The mood inside the room grew increasingly heavy as Aoste recounted the events prior to the seed's departure from the Original Timeline.
"It's just like you said, Anzeel; I knew everything, but not since the beginning. During the war, since I wasn't making any significant progress on my project Antiochus, I decided to find another way to contribute. The more Sirens your Kansen fought, the more Wisdom Cubes they brought back to analyze, so I used the Reality Lens to dig deeper into the Cubes, hoping to get a better understanding of our enemy. The more I learned to decipher their coding, the more information I discovered. When I learned about their otherworldly origins and their ability to go back in time, I was so shocked that I could barely believe it. But the most harrowing thing I found out was that the seed was sending a signal for reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?" Anzeel inquired, confused. This was the first time she heard something like this.
To Ryan, instead, this was nothing new. After all, the Original Siren that had followed Freedom and his brothers to this world did something similar before Leviathan and Emperor put an end to it.
At least that meant that Aoste's words held some truth.
"That's right," the man continued. "To this day I'm unsure whether the seed was defective and needed external support to complete the invasion, or if it was simply one of its many intrinsic features… What I know is that if more of them arrived, we couldn't take them on."
Anzeel gulped audibly as she listened to him.
The war with the Sirens was devastating. Those monsters had left a lasting mark on the planet, a scar that would take a long time to heal. The number of people lost in the conflict almost tripled the total of the two world wars combined, not to mention the damage to the cities, the infrastructures, and the land itself. The global economy was left barely able to sustain itself, and humanity was still making the first steps toward a full recovery. The atmosphere at Isla Victoria was the exception, not the rule. It was just one of the few specks of paradise established after the end of the war to prepare the younger generations for the future.
Of one thing Anzeel was sure: the Original Timeline couldn't afford to participate in another armed conflict with the Sirens, especially since they were still dealing with their remnants scattered around the planet.
Knowing that they had come so close to having another horde of those monsters coming, and that Aoste was the only person privy to that piece of information, was enough to send shivers down her spine.
"Of course, I tried to figure out a way to tackle the issue, but it was for naught," Aoste continued. "When I learned of their time-travel ability, I decided to take advantage of it. Preventing the Sirens from time-leaping and stopping them here wouldn't have helped since the signal had already been sent, so I found myself with no other choice. I kept what I discovered a secret so that the alliance could defeat the Sirens and the seed could go back in time to create a new timeline unhindered…"
"And by doing so, the Siren reinforcements would have arrived there instead of here," Freedom concluded, openly glaring at him. "You intentionally washed your hands of the issue and forced it on someone else. Have you no shame?"
"I didn't take that decision lightly, and I would have never left the people of the other timeline to themselves against the Sirens," Aoste retorted, then turned toward Anzeel. "What I did was tell a half-lie to our superiors; using the excuse of bringing the seed under control, I pretended to put on hold my ANTI-X project as I prepared some precautions… a virus that could reprogram the seed to a certain extent."
"So, all that rubbish about not being able to perfect the Antiochus and not wanting to waste the seed by destroying it... it was all to buy time for yourself as you worked on it?" Anzeel questioned him.
"Exactly," the Creator confirmed. "When it was done, I gave it to Zero, along with all the Antiochus data I had available at the time, and then I sent her to infiltrate the seed during the final battle. She'd use the virus to hack into it and take control; then, over to the newly created timeline, she'd use the seed's equipment and the data I gave her to replicate her Antiochus comrades. They'd wage war against humanity, speeding up its progress and preparing it for the Sirens' eventual arrival…"
"But something along the way went wrong, and Zero and the others turned into time-traveling mass murderers," Ryan concluded.
"That's right… as difficult as this is for me to accept..." Aoste sighed. "Their job was to slowly acclimate humanity to fight them by subtly and gradually providing them with the Siren technology at their disposal as they learned to use it to their advantage. I did take the large number of casualties into account and deemed them a necessary evil, but I would have never expected them to abuse the seed's time-leaping function and exterminate the world's populace… multiple times."
"Mother was missing most of the information regarding yourself and the Original Timeline; the only thing left were the general directives," TB intervened.
"Assist humanity's evolution," Freedom quoted. "How did such a simple directive turn into an apocalyptic disaster?"
"That's easily said, in my opinion," Anzeel intervened, drawing everyone's attention to her dejected self. "Contrary to the Kansen, the Antiochus are 'simply' androids with anthropomorphized personalities installed; their ability to distinguish good from evil is inherently linked to their creator's programming, and their behavior is dictated by the experience they gather as they live on."
"So they are basically AIs with a preset personality, but they also have a semblance of free will in them?" Ryan inquired, receiving a nod of confirmation from Anzeel.
He thought it made sense. Zero did go against the Creator's will by working around the order of not interacting with the Original Timeline, but she still couldn't actively do it. Similarly, Devil attacked Freedom on sight as soon as she recognized him as an external entity, but she also gave priority to Anzeel's safety instead of involving her in the fight.
But that still didn't explain why the Original Program had decided to go on a genocidal spree.
"Maybe, when she interfaced herself with the seed and installed the virus, her program was influenced in turn, and when she woke up in the other timeline, her personality might have gotten a hard reset to prevent her from being completely taken over," Anzeel continued. "Or maybe the time-leap ended up frying her circuits, erasing and damaging most of the data she had during the process. Whichever the case, the only thing that she could do was follow her instructions with every means she had at her disposal…"
"…and without the memory of her time spent here with me, the line between right and wrong became blurred, and she carried out her directives in the most efficient way she could think of—the most twisted way possible," Aoste supplied, hanging his head.
A heavy silence settled within the room as they all pondered the two researchers' words.
It was just another theory, and maybe they'd never get the chance to confirm it, but at this point, it didn't matter. The five people in the room were the only ones with the most important piece of knowledge in the entire world and timelines, and they were all still trying to come to terms with it.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Anzeel spoke up after a few more seconds of awkward silence, questioning Aoste with an accusatory tone of voice.
"Anzeel, I was the only one capable of deciphering the information held within the Cubes at the time. No one would have believed me if I told them, and high command wouldn't have accepted a half-assed, abstract explanation on such an important matter."
"Well, I would have! You could have at least told me!"
"And would you have approved of my actions?"
"I… W-well, I…" the woman stammered.
"I thought so," Aoste said. "You've always been a soft one, Anzeel, and that's why you are a good person. I couldn't allow you to share such a burden with me. It would have been too much for you."
Anzeel pursed her lips and hung her head, averting her gaze from him, his words giving her mixed feelings.
"Well, that was the whole story from my humble point of view," Aoste said, leaning back into his chair and turning his gaze to Ryan. "What do you think, Commander?"
"Are you really asking me?" Ryan questioned him with the slightest hint of venom in his voice. "I think that if you were hoping for me to go easy on you just because you acted with the best intentions in mind, then you got another thing coming."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions; I know it better than anyone else," Aoste retorted.
Ryan's nostrils flared up as he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Is that all you have to say?" He questioned the Creator. "Putting up a tough act won't be of any use, you know?"
"Don't misunderstand, Commander. I don't seek acceptance, and I don't have the right to ask for your forgiveness. You said you were only interested in the truth, and the truth is what I've told you, but deep down, you've always wanted to judge the Creator if you ever met him. I know because I'm you," Aoste said, sending him a telling look. "That's why I'm asking your opinion."
At that moment, Ryan's eyes widened in realization. How could he not see it? If he had stopped to think about it for a second instead of directing his anger at his other self, he'd have figured it out sooner.
"Are you sure you don't just want someone to judge you?" He let out in a breath. "Someone that could blame you for what you've done and tell how much of a horrible person you are?"
The doctor blinked.
"What makes you say that?"
"I know, because I'm you, after all."
Aoste's lips quirked up in an imperceptible smirk.
While he was convinced of the righteousness of his actions, he was only human, and eventually, he had also started feeling the burden of guilt weighing on his shoulders. He had been carrying that burden alone for a long time now, incapable of sharing it with anyone. After a while, he had just shut himself in his lab, with only his Antiochus keeping him company, hoping to keep his mind off that feeling by drowning himself in his work. But now, with the Commander's appearance, he finally had a chance to face it properly.
After all, who better than his younger self to judge and condemn his own actions?
And Ryan understood. He closed his eyes in contemplation and let out a breath, then his gaze switched from the doctor to TB's hologram, still hovering slightly above the desk.
The AI was looking at him with an unreadable expression on her digital face, as if she was requesting something.
Making up his mind, he turned to Aoste and pronounced his sentence.
The whirring of the machine died out as its four metal claws came to a stop, pointing toward the middle of the contraption. The mass of black matter that the Commander and Freedom had crossed was reduced to the size of a golf ball.
"No abnormal fluctuations detected; the portal is stable, Enterprise-san!" Akashi piped up after checking the display.
Enterprise let out a breath, panting slightly as she let herself plop on the closest stool.
The white-haired carrier had lost count of how many hours had been since the Commander and Freedom left with TB, and by now, she had realized that the prediction she had made before they departed was a bit... exaggerated.
Holding the gate open for forty-eight hours? Only now did she realize how much of a tall order that was. Not just the continuous depletion of her energy, but the mental strain of having to focus her attention on that single task was driving her mad. Noticing her fatigue, Akashi herself proposed to use the machine to shrink the portal, if only to reduce her stamina consumption, and to her surprise, it worked.
Luckily, the Commander had promised not to wait until the last second to return. She didn't know how much useful information they could gather in barely two days, but what they were doing was just a test run, so there was no need to go all out if the outcome wasn't worth it.
"Good work, nya! Here, take this, right from my shop," Akashi said, offering her a can of ice-cold green tea with a radiant smile.
"Thank you, Akashi," she said, gratefully accepting the flask. She popped it open and moved it to her mouth, but before she could take a sip, she paused and turned to look at the shorter shipgirl with a raised eyebrow. "I don't need to pay for this, right?"
"Of course not! It all goes on Shikikan's tab, nya!"
Enterprise let out a sigh of relief and a low chuckle before she brought the can up to satisfy her thirst.
She wondered how Belfast and South Dakota were doing. Akashi had gone out a while earlier to notify the two of what was going on. As planned, they began filling in for the Commander with paperwork.
Of course, Belfast had come in to check on her before that. The maid had been quite upset to find out that Enterprise had only brought a bunch of her military rations to eat during the wait. So she had taken it upon herself to bring her something better to eat and had even gone out of her way to regularly check on her, probably to make sure she ate everything.
Enterprise was sure her two comrades were having no issues with office work, but she wagered that the more time passed, the more it would become difficult to cover for the Commander's absence. The pretense of him being stuck in his lodging with explosive diarrhea could only last for so long.
"Excuse me, is anyone here?"
Enterprise and Akashi jumped at the voice and turned to see Hiryuu META's figure entering the workshop from the door that led to the front of the shop. Following behind her was Ember, who stopped in her tracks and sent a penetrating stare at Enterprise.
"Sorry for intruding; there was no one at the front, but we heard a commotion from here," Hiryuu said.
The green-haired catgirl was the first to recover.
"N-nya, hello there, welcome to Akashi's shop! What can I do for you?" Akashi said, running up to them, trying to keep their attention on herself.
"I wanted to ask you if you could check this for me, see if you could do something," Hiryuu said, rolling up her left sleeve to reveal the bump on her wrist. "I was thinking that maybe you could make a prosthetic hand or something; nothing too fancy, just the bare minimum…" she paused, noticing the nervous glances the two were exchanging. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything important."
"Don't worry; Akashi and I were just... working on a personal request of mine," Enterprise said, trying her best to ignore Ember's piercing glare.
"N-nya, of course! Nothing confidential or anything!" Akashi blurted.
Her words hung in the air for a couple seconds as the META carrier raised a questioning eyebrow. Her gaze then fell on the contraption in the middle of the room, and she understood.
It seems they really were in the middle of something important. Whatever it was, if they wanted to keep it a secret, it wouldn't be right to pry.
"What's that thing there?" Ember asked, nodding her head at the contraption.
"Ember…" Hiryuu chastised her. Tact was something her comrade had lost a long time ago, so she wasn't surprised by her lack of consideration.
"That thing gives the same feeling as Ash and Cinder's portals," Ember insisted. "Something's fishy here."
"That's just me," Enterprise intervened, standing up on her feet. "I've been trying to practice what little I got from Ash's memory, and this is the result."
"Then why the fancy machinery? What are you trying to accomplish?"
"That's none of your business."
The two stared each other down, the atmosphere inevitably turning tense.
"Ember, we really shouldn't pry," Hiryuu said, grabbing her comrade's arm for emphasis. "We are being allowed to stay here as long as we don't cause trouble. Sticking your nose into things that don't concern you is a good way to get kicked out."
"Oh, I don't think this doesn't concern us at all," Ember said. "They've been holding out on us since the beginning; I was wondering why that'd be the case."
Enterprise gulped, and Akashi froze in her place like a cat in front of a car's lights as the META battlecruiser began strutting toward the machine.
"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with timeline travel, right?" Ember inquired menacingly.
Before she could take another step, Enterprise had already drawn her bow, pointing it at her, an energy arrow already notched.
"Don't take another step," she said, glowering at her. "Turn your back and get out of here, and I won't report this to the Commander."
Ember stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing at the carrier.
"Right, your beloved Shikikan; everyone's wondering where he's gone. Someone saw him heading here this morning, but no one's seen him the entire day. I wonder…" Her words hung in the air as her gaze turned to the golf ball-size portal resting idly between the machine's metal arms.
"Last warning, Ember," Enterprise growled. "I have no qualms shooting you down, and I can't miss from this distance."
"Maybe you can't miss, but that doesn't mean I can't parry it," Ember said, her hand moving to the hilt of the sword hanging on her hip. "You have Ash's memory; you know I can do it. We've sparred so many times that I lost count of our score."
"It's fifty-one to fifty in my favor. And I'm always down for another round."
Ember's eyes widened in surprise as Enterprise spoke with a deeper voice than normal. But more than that was the light in her eyes, which reminded her too much of Ash to be a hallucination.
The carrier seemed to notice and shook her head vehemently, snapping out of it and regarding the others with a confused look.
"You dare use her own words against me-"
Before anger could get the better of her comrade, Hiryuu stepped between the two, cutting Ember off.
"You two stop this right now," she said with an even tone, trying to defuse the situation. "Neither Cinder nor Ash would want this; you should know it better than anyone."
Right at that moment, the whirring of the machine filled the air once more; the metal arms began moving backward, causing the portal to enlarge back to its normal size.
It was at that moment that Enterprise felt it; someone was crossing it—the Commander and Freedom were finally back.
She turned to face the portal expectantly, while also keeping Ember in her sight. The other Kansen in the room followed her gaze, looking expectantly at the contraption, but instead of the officer and the shipboy, the figure that emerged from the gate, stumbling on her feet, was a woman wearing a lab coat and glasses.
"Whoa, it actually worked!" Anzeel cheered, looking back in awe at the portal she just crossed. For a second, the sensation of falling took over her body, and it took her a second to recover her balance.
Enterprise and Akashi sent confused looks at the unknown woman as she scanned her surroundings. Once her eyes settled on them, Anzeel smiled and waved excitedly.
"Hey there!"
"Um, excuse me, but who-"
The portal rippling a second time interrupted Enterprise's question. Another white-clad figure emerged, but this time, it was a man. And much to everyone's surprise, he resembled Ryan.
"C-Commander?!" The carrier exclaimed as the man, also a bit disoriented, tried to get his bearings.
"Now that's an experience and a half," Aoste said, taking a look at his surroundings.
All eyes were on him. Even the Ashes were looking at him in confusion.
"Shikikan, what happened?!" Akashi began fretting. "Oh nya… To think that the timeline transfer could have such repercussions on your body…"
"Calm down, little one; I'm not your Commander," said Aoste, trying to reassure her. "Ryan should be right behind me."
As if on cue, the officer was the next to cross the portal. Having already done so previously, he knew what to expect, and was able to better keep his bearings.
"Shikikan-nya! Thank goodness!" Akashi jumped into his arms as soon as she saw him, catching him by surprise as Enterprise breathed a sigh of relief. "I would never forgive myself if you turned into an old man because of me, nya!"
"Hey there, Akashi; I'm back."
The other shipgirls watched as the Commander gave her a reassuring headpat. Stepping away from the portal and down from the metal platform, he came to stand beside the other man. With the two of them side by side, the resemblance was even more remarkable.
"Enterprise, everything okay on this side?" He inquired as he soothed the catgirl, raising an eyebrow at the presence of the two METAs.
Enterprise was too stunned to answer properly. She had been fretting about his safety the entire time, but she certainly wasn't expecting him to return with more people.
"Commander, who are these people? Where's Freedom?" She asked him, then she noticed that his alien-looking watch was missing from his wrist. "What about TB?" She added in concern.
It was at that moment that another figure appeared from behind him. Normally, her short stature would make her quite inconspicuous, but her appearance was what made everyone gawk, each of them for different reasons.
"YOU!" Ember shouted, her blood boiling in her veins at the sight of the Original Program stepping out of the portal. "AKU SOKU SAN!" She brought her hand to the hilt of her sword and lunged at her with a rage-filled cry, without giving anyone enough time to react. The only one who was close enough to move in time was Aoste. Ember's blow cut the air as the man threw himself on the humanoid Siren to get her out of harm's way.
"Shit! Enty, stop her!" Ryan cried out for the carrier.
With eyes full of anger, Ember turned to the doctor and who she believed was Observer Zero, the former holding the latter's smaller frame in his arms. She didn't make it in time to rush to them when another unfamiliar figure emerged from the portal and placed herself between her and the object of her fury. Arms wide and a steely expression on her face, Devil had arrived to protect her master.
The appearance of the dark-haired woman with heterochromatic eyes made Ember hesitate for a split second, enough to allow Enterprise to tackle her to the ground. Her back hit the floor, and she lost the grip on her sword. Looking up, she found herself with the Eagle Union carrier holding her down, her bow aimed down at her face, an energy arrow notched and ready to let loose.
"What the hell's gotten into you, Ember?! Are you crazy?" Enterprise shouted at her.
"Get off me, Grey Ghost!" She shouted back. "I'm doing what's right to avenge my comrades!"
"I already told you that we have a truce with the humanoid Sirens!"
"And you think that's enough for me to ignore their boss strutting into your base like nothing?! No one can stop me from taking my revenge!" She retorted as she struggled to get up. "Dammit, Hiryuu, do something!"
Hiryuu had been standing there all the while, unsure of how to react to the situation.
"I…" the lapin carrier trailed off, looking to the side.
"Uh-uh." Next to her, Freedom, who had appeared from the portal right behind Devil, intimated her not to do anything stupid with a shake of his head and a telling look.
"Calm down, Ember! That's not Observer Zero," Ryan intervened. "That's just TB."
The tension in the room was immediately replaced by confusion as the shipgirls turned their heads to see Aoste standing up on his feet, helping TB up in turn. The supposed AI was identical to their sworn enemy; the only difference was the lack of the jellyfish-like rigging always hovering by her side.
But her eyes also had something different. TB's weren't the cold, calculating eyes of an evil entity; hers were the curious eyes of a child who was experiencing the marvels of the world for the first time in their life.
Ember stopped her struggling, and Enterprise pushed herself off her, allowing the META to sit up on the floor.
"I don't know what you were planning with all this, but if you think I'd stay put while you dabble with our worst enemies, then you are sorely mistaken," Ember spat.
"Ember, I understand where you are coming from, but that's not an excuse," Enterprise rebuked her. "Look at what you've done; you almost harmed a civilian."
"He got in my way; he's the one to blame," Ember declared coldly. "And don't patronize me, Grey Ghost. The only one who could do it was Ash, and she's not here anymore. You aren't her, and you'll never be."
Enterprise sighed. "Maybe not, but Ash wouldn't have wanted this; that I know for sure, trust me."
Ember's nostrils flared up, but she managed to contain herself.
"She was a great leader," she declared.
"I know," Enterprise responded.
"I'll never forgive you."
"As you should. I also couldn't forgive myself, but she did. I'll strive to do better next time."
The battlecruiser scoffed and averted her gaze from her in scorn before standing up on her feet and walking away toward the door, leaving the room without uttering another word.
Hiryuu let out the breath she was holding at the close call. If the situation escalated, things could have gone a lot worse than that for her comrade. She didn't know how she'd have handled it, but luckily, it all turned out all right.
"I'm sorry, everyone; she's still a bit shaken for what happened to Ash and Cinder," she said, then turned to address Enterprise. "Don't worry, Grey Ghost; she'll come around eventually. For now, I'll try to talk to her."
Enterprise nodded in thanks as Hiryuu dismissed herself to go after her comrade, then let out a long, frustrated sigh before her legs gave out from under her.
Freedom was there to catch her. He passed one of her arms around his neck as Ryan did the same with the other. The strain of having kept the portal open for so long had taken a huge toll on her, and the tension of the confrontation with Ember was the last drop for her tired mind.
"Commander, Freedom, these people... Did it work?" She asked them, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"Yes, Enty; mission accomplished," Ryan told her with a smile. "You did great; now leave the rest to us."
The shipgirl reciprocated the smile, then let the two men lead her toward the closest stool, where she plopped down and drifted off to sleep, exhausted.
After making sure she was comfortable, Freedom addressed the Commander.
"Are you sure about this, Ryan?" He asked him, referring to what just happened with the METAs.
"I don't think Ember will try anything drastic, but better safe than sorry. I'll have someone keep an eye on her in case she does something we regret later. Right now, we have more urgent matters to address," the officer responded, turning to look at their guests.
Aoste was checking on TB's brand-new vessel like an overprotective parent as Devil relaxed her posture. Anzeel, who could only observe everything from the side, let out a nervous chuckle.
"So, a time travel machine, uh?" She wondered aloud. "It doesn't get more cliché than this, right?"
"A timeline travel machine, to be exact," TB intervened. Her voice, now coming out of actual vocal cords instead of a speaker, was a lot less raspy and a lot clearer, but she still had her usual neutral tone. "And most of the work is made by the Mirror Sea conjured by Enterprise."
"Fascinating…" Anzeel mused as she looked at the portal. Right after Enterprise went to sleep, it started shrinking on itself until it completely disappeared into thin air.
"Alright, now that we've taken care of another setback, let's not waste any more time," Ryan declared, drawing everyone's attention. "Akashi, can I leave you to take care of everything here?"
"N-nya, Shikikan?" Akashi's trembling voice came from behind the crate where she had hidden herself. "Where are you going?"
"We are going to Vestal's clinic. Join us later with Enterprise when she wakes up, okay?" Ryan said as they all prepared themselves to leave the workshop.
"W-wait, Shikikan, what do you mean? Who are these people?"
"It's too hard to explain right now; I'll tell you later," he said with an apologetic but resolute tone, then his gaze turned to the bunch of suitcases they had brought with them from the Original Timeline. "I want to test this thing as soon as possible."
"These little ones are so cute!" Anzeel squealed in delight, snapping a bunch of pictures of the bulins scurrying back and forth around them.
"And useful," Aoste supplied. "Their physical strength is on par with a Kansen, and they follow instructions efficiently."
Following the two researchers' indications, the bulins were setting up the hospital room designated to accommodate the Reality Lens. Not just the visor, but all the components it required to properly operate had been brought. Although, looking at it from Ryan's perspective, it was starting to look like a pair of normal operating tables, surrounded by a bunch of cables and displays for which he had no idea how they worked.
He sighed at that. As a child, he remembered being very interested in science; his parents always bought him books of all sorts, and he used to devour them one after the other, dreaming of becoming a scientist when growing up. To think that his other self was actually able to fulfill that dream. He was sure he would have also taken that path in life if it weren't for the Sirens. After all, he had initially enlisted only because, as an orphaned teenager, he had no one else to turn up to—a fairly common story shared by too many people in this day and age.
"Commander, are you sure this is going to work?" Vestal addressed him from the side. When Ryan had burst inside her office, bringing along two strangers who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the repair ship didn't know what to think. He had a fair bit of explaining to do, but once he told her what they were trying to achieve, a glimmer of hope lit up in her heart, and she hadn't hesitated to offer one of the rooms inside the clinic for the installation of the device.
Ryan held back the shrug he was going to respond with.
"I can only put my trust in them and their expertise, which, from what I've learned, is unparalleled on this matter," he said, trying to be as reassuring as possible. If the Reality Lens wasn't going to work, then he didn't know what else to try.
"If you say we can trust them, then I will, Commander," the repair ship said, making him breathe a sigh of relief.
Now that the tension had dissipated, he was starting to feel all the piled-up fatigue crash down on him, and he couldn't help but wander with his mind.
He was in a room with both the mother of the shipgirls and the Creator, with most if not all his long-standing questions answered, and on his way to solving another Wisdom Cube-related issue, hopefully.
"It's been so long. I can't believe we've come this far..." he muttered aloud with a sigh.
"What I actually can't believe is that you went and threw yourself inside a portal to travel to another timeline and didn't say anything," Vestal rebuked him with a side eye.
Needless to say, Ryan had only told her about the Reality Lens and what he'd had to go through to secure it. Everything else would come later, and he was already dreading the moment he'd have to explain it.
"Hey, I did tell someone to hold the fort for me," he tried to defend himself. "Besides, it was classified information. I couldn't just run around the place shouting that I was going to the Original Timeline," he added, grasping at straws for an argument.
"It must be really nice to be able to arbitrarily decide what is considered classified, Shikikan." A chill ran down his spine as he heard the very familiar voice. "I surmise you are going to keep it a secret from our superiors too, right?"
He gulped loudly. Then, he slowly turned around, a bad feeling creeping over him.
Freedom—whom he had asked to go look for Yorktown—was standing there with a contrite expression on his face, the same expression kids have after getting scolded by their parents for being naughty.
The reason was the two white-haired women who were with him, none of whom was the one Ryan had sent for.
Massachusetts and Shoukaku. The former had her arms crossed over her chest, a deadpan stare and a raised eyebrow on her face, while Shoukaku had her hands folded in front of her lap and was wearing a dangerous, tight-lipped smile.
"Welcome back, Shikikan; how's your 'stomachache?'"
Another shiver ran down his spine at the icy-cold remark.
"Goddammit."
AN: These last few chapters were basically the "Parallel Superimposition" part of the story, if we want to make a comparison with the game. Don't worry, one more of these, and then we are back with some action.
Next Chapter: Reality Lens