Chapter 64 - Cold Embrace
8.21.1206 - Monday
Towa sat in the guest room reading one of the books Claire had gotten for her from her personal library back in Heimdallr. Much to her frustration, the Ironbloods had been given clearance to search inside her family's shop for any runaway branch campus students potentially hiding there.
The only silver lining for Towa being that Claire was able to confirm that Martha, Fred, and Kai were still safe inside the city. Of course, it was highly likely that her uncle would be conscripted into the war effort sometime soon.
Towa would have preferred to look at the picture of Rean inside her locket like had done in the past whenever she worried about him, except for her locket being currently empty. Her and Rean hadn't had enough time to place new pictures of each other in the other's locket after leaving the original pictures underneath the portrait of her grandfather in the Imperial Museum in Heimdallr. She hoped that it didn't represent something more sinister happening to Rean.
Towa put her book down when she heard someone right outside her door: Rossweisse. It was likely that she'd just returned from a patrol of Ordis and was now informing Claire about what she saw.
Ever since last night, Towa had done everything she could to try and jog Angelica's memory. Be it talking about their time at Thors, their brief reunion a few months ago before George attacked her, and even small talk about things like martial arts. In the end, nothing was able to work. While her adoration for women and all things cute remained intact even with that mask, everything else about her was locked away with seemingly nothing being able to break her free from the mask's control.
"Are you sure you saw some of them?" Claire questioned.
"Clear as daylight. There's no way I'd mistake any of the beautiful ladies of Class VII for random citizens." Rossweisse replied.
Towa sat up as she realized that the sound of Claire and Rossweisse's conversation was somewhat audible through her door. She quickly walked over to her door and placed her ear on it so she could eavesdrop better.
"What about Rean, was he with them? I shouldn't be surprised he came here first." Claire asked.
"Yup. His hair gives him away quite easily. Can't say I've seen many people with the same pale shade of hair as him, besides C-C… Siegfried, of course." Rossweisse noted before shaking their head.
"Pale? Since when was Rean's hair pale? Wait, was Angie about to say Crow? She is still in there, I knew it!" Towa thought to herself.
"Is everything alright?" Claire questioned.
"I'm fine." Rossweisse assured Claire.
"If you say so. Oh by the way, our new guest arrived a few hours ago. He should be done with his quick meeting with her Highness by now. Take Towa with you to the banquet hall so that everyone can be in the same room." Claire ordered before walking away.
"Yes ma'am." Rossweisse replied before turning around and opening Towa's door.
Towa immediately fell face first towards the ground, making it obvious that she was eavesdropping on her conversation with Claire.
In response Rossweisse quickly grabbed Towa by her ponytail and dragged her over to the banquet hall.
"A-Angie, stop!" Towa shouted as she tried to escape.
"I already told you, the name's Red Rossweisse!" Rossweisse loudly responded.
"What's going on!?" Carl questioned as he watched Rossweisse kick open the door to the banquet hall.
"Excuse the interruption, but this little lady was being uncooperative. I figured dragging her here would remind her of her place." Rossweisse explained before letting go of Towa.
Priscilla and Carl quickly walked over to Towa and helped get up, before leading her to the table where they had been discussing matters going on outside.
"Please take a seat, Ms. Herschel." Priscilla insisted as she sat Towa down.
"Was that really necessary?" Claire questioned as she walked over to Rossweisse.
"She was listening in to our conversation, what else was I supposed to do?" Rossweisse said in her defense.
"Was she now?" Claire responded before turning to look at Towa.
Before Claire could do anything however, everyone in that room heard a loud explosion.
"Damn it, they must've gotten through all of the other defensive measures! Rossweisse, get into position!" Claire ordered as she signaled to Priscilla, Carl, and Towa to stay where they were.
"Wait… could it be…?" Towa said to herself as she heard a small group of people running in the hall towards the banquet hall. "Rean…?"
Without hesitation, Rean, Machias, and Crow used their crafts to demolish the door and ran inside the banquet hall. Followed closely behind by Musse, Kurt, Altina, and Ash, who weren't sure if the older Class VII members had used more force than necessary on the door.
"I had a feeling you'd show up." Claire noted as Rean and company came to a halt.
Towa let out a sudden gasp as she saw Rean standing a few feet away from her, alerting him to her presence.
"T-Towa… Your Highness!" Rean shouted as he and his group turned to Claire and Rossweisse's captives.
"Class VII!" Priscilla greeted as she and Towa stood up.
"Your Highness… I'm glad to see you're safe." Kurt commented.
"Thank goodness… It seems we've made it in time." Musse added on.
"R-Rean, you're okay! And everyone else, too!" Towa commented as she looked at Rean with relief, holding back her tears for after Claire and Rossweisse were dealt with. She then realized who exactly it was standing beside Rean at that moment. "And…"
"Sup, Towa. How's life been treating you?" Crow nonchalantly greeted. "Me? Well, you know how it is… Anyway, looks like I'm back with the gang thanks to a certain former underclassman of ours."
"Crow… I… I can't believe it! It's really you!" Towa responded before turning back to look at Rean as if he'd committed some sort of miracle.
Rean looked much different than the last time she saw him in person. The obvious changes like his hair and eye colors aside, he looked tired. As if his body no longer had the same amount of energy that it had before.
"W-Wait Rean, what happened to your hair…? Oh, what am I saying? What matters is that you're alright!" Towa commented, putting her thoughts on Rean's appearance aside for now. "I felt this odd sensation earlier. Like I was… connecting with you, somehow. I thought… maybe it was just my imagination…"
"It wasn't. You may not have realized it, but you were there for me when I needed it most." Rean admitted. "I'll explain everything later- after we get both of you out of here."
"Oh? Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to make plans without a lady's consent?" Rossweisse quipped.
"Not as rude as taking them captive, wouldn't you say, 'Gelica?" Crow replied. "Or… would you prefer I call you Red Rossweisse?"
"Heh… That is indeed who I am now. And you are the one they once called Siegfried, no? I suppose Georg did make sure we rarely crossed each other's paths." Rossweisse noted. "Your sweet nothings won't work on me. But I do appreciate you bringing that delicious little duchess along with you."
"Oh, you flatter me… Lady Rogner." Musse remarked.
"Tch. Looks like she still acts like the same old Angelica, huh? That's gonna make this tough…" Ash commented.
"That's right. We've interacted briefly, and she acts more or less the same." Towa revealed, choosing to keep Angelica's more violent treatment towards her to herself since it was more George and Claire's doing.
"Oh, don't worry, my dear little fawn… We can always start back at square one. After this, we can talk all through the night, just the two of us. Only if you behave, of course." Rossweisse coldly offered.
"Oh, come on, Angie! I know it's you!" Towa responded as she raised her arms.
That's when Rean noticed that Towa's right hand was bandaged up, quickly determining that some type of physical altercation had occurred between Towa and Rossweisse in the past. Instantly enraging him that harm had been committed to Towa in his absence, both towards those who had used Angelica against her and himself for not being there when she needed him.
While the others focused on Machias and his father's confrontation, Crow was able to feel the tension in the room get heavier as he noticed Rean drawing power from the curse within him in preparation for the fight against Claire and Rossweisse that was clearly going to start soon in order to free Towa and Priscilla.
"Get a hold of yourself man. Save that rage for the rivalries, Gelica needs as much rescuing as Towa right now." Crow whispered to Rean. "I thought you were trying to hide how much of a hold the curse had on you?"
Without saying a word, Rean reluctantly released some of the power he'd drawn. Keeping only enough that wouldn't make it obvious to anyone else other than Crow that he'd powered up.
Soon Claire revealed to everyone more of what exactly the curse was doing across the empire, along with everything the government was doing to take advantage of the situation. She also explained that Carl was also there as a prisoner like Towa and Priscilla for attempting to go against Osborne's orders, something she questioned if she even had the resolve to do as well.
Although he was a prisoner with some level of authority.
"If you wish to escape with Ms. Herschel and her Highness you'll have to convince me, under pretense of your 'inspection' that you are qualified to take custody of my charges. That way, neither of us will be abandoning our duties" Carl explained as he turned to Machias while Claire and Rossweisse stepped forward.
"Dad… You're really…" Machias responded.
"So that was your plan all along, huh?" Crow noted.
"The governor's obligations and opinions are in no way the same as mine. Further, custody of Towa and the empress is the Imperial Defense Force's duty." Claire explained with her eyes closed. "However, all of Class VII are fugitives by law. Restricting you is my responsibility as a member of the RMP. My duty as an officer. But more than that… it's my role as an Ironblood- as a vessel for this terrible curse."
Everyone sans Rean and Crow took a step back as Claire opened her eyes to reveal a pattern in each eye. They all felt an aura similar to the one Rean had whenever he used his ogre powers.
"Just like what we saw in the Grahl…" Musse noted as she remembered the Ironbloods using the same technique to get an edge over Class VII in their attempt to prevent them from saving Altina from their clutches.
"That glyph was in Millium's eyes too!" Altina commented.
"This is the power granted to us by Chancellor Osborne- the mark of the Ironblood." Claire revealed as she readied her orbal gun. "It allows us to draw power from the energy of the Great Twilight itself. But its effect goes beyond merely boosting our battle capabilities. The Governor's failings… Operation Birdcage… All such events were brought forth by this power of ours."
"Y-You mean…" Towa questioned as everyone connected the dots.
"That's how you carried out Operation Birdcage?" Rean continued from where Towa left off.
"The SSS… Yin… The Divine Blade of Wind… All of them are skilled fighters in their own right. No matter how numerous my forces or how adept my command… do you really think I'd have even the slightest chance of cornering them, if I didn't have this power?" Claire pointed out to give an idea to Class VII what exactly they were dealing with.
"Ggh… I thought it was strange…" Machias admitted upon recalling being told of the SSS's achievements by a CPD secretary he interviewed while doing an investigation in Crossbell.
"Back then, even I wasn't fully aware of it. But now, I can harness its energy at will. And with its aid, I can easily stop you in your tracks. Class VII… I hereby place you all under arrest." Claire announced as she got into a fighting stance. "You may attempt to carry out your 'inspection' if you please. You're free to take Towa and the empress with you and go… in the unlikely event you're able to kill me."
"What a pitiable, yet captivating spectacle…" Rossweisse sighed. "Like a glacier she stands, solid and steadfast… yet her heart lies, frozen by sorrow. Mesmerizing in her frailty… Apt, as all ice is, to shatter at a moment's touch."
"A-Angie…?" Towa said to herself. She questioned if her, Crow, Rean, and the rest being in the same room may have triggered her mask's control to loosen slightly.
"What would you know about me, Rossweisse? Your memories have been wiped clear-" Claire angrily responded as she tried not to think about everything she had partaken in recently.
"Perhaps so. But through a beautiful damsel's eyes lie the depths of her soul. It makes my chest tighten to see her… the Icy Maiden within you, melting into tears."
"Major Claire…" Towa commented, unsure if she should be feeling sympathy towards her current captor.
"Hah… Even without her memories, Gelica hasn't lost her touch." Crow noted.
"Major Claire, I was told Major Lechter said something when he fought the others, not too long ago. He mentioned the grief and guilt he felt after losing Millium. And how the two of you would 'put things right'." Rean brought up. "A moment ago, you said we'd need to kill you to rescue Towa and the empress. The only thing that tells me is that you're all too willing to die. It's just as Rossweisse said: it hurts my heart to see you acting so pathetic."
Claire stayed silent, questioning when the naive school boy she had helped out in Celdic surpassed her in so many areas.
"Millium didn't sacrifice herself so you could use her as an excuse. Fight for yourself. Fight for your own reasons." Rean continued as he drew out his tachi. "Even if you have the power of the Great Twilight on your side… I don't intend to lose… Not to this melting imitation of the Icy Maiden!"
It was clear to everyone that Rean's words shook Claire up, even more so than Rossweisse's earlier assessment.
"Hoho! Not bad." Crow responded.
"You… Actually got through to her." Machias noted.
"Such a dastardly way with words you have, Instructor…" Musse teased.
"What a cheesy-ass speech…" Ash complained.
"Even Millium would not recognize what you've become." Altina added on.
Class VII followed Rean's lead and drew out their weapons as well.
"Haha… And so, the indomitable ice cracks. But like a knight upon her shining steed, I shall come to all this fair maiden's aid." Rossweisse noted as she equipped her gauntlets.
"Ggh… Very well. I will use Millium as an excuse no longer! I am a member of the Ironbloods, and an officer of the RMP! As such, I will use whatever force necessary to apprehend you!" Claire declared, choosing not to hold back.
"Come at us, then!" Rean responded.
"Your Highness! Instructor Towa! Please, stay back!" Kurt advised.
"Understood!" Priscilla responded as she took a step back closer to Carl, who handed her something the others couldn't make out.
"Rean… Crow… You can do it!" Towa cheered, hoping that Aidios would allow for the best outcome to occur.
Since things were personal between Crow and Rossweisse, he requested that the others let him handle her on his own. A request Rean granted.
"It's sure has been a while since we last fought, Gelica. Feels like just yesterday we were sparring in the gymnasium to try and impress chicks." Crow commented as he thought back to simpler times.
Back when his only issues with Angelica were that she was suspicious of him hiding the truth about his intentions attending Thors, and that she'd always swoop in to steal whichever girl he was trying to woo.
"Save the walk down memory lane for when your life flashes before your eyes once I'm through with you, and stop calling me by that name!" Rossweisse threatened as she lunged towards Crow and aimed her fist at his chest.
Crow quickly used his dual sabre to block her attack before countering by swapping to his twin guns and firing away to keep her at bay. He hit multiple windows, luckily he wasn't too worried about causing collateral damage to Duke Cayenne's old stomping grounds.
"Crow, there has to be some other way to fight her!" Towa urged as she watched from the sidelines.
"Easy for you to say! You're not the one she's trying to feed a knuckle sandwich to!" Crow responded as he jumped out of the way from one of Rossweisse's crafts.
"Hey no fair! I want a cheerleader too!" Rossweisse joked as she took an art Crow casted head on.
The atmosphere was unexpectedly light, serving more as a playful quarrel between friends rather than a fight to liberate them from a third party's control.
"Yeah, well we want our friends back!" Crow shouted before throwing his dual sabre in Rossweisse's direction.
With how large it was, Rossweisse was easily able to dodge it, letting it land behind her. Leaving Crow with only half of his arsenal.
"Didn't think that one through, did ya?" Rossweisse taunted as she stood confidently.
"Heh. In a sense you're right, but only because dirty tactics come naturally to me. I don't need much brain power to weasel my way to victory." Crow revealed before pulling out a detonator.
Rossweisse turned around and realized that Crow had planted multiple small smoke bombs onto his dual sabre. Before she could kick it away, he activated them resulting in a small explosion. Nothing dangerous, but just enough to shake her up.
"I should've known that a terrorist wasn't above cheap tricks." Rossweisse commented as smoke clouded her vision.
"Hey now, using smoke bombs on a friend ain't nothing surprising from me. I did point a railway gun at Towa that one time. And Aidios knows we don't have the time for me to read out the whole laundry list of things I've done to poor Rean-Bean." Crow noted.
"'Friend'? Hmph. I'm surprised you can still make such a rookie mistake." Rossweisse commented as they casted a healing art on themselves.
"It's not a mistake, you're still our friend Angie!" Towa shouted.
"Oh shut up! I don't have friends, I only live to serve." Rossweisse responded.
"Was I this angsty during my Siegfried days?" Crow questioned.
"From what little I saw for myself and from what Rean told me about your altercations: yes." Towa answered.
"Enough of this! Dragon Kick!" Rossweisse shouted as she initiated her S-Craft.
Crow's seen this trump card so many times, much like his old Cross Raven technique, it had been used as a last ditch save whenever things had gone south on a field study monster they were assigned during the ARCUS Trial Run. He knew that there wasn't much time for him to dodge her range or even take it head on. He'd have to rely on a certain new technique he'd inherited from his link with Rean.
Towa watched as Rossweisse descended at what felt like high speed, ready to make an impact on Crow any second now.
"Azure Destiny!" Crow shouted as he felt a new sense of power flow through his veins.
It was similar to Rean's Spirit Unification, granting him the ability to push past his body's limits. Luckily for Crow, it wasn't tied to the curse or Ishmelga in any way. It was pure Armbrust potential set to the max. Meaning that there were no downsides to his usage like losing control or intaking more of the curse.
With his newfound increase in strength, Crow took Rossweisse's Dragon Kick head on.
"What the!?" Rossweisse responded as she felt a change in Crow's aura.
"Heh… Dragon Kick this early in a fight? You're off your game, Gelica." Crow taunted as he took a step forward, before feeling his body's energy disappear and falling to the ground.
"Ha! Looks like your body still hasn't adjusted itself to your new technique. You must've used up all of your energy on that brief show of strength taking in that Dragon Kick." Rossweisse explained as she approached Crow.
"Damn it, Rean always did look tired after using his ogre powers. And he's had them since he was a kid…" Crow thought to himself, unable to move.
"Crow! Angie, stop!" Towa shouted, unsure if she was even able to do anything to save her friends.
It was becoming frustrating for Towa to see herself get placed into that same position each time her friends fought.
"Yeah, no. We'd rather not lose the guy our lousy instructor wasted energy to revive, at least not before he pays off his debt by helping us stop that stinkin' master of yours." Ash commented as he used his scythe's detaching feature to rope around Crow's body and pull him closer to him.
"Hmph. You can add helping pay for restorations to this place to your list of debts." Musse teased as she used her orbal rifle to shoot at Angelica.
"Claiomh Solais, provide Crow with a shield!" Altina ordered as her companion casted a shield around Crow to protect him from attacks.
"Oh thank Aidios!" Towa responded as she saw Rean's students and Machias tag in for Crow.
"Jeez, and here I thought you were smart enough to know your own limits. I guess you really do need to go back to finish your education." Machias joked as he provided Musse with back up.
"W-What are you… all doing here…?" Crow questioned.
"Instructor Rean saw you use that 'Azure Destiny' technique and sent us to take over for you since he correctly assumed that it would drain you of all your energy quickly." Kurt explained before as he used his swords to block Rossweisse's attacks.
"Haha… Sounds to me like he just wanted some one on one time with the Icy Maiden…" Crow joked as he turned his head to see Rean and Claire duking it out on the other side of the room.
"My, how confident of you to send away the others." Claire noted as she used her crafts to keep Rean at a distance.
"Confidence has nothing to do with it. I'd just rather keep my promises, unlike you." Rean responded as he cut through Claire's orbal bullets.
Thanks to her training and choice of weapon, Claire had the advantage. So long as Rean couldn't get close, she was untouchable. Now more than ever without Musse or Machias there to balance things out.
Claire stayed silent as she continued firing at Rean, her mark of the Ironblood making it easy to make each shot more direct than the last.
Rean took a deep breath as he thought up a way to deal with Claire. He only had so much energy left, and the last thing he wanted was to lose consciousness now. Right when Towa and her safety were within his grasp, just a bit more fighting and they'd be safe and accounted for onboard the Merkabah. If things went well, Angelica would join them too. He couldn't give up now, not when he was so close to fulfilling that promise he made to Towa.
"I'm surprised you haven't used your ogre powers yet. I was able to sense you gathering up power earlier. Do you have some sort of trick up your sleeve?" Claire questioned, snapping Rean back to the present.
"Hmph. I have my reasons." Rean answered as he dodged one of Claire's shots.
After scanning Rean using her mark of the Ironblood, Claire realized that he wasn't in as stable of a condition as he led on. It was obvious that this was a battle of attrition for him.
"So that's how it is. Allow me to end this quickly then!" Claire responded as she prepared her S-Craft. "Kaleido Force!"
Rean quickly found himself surrounded by multiple small flying mirrors Claire threw in his direction. Knowing that he didn't have enough time to dodge, he casted a defense buff on himself just as she pulled the trigger on her orbal gun. He shouted in pain as her orbal bullet hit him repeatedly as it bounced from mirror to mirror until it gathered enough force to burst into a large pool of energy that engulfed him.
Towa instantly turned her attention to Rean as she heard him shout in agony just in time to see him fall to his knees, planting his tachi on the ground to keep his balance. She desperately wanted to step in and provide back up, but even with her injured hand she was useless in a fight without her orbal gun.
"I believe this belongs to you." Priscilla whispered as she handed Towa her confiscated orbal gun.
"W-Wait, my orbal gun? But how?" Towa quietly questioned to make sure the others didn't hear them.
"I had Governor Regnitz retrieve it before he arrived in Ordis. It had been confiscated by the Ironbloods, but apparently Chancellor Osborne left it in plain sight on a desk. I suppose with everything going on, an orbal gun was the least of their concerns." Priscilla answered with a mischievous smile similar to one Alfin usually displayed.
"Thank you, your Highness. I won't let your and Governor Regnitz' help go to waste." Towa responded before sneaking away.
Thanks to all the fighting, Towa was able to sneak past Rossweisse while they fought off Rean's students and Machias. Letting her get close enough to Claire to get a clear shot. She concentrated on her target, taking a deep breath as her finger lingered on her orbal gun's trigger. With her hand injury, it meant that she'd only have this one shot before the recoil caused her too much pain to take another shot so soon.
"Get up Rean, I know that you're holding back. Unleash that power that dwells inside you!" Claire shouted as she aimed her orbal gun towards Rean.
"Weakener!" Towa shouted as her craft casted debuffs on Claire. "Get away from, Rean! Rainbow Sho-"
Towa didn't even finish commencing her S-Craft when Claire shot her orbal gun out of her hand, not bothering to turn around to face her.
"Did you really think that you could've gotten the drop on me?" Claire coldly questioned as Towa fell to the floor.
"I did manage to use my Weakener craft at least…" Towa pointed out as she tried not to show the pain she was feeling from part of Claire's shot hitting her injured hand ever so slightly.
Rean watched as Claire walked over closer to Towa, fearing what she could do next. He knew that he couldn't make it over to her in time to shield her from their next attack.
"Unless…" Rean thought to himself as he weighed his options.
"Don't worry, Towa. I'm sure wherever you're transferred to next should be better equipped to deal with your uncooperativeness. I hear someone at the Black Workshop has been meaning to see you." Claire informed Towa as she aimed her orbal gun at them, setting it to stun mode so that she'd get knocked out.
"Towa!" Rean yelled, his voice a mix of rage and worry, as he ran to Towa's side to shield her.
Rossweisse froze as she turned to see the commotion. There she saw Rean kneeling down in front of Towa. His eyes now a dark yellow color surrounded by pure darkness. A demonic aura surrounded him, as if he were some sort of demon.
"Rean!" Towa shouted as she reached out to him, snatching his ARCUS II from his coat's pocket to cast a healing spell on him.
Due to the distance between them, Rean used his Spirit Unification technique to give himself the increase in speed to dash in front of Towa in an instant. Shielding her from Claire's shot, but taking a critical hit to his back in the process.
Not helping matters was his body fighting to keep control of his body as the curse tried to take over again like it did in the Grahl. Even with Towa's spell, he felt his body getting ready to collapse as he used the last of his strength to keep his sanity.
"Hmph. So that's what it takes for you to use those powers, huh? I'll keep that in mind for next time." Claire noted as she kicked Rean away and pointed her orbal gun at Towa again.
Towa closed her eyes as she prepared for the worst, only to be tackled to the ground by someone. After hitting the floor she looked up to see Rossweisse standing before her, their mask showing a crack where Claire accidentally hit them with their shot.
"Rossweisse!? What are you doing!?" Claire questioned.
"I-I don't know… She told me to… protect her…" Rossweisse answered as their mask began to fall apart.
Rossweisse shouted in pain as her memories flooded back thanks to the mask Georg had planted losing its control over her.
"A-Angie…!?" Towa responded as Rossweisse's mask continued to shatter.
"T-Towa? Crow…?" Rossweisse questioned as she fell to the floor. "G-George!"
"Wait…" Rean commented as he struggled to lift himself up after regaining control of his body.
"The hell…? That was her, right? The real her!?" Ash questioned as he helped Crow stand up.
"T-Those damn masks…" Crow noted as he caught his breath. "Gelica! Hey! Angelica Rogner! Snap out of it, already!"
"A-Angelica…? N-No… I'm… Red Rossweisse…" Rossweisse argued as more of her mask fell apart.
"That's wrong. It's nothing more than a part you were made to play!" Musse argued.
"F-Find yourself, Angelica! You need to break free!" Rean shouted.
"You can do it, Angie! Please… COME BACK TO US!" Towa shouted as she sat up and wrapped her arms around Rossweisse.
Claire watched as the remains of Rossweisse's mask fell to the ground. Its puppet now free from their control.
"Angelica!" Machias shouted as everyone ran to Angelica and Towa.
"Angie!? Are you okay!?" Towa questioned as she took a step back.
"Ha… Haha… I'm not sure, Towa… I think I might need you to give me another little squeeze…" Angelica chuckled as she stood back up. "It was so hard to see that adorable face of yours through that mask… I'll need to get a nice long look now that I can see clearly again."
"Gelica… It's you…" Crow responded, happy that his friend was back to her usual self.
"You've got your memories back!" Rean commented as he crawled over to Angelica and Towa.
"Angiiieee!" Towa shouted as she gave Angelica a hug while tears of joy went down her face now that she had her best friend back. "Thank Aidios… Thank the Goddess you're yourself again! You have no clue how worried I was! Ever since you disappeared, I… I-"
"Whoa! Maybe I should disappear more often then if this is how you act. Huh? Using shampoo and conditioner with scents from the East for Rean are you now?" Angelica joked.
"It felt like I was living a nightmare… But I guess I must've died and gone to heaven, in the arms of an angel…"
"Oh, yeah. She's back, all right." Ash commented, unsure what to do with the newfound information about what type of scents his instructor liked.
"I'm glad to see there were no lasting effects on her personality or memories." Musse added on, fully aware of what she was going to do with the newfound information about what type of scents her instructor liked. "It seems it was the mask itself that was forcing her to play the role."
"Sure wasn't like that for me. Heh… Guess old George didn't follow through." Crow noted as he walked over to Rean and helped him stand up.
"Perhaps he simply couldn't bring himself to. But then again… maybe I'm no different…" Claire commented.
"Do you still intend to fight?" Rean questioned as he leaned on Crow.
"Without our Iron Horseman, I stand at a disadvantage." Claire answered as she put away her orbal gun. "Unfortunately… It would seem I have failed in my mission."
With that, Zechs Vander stepped out of the shadows to make his presence known. He was there to investigate the Cayenne Estate after hearing murmurs of the Military Police causing trouble there. Not wanting to cause a scene, Claire took blame for escalating things and agreed to call off her units and hand responsibilities to Zechs. She also reminded Class VII that they were all enemies of the state, and that they should travel more discreetly if they wished not to get arrested.
Before leaving she also apologized to Towa and Priscilla for keeping them captive, along with congratulating Angelica on her regained freedom. Claire had also wanted to say something to Rean, but stopped herself. Only being able to look at him briefly before walking away without saying a word to him.
After thanking all of the parties that helped them in their rescue of Towa and Priscilla that were still present, Class VII boarded the Merkabah and set off to their next destination. Now with Towa and Angelica onboard.
"And that should do it. Please try not to use your dominant hand too much, even for something as light of a task as typing." Rosine advised after wrapping a new bandage over Towa's injured hand and casting a spell to help null the pain.
"Thank you, Rosine. I'll try." Towa answered as she sat on a hospital bed.
Despite immediately wanting to jump into helping out around the Merkabah after being welcomed aboard, Towa had been ordered to get a check up and rest for the rest of the day.
Same order applied to Angelica, who after getting her check up done decided that the best way for her to rest was to sit between some of the Old Class VII girls while they had dinner with her arms around their shoulders.
"How come I have to stay in bed?" Towa complained.
"Because Rean asked you politely. I'm surprised you're following orders. I guess even you can't say no to Rean, huh?" Rosine commented.
"I-I wouldn't want to worry him with my injuries. Speaking of which, how come he isn't here? That shot he took from Claire seemed rather painful." Towa questioned.
"Hmm? Oh don't worry, I was able to do a quick healing spell on him earlier. Shame it doesn't seem to work on healing your hand." Rosine responded.
"Don't worry about it. I was the one who kept on using it while I was imprisoned, I should've known better." Towa replied.
"Anyway, I should go back to helping Gaius with the ship. Please try to get some rest, for Rean's sake at least." Rosine instructed as she got up and left the room.
Towa sat in the nurse's room by herself for a few minutes. She was able to hear the commotion downstairs in the dining area. Apparently Crow was telling the others about how her rescue went, with less than accurate details of what had occurred. The main offender being his claim that she jumped into Rean's arms the second he had stepped foot inside the banquet hall.
"I can't just stay here. No one will notice if I get on one of the computers and look over some things while they're eating." Towa said to herself as she got up from her bed and opened her door.
Just as she stepped outside, Towa found herself bumping into Rean. Who had been standing outside the nurse's room ever since Rosine finished Towa's check up.
"Aren't you going to rest?" Rean calmly asked as he wrapped his arms around Towa.
"I figured that I could help organize some things while everyone had dinner." Towa answered as she returned the gesture.
Now that they were alone, they felt comfortable embracing each other like they had done weeks ago. They felt a sense of ease wash over them as they held onto each other, their sudden time apart clearly having taken a toll on them. Not wanting to let the opportunity go to waste, Towa signaled to Rean to lower his head. Upon doing so, she leaned in and began kissing him. It was while their lips locked that both of them were able to finally be sure that the other was safe.
"Have you had dinner yourself?" Rean asked as he raised his head, his face now glowing red as a result of Towa's sudden display of affection.
"I was going to check if there were any leftovers once I was done." Towa explained, her face now a matching shade of red as Rean's.
"You should go and rest." Rean advised.
"I should say the same to you, you look dead." Towa replied.
Rean's current state was one of the first things she had noticed when he arrived to save her. It wasn't just his white hair and red eyes. His skin was a more pale complexion than it was the last time they saw each other. His movements looked fine to the naked eye, but she'd seen him train so much that she could see that he was slower than before. Then there was what she saw in the Grahl and Cayenne Mansion. His more demonic state, it was horrifying. Not because of the power it exuded, but because of the clear toll it had on his body. Even after he returned to normal, it was obvious that he didn't have much energy left after the fight.
"Haha, you might have a point." Rean admitted.
Not wanting Rean to potentially collapse onto the ground due to exhaustion, Towa walked him over to one of the beds inside the nurse's room. Seating him in the same hospital bed that she was supposed to be resting in herself.
"Kind of hypocritical don't you think?" Rean argued as Towa placed a blanket over him. "You need to rest too, just as much as I do. No. You need more rest than me after everything you've been through these past few months. Had I known what George was doing in secret, Valimar and I could've flown to Heimdallr and stopped him from shooting Angelica. Maybe even talk him into freeing Crow from his Siegfried state. I could've-"
"That's enough." Towa cut him off as she began to headpat him. "We both did everything we could. There's no need for you to blame yourself, we were all caught by surprise by what happened. Please Rean… get some rest. For my sake at least."
Rean felt his eyelids get heavy as he felt Towa's hands brush upon his head once more, along with the exhaustion finally catching up to him.
Knowing that she was going to sneak off to the computer and work as soon as he fell asleep, Rean reached out and pulled Towa onto the hospital bed with him. Wrapping his arms around her underneath the blanket to make sure she'd at least stay in bed too.
For her part, Towa decided to accept the inevitable and wrapped her arms around Rean as well.
It should've been peaceful now that they were together again after being separated for so long. To bring each other warmth after such a tragedy befell them. Except, for one thing that Towa immediately noticed. There wasn't any warmth coming from Rean's body.
"Rean… why do you feel so cold…?" Towa nervously asked as tears went down her face before she passed out from exhaustion.
Rean stayed quiet as he watched Towa rest in his arms. Her quiet breathing gave him the assurance that she was okay. He didn't have the energy to lie to her at that very moment, choosing to simply not answer her question. He still planned to tell her about his current status, at some point.
Author's Note
And thus Rean and Towa were finally able to reunite! Yay!
I hope you enjoyed their reunion!
There's still more to cover for the CS4 Arc, but it is finally nice having Rean and Towa together again for the foreseeable future.
Special thanks to ZetianWu and CrowgoesCaw for beta-reading this chapter for me!
