Translator
The two men stared each other down, both in front of the other they would call monster.
The walls glowed a pale, sickly blue from the cold the Frozen Sword had called forth. The floor showing their reflections had the images distorted into warped shapes. Ominous lamps with violet lights were the only illumination in the long hallway. Frankly, there wasn't much to enjoy the view off. And yet, even if it had. The Adept Slayer could not tear his eyes from the man in front of him.
"Tenjian...so you've escaped the gates of hell…" He growled, the expression on his face a bizarre mixture of a mad growl and disbelief, the utter opposite of Tenjian's composure. "Explain at once!"
Tenjian's eyes were calm, his tone one of spiteful politeness. "No, I am dead. This body of mine is but an illusion crafted by Zonda's septima. Though I do posses all of my memories."
"Ha, a double abomination!" Copen snarled, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth as he practically bit off the words. "How many more crimes will you commit against life itself? Godless fiend."
Tenjian sighed. Looking indifferent, but his clenched fists betrayed his held rage. "Yet the hypocrite you are, you use the power of Septima. A power you so revile, to save your sister, do you not?"
"My cause is just and untainted," Copen replies with no doubt, "your words cannot harm me!"
"And so is mine, I will do anything to protect my sister. And I will do more to make her happy."
"… your sister?"
"Zonda, bound by everything but blood. Soul or none, I will give all for her sake!"
The relationship between the two couldn't be any more unique. Both similar in their devotion towards their loved ones and in their hatred towards their enemies. Two sides of the same coin. One could call the multiverse infinite in theory, a place of endless variety. Yet, in every universe in which these two men meet, they loathe one another. The circumstances may have been different, but that hatred will always exist in some form or another. And in nearly every universe in which these two men had this conversation, at this time...it ended as expected. Their insults traded, the next step is for them to clash to see which one of their fundamentally different philosophies is the right one.
Nearly every universe. But in this one, Lola changed things up with a simple sentence.
"Wait, so...this might sound dumb," the pod spoke up, continuing even as both boys didn't even look her way. "Is the Zonda we're talking about also the same Zonda as the one from Sinner Row?"
"How dare you say that! I will have your… … ...wait, what did you say?" Tenjian stopped.
"Zonda, the eleven year old. And Zonda, the 'Lustful Mirage' are the same person, yes?"
"It is but a ridiculous disguise, one she's too fond of." Tenjian scoffed. "So yes, what of it?"
"Well, a lot actually. Yeeesh." mimicking the sound of a sharp inhale, the pod flutters a bit higher in the air to emphasize her point. "You know she was sleeping around in Sinner Row all night, right?"
"Lola, what are you doing?" Copen interjects, but gets ignored as she continues.
"You know they called her, or well him, the sinniest hoe of sinner row? Every plug for a socket and every socket for a plug? Biggest whore in all of Nippon and you were okay with that somehow?"
"Enough!" and there goes the cool facade, open eyes filled with hate glare her way. "I will not have you slander her honour! All she did, was for the sake of keeping up her facade and so for Eden."
"And you were okay with that?" Lola asked. "Her stuffing her muffins for the greater cause?"
"I will not fall to your immature taunts, but the answer is no, I did not approve, were it up to me. I would've never let her be on her own. But she insisted on it, for the sake of the peace we strive for."
"Oh, I'm sure she insisted. But, you could've told her to not devour every dilly bun in reach."
"And for that, I will kill you last." having had enough, Tenjian draws his blades and attacks.
Clashes of plasma and ice, airborne dances of jetfire avoiding chakrams, a blue knight slices through the air with permafrost blades while the white one avoids pursuit. A wonderful display of two races fighting at the apex of their ability, would be if someone's commentary didn't ruin it.
"So you know that figurine of Zonda that has him posed with his crystal shard crotch all suggestively? Rumours have it that the 19 inches tag line wasn't an exaggeration."
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! There! Gotchaaaaaaa!" Tenjian roared.
"I highly doubt it though, unless Zonda can like, alter the fake bodies she likes to play with. Not that it would surprise me, now that I think of it. Perhaps all the normal sizes no longer satisfy."
"Circular Moon Ring! Extreme Frost Slash!" Tenjian roared.
"You do hear of them, perverts that have gone so far that they start to need to look at exotic solutions to keep the flame going. I mean, I guess that is their business. But from an 11 year old…"
"Turn all to ice… All Freeze!"
"That's just not healthy, man. Sounds to me like she needs therapy which you failed to provide. Some brother you are to not notice that much on your own. I'd be forever grounded just for a joke."
"Get ready! Hah! Two halves, one slash! Hmph! Gooooooooo!"
"Huh, not a single excuse? I guess you're a pretty good listener. Maybe you're not so bad after all."
"Lola, for the love of god, SHUT UP AND FOCUS ON THE FIGHT!"
"Zooooooondaaaaaaaaaaaa!" is Tenjian's final cry before he shattered into pieces. Releasing the grimoire sealed inside of him, who in turn exposed to the air is set aflame to release the shard.
"And that's one more shard for us!" Lola cheers. Absorbing the piece, then turning to Copen to share the usual celebrations. However, instead of a 'good job' or something similar…
All he says is, "Let's keep moving." Looking weary, tired and something else hard to pinpoint.
"What's wrong?" She asks softly, not defying the order, but ignoring it for now.
And all that response earns her is a glare that is outright murderous, filled with disgust.
"You're what's wrong, the things you've said are what's wrong," he drawls tersely, his patience long exhausted by having to listen to her rambling in the midst of one of his hardest battles. "Who taught you to talk like that? What do you even look at in your spare time? Can you explain that?"
"Well, umm…"
"Once we're back home, we are going to have a conversation."
Extra cause why not:
"So, what have we learned?" Copen asked.
"It is inappropriate to talk about the sexual exploits of your enemy's family." Lola said.
"Good. And when is it appropriate to talk about such things?"
"… when you want to make them mad and act sloppy, and…"
"Wrong."
"When you… want them… to… uh… be…"
"Wrong."
"… … … never?"
"Correct! It is never appropriate to talk of such things ever!" Copen said.
"What if saving the world one day depends on me doing that though?" Lola asked.
Copen's eye twitched involuntarily. For a solid minute. His own palm covered his face. "Is there any situation in which such a scenario would happen realistically?"
"… I mean, maybe. You can't predict everything, besides, I think you're kind of a prude, so…"
"This isn't a question of preferences! This much is common sense!" Copen roared.
Finally, after a break and a deep long breath. Copen concluded, "You're not sorry and won't be."
"...I'm not super sorr-ok, yeah, I don't feel bad at all." Lola admitted.
"That's fine," Copen continued. "I'll just tell Nori everything you did."
"NO! You can't! You don't know what she'll do to me!"
"Oh, I hope so. In fact I don't care how much soap she'll need to rinse your dirty mouth."
"C'mon! I'll say I'm sorry. In fact I'm super duper sorry even!"
"Apologizing to avoid responsibility only makes you look pathetic, Lola, this is happening."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"