Emile beams when he sees Akane moving. "Finally! We've been waiting for you to wake up." he says.
Veiss crosses his arms, "You've been asleep for two days, Kumiko. It's been peacefully quiet without you."
Akane chucks him a bandaged middle finger and Veiss gives her one right back.
"Anyways," Emile says, smiling brightly at the three Mages. "You woke up at the perfect time!" he says. "Ken returned last night and since Mana didn't get to see what he can actually do with his Magic, he volunteered to put on a show!"
Mana gasps, "Really?"
"Really! But, um," Emile exchanges a look with Veiss. "Afterwards we have to talk about something…important, I guess." he says.
Veiss glares at him but doesn't say anything.
Akane and Alistair look at them strangely while Mana remains blissfully unaware. She stands up on shaky legs, "Come on, one of you help me get Akane on this thing, so we can all watch!"
Episode 25: Rolling in the Deep
Mana, having been forced back into a wheelchair by Veiss, is pushed outside of the guild along with Akane and Alistair (the latter two being pushed by Emile and Nelio [after he'd been called over] respectively).
"So, is Ken gonna fight somebody or is he just, like, displaying his spells?" Mana asks.
Emile shrugs and then remembers Mana can't see him, "He didn't say. But-"
"Young Mister Kyza Miraj has politely offered to assist me so it seems I'll be sparring with him." says the man in question, walking up from the beachside. Ken smiles at Mana, Akane, and Alistair. "It's good to see you again, I'm sorry I was unable to see you this morning - I had to report to Master Nadine." he apologizes and turns to Mana. "I'm not the biggest fan of my Magic but I hope you enjoy the show nonetheless."
Akane frowns. "The Silver Sabelum kid?" she questions.
"The one and only." Ken nods.
"He has Celestial Spirit Magic, if that's what you're wondering about." Veiss says. "He said something about his keys when he fell in that stupid ass hole Nelio forced me to make." he says, shooting the man himself a glare.
Nelio shrugs. "We didn't win but it still worked," he says. "I don't see the problem."
Alistair rolls his eyes, "Just like you didn't see the problem with threatening Aberrant Hydra's Guild Master."
"She deserved it." Nelio says dryly.
"Anyways," Ken clears his throat. "The show should be starting soon so I'll get going." he says and smiles once again before walking on ahead to the beach.
Alistair looks down at each of their wheelchairs with a frown. "Can these go on the sand?" he wonders.
Nelio follows his gaze. "Huh. Don't think so." he says.
"Let's go find Akito or Acro to make a path for us." Veiss says with a yawn. "I'll check the guild. Emile, you check the beach." he says and glares at Nelio. "You stay here and make sure they stay seated."
"I told you I can walk-"
"Shut." Veiss says, flicking Mana's forehead before heading off towards the beach.
Emile smiles and pulls Novem out of his kimono. "I'll be back." he says and places him on Akane's head before heading off towards the guild."
"And then there were four." Nelio drawls.
Akane grits her teeth, "I swear, they better get Acro and not that freak from Silver Sabelum…"
Alistair huffs, putting his elbow up on one of his arm rests and resting his head on his fist. "I want to go back to bed." he says.
"Master Nadine said she had an announcement for us all once you guys woke up," Novem says as he fluffs Akane's hair. "You can't go to sleep now!"
"Oh!" Mana's eyes widen and she turns to Akane with a bright smile. "Speaking of just waking up, I never got the chance to thank you." she says.
"Oh?" Nelio, Alistair, and Novem turn to look at Mana.
Akane looks confused. "Thank me?" she asks.
"For saving me twice!" Mana beams. "You're the one who found me and then you saved me from that clone's attack." she says and reaches over to grab one of Akane's hands, an earnest smile on her face. "Thank you, Akane." Mana smiles.
Akane grits her teeth. "That stupid clone figured out the trick to get free." she says, turning to look at Mana. "My chains don't have it any-"
The hairs on the back of Mana's neck stand up at the look of sheer terror on Akane's face.
"A-Akane-?"
Blood Aria's voice sounds the most put together out of the three Element Four clones they've heard speak: "Airspace-"
Faster than Mana can blink, Akane jumps up and shoves her to the side, pushing her so forcefully she's sent rolling across the entire hall.
"Metsu!"
Mana crashes into the wall on the opposite side of the hall. She groans painfully at the impact, and opens her eyes to see Blood Aria standing behind Akane, its open palms facing each other and poised above her. Magic circles appear next to Blood Aria's hands and on the ground below Akane.
A…ka…ne…?
Akane stares at Mana's horrified face in shock, like she can't believe what she just did either.
Akane blushes furiously. "I-I, um," she blinks, looking frantically between Alistair and Nelio.
"Oh? Is that what happened?" Alistair says in a tone that Akane absolutely does not like.
"Don't twist it into something weird!" Akane snaps, her rosy cheeks making her severely less intimidating.
Nelio tilts his head to the side. "We haven't said anything. You're the one blushing."
"Sh-Shut up!" Akane stammers and gestures wildly at Mana with her free hand. "It's only because she's looking at me like-"
All five of them scream when ice suddenly snaps against the concrete.
They follow the path of the ice with their eyes and see two silhouettes in the distance, one jumping and waving excitedly.
Akane grits her teeth. "Akito…" she grumbles and sighs. "at least he's staying over there - AII!" Akane jumps when her hand is torn away from Mana and she's lifted into the air. She looks down at her kidnapper. "N-Nelio?"
Nelio says nothing and silently shifts Akane into an under arm carry. Then, he starts swinging her back and forth.
Akane's eyes widen as she realizes what's happening. "Nelio."
He says nothing, his swings getting longer with each time he tosses Akane forward.
"Nelio don't you d-"
Nelio takes a deep breath in, "Heave-"
"NELIO!"
"-HO!"
Akane screams as Nelio tosses her on the path of ice and she slides across the beach at breakneck speed.
Nelio dusts his hands off and turns to a pale Mana and Alistair. "Alright. Who's next?"
Myling cries at the increasing body pile at the end of the path Emile had Akito create.
First it was Akane and Novem, then it was Mana, Alistair, and Veiss. Nelio, the most likely cause of the body pile, slides up on the path gracefully and hops off before he crashes into said pile.
"Hi." Nelio says as he passes by his guildmates and takes a seat on the sand.
Meanwhile, as Myling and Emile work to detangle the mess of limbs and dizzy heads of their guildmates, Marcus, Madelaine, and Ken stand off to the side, the former two looking Ken up and down.
"Y'know, I've never actually seen what you can do."
"And that was for a reason, Mister Marcus." Ken says easily. "When all is said and done, however, I do hope you find that the wait was worth it." he says with a smile.
Madelaine scrutinizes him, "I have but I've always wondered, does that stuff have some kind of quality to it?" she asks.
Ken raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Like, is it acidic or poisonous or something?" Madelaine wonders. "And if I hypothetically put some in a vial and you transformed back, would the stuff in the vial go away too? Would it hurt you if I did? Is it a part of your body or does it become your body?" she asks excitedly.
Ken blinks, "Uh…"
For once, the man is at a loss for words.
Marcus bursts out laughing and roughly pats Madelaine on the back. "Well would you look at that! Someone finally managed to get this guy to shut his mouth!"
Madelaine blushes embarrassedly and grumbles under her breath.
Then, Kyza comes running up to the trio. "Ken! Your friends are all fixed now. Do you want to start?" he asks.
(Mana, Akane, Veiss, and Alistair sit in the background still looking very much dizzy and Novem has taken his usual position on Emile's head looking just as bad.)
Ken snaps out of the confused daze Madelaine put him in and replaces the look with a charming smile. "If you're ready, I'm ready." he nods.
The Phoenix Fire Mages who came to watch the sparring session plop down in the sand and form half a circle as an audience, Kyza's guildmates Akito and Koz in the crowd as well.
Kyza sticks his hand in the black leather satchel he carries and pulls out a jade colored key, earning a few surprised murmurs from the Phoenix Fire part of the crowd.
"Is that a green key?"
"He's a Celestial Spirit Mage, right?"
"I didn't know other colored keys existed…"
Koz rolls his eyes, "Just shut up and watch." he snaps, shutting them up.
Kyza smiles proudly at the reaction and holds up the jade key: "Open, Gate of the Sly Snake, Seprino!"
In a flash of light green light, a humanoid boy with tan skin appears in front of Kyza. He has long black hair and yellow eyes with distinct, diamond-like pupils. He wears what everyone can only assume is armor made of snakeskin.
The boy grins, revealing fanged teeth and a forked serpent's tongue when he speaks, "Alright! Kyza already gave me the low-down, who am I fighting!?"
Ken makes a small 'o' with his mouth, just as surprised as the Phoenix Fire Mages. "How interesting…" he says, pushing his glasses up. "I assume your name is Seprino, then?"
The boy, Seprino, pounds his fists together. "Obviously, dumbass. Are you the guy Kyza wants me to beat up?"
Kyza smiles awkwardly. "I specifically remember saying 'spar'..."
Seprino waves him off, "Shut up, Kyza." he says and points at Ken. "I'll let you get the first hit in so come at me, four-eyes!"
"So be it." Ken says as he adjusts his tie. "Swamp Monster: Total Conversion."
Those unfamiliar with Ken's brand of Magic watch in awestruck surprise as his body takes on the form of some kind of black mass, the black sludge being something akin to clay - semi-solid and semi-liquid. Now that Ken doesn't have to worry about destroying a building by growing too fast, he continues to amass more black mass until he's about eight feet tall.
Seprino blinks as he looks up at Ken.
…
…
…
"Send me back, Kyza." Seprino deadpans.
"But-"
Seprino rolls his eyes, "I'm just kidding, stupid." he says and starts running at Ken. "Take THIS!" he cries and punches the black mass.
Ken stares down at Seprino with his eyeless sockets.
"Right…" Seprino scratches his head, confused, and pulls his fist back. He studies Ken's monstrous form, poking it and taking a few steps back. "I think…I should be able to break this down, right?" Seprino wonders to himself. "If this stuff is now his body…" he takes a deep breath in and exhales a dark purple mist, blowing it into his hands before clapping them together. "Second Form - Corrosive Poison-Make: Wave!" Seprino casts and swings his arms at Ken.
With Seprino's swing, a wave of poison flies towards Ken with a sizzling woosh.
"Mass Shot."
Seprino's eyes widen when a good chunk of Ken's form flies off of his body like a projectile and meets his poisonous wave head on, absorbing it. The black sludge then lands in front of Kyza with a plop.
Seprino grumbles unhappily, turning to Kyza. "I don't think I'm going to be of any help here," he says. "Bye."
Kyza laughs awkwardly and nods, "R-Right. Bye, Seprino." he says and dismisses the snake spirit in another flash of light green light. To everyone's amazement, he pulls out yet another jade key. "Open, Gate of the Lucky Pig, Oinkius!"
Once more, in a flash of light green light, another spirit appears before Kyza. This one is a large, fat pink pig whose only humanoid features are the fact that he's standing on his two feet and wearing a black loin cloth.
Oinkius oinks. "Good day, Young Master Kyza. Seprino filled us in on the details when you called him the first time." he says and pulls out a silver coin from a little pocket on the front of his loin cloth. "What'll it be, then?" he asks.
Kyza grins as he pulls out an ornate, odd looking handle from his satchel. It has a dark brown central part and shiny golden cross-guard with a golden star shaped pommel.
…A grip? Hilt?
Whatever it is, where's the head or blade of it?
"Let's go with heads." Kyza says eagerly and snaps the wrist of the hand holding the hilt. When he does, a green light extends from the cross-guard of the hilt and takes the shape of a long, broad blade.
Oinkius nods and tosses the coin up in the air. At the same time, Kyza starts running at Ken himself, the otherworldly blade poised to strike.
The coin lands on one of Oinkius' arms. "Heads." he nods and suddenly, Ken is shoved to the side as if he were hit by an invisible force. Kyza takes the opportunity to tuck and roll behind Ken. He stabs the blade into the back of the black mass and uses it to help him climb up.
By the time Ken recovers from the invisible push, Kyza is sitting on the arm of his form.
"Hi!" Kyza smiles and stabs into where he hopes is Ken's neck. "Let's just get this head off of you…" he says as he quickly works at cutting into the circumference of the side of Ken's neck.
"What…is that…?" Ken asks.
Kyza beams. "A lustrous machete from the Celestial Hunter, the Orion Chasseur d'étoiles!" he says excitedly. "Dracon gave it to me!"
"Then I'll be sure to not break it."
Kyza blinks, freezing. "...Huh?"
In the next second, Chasseur d'étoiles is pulled out of Kyza's hands and absorbed into Ken's form.
"WHAT!?" Kyza cries as Ken picks him up with his other arm and holds him in front of the general area of his torso..
"Abominable Cage."
Kyza watches in horror as a Kyza-sized hole forms in the black sludge. "Oh no." he gulps.
"Oh yes." Ken says and places Kyza in the hole.
"OINKIUS!" Kyza cries as the sludge reforms around him, only letting his face be shown. "I can't push my arms through this stuff!"
Oinkius oinks and tosses the coin up in the air. "Heads or tails?"
"HEADS!"
The coin lands on Oinkus' arm.
…
…
…
"Tails."
Kyza groans and hangs his head. "You win."
Ken laughs in the garbled voice his monstrous form gives him and shakes poor Kyza back and forth in the process.
Back in the crowd of Mages, they start talking about the results of the small battle.
"Jade keys…" Madelaine mumbles in surprise. "I'll have to do more research into that…"
Mana clasps her hands together excitedly. "That was so cool!" she beams. "Ken was awesome and Kyza and his spirits and his knife thing-"
"A machete." Myling supplies helpfully.
"-Yeah that." Mana nods.
Acro starts jumping in place and starts shadow boxing. "I want to fight Ken!" he declares.
Akane rolls her eyes. "Were you not paying attention? That attack from the pig, whatever that was, only pushed him. Physical attacks don't do shit to him - if Seprino stuck it out a little longer he would've figured that out." she says.
Marcus hums as he leans back and lays down on the sand. "Interesting…very interesting." he says and yawns, closing his eyes. "Someone wake me up before the sun burns me to death."
"Has anyone seen Calypso anywhere?" Madelaine wonders suddenly, looking around at the group of Mages. "I would've thought she'd be here to watch the show."
Acro hums, tapping his chin. "Y'know, now that you mention it, I haven't seen her around the guildhall for a few days now," he says. "I miss her."
Veiss narrows his eyes. "You mean since Master Nadine came back." he says with a frown.
Acro blinks, taken aback by the hostility in Veiss' voice. "I-I mean, yeah, I guess." he says. "If you really need a benchmark for that…"
Emile smiles obliviously and raises his hand. "I actually saw her there before Veiss and I went to see Mana, Akane, and Alistair," he says. "I'll go get her!"
Nelio hums, "I'll walk with you." he says and stands up. "I'm getting hungry."
Alistair blinks. "H-Hey, wait. What about us?" he asks, gesturing to himself, Mana, and Akane. "You guys brought us here in wheelchairs and they're all the way over there."
Nelio points at Myling and Veiss. "Those two are in charge of you now. They want to take you to that Magic hot spring bath place." he says.
Akane scoffs, "So descriptive…" she mumbles under her breath.
Emile smiles again. "Alright then, come on, Reo." he says and the two walk off towards the guild.
Mana turns toward a nervous Myling and Veiss. "'Magic hot spring bath place'...?" she asks, confused.
Myling squeaks, jumping. "U-Um," she stutters, looking anywhere but Mana. "I told Veiss about this b-bathhouse with enchanted waters…" Myling says. "Supposedly its waters can heal you and restore your Magic Power. I h-haven't tried it myself but considering the circumstances…I can treat you to an hour if you'd like."
Alistair raises an eyebrow. "'Treat'? How much does it cost to get in?" he asks.
"Five hundred seventy five thousand Jewel."
"...Per person?"
Myling nods.
Akane's jaw drops. "YOU CAN JUST THROW AWAY TWO MILLION JEWEL LIKE THAT!?" she cries.
Myling shrugs, rocking on her feet nervously. "...S-Class missions offer a lot of money…" she says. "A-And Veiss and I aren't going in, just you three."
Veiss grumbles as he stretches out his arms and tightens the bandages around them. "Yeah, yeah," he says. "After we get you in there you should be able to walk without falling on your faces so Myling and I are only dropping you off." Veiss says and nods to the woman in question. "Let's go get the chairs. " he says and turns back to the three injured. "One of you is gonna have to push yourself so you better figure that out now."
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn (Women's Side)
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...If you keep staring at me I'm going to kill you."
The two of them sit on opposite ends of the bath, a towel protecting their decency and their hair tied up into buns to keep it from getting wet.
Mana crosses her arms, pouting. "Why do you always make it sound like I'm staring at you in a bad way?" she asks. "And besides, you're wearing a towel, there's nothing to look at." Mana mumbles under her breath.
"I heard that." Akane snaps. "And you're wearing one too, stupid." she says and narrows her eyes. "Explain your staring, then, dumb squirrel. It's not the first time."
"Because I can only see that when you don't have a shirt on." Mana says, gesturing at Akane's shoulder.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" Akane screeches as she tries to throw Rina off of her.
Mana didn't even see when Rina jumped her.
"Stop struggling-"
"FUCK YOU!" Akane screams, her face beet red as Rina somehow manages to pull her shirt off.
Mana's eyes widen.
"MANA! My eyes are up HERE you fucking squirrel-"
"Squirrel…?" Mana wonders aloud and shakes her head. "Why are you looking at me like that? I was only looking at that-" she says as she points at Akane's shoulder. "What else would I be looking-?" Mana stops, her eyes moving to look a few inches lower than Akane's shoulder.
Mana's vision goes black very quickly after that when Akane's shoe hits her square in the face.
Akane's face pales despite the steaming water they're both sitting in. Her hand snaps towards her left shoulder, covering it.
Mana has never gotten to see the whole thing because she's always in front of Akane, but she very clearly has some kind of scar extending from the front of her shoulder to the back of it.
"I…" Akane's mouth opens and closes, the older girl at a loss for words.
So Mana continues, "It's a burn scar, right?" she guesses. "That's why you have such a bad fear of fire."
…
…
…
…
…
Akane looks down, a sad, pensive look on her face. "...Yeah." she says.
Mana smiles apologetically, "I won't pry." she says. "I just want to understand you better - I'm sorry if asking made some bad memories come up."
Akane squeezes her shoulder, anger - not directed at Mana - replacing her sadness for a second before the pensive look returns to her face. She drops her hand. "It's…fine." Akane sighs. "I can't…I'm not ready to talk about it yet." she says.
"And that's okay!"
Akane jumps at the sound of Mana's voice coming from right next to her instead of across the bath. "What the f-!?"
Mana smiles brightly, "You know what makes it easier to talk?"
Akana narrows her eyes. "I don't like where this is going."
"Hugging!"
"No."
"A hug lowers blood pressure." Mana says matter-of-factly. "When you hug, touch, or sit close to someone you love-"
"Who said I loved you?"
"-Your body releases oxytocin, which scientists call the 'cuddle hormone.'" Mana says. "You know what makes the cuddle hormone stronger?"
"I really don't want to know."
Mana sidles up against Akane so their arms are touching. She grins, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Skin-to-skin contact."
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn (Men's Side)
Alistair sighs blissfully as he sinks lower into the water. "This is nice…" he says to himself.
Peace and quiet and the relaxing feeling of bathing in hot water.
Alistair loves them dearly but this has been some much needed alone time away from his guildmates.
"Maybe…a nap…" Alistair yawns.
…
…
…
…
…
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"
"DON'T BE SHY, KANNY!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
Alistair's eyes snap open. "...I don't know why I got my hopes up."
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn (Women's Side)
Mana lunges at Akane and pouts when she dodges again. "Come ON, Kanny, one hug isn't going to kill y - oof." she cries when she slips and headbutts the tile wall. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Mana whines, clutching her head and turning around to lean against the wall and steady herself.
Akane scoffs as she walks towards her. "It's your fault for running around and getting water everywhere." she says and pulls Mana's hand away from her face. "Let me s-" Akane stops, a look Mana can't quite read crossing her face.
Mana frowns worriedly at Akane's silence. "What? Is it bad?" she asks.
Akane startles, letting go of Mana's arm and stepping back. "W-What? No. It's cu-" her eyes widen and she coughs violently. "It's fine." Akane says, turning her gaze to the floor. She bends down, picking something up. "Here."
Mana looks down, gasping when she sees her red hair tie in Akane's hand. She takes it in one hand and her free hand goes to grab at her head. "Oh. I guess it came undone with all the running." she says and smiles at Akane. "Thank you."
"...Whatever." Akane says and turns on her heel. "I'm going to dry off and get dressed, our time is almost up here anyway." she says, walking towards the changing room.
Mana smiles again as she ties her loose hair back up into a ponytail.
You're so stupid. Mary says exasperatedly.
Mana's smile drops. What did I do now?
…Nothing. Mary says and Mana can practically hear her eyes rolling.
Mana huffs and sits down next to the bath, sticking her feet in while she waits for her turn to get changed.
Earlier…
Zaflior | Phoenix Fire Guildhall
Emile and Nelio walk into the guild, the former wincing as Novem leaps off of his head.
"I'll find you later, Emile, daddy's gotta eat." Novem says and runs off to the kitchen with a cry of: "SOMEONE FEED ME!"
Nelio hums and puts a hand on Emile's shoulder. "I'll see you later, too. Gotta go find Master Nadine." he says and walks off.
Emile frowns. "I thought you were hungry…?" he says and sighs, shaking his head. "Oh well." he says and heads off towards the girl's dorm in search of Calypso.
I wonder what exactly Calypso and Veiss have against each other. Emile thinks. Maybe they're too similar? Calypso seems to be able to match Veiss whenever they get into a verbal argument…
Emile shrugs and counts the doors he walks past until he reaches Calypso's. He knocks on the door, "Calypso? You in there?" he calls.
…
…
…
No answer.
Emile raises his hand to knock again when he hears some sort of commotion from further down the hall.
Curiosity killed the cat, as Nadine says; but as Danate says: satisfaction brought it back.
Emile follows the sound of the noise and frowns when he sees Mana coming out of, well, Mana's room.
That shouldn't be possible right now.
Emile crosses his arms. "Calypso?" he calls.
'Mana' jumps, whipping around to face Emile. Her face relaxes when she sees Emile. "Oh, hi, Emile!" 'Mana' says. In a puff of smoke, Mana's face disappears and Calypso's is revealed when the smoke clears.
"What were you doing in Mana's room?"
Calypso smiles innocently. "Looking for Mana." she says.
"Disguised as Mana?" Emile raises an eyebrow.
Calypso's smile falters and she waves him off. "Never mind that, Em," she says and latches onto his arm. "Have you ever thought about what you'd do when you leave Phoenix Fire?" Calypso asks suddenly.
Emile's heart skips a beat at their closeness and he tries shuffling away from Calypso to clear his head. "U-Um, 'leave Phoenix Fire'?" he repeats, confused. For every step Emile takes back, Calypso takes one forward until she's practically pinning him against the wall.
"Mhm!" Calypso nods.
"Uh…I don't…I don't have any plans to leave Phoenix Fire." Emile says with rosy cheeks.
Calypso's expression shifts slightly. "Is that so…what a shame." she sighs. "Have I ever told you why I wear these gloves, Emile?" Calypso asks, tugging on the skin-tight white gloves she's always wearing.
Emile scratches his head, confused with all the random questions. "No…" he trails off. "I always thought it was for some personal reason."
"You're exactly right, Em. And I'll demonstrate that reason for you in just a second, but I want you to look at this first." Calypso says, shrugging off her white jacket and rolling up the left sleeve of her top.
Emile hums, watching her curiously. "Hm…?"
Veiss yawns as he trudges into the guildhall, Myling trailing after him. "Have you seen Calypso?" he asks the closest table.
Cooley juts his thumb at the girl's dorm. "Saw her go in there a while after you and Emile went t'see Mana and the others." he says without looking at Veiss.
"Great talk."
"Whatever." Cooley says and continues to stare at the wall.
Veiss gives him a weird look before heading off in the direction of the girl's dorms.
He whistles to himself as he walks the hall, trying to remember where Calypso's dorm is.
Fortunately, he doesn't have to, as she spots the vague shape of purple hair that is Calypso further down the hall. Unfortunately, though, she's not alone. As always, she's with Emile.
Veiss is about to call out to her but stops when he sees Emile's expression:
Heartbreak.
Veiss stops, his blood running cold.
You were right, Veiss Dregliark. She's a cold, heartless traitor. Kill her. Kill her and then put Emile Solflare out of his misery.
Veiss grits his teeth, pushing the voice down and tightening the bandages around his head. "Not now, Brother…" he whispers, watching the scene unfold. "What happened…?"
Despite the tears falling down Emile's face, Calypso is…smiling?
He watches as Calypso pulls her gloves off, tucking them between her belt and her white skirt. She grabs the front of Emile's kimono and says something to him that makes his heartbroken expression twist even further.
Veiss manages to read her lips and for the first time in his life, he wishes he was wrong.
'I fooled all of you.'
Veiss almost thinks it's a trick of the light when Emile's kimono seems to shimmer and when he realizes that shimmer is gold, he puts all of the pieces together.
Veiss starts to run closer. "Em-!"
A hand suddenly clamps over Veiss' mouth. "Dissolve." the familiar voice says and Veiss' vision tints into a black and gray.
Veiss instantly starts struggling, desperate to get to Emile, but the voice speaks again, Veiss recognizing it this time. "Don't. There's no point, Veiss. Her Magic is already doing its thing." comes Myling's soft voice. "She can't see us like this but if you make enough noise she will hear you." she warns.
Frustrated tears spill out of Veiss' eyes as he watches Calypso pull a destroyed Emile down into a kiss.
As soon as their lips touch, the shimmer Veiss saw coming from Calypso's grip on his kimono appears around Emile's face. Calypso pulls away, a cold smile on her face.
"Goodbye, Emile."
And Emile turns into gold.
PF x AH x SS
A/N omg what a rat amirite