I do not own Re:Zero or any of the characters.
Introducing Shaula
Ian growled under his breath in irritation, and Rem smiled knowingly, slipping her hand into his and giving it a light squeeze. They'd been walking for another couple hours since they'd fought the Centaur. And still there was no sign of an exit. Ian was beginning to seriously consider the merits of simply blasting their way out through the roof of the cave and the sand above.
"There's got to be an exit around here somewhere, right?" Ian asked.
"In theory, yes," Julius nodded.
"I can smell flowers ahead," Frederica said. "We should be approaching an exit near the meadow of Courtesan Bears."
"You said that an hour ago," Ian groaned.
His feet finally slowed him to a stop as they stepped into a chamber with a half-dozen other paths leading out of it. He sighed, letting his horn fade, and Rem did the same. Every fifteen minutes, they'd done this to check for any other light sources. However, where rest of the attempts had ended with disappointment, this time, it didn't. Ahead of them and one path to the right, the tunnel leading out there was angled slightly upward and was barely lighter than the other tunnels. Ian and Rem re-extended their horns again and headed for the tunnel, beginning up it. The climb up the slope was slow, and the slope kept seeming to level out before rising again, making it feel like they were barely rising at all. However, finally, they reached the exit of the tunnel at last. Except, Ian looked around and could only stare at their location. They were between the meadow and the Watchtower.
"Finally," Ian sighed quietly.
"Let's hurry," Emilia said. "Subaru and the others might have made it by now."
They all nodded and headed for the tower. Finally, after days of travel, they had reached their destination. They stepped into it and their echoing footsteps instantly warned of a massive open space. However, as they left the doorway behind them, dozens of Magic Stone Lanterns, probably more, came to life along the wall of the round chamber they'd found themselves in, a chamber three hundred meters across. Ian couldn't help but let out a long, low whistle, and Elena's hand snapped up, smacking the back of his head. A moment later, a form exploded to the ground in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust before exploding forward. Ian's sword arm tensed, only for him to relax as his forehead tingled and hid Od reacted to its linked companion's. A second later, Ram was nearly crushing both Rem and Ian in a hug, both of them hugging her back equally tightly.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Sister," Rem smiled.
"Ram is relieved sister has not been injured, as well," Ram said. "Has Ian done anything indecent?"
"No," Rem smiled, shaking her head. "He was only concerned with keeping me safe and trying to find everyone else to make sure they were all okay."
"And not Ram?" Ram asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Now that you have your horn, nothing out here could hurt you," Ian said. "You were never in danger." He smiled, kissing her. "But I was most worried about you, all the same."
"Your words contradict each other," Ram said. "You make no sense. Ram appreciates your concern."
Ian smiled as two other people joined the group from behind Ram. He looked up and nodded a greeting to Anastasia, then turned his eyes to the other, raising an eyebrow. She had dark brown, almost black, hair in a ponytail that ended in a shape reminding him of a scorpion's tail, a black bow tied into her hair to hold the ponytail, a black cape with gold inside and along the edges, what amounted to a thick, black, bikini top, a pair of black daisy duke shorts, and a pair of black boots with gold around the tops. The moment he saw her, and admittedly her smooth, flawless skin, perky breasts, and perfect hourglass figure, he knew who would speak first, and what they'd say.
"Avert your eyes, you shameless man," Ram said after less than a second of him seeing the woman. "Are the beautiful Ram and her perfect sister not enough for you?"
"Always," Ian said. "But since I don't recognize this person, I'm assuming she must be Shaula."
"That's right," the woman nodded, eyes sweeping over them calculatingly, pausing first on Elena, then again on Ian. "You two are covered in miasma."
"Unfortunate family trait," Ian said. "It likes us."
Shaula hummed thoughtfully, eyes drifting to Elena again, who was smiling almost hungrily as her eyes roved Shaula's body. "Welcome to the Pleiades Watchtower. You're the first to set foot here in a very, very long time."
"Thank you," Elena smiled, curtsying, tone betraying her thoughts about Shaula, even if her next words hadn't. "I didn't realize the Sage of the tower would be so beautiful. If I had, I'd have dressed for the occasion."
Shaula's lips curled into a smile. "You're going to make me uncomfortable. I'm not used to receiving compliments."
Elena smiled even more preditorialy, and Ian rolled his eyes.
"So, where are Subaru and Beatrice?" Ian asked.
"Master is in the Dragon Carriage, and the Great Spirit should be with him," Shaula said.
"Master?" Emilia asked.
"That's right," Shaula nodded. "I finally found him again, but he was pretty beat up and tired, so he's resting."
Emilia looked past Shaula to the Dragon Carriage sitting in the center of the large room, right beside Ian's dragon, and ran to it instantly. Ian, Rem, and Ram all walked over to Ian's dragon, and Ian ran his hand over its scales in greeting, the dragon pressing the top of its head into his chest to welcome him. He smiled, petting the dragon for another few moments before glancing at his sister, who was chatting animatedly, and flirtasciously, with Shaula. However, he could also plainly see how conflicted and jealous Frederica was. He sighed, deciding to leave it to be his sister's problem to deal with, and walked over to hold his own girlfriends again.
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