Rondo in the Endless Sky

Chapter 14: At the Beaches

Alain was in the middle of a pleasant dream when a sudden banging on his door woke him up. His eyes peeled open, and his attempt to get up was stalled. 'Am I stuck… why?' He groaned as the loud knocking rang in his ears again, and when his vision finally cleared he remembered. Still sleeping rather soundly, Rosalie and Chris nestled tightly against his side with one arm each laid over his chest. 'Ah, right, last night happened. Waking up like this isn't so bad.' A dirty chuckle left his mouth as he remembered the long night they'd had. To his surprise, Rosalie had been rather passive while Chris had been quite aggressive. 'I always figured it'd be the opposite considering how they pilot.' He thought as a third round of banging echoed from the door.

"Hold on I'm coming!" Alain yelled. It took a second, but he was able to wiggle free, sighing in relief when the two girls didn't stir awake and merely grabbed each other in their snoozing. Stumbling towards the door, Alain threw on a pair of pants to at least look halfway presentable. "Also, why the hell are you knocking so… oh…" His attitude dropped immediately when he opened the door and was greeted by Jill. The dark-haired woman's eyes drifted over to the bed for a moment, and Alain could almost swear he caught a smirk. "What's with the morning call?"

"I figured it would be easier to tell you here." Alain raised a brow at the Commander. "Mobius Squadron's long-term attachment to Garm Squadron is officially through it's tenure. After tomorrow you'll be resuming your normal squadron rotations between deployments."

"Finally done with the trial huh?" Alain leaned on the doorframe, Jill nodding.

"I would say Ange has become sufficient enough to no longer need your supervision." Jill said. "Any remaining issues in her behavior will be managed by Salia."

"Was kinda hoping to stick with 'em till Naomi was back in but… wait, after… it's that time of year isn't it?" Alain blinked rapidly while Jill nodded again.

"Time for the Festa. Make sure to use tomorrow to rest well." Jill chuckled as she turned around. "Because I'm going to start working you overtime as we work to get things started."

"Yeah yeah." Alain shut the door and sighed, but also pumped his fist a few times in ready excitement. The Festa was a day everyone on Arzenal looked forward to, the one day out of the year there was no training and no sorties. 'Plus like every year I get to see everyone's choice in swimsuits. Hah! If I go out to "scout" soon I'm gonna have so much fun bragging to the guys in Garuda about it again.' But today was today, so that came first. "Rosalie! Chris! I know last night was long but rise and shine! Training's soon so let's book!"

The response he got were groggy moans, Alain rolling his eyes as he stepped back over to the bed and grinned down at the two as he gently shook them awake. At least he could say the following day would definitely be fun. 'Now why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?'

And it was when he was seated in Wyvern's cockpit waiting for morning drills to start, he remembered. 'The message Wyvern intercepted. How could I be so stupid?!' He almost wanted to hit himself for forgetting. 'But what I have to wonder is what Ange is thinking right now.' He'd checked on the monitor, and she sure seemed completely lost in thought, not at all noticing his ping.

"Weather conditions are good. Visibility clear." Pamela listing off the usual pre-exercise methods pulled Alain out of his own thoughts. "No anomalies in exercise routine. Advisory notice as well, incoming Rosenblum Transports will arrive during launch, please maintain distance." 'I wonder who Rosenblum sent to meet with the Inspector this year.' Alain thought. 'Last year it was some big wig from the NMB if I remember right.'

"Eight nosedives, eight pivots, total of four sets each." Salia meanwhile read off the exercise list for training. "After that we'll practice a new team formation for engaging Frigate-classes. That will be today's training. Trigger will also help serve as a mock enemy during the formation test."

"Ehhh? That's hardly fair!" Rosalie whined. "His machine is way too hard to beat."

"Salia keeps up with me just fine." Alain countered. "Besides that's during mock battles. This is just an exercise so don't complain too much."

"If that's all, any more questions?" Salia asked.

"None!" Vivian answered. Alain glanced around again at the rest. There was a certain tension in the air he just couldn't shake off. Some were clearly ready for tomorrow's events, but when he looked at Ange and Hilda it was entirely different. Ange still didn't seem to be paying attention at all and Hilda seemed to be elsewhere too. 'Ange I can kind of get, but what's going through Hilda's head right now?' he wondered. Alain leaned back in his seat as he hummed, closing an eye as the normal launch sequences began. 'Salia, then Vivian, then Ange…' Alain's mental list off stopped when Ange didn't move at all. 'she's really that out of it?'

"Ange, you're cleared for liftoff." Hikaru spoke over the line. No reply. "Ange, you're cleared for liftoff."

"Want me to give her a nudge?" Alain asked, impatiently shifting his controls.

"Ange what are you doing?" Salia demanded. No reply once again.

"We're stuck here behind you dammit!" Rosalie shouted. "Hey! Are you listening to us?! Seriously, who's being the burden now? Right, Hilda?" As Rosalie looked at her console, she caught the same sight Alain did. Hilda being out of it too just didn't seem right. "Alain you know what's up?"

"Not a clue." Alain muttered. "Oi, Princess, get your head out of the clouds and go!"

"Get her moving!" Emma shouted. "The transports are right there! If you bunch aren't cleared of the runway soon, you'll have hell to pay!"

"The Inspector's in a bad mood huh?" Chris murmured.

"If she won't move then make her!" Emma yelled. "Emergency launch, do it!"

"Mei, go ahead." Salia sighed, Alain giving her a sympathetic shrug over the comms.

"Naomi, with me!" Mei ran to the side console, Naomi right behind her as the girl pulled a key from her jumper. "Princess, emergency launch! All personnel stand back!" Mei inserted the key, a panel opening up on the wall. Naomi grabbed at one of the handles set to it, looking at Mei. The head Armorer nodded to her.

"Emergency launch, engage!" Naomi pulled the handle back and turned it, pressing it back down. Machinery hissed under Villkiss as its launch pad began to move, the sudden lurch finally pulling Ange back to the real world. And by the time she realized what was going on she was already rocketing across the tarmac at full speed, a scream belting from Ange as she hurried to start Villkiss up. The Para-mail took off, and the launch pad splashed into the waters below.

"Seriously…" Alain groaned as he put a hand behind his head. "Princess, don't just zone out and sit there next time."

"Oh zip it!" Ange snapped. The rest of the squad followed suit into the air, and as they headed off. And as they were getting further from Arzenal, they came across a group of four mana-powered transports. There was an odd one out of the bunch, colored a bright white rather than plain grey, the emblem of the Rosenblum Kingdom marking it's side.

"Whoa, it's finally here!" Vivian wowed. "It's Festa time!"

"Festa?" Ange asked.

"You still don't know?" Ersha said. "The Festa is the one time of the year we get a break from everything."

"You'll see tomorrow." Alain added. As the transports passed by, he gave a hum. "Wyvern zoom in on the window. I wanna see if I can't see who this year's rep is."

"Is that smart?" The AI asked.

"Just do it."

"Affirmative." Alain drew his eyes to the screen as Wyvern's targeting adjusted to it. It zoomed into the window, and Alain gave a hum as the image cleared up. He was able to just see someone peering out at the Para-mails as they passed; A girl who had to be just around their age, pale blue eyes, and long dishwater blonde hair done up in spiraling tresses.

"She looks weirdly familiar…" Alain hummed.

"That would be Rosenblum's princess, Misty Rosenblum." Wyvern said. "She participated in that sport known as Iaria against Ange before her status as a Norma was discovered. You watched the game out of sheer boredom as I recall."

"Oh yeah. That was like the day before it went down." Alain recalled. "Man, that week blended together thanks to that. But they sent their princess eh? Wonder if she asked to come here. She's cute looking I'll give her that."

"Alain…" A sudden bit of growling from Salia caught his attention. "You do know you're line to me was open, right?"

"I uh… I did not." Alain muttered. 'Shit, she heard everything didn't she?'

"I hope your ready for some extra training now." Salia said, Alain feeling particularly threatened now. "Because I think we should add a mock battle to today's regiment."

"Give me a break…"

The Mermaid Festa, or just Festa for short. It was the single day out of the year the Norma were allowed time off from all duties they were normally assigned. Regulations were relaxed and all kinds of things were set up to let the Norma spend the day just having fun. While it wasn't as if they never found time to relax after training or other duties, it was a day they always looked forward too since it was explicitly just time to do whatever they wanted with no worries. And it also came with a tradition on top of it: Swimsuits.

"Endless ladies in various swimwear as far as the eye can see." Alain mused. "I'd only say a couple other things top this on my list of sights I do so love looking at." Alain himself was of course no exception. In the same way pretty much every article of clothing he wore had to be special ordered, so too was his Festa wear. This time he'd taken to a grey beach hoodie and blue trunks, much to the disappointment of those girls who'd offered to buy him something to wear.

"Hey! Look who it is!" Alain turned, and who else did he see running up to him but Pamela and Hikaru. Pamela was wearing a dark green two piece with a lime green towel wrapped around her hips, while Hikaru wore a bright yellow bikini.

"Hey there you two. I'm guessing the third of your little trio lost the draw huh?"

"Yeap." Hikaru answered. "We drew straws to see who'd be stuck on radar duty today. Olivier drew short." As carefully as the Festa was planned out to match the pattern and avoid happening during a singular, somebody had to man the shop just to be safe.

"She did ask we at least bring some souvenirs." Pamela added. "And pictures. Of you."

"Everyone tries to get those." Alain said, his eyes drawing to a group of girls with cameras in hand. "It's basically yearly tradition to see who can catch me in certain situations during the Festa… as much as it is Jasmine trying to pawn my ass off during the sports festival."

"You're gonna run off again are you?" Pamela asked, Alain huffing. "Hehe, the one time our Ace of Aces doesn't want to run in headfirst. If only you were that cautious during sorties."

"If you were in my place, you'd get it." Alain groaned, the two operators chuckling. "Anyway, I'll see you around then. Have fun. I've got food stalls to raid!" If Alain had to pick his second favorite thing after the swimsuits, it would be the amount of free food. So he made sure to grab all he could eat. Except for the stall Jasmine was running anyway. The second he passed the shopkeep, the old woman shot a scheming look towards him and Alain split like a Galleon was on his tail. 'Not last year and not this year Jasmine!' he vowed. And as he skirted around another site, he stopped when he caught site of Salia, Ange, and Momoka. "Oi! Was wondering where some of you were at!"

"Alain." Salia turned as Alain trotted up, and she flinched a bit when he immediately took a gander of her blue one piece. "Do you have to stare?"

"What? I think it looks good." Alain said, Salia's face reddening a bit.

"Would it kill you not to flirt in front of me?" Ange grumbled. Alain had a thought as he gave Ange a gander, surprised she'd even agreed to attend. Dressed in a red bikini, Alain had to admit she filled it out nicely. 'I bet Tusk would kill to see her in that.' He thought. Momoka however was still in her maid uniform as usual. "Hey! Keep it in your pants sicko!"

"Hmm?" Momoka obliviously tilted her head.

"Ah zip it." Alain bit, shoving a stick of meat into his mouth. "I'm just wondering why Momoka's still trussed up. That's got to be stuffy doesn't it?"

"Well even on a day like this a maid needs to keep her duties up." Momoka said. 'It bothers me how proud she is about that at times.' Alain thought.

"I'm actually questioning why we're in these." Ange said. "The beach is all the way down there for one."

"It's just tradition." Salia said. "The rider suits and uniforms are too stuffy."

"Aren't you embarrassed?" Ange asked, Salia covering up her chest. Ange and Alain both gave her unamused looks. "About being in a swimsuit I mean." Salia's face got redder as she realized her mistake. "Whatever, have fun I guess." Ange left as Salia slumped in embarrassment.

"Why are you even stuck on your chest anyway?" Alain asked. "Your boobs are fine. Besides, you've got a great ass and nice legs. Why not be proud of those instead?"

"You're a guy." Salia puted. "If you had to be the smallest one in a team of stupidly stacked idiots, you'd feel the same! The only one I'm bigger than is Vivian and she's barely younger than me."

"Salia, I have slept with everyone in Garm BUT Vivian, Hilda, and Ange." Alain reminded her. "Plus we've seen each other naked all the time since we were kids. I do not care about… why am I keep this topic up?"

"You started it!" Salia said. "Wait… what about Rosalie and Chris?"

"It was after we fought that Virgin." Salia's eye twitched a bit.

"So who did you sleep with first?"

"It was actually both at once."

"WHAT?!" Salia yelled, Alain shushing her as the crowd looked at them. "Both at the… why?!"

"Uh, because… why not?' Alain mumbled. "Look I was planning to spend the day with you girls anyway. So, since I found you first, how about we go and do something around here eh? Ersha's probably doing the rounds as Perolina right now anyway, so I can just go find her later… I think Naomi mentioned something about running a stall for a bit too."

"She does have that debt of hers to work off." Salia noted. "Alright, fine. Don't think I won't make use of my time today got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Alain said with a slight salute.

'Of the things she could have picked… had to be the one I'm least interested in.' After heading off with Salia, Alain was now struggling to stay awake. One of the more popular activities was a makeshift movie theater setup in the upper yard. Usually because couples used the dark space as an excuse to make out while ignoring the movie. Sometimes good ones were shown. Now was not one of them. Some black and white romantic flick from he didn't care where in a language he couldn't understand one bit. If it wasn't for courtesy, Alain probably would've started dozing off like most of the others in the tent. And yet Salia was watching with teary eyes. 'I would seriously rather be doing anything else right now. Curse me and sticking to my word.'

Alain's alertness rose a bit when the still entranced Salia grabbed his arm. A part of him lifted at the hope of a shift away from the boredom of the film, but as he and Salia were starting to close the gap, the light in the tent turned on. Anyone elsewho'd been doing anything but watching while still awake snapped to attention just as quickly. 'Goddamn timing.' Alain cursed his luck, and Salia pouted in similar frustration.

"It was so good." Salia wiped her eyes off as they exited the tent, glancing at Alain as he let out a droning hum. "What did you think?"

"Not much." Alain muttered. Salia's pout was cute enough he felt it was worth it. "Romance flicks just aren't my thing. Besides I could barely understand a thing that was going on! What language was that even in?!"

"I understood it well enough." Salia said. "Stories of love hardly need words to convey the emotions in it… but I guess a knucklehead like you doesn't appreciate those kinds of things."

"That's an insult, right?"

"I'm not sure what I should've expected." Salia sighed. "But that's just how you are I suppose. Whatever. You can make it up to me by buying something from a stall I like."

"Reasonable enough." Alain said as they headed off back into the rows of stalls. "So you planning to enter the sports festival later?"

"Of course I am." Salia replied. "Troublesome as… some of the events can be, the prizes Jasmine hands out are usually worth it."

"You do usually struggle at the 'Bosom Egg walk of Doom'." Alain noted, Salia bringing her arms up to her chest again. "I would watch you girls compete, but you know how Jasmine is. If I don't split as soon as the events start, she's gonna try and use me as a prize."

"I mean I'm not exactly against that." Salia murmured, Alain looking up until his eyes strained. "But I get it. Why does she do that anyway?"

"To mess with me. Why else would she?"

"Step on up everybody! I've got some limited ones here and they'll go fast if you don't get them now!" Naomi's voice bellowing over the crowd caught the pair's ears. 'Was looking for Naomi anyway.' Following the enthusiastic calls, the two soon found Naomi at quite the busy stall. Thanks to his height, Alain didn't have much trouble seeing the crowd that had gathered to barter over the Perolina merch strewn across the table. Looking like some mad scientist's attempt to make a teddy bear by stitching together parts of other bears, Alain never understood why the girls of Arzenal found him to be so cute. Alain waved when Naomi noticed him and Salia, the girl gladly waving back. "Hey there you two!"

"So this is what you opted to do?" Salia said, scanning over the selection. "These are… something that's for sure."

"Perolina's popular, so you've gotta do what you can." Naomi said, in between a transaction. "Plus it's only during the Festa that some of these ones come on. Jasmine's cutting the profits from this out of my debt."

"We assumed that much." Alain said as Salia started browsing. "This is definitely a choice selection." Choice being rather selective of course.

"You better believe it." Naomi then stuck her thumb back to a particular Perolina plush on the boxes behind her. "That one's not for sale though. It's on hold for someone."

"Mind telling me who?"

"Nope! Sellers confidentiality." Naomi crossed her arms, Alain chuckling. "Anyway, I'll be done just before the Sports Festival, so mind treating me once I'm free?"

"Of course."

"Alain." Salia got his attention with a tap, holding up a Perolina key-chain that conveniently matched her Arquebus's color scheme. "I'm going with this one."

"Fine by me. How much?"

"Hmmm… how about two-thousand?" Naomi's scheming smile made Alain flinch as he was pulling out his wallet. "What? It's a collectible, that alone justifies the price."

"Jasmine's becoming a bad influence on you." Alain grumbled, pulling out two bills. "Don't start taking after her too much. One price gouger is enough."

"No promises. Thanks for the business." Naomi took the bills, and the one who showed up from the crowd next surprised all three: Momoka, entirely on her own. "Well hey there Ms. Maid. All on your own for once?"

"Oh just for a bit." Momoka answered. "Lady Angelise had to excuse herself to the lady's room. That's all." 'Is it just me or is she blatantly lying?' Alain thought, raising a brow as Momoka started browsing over the merchandise as well, her eyes stopping on a particularly shiny Perolina doll.

"Ahh I see it caught your eyes!" And Naomi immediately went into sales mode. "This special Gold Glitter Perolina's especially rare! It's also the last one I've got so if you want it, get it before it's gone!" Alain and Salia had the same flat expression as Momoka looked all too caught up in Naomi's peddling.

"I'll get it! Lady Angelise let's me handle her money, so I have plenty!"

"Then let's see… ten thousand!" 'Does Ange even let Momoka handle that much?' Alain then balked as Momoka pulled a rather thick wad of bills out of her apron. 'Apparently she does!'

"Momoka!" An aggravated yell made Momoka flinch as she was handing the cash to Naomi. Alain looked over, seeing Emma storming over to the stall, and he couldn't stop the smirk that appeared. Probably through means he had no idea of, the Inspector was not in her uniform but in a swimsuit of her own, a rather risque black one-piece that had a plunging neckline all the way to her navel, her ample chest threatening to spill out with each step.

"Looking good Inspector." Alain remarked. "Did the folks from Rosenblum bring a guy along you wanna show off too?"

"Be quiet you!" Emma snapped, her face beet red as she turned back to Momoka. "Where did Ange go?!"

"I, um, lost her." Momoka stammered.

"I thought you said she went to the restroom." Salia said.

"W-Well that was a guess!" Momoka hurriedly said. 'She's clearly deflecting.' Alain sighed. 'Ange is probably hiding somewhere. But then why's Emma looking for her?'

"Ugh! Lady Misty is waiting!" Emma groaned. 'Well that answers that.' Alain thought. He flinched a bit when Emma looked to him next. "You're her handler, you have to have an idea of where she could have gone right?!"

"Yeah sorry but that job ended yesterday." Alain responded. "Haven't seen her since the Festa started."

"Agh, why is nobody helpful at a time like this?!" Emma growled, then grabbing Alain by his jacket. "You're coming with me! God knows why but Ange at least listens to you!"

"Eh?! Hell no! It's my day off, why should I help you?!" Alain tried to wiggle free but Emma had little trouble dragging him off in her anger. "Naomi, Salia, I'll meet up with you guys later!"

"Quit yelling and come on!" Emma snapped, the three girls staring in disbelief.

"The Inspector's even more high strung than usual." Naomi said.

"People are going to take this in the wrong way, I can just tell." Salia rubbed her temples. "Momoka, where is Ange anyway?"

"Sorry, I honestly don't know where she could have gone. Once we got separated, I lost track of her. Also, shouldn't we be worried for Sir Alain?"

"He'll get out of it easily enough." Naomi said, Salia nodding. "So hey, Momoka since you're not doing anything, how about helping me out ehh?"

"So why does Rosenblum's princess want to see Ange?" Free of Emma's grip, Alain had to ask the obvious question as the young inspector stormed towards the medical tent. He was also electing to ignore the stares from some of the Norma, considering how Emma was dressed. 'I do wonder how that happened. I'm gonna guess Maggy.'

"I wish I knew!" Emma grumbled. "It seems Lady Misty knew Ange before she came to Arzenal. Why she would want to bother to see a Norma I don't possibly know, but I can't say no. So, I'm going to tell the Commander to call her."

"Then why drag me along?" Alain growled.

"Because I need a negotiator." Emma said. Alain rolled his eyes as Emma stormed up to the curtain. "Commander! I need you to call for Ange right now!" Emma threw the curtain aside, and was greeted not just by Jill, but also by Maggy and Jasmine. All three were in swimsuits of their own, and Alain rolled his eyes even harder as the three immediately showed the smuggest grins.

"Kyaaaaa." And the flattest attempt at a shocked scream he'd heard people ever give. Realizing she was clearly being messed with, Emma shut the curtain and let out a growl.

"To hell with these people!" Emma turned her glare at Alain was he was snickering. As Alain turned to leave, his expression sunk when he got grabbed again.

"Dammit!" Yanked back into the tent before he could escape, Alaine felt a pair of large breasts press into the back of his head.

"Sorry!" Maggy cooed. "You're just so cute I couldn't help myself."

"Down girl." Jill said. "Alain, what did the Inspector want with Ange?"

"You tell me. Apparently, the Rosenblum princess who's repping this year wants to meet her." Alain was not surprised when the three older Norma raised their brows. "They knew each other or something. I frankly don't care."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Jill frowned. "Just the whimsies of a naive girl. If she can't find Ange, then let it be. I would keep an eye out though, just to be safe."

"Yeah yeah."

"By the way…" Jasmine speaking up immediately got Alain to worry. "You mind actually staying around for the sports events this year kid?"

"No." Alain flatly said, glaring at the older woman. "And in case you misheard me, hell no! I know your game old bat! Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Ah ah!" Maggy sang as Alain felt himself whirled around only to find his face wedged in her bosom. "Why not stick around and play with me a bit. I can show you things those younger girls couldn't even imagine."

"I am sure you could." Alain snarked as he pulled himself free. "But I'd rather not end up on a dissection tray."

"You're no fun." Maggy complained, and Alain groaned when he heard Jill and Jasmine snickering. "Well don't be too wild now. I hand out enough pills for some of the girls as it is."

"What the hell do you take me for huh?!"

"A shameless manwhore." Jasmine answered.

"Fair point but not fully accurate." Throwing the tarp open, Alain fled from the medical tent as quickly as he could. 'Not going to be back around there any time soon.' He thought. 'Maybe I'll go find Ersha. She should be done with her Perolina rounds about now.' As he was passing a carousel, a favorite among the kids, a sudden screeching of metal drew his ears. Alain rushed around the corner just in time to see one of the horses fall from it's mount, sending the young girl riding it plummeting to the ground. Alain tensed up, ready to leap forward, when someone beat him too it. On the ground in front of the carousel, a human sized Perolina lay with the girl sagely in its arms.

"Are you okay, pero?" 'Ersha? No…' Ersha was strong, but she wasn't that fast. The voice was higher too. 'I wonder…'

"I'm fine, thank you, Perolina!" The little girl ran off to join some of the other kids at the game booths. Alain meanwhile watched as Perolina stood up to leave, and he approached the mascot from its blindside.

"Ange, that's you in there isn't it?" He said, Perolina stopping in place.

"I don't know what you mean, pero. I'm just Perolina, pero." 'Don't laugh. Whatever you do don't laugh.' Alain could already feel the glare on him from behind the mask as he bit his lip to keep quiet. 'At least she's putting the effort in to act like the character.' He thought.

"Nice move, saving the kid." Alain said, Perolina nodding. "Also…" he switched to a whisper. "If you wanna avoid the Inspector, go to the tarmac. Nobody goes there during this time so it's totally clear. Momoka's probably helping Naomi if I had to guess, so she'll be fine."

"Thanks for the advice, pero." Perolina sauntered off with a limp wave. 'She may be a bitch most of the time, but she's definitely a good person at heart.' Suddenly, Alain's vision went dark as someone's hands covered his eyes and something large and soft pressed into his back.

"Guess who!" He should've known better than to get lost in thought like that. "You let your guard down silly. So, who is it?"

"Well let's see…" Alain hummed. "The big sister tone, and the rather soft things pressing into my back right now… nice to see you Ersha." Alain plucked off Ersha's hands, letting her arms drape across his shoulders as she giggled. "You know this trick never works on me. We spend enough time with audio-only in flight I know all your voices."

"Well you also said another thing." Ersha pressed in further to make the point. "Anyway… what do you think?" Alain glanced back as Ersha pulled away, showing off the perhaps surprisingly daring navy bikini she wore.

"Well it covers more than your lingerie." Alain snarked, Ersha giving a harumph "Messing with you. You look good. Plus, I do like the more mature looks you go for every year."

"My my, thank you very much." Ersha then took Alain by the arm, quite conveniently pillowing it into her chest. "I like what you have too, though I heard some girls muttering in disappointment you chose for yourself."

"You should've seen some of the choices." Alain grumbled. "Some people have no taste."

"Well I know why some would maybe like that." Ersha said, then pulling Alain off another way. "Now come on! Now that I've got free time, I want to play around a bit!"

"Fine by me." 'I don't mind getting dragged around if it's like this.' Alain thought.

In hindsight, trying to avoid Emma by taking Ersha's Perolina costume was not Ange's best idea. It was hot, she could barely see, and she was close to gagging from the smell. At least it made it easy to walk around with being spotted, because there was no way she was going to let that woman drag her off to meet Misty. She also didn't think she'd really be taking Alain's advice, but camping out on the tarmac was probably better than nothing.

Unfortunately, it turned out others had the same idea. As she rounded the corner, what else did she see but a pair of Norma making out on a cot they'd set up. 'These people…' she grumbled. 'Can't they be bothered to keep their pants on for more than five minutes?'

"Come on, here?" One of the girls whined.

"It's fine. Everyone else is at the Festa." The other said as she resumed kissing her girlfriend's neck while her hand slipped up the other's top.

"Whew, I sure took a licking, pero. I should just stay here then." Beneath the headpiece, Ange allowed a smirk as the girls fell off the cot while shrieking. She didn't have the patience to let these two do their thing, much less with a cot to use. That and she found their shocked screams to be rather amusing.

"Hey!" One of the Norma shouted.

"Run along now." Ange said as she sat on the cot. When the Norma didn't take the hint, she turned to look at them and spoke in her normal voice. "On the double!"

"Now wait a minute!"

"Don't," the other said as she pulled her away. "Perolina's not herself right now." Once the Norma were gone, Ange plucked the mask off and let out a breath. 'Finally, some fresh air!' she thought as she laid down. She could just hear the sounds of the goings on topside, but it was barely enough to disturb how surprisingly quiet it was. Normally the hangar was all kinds of loud with the Armorers at work and the Para-mails coming and going. It did leave her time to think though. Particularly, about that girl who fell off the carousel. 'Sylvia…' she thought.

Though it had only been a few years ago, with everything that had happened it felt like it had been a lifetime. She and her sister had been riding on a horse, something usual for royalty. But, in a moment of distraction, Sylvia had slipped from Ange's hold and fallen from their horse, leaving her sister unable to walk. Ange had blamed herself for the entire thing, yet she remembered clearly that Sylvia hadn't blamed her at all, only asking if one day she could be taken out to ride again. 'That girl looked a bit like her.' The message Momoka had gotten still weighed on her. Ange had told herself there was nothing she could do, that none of the vehicles on Arzenal could possibly take her to Sylvia. But then again…

Ange stood up and her eyes looked to the mana transports, stopping at the one with Rosenblum's emblem on it, it's white hull glinting in the sunlight. The same one that had transported Misty Rosenblum to Arzenal. 'Well,' Ange decided. 'it's not like I was planning to stay here.'