Episode 29: A Mother's Love
Several days earlier…
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Girl's Dormitory
Emile watched.
He watched Calypso pull away from him, that cruel smile on her face, and he watched as Veiss appeared out of nowhere and confronted her in a fit of rage. He watched as Calypso transformed her arm and stabbed herself in the leg in an attempt to frame Veiss and he watched as Calypso somehow used Light-Make Magic to attack Myling, who was apparently hiding with Veiss.
He watched and that's all he could do.
Despite the terrible, terrible pain in his chest, he couldn't cry and he couldn't scream or move to defend Veiss and Myling.
Emile listened.
He listened as Calypso accused Veiss of randomly attacking her when Acro, Madelaine, and Marcus came to investigate, and he listened as Veiss struggled with something evidently only he could hear. He listened as his guildmates didn't doubt Calypso's words and when they left him alone in the hallway to take care of the injured Mages, Emile listened to the loud arguing of his guildmates as they debated the authenticity of Calypso's claims.
And then, Master Nadine came, the S-Class Mages and some of Emile's closest friends in tow.
The Phoenix Fire Mages watch as their Guild Master pours a potion over the golden statue of Emile. When the potion reaches Emile's eyes and turns them back to normal, the tears instantly start falling. The potion slowly turns Emile's hair soft again, his body back to flesh, and his clothes back to cloth until Emile is just…Emile.
Emile takes a look at the solemn, angry expressions of his guildmates and drops to his knees, breaking down in a fit of sobs; his tears a mixture of relief, sadness, and anger that Calypso is gone.
She's a traitor that's out of his and his friend's lives, but she's a traitor that broke his heart.
Presently…
The group stares down at the device Myling placed on the ground.
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"Where's the on switch?" Mana deadpans.
Myling and Caia exchange a look.
Akane grits her teeth, "You really mean to tell me you brought this thing here and you don't even know how to use it!?" she snaps.
Alistair pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Obviously, I'm not needed here anymore. Can I go?" he asks.
Caia waves him off, "Relax. We'll figure it out." she says.
Myling starts pacing and mumbling to herself.
"Well, it's a thing that's supposed to let us contact the dead or something, right? The 'other side'?" Akane asks.
"That's right." Caia nods.
Akane looks down at the two tailed creature in her arms.
Novem looks up at her.
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…
"Please don't." Novem says.
Akane outstretches her arms, holding Novem over the device.
"Akane?" Veiss raises an eyebrow.
Akane drops Novem.
However, before his body can hit the device…
"...I-It's a heavenly object, right?" Myling asks, looking towards Caia. "Maybe it needs something…heavenly?" she says unsurely.
…a shield of light manifests and Novem's body bounces off it painlessly, flying back up, and Akane catches him midair.
Novem and Akane stare at each other.
"This is why your mother is dead." Novem deadpans, making everyone's jaws drop.
("You were unconscious for that conversation, she'll talk about it again later probably." Veiss says at the horrified look on Mana's face.)
Akane punts Novem at the foot of Emile's bed.
"...Deserved." Novem groans as he slides down onto the floor.
Akane glares at him harshly, crossing her arms. "Stupid rat. See if I ever let you sleep on my head again."
Novem gasps, immediately uprighting himself on all fours. "WHAT!?"
"If this is how you speak after Emile's been raising you…I pray for that boy's future."
Everyone screams at the new voice and the sudden appearance of a middle-aged woman with dark, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She wears a white scarf in her hair and has on a suspiciously similar uniform to the one Emile's always wearing…
She's also see-through.
Everyone screams again when they realize.
Amazingly, Emile still doesn't stir.
The woman laughs lightly and starts glowing, similarly to how Emile does when he uses certain spells. She steps off of the device Myling and Caia brought and in a flash of light, the glowing fades and she becomes solid.
"So," the woman says, looking around. "I was told you intended to use this device to summon me for a while." she says and gazes down at a sleeping Emile. "What happened?"
Everyone gawks at the…ghost? Spirit? Soul?
"Spirit will do just fine." the woman says.
Veiss is the first to speak up. "You're…Jun, right? Jun Kaldo?"
"The one and only." the woman says with a small smile. "I apologize, I thought I would have a lot more free time - you know, being dead and all - but the Realm of the Goddess is quite…busy." she says mysteriously. "So I haven't had as much time as I'd like to watch over Emile." Jun says, looking down at Emile again with a frown before returning her gaze to the Phoenix Fire Mages. "I'll fix him. Tell me what's wrong."
Emile grumbles when he feels a hand on his shoulder, gently trying to shake him awake. "Not now, Nov-" he pauses
Hand, not paw.
He startles, sitting up with wide eyes. "How did you get in-?"
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"Now, now, Emile, is that anyway to greet the woman who raised you after all these years?"
Emile holds his breath, reaching out a shaky hand to touch the arm of the woman who should very much not be sitting on his bed right now.
Warm.
Emile's expression crumples. "...J-Jun?"
Jun smiles at Emile and holds his head in her hands. "It's good to see you, Emile." she says. "You've grown up so much." Jun says, gently pinching Emile's cheeks. "No more baby fat, hm?"
Emile's eyes well with tears and he throws himself at Jun, pulling her into a hug, and starts sobbing.
Myling jumps when the sound of Emile's sobs start filling the hallway.
Akane sighs. "Those better be happy tears." she says.
"It's probably both." Caia muses. "His heart is still broken but he gets to see the woman who raised him again." she says.
Mana hums, nodding along thoughtfully.
Alistair raises an eyebrow. "What's going through your head?" he asks.
…No response.
Veiss shakes his head. "She's probably talking to Mary." he guesses. "She'll snap out of it eventually."
The group falls into a patient silence again.
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"Akane please-" Novem begs but Akane swiftly interrupts him.
"Fuck off, damn rat."
Jun whispers soothingly to Emile, letting him cry it out. She holds him in her arms and runs her fingers through his hair, patiently waiting for him to calm down.
"...I've m-missed you." Emile mumbles into Jun's shoulder.
"And I've missed you." Jun nods.
"Why…how are you here right now?" Emile asks. "I-I know it's you - not…a trick." he says bitterly, pulling away slightly to look Jun in the eyes. "I know my mother." Emile says. "I tried - I tried to talk to you back in Arkcester but - but - they wouldn't let me-" he rambles.
Jun smiles again, brushing Emile's hair off of his face with her hands. "My sweet Emile," she says. "It pays to be friendly with the S-Class Mages in your guild." Jun says with a wink. "But we have more important things to talk about, don't we?" she says.
Emile's face falls.
"I know you're going through a hard time right now," Jun says carefully. "Your trust and your heart have been broken, but your friends have been trying to help you out of it. Why won't you let them?" she asks.
"I…I…" Emile stammers.
"I'm here to listen." Jun says patiently. "I understand you've been through a big loss and your heart and mind are still processing this loss, but it takes a lot of energy to grieve." she says. "You have to work your way through it but you can't do it alone. It's important to let all that grief out and that's going to take even more energy out of you."
Emile's eyes start to well with tears again but he's much calmer than he has been the past few days. "I…I don't…deserve…I don't deserve their kindness." he says with a frown.
Jun matches his frown. "Why do you feel that way?" she asks.
"I was the biggest advocate for Calypso when Theresa questioned us about her." Emile says. "Mana may feel like it's her fault Calypso was here in the first place, but she wouldn't have joined if I didn't convince Theresa to let her in." he says as his tears start to fall. "I kept inviting her to hang out with us, I was the reason she was able to get so close to Mana and Mary. If I hadn't caught her going into Mana's room that day…who knows what would've happened?" Emile says dejectedly. "They could've gotten hurt or taken back to Revenant Beasts because of me."
"...Emile, my stupid-"
"Hey!"
"-sweet boy," Jun says. "Do you think your friends feel that way too?"
"I…I don't think so." Emile mumbles. "But-"
"Then there's no reason to be punishing yourself, is there?" Jun asks. "That foul mouthed girl and the boy with the pointy ears have been trying to cheer you up this whole time, Emile." she says. "Let them. Grieve, but don't grieve alone."
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Emile smiles. "Thank you, Jun."
"Ahem."
The Phoenix Fire Mages waiting on the first floor of the temple whip around.
A tired and meek Emile stands at the top of the stairs leading to his bedroom. "I-"
"Akane, now!"
Emile's eyes widen when a chain comes flying at him in the blink of an eye. "Wh-? OOF!" he groans when he's pulled off the top of the stairs. He flies down in the same direction the chain came from and into the waiting arms of Akane, Mana, and Veiss. The four of them tumble to the ground together in a heap of limbs and Akane's chains, Novem acting as the cherry on top when he jumps on top of the body pile.
Caia, Myling, and Alistair put their heads in their hands, sighing.
Myling lifts her head, looking at the younger Mages from between her fingers. "U-Um, so, are you…okay now?" she asks awkwardly. "I have a message from Danate a-and I was waiting until you fo-four were all together again." Myling says. She cries when everyone turns to look at her simultaneously.
"A message from Danate?" Mana asks, thinking back to the reward she and Ken won from the hide and seek game.
Veiss blinks. "Oh, right. I haven't seen him around lately." he says.
Akane frowns, thinking. "Didn't Genesis take him, Rina, and that blind Silver Sabelum guy to Fiore?"
"Fiore?" Emile gasps. "Danate's probably taking Rina to see her mom. And Koz has that mission…"
"R-Right." Myling nods. "Um. He said it was an emergency s-so he passed off the responsibility of your reward to me." she says to Mana. "While you were…absent, I told K-Ken the same thing a-and since he was getting me instead of Danate, he decided to use me as a dress up doll instead of taking the S-Class mission." Myling shudders, thinking back on how long that day ended up being.
"I want the S-Class mission!" Mana says immediately. "Can they come with me?" she asks.
Myling sighs. "I figured…" she says. "That's why I waited. Y-Yes, they can come." Myling says and pulls out a piece of paper from her robes. "We're going to do s-something simple." she says as the four Mages detangle themselves and stand up, Novem happily taking his place on Emile's head.
Mana takes the mission from Myling and-
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Alistair frowns, taking the paper from Mana at the horrified look on hers, Akane's, Veiss', and Emile's face.
…
"Myling."
"Mhm."
"This is a five thousand year old demon."
"Yes."
"No."
Myling sighs.
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Nadine's Office
"...You allowed this, mother?"
"I think we've established that I'm not the Guild Master for a reason, Nadine." Theresa says dryly.
Nadine sighs. "I suppose…if Ken already got his reward, it would be unfair to you, Mana." she says reluctantly. "But, all of you will train with me for a week before you leave." Nadine says and looks pointedly. "All five of you." she says.
Caia snickers at the horrified look on Myling's and Akane's face (one eternally anxious and the other a cheeky bit pyrophobic and very afraid of Nadine).
"By the way, Master, if everything's settled," Caia speaks up. "Theresa and I are going to head out again about that letter you showed us." she says, giving Nadine a knowing look. "We'll be taking Alistair and Nelio as well."
Nadine's eyes drift to Alistair, who nods at the serious look on her face. "I've already spoken with Nelio about his filter." he reassures her. "Or, well, lack thereof."
"Very well." Nadine says. "Go." she nods.
Theresa, Caia, and Alistair bid goodbye to Nadine and the younger Mages and file out of the office.
Alistair looks back at the team of four before closing the door behind him. "...Don't die." he says, the order sounding vaguely like a threat, and he closes the door.
"Now," Nadine says. "Who's this?"
"Emile's dead mother figure." Veiss says dryly.
Jun smiles, the device allowing her to continue to manifest in Emile's hands. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Master Nadine." she says with a small bow. "Thank you for looking after Emile all these years."
Emile beams happily, "Jun wanted to meet you personally before she…" his face falls slightly. "...y'know. Y'know?"
Nadine gives her a small smile, a slightly confused look on her face. "It's nice to finally meet you too?" she says unsurely.
Jun laughs lightly. "Sorry, allow me to explain. To make a long story short, ah, the Goddess and the afterlife is very much real. When I died, another spirit explained everything to me and showed me how to watch over this realm." she says. "When I managed to figure it out myself to check on Emile, I saw you and Danate explaining everything to him after he regained consciousness." Jun says with a smile. "I'm a little disappointed I couldn't meet that Danate boy as well, but, nonetheless, I'm still very grateful to the both of you for making sure he didn't end up alone." she says.
Nadine smiles. "It was no problem at all." she says. "I seem to be in the habit of taking in amnesiacs so it was bound to happen eventually." Nadine says, looking pointedly at Mana, Emile, and Veiss. "And Akane seems to be in the habit of befriending them."
Akane grumbles, crossing her arms.
Jun laughs again and moves to walk over behind Nadine's desk. "And, if I may…" she says and leans down, whispering in Nadine's ear.
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Nadine's eyes widen.
"I…" Nadine gulps, blinking back tears as Jun stands up straight again, smiling kindly at Nadine. "...Thank you." she says.
Jun nods. "So don't give up, okay, Nadine?" she says.
Nadine smiles brightly, making her young subordinates look at her in surprise. "Never." she says. "And tell that stubborn old fool to stop bullying the father of his grandson."
"So this is how you guys feel when I smile." Akane says in awe, staring at Nadine.
"You met grandpa and great grandpa!?" Emile cries.
"H-Have you ever met anyone with my face?" Mana asks.
Veiss stays silent, his eyes wide and a million thoughts running through his head.
"All of you shut - where did Myling go?" Nadine blinks.
The Phoenix Fire Mages point at the door to Nadine's office. "She left as soon as you mentioned training." the four Mages say in unison.
Nadine scowls. "As if she could get away from me."
Akane pales while the other three laugh.
"Now get out, I have an appointment with that Mage from Aberrant Hydra."
Phoenix Fire Guildhall | Veiss' Room
"Don't look so sad, Emile. You know I can't stay."
Emile smiles sadly. "I know." he says. "I just didn't get the chance to say goodbye the first time, so…"
Jun smiles and holds Emile's head in her hands. "I know." she says and pulls his head down to kiss his forehead. "I'm very proud of the young man you've become, Emile. I could do without the potty mouth, but," she winks, laughing. "...I love you, Emile. Stay strong for me, okay?" Jun says, her expression matching Emile's.
Emile's eyes well with tears. "I thought you told me not to be sad." he says teasingly.
Jun scoffs, her eyes welling with tears too. "I didn't get to say goodbye the first time either." she says and laughs bittersweetly.
"...I love you too, mom."
Jun's eyes widen as she steps back onto the device, turning translucent again. "Th-That's…" she blinks, her tears falling "That's not fair." she says.
Emile points an accusatory finger at her, "You raised me, woman! Why wouldn't I call you my mom!?" he cries.
"B-Because you didn't when we were living in Arkcester!" Jun cries.
Emile gasps. "I was a stupid kid who woke up on a mountain, what do you want from me!?"
"I-I-I-" Jun stutters, starting to fade into light.
Emile bites his lip, trying to hold back his crying. "Y-You're my mom, and that's that!" he says. "I-I might be looking for the woman I popped out of, but you'll always be my mom, so get used to it!" he demands.
Jun bites her lip, matching Emile's expression. "My stupid, sweet boy…my son." she says, her tears falling in tandem with Emile's. "I hope I don't see you again for a long, long time."
Emile smiles, giving her a small wave. "Goodbye, mom."
"...Goodbye, Emile."
And then, Jun is gone.
Again.
…
Emile stays in Veiss' room for a few more minutes, trying to compose himself.
He lets out a shaky breath and wipes the tears from his eyes, picking up the device Myling lent him off the floor, and leaves the room.
Akane, Mana, and Veiss perk up, leaning off the wall when Emile opens the door.
"It's done?" Veiss asks.
Emile nods, smiling sadly. "Yeah…thank you for letting me use your room, Veiss."
Veiss nods. "No problem." he says.
Mana smiles. "Jun is a very sweet woman." she says. "Mary says she's glad we all got to meet her."
Akane crosses her arms. "Jun is a very kind woman." she says. "But if she raised you, then why did you turn out to be…not kind?" Akane asks, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Oh, Kanny, don't be like that." Emile sneers, grinning when Akane's eyes widen. "We're friends, aren't we?" he asks.
Mana's eyes widen and Akane's face flushes, those words very familiar to them. "Wh-What?" Akane stammers. "Who - what - how?"
Veiss scratches his head. "I feel like I'm missing something here." he says.
Emile cackles as he hands the device to Veiss. He holds up a finger every time he answers one of her questions, "The entire girl's dormitory, your passionate declaration of 'friendship', and Jun was watching too!"
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"Run."
"Already on it!" Emile says and sprints away, Novem clinging onto Emile's hair for dear life.
After Akane runs after him, Veiss turns to Mana with narrowed eyes. He looks down at her bandaged arm and back up at Mana.
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Mana runs.
Veiss sighs. "I guess I'll return this to Myling myself…"
Somewhere in an unknown location…
"Boss, it looks like some troublemakers are headed for her little town-lero."
The man's boss looks at him with a harsh gaze.
"Three Dark Mages, one from Revenant Beasts and two from Stygian Gospel-lero. Two women and a man-lero!"
The man's gaze turns even harsher. "...Let's go." he says. "Don't do anything until I give the go ahead." he says coldly.
"You've got it-lero!"
On the road to a certain place...
"Mmm...are we really on the right track?" a young girl with light red hair hums.
A woman with bright yellow eyes raises an eyebrow, frowning slightly as she looks up from her map. "Are you doubting me, little one?" she asks.
The girl shakes her head, oblivious to the dangerous energy directed at her. "Nah, I'm just hungry." she says innocently.
A short, rather pretty young man with long silver hair smiles excitedly. "Finally! Can we shop around when we get there? I hear the people there are all, like, super colorful. Maybe they have colorful sweets too!"
The woman, clearly the leader between the three, puts on a smile. "Only because you asked so nicely - and because we have to investigate first. Come on, it should only be about a two week walk to Honeywell from here...I can't believe I have to spend my birthday with you brats."
PF x AH x SS
A/N and with that, we are onto some quality myling time :catch: