Rondo in the Endless Sky

Chapter 17: Something is Always Moving

Tusk hadn't exactly known what he'd be getting into when he decided to make his way to the mainland. CROSS's operations were one thing. He'd dealt with the organization plenty of times during his time on his island, especially the times they tried to convince him to join up. Ever since he'd left, he had to admit it was pretty uneventful. Mostly just watching for any activity or lending a hand here and there to field operatives. At least until he'd gotten contacted by Jasmine the other night. 'Ange…' and of course he wouldn't at all refuse to help find the girl. 'I did know about that maid arriving, Bandog wouldn't stop grumbling about it… but to think there might be a trap set for Ange when she arrives.'

Tusk shook his head as he made his way down the roads of Misurugi. He'd been in the city for a while now and blending in wasn't exactly hard to do. There was the occasional whisper directed at him from girls who passed him by, but he just waved those off. And while he made sure to avoid situations where overt Mana use was needed, the Mana gloves he'd been provided made it easier to keep people from being suspicious. 'Not that actually using it doesn't feel odd… why something so simple and even replicable has caused so much strife is beyond me.'

He wasn't here to mull about why things happened however. Ever since the news had hit CROSS had been in an uproar. A few hours ago he'd been contacted and told to meet up with Garuda Team in the suburbs of the city. It wasn't like the group could just have their way with things in such tightly surveyed areas after all. So here he was, as far away from the central district as possible in the Old Town area. After making sure that nobody was watching, Tusk ducked into an alley, and knocked in a particular rhythm on a door in at the very back.

"Password?" A dry voice said as a slot on the door opened, the glint of a visor catching the light.

"Come on, we agreed that knocking pattern would tell you who I was." As Tusk complained, the greeter snickered.

"Ah lemme have a bit of fun!"

"High Roller, quit messing around and let him in!"

"Alright, sheesh! No one followed you right?"

"Of course not." Tusk insisted. The panel on the door shut, and a few locks clicked before it opened. Tusk entered an old garage that had all sorts of things strewn about it. The space inside was mostly taken up by the four Air Runners, and a few tables with bits of equipment strewn around, leaving very little room for the occupants of the space, all of them other young men like Tusk.

Guarding the door was High Roller, his visor pulled up over his black hair as he messed with a deck of cards as he stepped off to the side. Seated at a table before a computer was Shamrock, his hooded jacket hiding his blond hair, while his stern expression reflected at Tusk from his computer's screen. At an adjacent table was Huxian, the team's weapon expert. Beneath his russet hair, scars marked a vulpine face, which made his gruff expression even sterner. And looking over a data pad, was a man taller than the entire group, their leader Chopper, his rugged face marked by a casual grin, with slicked black hair and notable sideburns, he cut an image like a biker out of some TV show. The four of them made the Garuda Team, one of CROSS's best, yet perhaps also oddest, operator team.

"About time you got here." Chopper said, throwing an arm across Tusk's shoulders. "I was worried you'd be late looking for your girl out there."

"She's not likely to show up for a couple more days." Tusk said, getting free of the larger young man's arm. "Good to know you're in as good a mood as usual."

"Well not like it hasn't been that long since we met up at Galia." Chopper said, sitting down across from Huxian. "Though I do have to say they've thrown quite the op on our shoulders. Whaddya think Huxian?"

"It's ridiculous." The red-headed weapons expert growled. "Why should we wait? If we know the girl is coming shouldn't we just grab her the first chance we have?"

"Not sure that'd work out." Shamrock said, turning from his computer. "We don't know where she's even going to enter the city from. And no way we can do anything in the day. If she's going to make a move once she gets here, it'll be at night like us."

"So basically we have to, what, let her to something stupid?" High Roller asked. "I mean my bet was on that anyway. I don't mind if we need to bust some heads."

"Tusk knows the girl." Chopper said. "What do you think she'd do?"

"Pretty much what you guys are thinking." Tusk sighed. "Ange doesn't really have a concept of subtlety. When she gets here, I'm pretty sure some ruckus is going to start up. She'll make too much noise."

"And while we deal with that Trigger is off in Enderant huntin' down some other girl." Huxian said. "Least he's got the easy job."

"Lucky bastard." High Roller tched. "I was gonna grill him for not being able to meet up with us. I have some damn questions that need answerin'! Like if he had any photos from that Festa so I could sell 'em to the guys back at home!"

"You mean auction." Shamrock said, High Roller giving him a narrowed look. "Or maybe I should be accurate and say use as betting chips."

"C'mon Shamrock you're as curious as I am! Trigger practically gets to roll in ladies! We barely got anything at base!"

"High Roller if you'd calm down a bit I'm sure more of the girls at home would be interested." Huxian snarked, all in the middle of quickly assembling a rifle and sighting it. "The more you whine about it, the less they'll be interested."

"You be quiet." High Roller grumbled, leaning on the worktable. "You're the one with a girlfriend. Let us single men complain."

"Is this really the thing to be talking about right now?" Tusk sighed.

"You're guilty too!" High Roller accused. "You got to spend, what, a week alone with that Ange girl! You still haven't told us how far you two got!"

"Because we didn't get that far!" Tusk shouted, his face getting red. "Why do you even care?"

"Because High Roller's too much of a gambler for his own good." Chopper smirked. "Anyway, Tusk has a point. You can riddle Trigger with all the questions about Arzenal you've got later. We've got a job to focus on and so we might as well do it. Shamrock, how's it going with getting into security feeds?"

"I've had that done for hours." Shamrock adjusted his seat as the others crowded around him, the computer showing a number of camera feeds that flicked about through different parts of the city. "I've got eyes across almost the entire city. If it's anywhere but the palace grounds, I'll be able to find our runaway."

"Good going." Chopper clapped Shamrock on the back, the techie grumbling from how hard it was. "While we wait for the girl to get here, we should go about and take inventory. We got those files from Bandog to look over too. We should scope out places she's likely to go to once she gets here. Tusk?"

"The palace is the obvious destination." Tusk said, Shamrock's cameras displaying a few angles on the Dawn Pillar that dominated the city. "As for other places… not sure. Maybe the school? She was a student there."

"That'd be my bet." High Roller smirked. "And not just for the scenery." A collective groan emerged from the group and he flipped them off. "Hey! We all drew lots and I won fair and square!"

"And why do you think that's where she's going?" Huxian droned.

"Easy! Misurugi's flippin' huge! If she's planning to get around, she's gonna need some kinda vehicle, right? And she has that maid with her. I'mthinking she might go and steal one of those iaria sleds from the school. They don't have GPA trackers after all, so they're good for getting around quietly."

"I swear if it wasn't for your attitude, I'd appreciate how smart you are more." Shamrock snarked.

"That definitely sounds like what Ange might do." Tusk agreed. Despite his somewhat off-putting obsession with the fairer sex, High Roller was nothing if not good at predicting things based on little information. He'd gotten his nickname for a reason. Tusk had heard a few stories from Alain about the young man's penchant for huge bets because he knew how to read people like books. "But as for getting that far…"

"Easy. Move around when night hits and stick to the alleys." Huxian said. "Anyone with common sense would make their moves like that if they're planning to sneak into a place. The only snag would be if she runs into someone she knew. She was a princess after all."

"Like say… if she's at the school and runs into an old classmate." Shamrock suggested. "Who would in all likelihood try to call the cops on her first chance."

"Which would also make sense." Tusk sighed. "Well, let's do what Chopper said and keep an eye on things for the next couple of days. If any of us sees anything, we immediately contact the others and get moving based on the situation. I know a way into the palace grounds too, so I can get us some information on the layout."

"That's our man!" Chopper laughed, again throwing an arm around Tusk. "If this goes right, we may not even need to wait for Trigger at all. Then we can brag to him about pulling this off once we get back to Recta Base."

"If we get lucky anyway." Shamrock said. "Let's hope he has it as easy as we think he will."

While making his way through more remote areas meant Alain could make a decent pace with the Air Runner he'd taken from Recta Base, the fact was Hilda still had one huge head start on him. He could follow after the tracker signal on the motorcycle easily enough, but it'd still take plenty of time to catch up. Recta Base was far enough away that by the time he reached the first town on the road after entering Enderant, a day had passed. He at least had the benefit of the town being remote enough he could hide the Air Runner in the woods. He threw a camo tarp over the Runner to make sure it would blend in, taking a seat on the grass as he pulled out Wyvern's terminal.

"The times I wish people didn't have to sleep." As much as he was trying to hurry, Alain was as human as anybody else, and needed at least some rest. But so did Hilda. He at least had that to count on. Though as he scanned the local map on the terminal, a low groan rose as he saw the signal was still a good distance out. "She must have passed through here at least. At least I know where she's going." Thankfully, Ray had managed to get him the information on where Hilda's family lived. 'But the problem is not knowing enough. But maybe somebody saw Hilda when she passed through.'

With the plan in mind, he made his way into the town. For the sake of the mission Alain had traded out his Arzenal gear for clothing that would give off the impression he was just a traveler. He'd only use the faux identity as an NMB agent if a need for it came up. 'Good thing I'm not a bad actor.' He wasn't a fan of it, but Alain could play nice if he needed to when out on these missions. 'Though I suppose the question is how to ask someone? Would be too weird if some random out-of-towner started asking around about a random girl.'

An answer suddenly presented itself as he was making his way through the town square. Something that was a rare sight in the Mana nations, a shop with a broken window and holographic police lines around it. What was left of the window still stuck to the frame.

"Well that confirms she's been here." He thought aloud. He was tempted to take a closer look, but the police still milling around the scene made him hold back.

"It's pretty unusual, wouldn't you say?" Alain turned around and saw a man who looked only a few years older than he was. Like him, he also had the looks of someone passing through rather than a resident. What struck Alain the most however was his ashen blonde hair and icy blue eyes that felt ever so slightly unnerving to look at. "This town is ordinarily rather quiet from what people have told me. Yet last night the police came running because this store was robbed."

"Yeah no kidding." Alain put on a light, naïve jilt to his voice. 'Try to come off as some innocent type.' He thought. "Why would anybody steal? All it would take is to simply go into the store. Maybe it's just a prank by some silly kids."

"Could be… except what broke the window came from inside of the building." The man said. "The owner had no idea what happened. According to the police, a couple who supposedly saw it happen said they caught a glimpse of a young woman." Alain didn't answer, though he suddenly felt a chill as the man stepped to the side. "If you ask me, it had to be a Norma. Who else could do something so destructive?"

"Could've been." Alain shrugged. "I was hoping to stay in town a few days to relax, but maybe I should move on before anything happens."

"I was thinking the same thing." Alain still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling despite his casual tone. "Though… you look quite young to be travelling on your own. Most boys your age would still be in school this time of year."

"I graduated early." 'Not that he's wrong. I only turned eighteen a couple months ago.' To Alain's relief the man seemed to buy the excuse.

"Well congratulations then. Enjoy your newfound adulthood." Alain took his leave and didn't look back until he felt the man's gaze was no longer on him. Once he got a fair distance away, he stopped at a corner and turned to make sure he wasn't being followed. Only then did he finally feel safe. 'Something about that guy was just… off-putting. I've seen eyes like that before at Arzenal. The eyes of someone who's past despair…'

As evening was starting to fall on Misurugi, Tusk was starting to feel boredom set in as he kept watch for Ange. With Garuda helping him casing most of the locations they estimated Ange to arrive at had taken no effort. 'Seems pretty standard for the Mana Society.' He thought as his eyes scanned the forested stretch that bordered the main city from the royal grounds. 'Security is light. No sign if the palace is actually setting up a trap yet.' Then again there wouldn't be a reason to until they knew Ange was in the city. 'And I'm sure she'll make herself known in the loudest way possible.'

Tusk shifted his position to change his view from the city to the palace grounds. His eyes shifted from the palace grounds to the towering Dawn Pillar, it's massive structure dwarfing everything else around it. Tusk had to wonder where the resources to build it had even come from. It made the imperial palace look tiny by comparison. And he could only wonder what secrets the structure held inside of it. While it was common for security to be light it was that structure CROSS had long since pondered a way to get into and investigate. With how important the structure was to the entirety of the Mana nations, they could only guess what lay within it.

"Tusk, come in." Chopper signaling the radio drew Tusk from his pondering.

"I read you. You find anything?"

"Not much here in the city itself. High Roller and Huxian are covering some routes in the suburbs too. Shamrock's keeping his eyes on surveillance too. How're things in the woods?"

"Boring." Tusk snarked. "Security on the grounds is lax as usual. It's so normal for things here there's really no other way I can think about it but a trap waiting to happen."

"Leaving the door open so the bird can come flying in." Chopper said. "I'm positive the police are under orders to bring Ange to the palace if they catch her. You seen the news about the new Emperor? Dude's one hell of an egomaniac. I bet he's got a complex about having not been the favorite child."

"My concern is if this might draw his attention." Tusk's comment got Chopper to let out a grumble. "Ange is Villkiss's pilot after all… and who knows where the others are."

"Speaking of that, how much does the girl even know? Heartbreak said Alain told him some of it but we weren't in on the details about that chat. She at least knows what Libertas is right?"

"I don't think she does." Chopper audibly balked at Tusk's response. "I'm pretty sure Jill doesn't even know Alain called you guys up to help us out with this. She still doesn't want a thing to do with CROSS. And I doubt she's told Ange about Libertas or what Villkiss really is yet. Alain's told me in Arzenal the people who know about that are pretty limited… just him, Jill, Maggy, Jasmine, and a couple others."

"Well that's helpful." Chopper sighed. "I know some of us were just kids at the time, but even the recruits know what Libertas was. Hell I still remember Farbanti… I don't think any of us from back then can forget. What's Jill even thinking?"

"I wouldn't know the reasons exactly. Probably because Ange is hard to control?" He could only guess, but Tusk felt like that was the closest idea. Alain had mentioned a few times how controlling Jill had gotten, how much she prioritized making sure things were under her direct command. And Ange wasn't exactly the type for following orders. "Jill probably wants her more compliant… and well, we wouldn't be in this situation if she wasn't."

"I can kind of understand that. But let's see… Big Boss would probably say something like…" Chopper then cleared his throat. "If you don't tell the people what they need to know, how can you ever expect them to trust you as a leader? You need to know when to be gentle as well as when to be firm." Tusk stifled a chuckle at Chopper imitating Dission's gravelly voice. "Something like that?"

"Pretty close I'd say." Chopper gave a hearty laugh. Then Tusk picked up on some music in the background. "Are you listening to that song again?"

"Yeah. It's a jam, don't knock me for it."

"It's just I hear it every time you check in."

"Gotta do something to keep from being bored."

"Fair enough. Hopefully Alain's having an easier time than us."

Since the first town had been a bust, Alain opted to move on. The tracker had stopped moving at some point earlier, so he at least had the destination. A smaller town that was more a collection of farm homes. But as if just to make his day more troublesome, rain was starting to come down by the time his Air Runner was streaking past the various farmlands. At least he'd brought a poncho he could throw on to keep the rain off. As Wyvern's ping came, he slowed to a stop as he neared an apple orchard. Along the edge of the road, propped up near a tree, was the motorcycle. Only no sign of Hilda.

"She just had to leave it behind." Alain clicked his tongue. When a siren's blare hit his ears, he jumped back onto the idling Air Runner and swept it behind a row of trees. Thankfully, the rainfall was limiting visibility and the cops were more preoccupied with something else. As two police cars blazed by, Alain's face became a grimace under the hood. "They got called. That mean's Hilda has to be nearby."

Moving the Air Runner back to the road, Alain shot off after cruisers. It didn't take long for him to catch up, turning the Air Runner to a stop. While the rain made it somewhat hard to see, he was able to take stock of the situation quickly. Four officers with night sticks drawn, and a beaten, dazed Hilda at their feet. Alain had to steel himself to keep from immediately pouncing on them. Once the officers noticed Alain's arrival, they immediately shifted their attention to the young man as he dismounted the Air Runner and approached.

"Evening sir." One of the officers said. "Go on about your business. It's nothing for you to worry about." Alain took a shallow breath and unclenching his fist.

"Actually, it is. I'm with the NMB. And that right there is some missing property of ours."

"You mean this thing?" Alain's jaw tightened when one of the officers kicked Hilda like he was making a point. 'If I wasn't trying to keep quiet…' he swore in his head. "And you seriously with the NMB?"

"If you don't believe me then fine. Here's my ID." With a flick of his hand to switch the Mana capacitors on, a window flashed up in front of the officer nearest him. The man looked a little puzzled as he read it over but didn't show any signs of questioning it. 'Good luck though. The guys in Rosenblum do good work when they forge an ID.' It was a struggle to hide the smirk on his face as the officer let out a sigh.

"He's not kidding." The now exasperated officer said, his three companions glancing at Alain with surprised eyes. "But NMB or not, she's still under out jurisdiction."

"I beg your pardon? I told you she's my assignment. I'm under orders to capture her, so just hand her over and we can go our separate ways."

"It's not that simple." The officer countered. "You may be NMB but it's our job to protect the public in this district. This Norma has already vandalized a store in the next town over. Whatever you want with her, you can have what's left after we're done." So that was how it was? Alain looked to the four officers and sighed as he loosened up.

"I wanted to keep this quiet… but I guess now I've gotta get my hands dirty." In a flash of movement, Alain threw off his poncho into one of the cops face. One caught it, only to toss it aside only to see Alain rushing into his face, a fist already pulled back. On reflex he raised a Mana barrier, only for it to shatter on contact as Alain broke through and punched the officer hard enough to explode his nose.

"M-My god… he's… he's a Norma?!" The three remaining officers flinched, and Alain capitalized on their shock, dashing forward to drive his palm into another chin. A third swung his nightstick but Alain weaved around caught the attacker's arm in his own as he crossed it back, snapping the elbow with a wet crack as his knee planted itself in the officer's gut before he could cry out from the pain.

"W-What the hell?!" The remaining officer gasped as he fell back onto the muddy road.

"Relax, I won't kill you." Alain promised. "But I can't have you following me either." Grabbing ahold of the man's collar, Alain wrapped the man into a sleeper hold. The man struggled and wheezed as his airflow was cut off, and when he finally went limp Alain dropped him to the ground. From his pocket, Alain pulled out a series of zip ties and bound up their arms and legs. When they didn't check back in, their colleagues were bound to send backup to look for them, but by the time that happened Alain and Hilda would be safely away.

Dashing over to Hilda, Alain slid his arm under her head and gently lifted her up. Her face was already starting to show the bruises from her beating, and her eyes were glazed over. "Hey!" he said while he snapped his fingers in front of her face, Hilda barely responding beyond a pained groan. 'Guess I can't really blame her.' Alain sighed before lifting her up in his arms and trudging back to the Air Runner. Hilda was far from what he'd call heavy, but her being limp didn't make her any easier to carry.

"Wyvern, where's the nearest safehouse?" It was awkward to mount the vehicle while keeping Hilda in a settled position, though he somehow managed it by wedging Hilda between his arms. 'This would be way easier if I could get her behind me.'

"There is a signal not far from here." Alain managed to wedge out the terminal so he could slot it into the Runner before pulling up a map of the surrounding area. The marker was at a location further out, in an even more remote location. "It is within a CROSS held property, so it will work to keep you out of sight."

"Good enough." Adjusting to make sure Hilda was secure, Alain started the Air Runner and sped off. Fast enough to keep a pace but not enough to mess with the delicate situation he was in. 'Hope Tusk and Garuda are having fun in Misurugi, because this sure as hell isn't.'

Ange was quiet as she and Momoka waited in an alley. Once night fell it was as good a time as any to make their move. But Ange had to admit the first welcome she'd gotten had left a sour taste in her mouth. The Iaria sled she and Momoka were on had of course been pilfered from her old school. That had been the plan. She hadn't quite planned to run into one of her former friends, Akiho. In her old life Ange had known her as a kind and well-meaning girl, passionate about what she did and like so many others, admired Ange greatly. But she wasn't at all surprised that when she saw the girl again, she'd proven to be no different than any of the others. Just treating her like some animal to be terrified of, not even hesitating to try and rat her out.

"Lady Angelise, we should go." Momoka's voice pulled Ange out of her thoughts. At least she always had her to rely on. The palace grounds were close and Ange didn't have time to worry about some betrayal she had seen coming. With a nod from Ange, Momoka set her hands on the sled, sending them shooting across the street and into the air. As they hit the height of their arc, Ange's eyes went to the Dawn Pillar. 'That's where all of this started for me. It's absurd I used to think of that thing as hopeful.' Now, if she could, she'd tear it to the ground.

"Left!" Ange shouted as the sled landed, Momoka veering off as ordered.

"But, are you sure?" Momoka asked as they sped along. "We're getting further away from the palace."

"Don't worry." Ange's eyes narrowed at a sudden flash, gasping as a police barricade appeared right in their path. "An ambush?!" Momoka pulled the sled to a stop, more lights shining down on them from the aircraft overhead. Their Mana engines hadn't even made a sound as they'd come down.

"W-What should we do?" Momoka asked.

"What else?" Ange growled, pulling up one of the rifles slung across her back. "We break right through!" Ange swept the rifle across the police line, forcing the officers to take cover or shield themselves. Momoka veered the sled while Ange kept firing, her shots raking across one of the police cruisers and sending it up into a ball of flames as they shot off into the woods.

But of course, it wasn't long before the cruisers were hot on their tail. Ange reared back and fired at the first one to get close, the bullets bouncing off the Mana barrier cast over its hood. A second rolled up on their side as a window rolled down, the officer within leaning out and gathering Mana around his hands.

"It's a restraint barrier!" Momoka shouted. Ange tried to shoot but the angle was too awkward to hit the target as the officer threw his hands out, created a net that shot forward and snared Momoka. Before Momoka could be pulled off, Ange swiped her hand at the Mana net, shattering it into pieces. 'Never thought I'd say I'm glad to be a Norma.' She thought as her clip ran dry.

"Thank you!" Momoka said.

"Get me another magazine!" Ange shouted.

"Okay!" Momoka quickly handed Ange one of the spares, which Ange loaded up as one of the cruisers pulled alongside them. This one had an officer leaning out with a net launcher in hand. Of course they'd switch to something manual once it was clear Mana wouldn't work. Lucky for Ange, Momoka was an ace Iaria sledder, and easily dodged the nets. As Ange returned fire, a new flash brought her eyes forward. Now two transports were lowering over them, and in its hold were men in the royal guard uniform. 'They're pulling out all the stops for me, aren't they?' Ange thought.

"Grenade!" Ange yelled. Once it was in her hand, Ange yanked the pin and lobbed the grenade. It bounced off the undercarriage of one and exploded, the blast flipping the cruiser into the path of the other. Both erupted into a pillar of flames, forcing the others to divert around and allowing them to make some distance just before their target finally appeared. Just ahead, the runoff canal from the castle drained into a ditch, creating a small waterfall. "Right there! Charge right in!"

"Okay!" Momoka looked worried but did as ordered. To the maid's surprise, they shot right through the waterfall and into a dark passage. "Whoa!"

"Now we just keep following the tunnel." Ange said. "This will lead us right to the front of the palace."

"I never knew a passage like this existed!"

"Only royalty knew about it. I used it to sneak out at night."

"Is that so?" Momoka then turned away with a huff. "I was never told about such things." Ange laughed at Momoka's indignant attitude about it. A short while later, the path led to them out onto the reflection pool in the palace gardens. Momoka brought the sled to a halt at the edge as Ange dismounted and took a sweep of the palace. Some of the lights were on but otherwise things were quiet. "The palace. It feels like it's been forever since I was here."

"I know the feeling." Ange nodded. 'Hold on Sylvia, I'm almost there.' Ange , as they neared the front, another surprise was waiting for them. A tarp suddenly launched into the air, revealing two armored vehicles, a squad of royal guards taking aim at the intruders.

"Damn it!" Ange muttered.

"Big Sister?!" Ange and Momoka gasped as they looked up. More guards were standing along the balcony. And sitting between them in her hover chair was Sylvia. "Big Sister, please help me!"

"Syliva…" Ange said. As the guards got closer, the girl growled and lifted her rifle up. "Let Sylvia go!"

And charged forward, the guards rushing to meet her headlong. Gunfire echoed across the courtyard as Ange fought like a woman possessed, shooting at a distance and clubbing any that got close. One of the guards had gotten ahold of Momoka, and Ange planted a hard kick to his head. And opening appeared and Ange started fanning the parapet, sending guards near the vehicles into a retreat, and then near the balcony. She didn't dare shoot any higher than the wall so she wouldn't hit Sylvia but she succeeded in making the guards holding her prisoner to drop to the ground.

"Sylvia, come on!" Ange shouted, feeling relief wash over her as Sylvia smiled at her.

"Okay." Sylvia's chair lifted over the edge and gently began to float down to the ground. "I knew you'd come, Angelise!"

"You're my sister, of course I would!" Ange couldn't help but smile as she ran towards her dear sister. Even if she'd lost her parents, even if she'd been through over two months of hell, for the first time in ages she felt hope in her that, just maybe, she could get a portion of her old life back here and now. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

It never once crossed Ange's mind that the hope she was feeling could so suddenly be torn up. The moment she got near her younger sister, pain flared across her left arm. Sylvia's expression had become a furious glare, the knife in her hands inflicting a superficial wound. Ange's eyes shot wide as she stumbled back, barely registering Momoka running towards her as she gripped her mistress's wounded arm.

"Lady Angelise!" she cried, Ange shuddering in the maid's grip as she stared at her sister.

"Sylvia…"

"Don't call me that!" Sylvia snapped, Ange lurching as the shock hit her again. "You're not my sister! You… you monster!" To hear Syliva of all people say such a thing, Ange shook more as she felt like something in her broke. "Why?! Why were you born? If only you were never born… Father, Mother, Big Brother, and me would have all been happy. If you'd never existed, I would still be able to walk. Mother would have never died! You took it all. You destroyed everything! Bring Mother back! You monster! Monster! I hate you!"

"Lady Syliva…" Momoka murmured, gasping when Ange collapsed to her knees. "Lady Angelise?!" Ange was unresponsive to Momoka's call, her red eyes empty and blank. There wasn't even a hint of resistance as nets were launched at them, too heavy for Momoka to get them free of.

"My my, look at you, looking so pathetic." Slow clapping made them both look up as Julio strode forward with a smug grin. "A fitting end to a fallen princess I would say."

"Julio…" Ange murmured, her brother chuckling in clear sadistic delight.

"Yes, that's the look I wanted to see. That dumbfounded expression as you realized everything. It was worth trying to lure you out. Now, let's begin the trial, Angelise. For the crime that is you." Julio's mocking laughter echoed across the grounds as Ange and Momoka were dragged away. 'Why?' Ange wondered. "Why would Sylvia betray me too?' It wasn't the shock of betrayal, but the realization at how wrong everything felt. The people, the world… all of it felt wrong.