"...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.
Episode 27: Phoenix Fire's S-Class
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn (Women's Side)
Mana drums her fingers against the floor, bored.
…
…
…
Don't do it. Mary warns.
Mana grins.
She's going to hurt you.
"That's how she shows affection!" Mana insists as she pushes herself up onto her feet.
Mary sighs.
Alistair raises an eyebrow when he comes out of the dressing rooms to find Akane and Mana waiting on a nearby bench, the latter hunched over and cradling her head. "You really couldn't go five seconds without annoying each other?" he asks.
Akane glances at Alistair and huffs, crossing her arms and legs and turning her head. "She was asking for it." she says.
Mana gasps, affronted. "No, I was asking for a h - Mary shut up no I wasn't!" she whines.
Alistair shakes his head and walks ahead as he beckons the girls towards him. "Come on, let's drop these off at the front, Myling said they would take care of it for us." he says, dangling his robe in his other hand.
Akane and Mana follow behind him and the latter grows confused when the other two Phoenix Fire Mages gawk at the receptionist drumming her fingers against the desk.
"Caia?" Akane blinks.
Mana frowns curiously, looking between Alistair's and Akane's faces. Then she looks at 'Caia'.
Whoever Caia is, she's a young woman who looks about a year or two older than Akane. She had long, bright golden blonde hair tied up into a ponytail with strands framing both sides of her face. Her eyes are a pretty amethyst color and she has fair but lightly tanned skin.
Caia wears a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging that shows off her waist. The coat has darker brown short sleeves and the jacket is zipped halfway to reveal the deep purple crop top beneath it. She also wears a pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs that reach to her form-fitting black pants are accented by a brown belt that has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. The first piece covers her left hip to the back of the belt and is folded over the belt. The second is attached from the right hip and almost around to the other piece of material.
As she steps out from behind the desk, the white Phoenix Fire mark on the left side of Caia's waist and her knee-high dark brown boots are revealed; of which have gold caps on the heel and toe, with the heel cap attaching to a gold strap across the front of her ankle, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the boots.
Yeah, Mana's definitely never seen her before. But hey, Phoenix Fire mark means friendly, right?
Caia glowers at the three of them. "Took you long enough." she says and holds out her hand. "Come on, I told the receptionist I'd take care of those and then lock up for her."
"What?" Akane blinks, confused. "What are you talking about? Where did you even come from - you were supposed to be back days ago!"
Alistair studies Caia carefully. "...What's going on?" he asks.
"Give me the robes." Caia says patiently, still holding out her hand.
Mana looks unsurely at Akane and Alistair but seeing no trace of distrust, Mana follows behind them as they step forward to give Caia her robe.
Suddenly, something comes crashing down from above the three Mages and Caia's figure is obscured by strong looking metal bars.
Immediately, Akane is fuming. She throws her robe down on the floor and stalks towards the bars of their new cage, grabbing the bars and angrily pressing her forehead against them, glaring at Caia. "Caia, what the hell!?" she snaps.
Alistair's displeasure is much more contained but nonetheless he tosses his robe to the floor too, walking over to stand beside Akane. "Caia," he says. "What's going on?" Alistair repeats.
Caia doesn't say anything and instead looks between them to stare at Mana. "You're the newbie, right? Mana? I'm Caia Orstead, the S-Class Mage you haven't met yet." she introduces herself and turns to address all three of her captives. "And none of you are leaving this building until Calypso Aurelia is in custody."
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Girl's Dormitory
"You…" Veiss hisses. He suddenly groans, clutching his head. "No…not now, Brother…."
Calypso lets out a psychotic laugh at Veiss' pained expression.
And I told you this already too, Veiss Dregliark. You'll regret trying to provoke me into hurting Devlio.
Calypso clears her throat as Veiss desperately tries to fight against whatever's happening in his head. She screams at the top of her lungs:
"HELP! HELP ME! EMILE, MYLING - VEISS IS GOING CRAZY!"
There's a beat of silence before Calypso hears the stampede of feet. Mentally, she grins when she sees the ones who came to her 'rescue': Marcus, Madelaine, and Acro.
Good. The ones I've spoken to the least make better time-stallers. And of course, it helps that Madelaine is here too - she thinks we're friends, after all.
All three of their eyes widen when they see the destruction before them: the broken wall that Calypso sent Myling through (so much for the enchantment Nadine had on the place, huh?), Veiss looking like he's fighting for his life, Calypso's blood all over the floor, and Emile, a pretty golden statue.
"What…" Marcus gasps. "What the hell is going on here!?" he demands.
Calypso puts on a frightened face, "Veiss, I-I-I don't know, Emile and I-" she winces, having moved her injured leg the wrong way and sending a bolt of pain through her body.
Maybe I shouldn't have stabbed myself that deeply.
"Calypso!" Madelaine cries. "Marcus, you get Veiss to calm down. Acro, help Calypso with her leg. I'll make sure Myling is okay. We'll…" she grimaces, looking at her petrified guildmate. "...we'll deal with Emile later."
"R-Right!" Acro nods.
The two boys follow Madelaine's instructions and rush over to their targets.
Acro tears off his red cloak and presses it against Calypso's bloody leg. "Th-This is what you're supposed to do, right?" he asks, looking at Calypso with panicked bright green eyes. "I-I've never, I don't-" Acro stammers.
Calypso puts her hand on Acro's, smiling at the young boy reassuringly even though she feels like her leg is on fire. "Y-Yes, Acro, you're doing fine. Don't worry." she says genuinely.
Hey, she may be a Dark Mage, but she was Acro's age once too. She's going to betray his trust within the next hour or so, sure, but Calypso doesn't need Acro's inexperience making him panic while he's trying to stop her from bleeding out.
A few feet away, Marcus has Veiss pinned against the wall. Veiss' eyes are going wild, looking every which way and unable to focus on Marcus. The sickly pale young man looks impossibly more sickly and sweat is dripping down his face as he hyperventilates.
"Veiss, Veiss, hey," Marcus calls, gently slapping Veiss' cheek. "What the hell is wrong with you, man?" he asks, concerned.
Veiss' eyes look like they're about to bulge out of his head with how hard he's staring at everything.
"Veiss!" Marcus snaps, grabbing Veiss' head with both his hands to force him to look at him.
Veiss stares at him, pained. He roughly grabs onto the front of Marcus' singlet. "Help…me." he grits out. "Stupid…Calypso…Brother…agitated."
Marcus has absolutely no idea what Veiss is talking about but he thinks he knows what Veiss wants. He adjusts his grip on Veiss' head and readies himself, focusing on his Magic. "Fortissimo." Marcus casts and his hands glow yellow, sending a wave of Magic through Veiss' head. Veiss visibly seems to relax a bit and his breathing steadies as it slowly evens out.
Calypso's eyes widen.
Shit.
"U-Um, what's Marcus doing?" Calypso asks Acro quietly.
Acro glances over at the pair. "Oh, he's probably using his Enchantment Magic." he says nonchalantly, returning his gaze to Emile's golden face.
…HIS WHAT!?
"Coll'arco." and Marcus' hands start to emit a multicolored glow, calming down Veiss further.
Calypso grits her teeth. What now!?
Marcus drops his hands from Veiss' head and puts them on his shoulders. "I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with you but it looked like you were fighting against something so I boosted your defense and elemental resistance." Marcus says.
Veiss nods, blinking sluggishly at Marcus. "Th…Thank…you…" he slurs and promptly passes out, dropping his head on Marcus' shoulder.
Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT! Think, Calypso, and think QUICKLY! Come on, both Myling and Veiss are unconscious. You have time to sell them on a story before they try and tell them the truth!
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn
Mana and Akane fall silent and stare at Caia in bewilderment.
"In…custody?" Akane repeats slowly.
Mana's eyes widen. "What are you talking about?" she asks. "In custody? By who? Us? Rune Knights? For what reason?" Mana demands but by the look on her face she already understands what Caia's implying.
Akane's gaze turns harsh once again, but this time not at Caia.
At Alistair.
"You knew the entire time, didn't you? You knew the entire time and that's why you're not saying anything." Akane says. "And that thing with Nelio earlier was an act to get Mana and I to come here, wasn't it? Both of you knew and neither of you said anything."
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.
Alistair continues to stay silent and looks at Caia.
The woman shrugs. "It's all going down now so by all means, fill them in." Caia says.
Alistair crosses his arms. "Are you sure?" he asks. Then, he turns to Akane, giving her a look. "And we didn't know the entire time but we had our suspicions." Alistair says.
Caia shrugs again, indifferent. "Them knowing doesn't change the fact that they're not leaving." she says.
Akane grits her teeth. "Well why not!?" she snaps. "If she's really some kind of villain like you're making her out to be, why aren't we allowed to help?" Akane asks. "We're not weak, Caia!"
For a second, Caia's expression shifts into something akin to guilt before her cold expression returns a second later.
Mana's heart drops and Akane freezes, the former walking forward to stand beside Akane and stare Caia down.
"...Why aren't we allowed to help, Caia?" Mana asks with a shaky voice.
Caia looks between Akane and Mana. "I'm well aware that neither of you are weak." she says. "But you're still young and inexperienced and driven by your emotions." Caia says vaguely.
Akane lets go of the bars and clenches her fists. "That doesn't answer the question, Caia." she says lowly. "Why can't we help?"
"Because we want to take Calypso alive."
Akane and Mana stare down Caia, unwavering under the pressure of both hers and Alistair's stare.
"What. Did. She. Do?"
"Relax," Alistair says, pulling Akane away from the bars. "I'll tell you after I explain." he says. "So, like I said earlier, Nelio and I had our suspicions in the beginning but yes, for a majority of Calypso's time at Phoenix Fire, we knew who she really was."
Akane grits her teeth. "Then what the hell was the big idea letting her prance around our guild doing whatever the fuck she wanted!?"
"Once we found evidence, Nelio and I decided to keep it a secret from everyone until Master Nadine came back." Alistair says. "The less people who knew, the less stares Calypso would get and the less suspicious she would be and the more likely she would be to slip up." he explains. "The only people we told were Danate, Cooley, Genesis, Myling, and," Alistair gestures to the young woman on the opposite side of the bars. "Caia."
Caia puts on a clearly forced smile and waves half-heartedly at Akane and Mana when they turn to look at her.
Alistair continues, "If we told Theresa and Calypso noticed the Acting Guild Master started looking at her differently, she probably would've fled."
Mana blinks, "What, so Myling knowingly let a Dark Mage into her house during the hide and seek game?" she asks.
"Myling is an S-Class Mage for a reason," Alistair says. "and she was aware of Calypso's identity. Her guard was up the entire time. Calypso, believing that no one knew, was taking it easy while Myling was watching her every move…even if she wasn't happy about it."
"Okay, okay, fine. We get it, you and Nelio only told the S-Class Mages. Just start from the beginning so you tell us why we're here." Akane says impatiently.
Alistair sighs and starts pacing the boundary of their metal cage. "Well, our suspicions started when Nelio found a Communications Lacrima Crystal on the roof of the guildhall…"
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Infirmary
When Calypso's settled in the infirmary with a properly bandaged leg, the sound of arguing starts coming from the main hall not long after.
"Veiss wouldn't do that without a reason!" this and "Are you kidding me? Don't you know him at all?" that, and even a "Y'know, maybe Veiss really is crazy enough to attack someone who doesn't know how to fight back…"
Calypso smiles, pleased.
She has them all fooled.
The only bad thing about her current situation is that they put the unconscious Veiss in a different room after they heard her claims that he attacked her out of nowhere.
However…
Calypso glances at the bed beside hers.
An unconscious Myling Alva is laying a few feet away from her.
No one else is in the room, she's an easy, vulnerable target. One touch from Calypso's ungloved hand and she'll be in the same boat as pretty little Emile. An S-Class level threat…gone. Just like that.
It's almost sad how easy-
…
…
…
Huh?
What's this?
Calypso slaps her hand over her mouth, a sudden wave of nausea coming over her. Her eyes drift over to Myling's bed again and she nearly screams when she's met with the sight of the blonde sitting up in bed, glaring at her.
If looks could kill, Calypso would be long dead by now.
A mixture of Myling's aura and Magic Power is coming off of her as a visible dark purple and black presence around her body, making Calypso feel sick. And…something else?
Calypso isn't sure but something inside her just feels wrong.
Myling wordlessly pushes herself off the infirmary bed, walks over, and grabs Calypso by the scruff of her shirt. She pulls Calypso off the bed and throws her onto the floor. "Aura of Shades - it's a side effect from my Magic." Myling says, looking down at Calypso. "The ghastly energies I use…corrupt my Magic Power, I guess you could say. That's why you feel sick." she says and bends down next to Calypso. Myling pins one of Calypso's arms down with her knee and grabs her other one.
"O-Ow-"
Myling continues, "I can suppress this aura to nothing if I so choose, that's why you've never felt it before." she says and pulls Calypso's glove off. "I wonder…can you do the same with your Magic?" Myling says darkly, pulling Calypso's glove onto her own hand with her teeth. "Can't be too careful." she says. "Are the gloves the key in suppressing that power or can you do it yourself?" Myling wonders.
Calypso shivers. What the hell happened to the nervous and weak-willed Myling she's come to know!?
Calypso, feeling weak and sick because of Myling's Aura of Shades and her self-inflicted stab wound, can't fight back when Myling forces her to touch her own face.
Myling gasps in shock when Calypso's cheek starts to turn gold and she pulls her hand away. She watches, fascinated as it turns back to flesh.
"Ah…I see." Myling says.
Calypso shivers again, the dark look in Myling's purple eyes growing increasingly more dangerous by the second.
"So, Dark Mage, tell me why I shouldn't give you the same fate you gave Emile."
Phoenix Fire Guildhall
Cooley stands in front of the door of the room an unconscious Veiss is being kept in.
His orders were fairly simple: protect Veiss and protect Calypso from Veiss.
Cooley's eye twitches when a projectile cup hits him in the face.
"Breathe, Cooley…breathe." he whispers to himself. "Fuck. Where the hell is Master Nadine!?" Cooley swears.
The small bundle of fur in his arms flinches and Cooley sighs, looking down at a trembling and crying Novem. "I'm sorry, Novem." he says and awkwardly pats Novem on the head. "We'll get the kid back to normal, alright?" Cooley says. "Myling is questioning Calypso and Caia is protecting the cure and protecting that Dark Mage brat from Akane and Mana. Once they get here, Emile'll be back to his usual not-gold self."
Novem sniffles. "...You're not very good at being comforting."
"My daughter was stolen from me, give me a break!"
Zaflior
Akito, Koz, Kyza, and Eira all stand in different positions around Zaflior, wondering why they're agreeing to take such random orders from another Guild Master.
Zaflior
"Where is he?"
"He's approaching Zaflior territory again." Genesis Adrestia reports, looking over his Archive screens. "He's still alone, I really think he came by himself," he says with a frown.
Danate scoffs, "What a shame, I was hoping to kick some ass today." he says. "Our S-Class Mages and our Guild Master are all in one place and for what!? Two Dark Mages that are only looking to escape with their lives!? It's bullshit!" Danate snaps angrily.
"They all have a purpose in being here, Danate. I didn't call Genesis and Caia back for nothing." Nadine says calmly. "Caia's skills brought an Anti-Magic potion into our possession that we can learn to replicate should Calypso be unable or unwilling to turn Emile and all of her other victims back to normal." she explains. "Genesis' Archive Magic is helping us track Calypso's comrade, Devlio. Were it not for him, we would be out there ourselves looking for him and the chance of those two getting away would be higher."
Theresa looks down, a guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry again, Nadine. I'm the one who let her into the guild in the first place." she says.
Nadine shakes her head. "It's fine, Mother." she says. "She had the others vouching for her and Calypso isn't - Calypso wasn't a high profile target before she infiltrated Phoenix Fire. It was near impossible to recognize her face or name unless you'd encountered her before." Nadine says. "Calypso made her move because she was convinced I took her bait. Emile's current state is just as much my fault as it is yours. We're taking care of it now, that's all that matters. "
"Yeah!" Genesis agrees. "Think of it in a good way, if you didn't let her in, she would still be a low profile target and all these gold statues would be popping up and no one would know the reason why!" he says optimistically. "Now that we know who she is and what she's capable of, we can send a report to Soncha Kapa when we're finished here and they'll get the word out about her!"
Danate doesn't say anything, still bitter about Emile.
Suddenly, Nadine's eyes widen. "Devlio is on Zaflior territory." she says and turns to the pink haired S-Class Mage. "Genesis."
"Right." Genesis nods and types something out on his Archive keyboard. An empty white bar appears in front of Theresa's head and starts to fill as Genesis types away on his keyboard. When it's full, Theresa waves her arms and in a gust of wind, the four of them are lifted into the air and she drops them down at Devlio's location.
Devlio stops in his tracks, staring dully at the four Phoenix Fire Mages surrounding him. "I'm not here to fight you." he says, pulling down his hood. "I only want Calypso."
"Sucks to suck." Danate says, darkness starting to gather on his hands.
Devlio narrows his eyes and raises his hand. "S-" he stops, his eyes widening.
Danate smirks. "What? Never encountered someone with a Devil Lacrima before?" he says and pounds his chest. "My family paid good money for this, I assure you it's top quality." Danate says confidently. "It's going to take something a little more than some fancy Lost Magic to switch out my Devil Slayer Magic."
Devlio scoffs and lowers his hand. "Do you intend to take us into custody?" he asks.
"Obviously." Danate says, rolling his eyes.
Devlio stays silent for a moment, looking between each of the Phoenix Fire Mages. "...Calypso isn't a killer, you know. The people she turns into statues are still alive." he says. "Aside from 'taking' lives by putting them into a semi-permanent stasis, Calypso doesn't have a single drop of blood on her hands."
"I suspected as much." Nadine says. "Does she have the ability to turn them back?" she asks.
"No." Devlio answers. "Calypso doesn't have any control over the Gold Magic. The gloves she wears are enchanted to suppress the power so she can live normally."
Genesis crosses his arms. "Sounds more like a Curse to me," he says. "I've never heard of a 'Magic' like that before." Genesis says, scrutinizing Devlio.
Devlio stares at him.
Genesis sighs.
"So, what'll it be?" Devlio says, looking at each of the Mages again. "I don't want to fight you and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to win." he says, looking pointedly at Nadine. "All I want is Calypso."
Nadine crosses her arms. "There's someone in Zaflior with Copy Magic." she says. "You have Transfer Magic. Transfer it to yourself."
Devlio stares at her. "Why?"
"Do as I say and we'll give you Calypso peacefully." Nadine says and nods at Genesis. "Show him."
Genesis nods and pulls up his Archive keyboard. He types away on it and in a flash of white light, several wooden pallets full of empty vials appear between Nadine and Devlio.
Devlio raises an eyebrow.
Nadine pulls a vial of light blue liquid out of her pocket. "You're going to copy this potion until all of those vials are full." she says simply. "Then, you and Calypso Aurelia will be free to return to your Dark Guild with all of your limbs intact." Nadine says.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll be happy to help you join your family, Avlio Debilitia."
Devlio's red eyes widen and the four Mages finally see a spark of something in the criminal's usually dull eyes. He slowly pulls his mask down, his expression as if he were just slapped across the face.
Devlio raises his hand.
Nadine's expression remains unchanged while Danate, Genesis, and Theresa tense up.
…
…
…
"...Switch." Devlio snaps his fingers.
Danate, Genesis, and Theresa let out a sigh of relief.
Nadine and Devlio exchange a look, a silent, mutual understanding between them.
And then, Devlio wordlessly sits down on the ground and gets to work.
A/N to fight or not to fight, that is the question
to speed up the betrayal process and shine a spotlight on Myling and Neil or to not speed up the betrayal process and shine a spotlight on Myling and Neil, that is the question
to fix Emile or to not fix Emile, that is the question
TO UNLEASH THE FURY OF EMILE'S BFFS OR TO NOT UNLEASH THE FURY OF EMILE'S BFFS, that is the question