A/N: Yo, my new job is great, but damn do I get tired. So, yeah, I can maybe pump out a chapter once a week if not every two weeks. Not much to say, but I'm glad you guys liked the fight with Minoru. That's not going to be the last one here. Also I don't think I brought it up before, we're on page 9 on QQ, 3 on SB, and at 260 thousand words. Thinking on it, I think I'm at least at volume 2 for each of the series so getting that many words isn't too out there… I think. I don't know how many light novel volumes in I am for Mobuseka. I know I'm at least at 9 of the manga.
Leon Fou [now Rapha] Barfort: Renowned adventurer and current crown prince. / previously: Hiro (pre:isekai)—Lea of Bart's Fort (The true founder of Holfort and lover to the Saintess Ann and Mary)—JOU_MOU_ (someone who used to work in Luxion's facility.)
Angelica Rapha Redgrave: Daughter of Duke Redgrave and ex-fiancé to Julius/ Previously: Ann of Bart's Fort (aka Saintess Ann and lover of Lea of Bart's fort). / Also goes by Angie to close friends and loved ones.
Olivia: Commoner from the Kagenou Barony. / previously: Mary (lover and companion to Ann and Lea. What happened to her is a mystery). / Is also known as Livia by her close friends and loved ones.
Cid Kagenou: fiancé to several famous elves but just a regular mob you'd find anywhere / previously: Minoru Kagenou (Pre:isekai and possibly post[this fanfic only, details on that to come]) / Also dons the secret identity of "Lord Shadow." Leader and founder of The Shadow Garden.
Alice [Kagenou]: Cid's personal elf servant, lover, and childhood friend / previously: Beatrice (this is non canon, but all of Shadow Garden had identities before joining so I made a name up for her.) / Dons the secret identity of "Alpha" or "Lady Shade." Co-leader and second founder of The Shadow Garden, first of the Seven Shades. The name "Alpha" is only used by those in Shadow Garden.
Other Shadow Garden Members: All of the seven shades have secret identities. They see their Shadow Garden names as their true names and will use that in their own thoughts. But to everyone not in Shadow Garden that sees them as their secret identities will use those names.
Beta: Natsume Kafka, renowned writer.
Gamma: Luna of Mitsugoshi, owner of said store and many others, richest Woman in the world.
Delta: Sara, certified good girl.
Epsilon: Shiron, amazing musician known internationally.
Zeta: Zetan. Previously known as Lilim, named after the therianthrope hero, Lili.
Eta: Goes by Eta Lloyd Wright, renowned Architect.
Disclaimer: I do not own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs nor The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.
-P2W/Cid-
After everything I just saw, I realized that there was no way that I could just run away or attempt the trial in Mob mode. The power scaling is pretty spot-on after all. So obviously I had only one option. Thought Cid.
*CRASH!*
Cid descends from the sky (It was the only way to really avoid Luxion's drones) and crashes through the barrier, it shatters like glass as he hit the ground. As Cid touches the ground, he notices it repairing itself after everything his past life's data had done. He rises to his feet, his long coat flaring behind him.
Before Cid is Lea, or rather, Lea's Lingering Memory. Or at least that's the title that Cid has decided to bestow upon the version of Lea possessing Leon's armor. And behind Lea's Lingering Memory is Leon, who passed out from the fight.
Leon's gotten a lot stronger. Though he still has his limits. Thinks Cid. I do kinda want to fight Lea, but it probably wouldn't do much for me after had just fought the other me.
Cid turns his body, so that instead of facing Lea directly, he is facing the center of the arena. Lea is still within his point of view, and clearly on edge, not certain of Shadow's objective.
"My name is…" Cid raises his arm above his head, summoning his slime sword, "Shadow. I lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows."
-P2W-
Meanwhile, in the VIP area everyone is in a tizzy. Leon's harem had long since dashed at full speed to the arena's entrance, while the remaining princesses, Natsume (Beta), and the clergy panic at the sight of Shadow.
"Shadow…!" gasped Alexia. "What does he want?!"
Rose, having realized something also gasps, "What about Cid?! He was up next, is he okay? Surely he and Alice would have been on their way…"
"Ahh, so this is Shadow…" Behind the princesses, Archbishop Nelson chuckles. He had been just as surprised as everyone else, especially since he was well aware of the Shadow Garden for a long time. But now he schemes, as he is one of the members of the cult of Diabolos. "The rat who keeps nipping about at our feet. I do not know what your purpose is here, but there are paladins of the Church at the ready in this arena. You will not escape."
Nelson motions for the paladins to assemble.
"And we still have more as well…" mutters Nelson, as a few figures move in the shadows behind him, a paper on their face bearing the symbol of the cult. "May you lament your foolish overestimation of your own abilities…"
Paladins. They're knights who protect the Church, each selected through baptism. Recalls Beta. She further remembers that when she was younger, during the time that she and the other shades had separated from Cid, the paladins gave them a lot of trouble when they attempted to rescue a target. Not that she will put on such a poor showing now, though. Cid… What are you doing?
-P2W/Cid-
With his arm still raised above his head, Cid begins to channel his magic, coating the arena in a violet-blue glow once more as he begins to charge.
As he does that Lea's Lingering Memory looks behind him to see Olivia, Angelica, Clarice, and Deirdre arriving. Thinking quickly he raises his arm, summoning a magic circle that begins to morph until it resembles a vortex of light behind the girls. Before the girls can even stop moving to think about what he had just done, Lea grabs Leon, and then throws him at the girls, forcing them all through the vortex.
Turning back to Cid, Lea readies himself.
"Tonight I release the ancient memories," declares Cid his mana beginning to flair off of his sword wildly, "that slumber within the Sanctuary."
As Cid twirls his sword above him, calling forth the halo of light that usually precedes his "I AM ATOMIC" spells, but as he does so, another magic circle comprising of ancient runes emerges, as though he had called for it himself.
The ancient runes then grow, rising to the sky and crackling with a sinister black and red aura. To the crowd that stayed behind to witness what was about to happen, it is clear that there is a demonic power in play.
Then, with a loud *CRACKLE* and *FWOOOOSH* mana surges forth from the runes, coating the entire arena in the demonic power.
Within the crowd, as no one but Beta could hear him over the loud sound, Nelson can't help but utter in shock, "But why?! I haven't given the command! How could this happen twice in one night!?"
The demonic power then begins to swirl in one area, as though concentrating to a single point… no, it begins to morph into the shape of a woman. A warrior has been summoned by Shadow.
Man, thinks Cid as he watches the warrior descend, this really escalated.
The warrior is a beautiful woman, she has long black tresses and vivid Violet eyes. Her sable robe is thin, allowing the deep purple dress she wears beneath it and her pale skin to show through. There is an artistic beauty to her, like a sculpture brought to life.
-P2W-
Back in the VIP area Archbishop Nelson gasps in shock at the sight of the woman.
"It can't be…" says Nelson as he gets a better look at the arena, "Not her…"
Natsume (Beta) pushes up her glasses, causing reflected light to hide her eyes as she says, "Aurora the Calamity Witch."
"Whaaat?" shrieks Nelson.
Alexia and Rose turn to Natsume, wanting to know what's going on.
"…Natsume. Who is this 'Aurora'?" asked Rose.
Natsume looks straight at the princesses, her appearance now portraying a much more sinister aura than she had before as she repeats herself, "Aurora the Calamity Witch. A woman who wrought chaos and destruction upon the world in ages past."
Everyone looks to Natsume for answers.
"This is the first I've heard of her…" admits Rose.
Alexia looks at Natsume in suspicion, "…I'm surprised you know all that."
Natsume shakes her head with a laugh, "All part of being an author. Still, while Aurora is thought to be the Calamity Witch, no records remain of exactly what kind of chaos and destruction she actually caused."
Beta isn't lying. Aurora the Calamity Witch. Any delve into ancient history will invariably mention her name. The Shadow Garden has been investigating her as the next most important mystery from the distant past to solve after Diabolos. And here today, they finally got a first real look at her. This is a huge step.
As Cid had put the notebook back where he found it before he left, Beta pulls the notebook back out her cleavage.
The old pervert Nelson the bald sees this, and gasps with a blush. He had missed Natsume with Cid earlier because of what was going on in Leon's fight, but now the old bastard looks at her with full attention.
Natsume who feels sick with his gaze upon her realizes that she can use it and leans forward and asks "Archbishop. If you don't mind, could you tell me about the Calamity Witch?"
Seconds away from throwing up, Natsume is grateful that her ploy worked as Nelson acquiesces. "Wh-Why yes, of course."
Nelson puffs himself up importantly and complies with Natsume's fawning request. Alexia and Rose look on in disgust, more towards Nelson than Natsume, as Nelson begins to ramble on.
"Yes, well. It's not surprising young ladies of gentle birth such as yourselves would not know all this, I must admit I am surprised that Lady Kafka has some familiarity with the topic, however." Says Nelson, "At any rate the name Auora is known to only a select few even within the Church. This does bode ill for that Shadow, I'm afraid. I never suspected Aurora might appear. She is referred to as the most powerful witch in history, to every kingdom. Including Holfort's, and I need not tell you of how much that means. A hooligan like Shadow stands no chance against her."
Nelson stops there, all but saying 'you'll see what I mean in a second.'
Beta gives an irritated huff, not thinking for even a fraction of a second that her lord and lover could ever lose. This doesn't mean she is entirely free of worry, though.
Aurora the Calamity Witch. Her might was such that it carved her name into the annals of time. If her lord tires during his battle with the witch, the unthinkable might happen if the paladins seize upon the moment to strike. Having come this far, Beta can faintly guess at her lord's intentions.
Shadow had said that he'd release ancient memories slumbering in the Sanctuary. He had acted so that Aurora would be called forth. There must be some merit in doing so.
Her lord and lover had judged that Aurora was the key.
Beta had thought that perhaps 'Minoru Kage' would have been the key component, but she realizes that perhaps she was biased in that aspect. Despite Minoru's ability to speak to Leon, something only Beta was able to pick up on thanks to her training, he was nothing more than Data at the end of the day.
However Aurora, she was summoned directly by Cid. She must be different in some regard.
In which case, it falls on Beta to follow Cid's lead. Beta puts a hand to the beauty mark beneath her eye. It is a signal indicating a change in plans.
It likely reached Epsilon, who is hiding in the venue, having dyed her hair and changed her regular hairstyle and makeup to hide from Luxion. Beta trusts that she will adopt the best course of action without any detailed instructions.
Beta looks toward the arena and sees Shadow, who has drawn his ebony blade, and Aurora, smiling gracefully from her spot in the air. Not to mention the armor that Leon had summoned his past life into, who stands off to the side of the arena, waiting.
Looking back to Aurora, Beta can't help but compare her to Minoru once more. Although Minoru had been able to speak actual sentences, something the other summoned warriors couldn't do, Aurora's smile… it is a smile so beautiful and full of life that one could hardly think she exists only a memory.
"…I see." Said Alexia, "So if the Goddess' Trial summoned that Aurora woman as a suitable opponent for Shadow, that means his strength approaches that of someone who once destroyed the world… I suspect he won't lose so easily. *scoff* and here I thought my future brother-in-law's match was going to be the highlight of the evening."
Alexia's tone is quiet and her face intent as she stares at Shadow.
Beta must admit that Alexia has a good eye.
-Cid-
The atmosphere in the arena grows tense. A heavy silence takes hold.
The woman's violet eyes meet my own crimson ones as she floats in the sky above me. She momentarily breaks my stare to see Lea's Lingering Memory off to the side, but then turns back to me, having clearly picked someone to fight.
The woman then descends from the sky, twirling around like she's asking for a dance.
I look the woman in her violet eyes and grin behind my mask.
She smiles back.
We're on the same wavelength. Battle is conversation. The tremor of a sword's tip… A shift in gaze… The position of one's feet… the opponent's intent is in each of these.
The stronger the conversational skills of each side, the greater their ability to guess the other's next move, respond appropriately, and then see even further and make counters for that. Back and forth is an endless exchange. But if their conversational skills are weak or the difference in ability is too lopsided, you won't be able to get a dialogue started to begin with.
All you'll get is one or both sides doing whatever the hell they want. There's no conversation or even a process there—only results. And if you never intended to have a conversation, you might as well settle things rock-paper-scissors style.
I'm talking about you, Delta. You and your crazy style of forever choosing rock and smashing the crap out of paper and scissors… But I should be criticizing others, especially when I haven't had anything resembling a real conversation in forever.
Unlike Delta, I at least try to communicate going in. I just always end up picking rock and clobbering the other guy. That's why I'm happier than I've been in a while to meet this lady. She's watching me.
I think I'll call her Violet. My dear, beloved Violet.
For a while, the tow of us converse by merely staring at each other. As we do, we learn bit by bit.
She's the type who fights from a distance… while I'm fundamentally the type who adapts to the style of whoever I'm up against. I'm definitely not the type to brute force my way to victory.
Glancing to my right, I see Lea's lingering memory, who…
Is leaning on his sword, as though he has agreed to wait for his turn or something. I can't here him say anything, but I would swear he said something to the effect of, "Go on, I won't third wheel you two again."
And so…
After you, my lovely Violet, I imply.
I cede the initiative.
The next instant I yank back my front leg as red liquid seeps from the floor, coating both the woman and every single rune that had prepped the arena. Then faster than anyone can blink, weapons made out of what can only be described as blood erupt from the ground. Swords, Lances, Axes, if it was made to be wielded then it's fired straight at Cid as he dashes around the arena.
A few fly close to his face, so I bat them away with a loud *CLANG* each time.
Sometimes they fly close to Lea's Lingering Memory, but he just tilts his head or bats it away with the back of his hand. Like the people in the crowd, he is merely a spectator.
At one point, I finds myself completely surrounded by weapons.
Heh.
My lovely Violet, this may be fun, but it takes two to dance you know?
"Mosquitos may charge in swarms…" I say as I charge mana into my arm, swinging my sword with some strength as a blade of mana flies forth and destroys everything in its wake, "But the lion won't fall."
…come to think of it, maybe calling myself a lion is kinda cringe considering my buddy Leon… meh.
Every weapon thrown at me disappears, and I can hear a cumulative gasp from the crowd at the sight of my awesome power. But my lovely Violet… she laughs.
"Heh." Says Violet with a smirk and her ever vivid Violet eyes.
Ditching the weapon approach, she fires her own version of raw mana, still red in color as she has her own aesthetic to uphold, but none of it hits me. I dodge back in forth, my hands in pockets as I dance around each shot. Some of them curve, transforming back into weapons to slow down and likely trick me into dodging early but I just laugh back at her as I perform some quick side hops to dodge them.
Violet's brow lowers, transforming her gaze into something in between frustration, respect, and excitement as she pulls out a double sided scythe.
I level my sword at her, tapping it against the tip of the her scythe before we begin to exchange blows. I let the lady go first, her scythe cutting through the air with a *Fwish* before it hits my sword, lightly pushing me back with the sheer force as I guard.
I can't let her just force me back though so I begin swing my sword at her, though it creates more of a *swish* sound as it cuts through the air.
We move arms quickly, continuing the conversation, as each time I meet her scythe she uses the momentum to perform another big swing while each time she hits me I tilt my sword a different way when I attempt to hit her body again.
Eventually we both back up, exchange one last smile, and then dash in.
I stand my back to her after I swung, and state with full honesty, "I wish I could fight you at your strongest."
I hear the splatter of blood behind me and the fall of a body, before glancing behind me to see my lovely Violet disappear.
I hear some kind of commotion going on in the crowd, but I'm more focused on how even when the dome begins to disappear as the arena powers down, Lea's memory lingers still.
He raises his sword.
I glance back at the crowd, I like having an audience, but if I accidentally hurt them all I'd feel a little bad for at least like two days. Beta, Alpha, Delta, and Epsilon would be fine, but my other friends are a lot more squishy. So, I begin to run away, and Lea flies behind me.
-P2W-
"Where are they going…" wonders Alexia, getting ready to go back to Partner to borrow something that'd allow her to chase after, only to be cut off by bright flash of holy light coming from the arena.
"What's going on now?!" screams Rose as she covers her eyes in pain.
"Look!" says Natsume as soon as the light dies down.
There in the center of the arena is a double sided door, one that seems like it'd belong on a cathedral with the depiction of a hero and heroine on each side. But before anyone can look deeper into the details, the doors swing open, with nothing but a white light showing.
"What…?! The sacramental grounds reacted!?" shouts Nelson the bald, as his bald head reflects the light from the door and makes it even harder too look at him.
"Reacted…?" questions Rose.
"This is the only day in the year when its doors may open." Explains Nelson, "Depending on who tries to open them, there are three possibilities. The Gate of the Unwelcome, The Gate of the Summoned, The Gate of the Accepted… and there's no way to tell which it is until one enters…!"
Intrigued, Rose asks, "And… what's inside?"
Nelson scoffs, "Investigating that is our jo. With this, the trial can't go on. Everyone, please le-"
"Cease." Commands a distinctly feminine but overwhelmingly powerful voice.
Nervously glancing behind them, everyone sees that the VIP area has been intruded by figures clad in the darkest black. The Shadow Garden has arrived.
"Sorry, but…" says Epsilon, "You'll be staying put while the gate is open."
"Except you, Archbishop Nelson. You'll be coming with us." Commanded Lady Shade.
"Shadow Garden?!" shrieked Rose.
Lady Shade turns her head slightly to the right, and Epsilon nods as Lady Shade begins to enter the door.
"S-stop!" shouts Nelson as he rushes after Lady Shade, "Don't you dare enter the sacramental grounds! No one is allowed near the gate!"
"Knock that off" growls Epsilon, stopping Nelson. She then raises her sword and presses it against Natsume's neck as Delta holds Natsume in place. "One wrong move and she's dead."
Horrified, Rose cries out "Natsume!"
Alexia utters the most monotone, "oh no…"
Natsume begins to cry, "UNGH… Nooo! *Kya* Don't hurt me…!"
"We'll have to sacrifice her." said Alexia.
"What are you saying!? That's out of the question!" shouts back Rose.
Epsilon turns back to Nelson and commands, "Come with me, archbishop. And no funny moves."
"Fools." Laughs Nelson, "Did you think I wouldn't have back up? NOW! EXECUTIONER VENOM!"
A strange puppet like figure, with a paper bearing the sign of the cult of diabolos covering their face, emerges from behind the VIP area and charges at Epsilon.
"Pathetic." She says, as the back of her slime suit explodes into a flurry of spikes as though she were a porcupine therianthrope, catching executioner Venom immediately and forcing him to go limp.
What she doesn't notice until retracting her suit and facing everyone else again is how her breasts had shrunk so she could perform the move. So, she fixes it as quickly as possible, glaring at the princesses.
"What did you see?" demanded Epsilon.
"Nothing!" said both Alexia and Rose.
Although Epsilon has long had her true body shown to Cid and had it absolutely filled with love, she still has some pride.
She's had her pride since birth, and if you were to ask her prior to her possession whether or not she believed that she was superior to everyone else, she would have agreed with you. She took joy in flaunting that superiority. But when she became one of the possessed she was discarded immediately, like trash.
But then…
Cid. He found her. He saved a weak ugly creature like her. Telling her 'Many have fallen to madness in this false world of ours. But if you wish to know the truth… Come with me.'
Epsilon decided to live for his sake then, and better herself for the same reason.
But, for as much as Epsilon would come to love her new family, she had to admit that they were all much more exceptional than herself. Gamma was smarter, Delta was stronger, Alpha was a better leader, and Beta had a much better figure. Epsilon knows now that he'd never, that he loves her, but at the time she feared that just like her old family, Cid would one day grow tired of her and throw her away.
Thankfully, to momentarily assuage her insecurities, Epsilon had the greatest invention known to man kind (in her opinion). The slime suit. Already using the suit requires considerable magical skill, and to manipulate it further to even anywhere the level Cid can takes training. Though of course, Epsilon's rising level in magical skill was merely a coincidence. She never expected by stealthily observing Beta's breasts (read: digging right in whenever she had the opportunity) and playing with the slimes before killing them that she'd become the best at manipulating magic. Second to Cid, of course.
Because of this, she's known throughout Shadow Garden as Epsilon the faithful.
Taking a few deep breaths, Epsilon looks over to her fellow Shadow Garden members who didn't seem to see anything either. Likely believing that her breasts were merely squished against her rather than realizing they were fake.
Good. Thinks Epsilon, I still haven't found the time to talk to Alpha and Eta.
She then drags Nelson by the scruff of his neck and drags him into the door, with Delta taking Beta. Several other shadow garden members follow suit. The door begins to fade, but before it can, Alexia turns to Rose.
"We can't just let things end like this!" said Alexia.
"Right!" agrees Rose, "We need to save Natsume."
"If there's time, sure." Said Alexia.
"What?" questions Rose.
"I said stop wasting time and go!" shouts Alexia as she grabs Rose's hand and dashes towards the door, as it closes behind her and fades away.
-Cid-
As I dash from rooftop to rooftop, I kinda expected for Lea's Lingering Memory to fade away. But I guess there's something going on or something because not only is he chasing me, but this weird door keeps appearing before me. I'm even using my serious 1200kmph dash!
Eventually I decide to go to the forest, but as soon as I make a big jump I find myself tackled through the door by Lea who moved way faster than I thought he could.
As I skid across the floor I take in the surroundings. I appear to be in a completely empty white void.
Wait, no scratch that, there's my lovely Violet doing some training.
"Sorry to bother you," I say, politely bowing and turning around to see not a door, but a rather familiar looking man. "Leon?"
"…Surely you could guess if not by at least the scar on my face but where we are, that I'm Lea.," said Lea.
True, he does have a deeper voice, more well-built body, and a giant scar on his face.
"It's nice to see you both, but can you help me down?" asked Violet.
"Oh sorry, I thought you put yourself there." I said as I took out my sword and cut her loose. "Why'd you call me here by the way?"
"Call?" Questioned Violet, "No, you got here on your own. This place is the sanctuary… in other words, a prison of memories. And I'm an existence made up of the memories that are bound to it. Think of me as a vengeful spirit haunting this place… much like our friend here."
Lea chuckled, "It's nice to see you both won't change no matter what."
Come to think of it, why does this guy have… all of him. He was just in a completely different set of armor not too long ago, so it doesn't make sense he'd look like this now. Then again, if he was merely a memory called forth, and this place is made of memories… Yeah, that's probably it.
Plus wasn't his wife or something the one who met the hero way back when here?
Violet stretches her arms, having clearly been tied up for a while.
"Thanks for saving me," said Violet, "It's been about 1000 years since the last time I was free."
Lea nods with a hand to his chin, "Yes, that seems about right. Though I can't imagine what it was like for you to be able to somewhat live through all that time."
"Wait…" I ask, somewhat puzzled, "Weren't you at the Goddess' Trial?"
"Ah, that was actually a first for me too. But that was certainly enjoyable," said Violet with a smile pointed to me. They begin to walk towards another door, which Lea holds open for both of us, revealing another room of all white. "Say, would you two like to go on an adventure? For old times sake. The sanctuary is like a maze on the inside, and we can't use magic freely. The core at the center of the sanctuary continuously drains our magic power. However, if we can manage to destroy it, we will be released from this space."
"And you know the way to the center?" questioned Lea. "Despite having been stuck in this one room the entire time?"
Violet smiles mischievously, "I wasn't always stuck in this one room. Now, follow me."
As Violet steps into the room it shifts from being another all-white room to what appears to be something of a greenhouse. From what I can tell it's something either a very important noble woman would have in their home or something researchers would have if they were studying plants. If I had to bet, I'd say the latter since this area… well despite plants needing some warm weather and lamps, this area feels far too cold.
"What's this place…?" I ask.
Violet hums a bit before answering, "A scene from the memories of a certain someone."
Suddenly I started to hear someone sobbing. Er, no, it's a child. A child is sobbing… I suppose I can say I'm a bit trained to recognize the sound, given that the Shades used to have nightmares all the time. I look over to something resembling a gazebo, though it's very clear no one had taken care of it in years, and a black haired child with extremely long hair and purple eyes is sobbing.
It's Violet.
I turn to the grown-up version of the woman as she kneels down beside her child self, "Hey, isn't that you? Why are you crying?"
"Who knows. I can't remember much. My memories are incomplete after all," said Violet with such a tone that made me think she was lying as she raised her hand. Suddenly, with bitterness in her voice she says, "That's not going to help anything, and you know that."
*Smack! *
Violet slapped her younger self's face, causing her to fall to the ground and shatter like a piece of fine China, our surroundings following suit shortly after.
"Violet…" said Lea, staring at said woman who refuses to meet his gaze as our surroundings change. I raise my hand to my chin, as this clues me in on something. Lea knew Violet. And he knows her by the name I've been using in my head.
…
And the hand on my chin has no slime on it… Violet did say that magic was being absorbed by the Sanctuary, but to the degree that I can't use my slime suit? It's like a stronger version of what the terrorists used, try to use magic and you can kiss it goodbye. I should find a way to deal with this, but it'll take a bit. Luckily, I never go anywhere without my Academy sword (Claire doesn't let me) so I should be fine on that front for now.
"You know that only he can call me that Lea." said Violet, not turning her head fully to Lea.
"…You truly don't remember everything, huh." Said Lea with a sigh, "You gave me permission when we became family… but I suppose that was a long time ago, and before… that happened."
The three of us fall silent.
Trying to keep things from becoming awkward, I decided to cut in. "So, we just need to break the thing powering the sanctuary, right? It's good that I'm pretty good at breaking things then."
Violet giggles in a way that feels… familiar, "My, how reassuring. Incidentally, without magic I'm merely a frail maiden." She then walks up to me and smiles in a way I've only seen Alpha do, "I've always wanted to be saved by brave knight."
"You certainly don't act like someone weak…" I said as I walk forward, before thinking about something, "By the way, what're you gonna do once you're free?"
"Why, fade into nothingness. I am just a memory after all." Said Violet, like she was a kid saying they were about to go to Disneyland.
I look over to my right and see Lea, who through the shattering of the memories momentarily flickers back into the armor I saw earlier.
…
I wonder…
-P2W-
Having dove into the door, Alexia and Rose find themselves momentarily falling, as they were unable to see where they had been going. Rose hangs onto Alexia for dear life while the latter looks at the former with disdain, and they both fall onto Beta, who luckily had not changed back into her slime suit yet.
"Are the two of you okay?" asked Rose from her place in the jumble of limbs the three women now were in.
Alexia does her best to act nice through the pain, "Would you mind getting off me, Rose?"
Beta, who is thoroughly pissed off at having to deal with Alexia even longer than she though, and more so because of the princess' hand being placed upon her bosom, manages to grit out, "Princess Alexia, please watch where you're touching."
I get enough of this from Epsilon… thinks Beta. …Though Cid could stand to do it a little more.
"As if I'd ever want to feel those flabby sacks." Hissed Alexia, not moving her hand in the slightest.
"Cid likes them." Taunted Beta. "Especially when I put them around his Ex-"
*Ahem*
Rose and Alexia realized that they were being watched, and see a rather irate looking Lady Shade looking down on them.
Alexia forcefully shoots to her feet and starts to rapidly spit off lies, "Sorry, we tripped and fell, and the door just happened to be right there in front of us."
Rose learned that the art of persuasion is born from a confident demeanor, and despite her own legs shaking when she gazes upon Alexia she sees someone who is carrying themselves with the nerve of a demon lord who's conquered the world. Most people in the world would bother calling out her bald-faced lie.
However, in this case, everyone looks at Alexia like a little kid who made up an outlandish story to hide that they broke something expensive.
"…Do as you please. You probably have a right to know a few things as well." Said Alpha as patiently as she could.
This surprises everyone else in the room, while Alexia breathes a sigh of relief.
However-
*Smack!*
Alexia immediately finds herself down on the ground and clutching her face.
"Strike one." Said Alpha as she turned to the other members of The Shadow Garden. "Do not take me for some fool. Know you are only alive because I have deemed you useful as such."
The pain rushes to Alexia, who hadn't even seen nor felt herself be hit until it was too late. She shakily rises to her feet again, helped by both Rose and surprisingly Beta, who also takes out some salve from her pocket and begins to apply it to Alexia's face.
Alexia tries to make a fuss but is held in place by Beta's (or rather Natsume's) surprisingly strong grip.
"Stay still, I'm trying to be nice." Hissed Beta. "This is more of a force of habit than anything, got it?"
Meanwhile, Rose takes in her surroundings, seeing the large mechanical array that creates something like a hall that you'd see in a palace, if not the inside of an armor were one to shrink down and climb inside the areas one normally never does.
Beneath her cloak, Alpha nods, confirming that, "It's said that after severing it, the great hero Olivier sealed away the left arm of Diabolos the demon here."
"And what of it? Have you come searching for this fabled arm?" demanded Nelson, as though he were in any position to.
The group walks up to a statue.
"As fun as that sounds… It's knowledge of the Cult of Diabolos that interests us." Admitted Alpha.
Alexia looks startled at the mention of the Cult. From the corner of her eye, Rose can see the other princess's gaze harden.
"What do you mean…?" grunted Nelson.
Alpha smirks, "I know that you can't answer. So, we had to come for ourselves. In search of the truth—concealed from the very beginning within the shadows of history."
Alpha walks up the statue closely by herself. Pausing, as if she's looking for what to say next.
"A statue of the great hero Olivier, I see." Said Alpha.
Rose cocks her head curiously at Alpha's statement.
"Olivier…? But isn't the hero a man?" asked Rose.
The statue Alpha indicates to be the hero is of a woman holding a sacred sword. She is beautiful, with the fierce divinity of a Valkyrie.
"We have a general understanding. However, the historical truths, the Cult's true goal…" said Alpha as she motions for several of her companions to remove their hoods and reveal their elf ears, "Why so many elves are victim to possession."
"What!?" shouted Nelson in growing horror and outrage, "You… you…! How the hell are you all here!? You should have died from the incompatibility…!"
"So, you do know something!" shouts Epsilon.
Alpha laughs, it's a slow controlled and taunting laugh. Were one to guess they'd say it was practiced. But if one were to ever hear it, they'd feel the urge to start running and praying to every god they know.
"We know the truth about the possessed too. For a cult that wants to control society, that must be quite the thorn in your side, no?" said Alpha with a clear sense of glee and vengeance to her voice.
Rose can't make heads or tails of anything they are saying. However, Alexia looks like she understands at least some of it, not to mention that Lady Shade doesn't seem like someone who spouts nonsense. Organizations with this much power probably aren't engaging in archaeology just for fun. There has to be some important reason. The Shadow Garden must have an agenda, and the Cult of Diabolos as well.
The recent attack on the Academy crosses Rose's mind. That incident has to be related in some way. If for the reason that The Shadow Garden was there, both in the sense of the people explained to be imposters by Prince Leon, and them working side by side to free those in the gym.
Two massive powers are locked in a war in the shadows. The realization makes Rose tremble with fear, and the only thing that comforts her in this regard is that she knows a friend of hers had been doing something about it, at least to some degree. But the idea that her own kingdom knows nothing about this worries her. As a kingdom unequipped for this kind of conflict is all too likely to fall.
"We had our suspicions that the Cult's objective isn't simply to revive the demon, but we weren't certain." Said Alpha, "So we came to see for ourselves."
Alpha says this with such authority in her voice that one can't help but imagine her as some queen, stating that it is her duty to survey her land. But how far The Shadow Garden presumes to be under them is something left unsaid.
Then, Alpha raises her hand and begins to channel magic into the statue.
"A great battle was once fought here, and many lives were lost." As Alpha speaks the buildup of magic causes the air to waver, such a quantity of magic sends a chill up Rose's spine. If Alpha were to ever turned her ire toward the kingdom she is unsure if an entire militia of armors could slow her down, let alone stop her.
Nelson's jaw drops in terror, "Such magic can only come from one of the possessed. But did you awaken it on your own…?" The statue begins to react, causing Nelson to further tremble, "Impossible…! Why is it activating?"
"The demon's and warriors' magic twisted together, trapping all of the memories that had lost their destinations."said Alpha as the wall behind the statue of Olivier begins to open, bathing the room in more white light, " This is the resting place of those ancient memories and that demon's wrath. A graveyard."
Nelson begins to scream, "No… This can't be…! Olivier?!"
Olivier, clad in nothing but a white oversized cloak, stand side by side with Lady Shade. And for just a brief moment people can see that she resembles Oliver quite a bit, though the mask beneath the smoke prevents them from knowing that Alpha is Alice.
Alpha smiles, "Now, let's be off to the world of fairy tales."
Alpha's voice is the last thing they hear in this radiant world.
-Claire-
After discovering that my future hubby was seducing the past queen, I'll admit I was a little mad. But after it was revealed to me what the Queen's life was like…
Well, I mean, securing ties to the past royal factions can only be a good thing, and like, we still have about three slots left in the seven (not counting them) that Angie and Livia left. So, yeah.
But I did want to channel my frustration somewhere, so when the Queen asked me to beat up her sons and their friends to prevent them from intruding on The Goddess' Trial I readily agreed. Unfortunately, these guys have gotten a little better at running away from things so it took a bit longer than I would have liked to get them all and take them to the jail on Partner.
Once we did get there, I made sure to toss them one cell away from where we've been keeping Hertrude and Sherry.
Hertrude, who normally just sulks in the corner or on Sherry's lap, actually laughed out loud for ten minutes straight at the sight of the dumb boys all piled up. Sherry giggled slightly but continued to read through Midgar's history books, being on roughly the 10th Volume that focused on their trading deals with Fanoss and some other stuff. Volumes 1-9 were heavily annotated and underneath her, creating a makeshift chair. I also saw a pile of books labeled 'Oriana' off to the side that had yet to be touched.
Just for good measure I also put Marie and Kyle in the cell between the Fanossians and the dumbasses.
"Why am I in here!?" demanded Marie.
"Because I don't like you." I admitted, enjoying how the little gremlin began to rant and rave, even trying to bite through the cell bars before Hertrude threw one of Sherry's books at her.
Kyle merely shrugged and asked if they could at least watch what was going on through Luxion, having seen the holograms and televisions during his stay on the way to Lindwurm.
I wanted to watch my hubby Leon and baby brother Cid kick ass anyway, and if these guys got to see that and realize how inadequate they are to them, hey, why would I stop that?
I'll admit that seeing Leon fight that Minoru guy was immensely satisfying to me in a way I didn't know I could be satisfied. Mylene, who came to join me after she and Erica brought down some chairs, mentioned that I had a rather concerning look on my face the whole time.
I don't know what to say to her, but being proven right that Cid could be so much more awesome if he just applied himself was gratifying. As was seeing my hubby kick his ass with some quick thinking, as expected of him.
Ehehe.
But what did concern me was when Leon collapsed and Shadow showed up.
What only made things worse was when suddenly a vortex of pure light opened behind me and I saw all of my sister wives and my hubby fly through and pile ontop of me. I easily was able to push them off and help Luxion carry them to the med bay, but now I can't help but wonder.
What happened to my baby brother and sister?
I just hope that Alice was smart enough to evacuate Cid when things started to look rough in the Arena. I know Cid has potential, but he hasn't unlocked it yet, so it was probably a good idea for them to run away.
…
But where are they?
I'm getting worried.
-P2W-
The next thing Alexia knows, she is standing in a white corridor. It is a hazy space that feels real, yet also something like a dream… but as she takes in the sights, she can't help but compare it to the architecture that can be found within her future-brother-in-law's ship Partner. Alexia recalls that Partner is a lost item, implying that it and her current surroundings are something from a far flung past.
"Where are we?" asked Alexia.
"This is Olivier's memory, cast into the Sanctuary." Answered Alpha as she took in the cold and medical space. "The Cult once gathered orphaned children here to use as subjects in a certain experiment. Most of the children were incompatible with 'it' and died. All that remained were a handful of girls."
"Children…" cried Rose softly, as she looked out a window.
There everyone was able to see a girl covered in blood. However, it is not simply from her own self-inflicted wounds. Blood drips from where her skin has split due to some bizarre mutation of her body.
Alexia covers her mouth, either to catch her breath or prevent herself from throwing up, as she recognizes this type of black, rotting state.
"This is… possession?!" shouted Alexia.
"H-how cruel…" uttered Rose.
Alpha starts to walk.
There was a common thread in the children's deaths. Girls fell victim to the possession while boys did not. Cid has said otherwise, but Alpha has found that to be something that must be an outlier and not to be counted.
Alpha stands before a particular cell.
Beyond the glass is a young Olivier, sitting in the same oversized white cloak. She is unharmed and doesn't appear to be in any pain, she merely stares at the cell across from her. The other cell is a gory mess. Then, in what seems like a sudden change of scene, the blood is swept away, and a girl appears inside.
She then dies in agony.
Another girl takes her place immediately. And little Olivier just keeps watching.
"Olivier was one of the few who could adapt to 'it'" explained Alpha.
This causes Alexia to ask, "And what exactly is 'it'?"
"Diabolos cells… or at least that's what we call them. The Cult was implanting demonic cells into the children." Clarified Alpha.
Nelson grunts as he's pushed forward, "They had no choice. They needed power in order to combat Diabolos."
Nelson finds himself bereft of what hair he has left.
"…Or so was our excuse." Said Nelson.
Sheathing her blade, Alpha holds up one of the key chains she had seen sold by the vendors outside the arena, "Regardless of the truth, there is no denying that Olivier did indeed sever the demon's left arm."
"So it wasn't just a fairy tale?" asked Alexia.
Alpha shrugged, not caring for Alexia's opinion either way. "You're free to think that if you wish, but in the end we can't tell how much of what we're seeing here is real."
Their surroundings flicker, showcasing a land in ruins, contrasting their previous appearance before flickering back.
"They can be reshaped according to their owner's wishes." Said Alpha.
Olivier grows into a lovely young woman. To anyone that knows Alpha's face, the striking resemblance to Alpha is undeniable.
"She looks just like…" starts Rose, only for Alexia to finish, "…Alice."
"In any event, once Olivier had the power of Diabolos she was given a mission. Harvest more Diabolos cells." States Alpha, daring for Nelson to deny the truth and require them to end his life. "Olivier still obeyed the Cult even after obtaining her newfound strength. She had faith that a peaceful future for the people lay ahead… But then one day, she met someone. Someone who had different ideas than the Cult."
The world comes apart like a mirror shattering and is replaced by a new one.
Now they stand on a battlefield littered with mounds of corpses. Alexia and the others follow Alpha, and after walking a certain distance they see armors lifting what appears to be the hand of a giant. It's dark and hideously swollen, obviously the appendage of a monster. It has long, sharp claws with fresh bits of flesh stuck to them.
"The left arm of Diabolos." Explained Alpha.
Though severed, the arm is still alive, and it begins to impale several men and armors with its bone. The scenery changes and the arm is suddenly suspended in the air by red glowing chains.
"The Cult used a high-grade ancient artifact to seal away the arm. But this seal was imperfect and eventually produced distortions that became the Sanctuary. But that's a whole other story. The Cult's true interest was the incredible life energy contained within Diabolos cells. They carved up its flesh and drew blood from it to study so that they might gain this vitality for themselves." Said Alpha as she hold us a bottle full of red beads, "These are the fruits of that process."
Rose and Alexia gasp, having recognized them as what Zenon had taken before he transformed into the hideous beast that overpowered them and their friends.
"But these pills had side effects, and not the ones the Cult wanted." Said Alpha.
The world shatters, falling into fragments like a broken mirror once more.
Before Alexia knows it, they are in a white laboratory, the demon's arm is before them again, but now suspended by the red chains within a tube that is being monitored by many people, men and women, in white coats.
Nelson begins to growl, angered that Alpha would expose even this.
Near the tube surrounding the arm, several smaller metallic ones rise, showing pills similar to the ones from before, but now they glow with the energy of life.
"Those" says Alpha with contempt, "are what the cult truly sought to create. As that would impart vast power and an eternally youthful body."
"You mean… immortality?" said Alexia. "That's what the Cult is really after…"
Alpha smirks and pats Alexia's head. Alexia feels like she's being treated like a child, but realizes that smacking Lady Shade's hand away isn't a good idea and lets it happen. It does feel good, but that's neither here nor there.
"Now… don't you think that Father Nelson…" said Alpha as she points towards one of the researchers frothing at the mouth over the glowing diabolos cell pill, "and the man over there look very much alike?"
Alexia gasps in shock, as it the man in the lab coat and Nelson are so similar that one could only say that they are the same person.
Everyone turns to Nelson, even though they had been doing their best to not look at him so far,
"We figured since you were there, you would like be a wonderful source of information. What is the name of this drug?" said Alpha, obviously not allowing Nelson to be quiet given that she points her blade at Nelson's neck once again.
"Ulp…" said Nelson, his neck being cut slightly as he gulps nervously before he opens his mouth to scream.
*Shink*
Only to find his head impaled.
Alpha's first instinct is to blame Delta, but she looks up and sees Olivier.
…
Or rather something resembling Olivier, if she were made of broken glass and constantly shattering and reforming.
Nelson's corpse is tossed over the railing in front of everyone, but no one cares really.
"…I needed him for information." Said Alpha after a long period of silence.
"Tears of …Diabolos. 12… a year… for knights… of round…" said Olivier as she stumbled forward, doing her best to reach for Alpha who backs up, a little freaked out.
However, Alpha can't exactly show that, so she continues her explanation as though nothing changed. "The pill is still incomplete, and the key to fixing it are the sealed fiend and the scions of descendants of the heroes…"
Oliver starts to speed up, and everyone leans on the other side of the railing to avoid her.
"Excuse me, er, grandma, but what is it that you need exactly?" asks Alpha silently so that only Olivier can hear.
"Child… my… child… his… his… our… child" croaks Olivier as she approaches Alpha, making her pause. Olivier gets closer seconds away from touching Alpha, "You… you… they… they force me… and him… but you… you're so… beautiful… my child… our child…"
Olivier cries, cracking until she's unrecognizable as she touches Alpha's face.
"My…child…" whispers Olivier as she disappears, seemingly into nothing. But to Alpha, she recognizes that she had just absorbed Olivier. And gained a wealth of knowledge that she did not expect.
But sooner than she can react, the scenery changes once more. This time everyone is left in the ruins as they were, ruins. There are rows upon rows of glass tubes, much smaller than the one that held the arm, but still big enough to hold a body. Most if not all tubes are broken in some regard, and there is almost no light to speak of coming from the room.
Almost being key here, as there is still one thing that's fully functional.
(Oh my~)
Croons a female sounding voice seemingly coming from nowhere.
(It's been so long since I've had any living guests)
Alpha turns her head to see an orb, reminiscent of Luxion but different in mold and color.
(Well… ones that weren't my own test subjects.)
"Lady Shade!" yells Delta, "It's hunting time!"
Alpha turns back to see hordes of beings that resemble the possessed, yet different. And they aren't friendly.
-Cid-
We proceed through the black void in the direction the magic is being pulled to. I can't feel anything other than that. Even the feeling of walking is indistinct, and I lose all sense of up and down. I try seeing if I can walk upside-down, lowering my head and raising my feet like I am doing a handstand.
"Hey" said Violet.
"Hm." I answer with one of my eyes closed.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
I'm currently walking with my feet right below Violet's, my feet meeting hers in perfect sync as we walk. Lea is right next to me, though he's walking the same way as Violet with his head next to mine.
"Oh, I was just thinking how I can't tell up from down in this place." I admitted.
Violet titters slightly, "Up? Down? Don't go trying to look anywhere you shouldn't."
"I won't" I say, slightly offended. I'm a taken man after all. Plus I never got the appeal of peeking on random women. Like in my past life I could just look online if I wanted, and in this one it's still wrong. Plus, it's just underwear, big deal. Now if any of the shades were wearing something specifically with the purpose of showing off to me, that's another thing.
We continue on for a while longer until we're suddenly engulfed by light.
We fall, but thankfully Lea catches both of us with practiced ease…
Is he used to this?
We find ourselves in a battlefield. The soil is stained with the black blood of the fallen soldiers. The gory scene stretches out to the horizon.
A battlefield devoid of hope… and onto it, unbeknownst to all, steps the shadow broker… Yeah, that works.
Lea smacks the back of my head to get me to focus again. And Violet rubs her cold hand over where he does after before walking off.
Violet sets off at a pace as if she knows exactly where she's going. Lea and I follow her as she traverses the carnage, treading on the corpses as we go.
After a while, we come upon a girl crying in the middle of it all. We stop before her. I don't need to see her face to know she's Violet.
"You're crying again." I point out.
Violet shrugs with a fake smile, "I was a crybaby. Lea, be a good friend and lend me your gun, will you?"
Lea grimaces but does just that.
Violet readies herself, her face is blank and gives the impression that she is shoving her emotions off to the side. She pulls the trigger.
*BLAM*
And the world shatters once more.
We find ourselves in a white plane again, with another door before us. Without saying anything, Lea walks up to it and places his hand on it. Then he sighs and softly *thunk*s his head against it.
"Lea?" I ask.
Lea turns to me and Violet.
"I can feel Mary behind this door." Said Lea, with a serious look on his face that I could never imagine on Leon. "But I don't think she's exactly in a good mood."
"I could imagine." Snarked Violet.
Lea nods before turning to me, "make sure you're ready before we go in. This is going to be quite the challenge."
"How do you know?" I ask.
Lea smirks, "Let's just say I'm familiar with murphy's law to the point I got a sense for it."
.
.
.
A/N: Would you like to save yes/no?
Lmao. So admittedly a lot of this chapter is just copied from canon. There's a lot that I feel can be left out, but since a lot of the readers only know one side of each of things involved here I figured that I needed to include the lore here.
So next chapter is the boss fight of the arc. We are going to stick with EiS for a while though, since we're mostly done with what's in Mobuseka. Or at least what everyone agrees to be the best part of Mobuseka.
Also, I managed to get Summer Beta in MoG. So, I had some motivation come from that. Next chapter should have a new CG, so it may take a while. Idk. It's also going to be an original fight so… yeah.
Oh, and if anyone has a hard time picturing Lea, my mental image of him was based on that one version of Leon from the Japanese fanfic (I never read myself, since it needs 1 an account and 2 it's in Japanese) that I believe was about what his and Angelica's life was like after she was sent to marry him (it's theorized that Leon is the 'ugly baron' she is exiled to in the game timeline). Here's a link to one of the images I liked:
en/artworks/119348088
Now let's answer the comments.
QQ (only two people this time, not complaining but you guys usually give me the most comments so it was fun seeing that change for the first time):
Someoneani: I didn't even realize I got that far with the words, wow. I'm glad you enjoyed the data minoru fight, and the beta scene, they were my favorite to write. Alpha has cemented her place in Cid's heart and mind, he ought to charge her rent for all the space she occupies.
Oh, I just looked up Mu and Sigma's picture came up, but thanks for the clarification.
Bladist: You know what, I didn't know that phrase. Thanks for teaching it to me. But to be fair, the church was robbed so there was legitimate reason for the old archbishop to leave.
I'm glad you like the dynamic, I mean I just set it to maximum fluff, but still.
So I do recognize that I could use some actual elven language, but I figured it'd take too much work at the time to look it up for a joke I've only done twice. Thanks for the suggestion though.
That's a good point. I'll take that into consideration as I kinda didn't consider it before.
I didn't know that second part. I do have somewhere I could put it, as I do plan on fighting Minoru at least one more time. No idea where to put that fight though.
Oh, that makes sense then.
I do want to draw it, it's just a matter of motivation. Thanks for making it sound cooler than it is though, lmao. Maybe I'll draw a sketch as a warm up for what I plan to draw for the next chapter.
I do agree that the inclusion of those scenes were weird to me on my first watch through after having read the manga, but yeah they do need to sell the anime on its own so I felt it was okay. Plus with anime I'd argue it's more of a show not tell, so I found it more fun for both pacing and showing us what Cid did in his past life in a whole episode rather than a quick few panels like in the manga.
I thought the cyborg thing was funny though. Especially since Cid ends that arc by saying what he does to Akane.
Ao3:
Wolfpaladin: Lmao, yeah. Alpha doesn't think of her as a threat in the slightest.
So you're right that I had no idea about the Gravity and Water variants of spells in Persona 2. But I will argue that there's no time stop or magnet… as far as I know. I think in PQ the final boss has a time stopping skill but I don't think that counts.
Anisomeone: I'll be honest, I don't know that meme.
Beta's relationship would have been fun to change, but I already set it up earlier.
The thing about mist form is that it could e useful against the right person. Plus, Alpha moves extremely quickly with it. I think using Shadow to scale how a fight with her using it could go wouldn't be fair.
I feel like Alexia would back out of getting Eta's approval in that case though…
BOY4_GOW: Hope you like the boss fight next chapter, lmao.
I have a plan for Eta. Mainly a joke one, as the entire Alexia gaining approval chronicles are just a long running gag anyway.
I know I framed it to seem like things were getting worse, but I feel like people should have known Cid wouldn't have tried to attack Leon while he was down. That wouldn't be cool or fun after all.
Deathfang1920: thanks! I'm glad it was a bit of surprise.
Yisus989(guest): Gracias, y si, pobre Alexia. Jajaja.
Totntobt (Man I swear I never type your name right): That sounds like a hilarious approach to take with Eta. I almost forgot the pool scene in the second season.
Well yeah, Cid will always be Cid, but since he's constantly trying to grow I think he gave up the crowbars since he thought he did everything he could with them.
I really liked your paragraph about the slime's origin. It's something I want to play with more and I liked your ideas a lot.
Also, you weren't annoying or pressuring me in anyway. I was annoyed with Ao3. I wish they'd just let me post directly onto the site. Thanks for the compliment on my art and drive though, it means a lot.
SongofSixDesires: Yeah, she should take a different approach, and honestly them beign friendly would be new to the fanfic part of fandom.
Cid was focused on the bath, poor her.
Yeah I actually played the kh2fm data Roxas boss a couple of times so I could incorporate it into Minoru's fight, so glad I could translate it into nostalgia for you.
Sorry to disappoint with Aurora in this chapter. I just felt like this chapter was too important to stay the same, like I did in the arc where Alexia was kidnapped.
DBolivion: Thanks for reading, glad you like it.
:
Endersmit: Glad that you liked Cid's scene. To be fair, he does have that one scene against Beatrix and Iris.
EDG1999: Glad you liked them. I guess this one is a bit weaker though. I did want to include those, but with how short the fight ultimately is and how long I took me to get to it, I decided to only have the fight.
Guest: Thanks! I'm glad you liked those chapters so much, it means a lot. I guess it just means that (excluding this one) I get better with each chapter I write.
Beta was barely holding it together, but she was totally down for whatever Cid wanted to do.
About , it's been glitching a lot lately. I've heard some people theorize that the people running it are just not caring anymore or something. I don't think that's fair to say, but well, when I can barely post fics sometimes… well, I'm glad I have accounts on other websites.
SB-
MWKillKenny84: Maybe his creators figured that if he didn't know, it wouldn't exist anymore. Unfortunately, Lea does know, so that didn't work.
