Ramattra holds the vial tighter than he should. He reads the description again, "For you and your true love. If one of you drinks this, you both will be fine. Happiness, comfort, and beauty divine".
He has never fallen for such obviously empty promises. Joy by the bottle is sure to be yet another attempt at pulling consumers in, tricking them into spending their money on what will only cause unknown effects later on. It would be pointless to even consider taking it.
Yes, Ramattra does. He considered it long enough to sneak into that witch's factory and steal the damned thing. With help, yes, but that only makes matters worse. He dragged both Kiriko and his newly acquired ally, Genji, with him. Caused them trouble for a desperate attempt to keep the one thing he is terrified to lose.
Hana.
"You don't really think that's going to work, do you?" Kiriko frowns up at him as she walks by his side. She has been skeptical since the moment he suggested the plan, a fact that should be concerning in itself. Kirko has never been known for following the rules, yet she is suspicious of Moira's potion.
But he needs to change -needs something besides what little he is now. Hana needs someone who can be good enough for her. For her parents.
Someone he cannot be without this potion.
Genji's ears perk up as he walks beside them -an odd posture for a cat. "If you are concerned about the effects, let me take the first sip. It would be an honor to lay my life down for you after you did the same for me." He does a grand bow. Ramattra ignores him.
"No way!" Kiriko crosses her arms and glares Genji down. The cat is unphased by her continued antagonizing gestures. "If anyone's going to test that thing, it's me! Give it here, Ram!" She snatches the vial from his fingers and takes two full mouthfuls of it.
Ramattra grabs it back before she can drain it any further. "Kiriko!" He explains, now anxiously awaiting whatever magic was promised. But a few moments later and it has yet to take.
"Hm. Interesting flavor, but I don't feel different. Maybe it's a dud after all." She dismisses it too quickly to be completely serious. Another attempt at dissuading him, no doubt.
"Maybe you are just immune?" Genji tries, equally as confused.
Ramattra looks back at the bottle, now half empty. He...he wants this. He has to.
"For Hana." Ramattra gathers his courage and pours the rest of the blue liquid into his fuel pump system. Down to the last drop.
He waits for it to spread across his mechanical body, his fingers ready to catch himself in case he loses balance. But nothing happens. The pressure in his chest increases with the added liquid, then levels out again. No different than if he had added oil.
"Nothing." Ramattra growls, crushing the vial in his palm.
"I told you." Kiriko continues down the dirt path, all too smug. "I guess we angered that fairy for no good reason. Better we start writing out our apologies now than when she catches up to us..."
A true love potion that does not work when the rest of Moira's concoctions do? Ramattra stares at his metal hands, sees how they connect in wired sockets and pressurized hydraulics. Perhaps it was simply not meant to be. Kiriko has mentioned her struggles with Illiari, of their separation. If the potion did not work for the same reason...
Then oil and blood were never meant to mix.
A soft thud pulls Ramattra's attention back to the road ahead. His pump nearly stops when he sees Kiriko lying flat on the ground, Genji hovering with his ears pointed back.
Something is not right.
"Kiriko?" Ramattra goes to approach her but stops as his systems flash with alerts. Signal after signal lights up in his data ports, informing him that his systems are failing. They're slowing. Stopping.
Shut-ting...down.
Hana searches the courtyard for what feels like the tenth time. He's not usually this moody. Not enough to run off and not say anything. He'd tell her at least.
Then again, he hasn't been acting usual. Not since they came to Busan.
Oh, it was stupid to suggest coming here! She knows her parents and how they see people who are different! Ugh, why would she think they would be different with Ramattra?! Because she loves him? Because she thought, maybe, they could just be happy for her instead of demanding even more of her?!
Sure, he hasn't really been the nicest either; accusing her father of oppressing the omnics in their palace. But then her father accused Ramattra of being a terrorist. If her mother hadn't stepped in, they might've thrown the whole dining table aside and killed each other right then and there!
"This is all a big mess!" Hana groans. She looks out at the walls that line their palace, then at the forest beyond. She misses their home in Nepal. It's quiet and cold and nothing like her life here as the daughter of royalty. As a warrior princess.
It strikes Hana then, as if it weren't the very thing Ramattra has been saying this whole time. She wants to go home. Home to Nepal, where she belongs. Needs to go home.
She'll say goodbye to her parents, find Ramattra, and they'll leave. Forget the ball, forget everything else. She should've listened when he said things wouldn't turn out. Maybe she can apologize really hard and he'll let her take the window seat on the ride back. And they'll spend all the time in the world worrying about nothing but each other.
Hana turns back to the palace, ready to tell her parents exactly what she thinks, but she stops when a sudden wave of fatigue washes over her. She stumbles, nearly falling flat on her face.
"What..." Hana groans as another passes over her, stronger this time. She feels her skin crawl and her forehead sweats like a fever crawling up on her.
She collapses before she can take another step.