Chapter Text
Arius Training Barracks
The sun never shone where Arius was situated, for they remained underground beyond the catacombs of Trinity.
As a result, darkness was a daily occurrence.
A dark blue gleam shone across the academy's training grounds, accompanied by the occasional yellow flash of the guns in the firing range and the grey smoke of explosions as mortars, grenades and rockets were used to demonstrate their destructivity onto a blast site (which was overseen by a large tower in the center of the Arius training barracks, allowing parts of the blast site to double as a shooting range for snipers and for those practicing cover-fire FROM snipers) where snipers could practice on. The sounds of synchronized grunts came from the dojo as moves were practiced by rows of Arius students for close quarter combat. In another room, silence reverberated within except for the sound of a person knocking on a table in Morse code as students wrote down what they could decipher from the message
In another room, an instructor stood next to a blackboard showing different things on it: maps, codes, wavelengths - things that one must learn to read and understand if they wished to live up to the harsh expectations placed upon the ever-militaristic Arius student.
In another, an instructor was yelling out callouts, in which students would respond by either getting down, covering their ears from a flashbang and finding cover or advancing onto the "enemy position". Other times, they would be practicing sign language and hand signals.
The last room of the Training Barracks would stumble upon would be that of the Covert Operations, where students would learn to blend in, learn to prioritize citizen safety and kills, to lie, deceive and trick their way out of trouble.
The 7 Squads of Arius - so called such despite having the numbers of an entire squadron (easily over 100) - would rotate in what area of the Training Barracks they would practice in per day, training for a purpose that their leader Erovi had never made clear.
But would they disobey the word of Erovi?
No.
They could not and would not.
She was feeding them, after all, bringing rationalization to Arius in the form of rations that she provided the Arius populace. It was a promise of what was soon to come for them - food.
Due to the mystery enshrouded around where she had gotten these rations from, she had been seen almost like a God, and was revered as such - and she would remain revered no matter the amount of times she had beaten, kicked, punched and shot the students of Arius as she trained them for a plan she was yet to show them all in order to be able to satiate the hunger that had plagued them. With how rigorous, with how punishing yet passionate she delivered her lessons of pain to the students she trained, the students had become convinced that she would lead them all to some form of success.
Despite the cynical, nihilist "Vanitas Vanitatum" phrase that had been drilled into their mind after all these years, the Arius students clung to one thing that made the bruises and ash and wounds and scars worth it.
They had hope.
And Erovi had given it to them.
Erovi had pink long hair accompanied by fox ears on the top of her head. Her scarlet eyes were narrowed with a fangy smirk as she tended to look down on her subjects in amusement. For functional purposes (due to the Catacombs' cold temperatures), she wore a thick, puffy white jacket of cotton with the logo of Arius - a skull with a spiky crown and a rose at its side - imprinted onto the shoulder. There was fur of a similar white on the rims of the hoodie, the edges of the coat and just behind the zippers in the middle. She wore a small black skirt that barely reached her knees, and wore black sports shoes with black knee socks.
Her favorite area in the Training Barracks was the dojo, where she was responsible for teaching the students close quarter combat.
At the front of the room, she paced ever so slowly from one side to the other as she yelled out instructions.
Erovi: "R. KICK!"
"HYAAH!" the students yelled as they swept the floor with their legs in a circular motion.
Erovi: "GUT PUNCH!"
"HYAAH!" the students yelled as they bent down very slightly, clenched one fist and then used the other to punch low.
Erovi: "ELBOW!"
"HYAAH!" the students yelled as they grabbed one hand and pushed their elbow forward in an aggressive way.
Erovi: "NECK STRIKE!"
"HYAAH!" the students yelled as they put out two fingers on their hand and struck the air with it.
Erovi: "Excellent! Now get into groups!"
Erovi then turned toward the numerous students as they huddled into groups of 5. Their uniforms consisted of a long white trench-coat underneath a black vest, an armband with the Arius logo, black sports gloves and black laced boots that reached up to a third of the height of the knee. Some wore gas masks or normal masks to conceal their face, and hats to hide any animal ears on their person. Identity was an important thing, but not in the midst of battle.
The only identities that mattered to Erovi was Heartbreaker.
If the 7 Squads made up Arius' current military force, then Heartbreaker was Erovi's own personal troop.
How odd.
They didn't usually join the training that the 7 Squads - they were trained by Erovi herself, and were FAR more combat-ready than the Squads ever could be.
And why were they in generic Arius student uniform?
...Maybe, just maybe-
No. Impossible. They tried it just yesterday.
...
Eyebrow raised, Erovi decided to continue. Her smug smile came back, accentuated by a singular fang poking out from her upper lip and on top of her bottom lip.
Erovi: "If you have any kind of mask on your face, please put it aside. You will not need it for this activity."
The students who did so followed, allowing her to confirm that Heartbreaker was in the room right now.
There was Inukami, Red, Pink and Blue.
Inukami had short blonde hair reaching to her shoulders, fox ears on the top of them and black eyes - not that one would be able to tell with the blindfold covering them.
Red had one of her red eyes artificially replaced with a surgically implanted cybernetic - the inhibitors Erovi had placed upon the Hearts to prevent them from harnessing the powers the royal family had and inherited since Arius had been rebuilt. It was white, except for the glowing, pixelated red heart that moved whenever her pupil normally would have. If you ignored the scarring, it looked almost like a normal eyepatch just very tightly put on. She had long red hair, with long side bangs flowing down her shoulders and the back of her hair tied into one thick, curly ponytail.
Blue had a similar cybernetic, but with a blue heart. Her own eyes were also blue, but they were covered by her bangs, the light blue hair showing only the pixel blue heart showing on her cybernetic.
Whilst Pink didn't have a cybernetic implant, she still wore a little eyepatch, a pink heart drawn on it with the outline of a blue pen in the middle. Her face was perfectly framed, with two twintails trailing behind her head of pink hair.
But where was Yellow?
Erovi: "In your groups, you will use no weapon except the weapon that is your body as you fight to be the last group standing. That last group will then be rewarded graciously, and then get to fight against me - should they win, of course. However, there's a twist..."
Chuckling confidently to herself, she then grabbed the Dragunov slung on her back and shot it into a vent next to the closed doors of the dojo. Purple gas quickly started to seep into the room.
Some students made to get their gas masks, but they were abruptly stopped by a strict scream from Erovi.
Erovi: "STOP! GO BACK TO YOUR POSITIONS. NOW!"
Grunting uncomfortably, some students haltingly walked back to where they were, letting out little sounds of distress as they shivered and shook in place. Some clung onto one another, and even buried their faces into the shoulders of their fellow students out of fear.
Erovi: "If the effects haven't hit you yet, you'll know that what I just shot into the ventilation system of this room was a fear round."
Erovi slung the Dragunov back on her back as she started walking amidst the ricketing ranks, reveling in the smell of fear. She didn't bother with a mask - it was like pinching your nose at the smell of perfume for her.
Erovi: "I thought it would be nice to shake things up a little - after all, what's a fight without a little fear?"
She slowed down as she casted her gaze over them all.
Erovi: "Fear... let it run through your veins, droop down your body in the form of sweat, leave marks in the form of goosebumps. Ah, the smell of it alone... doesn't it excite you?"
Erovi: "The fear of being hit, the fear of losing, the fear of dying... It messes up your rationality, your decision-making skills and it can make you fidget or freeze uncontrollably. To think that one emotion is all it takes to unnerve someone completely to the point of utter incapacitation, both physically and mentally... it's almost like love, isn't it? Consider it a gesture of love from me, then..."
Cruelly, she looked at one group and put her hands to her lips, giving them a flying kiss with one hand at her back.
Erovi: "With that little gift, I wonder which group shall come out on top through it all?"
She had now circled back to the front of the room, the students around her waiting anxiously for the fighting to begin.
Erovi: "3... 2... 1..."
She grabbed her Dragunov, and fired it at the roof.
Erovi: "Good luck~"
Immediately after, the Heartbreaker squad that was present in the room dispersed from the group they formed and started taking on the other groups individually. Red jumped in between two groups who were about to confront one another, picking out vulnerable individuals and bashing in the heads of any opposing pair to interrupt their own fight. Pink, ever the pacifist, simply broke free of the grasp of any students that grabbed her and dodged their attacks, even leading any attacks on her onto other students. Inukami picked off students, one after the other with menacing strength and speed, Blue following suit.
The entire environment had practically turned into a cartoonish smoke cloud with fists, legs and heads popping out of it.
There were about 100 students in that room, give or take.
Within 2 minutes, the only students that remained standing were 4 of the members of Heartbreaker, who stood in line closely to Erovi.
Erovi grasped her own chin and raised their head slightly up as she stared at them.
Erovi: "Well, this was to be expected - I've trained you all myself, after all. But what I did not expect was your presence here, Heartbreaker Squad. What brings you to the dojo?"
Red stepped forward.
Red: "Before we delve into that, I must ask you one thing, Instructor Erovi."
Erovi's eyes narrowed inquisitively.
Erovi: "And what would that be, Red?"
Red's own eyes narrowed in response, accompanied by a small smirk.
Red: "What exactly is this gracious reward that you speak of?"
Erovi: "You'd accept this reward after beating up your juniors? With your status, it'd be like taking a candy from a baby..."
Red: "'The ends differ from the means utilized, and therefore shall not matter in the long-term' - one of your teachings, Instructor."
Blue: "...You actually listened to those?"
Pink's eyes widened as she looked to Blue, putting her finger to her own lips as she waved her other hand in a non-affirming manner.
Erovi's narrow gaze turned dark as it moved down toward Blue.
Erovi: "What was that, Blue?"
Blue: "N-nothing, Instructor."
Inukami: "Excuse Blue's unnecessary pedanticism, Instructor."
Erovi: "Excused."
Blue sighed in relief whilst Pink stared at her in exasperation before both of them returned their attention to Erovi. Erovi continued to stare at Red.
Erovi: "Well, this reward can be anything - as long as it is within the capabilities of Arius to obtain and gift unto you, although that does very little to narrow it down considering Arius' extensive military capabilities..."
Red: "Well then, Instructor Erovi, gift us this..."
She unholstered her red Mosin-Nagant from her back, the sling stud leaning against her shoulder.
Red: "We'll fight you - but let our reward be that we fight you whilst we use our guns."
A murmur from the defeated Arius students reverberated around the room, so much so that the floor that they lay on seemed to vibrate ever so slightly.
Erovi scoffed.
Erovi: "That's it? You don't want to make the rations sweeter? Improve living conditions? Nothing noble for the sake of the entirety of Arius? You are - or rather, were - Arius' Hearts, after all. The leader of its people! The ones descended from the saviors of Arius! You're willing to squander something beneficial for your own people, all to get an upper hand in something as trivial as a fight?"
Red: "A victory fought over is a victory worth achieving."
Erovi: "...Now I really must ask - do you just fanatically list and keep in mind each and every single one of my teachings? No one pays THIS much attention - especially you to ME of all people, Red."
Red: "I've just waited a long, long time to have a reason to kick your butt whilst we're both at our best, Instructor. Forgive me if I become a little retrospective in our time together. If I win, me telling you your own teachings will bring vengeance most delightful for our fallen families."
Erovi: "Cocky."
Erovi smiles, all of her fangs bared ever menacingly.
Erovi: "You better be sure that now's the time you beat me, because I will shove those words down your THROAT, Red."
Erovi looks to the others.
Erovi: "Oh, yeah, and to keep it a fair fight, I assume all four of you will be joining Red in this little joust of ours?"
Inukami: "Indeed we are, Instructor."
Blue let out a grunt of affirmation.
Pink let out another sigh of exasperation, her posture battle-ready.
Erovi: "Very well then. I'll use my gun, alright."
Erovi unholsters her Dragunov, holding it by the grip effortlessly with one hand as she unloads the magazine. She then picks up two of the large 7.62x54mm bullets on the floor, its sharp tip purple.
Erovi: "Two bullets are all I need to beat you four - and a bullet from a magazine is part of a gun, is it not?"
Blue: "Two fear rounds..."
Erovi: "...Yeah. That's what they are. That's what I shot into the ventilation system - Blue, do you pay attention to anything?? How do you fight so well but lack basic perception depth?"
Inukami: "She's autistic."
Red and Blue: "HEY!"
Erovi: "Depending on the hyper-fixation, it can be a good thing."
Inukami: "Forgive me, Instructor. I meant to state facts."
Erovi: "Hmm... you have a point... But enough chatter - you wished for a gunfight, so unless anyone has anything else to say..."
To her right was a window, which in the distance of was the sniper tower.
And on that sniper tower, in the corner of her eye...
...Erovi had spotted a flash.
Ever so small, essentially atomic in size in Erovi's view.
But it was there.
She then heard the smallest pop reach her ears like a leaf gently sliding onto the ground on a gently windy autumn evening.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Pink's Medigun - just as a .50 BMG shattered the window she now faced, and met with the plastic body of the Medigun as Erovi swung it at the bullet with a strained scream of raw strength.
The Medigun broke in half, falling to the floor in pieces to Pink's utter dismay.
Dropping the other half that was in her hands, Erovi grabbed her Dragunov and scoped in toward the tower to where she saw the flash.
Laying on the floors of the sniper tower was Yellow and her BFG-50A. Based on her closed, pained eyes, the bullet had successfully been returned to sender.
Erovi's head slowly rotated toward the Hearts, who stared at her in shock. Her eyes grew dark, and her smirk was gone. If one could look closely, they would see smoke coming from her now staticky halo.
This was due to Erovi's power - to transfer their strength something or someone for its combat-effectiveness to increase.
However, to use it at such a level so fast could no doubt cause extreme strain.
And Erovi REALLY wasn't happy about that.
Erovi: "If you're thinking about backing out now-"
Inukami: "OPEN FIRE!"
Pink watched helplessly from the sidelines as Inukami, Red and Blue sprung into action at the order.
Blue had jumped as far back as she could at the room, unholstering her MG42 mid-backflip and effortlessly straightening it up to aim at Erovi before opening fire rapidly.
Red took a supportive position behind Inukami, jumping backwards as she aimed at Erovi with her Mosin-Nagant.
Inukami unholstered her Gewehr 98 - but before she could even aim, Erovi had jumped forward and smacked the rifle out of Inukami's hands with her Dragunov (which went flying right alongside the Gewehr). Using the momentum from the swing, Erovi spun around quickly and landed a direct blow on Inukami's cheekbone. This, in turn, caused Inukami to groan loudly in pain and stumble back rotationally, unintentionally presenting her back to Erovi.
Pink couldn't yell out - the poor girl was mute, and could only stand as she watched Erovi grab a fistful each of Inukami's fox ears and lift her up in the air by it, before slamming her back flat on the ground as hard as Erovi could. She then kicked Inukami on the side of her head, causing her to spin on the ground before she kicked her on the ribs mid-spin and caused her to become a human projectile heading toward Red's way.
Red put her foot on Inukami's chest to prevent her from spiraling into dizziness any further, making the girl groan and writhe on the ground in pain. She fired shot after shot at Erovi, who simply dodged the shots.
Red then rolled backwards as Erovi dashed closer and closer to her - but when she finally positioned herself into a shooting stance, Erovi was already right in front of her. The shock caused her to droop down the barrel of her gun, giving Erovi enough space to deliver a blow with her fist onto Red's cheek. Staggering backwards, Erovi pushed on forward and punched her on the other cheek before swooping down and delivering a hard blow onto Red's stomach.
Red falls to the ground on her hands and knees, holding her throat as she feels the urge to puke - but not before Erovi kicked the left side of her head and caused her now unconscious body to drift to the side toward a group of Arius students who lay on the ground and bore witness to the fight.
As soon as Erovi had gone some distance away from Inukami and Red's body, Pink went to go check on them-
Erovi: "LEAVE THEIR BODIES ALONE."
- Before she was grabbed and then restrained by multiple other Arius students on the floor. Despite her best efforts, she found herself in an inescapable chokehold that threatened to suffocate her should she resist any further.
Arius Student 1: "Stop..."
Arius Student 2: "It's not worth it..."
Arius Student 3: "We don't want you getting hurt..."
Blue was the last one left standing, still desperately firing her MG42 at the rapidly-approaching Erovi.
To cloud her vision, Erovi struck the ground as she firmly pressed the side of the purple tip of the bullet onto the ground in a sweeping motion, causing it to become purple smoke that thickened the mist surrounding her.
As Blue started blindly firing, Erovi had started wall-climbing, practically defying gravity as she transferred all her strength onto her legs in order for her to keep running on the side of the wall, before she started running onto the ceiling until she was right on top of Blue.
Erovi then did a backflip as she fell to the ground and then slammed down on the barrel of the MG42, causing its butt to hit Blue on the chin and the gun itself to start spinning in a horizontal manner mid-air in-between Erovi and Blue as it jumped up ever so slightly.
Then, when it had spun to an angle at which it was essentially a straight line between Erovi and Blue, Erovi kicked the front of the barrel of the MG42 with all her strength.
The MG42 had now become a missile - aimed directly at Blue's forehead.
Blue: "Uh oh..."
A sickening crack could be heard as the MG42 made impact directly onto Blue's cranium, instantly knocking the girl out as the impact made her go through the doors of the dojo. It left an impressionable hole through such, with wood bits flying everywhere.
Erovi took a couple deep breaths as she stared upon Blue's limp body - before her head sharply turned to Pink.
She then walked over to her, every step clearly restraining the rage she had that would've made her stomp toward Pink.
Erovi: "'The ends differ from the means utilized, and therefore shall not matter in the long-term' - I understand that I taught you this. I understand that your treacherous acts stem from the task I've placed upon you and Heartbreaker Squad to eliminate me to prove your worth, your readiness to faithfully call one another the best Squad of Arius. But such treachery through TRICKERY?"
Erovi looked to the students restraining Pink.
Erovi: "Hold her by her hands and feet."
Reluctantly, they obeyed.
Erovi: "I told you I would defeat you four with just two bullets. One to make a fear round gas cloud, and one just to torture you~"
Erovi grabbed the last bullet she had, inspecting it closely.
Erovi: "I've trained you to get used to doses of fear round essence that you tend to endure in combat - but since you refuse to lay a hand on me, I claim my fight with you as a victory. What happens now is post-battle treatment."
She kneeled down, looking down at Pink's slender (and now vulnerable) body as the students below her hold Pink by her hands and feet.
One by one, Erovi then uses the sharp tip of the bullet to draw purple marks on Pink's skin, earning the quietest winces as with the marks blood was drawn. She did so slowly, pressing deeply without accidentally embedding the bullet into her body.
The students below Pink closed their eyes or looked away sadly, feeling helpless to prevent the painful punishment being done unto the mute pacifist.
Pink let out a small whimper as Erovi pressed the bullet in deeply before pulling it away, making a sticky trail of blood between the wound and the bullet's sharp tip. Erovi then put the blood-covered tip into her mouth, savoring the combined taste of the blood and fear round essence.
Erovi: "There..."
Her eyes darted from the purple (now red) marks of broken hearts placed unto Pink's body - one on her neck, one on her upper left chest (where EXACTLY on the chest I will not say), one in the back of her head, one on her back and one on her upper left abdomen.
The fear rounds mixing with Pink's blood caused her own eyes to dart around the room, seeing things that made her blood run cold, sent shivers down her spine - and yet, she did not scream.
What she saw she kept strictly to herself. Not even the Hearts knew.
Regardless, Erovi seemed to take utter delight in Pink's suffering. She seemed to have calmed down earlier from her little temper. Through the hallucinations Pink was experiencing, she could hear Erovi's voice.
Erovi: "Look at you... all of your little twitches, the little increase in speed of your breath, the little moans and winces you make... that was done by me. The pain that makes you writhe, the fear that makes you shiver, that was all ME. Consider it MY gift of love to you, a reminder that even though you and Heartbreaker did something wrong, that I still love you all - albeit in my way~"
Erovi threw the bullet onto the floor and looked to the sympathetic students.
Erovi: "Put her down. And Pink - wake up everyone and take them back to dorms to rest, then come see me. I'll fix your Medigun."
The students murmured their sincere apologies as they put her on the floor, and Pink immediately hugged herself and curled up into a ball, shivering violently as she waited for the fear round's effects to dissipate.
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The walk back to their dorms was many things.
Easy was by any means not one of those things.
Blue: "H-hold me, Red..."
Red: "I AM holding you, dumbass..."
Blue: "B-but the world... it keeps spinning..."
Red: "Ughh, can it. We're all hurting right now... See, look at Inukami, she's handling it like a pro..."
Inukami: "I'm not the one who had an MG42 slammed into their head, Red. Give her some slack..."
Red: "But if I do, who'll give ME some slack? I thought we were actually going to beat her this time, and yet we lost..."
Inukami: "Keep crying about it then. See where that... gets... you..."
Inukami had fallen flat on their face now for what had been the 4th time now as they traversed the Arius grounds to their room. It was not only utterly draining, what with their current physical and mental state, but also embarrassing - they were essentially marching for all of Arius to see as examples Erovi made of those who didn't properly follow her rule.
Pink worriedly kneeled down to try pick her up, but Inukami shot out a hand to stop her.
Inukami: "I'm... fine..."
Pink gave her an exasperated look, putting up 4 fingers as she shook her head.
Inukami: "I'm just... tired..."
Regardless, Pink slung the worn fox-girl onto her back.
Shyly, Inukami grumbled, hiding her face in Pink's hair as she wrapped her arms around her neck and weakly clung to her waist with her legs.
Inukami: "...Thanks..."
After having passed the vast Arius Training barracks, they would have to walk into a large building that made up Arius' military base (and home for all the Arius students). It was essentially a maze for the uninitiated, with students requiring maps just to find their own dorm rooms (the section of which was in the southern-west side.) Erovi's research facility (due to the sheer scale of her experiments and projects) took up the entire eastern side of the military base, with the Heartbreaker Squad's dorm right in the center between the general Arius student rooms and the Research facility. The training barracks were at the center of the entire military base. The north-western side contained mainly miscellaneous supplies, such as food, water, generators for electricity, munitions ranging from 9mm to 135mm, from decoys to missiles...
The north-western side also lead to the catacombs that lead to Trinity grounds - strictly forbidden for reasons obvious to any Arius student.
After a dreadful trudge all the way back, they finally reached the doors of their dorm room, which Pink kicked open.
In comparison to the shared bedrooms, there was only one bed - albeit king-sized to fit all of them in. However, there was also a small kitchen, a fridge, some bedside drawers and even a mini-fridge. There was also a toilet.
Almost in-sync, the entirety of the present Heartbreaker squad fell onto the bed and let out a relieved sigh, even though the bedsheet started showing stains of blood - especially from Pink.
Inukami: "Sorry, Pink, but fear round effects can spread like the flu. I gotta patch you up first - sit up for me..."
Now it was Pink's turn to grumble as she sat up whilst Inukami got the medkit from their bedside drawer.
Blue: "We still have some paracetamol left, right?"
Inukami: "Indeed. We'll share it."
Pink then moved her hands about to use sign language, asking for Yellow.
Inukami: "She's still knocked out at the sniper tower in the Training Barracks. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine - if it makes you feel better, I'll save some paracetamol for her as well."
Pink nodded in acknowledgement, smiling weakly at Inukami's consideration as she grabs a pillow and hugs it to support herself.
Inukami handed some of the supplies in the medkit to Blue and Red.
Inukami: "I think you two can do this yourselves. Remember to share the paracetamol."
Red: "Aye, aye..."
Red crushed the single pill of paracetamol they were given and mixed the dust into one glass of water that she and Blue would drink from. They also grabbed some ice packs in their fridge and put it on their heads (or wherever it hurt the most).
Inukami, meanwhile, used alcohol wipes to clean off the blood before applying gauze pads to the large broken Heart marks Erovi had left on her.
Pink signs her thanks to Inukami.
Inukami: "I don't just want to hear it. Let me feel it."
Pink's smile widens slightly and puts her hand on the top of Inukami's head, ruffling her hair gently and tickling the back of her ears.
Inukami's face went from being stoic to having her smile be curved into a ":3".
Inukami: "Your 'thank you' was received loud and clear..."
Pink patted her head and then cupped her cheek.
Inukami: "H-hey... not here..."
Pink puts a hand close to her mouth, as if to chuckle at the blush that had crept onto Inukami's cheeks.
Blue clung onto Red, keeping the girl in a tight hug as she tries to recover from her debilitating headache. Red reciprocates, stroking Blue's hair.
Red: "Feeling any better?"
Blue: "A bit... You're helping make the road to recovery much easier~"
Red: "You too~"
After resting for a while in silence enjoying each other's company, Blue speaks up.
Blue: "Hey, Pink... can you tell us a story?"
Inukami: "...Really, Blue? We're almost adults..."
Red: "Hey. Let her have this..."
Pink: (signing away)
Inukami: "She says that she's worried that you won't see her signage with how dizzy you are..."
Red: "I'll narrate for Blue."
Pink smiles, and puts a hand to her chin - before her eyes widen as she has an idea about what kind of story she should tell.
She starts signing again.
Blue: "R-Red, what's she saying?"
Red: "...Once upon a time, there were five princesses from five different kingdoms. They had gathered at one of the princess' kingdoms to have a big party - until a dragon lay waste to that Kingdom and its land, leaving only the five princesses alive and with them the ashes of what once was a prosperous Kingdom. The dragon then forced the princesses to toil away at Sisyphean tasks for the dragon to watch at their leisure, burning down or destroying the fruits of their efforts and then sending them away to share one bed in a prison cell deep in the dungeons of the Kingdom."
"The princesses hated this, but what was the point? Toiling away amounted to nothing, since the work in itself was as pointless as the result, but trying to escape also did nothing - for the dragon had boasted that she had destroyed all the other Kingdoms too. To oppose the dragon in anyway obviously meant death."
"'Vanitas Vanitatum, et omnia vanitas - earthly life is ultimately empty.' The dragon instilled this particular teaching day after day, further extinguishing their hopes of escaping."
"One day, however, one of the princesses realized that behind the walls of their cell was a cave. She could hear the hollowness of the space behind the wall, hear the reverberating cave sounds vibrate onto it - so she had an idea."
"She asked the princesses to grab a handful of torches in the dungeons and their belts on their prison uniform to melt the metal of their belt buckles into a mold she had dug into the stone ground by melting it with the combined temperature of the torches they grabbed for the head of a pickaxe, which they then melted onto a torn leg from the wooden bed and turned into... well, just that - a pickaxe."
"Taking turns, they used the pickaxe on the wall - until finally, they were able to make a big-enough opening to slip through and escape."
"The dragon had woken up, utterly displeased by their act as they ran through and then out of the cave into a forest far, far away, and then they ran through that forest, and kept running since their lives depended on it."
"To their surprise, they came across one of the kingdoms that one of the princesses lived at. It turned out that the dragon had lied - it had only burnt down the other princess's kingdom."
"The guards at the portcullis of the kingdom's castle immediately recognized their princess, and was shocked when the dragon suddenly flew in, having chased the princesses by tracking their scent. The dragon was to breathe fire and burn down that kingdom too, but was splashed by water guns hidden in the moat. She then had a gigantic harpoon shot through her heart, now having been slain."
"The princesses were now saved, and in their delight promised to always love one another and protect each other's kingdoms even as they returned to their own kingdoms. The princess whose kingdom was burnt down was offered a position to become one of the princesses of the other kingdoms, but she politely declined, insisting that she return to her own kingdom and rebuild. However, she wasn't going to just leave them without a parting gift. She split her soul and placed them into artifacts."
Red then watched as Pink cupped Inukami's cheeks again, and kissed her forehead as gently patted her fox ears again.
The gesture made Inukami stutter, before she grabbed her long hair and used it to cover her blushing face.
Pink then signed once more.
Red: "She gave the strongest princess fox ears, representing cuteness and capability, ferocity and fondness. It gave her the power to sniff out and hear trouble, and deal with it."
Pink then shifted over to give headpats to Red.
Red: "She gave the most understanding princess a collar of red, symbolizing her determination in keeping the princesses sane in spite of the initial state of futility the dragon had made them endure. With it, she gained the power of persuasion, allowing her to give others the power to believe."
Pink then stroked Blue's hair tenderly.
Red: "She gave the princess of the most integrity a blue bracelet, symbolizing the integrity she had that she passed onto the other princesses, instilling the hope that they'd be free from the dragon's tyranny. She gained the power of purpose, giving people a reason to keep going."
Blue: "Aw, Pink..."
Pink patted Blue's head, then lay where Yellow usually lay, hand lingering on the spot.
Red: "She gave the most righteous princess an eyepatch of yellow to symbolize her strong sense of justice, remaining as civil and honorable as a princess normally would be in spite of the circumstances. It was less a power for in which she could pass onto others and more a power for herself to utilize, allowing her to always understand true justice - albeit not necessarily societal justice, but justice for and toward the right people."
"After bestowing these powerful artifacts to her beloved princesses, she left to return to her own kingdom. Eventually, it would be restored, and that kingdom and the 4 others would become united. And FINALLY then, they all lived happily ever after."
Inukami, Blue and Red clap - albeit in a lazy manner, but Pink's bashfulness showed that their praise meant everything to her. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and looked to the side with a blush.
Inukami: "Your stories have never failed to entertain..."
Red: "You're the one who went against hearing one."
Inukami: "...Let's just say that I had a change of heart..."
Red punched her playfully with a scoff.
Red: "Lame-ass joke..."
Inukami couldn't help but giggle.
Inukami: "Whatever..."
Blue: "How do you have the headspace to make up a story like that on the spot?"
Pink merely shrugged, cuddling up with Blue as she hugged her back. Blue sighed, relaxed by the feeling of being in a sandwich-hug between Red and Pink.
Blue: "My headspace is in less pain now... thanks for the story, Pink..."
Pink stroked her hair again.
Inukami: "Night, girls. Night, Pink."
Red and Blue: "Night~"
And so they dozed - but not for long.
A voice rang through the intercom.
???: "PINK. EROVI'S RESEARCH FACILITY. NOW."
The three looked at Pink worriedly.
Inukami: "With the stunt we pulled earlier, that's not good news..."
Blue: "B-but she already punished Pink! She put those broken heart marks on her..."
With the least worried sigh she could make, Pink stood up and put her hand forward before waving it in a downwards motion, before signing.
It'll be fine. It's not the first time she's called me up to her office.
Red: "Stay safe..."
The others nodded in agreement to that.
Pink put a thumbs-up, before opening the door.
At the door stood a girl whose height was intimidatingly imposing, nearly double Pink's own - but then again, the girl was relatively short herself, so to the others it didn't really mean much.
She wore a white, wide-brimmed Soaka hat with a golden outline and a blonde ponytail with sidebangs. Her eyes were green like poison, yet they carried an indescribable gentleness - even if one of them was covered by a more traditional-looking black eye-patch, covering a scar that seeped out onto her forehead and cheek. She wore a white, slightly baggy trench coat with golden outlines - and on one of the shoulders, imprinted in blood-red, was the Arius logo. She wore black boots.
Ceasilia: "Pink."
Pink bowed as a form of greetings, then started to sign away.
I'm getting escorted, hmm? I can't be that important...
Ceasilia simply looked down at her with a sigh.
Ceasilia: "It's important, yes, but in a way that you won't like..."
Ceasilia started walking, and Pink followed her after she closed the Heartbreaker Squad's dorm room door.
Ceasilia had kept her hands in the pockets of her trench coat, and merely looked to her side toward Pink's direction as she stared on forward at where they walked.
Ceasilia: "So, written anything new?"
Pink tapped her answer in morse code on the hallway walls as they walked.
N O . T O L D B U T N O T W R I T T E N.
Ceasilia: "Hehe. Can't wait. You got quite the imagination..."
I K N O W .
H O W A R E Y O U?
Ceasilia: "Miserable - the usual. Sore from hitting, getting hit and exhausted with always suffering to live."
Y O U F E E L P A I N ?
Ceasilia: "Not just my own, but that of others too."
Ceasilia then elbowed Pink playfully with a small smirk, finally looking at the girl eye-to-eye and examining the treatment that Inukami had given her.
Ceasilia: "Wanna fact-check that statement?"
Pink shook her head - but instead of making any moves on her, Ceasilia merely patted Pink's head in amusement, chuckling.
Ceasilia: "I'm kidding... you're a good kid, Pink. Still got the spark where the fire had been gone long ago."
Before Ceasilia could comment any further, she was interrupted by Pink starting to sign again, the patience required to communicate through morse code clearly getting to her.
Where is Yellow?
Ceasilia: "She's with Erovi."
Pink's eyes widened, her calm expression now downcast into one of worry.
Is she okay?
Ceasilia: "...This is Erovi we're talking about. I very highly doubt it."
Seeing Pink be so down, Ceasilia grasped her chin.
Ceasilia: "Don't worry... Erovi was repairing your Medigun, wasn't she? Maybe she's using her as a test subject."
They arrived at the doors, and Pink looked at Ceasilia exasperatedly.
I thought this was Erovi we're talking about - Yellow being her TEST subject for ANYTHING is NOT good.
Ceasilia: "Go find out if that's the case yourself - I'm not going in there... Good luck."
You're her lackey, aren't you? Why WON'T you go in?
Ceasilia: "...Don't call me her lackey again. I just got lucky to be one of the top dogs here. Now, sayonara..."
Pink looked at her with a more casual expression of exasperation at her purposeful use of "sayonara" as a phrase for goodbye.
Ceasilia walked off, leaving Pink to tremble against the research facility doors.
Taking a few deep breaths, she pushed them open...