Episode 5: An Aberrant Meeting
"In the meantime, I think we need to get her back to her brother." Mana says, still staring at the ground. "There's something else here I want to check but I'm pretty sure that's Calypso."
Akane looks at 'Calypso' suspiciously. She doesn't look anything like Ogygia.
The girl finally speaks up, "Um, yeah I'm Calypso but I don't have a brother. Who are you? How do you know my name?" she says.
Akane sighs, "Well that just makes this even more complicated." she says. "Who the fuck is Ogygia?"
"I don't know but I promise I don't have a brother with that name." Calypso says. "No siblings at all, actually." she mumbles bitterly and stands up on shaky legs when Akane removes the chain around her. Calypso looks at the silver pistol still in her hand and scoffs, tossing it to the side.
"We can figure it out later." Mana says, that troubled and confused look still on her face. "We should regroup with-" she stops short, groaning and squeezing her eyes shut. She clutches her head with her free hand.
"Mana?" Akane steps forward, concerned. "Hey, what's wr-?"
She opens her eyes again, this time with one blue eye and one green eye.
Akane frowns, "Mary? What are you…?"
Mary moves with the same speed that Mana possesses, rushing forward and kicking Calypso square in the chest, throwing her against the tree she was just freed from. Mary snatches up the pistol Calypso tossed and shoves the barrel of the gun against her neck. "Don't fucking lie to us, Aurelia." Mary snarls, distrust and sheer hatred in her eyes. "Your face made me remember where I've heard your name before." she says, staring her down. "You had a front row seat to what those doctors did to Mana and I. You were a child. You were a child and you didn't cry, you didn't scream in terror, nothing like that." Mary says, tears welling up in her eyes. "You laughed."
Akane's eyes widen in surprise, glancing between Mary and Calypso. She stands frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Calypso pales, "Th-That wasn't me! I-"
Mary cocks the gun. "Other than getting older, your face is exactly the same." she says. "Tell me why I should believe that wasn't you or I'll shoot you right now."
"It was my sis-"
"You just said you had no siblings. One more try." Mary says, a dead serious look on her face.
"B-Because I don't! I mean, I did-" Calypso quickly shakes her head, glancing down at the gun against her neck with a panicked look. "Okay, okay. I'm the oldest of octuplets, alright? All girls." she begins. "We were kidnapped by Revenant Beasts too. They wanted to merge us to combine our Magic Power or something. My youngest sister - M-Maia - it's like she snapped or something under the pressure of all the stress and became...eager to get on with the merge." Calypso says darkly. "So they chose her as the host. They got through the youngest five, successfully. When it was E-Electra's turn…" she trails off, biting her lip. "Let's just say they couldn't use her after what she did to herself." she says. "That's why I said I don't have any siblings. They're all basically dead. After what Maia's done I don't consider her my sister anymore." Calypso explains.
Mary's expression softens ever so slightly but she keeps the gun against Calypso's neck. "And what about you? You're here, not merged with this sister of yours. Why wouldn't they continue on with you?" she questions.
"By some divine stroke of luck from the Goddess, I escaped." Calypso says. "I don't kn-"
"Then why were you with Kenji?"
"H-He found me. He and his friend were going to take me back but then Devlio saw you - um, Mana, in Zaflior and they set up all this as a trap." Calypso answers. "They knew she would fall for something like some guy looking for his missing family. They didn't know you were alive, Mary, that's why Kenji made me look like you. To bait her."
Mary goes quiet. She slowly pulls the gun away from Calypso's neck. "...I'm sorry." she says, looking as downcast as Mana. "I panicked."
Calypso lets out a sigh of relief and smiles, "Hey, it's all good." she says. "I wouldn't trust me either if I'd gone through what you have - which I kind of did but to a lesser extent - but, um, anyways, let's start over." she says, dusts herself off, and bows slightly. "Hi, I'm Calypso Aurelia, Transformation Mage extraordinaire." she says and holds out her hand.
Akane and Mary exchange an unsure look but nod anyways. Mary takes her hand, "Mary." she says, nodding again.
Akane doesn't take Calypso's hand. "Akane Kumiko." she introduces herself, crossing her arms. "So where are you from then? Since this job was apparently bogus, we'll take you home."
Mary nods, "It's the least we can do since you got wrapped into all this because of Mana and I." she says. "Our other teammates will understand. Probably."
Calypso pauses, "Other...teammates?" she asks.
"Yeah, they're in town investigating for clues about - well, you." Akane says. "We can just wait here for them. They're smart boys, I'm sure they've figured out that Ogygia isn't who he says he is."
Mana (now back in control), Akane, and Calypso are sitting around talking while they wait for the inevitable arrival of Veiss and Emile.
"-so I'm pretty sure this Ogygia guy is actually Devlio, the other Revenant Beasts Mage that was with Kenji when they captured me." Calypso says. "The way you described him sounds exactly like that creep." she says.
Mana shrugs. "It's whatever." she says, staring at the ground. "Either way, they can't hurt you now."
Calypso sighs, "Okay, what's up with you?" she asks. "You've been all depressed since I woke up chained to that tree. What happened while I was unconscious?" she asks.
Akane shoots the girl a sharp look, "It's none of your-"
"Kenji made it seem like we were friends." Mana says dejectedly. "He knew about our birthmarks and he made it seem like him and I killing my sister together was perfectly plausible." she says. "What did they do to me that would make me-?"
"Yuki I SWEAR if you don't stop fooling around-" a feminine voice says frustratedly but a masculine voice interrupts her.
"Relax, Luster, I'm just trying to have a little fun with them." the masculine voice says.
The girls share a look and stand up, putting their guards up as the voices draw closer.
A young man with pale lilac hair dressed as a jester and an armor-clad young woman with long silver hair emerge from the trees, the former dragging two tied up and gagged people behind him. They stop, looking at the girls in surprise. "Oh." the silver haired woman says. "I didn't think other people would be here…" she frowns, studying them closely. "...unless you're with them?" she asks, gesturing at their hostages.
Now that they're within full view, Mana can get a better look at them.
The young woman has long silver hair tied up into a ponytail, a few strands escaping the confines of the hair tie and framing the sides of her face. She has pale skin and bright blue eyes. She wears a silver breastplate under a purple robe with some sort of snake emblem emblazoned in the center of it: the heads and necks of a three headed hydra. Luna also wears a purple skirt, armored silver boots, and battle gauntlets: one being an azure blue color and the other a crimson red.
The young man physically looks like a normal lithe young man. He has brilliant forest green eyes and pale lilac hair with the beginnings of stubble starting to form on his chin. His clothes are where it starts to get a bit odd. He wears a colorful, pointed cloak with a high collar, consisting of vibrant golds and lilacs, made up of a closely-knit fabric. On the underside of this cloak is an almost galaxy-like pattern, an optical illusion that almost seems like a colorful abyss. Beneath this, he wears a crimson vest with a white collared shirt underneath, the sleeves reaching his elbows. He also wears baggy black capris with suspenders hanging off them, black fingerless gloves, and brown dress shoes.
Akane and Calypso step in front of Mana defensively - the only one with any serious injuries. "We're not with anyone but each other." Akane says, glaring at them. "Who are you?" she asks.
The jester gives her a wry smile, "What, you own the forest or something Miss Crop Top?" he asks.
Akane flushes, pulling her shirt down. "Shut up. Keep your freaky green eyes off of me." she says.
(Mana and Calypso shrink back slightly, mumbling insecurely about their eyes.)
Mana shakes it off and clears her throat, "We're with Phoenix Fire," she says, moving to stand between Akane and Calypso. She leans on Akane's shoulder, still holding her side protectively. "Who're you?" she asks, hissing as Akane moves Mana's arm around her so she can support her better.
The silver haired woman sighs in relief, "You're not Dark Mages. Good." she says. "I've had enough of fighting alongside him." she says, glaring at the man. She turns back to Mana, "My name is Luna Luster, we're with Aberrant Hydra." Luna introduces herself. "Our Master sent us here to take care of a small group of Dark Mages lurking here. These two refused to cooperate so we're bringing them in personally." she says, gesturing at her partner's hostages.
The jester smiles, curtseying slightly and revealing rather sharp, fang-like canines. "Yuki Whiteclaw, at your service." he introduces himself.
The girls introduce themselves, Calypso more hesitant than the other two, and explain what they're doing in the forest.
"I see." Luna says, observing the way Mana's cradling her side. "It would be hard to support two grown people on your own while levitating, especially with a broken rib." she says sympathetically. "You have no way to contact your friends?"
Akane shakes her head, "We were counting on them meeting us here either way the mission went." she says.
Luna nods and glances at Yuki.
Yuki pouts, "I don't want to-"
"Yuki." Luna says, giving him a scolding look.
Yuki erases his pout instantly and smiles mischievously at Luna. "Alright, alright." he says and tosses the rope he's using to drag the two Dark Mages over his head. "Just gimme some space, Luster."
Luna squeaks, "Yuki!" she whines, chasing after the rope as their hostages start wiggling away.
"What're you going to-?" Calypso starts but Yuki puts a finger against her lips as he passes by.
"Shhh. I'm gonna do it right now, don't get your panties in a twist." Yuki says, taking off his oversized jester cap and pulling it down onto Calypso's head. "Watch this for me, sweetcheeks." he says.
Calypso huffs, pulling the cap right off and fixing her mussed up hair. "Whatever." she mumbles.
Yuki stands clear of the girls and bows. His back starts glowing a brilliant shade of gold, captivating Calypso. Then a pair of strange, bat-like golden wings unfurl themselves from Yuki's back. However in place of a usual membrane there are multiple colorful, floating crystals.
Akane's eyes widen, "What the hell?" she whispers under her breath.
Mana looks just as surprised as her, "That's so cool." she gasps.
"What do your friends look like?" Yuki asks.
Akane quickly gives him the gist of Veiss' and Emile's appearance.
"The guy wearing the kimono also has a little animal with him so please don't drop him." Mana adds.
Yuki gives them a mock salute, "Your wish is my command." he says with a little bow. "However, I'm not bringing them over here." he says, walking towards the girls.
"H-Huh?" Mana blinks.
"You're all done here, right?" Yuki says. "It makes a lot more sense for you to just get back to town." he says, quickly but carefully scoops Mana up in his arms, and flies above them.
"But I wanted to look around the f-"
"Not a smart thing to do when your party is tired and you yourself have a broken bone." Yuki interrupts her.
"H-Hey!" Akane starts, glaring up at him. "She's injured, be careful with her!"
Mana smirks, "Did we succeed in Team No Name's personal mission already?" she asks. "You care so much about me already." she coos.
Akane blushes, embarrassed, and crosses her arms. "Fine. Whatever. Just don't blame me when he breaks another one of your ribs." she says.
Mana just shakes her head and turns her head back to Yuki to find him staring intently at Veneto. "Is something wrong?" she asks with a frown.
"Nah. Just looking for your friends." Yuki says. "My Magic gives me a strange, unique combination of abilities and spells." he explains. "What I'm doing right now I like to call my Accuracy ability. It allows me to hyperfocus and see even the most miniscule of details in an instan - oh, I found your friends." he says suddenly and with that, he's zooming towards the city with Mana in tow.
In Veneto, an hour earlier…
The bartender shakes her head and laughs. She hums for a minute, thinking about Veiss' question. "I'm afraid I've never heard of this Ogygia. Are you sure he's from here?"
Veiss and Emile share a look.
Emile takes Veiss' hand off his mouth, "We were told that he and his sister Calypso have lived here their whole lives." he says seriously. "Are you sure you've never met them before?" he asks.
The bartender nods. "I'm positive. I know everybody in this city from the rich folk to the people living on the streets." she says. "I've never heard of or met those siblings."
Emile and Veiss quickly thank the bartender and run out of the bar, sprinting towards the town square.
"I knew there was something wrong with that guy!" Veiss says.
Emile shakes his head, "But why would he pretend to be a resident here? Guilds take requests that are in out-of-your-way places, he didn't have to go through the trouble of disguising himself." he wonders.
"It doesn't matter his reasoning. Whatever way you look at it, it's suspicious." Veiss says as they round the corner towards the town square. "Maybe he really is a Dark-"
"You weren't supposed to find out this early." comes Ogygia's voice from behind them.
The boys whip around and jump back, Ogygia's extremely different clothing taking them off guard and giving the man an even more mysterious and suspicious vibe.
He wears a dark red hooded robe with black accents that obscures his face slightly but Emile and Veiss can still tell it's him. Ogygia also wears black pants decorated with suspicious red splatter on them that looks suspiciously like blood and plain black boots. Strangely, he also wears a chain wrapped around his waist. He also wears a black face mask with a red eye in the middle.
"So you really are a Dark Mage." Emile says with a frown. "What about your sister?"
"Dark Mage?" Ogygia asks, his voice sounding even more hollow than it did before. "What makes you say that?"
"Dude just look at yourself!" Emile says, gesturing wildly at Ogygia. "And we spoke with a very pretty lady who knows Veneto like the back of her hand." he says, nodding at Veiss.
"And she's never heard of you or Calypso." Veiss adds on. "Also, you lied." When Ogygia just stares at them, he continues, "You said you didn't possess any offensive Magic. I didn't notice before, maybe because you were concealing it somehow. I don't know. But right now, I'm sensing that you do have offensive Magic. Strong, offensive Magic." Veiss says.
"And how's that?" Ogygia asks.
"That's none of your concern, especially considering where I think you come from." Veiss says. He glowers at Ogygia as he slowly draws the sword at his side: it has a giant saw-like blade with a sharp, jagged edge, and a crimson handle. "I'm not sure why you would hide what kind of Magic you possess and I'm not sure why you would lie about living in this city but you need to come with us."
"Why do I need to do that?"
"If you want to prove your innocence," Emile starts as he places Novem on the nearby fountain. "Prove that you're not with some musty Dark Guild like Revenant Beasts-"
Ogygia twitches andplaces his right arm down next to his abdomen, with an open palm, then places his closed right fist on the face of his palm, "Ice-Make: Water Serpent." He creates a large, spiraling serpent made of ice. It starts coiling around the town square, terrifying the residents of Veneto and making them flee. It turns every building it touches into ice and eventually surrounds the three, creating a sort of arena for them.
"What th-"
Ogygia gives them a dangerous look, the most emotion he's shown thus far, and pulls off his hood. "Master Raoul saved my life." he says, raising his arm and pointing an accusatory finger at Emile. "You are nothing compared to him and your guild is nothing compared to us. At least, not anymore." he says. "You have no right to insult the name of Revenant Beasts."
"...Well I guess that settles that about whether or not you're a Dark Mage, eh Ogygia?" Emile says half-jokingly.
Ogygia does not look amused. His expression is back to being dull, betraying the anger in his voice, "My name is Devlio, not Ogygia. The alias was an ally's idea." Devlio says. "I have orders not to kill anyone but I'll disobey if you continue to sully the name of my Guild." Devlio warns, retaking his earlier pose.
"I'd say we have every right to insult your band of criminals." Emile retorts, his expression darkening. "Revenant Beasts are the ones responsible for what happened to Phoenix Fire in X771. You took advantage of the state the guild was in and raided us and kidnapped Master's only child." he says, his body starting to glow with his Magic Power. "Elysian Saber!" The same glow appears in front of him and morphs into a saber, solidifying when Emile snatches it out of the air and flourishes it expertly. "Where is that baby now?" he asks. "Another victim of your disgusting experiments?"
Devlio stares at him, "I'm not at liberty to speak about that." he answers.
"Fine. We'll make you talk." Emile says, nods at Veiss, and rushes at Devlio, the latter unmoving. Just as the sword is about to make contact with Devlio's neck, he quickly sidesteps Emile.
Emile doesn't miss a beat, tucking and rolling when he passes Devlio. He pauses for a moment, scoffing when he sees the emblem proudly emblazoned on the back of Devlio's robe. "Pretty bold of you to go around dressed like that. You're literally putting a target on your back, dude." he says and runs at Devlio again.
Veiss' eyes follow the battle expertly: watching each punch Devlio throws and each swing of Emile's saber: it's a useful skill granted to him by that but still something he despises. When he moves in, he has to be careful to avoid Emile's attacks. Light Magic hurts like hell and it aggravates-
Just get rid of both of them. It'll be easier that way.
Veiss grits his teeth. "Not now, dammit." he hisses, clutching his chest.
Get rid of yourself too, while you're at it.
"No no no no no-"
Just die, Veiss Dregliark.
Veiss bites down on his lip and tightens the bandages on his arms, tuning out the voice. "Not now…" he whispers to himself and flourishes his sword. "Black Arms." he mutters. Veiss' sides start tingling as shadow-like arms grow under his actual limbs until they're the exact shape and size as his own.
He focuses back on the fight, his eyes widening when Emile's neck is about to be impaled by a spiky ice gauntlet on Devlio's hand. "Emile!" Veiss yells, reaching out an arm in his direction and sending his shadowy arms Emile's direction to block the hit and pull Emile out of the way. They extend quickly, one arm grabbing Devlio's fist and the other picking up Emile and placing him back next to Veiss'.
"Well damn." Emile blinks. "I didn't know you could do that," he says, impressed. "think I could do that one day?"
Veiss rolls his eyes and scoffs. "I doubt it." he says. "There's a big gap of skill between us, Solflare." he sasses and looks back at Devlio. The Dark Mage is struggling to free his arm from Veiss' Black Arm. "Rush him again." he orders.
"What are you gonna do?" Emile asks, raising an eyebrow.
Veiss just smiles and uses the free Black Arm to pick himself up and throw himself up in the air.
"Oh. So that's what he's gonna do." Emile says and starts running at Devlio again when Veiss releases him from his other Black Arm. "Hey hon." he says with a smile and tosses his saber right at Devlio - to which the man catches by the blade right before it gets him square in the face. He's indifferent to the giant gash now on his palm, blood dripping from it at a dangerously fast pace. "Can I pull you for a chat?"
Devlio only freezes the gash on his palm and stares at Emile.
"Is that a no?"
"Prepare to die."
"That's a no."
"Ice-Make: Ea-" Devlio stops short suddenly. "I have to go. We shall continue this later."
"No, damn you!" Veiss swears. Emile looks up to see his newest teammate skydiving towards Devlio with his sword aimed to impale the man. He swings his other arm down, firing off a black chain that heads straight for Devlio. "CHAIN!"
"We're not done here!" Emile says and makes a diamond with his hands, "Elysian Shot!" he calls, firing a beam of concentrated energy from his hands.
"Ice-Make: Clone!"
The beam and the chain hit the clone the second Devlio finishes the spell and shatters it, filling the area with mist and blinding Emile. When it clears Devlio is gone and Veiss has just landed where he once was.
"Damn it!" Emile swears, stomping his foot angrily. "This close - this close to getting justice for Master Nadine and the others!" he yells.
"That's right," Veiss says, standing up straight. "About that, you were saying something about Master's missing kid?" he asks, sheathing his sword.
Emile stops and sighs, "Well, it's a bit of a long story." he states. "And I'm not exactly supposed to know about Master's kid, but…" he shrugs. "Danate's got a big mouth when he's drunk."
Veiss crosses his arms, "Does this have something to do with the X771 massacre?" he asks.
Emile nods. "I'll talk about it on the train ride back home so Mana and Mary can hear it too." he says. "In the meantime, let's clean all this up before we meet up with the girls in the forest." he says, gesturing at the iced over buildings and the water serpent that's still keeping them trapped. "I'll get the big snake thing, you take the buildings."
"Obviously," Veiss says. "You'd just destroy the buildings." he says, making Emile scoff as he manifests another saber.
"Don't be jealous I can be more destructive than you." Emile calls as he walks towards the head of the snake.
Veiss rolls his eyes as he walks towards the shortest snake coil. "We both know that I could be thousands of times more destructive than you could ever be." he says, using his Black Arms to lift him over it: one arm flat on the ground and extending itself over the ice and the other carrying him.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Veissy!"
"I will literally saw Novem in two if you don't shut the hell up."
Veiss and Emile plop down in the middle of the town square, their Magic Power exhausted.
"That took longer than expected." Emile sighs, Novem safely back on his head.
Veiss nods in agreement, "Ogy - I mean Devlio's ice is tough." he says. "See that one building right there?" he asks, pointing off to the side. "That one took the majority of my power." Veiss says, glaring petulantly at the building. "Fucking building." he grumbles. "Fortunately, somehow none of the townspeople got touched by the snake."
"Yeah." Emile says and sighs dramatically, taking Novem off his head and rubbing his face against his fur. "It took me forever to cut that damn snake's head off." he complains.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't rub your sweaty face all over my fur-" Novem starts, having awoken while the two were fixing Devlio's mess, but a very strange arrival makes him stop.
"Well I'd appreciate it if you let this snake keep his head." an unfamiliar voice calls from above the boys.
The boys look up, their eyes and mouths gaping when they see a winged man carrying their newest guildmate.
"Uh…" Veiss and Emile say in unison, their fatigue and shock making them speechless.
"An angel." Novem gasps quietly.
"What the hell happened to you two?" Mana asks, looking over their haggard appearance.
Novem wiggles out of Emile's hands and jumps onto his head. "Turns out Ogygia wasn't Ogygia and Calypso most likely isn't his sister." he says. "He's actually named Devlio and is even creepier than his Ogygia persona."
Mana sighs, "We figured it was something like that." she says. "We found Calypso, she's safe with Akane and Luna." Mana says as the winged man lowers them to the ground. "Unfortunately we found out that we have a similar history where Revenant Beasts is concerned."
Veiss scoffs, "Well they're just fucking up everyone's lives aren't they." he says bitterly. "And who're you?"
Strangely, the winged man isn't looking at him when he answers, "Yuki Whiteclaw, Aberrant Hydra." he says blankly, staring intensely at Emile. "You…" he trails off, an unreadable expression on his face. "Who are you?" Yuki asks and looks at Novem. "And you...you're his Nine-Tails." he says and sniffs in their direction. "You're older than you look. Where are your other tails?"
Emile glares at Yuki and cradles Novem protectively in his arms. "He's stuck at his baby stage for some reason." he says. "What's it to you? Why do you know so much about him?" Emile snaps.
Yuki starts staring at Emile again. "And you...you're half-" he stops himself and shakes his head. "Nevermind." Yuki says and gently places Mana down on the other side of Emile. "I'll return with your other teammate and Calypso." he says with a smile and a bow and then he's off to the skies again.
Mana and Veiss look at Emile worriedly when he doesn't say anything.
"Emile?" Novem asks, nudging Emile's face with his. "Why does that guy know so much about me? And what did he mean by 'you're half'. Half what?" he asks, concerned.
Emile shakes his head and holds Novem closer to him. "I don't know. He doesn't give off the same vibe as those guys that wanted to take you away before but…" he sighs. "I don't know. I don't know. I'm...human. That's obvious, I'd say." he mumbles to himself. "I don't look not human. Maybe half-Valiant? But why does that matter…?"
Mana pats Emile on the head.
"Don't worry about it." Mana says.
"Yeah," Veiss agrees. "He doesn't seem like he's all there, if you know what I mean." he says, tapping his head.
"And besides," Mana says. "We're a team. If he tries anything with you or Novem he tries it with all of us, right?" she says with a smile.
Emile nods and smiles, shaking off his bad feeling. "Right." he says. "Sorry. He just creeped me out."
"Valid." Veiss and Mana say in unison.
As promised, Yuki made two more trips that brought Akane and Calypso back and his guildmate, Luna.
Needless to say, Emile was very happy to introduce himself to the girls (and neither girl was receptive to his flirting). Veiss doesn't recognize Calypso at all so there's no connection there.
Luna said she had been to Veneto before and pointed them in the direction of an infirmary to treat their wounds. She and Yuki went in the opposite direction to deliver their hostages to the guards and the group parted ways - but not before Yuki gave Emile one last curious, intense look.
The group made their way to the infirmary and were instantly greeted by nurses and pulled into five different directions to be treated: Mana and her cuts and broken rib, Akane's cuts and bruises, Emile's and Veiss' dangerously low Magic Power, and Calypso to dispel any other spells that Revenant Beasts may have on her. After they were treated they all guided to a room and they reunited one by one.
They shared all the information they gathered: Kenji Onizuka, Mana's apparent connection to Kenji, the fact that Revenant Beasts apparently wants Mana back and that they didn't know Mary was literally living on inside Mana, the gun they retrieved from a brainwashed Calypso, Calypso's story, and Ogygia who was actually another Revenant Beasts Mage, Devlio, in disguise (Team No Name unanimously silently decide to withhold that weird talk with Yuki and the talk about what happened in X771 until they're alone with each other).
It was a long discussion.
Then they moved onto the subject of Calypso and-
"I want to join you guys." Calypso blurts out.
They all stare at her in surprise. "Huh?"
Calypso flushes lightly and clears her throat. "Sorry, I - um, I want to join you. Phoenix Fire, I mean." she says. "Akane and Mana and Mary saved me from Kenji. Clearly I wasn't strong enough to overpower him myself and I just - I want to repay you guys." she says earnestly. "I'm not going back home until I either avenge my sisters or rescue them from Maia. I want to get stronger, help them, and help you in any way I can." Calypso says. "Please?"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Well it's not like we're gonna tell you to take a hike." Veiss says, yawning and putting his hands behind his head.
Mana nods, "I mean, I only joined myself so I can't say much but I know you'll like it there. Mary says so too." she smiles. "Although I do recommend more training than I did so you can avoid any broken bones." she starts to laugh but immediately winces, her hand going to her side.
Akane crosses her arms. "I don't care either way. Do whatever you want." she says.
Emile puts a hand on his chest and gets down on one knee in front of Calypso, grasping her hand with his free one. "As I said to the lovely Mana here, I'm always happy to have another pretty girl in Phoenix Fi-"
Akane kicks him in the head, sending him toppling over and crashing into a nearby wall. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave everyone alone!?" she yells angrily. "Nobody wants to date you, scarface!" she says, making Emile whine.
Novem, who's currently resting in Calypso's other arm, sighs comfortably. "You're gonna have to tell him until he's on his deathbed, Akane." he says. "The boy is too stupid to remember something as simple as that."
Emile gasps, rolling over onto his hands and knees and glaring at Novem in betrayal. "Why you little fu-"
Akane rolls her eyes, tuning out the rest of their group, and goes to take a seat next to Mana. "Hey." she says and crosses her arms again.
"Hi." Mana says and smiles at her. "So, how's our personal mission of getting you to trust me?" she asks.
"I can't just forget what Kenji said." Akane says with a frown. "And I know you don't remember having anything to do with him - I just can't forget it. I know he's a Dark Mage but it's pretty easy to plant seeds of doubt in my head." she says unhappily. "I don't like it, that's just how it is."
Mana sighs and nods. "It's okay. I get it." she says. "I'd find it hard to trust someone who claims they're an amnesiac who also happens to have ties to a Dark Guild." she says. "But we'll get there, right?"
Akane gives her the smallest of smiles. "I hope so."
On the train back to Zaflior…
Mana, Akane, Veiss, Emile, and Calypso are all asleep. However, for once, Novem is wide awake. He stares out of the train's window, bored.
"Hey, did you hear?"
Novem's ears perk up.
"No, what's up?"
"This infirmary in Veneto - the city we just stopped at - someone found a bunch of gold statues there."
"Oh really? That's so weird."
"Yeah, and get this: when they took a closer look at them those statues turned out to actually be some staff members!"
"Wh-What? Like, the nurses and doctors?"
"Mhm."
"That's scary...what kind of Magic would do that?"
"I dunno. Apparently stuff like that has happened before, decades ago and other more recent times too."
Novem frowns and tunes out the conversation. "So they sent more Dark Mages after us." he guesses, mumbling to himself. He glances at Mana and Calypso, both girls sleeping soundly. "Why does Revenant Beasts want them so badly?" he wonders.
Novem sighs and makes himself comfortable on Veiss' head. He files the conversation away to tell Emile later - he can decide what to do with it.
Right now Novem just wants to sleep.
PF x AH x SS
A/N :pepeohmy: that poor infirmary staff :(
Slowly but surely we're getting back to where we once were ! :poggies: