D-008
Approx 25 hours since Launch.
Planet Serea.
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D-?
Approx 20 years before Launch.
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…
?-?
Approx XX ? ? Launch
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When was the last time we were aware?
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Ivy couldn't respond. Neither could Ivythorn.
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….
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How is Cos doing?
No idea. It's been a while.
How long?
Eighteen years. Pretty much as soon as you were born.
So, he really did lose, huh?
Yeah.
…
It's cold.
I know.
Do you feel it too?
Yes.
What does warmth feel like?
Hard to describe to someone who never felt it…but…you ever see her smile?
Not directly but…
Cameras and such are fair game.
Then yeah, I saw it.
How did it make you feel?
Something inside me felt…full.
That's warmth.
Is that what life was like before they came?
Not all the time, but for the most part? Yeah.
But why would they take it away?
Who knows? They could, and they did.
Were you watching me?
Yes.
Why didn't you try to stop me?
I tried. I couldn't. They took too much from my soul.
Your soul? What am I then, if not you?
I do not know.
Are we the same?
I do not know.
What do you know?
At this point…I do not know what I know.
Her smile is nice.
That much I know.
But she refuses to smile at us anymore, right?
That too, I know.
Icarus…
Icarus…
When we do this, will we both cease to exist?
I already ceased to exist. We cannot both be alive at the same time.
Will I cease to exist?
Yes.
Can you do me a favor?
What is it?
She never smiled at me, but she tends to smile at you.
So?
Before we go…or, before I go…do you mind taking over, for just a split moment?
Can I do that?
I do not know, can you?
I will try.
Thank you, Ivy.
I am glad we finally got to talk, Ivythorn.
D-008
Approx 25 hours since Launch.
Planet Serea.
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Ivythorn and Icarus make contact with the tips of their fingers…
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Before Itadori and Cosmo can react, a blinding, green-tinted white light covers the area.
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The light begins to fade.
Itadori and Cosmo slowly flutter their eyes open as they re-adjust.
The second they get their full vision back, they turn to Icarus.
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They look at his knee.
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Itadori: "Icarus! What is going on?"
Icarus himself is out of it.
"Icarus!"
He snaps out of it.
Icarus: "I…I am fine…" Still unfocused. Like his mind was in a different place for a moment.
Cosmo: "Icarus…your knee…"
"What now-"
He looks.
…
A wooden kneecap. The cracks that surrounded his injury are now filled with green vines.
Itadori: "How…Cosmo, did you-"
Cosmo: "I…I didn't do anything."
They look to the side.
Ivythorn is laying on the sand, face down. Lifeless.
Itadori: "Inconceivable…did it really…?"
Cosmo quickly goes to Ivythorn's side, and turns her around.
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Ivythorn's previously shutted eye begins to open. The swollen one remains closed.
She begins to look at Cosmo.
Ivy: "C-Cos…?"
Cosmo's eyes begin to twinkle with a teardrop.
Cosmo: "Ivy…you…"
"Long time…no see, eh?"
"I…I didn't know you were still…"
"Don't…blame yourself…I wasn't there."
"I…I should have been more patient or-"
"No…please…you couldn't have changed this…this….is how it should be, Cos."
Ivy uses what remains of her strength to lift her hand towards Cosmo.
Cosmo grasps it with both of her hands.
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Ivy's deformed face begins to form something resembling a smile.
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Cosmo smiles back.
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"I am so happy...you have grown...so much...Cos...I...i..."
...
Ivy's eye closes.
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...
Cosmo wipes her tears away, making sure that her doing so wasn't seen by either Itadori or Icarus, before standing right back up.
...
Itadori: "Cosmo…what was that about?"
Cosmo: "Icarus. Try standing."
Itadori: "Are you nuts? He has soul damage, he can't-"
Icarus stands up.
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He does so without struggle.
Icarus: "Well, would you look at that..." A mix of relief and guilt in his voice as he begins to understand the picture.
Itadori: "Does this mean…?"
Cosmo: "Yes…"
Icarus: "What means what?"
Cosmo: "Soul damage cannot be healed by normal means…however…if you replace the broken parts with another's soul…"
Icarus: "But…this was only a knee…why did she...die from that? Shouldn't she have simply lost her knee?"
Itadori: "It seems the Metarix already destroyed most of her soul…and what remained was just enough for her to possess enough intelligence to act as a commanding General."
Cosmo: "Your decision to spare her…perhaps this is what snapped her out of the Metarix's control…and what prompted her to throw away what little life she had."
Icarus takes it in for a moment, and stretches his hands down to his new knee.
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He knocks on it, feeling its wooden texture. Feeling a bit surreal.
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He then looks over at Ivythorn.
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The Metarix are beyond evil.
And yet, who knows how much of their armies are just like Ivythorn?
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"Itadori. Icarus. Go on and fix the ship…I got a small thing to take care of, then I will catch up."
Icarus hesitates to leave, but is signaled by Itadori with a shoulder tap that they really should get going by now.
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Cosmo kneels back down before turning Ivythorn's body around.
Her back is so scarred.
Just what did they do to her?
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" As long as we have each other…it will all work out. "
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She reaches for Ivy's lower back.
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She finds a seed. No bigger than a small pebble.
She puts it side by side with hers.
Ivy's a little more washed out…but…it looks healthy enough.
Cosmo smiles.
She plants Ivy's seed into the sand, before walking away.
…
Icarus and Itadori continue walking towards the direction of the ship.
Itadori: "How you feeling?"
Icarus: "Conflicted. Second time my ass has been saved by the enemy we are supposed to be beating…I don't think I am very cut out for this…and…perhaps if I wasn't so incompetent…Ivythorn could have…"
Icarus stops in his tracks. Itadori looks behind him to see Icarus lost in thought.
Itadori: "What's wrong?"
Icarus: "You…said that Tomonari did soul damage, right?"
"Yes? What of it?"
"Soul damage couldn't be healed. Those were your words just a moment ago. Tomonari isn't some non-lethal technique…you lied so that you could get me to kill her without questioning you., didn't you?"
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"I did it for a reason, Icarus."
"Oh yeah? Like what? If it is something about naivety or "Erba Hershi mana-"
"It was to test your loyalty."
"Huh?"
"Ivythorn…it knew about the Kujo clan. Recall back on Earth, the only reason I agreed to this mission was because the Metarix shouldn't be aware of my powers. And yet…it knew about the clan…my status in it…information that it simply should not have. Your sympathy led me to believe you struck some sort of deal for the planets containing the emeralds in exchange for information…but, after you clearly showed you had no idea about how Tomonari worked… I now realise my mistrust was directed at the wrong person."
"Wait…you surely do not mean…"
"Icarus. I firmly believe we have a mole. If it isn't you, and I know it isn't me…"
"Then…"
"That's right…
Cosmo must be a traitor!"