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.
Episode 28: Breakeven
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Infirmary
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."
"B-Because - b-because I'm -"
Myling glowers at Calypso.
Calypso whimpers and cries as Myling's Aura of Shades gets stronger. "B-Because I-I, um-" she stops when Myling's focus seems to shift slightly. She waits, too afraid to move.
"...Understood." Myling says and returns her focus to Calypso. "You're off the hook. It's time for you to take a nap." she frowns.
Calypso grows light headed as Myling once again increases her Aura of Shades. The last thing Calypso sees before everything goes black is Myling's scowl.
"Nighty night."
Zaflior
"It's done." Devlio says after he's filled the last vial.
Nadine nods and turns to Genesis.
Genesis nods back, "I already contacted Myling, she's on her way with Calypso." he says and looks at Devlio. "Calypso is only suffering from the passive effects of Myling's Magic, she'll be back to normal in no time once she's out of Myling's area of effect." Genesis explains. "Just so you know."
Devlio nods and snaps his fingers, casting the spell to transfer his original Magic back to himself and return the Copy Magic back to its owner.
Nadine turns back to Devlio, scrutinizing him. "A favor for a favor. You multiplied these potions for us so we'll hold up our end of the bargain. We'll give Calypso back to you and we won't pursue you as you make your way back to…wherever it is that you came from." she says.
Devlio makes a noise of approval as he wordlessly pulls his mask and hood back on.
Before the group can settle into a patient silence, a mess of frantic and angry voices come from Genesis' direction.
"Fucking DAMN IT, Caia, I swear-"
"I told you before and I'll tell you again, Akane. You're not going anywhere until Genesis gives us the all clear."
"Let us go - Alistair that HURTS!"
"Sorry."
Everyone turns to stare at Genesis.
Genesis smiles awkwardly. "Aha…sorry. I was just checking in on them." he says and types something out on his keyboard. Seconds later, a large, sparkling white frame appears in front of the group, revealing Caia and Alistair pinning down a bloodied and bruised Akane and Mana.
Theresa pinches the bridge of her nose. "Didn't those two go to that place specifically to recuperate…?" she sighs.
The four Phoenix Fire Mages jump, startled, and stare at the outside group with wide eyes.
Genesis quickly explains that when the screen appeared here, it appeared on their side too.
Caia glares down at Akane and Mana. "They did come here to recover…and then they decided not to cooperate." she scowls, annoyed. "I will admit, they got the jump on me for a second but obviously it was just that, a second. Akane melted a section of the cage's bars and Mana threw me against the wall with her Wind Magic…they probably would've gotten away if Alistair didn't possess the common sense to help me stop them, but then again," she says and glances at Alistair. "Cooley just barely beat him out of S-Class, I shouldn't have expected anything less." Caia compliments.
Alistair shrugs. "I'll get it next time."
Akane grits her teeth. "WHO THE FUCK CARES!? LET US GO, I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH-"
Caia roughly smacks the back of Akane's head. "Shush."
"Um," Theresa narrows her eyes, leaning in closer to the screen. "Is Akane's hair on fire?" she asks.
Nadine, Danate, Genesis, Caia, Alistair, and Mana wave it off. "It does that sometimes." they say casually.
"It was actually burning a lot stronger earlier." Caia says, looking down at her singed sleeves. "It was kind of a…bitchy move, but I made her, um, sad. To calm her down." she says awkwardly. "She would've lit my clothes on fire otherwise." Caia says.
At the mention of whatever happened between them, Akane's fiery hair calms itself even more and her angry expression falters slightly.
But, only for a second.
Because the second Myling announces her presence and comes within view of Genesis' Archive screen and Akane sees an unconscious Calypso on her back, Akane is seething. Her hair lights up so quickly she startles Caia off of her back and Akane takes the opportunity to lunge at the screen. "WAKE HER UP! WAKE HER UP RIGHT NOW!" she screams, pressing her face against the screen.
Fortunately for Akane, her screams were enough to startle Calypso awake. She looks around, alarmed.
"Hey, Calypso." Akane says in a suddenly very calm and cold voice. "The next time I see you, it's on sight." she says. "You've taken away three people from me. You'll die before you make a fourth out of Mana."
Calypso grins as Devlio takes her from Myling. "Is that so, Akane Kumiko?" she laughs. "I wish you all the best in trying to stop her from coming for Mana." Calypso sneers. "She always gets what she wants…isn't that right, Mana?"
Zaflior | Purewaters Inn
Mana pales. "Wh…What…?" she blinks, her mouth going dry and her heart dropping.
She's…She's not…talking about…right?
… Mary doesn't respond.
Calypso bursts out laughing. "What? Did you really think you could avoid her forever? She almost got you, you know. She just barely missed you in Veneto." she says. "You're lucky she let Ken walk away with his life."
…
…
…
Akane grits her teeth, her calm gone and the normal anger in its place. She clenches the sides of the Archive screen so hard her knuckles are turning white. "What the fuck are you talking about, you stupid bitch?" she scowls.
"The person Mana fears most in this lovely little world, more so than Finn and even Master Raoul." Calypso smiles. "Just take a look at her face!"
As Calypso said, when Akane turns around to look at Mana, the younger girl's face is as white as a sheet.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, Devlio and I have better places to be. Sayonara, Phoenix Fire! Until next time!"
And just like that, Devlio and Calypso disappear in a thick cloud of icy mist.
"SHIT!" Akane swears, throwing the Archive screen to the ground and shattering it before Genesis' Magic can dissipate it and dropping to her knees.
The four of them sit in Caia's partially destroyed metal cage in silence for a moment, letting the information sink in.
Calypso is free, Mana is depressed, Emile is a statue, who the hell knows what's up with Veiss, and Akane is pissed.
Akane glares at Caia. "You said we were taking Calypso into custody." she says.
"That was a lie, obviously." Caia says. "Telling you that made you this angry, how angry do you think you would've gotten if I told you Master Nadine was planning on letting Calypso go free?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
Alistair nods. "She has a point."
Akane huffs and looks at a still silent Mana who looks like she's having an internal crisis.
She frowns.
"...Let's go take another dip in the water, Mana." Akane says, grabbing Mana's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Goddess knows we need it again, isn't that right, Caia?" she asks the S-Class Mage in question.
"Hmph." Caia says, crossing her arms. "Go. Alistair and I will clean this up." she says.
Alistair nods and looks worriedly at Mana. "...Fix her." he says, frowning.
"That's what I'm trying to do." Akane grumbles as she drags Mana behind her. "Let's go, dumb squirrel."
Meanwhile…
Zaflior? | ?
Veiss groans, slowly blinking his eyes open.
…
…
…
"What the hell?"
Veiss sits up slowly and looks around groggily.
For reasons unknown to him, Veiss is currently sitting in a void of black nothingness but somehow he can still see perfectly fine.
'How does he know he can see if it's a void of pitch black nothingness?' you ask?
The answer is very simple: Veiss is also currently staring at a malevolent red eyed clone of himself. This version, however, along with the eye color change, has all of his bandages loose, exposing the ugly, twisted scars beneath.
Veiss stares wordlessly at his dead eyed clone.
"What? Didn't think we'd ever meet, Veiss Dregliark?" his clone asks, raising an eyebrow..
Veiss' eyes widen. "...Brother? Is that - that's really you?" he says with a mixture of unpleasant and pleasant emotions, reaching out a hesitant hand to 'Brother'.
After all, it's not everyday the being who's been telling you to kill yourself for several years now manifests in front of you - and it's definitely not everyday that being is your dead, unborn brother.
The clone slaps Veiss' hand away. "Let's get one thing straight, Veiss Dregliark, I am not your unborn brother." he sneers. "I understand that what Revenant Beasts did was rather horrific, but by - well, me, I have no idea how you came to that conclusion." not-Veiss'-unborn-brother says coldly.
Veiss' eyes widen even further. "What? What are you talking ab - OW!" he cries when his clone slaps him across the face.
"This is why you need to die." Veiss' clone deadpans. "You're somehow one of the smartest people in your little group but you're so, so stupid. Even that girl figured out Revenant Beasts merged her with her friend and she's the dumbest one of the four of you." he pauses and holds up his hand, counting. "Well, Novem, that girl's friend, and myself. The dumbest out of the seven of us." the clone corrects himself.
Veiss grits his teeth. "Because Mary is helping her! How am I supposed to think anything else when all you do is tell me to kill myself and my guildmates and whisper to me all day about how I'm worthless and weak!?" he snaps.
…
…
…
The clone sighs and stands up, looking down at Veiss. "What do you remember of what Revenant Beasts did to you?" he asks. "You - We were one of the more…successful experiments."
Rosalia shivers from fear, glancing at the walls of the dome. "F-Fine." she says. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
Alistair lets go of her neck, narrowing his eyes for a moment. He's quiet for a minute and then, "Do you know who Manami and Veiss Dregliark are?" he asks.
Rosalia scoffs. "I just had quite the reunion with that masked bitch, but yes, I know who she is. And I know of Veiss Dregliark but I've never met him myself." she says. "I have heard that he was one of our more...successful projects." Rosalia says with a sinister smile.
Alistair glares at her. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asks.
"I would tell you but don't you want to know how your brothers are doing first? The longer-"
Alistair grabs Rosalia by the neck again, "You already told me the one thing I've been dying to know for years and it's that they're alive." he snaps. "You'll tell me everything you know about them after you tell me what your freak scientists did to Veiss. Mary already filled in the blanks about her and Mana but that kid can barely remember how he escaped from you or what he did to accomplish that. Now talk."
Rosalia glares at Alistair but relents. "...Have you ever heard the name Fafnir?"
"Nothing, really." Veiss says with a frown.
The clone looks down at him, unimpressed. "Fine. I am Fafnir. Now die."
"That's not how this works." Veiss sighs. "So…Fafnir, why do you want me to kill my guildmates and myself so badly?" he asks.
"I despise humanity." Fafnir answers simply. "And I want your body to become my body." he says bluntly. "I no longer have my own - I've been reduced to this black lacrima in your chest." Fafnir says as he unbuttons his shirt and because all of his bandages are loose, there's nothing hiding his chest.
Veiss cringes as Fafnir reveals the pitch-black lacrima melded into his skin. Unsightly veins pump around the area of the lacrima, almost like a heart.
Or rather, a parasite, all things considered.
"So, what? Am I - are we dead? I thought Marcus fixed me." Veiss says with a frown as he looks around at their surroundings. "The afterlife is kinda…dead. I get you not making it to the good place, but did I not either?" he wonders.
Fafnir sighs. "This isn't the afterlife." he says, sitting back down on the floor across from Veiss. "And yes, that Marcus person did fix you and stop me from hurting your mind any further…but not before I managed to tear through almost all of the metaphorical walls keeping me from taking control of your body." Fafnir says with a sneer. "That's why we're finally able to meet like this."
Veiss narrows his eyes. "And what does that mean for me?" he asks. "You said 'almost' all of the walls. What else is stopping you?" Veiss asks.
"I'll explain it in a way your feeble human mind can understand." Fafnir says. "We both have a switch the other can't touch. If you ever want me to take control of your body, you need only give me permission: flip the switch." he says, his expression turning dark. "Of course, mine is always flipped." Fafnir says.
Veiss tenses and clenches his fist. "Why would you tell me all of this? Especially that you despise humanity?" he asks. "Why would I ever give you control of my body after hearing that and after hearing you tell me to kill my guildmates for so long?" Veiss asks.
Fafnir stands up again and dusts himself off. "Because you will need my power one day, Veiss Dregliark." he says. "I may not have a body but this lacrima inside of you possesses all of my power. You only have access to what it can pump into you without killing you." Fafnir explains. "You will need me one day." he repeats. "I will do as I please with your body when you give me control of it but as we are now one, I don't intend to let it die." Fafnir says and raises his foot. "Now wake up." he says and kicks Veiss in the face.
And everything somehow gets even darker.
Phoenix Fire Guildhall
Nadine returns to the guildhall with her mother and her Mages in tow, her presence immediately causing the chaos in the building to come to a halt.
She glares at all of them, "I sincerely hope you're not bickering over Calypso." Nadine says, looking each of them in the eye. "I don't know what went on here while I was dealing with the situation but rest assured, no one is at fault but her. Calypso Aurelia is a Dark Mage belonging to Revenant Beasts." she says. "I believe she and her companions are smart enough to leave us alone for a while so stop fighting each other and tell me where he is." Nadine snaps.
Everyone points at the girl's dormitory.
Nadine marches in there without another word, potion in hand and every single Mage following behind her.
Phoenix Fire Guildhall
A few days later…
To the optimist, some good did come out of Calypso's betrayal.
Veiss discovered who's really been talking to him this entire time and (unwillingly) unlocked access to that being's power, Mana discovered that her worst nightmare is looking for a chance to kidnap her again, Emile's…'situation' resulted in a vast amount of potions to reverse its effects and turn back the gold statues Calypso created in Veneto, and Akane discovered that she would be perfectly fine with murdering someone, especially if that someone were Calypso Aurelia.
And to Alistair, after Veiss revealed to everyone involved in the Calypso situation what Fafnir told him (and what Alistair confirmed for him), he now had evidence that Rosalia was telling the truth that day. That means his brothers are alive…somewhere.
To Akane and Veiss, however, the two members of their team who are known for their big, stupid smiles haven't smiled once since that day. To Novem and Mary, their best friends weren't the same people they were.
Not even news of what Master Nadine was up to in Era could bring a smile to their faces or a sparkle to their eyes:
Nadine Septim finally accepted the Magic Council's offer and after several rounds of sparring and testing, Nadine was given a place among the Ten Wizard Saints at the not too shabby rank of number eight.
The news of this quickly spread - along with Phoenix Fire's hand in taking down the now missing Skarsguard Family (how strange) and rescuing all of their captives.
Things are starting to look up for the guild reputation-wise.
But…
The inside is still a bit of a mess in regards to morale.
Akane and Veiss didn't even get a lot of chances to attempt to cheer Mana and Emile up because they kept themselves locked in their rooms all day. Mana hasn't cried or spoken once while Emile has done nothing but cry, his sobs audible from outside his room.
Emile had his trust and his heart broken by the one girl he actually, genuinely liked and thought liked him back. Mana had her spirit broken by the news of Yutsuko being after her and an incredible amount of guilt on her shoulders about Calypso - her being the reason Calypso infiltrated Phoenix Fire in the first place.
The members of Phoenix Fire who weren't involved in the Calypso situation (re: everyone but the Guild Master, Theresa, the S-Class Mages, Alistair, Nelio, and Team No Name) have no idea what's going on with either of them and they're running out of ideas to give Akane and Veiss.
Akane sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's getting late. We can come back to this again tomorrow." she says.
Madelaine frowns. "But what else is there? We've thought of…a lot of things and they haven't worked." she says.
Acro pouts. "Is this just how they're gonna be now?" he asks disappointedly. "Mana and Emile are supposed to be the fun half of your guys's team."
Akane and Veiss shoot the young boy a look.
"Not helping, buddy." Marcus says, patting the horn shaped locks of Acro's hair.
Acro grumbles and shoos Marcus' hand away.
"What if-" someone pipes up but Veiss instantly shuts them up.
"You were part of the group that thought I hurt Calypso for no reason, you get no say in anything." Veiss says, waving them off.
"How many times do I have to apologize for that!?"
Veiss ignores them and turns back to the table. "Akane is right. Let's just come back to this tomorrow." he says. "As…rude as Acro put it, they're Emile and Mana. This isn't the kind of people they are."
Later that night…
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Mana's Dorm
Mana stirs, the sound of a voice pulling her from her sleep. She groans and turns over in her bed to look to see if there's a shadow of one of her guildmates under her door.
Nothing.
Mana frowns.
Mary?
…
She's asleep.
Then the voice starts speaking again. It's unintelligible and Mana can't pinpoint where it's coming from. Is it even in her room?
Mana's frown deepens, an uncomfortable chill going down her spine.
Well now I'm awake.
Mana begrudgingly throws her blankets off and gets out of bed, grabbing the hair tie off her end table and tying her hair up. She stands up making a beeline towards the lightswitch. She flips it on, lighting up her room.
…
…
…
Nothing.
The voice has stopped and nothing seems out of the ordinary about her room. Paranoid, Mana checks under her bed, the locks on her window, her bathroom, and her shower.
Nothing and nobody.
Mana scratches her head, confused.
I know I heard something…
…
…
…
The longer Mana stands in her silent room, the more uncomfortable she gets.
Another thought comes to mind and Mana walks over to her window again, unlocking and pushing it up. "The screen is still there…good." she says, pushing on the mesh lightly to make sure it's not out of place either. Mana sighs and reaches up to close it, flinching when one of her fingers meets something sharp. "Ow, ow, ow…" she whines and pulls her hand back to assess the damage. Mana huffs when she sees the steadily growing bead of blood on her finger. She curses herself and the window, "Stu-" Mana stops.
She stares at the blood now making its way down her finger, a sinking, dreadful memory creeping up on her.
"You're mine now, Manami. Your mind, body, and soul all belong to me."
Mana squeezes her eyes shut, "No, no, no, no, no."
"You're mine to do with as I see fit. When I say you're a tool, you're a tool. And what do tools do, Manami?"
Mana slaps her cheeks, shaking her head. "Stop it…"
She grabs Mana by the neck when she doesn't respond and forces her to look her in the eyes.
Mana whimpers when she sees that the blood on her finger has made its way to the palm of her hand.
She looks at Mana unhappily. "Hmph. I suppose it is difficult to take orders from someone so close in age to you. I can't wait until they finish the plans for the - - - experiment, that's the one I'm signing you up for when you turn eighteen." she smiles. "Once your broken mind sees me growing older than you, it should recognize me as someone in a position of authority." she says, letting go of Mana's neck and grabbing her wrist.
She moves her hold to Mana's hand, squeezing it and digging her nails in. "I encountered a woman with Blood-Make Magic once. But she seemed to have her sights set on becoming a Guild Mage, what a waste, right? Still, I thought it was…interesting." She says with a smile, Mana's skin starting to break where she's digging her nails into. She gives Mana's hand a rough squeeze and she completely breaks through the skin, blood steadily pooling between her and Mana's. "So I'm teaching myself my own version - unfortunately it won't give me the same freedom as Maker Magic but hey-" She pauses, releasing Mana's hand. The two of them watch the blood flow down Mana's hand. She smiles and raises her own hand, licking Mana's blood off of it. "-I'm still very creative, wouldn't you say?"
Mana starts shaking, her mind going a mile a minute as she tries to calm down and force the memory of her away.
"I need another name to go by…hm. What do you think of 'The Blood Witch'? Heh, creepy enough for a Dark Mage, right?"
The sound of shattering glass and sharp pain finally brings Mana out of the memory of her first meeting with her.
The sound of glass shattering nearby startles Akane awake.
With everything currently going on, Akane knows exactly where it came from.
Mana.
Fearing the worst, that Mana's own personal demon had actually come for her inside of the guildhall, Akane throws her blankets off of her and sprints out of her room and down the hall to Mana's room.
She throws open the door to Mana's room, looking around frantically. She doesn't have to look for long, however, because the light is on and Mana is very clearly standing there with her fist in her now shattered window, breathing heavily.
"Mana…?" Akane blinks, her groggy mind still trying to catch up to the present.
Mana slowly turns to face her, tears finally falling from her eyes. "I don't…want…to go back…" she cries quietly, looking at Akane desperately.
Akane stares at her in shock, surprised at seeing Mana so broken for the first time.
She doesn't like it.
Akane steels herself and walks into the room. She gingerly grabs Mana's lacerated arm and pulls it out of the shattered window. "...It doesn't look too bad, you don't need stitches at least." Akane says. "Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"
Mana nods wordlessly and lets Akane lead her out of her room and to the infirmary.
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Infirmary
Akane sits Mana down on one of the beds and gathers everything she needs, setting everything down beside a silent, sniffling Mana.
She pulls up a chair next to the bed, gently grabs Mana's hand, and starts pulling out the pieces of glass with a pair of tweezers.
"...Are you gonna tell me what happened?" Akane asks, glancing up at Mana.
"...Bad dream." Mana sniffles. "About…her." she frowns. "When we first met."
…
…
…
"I said it to Calypso but it applies to all of those people, y'know." Akane says, putting the tweezers down and moving onto the hydrogen peroxide. "Third time's the charm, they'll never take anyone else from me again. I'll kill them before they take a fourth person from me - this is gonna sting, by the way."
Mana bites her tongue when Akane starts dabbing the chemical on her cuts.
"And if I can't kill them, I'll die keeping them away from you."
("What in the declaration of love-"
"Shhh! She'll hear you!"
"Akane doesn't know how to be normal people nice, so when she tries to be, it comes off a little strong."
"Both of you QUIET!")
Akane looks up from her work when she feels Mana's eyes boring into her. She narrows her eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Mana jumps, startled, and looks anywhere but Akane. "Th-Thank you, Akane." she mumbles with flushed cheeks.
"...Sure." Akane says and moves on to wrapping Mana's hand and arm. Once Akane finishes with that, she stands up and stretches her limbs out. "Mmmmph…all done." she says and starts moving to put everything back where it belongs.
Mana looks down at her bandaged hand, hesitantly flexing her fingers.
"It shouldn't hurt for too long." Akane says when she sees Mana out of the corner of her eye. "Especially with whatever Revenant Beasts did to you, accelerating your healing or whatever. We'll figure that out eventually too." she explains.
Mana nods and continues looking over her hand.
Akane finishes putting everything away and turns to escort Mana back to the girl's dorms.
"Let's-"
"I'm sorry." Mana says suddenly.
Akane raises an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Waking you up in the middle of the night." Mana says. "I'm sure I woke up some of the other girls too."
(At the mention of that, the girls spying on them quickly and quietly scurry away back to their rooms.)
Akane waves her off. "Don't worry about it…" she says and trails off with a hesitant look on her face. "...We're…we're friends…aren't we?" Akane says with an embarrassed look on her face. "And…friends…help each other...right?" she says unsurely.
Mana beams. "R-Really?" she asks.
Akane crosses her arms. "Did I not say something about dying for you a few minutes ago?" she deadpans.
Her face reads of annoyance but on the inside, Akane's very proud of herself for finally getting a positive emotion out of Mana again.
But how does she make sure it's not a one time thing?
"A-And since we're…friends, I will let you pick one of those stupid nicknames you like to call me." Akane continues. "And I won't get mad when you use it."
Mana smiles brightly. "Okay, Kanny!"
"And…you may have one hug. Then we shall never speak of this night again." Akane says, opening her arms. "A short one - oof!" she grunts when Mana nearly tackles her to the floor.
Akane nearly shoves Mana off of her until she hears Mana sniffling again and feels her tears soaking her pajama shirt. She sighs and puts her arms around Mana. "You could've said all you needed was a hug." she says quietly.
Mana, in response, starts crying harder and tightens her grip on Akane.
"...dumb squirrel."
The next day…
Zaflior | Outside of Emile's Temple
"Operation Fix Mana's Broken Heart, complete! Operation Fix Emile's Broken Heart, commence!" Novem proclaims excitedly, practically bouncing in Akane's arms.
Mana smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry again for making all of you worry." she says, fiddling with her sleeves.
Veiss waves her off, "Don't worry about it." he says. "I remember meeting that woman too. If I had to spend as much time as you did with her, I wouldn't be very keen on going back either." Veiss says. "I still don't understand how punching a window fixed your depression, though…" he trails off, looking at Mana's bandaged arm.
Mana smiles happily, rocking on her heels. "It was just something I've been waiting for for a long time." she says.
Veiss raises an eyebrow. "You've been…waiting…to punch a window…and mutilate your hand and arm…?"
"That's what she said, isn't it?" Akane says quickly. "Now shut up and let's go fix Emile." she says and fast walks inside of the temple.
Veiss watches suspiciously as Mana practically skips after Akane. "What the fuck…?"
If you don't like their behavior, simply end their lives and then your own, Veiss Dregliark-
"Shut up, Brother." Veiss grumbles.
My name is-
Veiss tunes out the malevolent being and moves to follow after the girls.
As requested, Alistair is already there waiting for the four of them.
The three of them sit down against the wall across from the door to Emile's room and look expectantly at Alistair.
Alistair sighs. "Children, I swear…" he shakes his head. "You're lucky I tolerate you." Alistair says and turns towards Emile's door. "Are you awake, Emile?" Alistair calls, knocking on the door. "Can we talk?"
…
…
…
No response.
Alistair looks back at Emile's friends.
They all wave at him to go on, Novem swinging his tails expectantly.
Alistair sighs again and turns back to the door, testing the doorknob.
It's open.
Well, he supposes that's to be expected because Novem keeps slipping in and out.
(How does Novem keep opening the door, though? That's a question for another day.)
Upon seeing that, Mana, Akane, and Veiss are instantly right behind Alistair, all up in his personal space.
Alistair sighs for the third time and opens the door completely, revealing a sleeping Emile in his bed.
The four of them quietly creep into his room and peer down at him.
It looks like Emile only fell asleep recently, his tear stained cheeks still shiny and the redness around his eyes still painfully sore.
Everyone frowns at the sight and Akane and Alistair think back to how depressed Emile was when first arrived at the guild…and how he was cured when he fell off a cliff with Akane.
"Haven't you guys tried enough pep talks?"
The four of them whip around to see Caia and Myling standing in the doorway of Emile's room.
Akane frowns. "Someone's eventually going to get it through his head." she says. "He can't be like this forever."
Caia crosses her arms, walking into the room. "You're right." she says. "And if Master Nadine can't do it, it's definitely not any of us." Caia says and nods at Myling.
Myling squeaks and pulls a strange object from behind her robes.
Mana gasps, fascinated. "What is that?" she asks.
"Something that'll let us let Emile talk to the one person he needs the most right now." Caia says as Myling sets it on the ground. "What was her name again…?" she says to herself, tapping her chin.
"I-It was Jun, wasn't it?" Myling pipes up. "Jun…Kaldo?"
PF x AH x SS
A/N was it beautiful
was it ugly
is emile beautiful
should i have killed him