Is it really okay to use Getter Rays in a world of Otome Games? [MobuSeka/Getter Robo]

[RogueUnit]

And her piece of shit sister strikes...

 

[GiftofLove]

So I finished plowing through Getter after this story put me on to it.

I've got to say, I can't say that I like the manga all that much. I love Dr. Saotome. I love Getter Rays and Getter Emperor. I don't much care for the rest.

Outside the Shin Getter anime, anyway. I loved everyone in that.

I'm happy to have been gifted a big piece of Super Robot history though. I might not like all of Getter, but I appreciate it. I can now see it's influence all over the place in some of my favorite anime.

 

[Blackraptor]

Getter is very much a product of the time and the people who lived in it.

As much as certain people don't want to accept it, Getter's time has long past. It is a piece of work that is influencial because of the number of creators that grew up with it, but it has never and will never be popular.

 

[OSRfanatic1]

Pretty sure Leon would Not let Noelle out of the country Without having a Control Orb Hidden and following her.

Edit: So T-minus ??? Seconds till someone rescues Noelle.

 

[Blackraptor]

Pretty sure Leon would Not let Noelle out of the country Without having a Control Orb Hidden and following her.

Edit: So T-minus ??? Seconds till someone rescues Noelle.

Click to shrink...

Literally has an Amber alert go off.

 

[Crimson Reiter]

Not going to lie, after that shit I really hope Leila ends with a sword through her guts.

 

[OSRfanatic1]

What I am wondering is What is going on in Leila's head to think this would be OK or Acceptable to push on your own sister?!?
It's like she doesn't care for her sister's health.

Doesn't help her case that she is a reincarnated person.

 

[Blackraptor]

What are you talking about? She's just going through objectives efficiently by any means necessary. Like a true blue Self Insert would!

 

[RogueUnit]

What are you talking about? She's just going through objectives efficiently by any means necessary. Like a true blue Self Insert would!

Click to shrink...

She's got the perfect plan for it too!

1. Bring all of your emotional baggage from your previous life to your new life.
2. Refuse to see people as people but instead as objectives.
3. Profit!
4. Watch all of your plans burn to the ground.

 

[OSRfanatic1]

1. Watch all of your plans burn to the ground.

Click to shrink...

Via Leon, his Getter, and everyone else.

 

[Bomberfett343]

Getter is very much a product of the time and the people who lived in it.

As much as certain people don't want to accept it, Getter's time has long past. It is a piece of work that is influencial because of the number of creators that grew up with it, but it has never and will never be popular.

Click to shrink...

While I agree that the series opportunity for wide mainstream popularity has long since come and gone I think it will continue to maintain a niche but dedicated cult following.

 

[S!ËGFR!ÊD]

With the summer break winding down, I got a surprise visit from Angie. She said that she just missed me and finally had free time in order to properly see me. Sadly, it seemed that Clarice was still caught up with work for Mylene and likely wouldn't be able to visit any time soon. The joy I felt in seeing her again was quickly changed to fear when she started looking over my work with the renovations.

"-and look here! You are being overcharged on building materials for roads that don't even need to be built anymore!" She scolded me while waving an invoice that I had approved a week ago.

"Okay, I may not have been completely paying attention to it." I meekly admitted and got a sharp glare in return. Angie shook her head and turned her gaze on the floating drone at my side.

"Control, why haven't you been helping Leon here?" Control and I glanced at each other at the question and I silently pleaded them to be cool about it an-

Leon requested that I leave administrative tasks to him. He gave assurance that he was up to the task.

Come on! I thought we were bros! Why you gotta rat me out to my girl?!

"I thought that I was up to the task." Angie's gaze became colder at my response. I quickly leaned back to my roots as a Japanese man and began making excuses. "Look, I've been a bit distracted with my guests and figuring out a way to safely deal with the D2!"

"I know, which is why I will take over your tasks for the remainder of the break." Her immediate response made me blink. Even Control didn't seem to have expected those words from her.

"Excuse me?" That made her laugh and she immediately launched into correcting my work. Time slipped by as we did paperwork side by side. It was surprisingly relaxing, even moreso that when I did it alone.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but why do all this now?" I asked when we took a break for some tea.

"I will be your wife, will I not?" I nodded at the question.

"Well, of course." That wasn't really in question at all anymore.

"Then is it not my responsibility to support my husband if he has too much to deal with?" I felt myself blush at how sweetly she said that, making her giggle.

"I suppose."

"I'm sure that Clarice would agree and likely would have taken up some of your work as well if she was here." She continued, reaching out and caressing my cheek. "Like you said, you have other things that require your attention. Let me help you with the other things then."

"I didn't want to bother you with all this menial stuff." The caress then turned into a pinch. "Ow!"

"Silly Leon. Did you forget? I was being trained to be Queen until last year." She reminded me as she started patting my cheek instead. "This? This is nothing compared to what I would have dealt with if my engagement with Julius was not broken."

I could not win. She was clearly fully prepared to take over my work even before she got here. "That's a really good point. I'll leave this to you then."

"Oh, and do warn Marie. If she is to become the next Queen, then she will be in for a rather thorough educational experience." Her casual remark suddenly reminded me of the can of worms that had yet to be addressed.

"Leon?" Angie quickly caught on to my discomfort. I looked into the eyes of one of the women I loved and immediately chose to be honest with her.

"Marie hasn't told Julius and the others yet." It took a few moments for her to fully understand what I was talking about.

"About her being a reincarnate and her foreknowledge?" I nodded at her clarifying question.

"I've been hinting that she should and Julius is definitely catching on with how careless she has been about it lately." I explained, I still wasn't completely sure when Marie's mask started slipping in front of the boys but it was definitely coming off more and more.

"But why? The five of them are utterly devoted to her." Control decided to step into the conversation to address Angie's confusion.

Based on my observations of Marie, she seems to have surprisingly deep seated distrust of men in general.

"Her? But she is in a relationship with five men." Angie correctly pointed out.

It is very complicated. Another factor I have observed is that Prince Julius and the others do not have the awareness of her that she would have appreciated from a partner.

"What do you mean?" I was the one who asked this time.

Why did they not know of the abuse and neglect she experienced with the Lafans?

Angie and I turned to each other with widened eyes. We both turned back to her and she spoke before I could. "They never asked her?"

Looking back on the events of the past year, there are several context clues that would imply her unfortunate life circumstances. From her general stature and growth being stifled due to malnutrition, to her lack of clothing other than her school uniform, to her refusal to speak of her family voluntarily.

With what I knew of my sister and how she operated, I started putting things together.

"And with how easy it was for her to hook them in, she must feel like the five of them are only with her because she showed them what they all wanted from a girl." Control bobbed up and down to confirm my theory.

Correct. Marie does not consider them as true lovers because they only see the Marie they want to see and not the true person underneath. They may not have even made any efforts to try, believing everything at face value.

"I refuse to pity her for what she did to us, but I at least understand why she is acting that way. It is the same ignorance I displayed with Prince Julius before." Angie sounded like she just swallowed something bitter when she said that.

"Any way we can help them along then, Control?" This was my sister and my friends after all.

Any intervention from outsiders would be met with suspicion. Unfortunately, this is something that they all need to resolve themselves. Much like how it went with your own relationship.

There was only really one thing I could say to that. "Emotions are hard."

"I do not disagree." Angie agreed with a nod.

…

With Angie freeing me up, Control and I finally had the time to do something we had wanted to for the entire break. We were back at the Saotome Labs with an extra person looking at everything all around us.

"Is that an actual Mechasaurus Skull?!" Deirdre squealed out as we passed through some of the areas that I went through the first time I discovered the labs. She immediately ran up to it and started touching the skull like a little kid.

"Yeah, I didn't really know where else to put it so we just left it alone here." I told her once Control and I caught up.

Professor Jin had originally wanted to put it up as a trophy, but circumstances ultimately prevented that from happening.

"Who is Professor Jin?" I smiled at Deirdre's question.

"Someone we want you to listen to." We then proceeded to lead her to Control Room 1, the very same place that I watched Professor Jin's final message. We didn't have to do this here, but it felt more significant that we did.

She took a seat in front of the main monitor at our instruction before Control played the Professor's message. Deirdre gasped, clenched her fists, and even teared up a bit throughout the video. By the end of it, she looked like someone who just had a lot of her world views suddenly upended.

"That was all quite a lot to take in." She whispered distractedly before looking down at her hands. "To think that we are wielding the final legacy of the protectors of humanity's past. It is a rather sobering responsibility."

"Trust me, it's not quite over just yet." I told her before moving my seat in front of her and telling her my side of the whole story. Reincarnation, Marie, Anne, Fanoss, Alzer, D2, the Sacred Tree, all of it.

She started rubbing her forehead now that she had more context on everything we were having to deal with. "Did Professor Jin not specifically ask that Getter not be treated as divinity?"

Time has a way of making people misinterpret things from the past.

"And this threat is the reason why you built Roze Getter for me?" Control and I nodded at the question.

"We didn't want to waste your talent and I didn't want to have to fight D2 alone if there would be innocents that have to be protected." I told her and Control continued the thought.

Not to mention the issue of Hertrauda Sara Fanoss' safety.

"The vanquishing of an Evil Getter wielded by the Black Knight, with the soul of a Princess possibly held hostage within. A godlike tree in another nation with the potential to doom us all." Deirdre said with a shake of her head, her voice having a slightly excited lit to it. "This would be trashy fiction if it were not true. And this is before I even consider the ghost of the Saint that is apparently sharing Livia's body now."

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.

"That sounds like a quote from someone important." Control nodded at my observation.

Mark Twain, a writer from the distant past.

I vaguely remembered someone with that name but couldn't really put my finger on it. I just shrugged and turned to Deirdre instead. "Well, that is pretty much all of it."

"Obviously, I shall fight at your side Leon." She instantly declared with a determined nod. "With everything happening and what could happen in the future, you shall have me as your ally."

"That means a lot more than you can imagine." I told her in sheer relief. We shared a laugh before we gave her a tour of the rest of the labs.

"So, was I ever mentioned in those stories from your other world." Deirdre suddenly asked as we took a lift down to some of the lower levels.

I hummed and thought about it, shaking my head when I couldn't remember anything about her or her sister in the Otome Game. "Sadly, the Roseblade family wasn't really mentioned at all."

"Then those who wrote those stories have poor taste!" Deirdre then started to rant about all the reasons that she and her sister could have enriched Livia's story.

I certainly couldn't deny that they would have made things more interesting.

…

Summer Break was nearly over and we were all already preparing to return to our old routines. Before that though, I decided to gather some people together and address a god tree shaped elephant in the room. I served tea and snacks in the admittedly crowded tea room of my manor. Those present were Marie, Noelle, Louise, Serge, Control, the Boys, and the baby god tree.

Said baby god tree was currently in its new enclosure and nestled in Greg's arms.

Hertrude returned with Angie to the Redgrave Estate, but not before very publicly kissing Serge and promising to visit Alzer some time. From the looks that Louise and Noelle gave her, it was pretty much a declaration of war from the princess.

"So that's the Sacred Tree Sapling then?" Noelle warily asked, pointing at the baby god tree.

"Yes, we are all also aware of you and your sister's circumstance as the remaining members of the Lespinasse house and your ties to the Sacred Tree." Julius' words immediately made Noelle tense up.

"Easy there, Noelle." Serge quickly said in a soothing voice while reaching out and holding her hand. "We're all here to talk about a way for things to not go bad once we head back."

Noelle gave him a relieved smile and I noted that they didn't let go of each others' hand. Louise seemed to have noticed as well but didn't comment on it.

Jilk spoke up to continue the conversation. "Her concern is understandable though. If the sapling chooses her as the Priestess, then she would gain its crest."

"Gonna be weird to explain her having to wear gloves to hide it, especially if she never wore them before." Greg pointed out the obvious.

"Not to mention the attention it would bring to her from the other great houses if it does go public." Chris added with a thoughtful hum.

Brad suddenly spoke up with something I had also considered. "Does she need to become the Priestess already though?"

"That's actually a really good point. Noelle doesn't necessarily need to do it now." I agreed with a nod. Everyone else seemed to be considering it until Marie finally chose to speak up.

"No, the extra political clout it would give her would be too useful in case anyone tries anything dumb." I mean, that was true. However, I couldn't help but feel like Marie was jumping the gun a bit.

"Noelle's under my protection so it shouldn't even matter anyway." Serge reminded everyone. That was true. If it was clout, then the Rault family should have more than enough to keep Noelle covered.

"Loath am I to admit it, but keeping Noelle safe should be our main priority." Louise's reluctance was pretty obvious to hear.

"Been pretty quiet there, Noelle." Serge suddenly said, nudging Noelle with his shoulder. We all finally noticed that Noelle had been staring at the baby god tree for a while now.

"It's talking to you, isn't it?" Marie asked tensely. Noelle nodded distractedly and narrowed her eyes at the baby god tree.

"It's saying that there is something wrong with the other Sacred Tree and it needs me to become its Priestess." Well wasn't that just the kind of good news we all needed right now.

"Well that isn't ominous at all." Greg said what we were all probably thinking.

"We promise to protect you while we are the guardians and see if there is a way for the crests to be transferred over to Serge." Brad declared with complete confidence. The mention of giving the guardian crest to Serge made him and Noelle blush due to the implications of it. From what I understood, the guardian and the priestess always ended up marrying.

"I accept." Noelle finally declared.

"Here we go." Marie muttered as both Noelle and the baby god tree started glowing. A few moments later, the Priestess Crest was visible on the back of Noelle's hand. I guess it was time for us to get her some gloves.

A couple of days of preparations later, Control and I gave them all a ride back to the Republic. The words of the baby god tree made the gigantic god tree look a lot more sinister when I saw it again from a distance. After saying goodbye to everyone and returning to the Nagare's bridge, I spoke to Control about something that was on my mind the whole trip.

"Control, keep an eye on Marie. Make sure she doesn't do anything drastic." Because I had a feeling that my sister was going to go off the rails and I worried that the boys might not be able to catch it in time.

That was already my intention.

"Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

Not recently, but thank you.

…

Vandel Him Zenden face split into a vicious grin as he looked up at the Dragon God.

Finally!

Finally, it was restored! The massive ancient Armor that had the power to reduce cities to ash in a matter of moments! It was finally at his fingertips!

The lives of the Elves that were sacrificed to power it were irrelevant!

The experiment that led to Princess Hertrauda becoming comatose was irrelevant!

The number of lives taken by their manufactured monsters to stretch Holfort's armies thin was irrelevant!

Everything led to this moment!

All for the sake of his vengeance!

"It's time." Vandel breathed out as the golden eyes of the Dragon God stared back at him, challenging him to take control of all that power.

So be it. He was ready for it.

Even if it resulted in his body and soul burning away to nothing.

As long as he burned down Holfort first.

…

Lelia Zel Lespinasse rolled her eyes as she heard her sister open the door to their apartment while singing an inane tune. It was just like her to be so happy while being so oblivious to the truly important things.

"Lelia! I'm home!" Noelle called out as she moved around the living room, likely looking for her. "I brought a bunch of souvenirs! Did you know that there are a lot of-"

Lelia couldn't help but smile in satisfaction upon seeing the look on her sister's face when she saw who was with her in the apartment.

"Loic." Noelle whispered in utter fear as her eyes went from the man to the collar and chain in his hands.

"You kept me waiting for a long time, Noelle." Her sister made to run, but Loic was much faster and she was quickly restrained before she made it to the front door.

"Lelia! Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please help me!" Lelia just sneered at Noelle as Loic collared her stupid sister.

"I'm done with your wishy-washy shit, Noelle." Her sister's eyes showed complete shock and hurt at her words. Good, it was about time she finally understood. "You belong to Loic now."

"What do you really want out of this anyway?" Loic asked her even as he pulled the chain, forcing Noelle to follow them back to the living room.

Lelia looks at her terrified sister, the protagonist and savior of Alzer. "Break her and make her your obedient pet. It should make everything moving forward easier for me."

She then blinked when she noticed the gloves that Noelle was wearing. No way. Could it be?

"Stop!" Noelle shouted but Lelia was still able to tear the gloves off her, revealing the Sacred Tree Priestess Crest on one of her hands.

"Holy shit." Loic whispered in awe, recognizing the crest.

"I told you." Lelia smugly told him. That should secure his trust in her.

At last, after putting up with that dumb sister of hers for all this time, things were finally going her way.

Of course, there could be more.

"Actually, can I borrow a few of your soldiers? There is something in a dungeon I want to get as insurance."

Click to shrink...

Please for the love of all that is holy have Serge immediately bust through the wall like the Kool Aide man. This cliffhanger is just too depressing otherwise.

 

[GiftofLove]

You see, it's situations like these that having someone with a Guardian Crest is probably useful. Because even without Control monitoring Noelle, the Sapling is probably aware of her at all times too, and it can probably reach out to the Guardians. Even if that's just by making their crests glow a scary color or something.

 

[Blackraptor]

Loic: *puts collar on Noelle*
Noelle: That was a mistake.
*Black Getter F peeks through the window*
Control: Greetings Noelle. Would you like a Beam Assist?

 

[S!ËGFR!ÊD]

Loic: *puts collar on Noelle*
Noelle: That was a mistake.
*Black Getter F peeks through the window*
Control: Greetings Noelle. Would you like a Beam Assist?

Click to shrink...

Please tell me that won't take long (in story) to happen?

 

[Blackraptor]

It had been a long time coming, but here we were. Livia stepped into the Temple of the Saint with myself, Control, Angie, and Clarice in tow. Hertrude decided to stay at the Academy while we did this, citing that she didn't want to be caught up with what happened considering what occurred last time Livia and Anne got a Saint Relic. Both agents of the Crown and a Control drone were looking after her so she should be fine until we returned.

Livia showed the two Saint Relics and requested to be tested for her worthiness to become the new Saint. She was quickly ushered by the bishop to a room with a weird glass ball and was asked to apply her healing magic to it. It glowed bright enough for all the priests present to gasp in surprise.

"Is that a good gasp or a bad gasp?" I whispered to my fiancées. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"The specifics of the rite for succession of the next Saint is only really known by the temple." Angie explained. "The only thing the crown really knows is that any prospective candidate needed the other relics first as well as unprecedented amounts of healing magic."

"Besides, there hasn't really been a new saint since Anne anyway." Clarice also pointed out. Yeah, that made sense.

We watched as Livia talked to the bishop before he walked with her back to us. "There is one more test. The candidate is required to wear the regalia of the saint before claiming the Staff."

"So what is the test? Does she need to fit in the dress?" I asked and received groans from Angie and Clarice.

"Leon." Livia called out to me with a pout. Sorry!

"No, the final test is claiming the Staff itself." The bishop took it all in stride. "If the Staff reacts to the Saint candidate, then we know it to be the final proof."

Angie and Clarice went with Livia to be fitted with the Saint regalia. That left me on a bench with Control floating at my side. "How are everyone back on the Nagare?"

There are no delays in transit so far. Your sister and the others should arrive back in Alzer by tomorrow afternoon.

"Good, that should give everyone enough time to rest before their new term starts up." I commented with a smile. "So you'll be leaving a drone with Noelle?"

Marie suggested it and I agreed with her. She is now a person of interest to anyone who would want to control the Sacred Tree.

"Well, she has a lot of friends to keep her safe, at least." I said just as I saw the girls return. Wow, Livia looked really good in her Saint Regalia.

It was an elaborate dress of white, teal, and aquamarine. Gold linings gave it a flare and the white detached sleeves brought it all together. Prominently displayed on her are both the necklace and the bracelet of the Saint.

"Well? What do you think?" Livia asked a bit shyly.

"I already knew how it would look, but I wasn't really prepared to see it in person." I told her with a smile, referring to the CG in the first game that showed her in the regalia.

"She gets to keep this, right?" Clarice asked the bishop, who nodded. "Nice."

Clarice? Please don't say that in a way that could be interpreted as sacrilege.

"See, I told you that you look wonderful in it." Angie reassured Livia with a smile and a squeeze of her hand.

We are then brought to a hall that had a set of very heavy looking double doors on the other end. Before we could reach the doors, the bishop interrupted us.

"Only the Saint Candidate may enter. All others must remain here." He suddenly said, making us all look at him in surprise. "The birth of a new Saint must be a solemn and private affair."

Livia seemed fine with it but the rest of us looked at each other in worry. Hertrude had a point when she said that she was worried that another fragment of Anne might do something drastic.

"What do you want to do, Livia?" I asked the girl herself and she just smiled at us.

"We'll be okay." She said confidently, her gaze going distant as she likely conversed with Anne in her head. "Yeah, it'll be okay."

I was about to say something else when Angie and Clarice walked up to my sides and held my hands. Clarice spoke up, "We trust you, Livia."

"Make sure to come back to us." Angie added as the both looked at me meaningfully. What else could I have done?

"I believe in you." I said, both to Livia and to Anne.

With one more wave, Livia entered the chamber and the heavy doors closed behind her.

…

"I must admit, I am feeling nervous about this." Anne said as they walked up to the very ornate gold and teal Staff that was displayed at the center of the chamber. "It'll be okay, Anne. We'll face it together. Whatever truth it may be."

"Ready?" Olivia asked as she reached out to the Staff. "No, but go ahead."

Olivia's vision was consumed in white light as her hand made contact with the Staff. After a moment, she found herself in a very familiar place. "We're back in my mind?"

"We are." Olivia looks to her side to see Anne standing next to her in an identical outfit. Anne grimaced and pointed towards the distance. "Behold, the last piece of myself."

Olivia looked in the direction Anne was pointing and gasped. There, on the ground, was a figure who looked like their whole body was being restrained by heavy chains. The chains wrapped all around them save for their neck and head, secured by several of them that seemed to be fused to the ground itself.

Olivia quickly ran up to the person, with Anne walking somberly behind her. She gasped when an identical face to hers and Anne's looked up at them. An expression of misery and resignation regarded them, bags under their eyes and their hair disheveled. She looked awful.

"Why are you here?" The chained up Anne gasps out, sounding like she hadn't had any water for ages. "Leave."

What? Leave?

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked with a strained smile. "We're here to free you! To get you back together with your other fragments! We already have two of the relics and–"

"No!" The chained Anne gasps out in a poor attempt at a scream. "Leave! There is nothing to be gained here, fools! Only misery, pain, and death! Give this up or everyone you love will suffer!"

Olivia took a step back from the hostility she was receiving. She turned to Anne, who just regarded her other self dispassionately. "Anne, what's happening? Why is she talking like this?"

"This part of me embodies Anne's sorrow." Anne said in a hollow tone of voice, a tone Livia never wanted to hear from the Saintess. "She likely has no other way to interpret anything aside from that emotion."

"That's all the more reason to save her!" Livia reaffirmed before turning to the chained Anne. "Don't worry, everything will be okay!"

She was regarded with an incredulous expression before the chained Anne shook her head and gave her a broken smile. "Ah…so nothing has changed after all."

"Huh?" Before Livia could ask what she meant by that, Anne placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded to her other self.

"Let's get this done, Livia." Right! Of course! We needed to focus!

"Okay!" Olivia smiled at the chained fragment of Anne and tried to reassure her. "Hang in there, we're going to release you."

She and Anne then each placed a hand on the chained Anne's head and everything went white once more. Things were blurry for a while until a vision coalesced in front of Olivia.

"What? What is this?" It was a courtyard with a very familiar pair of people talking. "Leon? Is that me?"

Due to how different they are dressed and how they both looked older than herself and Leon, there was only one conclusion. "Are these…Anne and Lea?"

The vision shifted to other moments of their lives. They showed what looked like relatives of Prince Julius and the other heirs. Based on the time frame, that meant that these were the founders of the Holfort Kingdom.

"So even everyone's ancestors were such good friends." Olivia couldn't help but comment as she watched scenes of them all going on Adventures and overcoming hardships.

Dealing with pirates.

Making alliances between other nobles.

War, so much war.

Despite all that, the seven of them kept moving forward together. If one would falter, they would quickly be supported by all the others. It reminded Olivia a lot of Leon's friendships.

There was just one problem.

As happy as all this was, there was something at the back of Olivia's mind that reminded her that this was all going to end in tragedy. It was what Anne kept saying after all.

Except, the visions just kept going.

Olivia stood in awe as the first King of Holfort raised his sword in triumph in front of all his people. His friends and comrades cheered in relief and joy. Even she could feel how victorious they all were. There, at the king's side, were all the founders along with Anne and Lea.

"So the betrayal happens after the founding of the Kingdom?" Olivia asked as the visions shifted. It showed everyone struggling to keep the court in order. How the new King met his wife and how he received foreign dignitaries. In the meantime, all the Founders were shown establishing their own territories.

All the while, Anne and Lea were at their side in support.

"Is Lea proposing to Anne?" Olivia asked in shock as a vision showed Lea going down on one knee and placing a ring on a crying Anne's ring finger. The King and the other Founders gave them both congratulations. They were in a familiar courtyard. Was that in the Academy?

"Wait, what's going on?" She started getting worried when she saw Anne and Lea's wedding. They got married?! Why didn't Anne ever tell her something that important?!

The visions shifted to Anne and Lea saying goodbye to their friends and moving to a homely village somewhere in the Kingdom. They had a small cabin and Lea was unbelievably just working as a carpenter. One of the people who stood side-by-side with the Founders was a carpenter?! Was this why Leon's family weren't considered as a Founding Family?

She watched as Lea went home to be greeted by Anne carrying a tiny bundle in her arms.

"A baby?! But I thought that Anne was betrayed by everyone? What is happening?!" Olivia started to panic. Was this the truth of Anne's past? But she was happy! Lea was happy! They had a family and were content!

"Hang on." She muttered when she finally realized something very important. "Why haven't I been looking through Anne's eyes if these were her memories?"

The vision was suddenly cut out and Olivia is suddenly left in a void of complete darkness. She looked around but saw nothing but black

"What?! Anne?! Where are you?! What happened?! Everything is dark! Anne?!" Her cries echoed through the darkness, but there was no response. She tried to move, she tried to wake back up to reality. She couldn't get control of her body again. Nothing was working.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Olivia's blood froze when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her head from behind.

"You are just like her." A familiar voice whispered from behind her.

Olivia screamed.

…

Dammit, was it supposed to take this long? What the hell are Livia and Anne doing?

I paced around the room worriedly while both Angie and Clarice simply held hands and kept their eyes on the heavy doors to the chamber. I wished that I had a fraction of their poise.

That was when a shrill beep sounded from Control's drone.

Alert! Sudden increase of build up of Magical Energy detected from within the chamber! Please get clear!

That was all the warning we got before the heavy doors were very violently slammed open, cracking the walls when they hit. The shockwave knocked everyone in the hall off their feet as we all looked to the entrance. Livia stood there with the Staff of the Saint in her left hand. All three relics glowed as Livia looked around the hall.

What the hell is going on?!

"Livia? Anne? What the hell are you two doing?" I called out as I got back up on my feet. Livia looked at me like it was the first time she had ever seen me. Her face suddenly lit up with a big smile.

"Lea!" Wait what? "It's been so long! How have you been?" Livia then raised her hand and a lance of white light shot out towards me. It would have hit me had Control not moved directly in front of me and projected some sort of energy shield. Livia clicked her tongue and regarded the drone in front of her.

Identify yourself.

I blinked at Control's statement. What the hell were they talking about?!

Another lance of light shot out from her hand that managed to pierce Control's shield and impale the drone with some sort of lance made of light. It then falls to the ground, completely inert.

"Control!" I yell out, cradling the broken drone in my arms. I look up and yell at the perpetrator. "Anne! What the hell are you doing?!"

"You don't get to use that name, Lea!" She snarls at me before saying something that completely caught me off guard. "Not after you stole my sister away from me!"

She tries to blast me again but I got pulled away by Angie and Clarice. I looked around and found that the bishop and the other priests had wisely vacated the hall.

"Thanks!" I say as the three of us stand together against…whoever this was.

"That isn't Anne or Livia." Angie points out grimly.

"I noticed." I say with a nod.

"Who are you?! What have you done to Livia and Anne?!" Clarice yelled out and got a look of confusion from the woman before us.

"Anne?" She questions before shaking her head. "She was never here."

Never here?

"There has only ever been me." She smiled and placed a hand on her chest. "Mary."

Who the fuck is Mary?!

 

[Tyran Vizoris]

IT FUCKING LIVES

 

[Galeiam]

Omg finally back after that Ominous as Fuck cliffhanger

 

[Tasai]

Dang it, everything is going to hell in a basket at the same time.

 

[Vanbers]

>Last chapter before a long break ended on a super fucking ominous cliffhanger
>First chapter back doesn't resolve it, and instead adds another

Pain, peko.

 

[SixthRanger]

Oh boi, the time for Yandere has come.

Livia! Belive in GETTER and take back your soul!


..Also, it Lives! Praise the SunEmperor!

 

[Blackraptor]

Mary, that was the name the person in front of us identified herself as. She sure as hell wasn't acting like either Livia or Anne. She slowly walked forward, making Angie, Clarice, and I back away to keep our distance for the time being. Mary pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. Was she getting ready for another attack?

"You're not Lea." She idly mutters, as if talking to herself. Mary then looks at me in disgust. "Their descendant then. Somehow, that makes me feel worse when looking at you."

"Part of me really wants to just kill you outright because of what you represent. Your very existence just reminds me that Lea and Anne had-" Her words were interrupted by Clarice swiftly closing the distance between them to attempt a punch straight to her face. My fiancée's fist was stopped a few inches from its target thanks to a small circular magic shield that got in the way. Mary raised an eyebrow at Clarice as she continued to try to force her way through the shield. "Rude. Didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt someone who is speaking, Clarice?"

Bang!

"Tsk!" Angie clicked her tongue as she leveled Livia's handgun at the Staff of the Saint, the bullet being blocked by another magic shield. So Livia handed her gun to Angie when she got changed, huh?

I hated that I was completely unarmed, but that didn't mean that I was completely helpless! I charged at Mary and reached out to the Staff. I heard her snort before using the staff to parry another punch from Clarice and smack my arms away from her. Before I knew it, she had driven the end of the staff into my gut and narrowly missed smashing the side of Clarice's head with a swift spin move.

"Please, I was a top level Adventurer back in my time. You three are nothing compared to what Anne and I had to face together." She said while turning her gaze to Angie. She made a contemplative sound and smiled at her. "Shame. You would have been a much better host."

None of us really knew what she meant, but there'd be time to try to figure out what was going on later! The three of us exchanged looks and began to move to surround Mary. She just rolled her eyes and spoke. "Kneel."

Just like that, we were all brought down to our knees. I grit my teeth as I tried desperately to get back to my feet, even pushing down on the floor with my hands. Nothing worked. I looked at Angie and Clarice and they were both failing to find any success, though Angie fired another shot at the Staff that pinged against a magic shield.

"Give Livia back to us!" I yelled defiantly at Mary, who looked at me in confusion.

"Ugh! You even sound like him!" She said in clear disgust. Well, excuse me! "Clearly helpless and defeated, yet still so confidently defiant."

"Argh!" I cried out in pain when Mary struck the side of my head with the staff. My vision swam for a few seconds and I could feel something warm flowing out from where I was hit.

"You bitch!" Clarice snarled before once again trying to get back to her feet.

"You'll pay for that!" Angie emptied the rest of the ammunition in Livia's handgun at the Staff, to no effect.

Despite it all, Mary ignored them both and kept her gaze trained on my face. "Strange, that wasn't as satisfying as I had expected."

"Who are you, really?!" Angie yelled out. "You said that your name is Mary, right?! What do you even want?!"

Mary looked at Angie with a frown. "Do none of you really know who I am? What I had accomplished alongside Anne, Lea and those morons that you call Founders?"

She clearly didn't like how the three of us just looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Who am I?" She snarled in command, compelling us to answer truthfully.

"I don't know." The three of us answered at the same time. Mary growled before flourishing the Staff of the Saint behind her, blasting the chamber that once held it with powerful beams of magic.

"So they erased my name from history as well?!" She screamed out at no one in particular. "Was stealing my sister not enough?! Was sundering my soul and trapping the fragments in relics not enough for them?!"

"Fine. I guess I'll wipe their families from existence to return the favor." Mary suddenly said in a completely calm tone of voice. She turned to me and smiled. "I'll start with you."

"We'll stop you." Clarice's voice gave her pause.

"Excuse me?" Mary slowly asked, walking up to Clarice and placing the end of the Staff under her chin. "How are you planning on doing that from all the way down there?"

"We'll find a way. Whoever the hell you are doesn't matter. We'll stop you, get Livia back, then you can fade away from history for good." Clarice's words made Mary's eyebrow twitch in irritation. "No one will ever remember you or your name ever again. You'll just become a forgotten memory."

Mary stared at Clarice for a few moments, seemingly thinking about her words. She then smiled, pulled the staff away, and patted Clarice's cheek with her hand. "You know what, you're right. Everyone would just eventually forget about me even if I get my revenge."

Alarm bells rang out with the way she agreed with what Clarice just said. Angie and I then cried out in alarm when Mary drove the end of the Staff into Clarice's stomach, making her double over in pain.

"That means that I need to do something unforgettable." Mary kept talking as if nothing happened, slowly pacing in front of us. "Something that would etch my name as the last thing that this Kingdom ever knows. Something that the rest of the world will forever remember me for."

That definitely didn't sound good at all.

"Right." She muttered, giving a faraway look. "That could work."

"Well! This was all very enlightening, but I think I need to talk to a few people." Mary said in an utterly delighted voice. "I think I should pay a visit to a certain Principality, see if I can't convince them to accept some changes in leadership that would be beneficial for everyone involved."

Oh fuck no!

"No! Don't you dare!" I snarl out. Mary taking Livia and the Saint relics straight to Fanoss would be the worst thing that could possibly happen! Clarice and Angie shared my opinion based on how they were trying to struggle against the compulsion again.

She ignored us in favor of kneeling down in front of me. I hated how Mary was using Livia's face when she smiled at me. "Here's a parting gift for you, Leon."

"Lea's decisiveness was always so irritating. It seems that is something which his bloodline retains even now. So…" Mary placed a finger on my forehead, making my heart skip a beat. "Doubt."

My breathing suddenly became ragged. All sorts of horrible scenarios flashed in my head. Different scenes of failure and hopelessness formed in my mind. There was no way we could deal with all this without something terrible happening! Even with Black Getter F, there was always a chance that my mediocre piloting would let everyone down! There were so many ways that this would go wrong!

This was all my fault! If I hadn't met Livia, then she would have been fine! Everything would have been fine if I hadn't stuck my nose in everyone's business! I should have just stayed as a mob and coasted through my Academy days! What the fuck was I thinking?!

"What did you do to Leon?!" I heard Clarice scream out and shuddered as Mary started laughing. A strong woman like Clarice didn't need a man like me weighing her down. She deserved a man who could stand at her side who didn't need the crutch of an all-powerful ancient machine of destruction.

"Leon? Leon, love, look at me." I turned to Angie with a frightened look on my face. Oh god! Why the hell did I ever think that I deserved a woman like Angie?! She was so out of my league that I might as well have been a commoner! She was supposed to become a Queen and I took that away from her!

What about Mylene?! If word of our affair got out, she would never recover from it! I'd end up destroying her life and her family just because I couldn't keep it in my pants!

I killed Yumeria's people!

I risked the lives of Clara's family!

I cursed Deidre to a life of combat with a Getter Robo!

I left my sister in a foreign country that had something that could cause the end of the world!

I'm ruining their lives!

Everything is my fault!

I shouldn't have even been reborn!

I didn't deserve this second chance at life!

I should have just stayed dead!

Before anything else could happen, the doors to the hall burst open. I turned my head and saw a large armored drone with boxes on its sides suddenly fly in. It flew up and moved towards Mary.

Cease all hostilities! Prepare to be detained!

Control's declaration was followed by a pair of nets being fired at Mary. She snarled and blasted the nets away with her magic.

"Irritating machine!" She said, dodging away from another pair of nets. "Don't think that I'm stupid enough to fall for this twice!"

Mary turned to me with a vicious smile.

"Try not to die, Leon." I shivered at her words, looking at her with wide eyes. "I want to be there to laugh at your face as you watch your Kingdom burn to the ground."

"Ta-ta!" She added, raising the Staff of the Saint before she vanished in a flash of light. All at once, our compulsion to remain kneeled disappeared. I was quickly enveloped by Angie and Clarice in an embrace.

Control's new drone hovered near us as several priests and the bishop cautiously peeked in from outside.

"Control, Mary did something to Leon." Angie told them worriedly while stroking my hair.

I assume that the Mary you refer to is the individual who has possessed Olivia's body?

"Yes. She said that she was going to Fanoss to make them help her get revenge on the Kingdom." Clarice added with a pained expression.

That is very alarming.

Alarming didn't even begin to describe what just happened!

Leon, you must calm down. Extended elevated heart rate may permanently cause damage.

"How can I possibly calm down, Control?!" I yelled out hysterically. "We may have just ruined everything!"

"Don't despair, Leon. We'll find a way." Clarice tried to reassure me as she cradled my head on her chest.

"How could you possibly know that?" I asked her helplessly.

What transpired for Leon to become this way?

"Before you arrived, Mary compelled Leon to doubt." Angie answered worriedly.

Specifically on what?

She hesitated before shaking her head. "She didn't specify."

That is even more concerning. For now, we must have Leon's head injury treated. I shall look into ways of helping him overcome the inflicted brainwashing.

Oh yeah! My head was still bleeding! No wonder I was getting dizzy!

That was my last thought before the adrenaline wore off and I blacked out.

…

When I woke back up, I was in my dorm room at the Academy. A regular sized drone was floating at my bedside. Other than that, I seemed to be alone.

"How long was I out?" I asked out, my throat hoarse.

A little over a day. Your head injury has already been attended to personally by the bishop of the Temple. They have agreed to keep the incident under wraps for now.

Yeah, that made sense. There would be a panic if people found out that the next Saint turned out to be a genocidal maniac bent on the complete destruction of the Kingdom.

I shall alert Yumeria to bring you food to aid in your recovery. Please hydrate in the meantime.

I looked at the jug of water and empty glass that Control indicated.

"Thanks." I said after drinking a glass of water. I sighed and looked at the drone. "So…Livia."

I apologize. I am somehow unable to track her after Mary teleported away.

Dammit! This was all my fault! I shook my head, remembering that what I was feeling was all Mary's fault. "Angie and Clarice?"

They are currently speaking to Princess Hertrude and Queen Mylene about the incident and potential threats that Mary represents if she makes contact with the Fanoss forces.

"God, this is all my fault." I groaned, slapping my forehead. "I should have left that fucking necklace alone."

If you had done so, then you and the others would have remained under Olivia's unintended brainwashing.

"That would have been better than this!" I yelled back before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Control. I just…"

I understand. This is one of the many unknowns that we couldn't have anticipated. The solution of using the Saint Necklace was a speculative one to begin with.

And now, we had a vengeful ghost possessing one of my lovers who had the power to control people's minds and was in possession of three powerful magical artifacts.

You couldn't have said Final Boss any louder if your tried.

God, I might even be forced to kill Livia at this rate!

"Mary's messing with my head." I hissed while trying to shake off that horrible thought from my mind. "I can't think of anything except how badly anything can go."

I am aware. I am currently synthesizing medication that should help with your symptoms.

"You're going to give me medicine?" I asked in surprise. I had thought that we would have needed to get Mary to remove this from my head.

Your initial symptoms are consistent with acute anxiety. It may not actually be the case, but the medication should help with suppressing it until we can have Mary or Olivia to undo it.

"Thanks, Control." I said with a relieved smile. Sadly, the moment didn't last very long.

A warning alarm suddenly sounded from the drone, making me groan. "What now?"

I'm afraid that another emergency situation has transpired in Alzer.

"Is it Marie?" I immediately asked worriedly.

No, though I have already informed her and she is presently trying to call you.

"Patch her through." I sighed, might as well find out what this new mess is about. Control projected a very panicked looking Marie in her room.

"Leon! Something really bad just happened!" I sighed at her words, surprising my sister.

"What a coincidence, join the club." She looked at me worriedly before speaking.

"Oh god, what happened over there?" Marie asked and I shook my head, gesturing to herself.

"You first." I said and she immediately regained her panicked expression.

"Lelia handed Noelle to Loic on a silver platter when she went back to their apartment! What about you?!" I buried my face into my pillow and screamed at that news. After a few moments I put away the pillow and looked at Marie dead in the eyes.

"Anne wasn't actually Anne. It was actually the ghost of her crazy sister. She possessed Livia and is planning on linking up with Fanoss to destroy the Kingdom." I said, Marie repeating my action on her end. After a while, the two of us just stared at each other.

"I can't tell which one of us has it worse." She muttered.

"Does it matter?" I responded with a shrug.

"What do we do? If Serge finds out about what happened to Noelle, he'll go on a warpath." Marie started, the gears in her head obviously already spinning. "I sent out Julius and the others to keep him from doing anything stupid, but we're still stuck."

"I don't know." My words startled my sister.

"What?" I could hear the fear in her voice.

"Mary brainwashed me into doubting everything I have ever done and everything I can ever do." I explained and Marie became even more alarmed. "Until I can get the medicine that Control is making to suppress the effects, I'm pretty useless right now."

"Fuck." It was really the only way for Marie to express our current state.

I sighed and told her the first thing that came into my head. "Ask Louise for help. I know they're love rivals, but she should be able to put that aside if she knows what could be at stake."

"Yeah, better than nothing." Marie muttered before rubbing her temples. "God, why do we have to save the world? We were failures in life back on Earth."

I couldn't give Marie an answer.

…

"Thank you for your cooperation." Mary told the nice man who let her ride in his carriage after she asked him nicely. In truth, she could have teleported or flown to the airship port. She decided to take the scenic route to get used to her new body as well as properly sift through all the recent memories in her head.

She was disgusted that the incomplete version of herself had enthusiastically laid with Lea's descendant. Yet another reason for her to make Leon's death as slow and painful as possible. She didn't even want to think about the insurmountable lasciviousness of the girl who looked so much like her sister. She felt dirty for even having to possess the girl.

More importantly, she had learned the full strength of Leon and his allies. They were formidable and Mary would have had a genuinely difficult time overcoming them.

Thankfully, the lunatics in Fanoss had the perfect solution for her problem ripe for the taking. Controlling their armies and monsters along the way would also be a nice bonus as well.

Compelling the crew of a luxury airship was trivially easy for Mary and she stood in the bridge as the Captain and crew awaited her command.

"Where to, ma'am?" The Captain asked. Mary smiled as everything started to finally come together in her mind. After so long, she would finally have her vengeance for the betrayal of the ones she had thought were her friends and allies.

Anne was destined to rule everything with Mary at her side!

They would all pay for tricking Anne into marrying Lea, into giving him children, into making her lesser than what she should have been!

"The Principality of Fanoss, if you would."

Mary couldn't wait.

 

[Rodrigus]

FUBAR doesn't even begin to describe this clusterfuck right now. The "Doubt" command is also cruel as hell considering how Control and the Getter Rays had helped Leon achieve a much healthier mentality. Thanks for the chapter!

 

[Velk]

NGL I... HATE the decision of basically nerfing Leon back down to being a bitch.

 

[bladewolf]

NGL I... HATE the decision of basically nerfing Leon back down to being a bitch.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this is an incredibly unsatisfying sequence of events, no amount of payoff is going to makes this a good story beat, there's no sequence of events from this point forward that is going to retroactively make this an interesting part of the narrative.

 

[Watches-The-Roots]

Seems like sisters are the source of all the evil, as usual.

 

[Anon-Echo98]

Welp, someone ping me once this despair hour plot has been solved.

 

[Blackraptor]

Olivia grunted as she struggled against the chains wrapped all over her body. She understood that this was all in her head, but she had so far been unable to make her restraints disappear. She didn't know how long she had been trapped in her own mind, Mary made sure that she remained unaware of what was going on beyond her chains. She still had a trump card that she could use, but she needed to be careful with how she deployed it. Thankfully, the one she was preparing for decided to just walk right up to her.

Mary strutted up to her with a satisfied smile. Before she could say anything, Olivia made her move. Black Getter F quickly manifested before the two of them and reached out to Mary. Instead of being caught by surprise like the fragment of her in the bracelet, she simply raised an eyebrow and snapped her fingers. Olivia looked at her in shock as the mental manifestation of her precious Black Bunny was reduced to dispersing motes of white light.

"Sorry, child." Mary says with satisfaction. "This mind doesn't belong to you anymore."

Olivia scowled at her, but Mary simply manifested a chair and sat in front of her. She silently wondered if Mary and Anne were twins, since she was still using Olivia's face even in her mind.

"You look almost exactly like Anne, aside from a different shade of color in your eyes. A shame that you share her poor taste in lovers." Mary started, completely unprompted. "Still, you are much more gullible than she was."

"I mean, truly? You trust the story of some strange ghost in an ancient relic without verifying their story? Helped her gather everything she needed to become even more powerful than she already was? It certainly made my first steps to revenge much easier."

Wow, Mary really enjoyed listening to herself talk.

"Your precious Leon even put himself on a silver platter for me." Mary smiled sweetly at Olivia. "I hated his conviction so I gave him a command to doubt everything. It should be fun to see him after a while when his mind fully unravels from the strain."

"But you must be wondering where this is all going, yes? Well, we are currently headed to the Principality of Fanoss." Olivia furrowed her brows, wondering why Mary was bothering to tell her all this. "Once I gain control of their armies, monsters, and Dragon God, I will bring it all to bear upon Holfort. Everything will burn until there is nothing left but ash and blood."

Mary then leaned forward and patted Olivia on the head. "And it will all be your fault, little Olivia."

Olivia's gut clenched with how Mary said her name.

"It can't all have been lies, Mary." Olivia stated, surprising Mary. The other woman recovered quickly and slapped Olivia for talking back to her. Instead of looking hurt, she just smiled at Mary. "I heard every word you said whenever Leon held you in his arms, every time you made love to him, every time you just wanted him to spoil you, every single time you told him that you love him. All of that was real."

Mary's earlier confidence went up in a flame of sheer anger with Olivia's words. She yelped as the furious woman reached out and roughly pulled her closer by the hair. "That was just my defective, incomplete self that did that! You should try to have your soul be forcefully ripped apart and see if you retain your true self without all the parts!"

"It disgusts me even now that I would have ever wanted to be with Lea's descendant! All of it was just because I confused myself for my sister! That was all it was!" Mary screamed, but Olivia was unfazed at her rant.

Olivia looked at her tormentor dead in the eye "So even an incomplete, half-remembering version of you still acknowledges that Anne loved Lea with all her heart. No one forced anyone to do anything against their will, Mary. No one betrayed anyone. All of it has just been in your own head."

Mary let go of her hair and sneered.

"I will enjoy showing you Leon's dying body." She said, barely keeping her temper in check. "He no longer has his edge and he will falter at the most important moment."

"Leon is already above things as silly as doubt and indecisiveness." Olivia confidently declared, making Mary snarl. "Even if he somehow isn't able to handle it by himself, he's not like you. He isn't alone."

Mary suddenly stood up and looked like she wanted to kill Olivia. Instead, she spat on Olivia's face. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

"You will." Olivia said with a threatening smile, making Mary furiously stomp away from her.

Olivia was starting to understand why Marie always riled up people she didn't like.

…

Noelle Zel Lespinasse cried out in pain as Loic Leta Barielle pulled her along the hallways of his family estate. The magic collar around her neck formed a chain of energy that led to that bastard's hand. Try as she might, she didn't have a choice but to obey him.

Despite all that, it was Lelia's betrayal that hurt her the most.

"Here we are." Loic declared as he pulled her into a lavishly decorated bedroom. Noelle's mind immediately went to countless horrible things that could happen to her there. Her tormentor noticed her face and snorted. "As much as I want to start your training as my pet, father insisted that you remain pure for our wedding and the subsequent ceremony for you to officially become the Sacred Tree Priestess."

"You're not the Guardian." Noelle's back talk earned her a slap on the face that left her sprawled on the floor.

"Father told me to keep your chastity intact, but he never said anything about the rest of you." Loic coldly stated, making Noelle shiver in fear. "Don't test me, Noelle. I might just decide to break you anyway."

Noelle grit her teeth and glared at Loic as tears welled up in her eyes.

"That's a good look for you." Loic happily stated as the chain that connected her collar to him disappeared. "Better get used to looking up at me, Noelle."

She made sure not to give him the satisfaction of watching her cry. After Loic left the room and locked the door, Noelle crawled her way to the bed and curled up in a fetal position and started sobbing.

Miss Noelle.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Despair gave way to shock and fear as Control's drone suddenly became visible in front of her. She blinked a few times and calmed down, reaching out to check if what she was seeing was actually real. "Control?"

Yes. I apologize for not making my presence known until now. Secrecy is paramount for me to be able to monitor your condition.

"How long have you been around me?" She asked, pulling the drone into her arms.

Since you disembarked the Nagare.

Noelle very nearly threw Control at the wall. "Then why didn't you do anything when Loic collared me?!"

Because this drone does not have any meaningful offensive or defensive capabilities. It is primarily for surveillance. The risk of failure in a rescue attempt was unacceptable.

Noelle grumbled, but did not refute Control. She did release the drone from her grasp in case she suddenly felt like throwing it.

If your sister and Loic would have been able to disable this platform, then I would not be speaking to you right now.

"Then you're here to make sure I'm okay?" Control bobbed up and down in the air. Noelle assumed that control was nodding at her.

As well as keeping everyone informed as to where you presently are.

That made Noelle blink. "Everyone?"

I have already informed Marie and Leon of what happened to you. Unfortunately, a separate crisis is currently developing in Holfort, we cannot rely on Leon or the others there for immediate assistance.

"But Marie knows?" Control bobbed up and down in another nod. "What about Serge?"

Prince Julius and the others are presently making sure that he does not, to quote Marie, go on a warpath after he found out about your predicament.

Somehow, that warmed Noelle's heart despite everything. After a moment, she reached up to touch the accursed thing around her neck. "Can you do anything about this collar?"

I can.

Noelle's face suddenly lit up in a smile.

However, we presently have no means to rescue you safely. Breaking the collar would only alert your captors that there is foul play.

She slumped at the rest of Control's words. "So I have to keep this on me?"

Sadly, we must maintain the illusion that they are in control of the situation and that nothing is being done to undermine their efforts. Rest assured that this is not actually the case.

"Dammit." Noelle sulked until she realized something. She looked at Control. "Can I talk to Marie?"

That service, I can indeed provide.

Noelle sighed in relief at that.

…

Julius Rapha Holfort idly wondered if Leon ever had to do something like he currently was at the moment. The crown prince of Holfort certainly never expected to be body blocking one of his friends to keep him from charging at his own father. Thankfully, his other trusted friends were also there to help him.

"I don't give a shit that you can't do anything!" Julius smiled at Serge's words. He almost wished that he had the courage to speak that way to his own father. "Just lend me an Armor so I can go to the Barielle estate myself! I just want to talk to Loic for a bit!"

"If you appear in front of the home of one of the Great Houses, then you risk making the situation even worse!" Albergue yelled back in clear exasperation.

"That fucker Loic kidnapped Noelle!" Serge shot back in fury. Julius looked around and noticed that Louise was near the doorway pinching the bridge of her nose.

"We have no proof!" Albergue's words made Serge pause and grit his teeth. At least he wasn't trying to physically charge at his father. Julius and his friends looked at each other and slowly let Serge go. Thankfully, their friend seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

"Actually, we kinda do?" Brad suddenly said, making everyone pause and look at him.

"We do?" Julius asked in wonder.

"We do?!" Serge echoed as he grabbed Brad by the collar.

"Well, I mean Control was there when it happened, right?" Brad quickly stated. "Doesn't that mean that they saw everything?"

That made everyone look at each other. Serge let Brad go and patted down his shirt.

"Sorry man." He apologized and got a smile in return.

"I get it, Serge." Serge nodded at Brad's response and took a deep breath.

The moment was interrupted when Albergue spoke up. "You want the Lost Item to testify?"

"He means that Control may have recorded the whole kidnapping." Louise smoothly inserted herself into the conversation and walked up to Serge's side. "Something as advanced as Control should have been able to capture everything on video in perfect clarity and even with audio."

"Would we be able to use that as proof?" Jilk asked as everyone turned back to Albergue for confirmation. His grimace did not inspire their confidence.

"We could, but that would cause another set of problems." Albergue said, clearly thinking the whole scenario through.

"What problems?! We probably have Loic red handed!" Julius and the others nodded at Greg's exclamation. If they could show everyone what happened, it would clearly display hostile intent towards the Priestess of the Sacred Tree. Their Great Houses surely would have been forced to act.

"The ceremony." Louise suddenly picked up the conversation while rubbing her temple.

"What about it?" Serge's sister and father looked at each other before turning back to him.

"Think, child." Albergue stated, irritating Serge with how he spoke. "The ceremony concludes with the Guardian and Priestess demonstrating their control over the Sacred Tree."

"Oh no." Ever quick on the uptake, Chris seemed to have figured something out.

"What is it?" Julius asked his friend. Chris sighed and shook his head.

"Not only are the Guardians of the Sacred Tree from a foreign country," Chris gestured to himself, Julius, Brad, Greg, and Jilk in turn. "But Noelle is not the Priestess of the Alzer Sacred Tree, and neither are we its Guardians."

Of course! They were all bonded to the sapling and not the fully grown tree!

"Exactly," Albergue picked up the conversation. "In addition, carelessly revealing this without ascertaining which houses are aligned with the Barielle House could end poorly."

Julius couldn't help but click his tongue. Even here, under dire circumstances, factions and self interests of the nobility got in the way.

"Thanks for reminding me how much I hate politics, dad." Serge flatly stated, earning a raised brow from his father.

"So what are our options, Chairman?" Julius asked on behalf of everyone.

"We already have irrefutable proof, if the Lost Item truly has a recording of Loic kidnapping the priestess." Albergue quickly stated, seemingly already considering the possibilities. "The issue will be using it in a way that wouldn't result in a civil war."

"I do not comprehend why you hold such affection to Noelle," Albergue suddenly said to Serge, making their friend blush and look away. "But I will not allow your passions for her to cost the lives of innocent people."

"Fuck." Serge muttered, his embarrassment forgotten. Julius smiled when he saw Louise reach out to hold Serge's hand, surprising both him and their father.

"We will find a way." Louise softly stated to everyone's surprise. "We have most of the needed pieces, we just need to find the perfect way to use them."

That was quite the surprise. It was not a secret that Louise disliked Noelle, even before both of them became romantically interested in Serge. For her to be so supportive in rescuing Noelle spoke volumes. From the way Serge was looking at his sister, he knew this as well.

"Whatever you need me to do, I'm in." Serge firmly stated to his father, his hand still holding on to Louise's.

"Then I will require both you and Louise." Albergue stated before turning to Julius and the others. "Thank you for your constant support, Prince Julius. And to you others as well."

…

Serge gave all five of his dear friends a hug goodbye before they got a ride back to Marie. He went back inside to his father and sister. Surprisingly, his father was smiling at him.

"Treasure their friendship with you, Serge." He blinked at his father's tone.

"Huh?" Was all he could say, blushing when Louise giggled at him.

"Holfort is under constant monster attacks and is at the verge of war with Fanoss." Albergue pointed out, making Serge's eyes widen. "Despite that, the crown prince and the heirs of their own great houses are here standing at your side."

"Dammit." Serge covered his face with his hand but couldn't quite hide his red face or his smile from his family.

"Should everything workout, I daresay the Kingdom and the Republic will have an unbreakable bond." Albergue stated in full confidence, earning a sigh from Louise.

"Please don't jinx it, father."

…

"Almost there." Lelia Zel Lespinasse muttered as she navigated the inner workings of the Sacred Tree's dungeon. The soldiers that Loic lent to her have all died by either monster or trap. Honestly, he could have given her some more competent soldiers. She swore to get him back for that.

"This doesn't look right." Lelia muttered as she inspected the pure blue futuristic door in front of her. Her memories from the game told her that this should have been an airlock with a different color. Were her memories from the guide for the endgame already that deteriorated?
To her surprise, the door suddenly slid open with a hiss without any input from her. The hallway within was illuminated by lights from the ceiling. Without much else to go on, Lelia took a breath and entered. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was being led to somewhere. By what or who though?

"This is very different from the event." Lelia noted as she was led through hallway after hallway. She was curious about some of the other inactive sliding doors around her, but erred on the side of caution. Eventually, she ended up in front of a large pair of double doors that had a screen display on it. She flinched when the display suddenly lit up with words.

Words that cycled through different languages. Languages that she recognized. They were languages from Earth!

"Wait! I can understand Japanese!" Lelia exclaimed and the display immediately showed her a sentence in the native language of her old life.

SAPLING MUST BE DESTROYED

"Sapling?" Lelia muttered, her eyes widening. "What sapling?"

THREAT

"I don't understand! Explain it better!"

YOU ARE WORTHY

Lelia groaned when the screen didn't answer her question and just said something else. "Worthy of what?!"

PRIESTESS

"What? Noelle is the priestess!" Lelia yelled out, slamming her hands on the sides of the display.

FALSE

False? Noelle was not the priestess? But she had the crest! She made sure to double check before Loic took her to his manor! That got Lelia's alarm bells ringing immediately. "Either way, I'm not qualified to be the Sacred Tree Priestess!"

YOU ARE WORTHY

Why was it so certain of that?

"Are you…the Sacred Tree?" Lelia finally asked.

YES

"Bullshit." She challenged while crossing her arms. This whole sequence of events was nothing like the one she went through to get the cheat item for this game. "Is this some sort of trap?"

NO

Lelia hummed. Even through an unfeeling screen, she could feel the desperation. Sacred Tree or otherwise. Then again, she couldn't let herself come away empty handed. Loic was the correct choice to control Noelle, but he was crazy. If he ever tried to threaten her way of life, she needed a way to counter what he could bring to bear.

BECOME PRIESTESS

ACCEPT?

"Fine, I accept." As soon as she said that, the display went dark and the large doors opened. Lelia cautiously entered into what seemed like a giant warehouse. The lights from the hallway was her only real illumination but she noted the roots and vines of the Sacred Tree were all over the walls and floor. Suddenly, the lights inside came on and she couldn't help but gasp.

There was something in the center of the room.

It was a massive robot, or what looked to be the wreck of one. Lelia could see that there was only the upper half of it left. It was far larger than any Armor she had ever seen. The sheer size reminded her of the robots of Sentai shows from when she was a kid. It was primarily red with bits of white and what looked to be green glass or crystal. The shape of it was what she would describe as bulbous, especially the shoulders. Only the right arm was intact and the massive forearm had scary looking blades connected to it.

The most fearsome part of it was the head. It was mainly colored red with what looked like drills for ears and two straight horns that stuck at diagonally from the sides. Its yellow eyes looked disturbingly empty. Maddeningly, a stray thought made Lelia think that the monstrosity looked kind of like a red rabbit.

The same vines and roots were also all over the robot, some of them even going into the cracks and open areas of it.

"What the hell is this thing?" Lelia asked and a nearby display lit up, she turned to it and read something that made her giddy.

ORIGINATOR OF POWER

SOURCE OF EVOLUTION

SHIN GETTER ROBO

Lelia started howling in laughter.

 

[roughstar333]

Oh shit

 

[chaostheory]

That's 3 for 3 on cliffhangers, anyone want to take a bet on the entire arc being cliffhangers? /s

Still, it's great to have this back.