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"Not looking too good for me." She says while holding what's left of her arm. Staring down Xander with a weak smile, Vanessa summons her scythe once more.
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Hiro is fighting a losing battle with Zero, while Sera sits and watches.
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"She's just… Watching? How can she sit back and watch while the man she loves… it makes SO much sense now." Rose thinks to herself, her rage building, bubbling up inside of her like a volcano about to explode.
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"Calm down. I need to deal with Hiro and Vanessa first."
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"Faust! I'll help Hiro and you go help Vanessa!" She says.
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"Wait!" She runs off before he can stop her. Begrudgingly, he follows her orders and attacks Xander.
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"I'm here for you! Back off and take care of yourself!"
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Rose bolts in, blocking a punch from Zero and creating space between the two of them. Their reprieve is short lived, as Zero continues his assault as if nothing happened. She stays on the defensive while Hiro drops to the floor in pain from the dagger that is currently plunged deep into his abdomen. Rose struggles to fight back before getting kicked to the ground.
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"I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere right now." Zero says to Rose before lunging at Hiro.
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"ZERO! Now's your chance!" Sera shouts as she dashes towards Xander. Rose turns around and is met with a terrifying sight. Xander's spear is plunged through Vanessa’s stomach, pinning her to a wall, while Faust is on the ground incapacitated.
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Zero dashes over to them with an urgency in his eyes. Rose, starting to feel the effects of ether exhaustion, stumbles to run after them.
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In the midst of this, Xander pulls his spear out of her and winds up another strike. Sera deflects the attack while Zero rushes in behind her, putting a hand on Vanessa’s chest. He starts to pull something translucent out of her. She groans in pain as this 'thing' is extracted from her. Rose reaches forward, desperately trying to stop him, but before she can grab them, Xander shoots a point blank fireball in the now congested corner. Rose gets launched away, tossed across the room.
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Smoke clouds the room. A large slice cleaves through it.
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“Almost lost my head there for a moment.” Zero says while holding a translucent scythe. As the smoke clears, Rose sees something roll across the ground.
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“But that’s… Ms.Vanessa’s ability. What did he do? And what happened to her?"
She thinks before her questions are answered.
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Zero stands clutching the Ether Scythe in a cold sweat. Even he is surprised at the outcome of the previous exchange.
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Rose notices Hiro's outstretched arm reaching towards the rolling object. His face loses color as tears begin to flow.
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"MOTHER!" He shouts before dropping his arm, struggling to stay conscious, before passing out.
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The object was Vanessa’s head.
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In the smoke from the earlier fireball, Xander had decapitated her. Rose felt nauseous. Everything started to feel like one big, bad dream. Her waning ether reserves only added to the problem.
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Xander stumbles, before dropping to one knee. He supports himself on his spear and turns towards Rose.
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"I… am truly sorry… for this… but as recompense… I will leave for… three months. Please… stop me at… that time…" He says.
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Xander's eyes close and his body drops to the ground lifelessly, and then stands up straight. He squats down before leaping into the air, and dashing off to the East.
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"Whew! I didn't think I'd make it out of there for a second. Sera! Are you still alive over there?" Zero says while plopping himself down on the floor.
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"Barely, but yeah. So is this the end of our little partnership? I'm a busy woman with things to steal and people to seduce."
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"I have one more thing I need you to do for me. You're a natural born liar so it should be pretty easy for you. Come with me."
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"Ugh. You're such a pain in the ass. Fine."
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Sera follows Zero up to the highest, least damaged part of the palace and climbs up with him. Once he gets there, the same dark cloaked teleporter from earlier appears beside them. Zero places his hand on one of the man's broad shoulders and begins speaking.
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"People of Rahu! This is Lord Zero Varasta, King of Madu speaking to you on behalf of your own king, Lord Hiro Azor."
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His words reverberated in Rose's head as he spoke. She was not only hearing him, but his words were being spoken directly into her mind, as well as all of the kingdom's citizens.
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"I wish to inform you that your kingdom's palace is in shambles, and your king is incapacitated. He and I made a private agreement to do battle today, over the rights to the Parimus Mine. This agreement was made in the presence of one of each King's chosen observers. Those observers will now speak to confirm the contents of the meeting."
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"Hiro never mentioned anything about this, nor was it what destroyed the palace. Why is he lying?" Rose thinks to herself.
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"I, Cem Vari, was present during the aforementioned meeting as Lord Zero Varasta's observer, and agree to everything his Majesty has said."
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Sera touches the man's other shoulder.
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"I, Seraph I. Nite, or Sera as you know me, was present during the meeting as Lord Hiro Azor's observer… and agree to what Lord Varasta has said."
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"As you have heard, the observers agree. However, as an act of goodwill towards the Kingdom of Rahu, I will allow Lord Azor to challenge me again in 75 days, if he so chooses. If he wins at that time, I will relinquish the rights of the mine back to you all. Once he awakens, he will be informed of the specifics of our rematch. Until then, I pray for a swift recovery of your King, and bid you all farewell." Zero says before taking his hand off of Cem's shoulder.
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"So I'm done now? If so, I'll be heading out."
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Sera hops down off of the rubble and starts to take her leave. She walks off, ripping away the burnt and tattered portions of her maid's uniform, revealing a few fresh bruises, old scars, and the tortoise tattoo on her shoulder.
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"Sure, you're free to do what you like from here on out. Your captain has also been released already, so I have upheld my end of the deal."
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"Thanks, but I figured that. You're a man of your word. Sometimes."
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Zero smirks and jumps down. He walks over to Hiro, kicking Rose on his way over to him. He reaches down and touches Hiro's chest in similar fashion to Vanessa’s and pulls a dark blue orb out of him.
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"Two abilities down, one more to go." He says, now turning to Rose.
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"I'll see you in 75 days, young one." He says before leaving behind Sera.
.
.
.
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It was hard. She tossed and turned in her bed endlessly, her mind constantly recalling those events. She was stuck somewhere between anger and sadness, but regardless of which side she leaned towards, there was still too much of both.
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"How did I manage to screw up so badly? Why couldn't I save them?"
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Her mind antagonized her. Her heart was wracked with guilt. She struggled to stay sane. It was eating away at her until… she heard a knock on her door.
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"Rose? It's been a few weeks. Don't you think you should come out of there now?"
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Vuella says from the other side of Rose's bedroom door.
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"Are Mr. Hiro and Mr. Rex awake?"
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"No, not yet."
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"Then go away."
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"Fine. I'm leaving you some food at the door. Again."
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Vuella leaves as she usually does, irritated by Rose's apathy, but even more irritated by her own lack of action. Rose was her best, and only real friend, and she couldn't do anything to help her. She stops and steels herself for a moment before turning around.
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Vuella walks in front of the door once again, but this time kicks it off of its hinges. The door flies forward, slamming directly into Rose. Vuella leaps towards her, grabbing her from underneath the door.
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"What is wrong with you?!" Rose says.
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"What is wrong with you?!" Vuella responds.
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Vuella wrestles her off of the bed and pins her arms to the ground.
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"Do you see what you're doing to yourself? You smell, your hair is overgrown, and you're too weak to fight back."
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"You don't think I know I'm weak?! I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't protect them…" Rose says as she starts to lose the small amount of resistance she had against Vuella.
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"Sure, you're not as strong as Rex and the others, but if anyone else in Rahu were there instead of you, it still would've gone the same way. You did fine"
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"You just… don't understand…" Rose mumbles under her breath.
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"What exactly don't I understand?"
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"They're not just a couple of people that I know, they're… they're my family. Mr. Hiro took me in off the street, fed me, clothed me, and made me feel like I was part of their family. Mr. Rex taught me everything he knew in hopes that I would be able to do the ONE job they gave me. And now look at them. The people that gave me a new life that's actually worth living, are lying in bed forever."
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"And how do you think we feel? My brothers and I are watching the person who saved us from a life of crime shut herself away from the people she called her family. From us, the ones who she took in and gave a life worth living."
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Both of them start to tear up at each other's feelings. Vuella releases her grip and gets off of her. Rose sits up.
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"Look, I'm sorry about distancing myself, but… it's just hard to keep going without them."
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"I could say the same thing about you."
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"You said Rex taught you everything he knew so you would be able to succeed, right? How about you put it to good use?"
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"How? Even if I could help them, how would I start?"
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"We got a letter from Lord Tyrol today. It was addressed to you, so you should probably start there."
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They get up and head out to read the letter. Once Rose leaves her room, she is met with a familiar sense of awe, being in the reconstructed foyer for the first time. The exquisite chandelier was now replaced with a smaller, less extravagant, but still beautiful one. The red carpet had now been completely removed, exposing the bare, yet excellently kept hardwood floors underneath.
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They arrive at Hiro’s study, much to Rose’s surprise. They open the door and Rose halfway expects Hiro to be sitting there as usual, but is met with an empty chair. On the desk, she sees the aforementioned letter on top of a fairly large stack of papers.
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“You should read it out loud, if you dont mind of course.”
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“I figured you’d say that. Nosey.”
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“Greetings, Rose. I am writing this letter to you to relay a message from our good friend Hiro.” She reads.
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“I don’t know what I was expecting him to write, but it wasn’t that. Keep going.”
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She continues. “As you know, Hiro is a very intelligent man who takes several precautionary measures when approaching a problem. Even in our current predicament, he managed to make preparations before being taken out himself. Before the kings arrived in Rahu, he sent a letter to me with the intention of arriving after the meeting was already over. It read, ‘Should I die in or soon after this meeting, you need to have Rose gather all of the notes in my study and bring them to you. It is imperative that you do this exactly as I say. Tell her not to read over them until she is in your presence. After you two read them, you should plan your next moves around what I’ve written.'”
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She pauses at the information she just read. If Hiro had really foreseen all of this happening, why didn’t he say something to anyone?
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“Hiro is… Incredible.” Vuella says.
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“Agreed."
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"I'm honoring his wishes by giving you this information. Now, I expect you to do the same. If you do, come to my palace in Kennis, and ask for me by my first name. The guards will understand and let you in. I hope to see you soon."
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"So, what are you going to do?"
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Rose stops to think about it. If she is honest with herself, she doesn't exactly know what she's supposed to do. She knows to go see Faust, but what else after that? What did Hiro want from her? Only one way to find out.
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"Let's take a peek."
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"I was thinking the same thing. No harm in being a little mischievous, right?" Vuella says with a grin on her face.
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Rose takes the first page on the fairly large stack of papers and reads it aloud.
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"Did you really think I wouldn't expect you to take a peek at my notes?"
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"You're joking, right?"
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"Nope, that's the first sentence on the page."
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Rose clutches the page in her hands and puts her head down. She lets out a soft chuckle as a tear rolls down her face.
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"Everything OK over there?"
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"Yeah, yeah I'm fine… It's just that… This is so like him. He knows me so well." She says through a few sniffles and a mild smile. She continues to read.
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"I'm assuming by the time you read this, Faust has already reached out to you. If you're wondering what exactly you would be doing, it will involve some traveling. If things go as I planned, after you meet with Faust, you won't return to Rahu for a while. Be sure to make any preparations before you leave. I can't tell you anymore than that, but just trust me. And since I lost the chance to say this,-"
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"'Lost the chance to say what? What did he say?" Vuella says.
"Can't read that part out loud. Not something for you to hear." She says while folding up the page and stuffing it in her pocket.
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"If you won't tell me, I guess I won't pry." She says while shrugging her shoulders.
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"So? Now what are you thinking of doing? You leaving right now?"
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"I guess so. Can you take me to Hiro and Rex?"
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The two girls leave the room and make their way to Hiro and Rex’s current resting places. Once they arrive Vuella leaves to give her some time with them alone.
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"Hey guys. I just… wanted to let you know that I'm heading out. To uh… Lord Tyrol's palace. So yeah. Just saying bye…"
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Her eyes start to well up with tears at the sight of them. Their still bodies, starting to turn pale as they sit. She touches Hiro's arm and feels his faint pulse and cool skin.
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She breaks down.
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"I'M SORRY! I should've been better! I should've trained harder! I should've paid more attention! I should've protected you!"
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She falls to Hiro's bedside, weeping.
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"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
She sits like this for a few moments muttering the same phrase over and over again.
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She stands and takes a deep breath.
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"Feels a bit better after getting that off of my chest." She says through sniffles while wiping her face.
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"Now I guess it is time for me to actually get going. When I come back, I promise I'll be better. I'll be someone you guys can rely on. Oh and… Hiro, you didn’t need to say it, because I love you too."
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Rose takes one more look at them, the two people responsible for this new life she has. They gave her a home, a family, and most importantly, a future. It's about time for her to pay them back.
ACT I END
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