Vol.4 Ch.53 – Reborn III
Chapter 53: Reborn III
Aurora felt conflicted.
She hadn't even been part of this project for a week, had in fact been one of their mortal enemies a week ago, and yet they were already trusting her enough to take her along on a mission against her former owner.
She had gotten over the idea that they were too trusting, that was not the problem. It wasn't even that they were forcing her to go on this mission; they hadn't. They'd told her that she wouldn't have to come along. She had insisted. She doubted they'd get rid of her if she didn't prove useful enough but still, she couldn't just sit idly by while they risked their lives fighting against the same person who had enslaved her.
But even so, she'd only just gotten used to peace, to having real human connections, and now she had to put herself into danger once again.
At least she'd be with Mariana. And Elaine.
And so she was on her way to the armory, to get the one thing that was missing for her to truly be part of the team. On the way to the armory Jeanne rushed past her. Had the angel overslept? That didn't seem like her. Every time Aurora had woken up and gone to the cafeteria for breakfast she'd just caught Jeanne finishing hers and putting away her tray. And it spoke to just how desensitized Aurora was that she didn't even consider the idea that Jeanne might have found the experience of almost dooming Abigail harrowing. She'd seen so many people suffer horrible fates, had gotten to terms with it so long ago, that the idea didn't even occur to her.
Either way, she entered the armory just as Jeanne finished setting things up.
“Aurora,” the angel said, her voice fairly steady again, even if there were bags under her eyes.
“Good morning, Jeanne,” she said.
“You're here for the armor, right?”
She nodded and Jeanne began rummaging. Finally the angel pulled out one of the cases that held the armor. “W-Type” it said.
“W stands for Women?” she asked carefully.
“W is for wings,” Jeanne said. “There's also T-Type for tails, C-Type for claws and S-Type for snake tails.”
“Heaven has space for all kinds of beings, huh?”
Jeanne smiled softly. “All torchbearers are welcome in Heaven, no matter what form they take.”
“Torchbearers, huh?” Aurora said. She liked that term. Bringing light into the darkness.
She opened the case and pulled out the armor, paying special attention to the back. She was sure Jeanne had told the truth, that this armor would allow space for her wings, but she had no idea how that worked. It couldn't work the way it did for angels and demons as they could summon and dismiss their wings at will but that meant that...
She flipped the armor over and saw that the suit was backless, a large hole that would certainly allow her wings the freedom they needed but would also leave a very obvious weakspot once she put it on.
Jeanne seemed to notice her issue because she hurried to explain: “The moment you put it on nano-machines flow out to fill in the gap. That way we don't have to design different suits for each type of winged humanoid.”
“Ah,” Aurora said. That was actually quite ingenious. Then she realized something. “Nano-machines? Is that why the others say that the armor seems to regenerate?” Elaine and Ophelia had both mentioned to her in passing that the armor seemed to repair itself when damaged. And if they had reservoirs of nano-machines...
“Yes,” Jeanne said. “The process is mostly magical in nature, too, which is why it grows stronger with the wearer's Vitality.”
“Is that process hampered for this version of the suit?” Aurora asked.
“Somewhat,” Jeanne said. “The difference is negligible but it does exist. Your low Vitality is going to have a much bigger impact. Make sure to level up after every engagement so you won't lag too far behind the others.”
“Understood.”
“And please keep the shield bubble, too.” And only then did Aurora realize why Jeanne seemed so on edge. She was terrified of losing anyone. She suddenly felt horrible for not realizing it sooner.
“Are you alright, Jeanne?” Aurora asked gently.
She could clearly see Jeanne wanting to give a knee-jerk reaction, to assure her that of course she was fine but then the angel deflated. “I will be. Please keep yourself safe. And the others too, if you can help it.”
“I'll do my best,” Aurora said, then surprised Jeanne by leaning forward and giving her a hug.
**
I am so pathetic, Jeanne thought as she watched Aurora leave with her armor. She was so messed up that the girl who had survived unimaginable trauma felt the need to comfort her.
She had seen death. A lot of it. She was a veteran of the Fae Wars, never mind the war she'd fought in life. But most of the people she'd seen die in those wars had been strangers and loose acquaintances. And even then, it had been the enemy that had killed them. This time had been different. Abigail and her hadn't had the best relationship but they saw each other every day and had slept together. Of course she was aware that it hadn't been entirely her fault but she couldn't help but feel that her actions had contributed to Abigail's determination wavering. And even if she was wholly innocent of what had happened here, spending the night with someone only to have them almost die felt horrible, forging a connection just for that person to be lost to oblivion.
She wasn't sure if she could do this ritual again, at least not for the foreseeable future. But she also knew that she might not have a choice in the matter. Of course Prudence could take over for her but that would just be handing her responsibilities off to someone else, never mind that Rachel would still have to bear the same dread. Rachel had been better at keeping it together but Jeanne had spent long enough with her that she knew it had affected her as well.
Of course, if she truly was adamant about not wanting harm to come to anyone she should be out there, fighting right alongside the cadets, but she couldn't. Someone had to keep an eye on the compound and someone had to keep an eye on Stollos. She doubted that keeping the Professor under surveillance was at all necessary, truth be told. He seemed to have just as vested an interest in this world and in the Project's success as she did, but still. Though, come to think of it, he'd been remarkably quiet about Abigail's almost-failure. Was he that jaded that he had simply accepted the failure as acceptable losses or was he just as torn up about it as her and Rachel had been?
She resolved to talk to him about it once the cadets were gone. If anything it would help distract her from the worry she felt whenever they ventured outside without her.
**
Abigail had tried to stay somber and introspective but found herself unable to.
Everything around her was music. Her own footsteps through the hallways set the beat, a tap-tap-tap as steady as a metronome. The chatter around her seemed to resolve into a melody at the very edge of her perception and her fingers tapped the rhythm of it against her thigh. She found herself idly humming along to the melody and by the time she reached the mess hall she felt like breaking out into song.
The clatter of silverware, the chatter, the sounds in the kitchen, all of it resolved itself into a melody and finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she summoned her lyre. And only when her hand closed around the instrument did she realize she'd grabbed it out of thin air instead of going through the normal process of summoning up an M-Skill.
But the thought barely registered. Instead she spun a song out of the music around her, incorporating every dissonant sound and making it part of her harmony. It was a song of liberation and of encouragement, of martial pride and fighting for what was right. She hadn't even meant to sing about that but the music around her brought it out, the steady purpose, the combination of eagerness and worry, the clatter of people getting one last good meal in before days of MREs and ration tubes.
When she was done she sat down with her team as applause echoed all around the hall.
“And a good morning to you too, Abigail,” Elaine said.
She bashfully brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She hadn't actually felt that exuberant. She hadn't thought the joy of music she'd once had was back. But apparently something deep inside her had shifted, not just letting her weave music out of anything but also making her eager once again to just show off. She was certain this didn't count for Apollo's demand of finding her joy again but at the very least it was a start.
“Good morning,” she said to her team. Everyone was here, Aurora with an armor case beside her.
“Glad to have you back,” Mariana said.
“You helped Elaine save me, didn't you?” Abigail asked and in response Mariana looked away, a blush coloring her pale skin. “Then I owe you as well. Thank you.” She turned to face Elaine. “And again, thank you. I wouldn't be here without you.”
Elaine gave her a warm smile, as did Mariana, Aurora and Ophelia. Alexis, Evelyn and Cassie looked more subdued. Evidently they'd only found out how stupid she'd been this morning and were still upset with her. Good. She had done something unfathomably stupid and she deserved their anger. She would bear it. In the end it only proved that they cared about her.
She'd barely had anything to do with Alexis and Evelyn before but Cassie, just like Elaine, had reached out to help her and she'd proceeded with this stupid plan without even talking to him. She owed him an apology most of all. She'd spat on his kindness almost as much as she had on Elaine's.
But she was alive. And she was strong enough that the chance of them all coming home was significantly higher now. That meant she would find the time to apologize.