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The world was coming apart at the seams.
It could not have been more than an hour ago that Elizabeth was standing in the battlefield outside Libestal Castle, the Stain King and its vile hordes lying dead at her feet.
She, alongside the other summoned heroes, had been victorious, their mission to save Libestal finally at an end.
Somehow, however, that was not how things had come to pass.
Thick, corrupted, violet sludge had begun to burst from the land, the very terrain of Libestal withering away around it. The guild masters, her own included, had been blindsided and terrified as they too were consumed by the malevolent force.
Elizabeth herself had led the mad dash to the throne room, desperate to safeguard her King. He was her heart’s fire, her liege, the only light that could truly guide her in absence of her memories.
And so it was that when King Libestal had turned to her, eyes full of a newfound malice and a maniacal grin on his face, she had felt her flame nearly go out.
Now she was standing in a vast, dark space, head pounding, legs stiff, and Thorn feeling heavier in her hands than it ever had before. The other summoned heroes surrounded her, searching for a way out of the void, but she barely even noticed them.
“I told you, Lady Bloodflame!”
Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut.
“Now is not the time, witch.”
Nerissa sounded excited, almost giddy about it all. As if her mad ravings about her liege’s villainy had all suddenly been proven true.
But they weren’t.
They couldn’t be.
Because if they were, what would Elizabeth’s actions even stand for?
What would she even stand for?
Before Nerissa could speak again, however, a different voice caught Elizabeth’s attention.
“Elizabeth! Elizabeth!”
Mococo was rushing towards her, encasing Elizabeth’s lower torso in a hug.
“I was so worried about you…thank goodness you’re here!”
“Mococo…”
Elizabeth crouched slightly, doing her best to align her height with the much shorter woman.
“I am just fine.” she said, deciding that a tiny lie wouldn’t hurt. “What about you? Any injuries from our battle with the Stain King?”
She looked over her companion, checking for any cuts or scratches, but Mococo waved her away, fuzzy ears twitching.
“I’m okay.” Her tail was wagging. “But I…I can’t believe it…the King…”
“...Has been possessed.” Elizabeth interrupted. “Or manipulated. Or perhaps, corrupted, just like you were…”
Yes. Surely that was it. Whatever nefarious force had once ensnared the minds of so many of their comrades had returned, and was working its dark magic upon the highest throne in Libestal!
“Lady Bloodflame!” There was an expression Elizabeth had never seen on Nerissa’s face before, somewhere between exhaustion and anger. “You have to see reason! We have been betrayed!”
Indignant rage roiled in Elizabeths’ gut, the flame on her chest rising in response, but before she could compose a reply, there was a burst of sudden light in the darkness.
As her vision unblurred, Elizabeth’s heart nearly burst to see her King floating in the void above the assembled heroes, crown sitting prominently upon his small furry head and a red cape billowing behind him.
“My liege…” Elizabeth whispered. “You…you have returned for me.”
She could swear that his eyes met hers, shortly before they rolled into the back of his head.
”My vengeance is only beginning!”
The diminutive figure of the King of Libestal expanded, twisting and warping with every passing moment. Before Elizabeth’s very eyes, the man she had faithfully served reformed itself into a being the likes of which she had never seen.
Its gangly figure towered over the group, broken metal chains hanging like a cloak around its neck. Blue markings slithered up its purple skin, and a single red eye pulsed as it surveyed the gathered warriors.
It let out a high-pitched keening shriek.
Elizabeth couldn’t tell who struck the first blow, but in a blink, combat had begun.
She could see Calliope’s scythe chopping through air as shadowy apparitions surrounded her, Amelia and Gonathon striking at the King in tandem. The being roared again, and writhing tendrils burst from the ground below to grapple at the limbs of its enemies in response.
As chaos erupted around her, Elizabeth stood completely still. She drew haggard, short breaths, hands trembling as she observed the battle.
“I…I can’t.”
She remembered her first day in Libestal, shorn of memory and purpose. Recalled the King welcoming her to the castle, sending her to the Jade Sword, giving her her very home
“I won’t fight him.”
She took a few shaky steps back, shrugging off the bewildered looks she received from those who noticed her retreat. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, guilt and terror in equal parts slipping down her back like ice.
“My king…I cannot…”
Someone leapt towards the King’s undulating form, claws drawn as she aimed for its eye.
“Mococo…” Elizabeth whispered, and then watched as one of the King’s violet limbs grappled her around the neck.
With a single fluid motion, it slammed her, hard, into the ground.
“Mococo!” Elizabeth screamed.
Somewhere, deep with her heart, a memory emerged, just out of range of her conscious mind.
Elizabeth slowly flipped the page of her book, her foot idly tapping against the metal floor below her.
Off to her left, Cecilia leaned from side to side in her chair, her eyes on the wall of security monitors as she hummed quietly to herself.
On her right, Gigi was using one leg to propel her rotating chair in circles, spinning around as quickly as she could in one direction before getting dizzy, taking a break, and spinning around in the other.
None of them particularly enjoyed being on monitor duty at The Cell. The towering monochromatic mega-prison was not a place anyone wanted to enter, even if they were some of the few who would later leave. But the complex was staffed almost entirely, as far as Elizabeth knew, by soulless non-sentient constructs. While they were, in almost all ways, the ideal custodians of such a place, the Gods did not wish to place their trust entirely in automata, which was where the Justice team came in.
On (thankfully not too frequent) occasions, Elizabeth and her squadmates would be tasked with making the trip to The Cell to check up on the condemned artifacts and prisoners located within. It was a dreary, unexciting job, but it was an important one, which was enough for them.
“Lizzzzzz.”
Well, for her, anyway.
“Lizzzzzzzzz. I’m so bored.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“I know, Gigi.”
“Liz?”
“Yes, Cecilia?”
“I am also bored.”
Elizabeth sighed.
“I’m sure Raora will be back any minute now, and then we can all go.”
The panther was the only one left patrolling her assigned section of the prison, and Elizabeth did have to admit that she, too, was curious what was taking her so long.
There was a skidding sound as Gigi’s chair stopped spinning.
“Do you guys think that she like…tripped and fell into one of the cells or something, and we’ll have to get her out?”
Cecilia scoffed.
“That’s stupid, Gigi.”
Gigi's eyes narrowed. The game was afoot.
“Or maybe you’re stupid.”
Elizabeth forced her eyes back to the pages open in front of her, hoping to distract herself from yet another impending scuffle between the gremlin and the automaton. The sound of a door opening and interrupting them was like a gift from the Gods themselves.
“I am back!” Raora announced, shutting the door behind her.
“Hooray!” Gigi exclaimed. “That’s it, then! Let’s get out of here!”
Folding her book shut, Elizabeth was well prepared to echo that notion, but as she looked up at Raora, there was something in the panther’s unsteady posture that rung a few alarm bells in the Justice leader’s mind.
“Is something wrong, Raora?” Elizabeth asked. “You were gone longer than usual.”
“It’s…probably nothing.” Raora scratched at the back of her head. “It’s just that I saw one of the prisoners acting…strangely.”
That certainly got Elizabeth’s attention.
“How so?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat. “And where?”
“It was one of the Block X’ers.”
All three of them were listening to Raora quite intently now. Cell Block X was a High Security wing. Anyone or anything confined there was of an extremely high threat level, and any irregularity there was surely worthy of Elizabeth’s attention.
“One of the twins. The, erm, pink one.”
“Mococo Abyssgard?” Cecilia frowned.
“Yeah. She was…lying on the floor, facing the wall, all curled up. I thought at first that she was asleep, but she was…shivering. When I asked what happened, her sister said that she was hurt…”
“Do you think they got in a fight?” Gigi asked. “Since they share a cell and all, right?”
“That’s what I asked next! The sister said no, but…”
“Well, we don’t have to take her word for it.” Elizabeth stood, walking over to Cecilia. “It’s entirely possible that they were just trying to lure you into stepping inside as well. Ceci, can you pull up the security recordings from Block X? Scan for anything out of the ordinary, back from today.”
“Understood.”
Cecilia worked quickly, tapping at the screen in front of her and navigating to the correct cell block camera. Soon, the same feed was displayed as one giant image, spanning the whole wall of screens before them.
Four cells, five prisoners. All normal there…but Elizabeth quickly saw what Raora had mentioned.
In the largest of the cells, a woman with ears and a tail was slumped over on the floor in the northeast corner. SItting next to her, slowly rubbing circles into her back, was her sister. From this angle, Elizabeth could also make out two of the other prisoners hovering around the bars of their own cells, the gem and the demon.
The archiver wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“Did you see-” Elizabeth began.
“Shiori? Yeah. She’s in the Chair today.” Raora quickly answered.
“We’re not supposed to call her- never mind.”
There were more important things to concern themselves with right now, Elizabeth decided.
At Cecilia’s command, the footage on screen began to reverse at great speed. Things were moving too quickly for Elizabeth’s eyes to make out, but thankfully, they didn’t have to.
As an enhanced automaton, Cecilia was capable of intaking visual information far faster than her organic teammates. Soon enough…
“Ah. Here we go.”
Cecilia pressed a key, and the recording resumed at normal speed.
“Readout says this was just a few days ago.” Cecilia announced as they all watched carefully. There was a construct standing before each cell door. The Gods’ creations, they were blocky and gray, humanoid in shape but with no head to speak of. In perfect synchronization, they opened and entered the cells.
Though the camera angle made it difficult to see into the archiver’s room, the others were visible, standing against the rear walls of their cells with their hands above their heads.
“Must be a cell inspection day.” Elizabeth mused. While she had never been present for one, personally, she had heard prisoners mention them in passing. The constructs would enter and ensure that no contraband objects had made their way into the cells, magically conjured or otherwise. During the inspections, the prisoners were requested to remain standing against the wall.
As the constructs went to work, their bodies pulsing with the slight blue glow of a detection spell, Elizabeth watched the twins’ cell carefully. They were, just like the others, quiet and still, aside from their tails, which twitched nervously back and forth.
The blue one’s tail, in particular, was whipping gently against her sister’s leg. The pink twin’s right foot, Elizabeth noticed, was slowly rising, as if to use her shoe to scratch an itch there.
Suddenly, she seemed to begin to lose her balance. Mococo teetered forward, her arms flying out to her sides to steady her, and the construct stopped pulsing.
In one fluid motion, almost too quickly for Elizabeth to comprehend, something sprung from one of its metallic hands. The construct swung it, fast and hard, into the pink twin’s leg.
There was no sound on the recording, but Elizabeth could tell from Fuwawa’s face that she had broken out into a scream as her twin crumpled to the floor, blood spattering against the tile below.
The playback paused at Cecilia’s command, and the Justice team stared in silence for a few moments at the scene before them.
“...Holy shit.” Gigi whispered. “That...that can’t have been-”
“Gigi.” Cecilia’s voice was firm, stopping whatever would have come next.
“Elizabeth?” Raora asked. “What…what do we do?”
Elizabeth folded her hands on either side of her nose, thinking. She had never received any instruction on a circumstance like this. Their job was to ensure there were no threats to The Cell’s security. Their duty, strictly speaking, had ended.
It took her little time to make up her mind.
“Gigi. There’s a red bag tucked beneath my seat in the ship. Please, get it for me and bring it back here, as quickly as you can.”
“Y-Yeah. Got it.”
The gremlin was off in moments, pushing her way through the door in the opposite direction to the one Elizabeth was looking now.
“Cecilia, stay here and keep an eye on the cameras. Raora, you’re with me.”
Elizabeth stood.
“We’re going to Block X.”
There was no such thing as day or night in The Cell.
At some point, the lights overhead went off. At another, they came back on.
They were off when Elizabeth, first-aid bag now in hand, stepped out of the lift and onto the main floor of Cell Block X.
“Keep an eye on me from here.” she said, turning to Raora beside her.
“You don’t want me to come with you?” The panther woman’s tail flicked back and forth with agitation.
“I’d like to cause as little of a stir as I can.”
“Okay, Liz.” Raora’s eyes began to glow as she turned towards the hallway, her powers of observation active. Elizabeth, sword in hand and azure flames burning at her breast, began to walk forward.
She tried to keep her steps light, but as she pulled open the metal gate to the holding area, she found that her entrance had already not gone unnoticed.
Standing near the bars of her cell, eyes locked on Elizabeth, was the Demon of Song.
“Elizabeth?”
…It was not part of the Justice team’s job to speak to the prisoners. Elizabeth had even frequently cautioned her subordinates against it. But, even as effective as her team was, they did not always listen to her, and even Elizabeth herself had, over the centuries, not followed her own advice on the matter.
Thus some…relationships had formed, especially with the inmates of Cell Block X, the most frequent target of Justice’s patrols. It had begun with a newly awakened Cecilia, unaware of all of the security risks of such a thing, excitedly describing her new team to the imprisoned Gem of Emotions, Koseki Bijou. Since then, there had been…occasional conversations.
“Miss Ravencroft.”
Still, Elizabeth had never forgotten the core truth of the matter. The inmates were criminals. Threats to the stability of worlds. They were to be kept at arm’s length.
Though Elizabeth averted her eyes and kept walking, Nerissa kept parallel pace within her cell.
“What are you doing here?”
She kept quiet, glancing at the cell on the other end of the hall. It seemed that the Gem was asleep, curled up on her cot and facing the wall.
“Is this about Mococo?” Nerissa asked, eyes moving between the bag in Elizabeth’s left hand and the sword hefted in her right.
“It is. Please return to your bed, Miss Ravencroft.”
Nerissa eyed her warily, as if gauging the likelihood disobeying that instruction would see her disciplined. (The cells were equipped with a variety of dissuading measures. Elizabeth had never used one. She never planned to.)
“You…”
“Nerissa. Go.”
If she followed the command, Elizabeth did not notice, and did not particularly care. There were more important things to do than scuffle with an unrelated inmate. As she passed the edge of Nerissa’s cell, she found herself at the end of the hall.
To the left was her destination, but Elizabeth couldn’t help but glance at the cell on the right as well.
The archiver’s confines were special. For what purpose exactly, Elizabeth had not been informed, but it was impossible to miss the dark stone chair that sat in the center of her cell, and was currently occupied.
A chain was wrapped tightly around the unassuming woman’s midsection, keeping her held well in place. If that wasn’t enough, there was a chain attached to each of her limbs as well. Each metal link hummed with a dark red energy.
Godkind magic. That was all she knew.
The archiver herself, Shi-
Prisoner 5221859, appeared listless, slumped in her bindings. Her eyes were closed, and only the rise and fall of her chest let Elizabeth know that she was still alive.
It was fortunate, given 5221859’s typical attitude, that she was not awake. Still, Elizabeth couldn’t help but frown at the sight of her current state.
What was that Chair doing to-
It was not her duty to question. Elizabeth turned quickly and approached the door to the Abyssgards’ cell.
Just as she had seen on the camera feed, Mococo Abyssgard was lying in the corner, whimpering. Her sister, Fuwawa, sat next to her, her eyes widening when she saw Elizabeth approach.
“Stay back.” Elizabeth commanded, though it seemed unlikely that either of them would make a break for the door now.
Fuwawa slowly nodded her head, watching as Elizabeth fished a triangular key from her side pocket, sheathing Thorn at her side to free up her right hand.
Pushing the metal object against the cell door caused it to slowly open, allowing Elizabeth to step inside and quickly shut it behind her.
Fuwawa rose to her feet, ears flattened against her head as she moved to stand in Elizabeth’s way.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, caution lacing every word. Elizabeth traced her gaze to the sheath at her side.
“My subordinate informed me that your sister was injured.” Elizabeth raised the bag. “I am here to help, Fuwawa.”
The demon dog looked down at her twin, before returning her attention to Elizabeth.
“...Okay.” she finally said. Fuwawa stepped aside, allowing Elizabeth to take her place at Mococo’s side. She kneeled down, gently laying a hand on Mococo’s shoulder.
“Mococo? This is Elizabeth.”
The injured woman’s breathing grew more rapid as she slowly turned to look, her eyes red and bleary.
“N-No…” she managed to whisper. “Get away…get away from me…”
Her voice grew louder, but remained husky and strained.
“Moco-chan…” Fuwawa knelt as well, looking her sister in the eye. “She’s here to help you, okay?”
“It’s true.” Elizabeth could feel her heart in her chest. “I mean you no harm. I swear to you by the Bloodflame family name.”
The gentle rattle of chains briefly stole Elizabeth’s attention as she glanced into the neighboring cell.
The archiver’s eyes were open, unsettling golden light piercing the darkness of Cell Block X. Still, she remained silent.
Mococo made a soft sound, adjusting her position slightly.
“O-o-okay…”
As the demon dog moved her hand, Elizabeth felt bile rise in her throat.
The wound was serious, a deep cut that extended far across Mococo’s upper leg.
It brought back memories of Gigi being slashed across the arm by a cursed living sword on an artifact retrieval mission Justice had conducted deep in the jungle. She still had a scar.
Elizabeth stifled her gasp. It would do no good to scare the injured even further. Instead, she set her medical bag on the floor, opening it and beginning to rifle through its contents until she found a set of disinfectant wipes.
“This is going to sting a little.” she warned. Fuwawa’s hands moved to grasp Mococo’s, holding them tightly as Elizabeth began cleaning the wound.
Mococo hissed as the medicine made contact, but kept her teeth grit tightly, allowing no screams to escape.
“You’re doing well.” Elizabeth encouraged, the recurring thought that these were dangerous criminals gradually feeling less relevant as she watched Fuwawa whisper soothing words into her twin’s trembling ears. “Just a little more.”
Elizabeth rarely used the medical training she had been given in Exardia’s Royal Military Academy, but the memories flowed easily and quickly as she continued administering care. It had always been this way, her natural talents only truly reaching their apex when they were being used on behalf of others.
Several minutes of progress later, Mococo’s wound had been stitched shut.
“Try not to lean on it too hard in the coming days.” Elizabeth warned. “Next time I’m back, I’ll be sure to check up on you, okay?”
Weakly, Mococo nodded her head.
“Th…thank you…Elizabeth…” she whispered.
“Thank you!” Fuwawa echoed. Her eyes were brimming with tears. “I…I didn’t think that anyone was coming…that anyone would care…”
Elizabeth rose to her feet, the words slightly shaking her. “No one deserves such meaningless suffering. That is not what justice stands for…not what I stand for.”
She turned on her heel and walked to the door, using her key to exit the cell.
“Sleep well, Abyssgard twins.”
As she left, gold flashes in the dark caught her attention. Someone giggled.
“Kind words, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth’s mouth drew into a tight frown as she made eye contact with the archiver.
“True ones…5221859. Do not think so little of me to believe that I would allow that woman to simply waste away.”
The archiver smirked.
“I don’t see her cell door left open.”
Elizabeth turned, shaking her head. Her team was waiting for her, and this was not a conversation that she was interested in having.
“Goodnight…”
“Wait.”
Against her better judgment, Elizabeth looked back over her shoulder. The archiver was leaning forward as far as the chains would allow. Her face appeared…strained.
“You didn’t have to heal Mococo. But you did. I appreciate-”
Her bonds glowed a harsh crimson. Her eyes widened, then closed, her whole body slumping.
“Shiori?”
The word was out before Elizabeth had time to correct herself. She quickly walked back to the bars in front of the archiver’s cell.
Shiori was unresponsive. Like before, only the motion of her chest, making her breath apparent, made it clear that she was still alive. That, at least, slowed the fastest beating of Elizabeth’s heart.
Elizabeth’s hand hovered near her pocket, prepared to step inside…but hesitated.
This was not her role. She was not here to babysit criminals. She was not-
“She’ll be awake again in the morning.”
Elizabeth turned to find Fuwawa standing near the bars, a downtrodden expression on her face.
“...Does this happen to her often?”
Fuwawa’s brow furrowed as she looked Elizabeth over.
“...Only when she’s in that chair.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“I see.”
She exhaled slowly.
“Thank you for the information. Goodbye.”
As Raora and Elizabeth returned to the observation room, Cecilia spoke up.
“No disturbances while you were away, Elizabeth. We should be all clear to leave.”
“Excellent.” Elizabeth walked steadily towards the door.
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” Gigi jogged quickly after her, the much shorter gremlin’s legs pumping to keep up with Elizabeth’s stride. “Is the prisoner okay?”
“She will recover quickly.” Elizabeth replied. “In the meantime…I will contact our superiors and inform them that the construct caused such an injury due to a malfunction.”
Gigi stopped. Elizabeth could hear Raora’s breath hitch as well.
“Malfunction? Liz…” Gigi’s voice was uncommonly soft. “I don’t think that was…”
“Of course it was. An error. One that should be fixed. But an error.”
It was. It had to be.
That base cruelty was not in the Gods’ design.
Because what would it mean if it was?
“Cecilia? There’s something I want you to research for me…”
At the sound of the King’s triumphant bellow, at the sight of Mococo’s limp form crumpled on the ground below him, something deep inside of Elizabeth flickered to life once more.
It was as if doubt, guilt, and terror were washed away in a sudden flood of emotion, and though Elizabeth knew not from whence the resolve came, her next move was suddenly abundantly apparent.
Her head cleared as her legs surged back to life, dashing across the battlefield with Thorn held high.
The King’s fist rose, positioned to strike at Fuwawa as she threw herself in front of Mococo’s defenseless body.
Elizabeth aimed, breathed, and shouted as she swung.
“For Justice!”
Her greatsword tore into the monster’s flesh, carving away a chunk of its malformed skin as the beast hissed with rage.
Standing in her allies’ defense, Elizabeth knew now, was right without a doubt.
This was her purpose.