83. Plans

A/N: Two of my dearest friends are at my home from out of state, and I am thriving. We have spent all day playing board games. It rocks. I am so enriched. Enjoy the chapter!

"What do you mean, 'Veritas went with her?'" Aurora demands.

"They returned to the Dark World together. Luna insisted on letting them go," Amaterasu says, throwing me under the metaphorical bus. Deservedly, sure, but still.

"Veritas wanted to respect Fulgora's wishes and keep an eye on her," I say. "I didn't wanna use violence to force her to stop."

"Well why not?"

"Because… I don't like fighting you two?" I answer. "I've been forced to do it way too much as it is. Besides, you know what Veritas has been like, lately. If we used violence, it would have gotten bloody. This way, at least, the two of them are looking out for each other."

"You should have convinced her to stay!" Aurora protests, stomping her foot.

"Aurora, honey, you probably could have convinced her to stay," I tell her. "But I can't. She doesn't like me."

The little girl glares at me for a bit, fists clenched, but she slowly relaxes.

"…That's true," she allows. "Okay. Okay. And, we're going to go save her anyway, right?"

"That's right," I confirm. "Her and Fulgora both."

"Then we're just waiting for Uma'tama, right?"

"More or less," I confirm. "In the meantime, do you want some pancakes?"

"I had breakfast at home," Aurora says.

"That's not a no…" I tempt her, shamelessly trying to win her back with syrup and sweets.

"Okay, we're here!" Uma'tama says, suddenly appearing in the middle of the kitchen. "Let's get started!"

Most of us are startled by the sudden appearance, though we all expected it. Aurora, Amaterasu, Thea, and I have all been waiting in the kitchen together. It's a Saturday morning, so Aurora isn't even skipping school to be here. She's surprisingly diligent about that, more so than any other Earth Guardian I've met. She actually seems to have something of a work/life balance, even. She ate breakfast without me making her do it! That's definitely better than every other Earth Guardian I've met, and she's like, what, eleven? 

Maybe it gets worse with age instead of better.

"Where is Castalia?" Uma'tama asks.

"Asleep," I answer.

"Oh, we suppose we should wait for her, then," Uma'tama hums.

"That might take a while," I say. "We were out pretty late last night, by her standards. I think she's going to be asleep for a while."

"We see… hmm. Well, we will do what we can to plan things without her, then. Okay! We assume everyone has already been informed regarding the situation with Fulgora and Veritas?"

A round of affirmatives sound off. I glance over at Thea, feeling her nervousness and wondering what I should be doing about it. I could try to reassure her? No, that would distract from the topic and bring too much attention to her. I've made that mistake too many times already. I step a little closer and lightly bump her shoulder with my own. I am rewarded with a small smile. Success!

"Yeah, Amaterasu brought me up to speed," Aurora confirms, answering Uma'tama's question. "How soon can we go?"

"Well, we need a plan before we can answer that," Uma'tama says. "Aurora, Luna, Thea: you three are the only ones authorized for Dark World excursions. We'll have to consider what is and isn't possible with only you."

"Me?" Thea asks, surprised. "I figured I'd be the least qualified for Dark World excursions. Isn't the policy to keep anyone who's corrupted away?"

"Speaking of, Thea and I are pretty sure Amaterasu isn't corrupted at all," I chime in. "Her incarnate form's variations come from a different, totally benign source."

"Interesting. We will make a note of that," Uma'tama says. "However, age is also a factor. We've made the two of you special exceptions, citing unique resistances to the Dark World's effects, but even if Amaterasu isn't currently corrupted, there's no reason to assume she'd have resistance to corruption, either."

"Resistances…?" Thea grimaces, looking down at her own hands.

"You're still you," I point out. "You haven't been consumed in the way Melpomene and Nanaya have."

"…I think Nanaya has always been like that," Thea mumbles. "But okay, I guess."

"Speaking of Melpomene and Nanaya," Uma'tama says, "those two and Anath are our primary concerns. We must assume Fulgora is with them and have a planned response."

"With a fully charged battery, I could take Nanaya and Anath no problem," I say. "And Melpomene won't attack Thea. The biggest problem might actually be Fulgora herself."

"I do not think we should assume any of our enemies will simply stand down against Thea," Amaterasu says, "but otherwise, I agree with Luna-san. Fulgora-san has been deeply affected by the Dark World. She is not mentally well."

"The good news is that her current incarnate form is as unstable as she is," I say. "She can't hold it for long. The bad news is that she probably has a phase two that she just didn't bother to bust out."

"Phase two…? Ah! You mean Minerva-san?" Amaterasu realizes.

"Minerva or maybe a new girl," I confirm. "I talked to her for a while before we fought, and she didn't act very much like Minerva."

"We've also debriefed Celaeno and Aello, who encountered Eliza after she first exited the Dark World," Uma'tama chimes in. "They never once thought that the person they fought was Fulgora; she was unrecognizable to the pair."

"Who?" I ask.

"The Loveland girls," Thea says. "I… think I remember them. From a long time ago. There was a third one, right…? Ocypete?"

Uma'tama's little kitty face manages a grimace.

"Ocypete… is no longer with us, we're afraid," they say. "They passed away several years ago in combat. But to circle back on topic: we are concerned by the safety of any extraction operation that deep into enemy territory."

Thea is shocked by the casual declaration of death but not for very long. She swallows her grief with what is doubtlessly a well-practiced coping mechanism and nods, focusing back on the topic. Magical girls, man.

"It's definitely risky. I don't think we can fight them without Castalia, and even Castalia almost lost the last time she fought Melpomene," Thea says.

"We can't leave them in the Dark World!" Aurora insists.

"Agreed," Uma'tama confirms. "But we also cannot send you three off on a doomed mission. Ideally, we will be able to find Fulgora outside the Dark World without Melpomene around once again, but we don't know what she was doing here in the first place. We do not know enough about her current situation in general."

"You think we should try a scouting mission first?" I ask. "Something to get the lay of the land? With my plates closed, I can be pretty damn sneaky."

"Language," Aurora chides, kicking me lightly in the shin. My shin goes 'clank.' 

"We would rather not try something that risky," Uma'tama hedges.

"Well we have to do something," Aurora says. "If nobody else is going to go after her, I'm gonna have to do it myself!"

"Hey, nobody is saying we give up, kiddo," I assure her. "We're just trying to figure out the best way to do it. But if you ever find that you can't wait any longer, come get me and I'll go with you, okay? Don't go in alone."

"Luna-san!" Amaterasu snaps. "You can't encourage her to go without permission!"

"I'm not," I say. "I'm encouraging her to go in with backup. Realistically, if Aurora doesn't like our plan and decides to go it alone, she's gonna be able to find a way to do it. Better that she bring someone with her than avoid us all in fear that we'll stop her."

"Your policies on managing children are insane," Amaterasu groans.

"My policies on managing child soldiers are insane," I correct. "And of course they are! That's not my fault! There is no policy for child soldiers that isn't insane other than 'do not have any!'" 

"I'm not going to go in alone!" Aurora grumbles. "We're here to make a plan. Let's make a plan already!"

"Perhaps we should wait for Castalia after all…" Uma'tama hedges. "We could find time at another hour, possibly…"

I'm about to chime in with two more of my cents when I'm surprised to notice that my brain is getting a phone call. It's still pretty early on a weekend… who would even be calling me? Bean and Chloe text like normal people. Let's see, what is this number… oh! Jim?

"Hello?" I answer in the privacy of my mind. "What's up, Jim?"

"Hey, Luna!" he answers. "Uh. You're like, an Earth Guardian now, right?"

"Yep, sure am," I confirm. "You getting attacked by monsters?"

He doesn't sound like he's getting attacked by monsters, but I feel like it's worth making sure.

"No, uh… well, at least not yet?"

Promising. Except… wait.

"Is it Anath?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "She's at my workplace again. You know, where we, uh, met? I don't think she's noticed me yet, but…"

"I'll be right there," I promise, then turn to everyone else and cut off whatever they're currently arguing about. "Yo! I think I've got a breakthrough we need to go arrest."

"Er, what?" Uma'tama asks.

"Anath is on Earth," I say. "Up to her usual fun, it sounds like. If we nab her, we can grill her for details and probably even lure the Rebellion to Earth as well. That should wrap everything up with a pretty little bow, right? Let's go before she slips away! Come on!"

"Er, everybody?" Thea blinks.

"Why not? We're all here. Follow me!"

I turn and jog toward the teleporter room, happy to note that everyone quickly starts to follow me. It really is perfect timing. We can't let this chance slip by!

"I'm not supposed to fight Anath…" Aurora hedges.

"Then don't," I say. "We've got more than enough firepower to take her down as-is. And I suppose Thea and I might be able to talk her down, instead."

"I've… never been good at that," Thea says.

"Yeah, it'll depend on her mood," I agree.

"We will return to our duties for the time being," Uma'tama calls after us. "Inform us the moment you have Anath back in the base!"

"Will do, Uma'mama!" I call back, stepping into one of the teleporters. Moments later, we're all back in the city, transformation phrases from the others ringing out before they follow me as I run down the street.

I'm undisguised, personally, having never put my skin back on after the whole Laku'noto incident. The girls fly after me while I just run really fast, leaping over cars and generally causing a ruckus in my haste to get where I'm going. It's not too far off, thankfully, especially at magical girl speeds. I'm a little worried we're already too late, though, since it takes me a lot longer than I expect to pick up on Anath's magical signature. It's… weaker than usual. A lot weaker. When we finally get there, it's easy to see why.

I slow down on approach, holding up an arm as I scan the surprisingly intact pet store. There isn't a hair out of place, because Anath hasn't even gone inside. She's curled up in front of the door instead, her huge tail wrapped around her like a blanket.

She's not attacking anyone. She's asleep. 

"Jim?" I call out, and the man in question pokes his head out of a nearby alleyway and jogs over to us.

"Hey! Oh, wow, you brought… everybody."

"We were in the area," I say. "Has she been like that since you got here?"

"Yeah," he confirms. "She was there when I came to open up in the morning."

"Hasn't woken up, then?" I hum. She must be extremely exhausted; I've never known her to be a particularly deep sleeper. 

"Alright, stay here and protect Jim, everybody," I say. "I'm gonna go wake her up."

"We should restrain her while she's asleep!" Amaterasu insists.

"No," I say. "Something's up. Just stay back and let me handle it, okay? She'll listen to me."

I can see it now that I'm focusing on her. The crust on the fur around her eyes… she's been crying. A lot.

"If you let her go, Luna-san, I will consider you one of them."

"Amako-chan, if that was the plan, I would have left you behind," I tell her.

"A-Amako!?" 

I ignore her sputtering protests because we're totally best friends now and approach the curled-up squirrel. Her breathing is mostly steady, and though I don't see any injuries, she looks like she's in pain. Incarnate damage, probably. She doesn't have the backpack she usually takes when she's out stealing snacks, either. I doubt she's here because of a manic episode.

She's obsessed with Fulgora, and she's traumatized about teal mages. Whatever managed to pull her away from a teal mage Fulgora must have been bad.

"Hey, Anath," I say softly, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder. 

She flinches as she returns to consciousness, pain and reality both hitting her like a brick. Her eyes crack open, she blinks a few times, and a couple seconds later she finally looks at me.

"L…Luna…?" she mumbles.

"Hey, Anath," I greet her.

"You're… yellow again," she says.

"Yeah," I confirm. "I am."

"That's good," she says. "That's good…"

She looks like she's about to fall back asleep. Perhaps she thinks this is a dream.

"Hey," I say again, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "Are you okay? Did you lose a fight?"

She blinks a couple times, eyes focusing more clearly on me.

"No…" she says. "No. I won."

"Yeah?" I ask, squatting down closer to her.

"Yeah," she confirms. "Any fight you live through… is a fight you won."

"Fair enough," I allow, brushing past how terribly fucking depressing that is to say. "Can you sit up for me? What are you doing here?"

"Oh…" Anath mumbles, struggling a little but ultimately pushing herself partly up off the ground. "I… I didn't know where to go because I don't remember the way… but I know how to get to Jim's place, and I thought he could maybe… help."

"Yeah," I say. "Well, he saw you and called me. How can I help?"

"How can you… oh. Oh! F-Fulgora! You have to help Fulgora!"

She jumps to her feet and stumbles, nearly faceplanting back onto the concrete. I manage to catch her, thankfully. God, she is really not doing well. 

"We were just talking about how to help Fulgora," I tell her honestly. "Would you be willing to come back with us?"

She blinks a couple more times, finally spotting the others. Nearly every Earth Guardian in the city is here to take her in.

"…Yeah," she says simply.

Just like that, huh?

"I came to… to turn myself in," Anath says, seemingly in response to my thoughts. It's always a bit jarring when she does that, but… it's comforting, too. She wasn't the best conversationalist most of the time, but she was the only one I could really talk to before Thea made that bypass.

"Sounds perfect, then," I say, wrapping one of her arms around my shoulders so I can help her walk. "Let's go. You seem exhausted."

"I haven't… slept a lot lately," she says. "Was up… I don't know. A long time. And I didn't sleep much last night… oh! Luna! I'm so sorry!"

She suddenly panics, staring at me with big wet eyes.

"Are you okay? You're yellow, so I assumed you're okay, but you were yellow with us and you were not okay and I didn't know I'm so sorry I—!"

"Hey, hey!" I say, squeezing her. "My plates are open. You can feel me, right?"

"…Right," she says, calming down a little. "Right. You… you're free now…?"

"It's complicated, but things are going way better," I answer. "I take it things have… not gotten better back in the castle?"

It is at this point that Anath just breaks down sobbing. By the time I bring her to the others, no one seems to be under the impression that I'm possibly trying to collude with the Dark Rebellion anymore. They figured out why I told them to stay back. Amaterasu and Aurora look pretty shocked. I suppose they haven't interacted with Anath much when she wasn't manic, come to think of it. They only know the crazy battle beast version of her. And like, to be fair, that's a lot of Anath, but… it's not everything.

"Mind if I pick you up?" I ask Anath.

She nods, which I interpret to mean 'yes, you can pick me up' rather than 'yes, I mind' because that's what she means to say. I scoop her into my arms and let her tears trickle down my frame.

"Let's get her back," I say.

"Anath?" Jim greets her hesitantly.

Again, he pokes his head out from the alleyway, hesitantly approaching.

"Jim… hi…" Anath mumbles.

"Hey," Jim says. "Is… is Fulgora okay?"

"…No," Anath says. "No, she's not."

"What happened?"

"Melpomene," Anath sniffs. "She… she knew the whole time. She knew where Fulgora was, and she just left her there! Alone in the Dark World! She's teal now, and she…" 

The sobbing starts up again, preventing Anath from elaborating further. Thea and I share a look. Melpomene. Should have known.

"Um… which one is teal again?" Jim asks.

"Hopelessness, despair, suicidal ideation. That kind of stuff," I answer. "It's real bad."

"Suici—there's a whole category of emotion for that!?" Jim gapes. "What the hell!?"

I give him a friendly bump with my hip.

"We'll save her, Jim," I promise him, making sure my words sound more confident than I feel. "Eliza's gonna be okay. We're all hands on deck for this."

"Okay," Jim says. "Okay. I… I guess I'll just open the shop…? I just… there's nothing else I can do, and I gotta feed everyone…"

Seeming vaguely shell-shocked, he starts wobbling back toward the pet shop. Without warning, Anath suddenly starts thrashing in my arms like a cat that decided she's too hungry for cuddle time, so I drop her. She stumbles over to Jim and wraps him up in a hug from behind, her face still leaking tears and snot.

"I'll bring her home," Anath says. "I failed before, but I'll bring her home."

"Um… thanks, Anath," Jim says, awkwardly patting her arm. 

He doesn't seem to have any idea what's happening, but he does actually seem to be feeling a little better by the time Anath lets him go. I scoop Anath up into my arms again, and after one more goodbye, I start running, my posse of flying women following me in silence all the way back to base. 

"Uma'tama!" Thea calls out when we arrive.

"Yes?" Uma'tama asks, appearing out of nowhere. "Oh! That's Anath!"

"Astutely noted," I comment dryly.

"Thank you!" Uma'tama answers seriously. "We do our best. Hello, Anath!"

"Nana I don't want any curry today," Anath mumbles in her sleep. "My face hurts…"

"Aww," I coo. "Spicy dreams right after seeing my face? I've traumatized her."

"I take it your battle was successful, then?" Uma'tama asks.

"No battle," Amaterasu answers. "Luna talked to her, and she came with us willingly."

"I think she's joining us," Thea says. "It sounds like Melpomene's responsible for what happened with Fulgora, too, and Anath wants to save her."

"Hmm… well, she's not joining anyone in that condition," Uma'tama notes. "Perhaps it is best if we table our planning session until tomorrow."

"What!?" Aurora demands. "Why is everyone going so slow about all this!? We can't wait until tomorrow, my team is with Melpomene right now!"

"Er… well, the thing is… and we must say this is a rather odd coincidence, but… all of the Dark World portals in the Fort Collins area just closed," Uma'tama says. "There aren't even any liminal spaces. We won't be able to go after them until their portal re-opens."

A 'rather odd coincidence,' huh? No, this is enemy action. Sure, it's not uncommon for there to be no liminal spaces active in the city at any given time, but there's generally a couple every week for densely populated places. Our city is above the curve, due to either Castalia's presence or the Dark Rebellion's shenanigans or more likely both. 

"Nanaya most likely manually closed the portals some time after Anath left," I say. "Maybe out of spite… but probably because she'd anticipate us wanting to launch a rescue attempt."

"So there's just nothing we can do!?" Aurora demands.

"No, we can still get them," I insist. "Ultimately, they can't stay in the Dark World forever. They at least have to come out sometime to buy food and stuff."

"But we have no idea when that will be!" Aurora argues.

"…I might be able to force the portal open," Thea says, looking thoughtful.

"What?" Amaterasu asks.

"Er, yes, pardon us?" Uma'tama chirps with concern.

"I'd have to build another one, but I did design the portal-control tech Nanaya uses," Thea says. "I was sort of in a fugue for that whole thing, but I can probably figure it out again. I would just… need permission to do stuff like that. And materials, ideally."

"What!?" Amaterasu barks. "You know how to just… turn off Dark World portals? This changes everything!"

"Oh dear," Uma'tama says.

"Amako's right," I agree, watching Uma'tama carefully. "If the Preservers just start producing portal control tech instead of Transformation Stones or whatever, they could protect Earth without putting any humans in danger. If your people haven't figured out how to do that yet, I'm sure Thea would be happy to teach someone, Uma'tama."

"Oh dear," Uma'tama repeats.

"Let me do it, Uma'tama!" Thea presses. "I can help."

"We… can't authorize that," Uma'tama says. "I am sorry."

Yep. That's about what I expected. I do my best to project my disappointment in Uma'tama's general direction regardless.

"That… makes sense," Amaterasu says. "Of course we cannot rely on this. Developing magical technologies is not our place."

Uugh. Stupid dogmatic dog!

"Come on, Amako, think about it a little harder than that!" I groan.

"S-stop calling me Amako!" she protests.

"Stop liking it, then," I shrug.

"Uma'tama, why aren't we letting Thea make portal control tech?" Aurora presses.

"It would be against policy," Uma'tama hedges.

"But why?" Aurora insists.

"You've bent the rules for us before," Thea says. "And this would be for the sake of saving Fulgora! Didn't you just say that—"

"Cross-dimensional technology is different," Uma'tama insists. "We cannot authorize that. Luna is right. The portal will eventually open on its own, as the others retrieve supplies. We will wait for that opportunity, as we always have."

"Because it's the one thing that could actually cause consequences for you, isn't it?" I accuse.

Everyone looks at me. I don't know why they're surprised; it's the first thing I even thought of. The most obvious possible answer.

"You don't just maintain a step away from humanity for our sake," I say. "You do it mainly for your own. Even if things go as bad as they can possibly go, even if you mess up so bad it causes another Great Execration, it's not that big of a deal as long as humanity can't reach you. You're bending the rules for us where you can, and I appreciate it, but this would be more than that. This would be your people's equivalent of a national security risk. This would be treason."

Uma'tama glances back and forth between everyone present.

"…We're afraid we can't comment on that, Luna," they answer.

"That's fine," I shrug. "I'm having plenty of fun putting together the pieces on my own. Does the 'Thana'tena Company Municipal Power Plant' ring any bells? Because hypothetically, if your people happened to be suffering a power crisis and needed to acquire that power from other places, there would realistically be a way to transfer energy between dimensions in a place like that."

"Luna," Uma'tama says firmly. "Stop."

"Of course, boss," I say, holding up my hands in surrender. "My lips are sealed like solder." 

"We will be waiting for the portal to reopen," Uma'tama says. "Luna, Thea, Aurora. Perhaps the three of you should practice fighting together for the time being. We should be ready at any moment."

Ah, I should confirm something in that case.

"Hypothetically," I say, "if an emergency happened and Castalia and I were in, say, space, would you have any difficulty contacting us?"

"No," Uma'tama says. "That should be fine. Goodbye for now, everyone."

They vanish, leaving us alone with my ever-growing collection of puzzle pieces. I think I finally have enough to form the full border. All the paranoia, all the restrictions, all the refusal to teach… it all ties back to a single thing. 

When the Antipathy took their swing, they socked the Preservers square in the jaw. Those eldritch cats got hurt. Badly.

Way back when the Dark Rebellion and I were exploring those Antipathy ruins, we found that power company full of happy media for kids and stuff. In the center of that place, we found a horrifyingly enormous crystal of negative emotions—especially anger—that seemed to have blown up whatever huge machine had been there previously. If we assume that machine was some kind of dimensional transfer device, then the Antipathy actually had a route through which they could fire back at their otherwise-extradimensional oppressors. 

Which is… I mean, on one hand it's kinda based, the Preservers definitely deserved a smack for their fucked up imperialist power plant. But on the other hand… it's a little worrying. If the Dark Rebellion figure out what I've figured out, then they might have a path to actually hurt the Preservers, at least if… well, no. Without Thea they don't have the technical know-how to repair, use, or even understand anything going on in the power plant. 

Besides, with all the Dark World portals currently closed, the Dark Rebellion is trapped. I don't know of any way to directly go from one Dark World fragment to another; we always had to travel through Earth to get there.

It's probably nothing to worry about.

- - -

"Why are we here?" Veritas asks impatiently. "There's nothing here but smashed-up rocks."

"Most Antipathy architecture used stone," Melpomene answers. "The newer buildings are comparatively out of place."

"That… doesn't answer my question…?"

Melpolene huffs, adjusting her grip on me slightly as we all trudge through the Dark World together. While I would love to be able to wander around on my own, I do have to admit I don't find being held like this to be all that bad. A little embarrassing, sure, but Melpomene is surprisingly good at the princess carry. It's comfy and warm!

It's weird.

Oh, hush. You don't like anything.

Hnngh. You're getting a little too bold just because Veritas is around.

S-sorry! Sorry. Forget I said anything.

"We are here to retrieve something," Nanaya answers. 

"Is it a smashed rock?" Veritas asks.

"No," Nanaya says.

"Well, what is it then?" 

"You will see."

"Well, why can't you tell me now?"

Nanaya glances over to me, glaring hard enough that I can tell through my miasma sense.

"Would you control her, please?" she asks.

"I dunno, I think she's making a good point," I say. "Why can't you tell us now, Nanaya?"

"Yeah! I'm making a good point!" Veritas agrees. 

It's true. She's making a good point.

Oh, wow, even Fulgora agrees with us. You've really got no leg to stand on, Nana.

"You will have even more insufferable questions when we get there, and I would prefer to answer them all at that point," Nanaya explains.

"Why?" Veritas asks. "We're not doing anything other than walking. You could just explain now!" 

"Mmm," Nanaya grumbles, starting to walk noticeably faster.

"Hey! That's not an answer!" Veritas complains, running after her.

"That is correct," Nanaya agrees, walking even faster.

"Hey! Hey, wait! Slow down! You're not getting away that easily!"

Veritas scrambles after her, but Melpomene—and by extension me—stays the same speed, letting the two of them run off. Veritas doesn't even seem to notice we're getting separated, too busy chattering away at Nanaya.

"The two of them warmed up to each other fast," Melpomene notes. "I can't say I expected that."

"Uh, is this the two of them 'warming up to each other?'" I ask.

"It's good for Nanaya," Melpomene says. "Having someone with a lot of energy around, I mean. She's a patient woman, so I doubt she's truly getting as annoyed as she appears."

"Wow," I comment sharply. "Replacing Anath already, huh?"

I almost expect Melpomene to snap back, but she doesn't. She's not even looking at me.

"No one can replace what Anath was to Nanaya," she says. "But it slows the bleeding a bit. I'm more surprised that Veritas is putting up with her."

"Veritas has always been angry," I say. "But I've never really been able to figure out what she's angry at. It just kind of seems to flick around in every direction, coming and going at random. She'll probably be upset at Nana again later."

"Ah," Melpomene says. "It sounds like Veritas is angry at herself, then."

"Oh," I respond. "Yeah, maybe."

There's a pause, the two of us just appreciating the comforting embrace of the Dark World together. We breathe in sync, the miasma settling like a cool breeze inside our lungs before blowing back out into the air, warmer and fuller than before.

"So you're not Fulgora, I take it," Melpomene comments.

"Nope," I confirm.

"Are you Minerva?"

"You killed her, so no," I answer.

"I see. What's your name, then?" she asks.

"Fulgora hasn't let me pick one."

That seems to give her pause.

"Hasn't… let you pick one?" she repeats.

"It's not a big deal," I insist. "I'm sure I'll end up assuming an incarnate form one of these days, and the stone will assign me a name then. I can just wait for that."

You don't have to tell her everything just because she asks.

That would be rude, though. And she's not going to tell Veritas, so it's fine, right?

Just don't overstep.

"I admit to wondering what it's like, from time to time," Melpomene comments. "Having another you inside your head. Someone who moves your body, who does things with your hands, but who isn't actually you."

"It can be a little surreal, at times," I tell her. "When Fulgora and Minerva first started out, they didn't realize there were two of them at first. We are all still the same person, to a degree. But there's a hard-to-describe distinction. Sometimes, when we think something, it's her that's thinking it. Sometimes it's me."

"That makes sense," Melpomene says. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

"Oh yeah?" I ask. "What, you got a second you rattling around in there?"

"No, I am not so lucky," Melpomene answers. "It's just me. Everything I've done has always been me."

Ah. I understand.

"It's not like when Fulgora does something bad I can pretend it's not my fault," I say. "We're both in here. We both have power over what this body does. We're both just Eliza, in the end. The blood on her hands is on mine, too."

"Ah. Yes," Melpomene agrees. "I suppose that is the only way it should be."

There's another pause. Nanaya and Veritas are so far ahead that we can't even hear their bickering anymore, but Melpomene walks on. I suppose she knows where we're going, in the end. Or perhaps she's just very good at acting with more confidence than she actually has.

"I forgive you, you know," I tell her.

A burst of shock ripples out from her soul, followed by a tide of confusion and horror.

"What!?" she sputters.

"I don't know how much my forgiveness is actually worth," I clarify. "I wasn't really around yet when you killed Minerva and left Fulgora to rot. But all that… it's the only reason I exist now. Even if the situation kind of sucks, I'm glad I exist. I like to swim. I like spending time with Veritas. I like trying to remember how to fly. I haven't been around long, but I want to—"

My voice cuts off as a deep loathing wells up inside me.

That's enough out of you. It's my turn.

"…Eliza?" Melpomene asks, concern flowing out of her. Concern. Can you fucking believe it?

"Fulgora," I correct. "And we both know you don't deserve forgiveness from anyone. Don't listen to any of her nonsense."

My feelings aren't nonsense!

Your existence is nonsense. Shut the fuck up.

"I don't need you to tell me what I do and don't deserve," Melpomene scowls. "I'm well aware of the lines I've crossed."

"Good," I snap. "Then the only thing you need to worry about is finding me a worthwhile place to die. Now hurry up. The others left you behind."

Melpomene grips me tighter, gritting her teeth.

"I know where we're going," she snaps. "We will be there on time."

She picks up the pace anyway, though, taking a few turns on the way. When we finally arrive, Veritas and Nanaya are waiting for us.

"You're late," Nanaya accuses.

"You're just early," Melpomene huffs. "Now let's go in already. What did you need to come here so badly for, anyway?"

"The central area," Nanaya says. "I think we missed something important."

"Why?" Melpomene asks. "What can we even do with it anyway?"

Nanaya doesn't answer, just stomping inside what feels like a really huge building. Melpomene follows, and I feel something odd. The miasma in here is… different. Thicker. 

Angrier.

Yeah. Angrier.

Nanaya moves with purpose, occasionally stopping to grab something and shove it inside her cloak. Apparently, that article of clothing is an artifact, somehow, because she never seems to run out of space in there. 

"You'd better start explaining now," Veritas huffs.

"Mmm. Or what, child?" Nanaya challenges.

"I'll get even more annoying about it," Veritas answers.

"I see. That is no idle threat," Nanaya notes. "Very well, then. I simply came to the conclusion that much of the technology here may have been more salvageable than we first realized, and have come to collect it."

"You 'simply came to the conclusion' that stuff in here would be useful? That doesn't explain anything!" Veritas complains.

"Mmm. Call it… a premonition from the Dark World," Nanaya says. "I believe this technology may be key to staging a successful attack on the Preservers."

"Even if it is, what can we do with it?" Melpomene asks. "Unless you've learned to work with Antipathy tech the way Thea has, I am not sure we can make much use of it."

"That would be the other thing I wished to talk about," Nanaya says. "We're hemorrhaging members, and that is unacceptable. As you've noted, Thea had a purpose in our rebellion. Like it or not, Luna did too. And more members would always be welcome. Anath, certainly… and maybe even Aurora. After all, she's just being used by the Preservers as-is. Right, Veritas?"

"Uh… yeah," Veritas agrees. "Right."

"They're going to come after us, now," Nanaya says. "It's their only play. Now that they know where Veritas and Fulgora are, the Earth Guardians will come to take them back. We can make that desperation their undoing. We can turn their trap against them. I have a plan."

Sometimes, I forget where Nanaya comes from. Even though the image of her knee slammed halfway through Aurora's skull will never leave my mind, I forget that Nanaya is a woman who came from war. I've beaten her. Anath has beaten her. She's been shown over and over again that she lacks the strength to win when it counts. But that has never, and likely will never deter her. Every time she loses, she's still thinking about the next way she might be able to win. 

Because that's how it has always been to her. One girl against a nation. Two nations. A universe. Maybe even more than one of those, too. Defeat does not deter her. A bloodless victory was never part of her goals from the start.

And Melpomene, well… she started drowning in that blood ages ago.

"I'm listening," she says. 

"They likely believe they can win by forcing us to fight in the liminal zone, where they can deploy all their heavy hitters who would otherwise be stopped by the miasma," Nanaya says. "But given what you and Fulgora are capable of… what if we brought the miasma with us?"

"Would that… help?" Veritas asks. "The Dark World makes people stronger, right?"

"It can," Melpomene answers, "but it is an agonizing process. Not one that a person can simply fight through. I like it, Nanaya. Let's have them taste what they're missing."

"I might be able to do better than just bringing the miasma," I chime in.

"Oh?" Nanaya asks.

"The storm between worlds," I say. "If I can bring that through, I doubt even Castalia could stand up to it for long."

For the first time, I think I almost feel a little bit of happiness from Nanaya. Almost. Still, that's an auspicious sign. That woman is willing to sacrifice anything for her plans.

This way, I can try to make sure she starts with me.