Episode 30: The Colorful Town of Honeywell
A week later, on the train to meet their client…
Emile, Veiss, and Mana frown at an exhausted Akane and Myling. Both women have dark circles under their eyes and look as though they just came back from war.
"C'mon," Mana says. "Training with Master Nadine couldn't have been that bad, right?" she asks with an unsure smile.
Akane and Myling make a noise that's somewhere between fear and frustration.
Emile laughs as he pats Novem's head, "Maybe for us, but…"
Earlier in the week…
Nadine stands in front of the only exit to the training room with a moderately sized ball of fire in her hand.
Meanwhile, Akane sits in the farthest corner of said room, facing the corner and holding her knees to her chest.
"...Akane." Nadine says.
Akane shakes her head.
Nadine sighs, "You have to at least look at me if you want to go with them, Akane." she says. "Fire is one of the most common elements in the world - how are you going to protect each other if you can't even look at it or utilize your entire skillset?"
Akane cries something unintelligible and Nadine, with her patience wearing thin, lobs the fireball at Akane. It lands just above her head and makes the poor pyrophobe scream and scramble out of the corner.
"JUST LOOK AT IT, AKANE!"
"NO FUCK YOU!"
"...Those two definitely had more of a rough go of it." he says.
Akane mumbles incoherently to herself, pulling the hood of her new white hoodie down over her face (Alistair bought her a new one as thanks for letting him use her last one as a coverup).
"A-Alright, then what about Myling?" Mana asks. "She's an S-Class Mage so she's closer than we are to the Master's level, right?"
Earlier in the week…
Myling and Nadine sit across from each other in what seems to be a silent staring contest.
…
…
…
…
…
Myling's eyes start to water.
Nadine groans.
"...Myling's training was also a mental challenge." Emile says.
Veiss leans back in his seat. "So if Akane's and Myling's training was mental, what'd Master do to you guys?" he asks. "She was helping me figure out Fafnir stuff."
Emile grins. "I can blow even more shit up now."
"Master made me put on the mask Cooley got me." Mana frowns. "She showed me some other stuff too but the new mask…it was not a fun experience." she says.
Emile and Veiss raise their eyebrows. "Oh really?" Emile asks. "What does that mask do? Does it have a voice too? Can we see what it look-?"
Their conversation is halted when the train suddenly lurches as it starts, jostling the group of Mages around.
"And so it begins." Veiss says with a yawn. "I'm going to take a nap."
Mana watches as everyone else mumbles some sort of agreement and gets comfortable in their seats.
What's the date, Mary? Mana asks as she pulls out her journal.
Mana yawns as she writes it down and flexes her fingers before she starts her entry.
May 26th, X793
After being promised to be trained by her, I finally got a few days of training with Master Nadine in. After we come back from Honeywell, she says we'll pick up where we left off.
(Hopefully she doesn't just suddenly up and leave while we're gone again.)
It may not have been intentional, but Cooley got me a mask with a pretty cool but pretty scary ability. I just don't have the power to control it yet so I had to promise Master Nadine I would only use it if worse came to worse.
Mary doesn't like it when I use it either.
Fortunately, when I put it on and absorbed it into wherever the masks go, the voice stopped. It doesn't speak to me like Mary does either so that's nice.
When I put it on, though, it's an entirely different case.
Mana stops writing for a minute when she gets the uncomfortable feeling that someone's watching her.
She looks up from her journal and nearly screams when she finds a pair of narrow burgundy eyes above Veiss' and Myling's head scrutinizing her.
The owner's eyes, a woman with pale skin and long wavy black hair, stands up and walks over to stand in the aisle to the Phoenix Fire Mage's booth. She wears a long, long sleeved fancy looking coat and expensive looking black boots. A black choker with a burgundy red pendant dangling from it matches the red of her eyes, lips, and coat.
She doesn't speak but as soon as Mana opens her mouth to do just that, the woman speaks first: "You look relatively smart."
"Relatively…?" Mana repeats with a mildly offended frown. Only her fellow Phoenix Fire Mages can insult her like that.
The woman looks her up and down and does the same for her sleeping guildmates. Then, she looks back at Mana. "Regine Beaufort, Aberrant Hydra." the woman introduces herself. "You wouldn't happen to be heading in the direction of Honeywell, would you, Phoenix Fire Mage?"
"My name is Mana and yes, we are. Why?" Mana asks, frowning again.
Regine crosses her arms. "Then listen carefully. Master Glinda sent us - myself and my guildmate Noah, that is - out here to investigate the Dark Guild Forsaken Roses. They're based not too far from there." she says. "Instead of finding their base full of their Dark Mages, we found a completely empty building. Noah and I have been riding the train for three full circles everyday for a few days now to see if they board or if anyone else has seen them." Regine explains.
This gives me a bad feeling. Mary says. Forsaken Roses doesn't have anything to do with our mission but we should still keep an eye out - an entire Dark Guild going missing is a bad sign of something. she says.
"And, instead of encountering them or finding any information about them, we're getting reports of an infamous Dark Mage from Stygian Gospel wandering around the nearby area with two young people." Regine says with a frown. "However, we haven't actually met them ourselves yet so Noah and I are heading back to Arkcester after this ride. Be careful." she warns and glances at Myling. "Witch hat over there is the only one who would be able to go toe to toe with her."
Well then.
"Master Glinda sent me because I possess a Magic similar to the reports made about the Master of Forsaken Roses, Music Magic." Regine reveals. "Noah insists the description of the girl traveling with the Stygian Gospel Mage matches that of a Revenant Beasts Mage he's encountered before, a girl with Animal Magic that's coincidentally very similar to his Animal Possession Magic. Neither of us have any information about the third member of their party." she says and narrows her eyes at Mana again. "Be careful." Regine repeats and walks off without another word.
"Well she was certainly pleasant." Mana mumbles as she quickly writes down everything Regine told her. "Regine and Noah from Aberrant Hydra…they must've been out when we were in Arkcester." she says.
An entire Dark Guild going missing and an infamous Dark Mage from Stygian Gospel that only Myling could fight and survive wandering around with two young people…
They don't have anything to do with the mission Myling picked out (after putting the one she originally picked back), so surely nothing bad could happen, right?
…Right?
Cresthill Train Station
"If we stick together, that group of Dark Mages won't be a problem." Myling says as she passes off Mana's journal to Veiss. "Nor will Forsaken Roses - should we happen to run into them." she says as the Phoenix Fire Mages file out of the train.
"So, where to from here?" Mana asks as Veiss hands her her journal back. She puts it back in her bag. "Is there like, a certain protocol for S-Class missions?"
Myling shakes her head. "No, but since the mission is pretty straight forward and we should find their base before we reach Honeywell, we'll take care of Howling Flags first." she says. "It'll waste unnecessary time to go to Honeywell first, find the base, and go back." Myling says as she fiddles with a device in her hands. "...There. I told the Rune Knights we're on our way. If something happens and we don't report back in three days, they'll come for us." she says confidently, pockets the device and exchanges it for a map, and starts leading the quartet out of town.
"...Damn." Emile whistles. "I've never seen her so…sure of herself."
Mana shrugs and glances at Akane. "It's like Alistair said that one time," she says.
Akane nods. "Myling is an S-Class Mage for a reason."
"Which means we should shut up and follow her." Veiss grumbles, still grumpy from having been woken up.
"Which means we should shut up and follow her." Emile repeats in a mocking voice.
"I will find a way to bring Jun back to life just so I can kill her in front of you." Veiss scowls.
Emile's jaw drops, "Rude!"
Somewhere between Cresthill and Honeywell…
"Is this really a good idea?" Emile wonders. "One of them is definitely going to blow their cover."
Myling shrugs, fiddling with her sleeves. "This mission is Mana's prize," she points out. "and she volunteered. D-Danate said to let her go wild – within reason."
Veiss starts stretching his arms out. "Yeah, well, be that as it may, those two aren't a combination that can stay civil." he says. "Let's get ready to rock their shit when Mana and Akane inevitably slip up."
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Smiling."
"Why?"
"It's weird."
"Why?"
"Because it is."
"Why?"
"Ugh."
She's going to kill you. Mary deadpans.
Just another way she shows her affection.
She literally holds your hand on a daily basis and her VIOLENCE is what you fixate on!?
Before either of them can say anything else, the doors to the Howling Flags base open.
Mana immediately clamps her hand over Akane's eyes and smiles awkwardly at the giant man who opened the door. "Uh…nice hair." she says.
The giant man, whose long hair is made of fire, looks down on the two girls with a stoic expression on his face.
"So, um," Mana scratches her cheek with her free hand. "My friend and I, we, uh…we got attacked by a…bear." she stammers, Akane's terrified trembling being horribly distracting.
The man quirks an eyebrow.
"...Help?"
The man stares at her.
Mana stares at the man.
…
…
…
…
…
"Black Mask-"
"Flame-"
"I FUCKING KNEW IT!"
"Oh dear…"
"LET'S GOOO!"
The man abruptly stops his attack at the sound of the three new voices, a frown on his face.
Mana lifts her hand off of Akane's eyes and a sheet of darkness wraps around her head like a blindfold. "There," Mana beams. "Now you can-"
"Shade: Wall Formation."
Mana, Akane, Veiss, and Emile scream and stumble as eight of Myling's Shades push them towards the open door behind the man and shove them inside. Then they merge together to form a giant wall, shutting the four Mages inside and leaving the man outside with Myling.
"I hope you don't mind," Myling says, walking up and approaching the man. "I told them they can go as crazy as they want, which means all of your expensive furniture is going to turn into expensive debris." she says.
Seventeen of the original twenty-five Shades swirl around Myling and the area around her, the cloaked, dark purple and black entities glaring at the man with their sinister red eyes.
The man scoffs. "You're the leader of those brats?" he says, sounding unimpressed. "Ridiculous. You're just a-" he stops mid-sentence and drops to his knees, breathless and a sickly look on his face. "Wh-What the…?"
Myling frowns and bends down in front of the man. Along with her shades, she now has a visible dark purple aura and black presence around her body. "Really? This is all you got?" Myling wonders, poking the man's fiery head of hair. "You'd think as the Guild Master that you'd have more power than this." she says. "Oh well. The faster I deal with you, the faster I can watch over them." Myling says and stands up.
The Howling Flags Guild Master lifts a shaky hand, trying to take a shot at Myling: "F-Flame-"
Myling narrows her eyes and loosens a bit of control on her Aura of Shades. The Dark Guild Master drops to the ground again, curling into himself.
Myling grumbles unhappily, mumbling something about not even getting a chance to use her spells on him before he tapped out.
Mana, Veiss, Emile, and (unwittingly because she's blindfolded) Akane stare at the confused group of Dark Mages scattered throughout the rather small base.
Veiss raises his hand. "Would any of you happen to be fire users?" he asks.
Two Dark Mages raise their hands.
As Veiss and Mana keep the Dark Mages distracted-
("Do either of you happen to be afraid of the dark?" Mana asks the Fire Mages.
"Yeah…why?" one of them says.
"Oh, no particular reason." Mana whistles.
The other one scratches his nose. "I'm not too fond of gross things myself."
Veiss smiles. "Is that so?")
-Emile puts a hand on Akane's back. "Keep to your right." he whispers. "We'll-"
Akane interrupts him, "Veiss and Mana can take care of the Fire Mages." she whispers back. "...Come with me."
Emile blinks. "Come with you?" he asks.
Akane grumbles, fiddling with the hoodie tied around her waist. "I still couldn't trust you back when Revenant Beasts and Heaven's Light attacked that village and that almost cost me my freedom." she says. "It's…It's been a while since then a-and I think I've grown, so…come with me."
Emile gasps, his eyes sparkling. "You want me to fight with you? As partners? Real partners!?" he asks excitedly, forgetting to use his inside voice.
Novem, snug in his spot between Emile's chest and the front of his kimono, is subjected to having his little head thrown around as Emile quite literally bounces in place.
"Did he say fight?" one of the Dark Mages asks, pausing the conversation between Howling Flags and Veiss and Mana.
The four Phoenix Fire Mages freeze.
"Hey…wait a second, what's that mark there they all got on their hands?"
…
…
…
"Oops." Emile says.
Veiss groans and rolls his eyes. "For fucks sake." he says and draws his sword, pointing it at the Fire Mage who claimed to be afraid of gross things. "Come on, you and me. I have something to show you, I think you'll hate it." Veiss says. "Come on, stab me. I dare you. Better yet, cut a limb off!" he encourages with a manic grin.
The Fire Mage who claimed to be afraid of the dark screams as his entire vision goes dark. He grabs at his face, screaming in fear.
Standing behind him, Mana hums thoughtfully and puts her hands on her hips. "Wow…I guess he really is afraid of the dark." she says. "...Or he's just super weak."
No shit. Now knock him out before the other Dark Mages swarm you. Mary says.
Mana clicks her tongue, "Language, Mary." she says, shaking her head. "I raised you better than that."
Mana, for the millionth time, I'm older than you now. And how come you don't complain when Akane - never mind.
What?
I said never mind.
You can't just-
KNOCK OUT THE BAD GUY MANA!
Mana puffs her cheeks, grumbling under her breath. "Knock out the bad guy, Mana." she repeats in a mocking voice and kicks the Dark Mage where the sun doesn't shine. As he drops to the ground, Mana turns around to find a handful of the man's Dark Mage allies blocking her from rejoining Veiss and the others.
Mana puts her hands on her hips again. "Maybe I do have to use Kenji's spell again. Boo." she sighs.
Meanwhile, Veiss is taking too much pleasure in torturing the weak stomached Dark Mage, laughing manically at the man's sobs.
"WHY WON'T YOU STAY DOWN!?"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The Dark Mage screams in horror as Veiss casts Rebirth once again and goes for a fiery punch to his heart - to which the Phoenix Fire Mage grabs before it can make contact with his chest. Veiss frowns. "Did I say you could go for my chest?" he asks with a displeased look on his face.
"Erm - I - uh - um -"
"Draco."
And just like that, Veiss starts laughing again as the Dark Mage's expression crumples, the hand Veiss has on his arm turning into a serpent-like, many eyed and many fanged dragon head.
"It's just a great thing that Mana had the foresight to blindfold Akane, now I can use fire too without feeling guilty!" Veiss beams and kicks at the Dark Mage's ankles, sweeping him off his feet and onto his back. He aims the dragon head at the Dark Mage: "Nighty night." he says and blasts the Dark Mage with dark fire.
Veiss looks up from his now unconscious victim to see where the rest of the Dark Mages have gone. He frowns again when he sees half surrounding Mana and half surrounding Akane and Emile.
"Eh, they've got that covered." Veiss says to himself and starts running towards Mana. "One against that many though isn't very - what the fuck?"
There sits Mana on the shoulder of a giant skeletal Vulcan that seems to be keeping the Dark Mages from reaching or hurting her. She's also making a gun with her finger and-
"Pew."
-firing darkness bullets at the Dark Mages from the tip of her finger.
Veiss frowns and looks down at his own hands. "...Can I do that…?" he wonders and turns his transformed hand back to normal. He mimics Mana's pose, keeping his finger gun steady by grabbing his arm. He aims it at one of the Dark Mages surrounding Mana and: "...Pew."
…
…
Nothing happens.
"Damn." Veiss grumbles and draws his sword. "I guess the old fashioned way is fine." he says and clears his throat: "WATCH WHERE YOU FIRE THAT THING, MANA! I'M COMING THROUGH!"
As Mana and Veiss join forces, Akane and Emile are still taking care of the other half of the Dark Mages.
Akane is screaming internally about not being able to see but with the presence of Fire Mages, she knows it's for the best (she'll have to thank Mana later. In private. Where no one can eavesdrop. Stupid guildmates.). She just has to trust Emile's directions. Easy enough.
Mostly.
"Elysian Bomb!"
Akane winces as she feels the heat from Emile's attack.
It's light, not fire, just breathe.
"Now, Akane!" Emile says and startles Akane out of her thoughts when they're suddenly back to back again. He swivels them around so Akane's now facing where Emile was previously. "Another group from your ten o'clock to your one-"
Akane wastes no time and slams both of her hands on the ground. "Restraining Field!" she sends her chains into the ground, searching for-
Akane freezes when something suddenly grazes the side of her head and the blindfold around her eyes slips off her head. She whips her head around to find Emile impaling a Dark Mage's leg with his Elysian Saber, Mana sitting on one of her giant skeleton things with her finger aimed in Akane's direction, and Veiss going ham on the Dark Mages surrounding Mana.
Mana pulls part of her mask to the side, beaming at Akane. "THE FIRE MAGES ARE TAKEN CARE OF, GET WILD GO CRAZY!"
"Say fucking less." Akane grins and turns back to her soon-to-be captives, their disoriented expressions turning terrified when they see the look on Akane's face. As she's been doing with Emile, she pulls them into a giant body pile with her chains and turns around to finally go on the offensive. Akane pushes herself up and back onto her feet. She dusts her hands off and: "BLADED CHAINS!"
"YEAH LET'S FUCKING GO!" Emile cheers.
"LET'S GO FUCKERS, THIS'LL TEACH YOU TO USE FIRE MAGIC AROUND ME!"
"NOBODY EVEN USED IT!" one of Akane's many captives cries out.
Akane ignores them and starts swinging the long, whip-like chains in her hands. Other than the sections of the whip Akane holds in her hands, every other chain link is terribly sharp.
Emile swings himself onto the back of his opponent and pulls the blunt edge of his saber against their neck. He wraps his legs around them as Novem scurries out of his kimono and onto his head: "All yours, Akane!"
As the Dark Mage struggles against the saber and the impending threat of getting cut up by Akane's chains, another Dark Mage creeps up from behind Akane, having figured out the trick to escaping her Restraining Field.
Without missing a beat, Akane raises both arms and swings one behind her and one in front of her - wrapping one chain around the legs of Emile's Dark Mage and wrapping the other around the body of the one who was trying to get the jump on her.
Akane looks behind her with an unimpressed look on her face, "If only you'd just stayed put. Now you get to wait in these chains while we get the rest of your friends." she chides.
When both Dark Mages drop to the ground, Emile tosses his saber to the side and as it dissipates into particles of light, he creates two large spheres of light in his hand. "Akane, Akane, Akane," he says excitedly, his eyes practically sparkling. "I can make contained versions of my Elysian Bomb, kind of like grenades. Let's use your chains and make them rain!"
Novem shivers at the excited, violent looks on Emile's and Akane's face. "Thank the Goddess I'm on their side…" he mumbles.
Meanwhile, Myling, having long since dealt with the Howling Flags Guild Master, sits on the trusses of the roof of their base and watches her younger guildmates go wild without any regard for being careful to not destroy the building. She sighs, "At least they're having fun…"
After having thoroughly destroyed the Howling Flags base and defeated all of their members, Myling instructs Akane to tie all of the members up in chains from their neck to their ankles and sends the four of them to evacuate at least twenty feet from the outside of the base so she can make sure they all stay unconscious long enough for the Rune Knights to get to them.
When Myling returns, she cringes as she realizes the state the team of four is in: covered in cuts and bruises, torn clothing, and certain violence-prone individuals (re:all four of them) have splatters of blood on them that is most definitely not theirs.
"...Myling?" Emile calls.
Myling's hand twitches.
"...Myl-?"
"Stay ten feet away from me until you get into a shower."
Novem perks up. "They look like shit and smell like blood, right? Can I go with you-?"
"You especially can stay fifteen feet away from me." Myling shivers, backing away. "I-I could deal with it when we were on the train because - well, it's a train and we were sitting together - but now we're in an open space!" she cries. "You have no reason to be anywhere near me!" Myling says, pointing an accusatory finger at Novem.
Mana exchanges a look with Akane.
"Myling thinks cute animals like Novem are creepy and unsettling." Akane supplies.
"She thinks Novem is creepy but she carries a dead spider around in the bottle dangling from her necklace!?"
Having used the device she used earlier to contact the nearby Rune Knights to let them know that the Dark Guild has been taken care of, Myling uses her map to lead the group to Honeywell (as they maintain a distance of ten feet between her and them, Emile hanging towards the back of the group with a dejected Novem) to let their client know the request has been fulfilled and to collect their pay.
About an hour later, the bright, pastel colored roofs of the houses and various buildings of Honeywell start to become visible in the distance.
"Damn." Veiss says. "The stories weren't kidding when they said this place is colorful as hell," he says. "I guess it looks nice though."
Mana, Akane, and Emile start to pat their clothes and faces self consciously. "We're really gonna stand out…" Akane says unhappily, referring to their darker hair and features.
"Well, we're gonna be in and out, right?" Mana asks. "We can shower in one of the inns but there's no reason to stay the night-"
"EEP!"
…
…
…
…
…
"...So we might be staying for a few nights." Emile sighs.
Akane grits her teeth. "Why couldn't it have been one of you fucks with the creepy regenerative abilities?" she says, looking between Mana and Veiss.
Mana pouts. "This is the treatment I get for keeping you safe when we jumped off a cliff together?"
Veiss rolls his eyes. "Shut up and let's get Myling before any wild animals do." he says.
The other three nod in agreement, peering down at a dazed Myling from the cliff she tripped off of.
"So…how do we get down there without breaking any legs?" Emile wonders.
Akane looks at Mana, "Can't you like, use your Wind Magic to float her up here or something?"
Mana gasps, "You're so smart, Kanny! Come on, let's go." she says and grabs Akane's arm.
Akane pales. "W-Wait, no, this isn't what I meant-"
"YIPEE!" Mana cheers as she jumps off the cliff, pulling Akane with her.
Akane screams in terror, "NOT AGAIN!" and as they fall, Emile starts to match Akane's expression.
Emile clears his throat as he backs away from the cliff. "I'm not needed for this…right?"
Veiss raises an eyebrow. "What, not a fan of heights?" he asks.
Emile mumbles under his breath, touching the scar on his face. "...Not really." he says and shakes his head. "I'm gonna stand…not here."
Veiss shrugs and turns his attention back to Mana and Akane, snickering as he watches Akane cling to Mana like her life depended on it. "Ha. Stupid Akane." he smirks. Then, he frowns. "Did she say 'not again'?"
Fifteen minutes later, much to Myling's chagrin, Veiss and Mana help her walk as they finally reach the colorful town of Honeywell.
Amazingly, it's like the citizens knew they were coming. A crowd of bright, pastel haired and clothed Honeywell townsfolk are waiting for the group of five at the entrance of the town. Among them, a beautiful middle aged woman steps forward, a kind smile on her face.
The woman has light skin and pastel blue hair tied into two side plaits. Under a cropped short sleeved red jacket, the woman wears a white dress with light blue accents with a matching blue bow tied around her waist. She wears brown slippers, matching brown leather bracelets on both wrists, and a blue pendant around her neck.
"Welcome to Honeywell," the woman says. "My people reported that you seemed to be making quite the ruckus on your way over here. Might I ask what business you have here?" she asks, paying no mind to the fact that (now) all five of them are covered in blood, dirt, and various minor injuries.
"Um," Emile speaks up. "We completed a mission from someone in your town, a Mr. Avacid Drasotsurs? He was worried about the Howling Flags guild nearby, we took care of them." he reports proudly.
Akane raises her hand. "And we need to stay for a few nights while she recovers," she says and points at Myling. "She fell off a cliff on our way here." Akane deadpans.
The woman tilts her head to the side. "Guild Mages then? That's not a problem. Come, I'll get you two rooms in our tavern and send a doctor and Mr. Drasotsurs over." she says. "We'll get you five fixed up and out of here as soon as possible." the woman says and the crowd of Honeywell townspeople starts to disperse. "I am Lady Ariana of Honeywell, I'm the mayor and founder of our colorful, peaceful little town. I hope you have a wonderful - albeit short - stay here."
"Oh, you don't have to do all that." Veiss says. "We don't mind staying-"
"I insist." Lady Ariana says with a rather intense inflection. "Our doctor is excellent at what she does, your friend will be back on her feet in no time and then you'll be back home in even less time!" she says. "Come, the tavern is this way."
Mana frowns.
Yeah, this place gives me a weird feeling too. Mary agrees with Mana's unspoken thoughts.
Mana opens her mouth to say something but Myling tightens her grip on Mana's shirt, giving her a look. She shakes her head, signaling for Mana to stay quiet.
Mana huffs.
So much for 'the most peaceful place in Valiance'. This place is weird.
PF x SS x AH
A/N pog
i would've had one more update to publish before the 19th but i lost four days of my life to other activities
still might do one more before returning to danganronpa
don't tell my other fics
love u
xx