all done, we can head out. I'm getting tired of wearing a swimsuit."
"Can't we stay a little bit longer?" Weisz said. "The view is great!" He was looking at the chests of his crewmates, sneakily. Although when he got to Hermit, he did deflate a little bit. She wasn't nearly as big...
"...I can feel your judgement. I don't need it." Hermit said while huffing.
"I think you look just fine." Geno said with a sheepish grin. Hermit had a half smile and giggled a little bit. Sister and Omega raised a brow before nudging each other knowingly.
"If it weren't in front of everyone..." Omega whispered to Sister, who nodded in agreement.
"WE CAN HEAR YOU!" Geno and Hermit exclaimed at the same time. Cynthia just started to laugh from it all.
"Ahahahahaha!" Cynthia let out a hearty laugh. If there was one thing she was glad for, it was that her old friend, Geno was okay and even thriving. "Hey Hermit. When you have the time, we should talk. I know somethings you'd like to know! I know allllll of Geno's secrets."
"This worries me." Geno gulped.
As they talked, a little girl approached cautiously. "Um..."
Cynthia turned around, as did the others. She recognized this girl. "Oh...! You're the one we saved. Are you okay?"
"Yes." The girl nodded. "I, um...wanted to..." The girl said while poking her fingers together. The girls parents soon approached.
"We wanted to come see you after you saved our little girl." The father said with a smile.
"I know it's part of our religion, but we always dreaded something like this might happen." The mother said, placing a hand on her chest. "I know we can't do much for you, the others would frown upon it. But there is one thing we can do."
"What is that...?" Cynthia tilted her head.
"...I..." The little girl took a deep breath. "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAVING ME!" She exclaimed, catching everyone by surprise with how loud it was. But that just went to show how earnest it was. "I hope you're happy and safe when you leave!"
"I...!" Cynthia's eyes widened. She felt tears stinging the corners of them and they soon began to roll down. She did wonder if this was the right thing to do, but in the end, the thanks she received made it worth it. She saved someone's life. She saved a family. There was nothing that could change this feeling.
"Looks like our crew is getting a lot livelier." Rebecca told Shiki.
"Yeah." Shiki nodded in agreement, arms crossed as he watched Blair and Geno bicker with everyone. Omega and Cynthia were only adding onto it, but the whole scene was just good, crew fun. "I'm glad we made some good friends." They were reliable and strong. Seven was a nice reprieve from the heavy action they had to deal with lately, and it was a nice way to reaffirm their bonds and make new ones...
.
.
"Shiki and his crew have made some good friends, haven't that?" Xiaomei asks while wandering around with a smile. "Cynthia has now joined the crew of the Eden's Zero. Blair, Geno, Omega, and Cynthia, these four will no doubt become powerful allies in the future. And that future is rapidly drawing closer and closer. Did you know? After this...it will now become time to enter the final act of this story. There is only one shard left in play, and all forces are prepared to converge on it. What will the outcome of this story be? Let's find out together, shall we?"