Date A Re:Live
S3 Chapter 58: Mukuro Space, Part 1
By : Tohka_Yatogami
...
Summary
Even a similar story can take it's own path. Shido and Mana are amnesiac siblings living with their friend Kotori, however the past catches up to Shido when he nearly runs into a space quake, and his world changes as one girl asks... "Are you here to kill me?" (Stronger Ratatoskr, weaker DEM, games & movie are canon to story) [Shido/Tohka/Harem]
This is it, after a long wait, we're finally about to have Shido and the others end the Spirit saving journey of their battle against the DEM, and the time to go after Mukuro has begun. I've really wanted to get this point for a while, and now I'm excited to have finally made it, especially since it'll be interesting to play out events between Mukuro and Mildred while she's both emotionless and full of emotion.
Before I say anymore, time to answer a guest review by Seeker213: "If that is the case, I have no idea how they're gonna pull that off, the best guess I can think of is that they might get some of Nia's Qlipha Crystal back which is enough to get one under their control, and keep Westcott a bit of a threat for a while longer if he doesn't have something else under his sleeve."
"I'm already curious and excited to what those ideas might be ^^, I can't wait to hear them. Also, thanks for the music suggestions you gave me, I've actually had a few moments where I could have used Silvery Wings, but I kept forgetting about it. That last one I'll need to listen to and... *sees the first one* wait, Infinite's got a theme now? How'd I miss that reveal?"
"Oh! Before I forget, I took your advice on changing that scene in The Dark, but Not Evil, I honestly only added that joke in because I didn't know what else to put. Having Tohka ask Shido if he's OK ended up feeling a lot more natural."
OK, with that done, I'll make an announcement that's related to the last part... because I had many people interested in the story's concept, "The Dark but Not Evil" is now going to become a full story! I don't know when I'll actually start working on it (other than I'll wait for info from Volume 17 to be released first), but it will happen eventually.
Now it's time for this arc's this arc's emotion, and this time it's "Apathy", this emotion is gonna be a bit harder to work with, but I think I've planned the right scenes to use with it.
So, without further ado, let's begin!
-Mukuro Hoshimiya, Code Name: [Zodiac]-
Angel: Michael, the "Seal-Removing Lord" - The most powerful of the Angels, Michael takes the form of a staff designed like a key, which Nia has jokingly referred to as a "Spirit's Keyblade" after seeing it the first time. True to its design as a key, Michael works more like one than a staff in the most supernatural and divine of ways.
By manipulating an area of space, Michael can warp the dimensional field around it, changing the fabric of space-time to her own use no matter where she is. According to Nia, while her powers run on imagination, Mukuro's take it a step further and go beyond the normal concepts of reality with her only limitation being understanding how she can affect what Michael's used on.
- Alternate Form: Segva, "Lock" - The power of Segva is the ability of limiting or disabling. Using Michael, the power of Segva can seal away certain functions of whatever Mukuro choose as her target. Such possibilities to this include shutting down the operations and functions of machines, sealing a certain ability, and most dangerous of all... it can work on abstract concepts like emotions, memories.
A testament to Michael's full power when using this ability is that the Angel could use Segva to actually stop the Earth's rotation. However, Mukuro can't use this on everything, and while the full extent of what's immune to this technique is unknown, some of its uses when applies to another Spirit may or may not work depending on what was targeted.
- Alternate Form: Raitabu, "Unlock" - The reverse ability of Segva, where instead of sealing something away, Mukuro frees it and unseals it from a lock, even one not created by Segva. One of Mukuro's primary uses for this ability is the creation of wormholes to teleport herself, redirect enemy attacks, or gather objects and/or debris to launch as projectiles. Mukuro can even summon meteorites made of condensed and solidified Reiryoku, though this is a lot more draining than launching other projectiles.
- Alternate Form: Shifuru, "Release" - If Mukuro's already great power isn't enough, or she needs to use a large amount of power in a short period of time her usual abilities aren't quick enough to provide, she can have Michael transform into a halberd-like weapon and unleash the Angel's true potential. When she does this, her Astral Dress changes shape which makes it appear as if she's undergone Inversion, but only halfway. While in this state, her Reiryoku also burns out around her body, making it dangerous to directly touch her.
- Alternate Form: Jerez, "Solution" - One of Michael's most dangerous abilities. By decomposing Reiryoku and the bonds holding molecules together, Michael creates a focused energy wave that can melt through anything. The only thing that can be hit by this technique and live is another Spirit, and even then, it will still heavily damage them and cut their Astral Dress apart, though certain defenses like territory barriers if used right can negate it.
- Alternate Form: Alhazma, "Beam" - By focusing her powers and warping spatial energy around the tip of Michael's key, Mukuro can launch a concentrated beam of Reiryoku that can piece through anything, with only the strongest of defenses and Rinne herself (though only because Michael will refuse to kill her) being exceptions.
- Powers: Mukuro's elemental affinity as a Spirit is Space, and she's mastered her abilities in the 5 years she's been a Spirit, not to mention her element is presence everywhere meaning she's had ample opportunity to practice. Not only is Mukuro quite versatile with her powers due to the effects of Michael's various abilities adapting based on the situation, use and even what it's used on, but she's managed to use them on herself to aid in her solitude.
The most notable aspect of using Michael on herself is having used it to live a distance away from the atmosphere, hiding where neither Ratatoskr or the DEM have ever managed to find her in the last 5 years, and even making survival in it possible by making her body not require any food, drink or air to survive, while locking away her own emotions so she wouldn't ever feel loneliness or regret from her choice. The biggest testament to her strength is that Nia claims that if Inverse Tohka were to fight her, Mukuro would win... and this is without trying.
Risk Factors: S
Spacequake: AA
Spirit's Astral Dress: AAA
Angel Rank: SS
Strength: 240
Consistency: 200
Spiritual Power: 222
Agility: 175
Intelligence: 111
Reine guzzled more of her coffee and nearly swallowed than she could handle, soon focusing on Nia.
"Tell us Nia... where is she?" Reine asked.
Nia pointed a finger up into the air.
"The same place she's been the last 5 years, above Earth's atmosphere... in space." Nia answered.
"Wait... what!?" Mildred exclaimed in shock.
"She's in space!?" Reine repeated.
"Yep." Nia answered.
"For 5 years?" Kotori asked.
"Uh huh." Nia nodded.
"Doesn't she need to breathe?" Tohka wondered.
"Apparently not." Nia shrugged.
"She at least has food and drink, right?" Rinne inquired with a sweat.
"...Nope." Nia shook.
Silence followed for a few seconds, and then...
"How the hell does that work!?" Everyone asked loudly.
"Uh... well, I'm not completely sure. While I've used Raziel to look up Mukuro's powers before..." Nia answered.
Raziel materializes besides Nia.
[The problem is Michael's a very complex Angel, it's powers are over the element of Space, but because manipulating space and gravity to a high degree can warp reality, it's a bit beyond my full comprehensive. I guess you could say she's warping around logic, so I can't accurately get any info.]
"Whoa... no wonder you said she was the strongest Spirit. I thought the beam attacks she launched out and how she helped us destroy Choronzon already made her pretty powerful, but that takes the cake!" Mana said in surprise.
Shido sweated a bit.
"I don't think we're ready to go after her just yet, we need some time to seriously prepare ourselves for when we try to go help her. I know Raziel just said it can't give us all the answers here, but... will you still help us prepare best we can Nia?" Shido asked.
"Sure thing, I'll especially need to tell you about how to help you ship defend against her attacks if she retaliates." Nia replied.
As everyone began discussing information, the metal bug soon scurried away out of Ratatoskr.
Chinami was soon seen back outside near a hidden area with a portal, various DEM loyalists walking through it as she kept watch. Right after the last person walked in, she saw the metallic bug scurry towards her.
She picked it up with her hand, and soon it compressed back into a portable capsule shape before she pocketed it away.
"Quite the surprise, for [Zodiac] to have been hiding out in space? It's no wonder we never found her. Honestly I feel stupid we didn't consider that with her various beams that rained down from nowhere." Chinami said to herself.
Chinami soon entered the portal herself as she tapped a button on a wrist watch she was wearing, closing it behind her.
She soon landed in the Inverse Void, heading into the DEM's base as she removed her Winter clothes and made way for Westcott's office. Once she reached it, she walked inside where Westcott was waiting.
"Ah Chinami, you took a bit longer then I was expecting you. Care to share the reason for this?" Westcott inquired.
"My apologies sir, when I arrived, I found that Shido boy acting suspicious from some apparent meltdown that [Sister] caused. I intended to engage, but I decided not to." Chinami answered.
"Oh? Strange, if I didn't know any better you seem to still care about that Spirit cousin of yours?" Westcott chuckled.
Chinami smashed an indent into Westcott's desk with her fist.
"...Don't even joke like that." Chinami glared.
"Sorry, I guess that was a bit too much." Westcott apologized.
"Regardless, I was right now to, his power went so out of control that it was too much for the other Spirits. I would have not had a chance against that force as I am now. Luckily, there was an upside... [Sister] forced herself to undergo an Inversion, which means you should now have her dark Reiryoku." Chinami revealed.
Westcott's face widened at that, soon smiling as she chuckled a bit.
He moved to the wall so he could take a look, and sure enough he saw Nia's dark Reiryoku now contained in what was once an empty spot, leaving only Mukuro's left to be claimed as his own.
"I apologize again Chinami, it seems your judgment was spot on, now only the power of [Zodiac]'s inversion remains to be claimed. Now, if only we could learn where she is, then the only remaining issue would be what Jessica said about her lack of emotions. Our dream is getting closer and closer." Westcott smirked.
"Actually sir, I believe you'll be happy to hear this... I sent a Serket automaton to spy on Ratatoskr. You'll be happy to hear that thanks to [Sister]... I know where [Zodiac] has been all this time." Chinami smiled.
Westcott froze, soon turning to Chinami with an impressed expression.
"...Go on?" Westcott stated.
Another two and a half weeks would soon pass by, soon becoming December 23. As of currently, Ratatoskr still had yet to take action to go after Mukuro, only due to the advice Nia had given them adding onto the Fraxinus' upgrades and the various wizards CR-Units.
Included in their weaponry and tech upgrades came Nia who used Raziel to help the other Spirits learn more about the depth of their powers, advising Mana on how to use hers now that she no longer had her Murakumo, and even giving Shido some advice on his Spirit Ascension levels and his passive abilities. Small story short? It was like a Spirit boot camp as Ratatoskr prepared for war against a single enemy.
Luckily, this wasn't the case as of today. Since Christmas Eve was slowly approaching, everyone was taking the day off to go visit a shrine. Everyone currently had their hands clapped together by the donation box, having put in a coin inside and then ringing the bell for good luck.
Each of them was wearing a kimono matching their colors and a matching or related symbol, examples being Tohka who had butterfly designs on hers, while Origami's had... origami cranes. Shido himself had even joined in, taking the form of Shiori, while it was partially part of the practice Nia and Rinne suggested for learning to draw her full Reiryoku, he also just wanted to match the theme of his harem.
"May our luck in saving Mukuro go well." Shiori prayed.
"May our luck in saving Mukuro go well." The others all repeated.
From the distance, the Spirits not part of Shiori's harem, or the extra Spirits as Nia had named them due to lacking a connection to a Sephira on the Tree of Life (even Rinne because Da'at could be both considered and not considered a Sephira) watched alongside Reine.
"They've come a long way, and they're all feeling confident about their chances in saving Mukuro." Rinne smiled.
"I don't blame them, Mildred's suffered 5 years trying to find her, and now she has a chance to finally make things right between them. They all want to help her get that chance with all they've got." Reine replied happily.
"Helps that with Nia, we're not going in completely blind." Maria smiled.
Marina groaned a bit.
"Uh... Marina, are you still mad about the classification she gave us?" Mayuri asked.
"Extra Spirits my ass, you're making it sound like you're so special to have a true Sephira Crystal in you. Like that Sephira Spirit title is so much better. It ain't, and you know it Nia Honjou!" Marina whispered angrily.
Nia suddenly sneezed, getting the other's attention as she wiped her nose.
"...I think she is." Rio giggled nervously.
"Where'd that sneeze come from?" Nia wondered.
Rinne giggled a bit before she held up a picnic basket.
"Come on everyone, I made us some lunch!" Rinne called out.
"Good, cause I'm hungry." Tohka replied.
"When aren't you hungry Tohka?" Origami chuckled nervously.
Soon everyone sat down at a table, and Rinne opened the basket to reveal some fried chicken, rolled omelets, takoyaki, rice and some fresh salad. For the drink, there were canisters of nice warm tomato soup.
Everyone gathered a bit, quickly enjoying the food.
"Delicious!" Tohka said cheerfully.
"I still can't believe how well you and Shiori can cook." Nia asked.
"Aw, stop it Nia. I'm blushing" Rinne said with a blush.
Mana drank a bit of her soup and sighed from the warmth it gave.
"So how soon are we gonna go try to help Mukuro? It is almost Christmas, and I'd kinda like to have her enjoy it with us." Mana wondered.
"I'm not sure how well the enjoyment part might work." Nia mentioned.
"Why is that?" Shiori asked.
Nia scratched her cheek.
"Well... from the time I've been in contact with Mukuro, she seems kinda... dull. It's like talking to a cardboard box." Nia admitted.
"That bad?" Kotori asked.
"Bad enough her reactions are always... this." Nia answered.
Nia copies Mukuro's flat stare, and everyone gets a bit unnerved by it.
Rio coughs to distract everyone.
"OK, I guess that's a challenge we'll have to deal with eventually." Shiori chuckled.
"Other than that challenge." Kurumi remarked.
Everyone turned to see Kurumi pointed towards Tamae, their teacher shaking not from the cold, but cruel reality hitting her. Worse? Her eyes were just two big black circles at the moment.
Mikie rubbed her back trying to calm her down, which wasn't working very well.
"I'm going to turn 30 years old soon, and I still haven't found a fiancé... it isn't fair." Tamae whimpered.
"There, there." Mikie assured with a sweat drop.
"I don't get it, Tamae's so sweet and pretty, why hasn't she found her soul mate yet?" Rinne asked.
"The heart is a mysterious thing Rinne, enough that it is more unpredictable than any weather pattern." Nia chuckled.
Everyone sweat dropped as Tamae starts sobbing.
"I wish a meteor would fall on me right now and just end my misery!" Tamae wailed.
"And that's just extreme!" Nia exclaimed in shock.
Meanwhile, deep in outer space, Mukuro was asleep like usual... until she suddenly heard a nose and turned to look behind her. The sight of dozens of DEM warships flying across space after appearing through portals from the Inverse Void soon entered her view.
And accompanying those spaceships were thousands of different automatons, ones that now had designs that looked like that of an Inverse Spirit applied to them. The Dimensional Spirit held out her hand.
"[Michael]" Mukuro stated.
The large key formed in Mukuro's hand as the DEM army neared her.
"All hands, capture Zodiac! Don't hold anything back! Attack as if you were trying to kill her!" A DEM pilot declared.
"ROGER!"
The various warships accelerated as all of the automatons rushed ahead.
Mukuro held out Michael before and then...
"Segva - Lock."
In that mere instant, every Automaton suddenly malfunctioned to the surprise of the DEM forces.
"What the... every automaton of every type has just gone offline! She didn't even attack them!" A DEM captain exclaimed.
"No signs of her emitting any kind of Reiryoku energy either, what's going on here?" A DEM crew member wondered.
Mukuro soon pointed Michael at the left most ship.
"Alhazma - Beam."
Mukuro fires off a beam from Michael, slowly moving it left to right as it began razing through each DEM ship, incinerating the automatons in its path as all the DEM ships took heavy damage and had parts of their outer haul explode.
As the people in the ships panicked and screamed, Mukuro prepared to do something else.
"Evacuate! Evacuate! Abandon ships, retreat back to the-" A DEM officer shouted.
[You are not escaping us, let's finish this Mukuro.]
"Raitabu - Unlock."
Mukuro spun Michael, and soon she created a wormhole that began to swallow everything inside of it. The scraps and remains of the automatons and the ships soon are all swallowed, with Mukuro staring at where some of the few scraps remained.
Back with everyone else, Tohka soon remembered something and looked at Rio.
"Hey Rio, remember when you told us back in the story book world how the Michael Crystal hasn't had any other possessors similar to my case?" Tohka asked.
"Oh yeah, I did say that. Why do you ask?" Rio wondered.
"Because I'm curious what it was like when you made Mukuro into a Spirit." Tohka answered.
Everyone soon turned to Rio upon hearing that question, and Rio soon scratched her head.
"Uh... about that, I didn't make Mukuro into a Spirit." Rio admitted.
"...Huh!?" Everyone asked confused.
"Well, that's a bit of a complicated story." Rio answered.
"You see..."
Phantom was flying around as usual, trying to find potential Sephira Crystal hosts, and soon she took out one of the only two crystals she had that hadn't found their host. Unlike Sandalphon which just couldn't find another one since Tohka could deny the position due to her coma, the golden-yellow crystal in her hand, the Michael Crystal... it had never reacted to anyone.
"(Will I ever find a host for you? At this rate, I'm thinking you're the only one I can't find a suitable wielder to match your power.)" Phantom sighed.
Suddenly at that moment, the Michael Crystal began to shake before glowing brightly.
"(Huh? Wait a second, if you're glowing then... you've found a-)" Phantom gasped.
The Michael Crystal soon shot off her hand, flinging across the city at a speed faster than Phantom could keep up via flight or even visual contact.
"(What the hell? Is the Michael Crystal... is it going to its wielder on its own?)" Phantom asked.
An upset looking Mukuro was seen in another part of the city, and a shining sound soon entered her ears as she turned to see a golden light.
"Huh?" Mukuro stated.
Before she could react, the Michael Crystal flew into her hands, soon being absorbed into her body as Mukuro gasped and her pupils whitened. Her outfit transformed into a lilac and white Astral Dress.
The ends of her skirt, which were adorned with constellation patterns, were divided at the edge. Additionally, she had transparent purple gloves that were also engraved with constellation patterns. Lastly, she wore purple shoes with flat pink soles that were attached to metallic greaves resembling the leg armor once used by medieval knights.
"What just... what just happened?" Mukuro asked worriedly.
[Hello there, what is your name? I'd like to call you by such rather than by Master.]
Mukuro looked at a large... staff/sword-like key? (She wasn't sure) As it materialized before her, surprising her a bit.
"Uh... m-my name's Mukuro Hoshimiya. W-what are you?" Mukuro asked.
[Ah, I see. It's nice to meet you Mukuro, I am the Angel Michael, and I am here to protect you and help grant your greatest wish.]
Mukuro gasped as she heard that.
"Michael did that itself?" Kaguya asked.
"Yeah, I never managed to find where Michael had gone or who it chose, and I never sensed Mukuro in danger all that time. As a result..." Rio answered.
Rinne thought for a bit.
"It's possible that Michael didn't follow the pattern the others did due to how on the Sephirot, Michael's in the direct center and connected to the other 9. Even Sandalphon despite the lines making it seem like it isn't." Rinne theorized.
"Like it was so strong, it was looking for someone that was guaranteed to be the best host for it?" Origami asked.
"One way to looked at it. Considering how powerful Nia mentioned Mukuro was, I think that it ended up making the-" Rinne answered.
At that moment, a portal suddenly formed in the air above where Raizen High was, and a mass of burning metal shot out from it. The said metal shot impacted the sports ground, leaving a small crater there and shaking the entirety of Tenguu City as it did.
Shiori who was sitting next to Tohka ended up falling over, knocking the Energy Spirit over and causing Shiori to fall on top of her in the process, somehow also causing the top part of Tohka's kimono to come down, making Shiori blush as she now saw a large amount of Tohka's massive cleavage.
"Shiori... please stop staring and help me up?" Tohka said blushing even more.
"S-Sorry!" Shiori replied.
Shiori got up, and quickly helped Tohka up before fixing her outfit.
"Just what was that?" Natsumi asked.
"Wait a second... guys, do you think it could it be?" Miku wondered.
Nia summons Raziel.
"Raziel?" Nia asked.
[No doubt about it Nia... that was Mukuro's doing.]
"If that was Mukuro, then why did she-" Yuzuru asked.
Nia held up a hand to Yuzuru's mouth.
"Wait, let me figure it out." Nia replied.
Nia opened Raziel.
"What is that "meteor" made out of exactly?" Nia asked.
[Looks like... DEM automatons and Dark Reiryoku, you know what that means.]
Everyone gasped.
"The DEM's attacking her!" Marina exclaimed.
"No, more like they attacked her." Nia replied.
[Yes, they didn't stand a chance, that was her warning message to the organization. Westcott won't listen, but she's still made it clear how powerful she is. Based on my info, 41 other locations in the world were hit with similar faux meteorites and they were all near areas once owned by the DEM.]
Everyone gasped at that.
"W-what about all the people inside? Did she kill them?" Yoshino asked worriedly.
[Luckily, no. Though she did make them think she was going to kill, what happened with them is she simply teleported them all into a single place with some of the debris to identify they're with the DEM. They're being arrested as we speak, but still... nothing's saying the next time they try she will silence their lives.]
"...Then we have no choice. We have to go help her now, or we might never get another chance." Reine reasoned.
"Everyone, to the Fraxinus!"
Everyone nods before heading to the nearest secret entrances to Ratatoskr's base, changing into normal clothes on the way down and Shiori reverting back to Shido. Once they were finished, they all followed Reine to the Fraxinus' storage bay.
"Alright, everyone get ready... it's time to meet the new version of the Fraxinus." Reine stated.
The door opened and soon enough they saw it... it took the same basic shape of its previous frame and tripled its size, increased its length by double, and added a bit more to its width. It possessed the same white and blue color scheme, but now with various circle spots referencing the Sephira and by extension all of the Spirits.
This might ship's new name was...
"Everyone, say hello to the Fraxinus Anomala." Reine introduced.
"Whoa, look at it!" Maria smiled.
"It's the same size as the Arbitel now, incredible." Marina noted.
"I bet those circles representing our colors are a hidden weapon to, I wonder what it could be?" Origami wondered aloud.
Not wasting anymore time, the entire group got inside the ship.
Upon finding themselves in the Fraxinus' ship bay, the group saw the usual five members of the Fraxinus crew along with Kannazuki, but now there was also the sight of Matthew, Tohka's parents, Kotori's parents, Mildred, Artemisia and... actually, it seemed like everyone was now added onto the crew.
"Whoa..." Yoshino breathed.
"Did you fit everyone on this ship or something?" Natsumi asked.
Nia chuckles a bit.
"I told them they shouldn't hold anything back, and they listened. They listened very well there." Nia answered.
"I can believe that." Shido sweated.
"Prepare for takeoff. Maria, Marina, ready to link up?" Reine asked.
"You got it!" The Arusu sisters answered.
Their eyes answered as they linked their minds to the Fraxinus' systems, and soon the ship began to light up as it prepared to take off.
"Preparing the Fraxinus Anomala for spatial flight." Matthew announced.
"Hey Reine, it might be a good idea for us to try initial contact via that projection probe, otherwise she may be hostile with us." Nia mentioned.
"Alright, ready the probe Sakura." Reine requested.
"You got it!" Sakura said with a thumb's up.
As Sakura readied it, Ren walked up to Shido and attached a metallic wristband with a red light that began blinking onto his wrist.
Once that was on, a pair of goggles were put over his eyes to link with the probe's line of sight.
"What's this?" Shido asked.
"That's how we're gonna use the probe to show Mukuro you via a projection. The wristband is how it shows you through it." Ren answered.
"Alright, launching probe now!" Sakura exclaimed.
The Fraxinus shot a probe up high into the sky, soon reaching near the atmosphere.
Once there it stopped, opening up to release a light and project an image of Shido, one that caught the attention of Mukuro. The Dimensional Spirit stared at Shido's projection, only to aim Michael at him.
"Alhazma - Beam."
"Wait, don't-" Shido shouted.
Michael fired off the beam, and Shido screamed as it went through him, only to remember it was his projection being attacked and he was fine when no pain hit him.
Mukuro prepared another attack.
"No stop, I'm not here to hurt you! I just wanna talk! The me you see is just a virtual projection, please!" Shido shouted again.
[Hmm... Mukuro, let's hear him out.]
Mukuro soon stopped her attack's charge and stared towards Shido. Her gaze focused on the hologram, but luckily due to the goggles, she didn't realize he was part Spirit.
"...Who are you?" Mukuro said.
"Uh... I'm Shido Takamiya, it's nice to meet you." Shido replied.
"Shido, very well. I am Mukuro Hoshimiya." Mukuro responded.
As Shido was talking to Mukuro, everyone watched their interactions on the monitor. Mildred was the one most focused on their conversation though.
"...Something isn't right, Mukuro never talked like that. She wasn't so... calm, cold and... calculated. She was full of energy, life and emotion. What happened to her, and why did it happen?" Mildred said fearfully.
"Really? Out of all the years I've known her, I've never seen her like that." Nia replied.
After hearing that, Mildred turn to Nia were an even more worried look on her face before turning back to the screen.
Meanwhile with Mukuro and Shido directly, the latter saw some options appear on screen.
1. Honest Response - "I wanted to know... can we be friends."
2. Romantic Response - "Will you be my lover?"
3. Racy Response - "I'll be your master from now on! Be my obedient slave, and I'll train you until you can no longer live without me!"
"Alright everyone, make your choices people-" Reine announced.
"WAIT!" Mildred shouted.
Everyone stopped before they could vote.
"I know you might find this crazy, but... I need you to have Shido say option 3!" Mildred begged.
"Say what!?" Everyone exclaimed.
"I... I can't help but feel something's very wrong with Mukuro, she doesn't sound like how I remembered her, doesn't act like I remember her... and no matter what I feel something unnatural behind it. The only way I can know how bad is if I know how she reacts to that response." Mildred explained.
Everyone gives an unsure look in response to that, and Reine decides to reply to Shido.
"Shido, you heard that right? Do you think we should try it?" Reine asked.
"...I'd normally wanna die for saying that, but Mildred sounds so worried about her sister. I guess I've got no choice." Shido answered.
Shido gulped in response.
"Please don't let this backfire." Shido whispered.
"Mukuro... I'll be your master from now on! Be my obedient slave, and I'll train you until you can no longer live without me!" Shido exclaimed.
"I see." Mukuro said.
Everyone went wide eyed at that, she didn't care about what he said at all. That's when the Arusu twins noticed something.
"Commander, her emotional state... it didn't change at all!" Maria replied.
"Yeah, it's like it's frozen solid!" Marina added.
"What? Someone bring it up on screen, let me see." Reine requested.
Right on cue, the emotional graph appeared, and...
...nothing, all of her emotions were unchanged. Not just that, but Reine noticed she wasn't registering any emotions!
"What the hell?" Nia gasped.
"No... emotions? Oh my god, what's happening here? That's... that's not like my sister at all!" Mildred replied.
Mildred's eyes began to tear up as she slid onto her knees.
"What's happened to her?" Mildred sobbed.
Even Shido wasn't sure how to reply now, he was just as shocked that Mukuro hadn't reacted to that, much less the way anyone that wasn't a Masochist would understand.
"Projection, tell me what you are here for." Mukuro stated.
"Uh... I'm here to save Spirits like you." Shido answered.
Mukuro raised an eyebrow at that.
"Save?" Mukuro wondered.
"I've met all the other Spirits aside from you, and I've sealed away their Powers. They've been able to live ordinary lives. I can't give you that too." Shido explained.
"I understand, the confidence you show hear shows proof of your claim." Mukuro replied.
"Then you'll-" Shido smiled.
"But I refuse your offer." Mukuro answered.
Shido showed surprise at that, soon rubbing the back of his head.
"Well... I can't force you to believe in me, but-" Shido mentioned.
"It has nothing to do with doubt." Mukuro said.
Shido's eyes widened at that.
"What? But, if that's the case... then why?" Shido asked.
"Because I have no desire to, I shall simply stay here." Mukuro answered.
"B-but that way DEM may attack you again!" Shido countered.
"I shall just destroy their forces once again." Mukuro answered.
[They don't have the strength to oppose us, we didn't even use more than a fourth of our true power against them. They will only waste their forces in their attempts as we slowly reveal our true strength.]
"Don't underestimate them! The DEM has even more powerful weapons, and you haven't even seen their strongest wizards yet!" Shido exclaimed.
"If I cannot win, then I can simply flee by creating a wormhole. Unless, are you to tell me this DEM can chase me at the speed of light?" Mukuro asked.
And with that, Shido ran out of words to use as his artillery against hers.
However, that's the moment Shido realized there was still one big question that they hadn't gotten an answer to, how was Mukuro able to survive in space for the past 5 years despite the conditions would kill everyone else almost instantly.
Though it wasn't the necessities for a human's survival he had been curious about... it was the fact she was alone.
"Hold on, you can't tell me you enjoy being here alone? No one who feels emotion can eventually handle solitude!" Shido shouted.
"You are correct, that's why I've locked my heart and all feelings away."
Shido's eyes widen at that.
"Wait... locked away?" Shido asked.
"Correct, one of Michael's power is Segva, the power to seal things away. 5 years ago, I used this power to seal away my body's necessities, and every emotion I possessed. Now, I feel nothing." Mukuro answered.
And with that, everyone gave expressions of shock and horror. It also explained the reason for her emotional graph.
The one that was hit the most was Mildred, her glasses fell off her face and shattered before she collapsed and felt her whole body shake.
"H-hey Mildred?" Katie asked worriedly.
"Come on, hang in there!" Ryouko shouted.
"No... no, no, no!" Mildred panicked.
Nia took a deep breath, trying to regain her bearings.
"It wasn't that she was dull in the slightest, she took away everything. That's what made her so indifferent... she had no way to care what I asked or spoke to her about." Nia muttered.
[That's not all Nia]
Nia materialized Raziel in her hands as she looked at it.
[The kind of understand she needs to do that... I think we all need to see that battle. Reine, you should have a recording, shouldn't you?]
"I should... and I guess considering the situation we should watch it." Reine answered.
Reine moved a finger across her console screen to bring the video to the screen so it could be played, and everyone watched it.
In the short span of time it played, they saw just how one-sided it was. The DEM never even got the chance to attack while Mukuro only used three attacks against the largest DEM force the group had ever seen.
"My god!" Tohka gasped.
"Annihilated..." Origami breathed.
"No way, for her to have strength on that level... she's had to have completely mastered her powers!" Nia gasped.
[I don't think there's any room for doubt, 5 years of solitude and to live in these conditions? You'd need to know your powers at their very roots for that.]
"Hey, wait a second... Kurumi, Mildred said she found out that Mukuro might be a Spirit when you fought her around 5 years ago! How come you didn't remember that battle, or what she looked like now that I think about it?" Kotori wondered.
"I... I don't know. Why wouldn't I-hey wait, if she can lock things, then could it be possible she made me forget we ever fought? Sealed away that memory?" Kurumi wondered.
Saya suddenly sweated at that.
"OK... officially freaked out now!" Saya replied.
Shido shook a bit, the thought of sealing away someone's emotions? He couldn't understand the reasoning behind it at all... it just seemed so painful.
"W-why would you do that? You can't even feel happy now!" Shido asked.
"If there was a reason, then it has faded from my memories since. Regardless of what I did so I will not undo the lock." Mukuro answered.
Shido shook his head.
"No, that's too sad. You deserve to be happy! Not to mention your sister, and your parents... they're waiting for you to come home even after all these years! I even know your sister, she's with me right now!" Shido exclaimed.
Mukuro went silent for a bit, and no one was sure if she forgot or simply chose to deny Mildred as such, but the next words hit hard like a stain you might never be able to remove, and they were...
"Sister? I don't recall having such a thing." Mukuro answered.
Shido gasped at that, soon spreading to the rest of the ship as if they heard someone use a forbidden word.
But it was Mildred's reaction that was the worst, her eyes light slowly faded away before she suddenly stopped breathing and fell over.
"Mildred? Mildred!?" Mikie shouted in worry.
Ryouko soon checked her pulse, and didn't notice any.
"Oh no... I think the shock put her in cardiac arrest, get the med team ready before we lose her!" Ryouko ordered.
Some of the crew helped carry Mildred to the medical office ASAP.
Nia gave her a somber look and opened up Raziel and wrote {make the med team do their best as they try to resuscitate her}, feeling sympathy for Mildred over what she just suffered. No one deserved to hear such a thing.
"Don't die, you're not allowed to." Nia sniffled.
"It seems I have misunderstood you Shido" Mukuro stated.
Shido showed surprise to that comment.
"What I deem as happiness, you speak like I am in the wrong and you are in the right. You may have saved Spirits before, which I believe, but I am me... not them. Why do you even wish to aid me?" Mukuro asked.
Shido tried to speak, but he couldn't find the words.
"It seems I've drained all your rebuttal away. Now that you are like this, I shall ask my own question. If you did seal me, could you also ensure my protection? Have any of the other Spirits avoided sustaining a conflict like the one I just fought?"
Shido's eyes widened at that.
When he sealed a Spirits powers, they were weakened because of the bond levels for his Spirit Ascension worked, while all of the spirits were now around 99% and Tohka was at full strength...
...He couldn't deny it, he did by all means weaken them, no matter how much or little.
"Your face says it all, the hypocrisy you have is like a maze, and I will not let myself be snared." Mukuro bluntly answered.
Shido's eyes shook at that.
Was it true, was... was he really just being a hypocrite? Was he doing something wrong? Normally he'd be sure he was doing the right thing, but... Mukuro's lake of emotion just seemed to make it seem like he was letting the reality of truth and wisdom smash through what he just told himself as true.
"Leave me and never return. If you ever do return, know this... I shall use Michael's power to stop the Earth's rotation." Mukuro declared.
"What!?" Nia gasped.
"Uh... Nia, how bad is that?" Tohka asked.
"You don't need Nia to answer that one Tohka, if the Earth were to ever stop rotating... well that's it, game over for everyone." Origami answered.
Tohka's face paled before she slowly turned white from the fear.
Mukuro soon aimed Michael at Shido's projection.
"And with this, we begin our eternal parting." Mukuro said softly.
"Segva - Lock."
The project and probe malfunctioned, and Shido's body suddenly shook before he screamed in some kind of pain.
After a few moments, he fell forward, causing Mana to rush up and catch him.
"Big brother? Big brother, please wake up!" Mana exclaimed.
"Please... wake..."
Suddenly Mana fell to the ground as well.
"Mana!?" Rinne called out worriedly.
Then as if Rinne's words had caused a domino effect, everyone noticed all the other Spirits, Rinne included, suddenly collapse to the ground. Almost as if Mukuro had somehow triggered something with her last act. Reine looked at the scene around her, terrified.
"All the Spirits have collapsed, get the med team for all of them too! Hurry!" Kannazuki declared.
"What's going on, what's... what's happening?" Reine asked.
Whoa... things have just gotten chaotic and way out of Ratatoskr's hands. They prepared for nearly three weeks to try and be ready for when they went to save Mukuro, and already its shown that hasn't guaranteed a thing. Mukuro's power isn't just incredibly dangerous, but now she's used it... the threat to silence the Earth's rotation.
Not just that, but Mukuro's already shown how hard it will be to seal her. While Raziel can get info on her, due to the nature of Michael's abilities, it's hard for the Angel to get a lot of info because of the nature of her powers warping reality to a small degree. Not to mention not only did Rio reveal Michael chose her and she never got to meet Mukuro, but she seemed to have sealed away Kurumi memory of the fight that made Mildred leave DEM.
Also, poor Mildred... that was the one thing she never wanted to hear and she heard it, she's been searching for her sister for years and learned that her emotions have been sealed, already adding to the guilt she feels for believing she made Mukuro run away 5 years ago. To have Mukuro say that regardless if she's honestly just forgotten about her family or her lack of emotions talking... no one wants to hear their family deny them. Is it any wonder the combined shock and stress caused her to go into cardiac arrest?
Then to top it all off, Mukuro has actually made Shido doubt himself! Worse, somehow when she locked the probe... it somehow caused Shido, Mana and all of the Spirits to suddenly collapse, all while the DEM's eventually going to come back for Mukuro eventually. Everything's become a giant mess for the group, and so far, there doesn't seem to be any sign of answers.
For anyone curious about why the new Fraxinus is called "Fraxinus Anomala", its due to how the original and Fraxinus EX Celsior are both named. From a genus of the same name which means "ash", reflecting the kind of tree Yggdrasil is, which fits the creature Ratatoskr is named after and due to it being the Norse counterpart to the Sephirot, both being Trees of life. The reason I chose the Fraxinus Anomala in particular is because Anomala sounds like anomaly, reflecting how this version of the Fraxinus is very different from the previous two due to Nia's advice when upgrading the Fraxinus EX.
So, that's it for today's chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^
-Spirit Bond Levels & Passive Abilities-
Tohka - 100%, MAX (Form a mana barrier automatically)
Origami - 99% (Teleport Dodging)
Yoshino - 99% (Dampen enemy territories)
Kotori - 99% (Healing from fatal wounds minus losing his head, doesn't work on wounds caused by blunt force)
Kurumi - 99% (Hide in his shadow, and only his)
Rinne - (Summon a weakened copy of Uriel)
Natsumi - 99% (Transform into Shiori)
Kaguya - 99% (Flight)
Yuzuru - 99% (Weight Manipulation)
Miku - 99% (Pain Reliever)
Maria - (Restore dying/withered/dead vegetation and plant life)
Marina - (Remove toxins or other harmful substances, either from a living creature or an object)
Rio - (Create a soothing aura of Reiryoku to reduce a sealed Spirit's anger)
Mana - (Allow Mana to use Spirit Ascension at its weakest level without Angels)
Nia - 99% (Photographic Memory)