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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 20:34:46 GMT
"Shush, you." Diana chastised.
Erinye held her hands together. "At this stage, it isn't worth apologizing."
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 3, 2020 20:59:29 GMT
Izanami let out a long sigh.
"...I couldn't stay there, Nakiri, I couldn't let myself get dragged down by Kazumi's mistakes that got a lot of people killed the moment he decided to protect that man, I had a family, I had Penny-" Izanami said.
"And you were a part of OUR own family and you tore us apart through your own free will, you simply walked away and never looked at us again, Izanami and after you left, everything started to get worse. Do you have any idea what we have been through?" Nakiri asked, her chest pushing forward and backwards from exhaling.
"...I imagine a lot actually. But...I want to make things right with you, with everyone, I'm sorry, what else do you want me to do?" Izanami asked.
Nakiri just stared down and closed her eyes.
"...Anything you will say will not fix the hole that you made in my heart, no matter how much you try. You were one of my bestest friends, Izanami, I even considered you a sister to me, a sister who showed me some light, who gave me love after being alone for so long, you and the others helped me find a reason to start caring again and gave me a purpose and then one day, you up and vanished and looked for you everywhere till Koshi told me that you left, I refused to believe him, I told him and Kazumi that you wouldn't do that, I waited as long as I could till I finally faced the truth and realized that you would never come back! I felt...betrayed, like I was being used all this time." Nakiri said.
She opened her eyes, they were red with tears landing on her cheeks, she looked angry and sad.
"After you left, everything started going to shit, everyone started arguing and blaming each other, Kita came in and nearly killed the entire group, Kazumi got taken and killed himself, all of F started betraying each other left and right till we were the only ones left, I was more than happy to give up living entirely if it meant being alone again in this fucked up world, you and everyone else made me feel like...like I'm worthless, like I had no reason to exist if the people I cared and loved for were actually fakes who din't love me and just wanted to use me, like it was a big stupid joke and I was the punchline!" Nakiri sobbed.
Izanami was taken aback by this before she looked away from Nakiri with a guilty look on her face, she did not even object to Nakiri's words for what she was saying was true and she did hurt her.
Nephthys just stood in the background, watching this before turning to look at everyone else, trying to see their reactions.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 21:04:39 GMT
Erinye looked like she had been listening intently. With a expression of understanding on her face.
Diana was simply staring at Izanami, looking at her expression as her own slowly turned to match it.
Theseus was stoic, and Bacchus had folded his arms, Seemingly not sure how to react.
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 3, 2020 21:24:23 GMT
Hercule, with his arms crossed, just looked at Izanami and Nakiri while Dietz din't bother to look at them at all.
Izanami looked back at Nakiri with a sad look.
"...I do not blame you if you feel that way, Nakiri. Because you are right, I fucked up and you got hurt as a result. If only I tried to talk to you guys and try to take control of the situation but instead I cut you loose and ran like a coward, that will always be my greatest sin that I will never forgive myself for. If you want to hate me for it and never forgive me, that's okay, I understand." Izanami nodded.
Nakiri just continued sobbing as she placed her hand on her eyes.
"..But before anything else, I want to give you this." Izanami said, reaching into her pocket.
She pulled out a regular kunai knife and handed it to Nakiri.
Nakiri simply looked at Izanami before looking down at the knife and turned it around, her eyes lit up with surprise. It was the knife with the 'IN' initials carved on the handle.
"...Is this? The knife I gave you on that night?" Nakiri asked, holding it tightly.
"Even if I cut my ties with the group, I never got rid of that knife because it represents something special to me, it represents our bond and our friendship. I did not want to lose that, this knife means a lot to me and to you, you were the one who trusted me with it, you don't know how honored and happy I was to have it with me." Izanami said, smiling at her.
Nakiri, still looking surprised, held the knife in her hands and continued looking at it to make sure what she was seeing was real.
"...I...I thought you got rid of it, after all this time." Nakiri said, speechless.
"...Why are those two letters in two different colours?" Nephthys asked, looking at the knife herself.
"It's our initials, I is for me and N is for Nakiri, she used the colors of our hairs to make them stand out." Izanami explained, still looking at Nakiri.
"...That's...kind of weird, but thoughtful, I guess." Dietz said, scratching the back of his head.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 21:33:53 GMT
"So.. what now?" Diana asked.
"Well, she is still a criminal, and will have to be arrested at the very least." Theseus pointed out.
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 3, 2020 22:05:56 GMT
"Yeah. You two may be friends but she still has to face justice, and perhaps she could be of some help when it comes to getting the orb out of F2's grasp." Hercule said.
Nakiri din't seem happy with that as she looked back at Izanami.
"...So, why did you decide to come looking for us? It isn't just to throw us into a cell and lock the key, right?" Nakiri asked.
"The reason I chose to find you guys is because if I left the ISP and the Unigard to handle, they probably would of made things worst so I decided to take this into my own hands, you and the others will get a trial but I will make sure that you won't get executed and perhaps when one day you will be free...you guys can try to be a part of the Elite Guard and try things differently from what Kazumi had in mind for us." Izanami said.
"...You sound so hopeful about that, but I can really believe that? That things will work out so perfectly in the end? How can you be so sure?" Nakiri asked.
Izanami placed her hand on her shoulder as the two looked each other in the eyes.
"...I will do my damndest to make that happen, I promise you that." Izanami said.
More tears fell out of Nakiri's eyes as she handed the knife back to Izanami and then looked at her right hand, the white gate sigil with the spirit in the middle of it she drew on her hand before looking at the orb sitting on the floor.
"...At this rate, my body is too fucked up to even get up, the others will come in guns and blazing to save me and take the orb but probably get killed in the process by these guys, I can't let them sacrifice their own lives for this orb...and for me...ugh, I guess I can finally understand why Kazumi gave up the way he did, he felt like he had no chance of escaping and so he sacrificed himself." Nakiri thought.
She looked back at the sigil.
"...Atleast, this will prevent me from being turned into one a ghoul and make sure that they won't summon my soul to interrogate me...and if Aku is really planning on betraying us, then the only one who can stop him is..." Nakiri thought.
She looked up at Izanami.
"Hey, Iza...can you do me a solid for one last time?" Nakiri asked, sincerely.
"...Of course, what is it?" Izanami asked, looking uncertain.
"...You...you will make sure that the others will make it out of this alive, right?" Nakiri asked.
Izanami thought about it for a bit before she looked at Izanami.
"I will, you know I will." Izanami said.
"..And, if this Azrael guy appears and tries to fuck up everything we tried to protect...you will stop him right, you won't let Universe 2 get destroyed, right?" Nakiri asked.
"...That's the plan. Me and the others will fight this Azrael, even if it will cost me my life. And I'll do it to protect you and the others aswell." Izanami smiled.
Nakiri...smiled back at Izanami.
"Good...now, stay aside." Nakiri said.
"...What?" Izanami asked, her happiness turned to confusion.
Nakiri quickly turned to look at one of the escape shuttle doors.
"GET IT NOW!" Nakiri yelled.
The door opened and another Nakiri jumped out, grabbing the orb in her hands before she picked up another knife of Destruction and tossed it to the real Nakiri who easily grabbed it while the Nakiri who had the orb vanished from their eyes by using a knife of teleportation.
"DID THAT JUST HAPPEN!?" Dietz asked in shock, he blinked twice to make sure that the orb was still there, but it wasn't.
Hercule and Nephthys looked equally shocked as the former turned to the real Nakiri and marched towards her, looking angry.
"You! You better get that copy to return the orb now or I'll-!" Hercule.
Nakiri held the knife to her throat.
"Stand back!" Nakiri yelled.
Hercule stopped in his tracks and Izanami's face was turning white as she saw her holding the knife to her neck.
"Nakiri, what are you doing!?" Izanami asked, confused by her friend's actions.
"IF THERE IS ONE PERSON WHO WILL DECIDE MY FATE, IT WON'T BE ANY OF YOU, THE PIRATES, THOSE GHOULS, AZRAEL, THE ISP, THE UNIGARD AND NOT EVEN GOD HIMSELF, IF SOMEONE IS GONNA DECIDE HOW I DIE, IT WILL BE ME!" Nakiri announced.
She slashed her throat open with the knife of Destruction.
Izanami's eye widened, Nakiri's neck imprinted on her retina.
Nephthys placed her hand on her mouth as she remembered what she did at the Sphinx.
"S-She, she can't be!" Nephthys said.
Nakiri gurgled a shit load of blood out of her mouth as the Destruction energy went right through the gap in her neck and her entire body changed it's colour to purple along with her hair and eyes.
Hercule's eyes shrunk as he realized what was about to happen.
"Holy shit, she plans to take us all down with her! DIETZ, ACTIVATE THE FORCEFIELD AROUND HER AND THE HANGAR BAY, STOP HER FROM NUKING THE ABSALON TO KINGDOM COME!" Hercule ordered.
Dietz, who was visibly panicking from them losing the orb and Nakiri's destructive suicide attempt, was juggling with the transceiver before it landed properly in his hand and activated a forcefield around Nakiri and one around the entire bay.
"AS FOR THE REST OF YOU, LET'S GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE IF WE DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE PSYCHE!" Hercule said, as he grabbed Diana by her hand and started running out of the room, followed up by Dietz and Nephthys.
Izanami, however, simply looked at Nakiri, shaking her head in disbelief with a lot of emotions taking her over.
"NO!" Izanami yelled, running towards Nakiri before Hercule and Nephthys turned to look at her.
"Izanami, stop!" Nephthys said.
"Are you nuts, she is gonna blow up! It's not worth it!" Hercule yelled at her.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 22:19:55 GMT
Diana pulled her hand back out of Hercule's grip on impulse, before running after him anyway. Followed by a scornful Bacchus.
Erinye stared at Nakiri, with white eyes.
She ran over to Theseus, pulled him up to his feet and ran out of the room while dragging him behind her.
As Bacchus made his retreat as well, he stopped right at the doorway. "Izanami, you need to go." Bacchus said, "If you stay in this room you're going to die."
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 3, 2020 23:37:24 GMT
Izanami did not listen as she kept running towards Nakiri despite how foolish her attempts would be.
----
Back in the F2 ship.
Kumo was still sitting on his chair with his chin placed on his hands and spider legs as he was staring at the monitor, Warikomu was leaning against the wall while Gin was walking back and forth and bitting his finger till it started to bleed.
"This is driving me insane, she is taking too long, let's go after her right now!" Gin decided, turning to Kumo.
Then, copy Nakiri appeared in the cockpit, holding the orb in her hands and the others turned to her.
"You're back." Warikomu said.
"Wow, you actually managed to get it, nice work, Naki!" Gin grinned, looking actually impressed.
"...Wait." Kumo said, his extra pair of eyes analyzed Nakiri and looked concerned.
Nakiri fell to her knees and dropped the orb as it rolled towards the group, starting to glow pink.
"This isn't the real Nakiri!" Kumo said, standing up.
"What!?" Warikomu asked, looking at Kumo before looking at Nakiri.
"...Naki?" Gin asked, actually looking worried for someone other than him for once.
Nakiri simply looked at them all, smiling at them with tears coming out of her eyes.
"It's been fun, guys. Thanks for making me a part of your family after everything that happened." Nakiri said.
Her body collapsed and turned into pink dust.
Warikomu and Gin looked confused while Kumo quickly looked at the screen and placed his hand on his ear piece.
"Nakiri, what the hell are you doing, did something happen, do you need us to save you!? ANSWER ME!" Kumo yelled.
----
Back in the hangar bay.
While Kumo could be hearing yelling through her ear piece, Nakiri was staring at her own hand whiler her hair and clothes were turning to shreds, the rest of her body followed suit starting from her legs and lit up like a purple candle, the soul symbol in her gate sigil was glowing white.
"NAKIRI!"
Nakiri heard Izanami's cry, who extended her left arm out to her.
She, on the other hand, just smiled as she pierced through the forcefield with her right hand with the sigil on it, reaching out to Izanami as everything turned white.
-----
A long ago, in the forest outside of Kodama in the middle of the night filled with stars.
A kunai was thrown into a practice dummy tied to a tree, with 6 more knives shoved in the dummy.
Nakiri was sitting on a log, claw marks on her cheeks, arms, belly and legs, with one hand she picked up a knife and the other she was holding a bottle of sake and chugged down half of the drink into her mouth and went all the way into her stomach before throwing the next knife into the dummy.
"...Stupid were-cats." Nakiri grumbled, looking annoyed.
"Had a rough mission, I wager?" A voice asked.
Nakiri turned her head to see Izanami standing there right behind her.
"Oh, hi, Iza. Just got back from 12." Nakiri said, waving slightly at her.
Izanami walked up to Nakiri and immediately took notice of the wounds on her body.
"...What happened to you?" Izanami asked, sounding worried.
"Eh, nothing too bad. Got into a argument with our co-workers from 12 and then it turned into a shitshow." Nakiri sighed.
"...Did you instigate it?" Izanami asked.
"Well, no...kinda. After I finished my work with those cat assassins, I was about to leave and go on my merry way till they said some shit about me behind my back then I turned to them and gave them a piece of my mind...and things went downhill from there and there you go. But, if you must know, I kicked their furry asses in the end." Nakiri said, proud of that fact.
Izanami shook her head in disbelief.
"And then what happened?" Izanami asked.
"The admin of 12 apologized to Hanzo for what happened and even sent him a present as a apology gift and said he would square things out with his employee's and then I got a earful from the big man himself, again." Nakiri said, taking another drink, she din't seem particulary bothered.
Izanami placed her hand on her chin to take a better look at the marks.
"...These cuts look pretty serious. Let me get you some plasters and bandages." Izanami offered.
"It's just some scratches, it's nothing that would kill me." Nakiri declined, removing Izanami's hand.
"I will feel a lot more better when I'll see you without scars, I won't take no for an answer." Izanami said, giving her a cross look.
Nakiri rolled her eyes, she knew she wasn't gonna win this argument, she never does when it comes to her.
"Alright, mom, you win." Nakiri sighed.
After cleaning up her wounds, Izanami placed the last plaster on Nakiri's cheek before wrapping her wrist with bandages.
"...You know, between the two of us, you are the luckiest." Nakiri said.
Izanami looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Whatever do you mean by that?" Nakiri asked.
"...It's just...you come from a important family, Izanami. You have Ceres's sister as your grandmother and her daughter is your mother, not many people are lucky to be a part of the same family as one of the legendary 12 and your dad helped you get into the Elite Guard, you carry on her legacy, me on other hand...all I have is my family's charms to remember them by." Nakiri sighed.
Izanami frowned in response.
"...I'm not exactly proud of my prodigy status, it din't help earn that many friends...sometimes I wish I was related to Pax than Ceres." Izanami said.
"You could always dye your hair, then people will think that you are Pax reincarnation, wouldn't that be funny?" Nakiri asked.
Izanami closed her eye, chuckling slightly as she shook her head.
"Maybe." Izanami smiled.
Nakiri smiled back before she looked up at the sky with a serious expression as she stood up.
"...I will always be thankful to F2 for making me a part of their group, without them...I would probably still be alone, scavenging for food or worst, dead from starvation or eaten by some creature, they're my family now and that makes you a part of my family aswell. But, I don't want to just do grunt work every day and get into fights with members from other Universes, I want to leave a lasting impact, to do something great that people will remember me for even when I'll die one day." Nakiri said.
"...Please don't say that. About dying." Izanami frowned.
"Oh, sorry, it was just a example. I mean, look at Pax, she was a woman of great accomplishments, she was a warrior who fought to the end alongside Ceres against those demons and kicked their asses in the end and is responsible for the elements ending up in all 12 Universes, and she din't have to wear a pretty dress with makeup and get married to some prince and be a busy housewife or wear a kimono like most women in this place, fuck all that noise, I want to achieve something very incredible one day and all the people from 2 will know who I am." Nakiri nodded.
Izanami got up, standing alongside Nakiri, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"If you have a goal to achieve, go for it, I won't stop you. I'll help you if I have to." Izanami said.
"...I know you will." Nakiri said, smiling at the sky.
And then, after remembering something, she dropped her bottle on the ground and reached for her pockets.
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot, I have something to give you, I'm sure you'll like it. I know your birthday is coming next month, but I can't wait any longer so I have to give it to you now." Nakiri said, still searching the thing.
Izanami looked curious as she waited for Nakiri to find it.
"Where is the damn thing? Ah, there we go." Nakiri nodded.
She showed Izanami a kunai knife with two initials carved on the handle, I and N.
"...I have plenty of knives back at my house." Izanami said.
"No, I insist. Here, look at the handle." Nakiri said.
Izanami looked at it.
"...I and N?" Izanami asked.
"I used our initials, I for you and N for me, Izanami and Nakiri, yellow and red are the colours of our hair. Consider it a token that accurately represents our bond, our friendship. I want you to take it." Nakiri offered.
Izanami looked surprised, almost honored and happy to get this, it means a lot to her.
"...T-thank you, Nakiri." Izanami said, blushing slightly.
She reached out for the knife, almost touching it before Nakiri placed her own hand on the knife.
"I'll give you this but I need you to do a solid for me first." Nakiri said, looking serious.
"What is it?" Izanami asked.
"Promise you will never leave our side, no matter what happens. Can you do that?" Nakiri asked.
Izanami looked at Nakiri for a few seconds before she nodded.
"Of course. I would never leave you or the others behind, you guys are precious to me." Izanami smiled.
She placed her hand on the knife, nearly grabbing Nakiri's hand.
"I promise I won't leave."
-----
"...Huh, I guess you kept your promise...in a way."
Izanami and Nakiri were both holding each other's hands, both their hands were glowing white for some reason as they were looking at each other.
Izanami was shaking her head at Nakiri, looking desperate.
"Please, please don't go!" Izanami yelled.
Nakiri continued smiling as she din't let go of Izanami's hand and looked at her with tears of joy, her entire body was illuminated by a bright purple glow.
"I'll see you on the other side."
----
From outside the ship, the right side of the Absalon exploded, taking out the wall as a purple light peered out from inside, shortly followed up by a small white light that faded away quickly and so did the purple light.
A loud noise was heard from Kumo's ear piece, followed by sounds of static.
"AH!" Kumo yelled, ripping the ear piece out of his ear and threw it on the floor.
"What happened!?" Warikomu asked, looking worried.
"Where is Nakiri!?" Gin asked.
Before he could answer, the three of them looked at the monitor and saw smoke coming out of the hangar bay, leading them to a single conclusion.
"...No...no fucking way!" Gin yelled, gritting his teeth in anger.
Warikomu dropped to his knees, looking lost.
"...No...not another one..." Warikomu said, closing his eyes.
Kumo's eyes were white, his eyes staring at the hole in the ship before clenching his fists.
"Nakiri...I...I promise...your sacrifice won't go to waste, we will bring you back!" Kumo said, looking vengeful as he punched a big button on the keyboard.
A teleportation field appeared around the F2 ship and it teleported out of sight.
-----
Inside a small bedroom with walls made out of stone and a wooden door.
Aku was sitting on a rocking chair, rocking back and forth with his eyes closed next to a table with a candle stand and five lit candles on it.
A gust of wind blew through a square shaped gap that blew out one of the candles, the other four remained lit.
Aku stopped rocking the chair and din't look at the candle stand, a smile appearing on his face.
"...So, you have finally achieved your resolve and found your peace. Good for you, Lady Nakiri." Aku said, sounding cheerful for some reason, smiling like a innocent child who just found the presents underneath his Christmas tree.
Koshi was standing outside the cathedral, just looking at nothing with the wind blowing through his air before his ear piece rang and answered it.
"Yes?" Koshi asked.
"Koshi, we got another orb...but..." Kumo said.
Koshi listened to what Kumo had to say...and his pupils shrunk and his lips twitched unnervingly as he heard the news.
"...Nakiri..." Koshi said, breathless.
----
The explosion sent Izanami flying backwards and landed in the hallway, in front of the Royal Guard and Nephthys.
"Holy fuck, are you okay!?" Hercule asked, checking up on Izanami.
"...Nakiri...she..." Nephthys said, her eyes were closed before looking the other way.
Izanami was covered in blood from her hair to her waist, her expression was blank as she stood up and took a few slow steps towards the entrance of the bay.
The entire area was surrounded by fire and pieces of metal fell from the ceiling, remains of the knife of Imagination and Knowledge could be seen, one escape pod was destroyed in the explosion, the forcefields prevented the entire place from being turned into dust.
There was a large hole in the wall where Nakiri used to be, blood splatters and strands of red hair on the floor, along with a charred hand with the gate sigil on it that wasn't destroyed by the explosion.
"JESUS CHRIST!" Dietz said, as he ran off to find a fire extinguisher.
Izanami collapsed on her knees, her mouth was wide open and her eye was trembling as she stared at the wreckage, no words can really describe what she was feeling right now.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 23:44:36 GMT
Erinye simply stared at Nakiri's hand, while Theseus, Bacchus and Diana all looked to Izanami.
"..Iza.." Diana muttered, stretching a hand out towards her. She almost placed her hand on Izanami's shoulder, but stopped at the last second.
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 3, 2020 23:52:34 GMT
Izanami just remained there, lifeless as a statue, not even paying attention to Diana or anyone else.
Hercule just had his hands placed on the top of his head, he was at a loss for words.
Dietz came back with a few extinguisher and it took a bit till all the fire was cleared out, leaving nothing but scorches and holes.
"...Why...why the fuck did she do that!?" Dietz asked, dropping the extinguisher as he turned to everyone.
"...How should I know?" Hercule asked, just staring at the room.
"...I...I can't sense Nakiri's presence anywhere...no trace of her spirit...it's like..." Nephthys said, before she stopped herself as she looked at Izanami.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 3, 2020 23:54:50 GMT
"...If that's what she wanted, none of us can do anything about it." Erinye spoke.
"..Excuse me?" Diana asked, "What the hell does that mean?"
Theseus looked at himself, placing his hands back where they belonged. Clicking them in place. "And on top of that, she managed to take the orb."
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 4, 2020 0:04:16 GMT
"...But they also lost a teammate in the process to get it. And it's gonna be another thing that they will add to their growing list of why they want to kill us." Hercule sighed.
Izanami slowly stood up and turned around, not looking at anyone.
"...Hey, you okay?" Hercule asked, reaching his hand out to her.
Izanami simply slapped his hand aside.
"...Look at that, Dietz, you got your wish, she is dead now. Isn't that what you wanted?" Izanami asked, her voice sounding lifeless.
She quickly turned her head, giving Dietz a very livid expression with a tear rolling down her face.
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?" Izanami asked, her voice echoing throughout the hangar bay.
She then ran off, heading to the platform and took her to the next floor and ran in, not looking back.
Dietz just looked the other way, he looked anything but happy.
"...How the fuck can I be happy when we lost an orb and we are back to square one again? And then she did...that..." Dietz sighed, crossing his arms, as if Izanami was still there to hear that.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 4, 2020 0:12:05 GMT
"I'll.. go after her." Diana hesitated, before running down to the platform, leaving the scene as well.
Theseus turned to the side, his hand on the back of his head as he surveyed the damage. "...What are we going to do about this giant hole in the wall? We only just got this ship upgraded."
Bacchus closed his eyes. "If you think about it.. for those two, this was always going to end in tears."
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Post by Master Psychic on Jan 4, 2020 0:22:47 GMT
“First thing in the morning, I’ll call up the mechanics to fix up the bay and make it explosive proof. I’ll report to the Queen about the situation, she won’t be happy about this but we can atleast cross out one of our major enemies out of the list, so small victories atleast.” Hercule sighed.
“...We may of lost a adversary, but Izanami lost a friend. Even Balthazar lost a friend. She will need our comfort” Nephthys said.
“...I’m not even sure where to start. Physical wounds, I can take, mental ones take a lot longer.” Hercule sighed, before walking out of the room and down the hallway.
Dietz remained there, not saying anything or looked at anyone.
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Post by IDEK on Jan 4, 2020 0:30:19 GMT
Bacchus silently followed after Hercule.
Theseus looked at Dietz. "Will.. you be fine?" He asked.
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