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

[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.

 

[Blackraptor]

Mylene Rapha Holfort sat beside her dear Leon as he explained to her what happened at the Temple and what was done to him. They were in her private office as Leon wanted to talk to her about the situation personally, something that was very touching for her. She had already heard most of it from Angie and Clarice, but to hear the events from the man she loved made everything just that more heartbreaking.

"And then she vanished in a flash of light while I'm left in this state." She held Leon's hands tightly as he spoke. Mylene had only heard Leon sound this helpless once before, when he told her what happened to the Broken Kin Elves. Leon lowered his head and looked down at the floor in defeat. Mylene turned and looked at Angie and Clarice. Both of Leon's fiancées sat across them in a separate couch as a show of support. Mylene could see in their eyes how much they wanted to just walk up and hold him in their arms. She decided to do so on their behalf.

"And this command that Mary inflicted upon you," Mylene slowly broached the subject as she held her love in her arms, making Leon flinch. "How has it been affecting you?"

Leon looked up at her and made a complicated expression. "Right now, it's making me think how much of a mistake being with you actually is."

His words instantly made her feel like stomach was sinking and her face became pale. Leon realized what he just said and shook his head, placing both of his hands on her cheeks.

"And I know that it's not a mistake!" He quickly stated, making Mylene feel like her heart was going crazy. "I know that I love you and I want to be with you, even have children with you one day in the future."

That made Mylene smile and nod. He still loved her. He did.

"But now there's always this fucking voice in my head that keeps telling me about how all this can come crashing down. How I'm a step away from ruining your life, your credibility with the Kingdom, and your relationship with your family." Leon continued, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

Leon took a shuddering breath and pulled away from her, looking at Angie and Clarice with a similar pained expression. "And the same thing keeps happening to me whenever I look at anyone else."

"Control has already told me that I can't pilot Black Getter like this without their treatment." Leon continued, not resisting Mylene pulling his head into her bosom. "It's too dangerous for me to doubt what I do in the cockpit."

"Yes, Control said that they are working on a cure, right?" Mylene asked, remembering something that Angie told her about the situation.

"Not really a cure, more like something to keep the voice down." Leon clarified, his voice slightly muffled. A suppressant then? "The only real way to get rid of this is to have either Mary or Livia remove the command from my head."

"God, I feel like a weakling." She held him closer to her when he said that. This sort of thinking couldn't go on forever. It was slowly breaking him down bit by bit. Was this what Mary was aiming to accomplish?

"Leon, my love." Mylene whispered, making him look up at her. "Do you doubt that I love you?"

"Never." She felt herself blush when he said that without any hesitation. Her brows furrowed from what he said next. "What I doubt is whether or not I should love you, or Angie, or Clarice, or Livia. What I doubt is whether or not your love for me is actually the best choice for you."

So that was how it worked. Mylene looked at Angie and Clarice and beckoned them to come closer.

"Leon, you are the one who believed in us even when we didn't have anyone else. You gave us your heart freely and that means more than we could possibly express." She began as she gave his other two lovers enough space to embrace him as well.

"If you currently cannot believe in yourself, then believe in us instead." Clarice picked up the conversation, the three of them thinking the same thing. "Lean on us and know that we will prop you up as you have done so for us before."

"Do you still…believe in us?" Angie hesitantly asked. Leon looked at the three of them and closed his eyes.

"I want to." Mylene couldn't really help but kiss him after that declaration.

She pulled Angie and Clarice aside as they were about to leave her office. "Please watch over him."

"We will, your Majesty." They said in unison. She waved goodbye to the three of them and watched as they walked side-by-side. That Mylene could not do the same yet made her heart ache.

Sometime later, she walked through the palace halls, intent on reaching a specific destination. One that she normally didn't go to voluntarily. Mylene understood that she didn't have the means to deal with the one who did this to her beloved, especially since they are effectively holding Livia hostage. There was also the fact that they were planning on using Fanoss' planned invasion for their own ends. Ultimately, this even went beyond her love for Leon. She may have not been born in Holfort, but Mylene was willing to do just about anything to protect it.

She stopped before an obnoxiously decorated set of double doors that had two armored knights guarding it. Mylene nodded to them and they gave her a salute in return. She took a deep breath and went inside without knocking.

"Hm?" Roland Rapha Holfort looked up from the document he was reading and raised an eyebrow at his wife's unexpected visit. He was not at his desk, instead opting to sit on one of the couches in the room. "I know that face. What do you want, Mylene?"

She repressed her irritation at the way her husband spoke to her. At least he wasn't in the middle of being serviced by one of his mistresses, not that she had any room to complain anymore.

"You're aware that the Principality has mustered its military to attack the Kingdom at any moment, yes?" Mylene asked from the doorway. She frowned at her husband when he rolled his eyes at her.

"It's all anyone ever wants to talk about anymore." Roland complained, gesturing to the paperwork littering the table in front of him. Mylene closed the door and stepped closer, reading one of the reports that the defense minister had been sending to them both. "Of course they're preparing for war. I don't need to hear it every single day."

"Don't you care?" Mylene asked with a frown.

"Don't you?" Roland returned the question, making her grit her teeth. Mylene knew what he wanted from her. It was always what he wanted for quite a while now, ever since she displayed her aptitude in rulership.

He was challenging her. Lucky for him that she didn't really care what he thought of her anymore. It wasn't his opinion that was important to her. She held a bit of satisfaction when she saw his eyes widen in surprise. Of course he did, since Mylene went down on her knees and kowtowed before him.

"Your majesty, King Roland Rapha Holfort, the strongest Adventurer of the Kingdom." Mylene formally said from the floor. She didn't even need to look up to know what kind of face her husband was showing at that moment. "Our country is besieged and is at the verge of war. I implore you, as your Queen, please save us from this crisis. Deliver us, your subjects, from utter destruction."

At first, there was silence.

Then, laughter. Sickening laughter.

"FINALLY!" Roland bellowed triumphantly. "Acceptance! At long last!"

"Please forgive my failure, King Roland." Mylene continued, the words tasting like bile in her mouth. She ignored it and continued. "Despite my efforts, war is at our doorstep. Only you can save us now."

She felt Roland's hands on her arms as he inelegantly pulled her up. "On your feet, my Queen."

"Fear not, I shall valiantly lead our Kingdom to victory. I am glad that you have finally recognized my greatness!" Mylene gave her husband a fake smile and bowed at his declaration.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Before anything else could happen, he bodily turned her around and pointed at the door.

"Leave me!" He grandly stated. "I will need privacy to draft the letters that will call our greatest subjects to arms!"

"Of course, King Roland." Mylene said as she quickly walked to the door. His joyous laughter followed her out of his office. Mylene's footsteps became faster and faster, wanting to be as far away from that man as she could. It eventually led her to an empty hallway. For a few moments, she just looked out the window to the city below.

"Mother?" The familiar voice brought her back to her senses. When she looked around, she found her two younger children walking up to her. Erica Rapha Holfort got to her first, as she was the one who called out to her. She was a beautiful young girl, her long black hair framing her face.

"What's wrong? Who did this to you?" Jake Rapha Holfort asked, looking her over with his sharp eyes. His blonde hair bobbing up and down as he fussed over Mylene. Despite not being his birth mother, it warmed Mylene's heart that Jake loved her as his real mother.

"Shouldn't you two be with your tutors?" She asked instead, pulling both of her children into a hug. "You're both going to be starting at the Academy next year."

"We're on break, mother." Erica smoothly explained even while Jake grumbled at being hugged. "Dear brother pointed out to our tutor that overworking our minds would not result in competency in the subject they were teaching."

Mylene heard her stepson snort. "Dear brother has a name, Erica. How many times do I need to tell you that?"

"Apologies, dear brother." Erica responded, her smile showing that she was teasing her brother. She then looked at Mylene with a look that was far too serious to belong on a face so young. "Is it because of the Principality?"

"Julius should be here, instead of galavanting in a foreign country with his friends and lover." Jake complained, looking away in frustration. "We are at the verge of war and he isn't here to protect the Kingdom he will one day rule."

Mylene smiled at her children. "Yes, it is partially because of the Principality. Jake, you know that what Julius is doing is also important. He would be here if he could."

Erica ignored her brother's grumblings and smiled at her mother. "On another subject, when will dear brother and I be introduced to your secret paramour?"

Mylene's thoughts screeched to a halt and her smile froze on her face.

What did her daughter just ask?

"Mother is not like father, Erica." Jake suddenly said with a roll of his eyes. "She actually has tact."

What?

"Wait…you both know?" Mylene slowly asked them. Her two children looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, we don't know specifically who it is but Julius has hinted it to us a few times." Erica explained while Jake nodded along.

"Besides, it was impossible for us not to notice how happy you have become in the past few months." Her son added with a smirk, making her blush.

"And you two are unbothered by it?" She slowly asked her children. They both looked at her like she said something strange.

"Why would we be bothered that someone is making you happy?" Erica's question stunned her.

"Julius approves of him, whoever he is. That counts for something." Jake's statement made her smile.

Mylene reached out and held their hands. "Would the two of you like to meet him?"

"Sure." They both answered with a shrug, making Mylene giggle.

"Then I shall arrange something in the future." Her children's acceptance of her new love just motivated her to see this crisis through and get Leon back to normal.

…

"Obey." Mary said as the guards who tried to intercept her suddenly stopped in their tracks. "Take me to your leader."

It was laughably trivial for her to arrive at the central command of the Fanoss military. Bending them to her will went so smoothly that all she had to do was ask people to talk to her. Dressed in the way she was and having the Relics of the Saint on her person had a way of making people take notice and want her attention. Soon enough, people couldn't help but become her admirers. It expanded from there.

She was escorted to a room with several old men sitting around a large table. It seemed like they were in the middle of discussing something.

"Who dares?!" A particularly angry man, wearing black armor with just the worst hair and a large cross shaped scar on his head, stood up from the end of the table. The rest of them followed his example and looked ready to attack her.

"I am the Saintess of Holfort." The declaration made all of them pause. "I am here to take over your little invasion."

"You think that a child like you has what it takes to order us around?!" One of the other old men snarled at her. Even after all this time, men just couldn't help but bluster.

"Obey." That shut them all up. "Sit."

The old men obeyed, like the good dogs they were.

"Now then, what exactly were you all discussing?" Mary asked, taking the seat at the head of the table after making the one with the ugly hair give up his chair for her. She quickly learned that his name was Vandel, Fanoss' Supreme Commander and effectively now the ruler of the Principality.

More importantly, she found out that they were in their final preparations for their invasion. That made Mary smile with how convenient their timing was for her. They continued talking until they started discussing the Dragon God. It seemed that Vandel was going to wield it directly during the invasion.

"And where is the Dragon God?" Mary asked excitedly.

"It is in storage outside the city." Vandel answered with a serious nod.

"Take me there." Mary commanded, standing up. Before she and Vandel left, she turned back to the other old men. "The rest of you, prepare your armies and your strategies. Declare war upon Holfort and let the rest of the world watch as I break the Kingdom over my knee."

"Yes, Saintess!" Good dogs.

The ones guarding the Dragon God sent her questioning looks but knew better than to voice them, especially with their so-called Black Knight personally escorting her. When she finally beheld it, Mary couldn't help but laugh.

It was utterly massive, even taller than most structures. The Armors she had seen during the trip to Fanoss, along with the memories of Olivia and her fragmented self, made it obvious that nothing else came close. Even the Armors called Getter Robo that Leon and that other girl used would be dwarfed by this.

Getter Robo D2, the irritating machine called this. Mary clearly had the superior Armor.

"How will you use it?" She asked Vandel. He gestured for her to follow him to a floating platform that rose up to the Dragon God's head. The mouth part opened and they both went inside.

"Who is this?" Mary asked, pointing at the familiar looking black haired girl that was strapped to the back of the small room in the Dragon God's mouth.

"Hertrauda Sera Fanoss." Vandel answered, the name sparking a memory in Mary's mind. So this was the renegade princess' twin sister.

"Why is she here?" She followed up, poking the unresponsive girl with her staff.

"Her consciousness is somehow still inside the Dragon God." Vandel explained, looking up at the girl. "We have found that using her here makes controlling it easier for me."

Mary turned to the chair that had several levers around it. "And this is where you will sit?"

"Yes." Mary hummed at the response, looking around and finding a lot of room inside.

"Well, I hope that you don't mind me joining you here when the invasion begins." She sweetly said. She traced a gloved hand along one of the levers. "I should be able to supplement this wonderful toy with my own magic."

"That would be appreciated, Saintess." Vandel stated with a nod, making her smile.

"Good dog."

Mary could taste her vengeance already.

…

"The key is balance." Marie lectured to Noelle. They were once again speaking via Control's drones at night. "Don't overplay your helplessness or he'll strangely get bored of you or become suspicious of your reactions. Give some token resistance, but make it look like you are mostly docile to them."

"Should I be worried that you know how to do all this?" Noelle asked, uncomfortable that Marie seemed so knowledgeable on how to act in front of abusive men.

"Do you really want an answer to that?" Marie's flat tone and expression made Noelle wince.

"I'm sorry." Noelle's apology just earned her a roll of Marie's eyes.

"I'm not the one who was kidnapped and has a magic dog collar around her neck." She pointed out to the still captive girl.

The lull in their conversation made Noelle ask something gnawing in her mind. "I'm gonna get rescued, right?"

"That's what everyone is working on. Serge's dad just wants to make sure that what we end up doing doesn't make everything worse after." Marie answered, her voice becoming much softer. "Believe me, if we had our way, you'd already be back here complaining about what happened while Serge and the others finished burning down Loic's house."

"Thanks, Marie." Noelle said with a small smile.

"Not gonna ask about your sister?" Marie suddenly brought up, bringing down any good cheer that Noelle was feeling.

"Do I really want an answer to that?" Noelle's question was met with silence.

"Do you still love her?" Marie somberly asked instead. Noelle's silence irritated her.

"She doesn't deserve it." Marie spat out, surprising her friend. "Forget that bitch."

"She's my sister." Noelle stated in a shaking voice.

"And you're supposed to be hers! But look at what she still did!" She was startled at the ferocity in Marie's voice. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve to be called your family!"

"Marie." Noelle called out in worry.

Marie took a deep breath and looked away. "We'll end here for today."

Noelle looked like she still had something she wanted to say, but ended up nodding instead. "Goodnight, Marie. Thanks."

Marie took a calming breath after the call ended.

Do you wish to speak with Leon?

"Not tonight, Control." Marie tiredly answered, mentally drained by the end of her talk with Noelle.

Do you wish to speak with Julius or any of the others?

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be too nosy?" Marie asked Control irritably.

Not as of yet.

"You're being too nosy." Marie more firmly stated.

Noted.

 

[Blackraptor]

Noelle Zel Lespinasse fiddled with the red gloves she was wearing as Loic led her through the school entrance, not by the leash thankfully. She knew that she had to cover the Priestess crest, but the fact that it was Loic who provided her with the gloves made them feel more uncomfortable than they really should have. She noticed some students looking at them and pointing. Noelle grimaced at imagining what the rumor mill will turn this all into by the end of the week.

"Noelle!" Her heart skipped a beat at the very familiar voice. She turned and saw Serge stomping towards them. Noelle was about to walk up to greet him when Loic suddenly wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. She saw Serge's furious expression. "Get your filthy hands off her, Loic!"

"That's no way to greet your peer, Serge." Tears pooled in Noelle's eyes as Loic started openly groping her chest in front of everyone. The action felt painful and disgusting. She shut her eyes when she heard people around them gasping, knowing that everyone could see them. Loic ignored her discomfort and Serge's body language, continuing to talk. "Especially one who you will be working under once the Barielle house takes over the chairmanship of the Great Houses."

"Loic, you sick fuck!" Noelle frantically shook her head when Serge looked like he was about to attack Loic. He gave her an anguished look that broke her heart. "Noelle."

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have classes to get to." Loic confidently declared before physically pushing Noelle towards the school building. He paused and looked back at the still fuming Serge. "Talk to your dad later. He should have something important to talk to you about."

Noelle morosely walked into her classroom with a sigh, the collar around her neck feeling heavy. She was thankful that Loic was in a different class, but it was just a temporary reprieve from the hell she had been thrown into. She looked around and saw that both Marie and Jean were in her class and were talking to each other. They saw her approach and she nearly flinched when their eyes wandered down to the collar around her neck.

"Noelle!" Jean exclaimed as he walked up to her and held both her hands. He briefly looked down at the gloves she was wearing before shaking his head and leading her to the seat next to his and Marie's. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you or your sister at the apartment these past few days."

Lelia hadn't been home either? Why?

"Like I was telling you, Jean. Noelle and Lelia just have some family things that they need to deal with, right?" Marie smoothly gave her an out, looking at Noelle meaningfully. She bit her lip and gave Jean the best smile that she could.

"Yeah. Nothing big to worry yourself over, Jean. Things will be back to normal soon, I promise." Nolle played along, the words tasting like ash in her mouth as she lied to her best friend's face.

"Well, if you say so." The way Jean looked so relieved broke Noelle's heart.

When lunch time came along, Jean excused himself to eat with his girlfriend. Noelle gave him a smile and a wave, turning back to Marie and saw her flat expression. Loic had already told her what his family's plan was so she had an idea why Marie looked so displeased.

"An invitation letter arrived at the manor we're staying at yesterday evening. It was addressed to Julius and the others, something about an engagement party between you and Loic." Marie said, confirming her fears. Noelle swallowed the lump in her throat and gave Marie a hollow smile.

"The esteemed Barielle house would like to extend an invitation to Prince Julius and the other Noble Heirs of Holfort to celebrate my engagement to Sir Loic. You are also invited as the prince's guest." She woodenly repeated the spiel that Loic commanded her to give to Marie or the others if any of them ever brought the subject up. Marie's frown deepened at her words.

"So that's what their play is." Marie muttered, looking thoughtful. Noelle looked down at her lavish lunch that the Barielle cooking staff prepared for her but didn't feel hungry at all.

"I hate this, Marie." She muttered bitterly to her friend.

"Right there with you, Noelle." Marie answered with equal frustration.

Noelle excused herself after a while, wanting some fresh air. She was thankful that Marie let her go without complaint. What she didn't expect was running into her sister, especially since Jean mentioned that she hadn't been at their home. She suddenly felt hurt and conflicted upon seeing Lelia, but then realized that her sister hadn't even noticed her yet. Lelia was looking down on the floor distractedly and had bags under her eyes. What happened to her?

Before Noelle could speak out, Lelia finally looked up and saw her. She flinched at her sister's gaze but was surprised when Lelia just kept on just staring at her. Noelle took a deep breath and gathered the courage to walk up to her sister. Thousands of things ran through Noelle's head, so many things she had wanted to say to the person who betrayed her, but all she could manage was a weak smile and a wave.

"Hey, Lelia. Is something wrong?" Noelle asked, mentally berating herself for not saying what she truly wanted to.

Lelia suddenly smiled at Noelle, the kind of smile she had whenever she was about to make fun of her. Her sister raised her hands, Noelle finally noticing the white gloves she was wearing. Alarm bells suddenly rang out in her head and her entire body was screaming at her to get away from her sister.

Before she could do anything, Lelia partially pulled down off of her gloves to confirm Noelle's worst fear. It was an identical crest to the one she had. Her breath caught in her throat while her sister just chuckled at her.

"Even when everything is given to you on a silver platter, you still can't do anything right." Noelle was frozen by Lelia's words. Even when her sister walked away in a slouch, she still couldn't bring herself to move.

Lelia was also a Priestess?

There was only one conclusion she could come to. Her sister had somehow managed to become the Alzer Sacred Tree's Priestess, the very tree that wanted her sapling dead. She stiffly walked back to her classroom, ignoring Jean and Marie as her thoughts swam from the revelation.

She could only wonder why her sister hated her so much to even do such a thing.

…

Serge Sara Rault grumbled irritably as he and his family stood amongst the other guests that the Barielle house invited. It was mostly members of the other great houses, but there were also a few out of shape military officers and prominent business men present along with their own companions. He stiffened when he felt Louise give his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked at his sister and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Remember what we talked about, Serge." Serge rolled his eyes at his father's words. Albergue ignored his reaction and kept talking, much to his irritation. "Noelle's safety can very well be on the line depending on your behavior here. We cannot afford any outbursts from you."

"I know." He responded through gritted teeth.

"We'll get Noelle back, Serge. We just have to bide our time." Louise said at his side.

"I know." He responded to her in a calmer tone. Albergue stared at them for a while but didn't really comment.

"Louise, keep an eye on him. I'll talk to the other house heads and get a feel of where they're at." Albergue whispered to them instead before walking off to where one of the house heads, Fernand Tola Druille, was talking to some other people Serge didn't recognize.

"Of course." Louise stated. After a few moments, Serge was startled when Louise made a disgusted sound and once again reached for his hand. He looked in the direction where she was glaring at and saw Hugh Tola Druille walking up to them with a smile. He was a man their age with shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hello Serge, Louise." He greeted them both, Serge protectively stepped between the blonde man and his sister. Hugh raised an eyebrow at the gesture but chose not to talk about it.

"Hugh, I'm surprised that you can even remember your fiancée's name with how nonexistent you've been in her life." He didn't bother keeping the displeasure in his voice from seeping out. Hugh just shrugged and continued to smile at them.

"Well, I did send out an invitation to Louise to spend the summer with me." He pointed out. Serge looked at Louise for confirmation but she just remained stone faced. "But she seemed to have decided to go elsewhere instead. Though, I am surprised that you two are getting along so well."

"You would be surprised how effective an honest conversation between two people can be." Someone else decided to speak on their behalf and Serge couldn't help but grin at Hugh's face when he saw who it was. "Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort. A pleasure to meet you."

"Hugh Tola Druille. Second son of the Druille house and Louise's betrothed." He quickly recovered and shook Julius' hand. He looked at the rest of the boys but quickly lost interest in them. Bastard.

"Now there's a face that says a thousand words." He heard Greg mutter and saw the others looking at the scowl on Louise's face. It looked like they quickly caught on to what his sister thought of the engagement.

"It is nice to meet you, Hugh, but we have a few things that we'd like to discuss with Serge and Louise." Julius politely stated in a way that somehow didn't really sound like a dismissal.

"Of course." Hugh played along and looked at his sister. "You can stop by anytime you want, Louise."

"That guy gives me a lot of bad vibes." Brad stated as we watched Hugh walk up to a group of women with open arms.

"I don't know. He kind of reminds me of the old you." Chris noted as we watched him start to openly flirt with the women, several of whom had wedding rings. Brad looked at his friend with disgust, but Serge had heard from the others that he was a playboy before Marie finally locked him down. This must have been the first time he saw things from the other side.

"I was unaware that Miss Louise is engaged to a member of another great house." Jilk spoke up, making the others nod and turn to Louise.

"It was an arrangement our fathers agreed upon to secure an alliance between our houses." She said irritably. Louise sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've been making a case to convince my father to annul it."

A stray thought passed through Serge's mind on a pretty definitive way for Louise's engagement to crumble to pieces, but this wasn't the time or place to talk about that particular powder keg.

"Lelia has not been returning to their apartment for the past several days." Marie suddenly spoke up. Serge didn't even notice the short girl standing behind Chris until she revealed herself. "Jean confirmed it to me when we spoke between classes."

"So? Why should we care what that bitch is doing?" Serge asked with a growl. He honestly didn't know if she hated Lelia more than Loic. How could he have ever been attracted to that girl?!

"Because she might still be planning something." Louise answered, getting everyone's attention. Serge shook his head as Louise and Marie stared at each other, probably having one of those weird silent conversations that only women could do. Fine then, let those two scheme all they want. He had other things to worry about.

About half an hour later, the lights all went out and everyone's attention was diverted to the spotlights illuminating the elevated stage at the end of the large hall they were all in. There were three familiar people up on the stage, but Serge only had his eyes on one. Noelle was wearing a flowing red dress that made her look absolutely beautiful, if not for the collar around her neck and the empty look in her eyes.

Bellange Lata Barielle, Loic's father, proudly stepped before his son and Noelle to address his guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bellange spoke into a microphone, his voice easily heard from the speakers throughout the hall. "Fellow members of the great houses of Alzer and other distinguished guests! Thank you all for taking the time from your busy schedules to attend this celebration!"

Celebration? What a load of bullshit!

"I stand before you a proud father and a humble man." Serge snorted at the sheer audacity of the guy to just fake his sincerity. From how Loic acted, he was sure that there wasn't a humble bone on the man's body. "For I have the privilege of announcing my son's engagement to a very special young woman. Loic, Noelle, please step forward."

Serge saw Loic take Noelle's hand and pull her along with him to the front of the stage. She squinted against the bright lights and didn't look happy at all. Seeing her like this was torture for him. He couldn't even imagine what she felt.

"This is Noelle Beltre." Bellange stated while placing a hand on Noelle's shoulder, making her flinch in fear. Serge could feel his teeth grind as Noelle was being shown off like prized livestock. "She and Loic met at the academy and quickly formed a bond of friendship that developed into love. When he passionately spoke to me about taking her as his wife, I could do nothing but agree."

Serge looked around and saw that none of his friends were buying the bullshit that Bellange was selling. There were those in the crowd who seemed taken by the narrative that he was spinning, but a bunch of people from the other great houses didn't look very happy at all. They must have thought that Noelle was just some nobody from a common household. Marrying non-members of the great houses was very frowned upon. Hypocritically, being adopted into them wasn't seen as taboo considering that was what happened with him.

"My son's engagement may seem unorthodox to most, but rest assured that there is a special reason why." He saw Noelle wince when Loic roughly raised her arm to show off the crest on the back of her hand. Several people in the front of the crowd pointed and gasped. "Behold! The crest of the Sacred Tree Priestess!"

The second he said that, the entire hall suddenly erupted in shock. Everyone was moving forward to take a closer look at Noelle and her hand. Serge was seeing red until he felt a firm grip on his elbow. He turned and saw that Greg had grabbed him to keep him from running up to the stage. His other friends were looking at him with grim expressions. He also noticed Louise and Marie whispering to each other at the side but they were too far for him to hear. Serge growled and looked back at the stage, knowing that he couldn't even go up to help Noelle.

"This young woman is none other than Noelle Zel Lespinasse, a survivor of the Lespinasse line we all once thought extinguished." Serge narrowed his eyes at Bellange's words. Why wasn't he mentioning Lelia? Was that part of her deal with Loic for selling out her sister? "She has become the priestess of the Sacred Tree after her love for my son bloomed and he became her guardian."

It was also rich that Loic didn't bother to show that he had the Sacred Tree Guardian crest, because he obviously didn't have it. It pissed him off that no one called them out on that, probably because everyone was too focused on Noelle and her crest.

"Can we go up there and show everyone our crest fragments?" Chris whispered to them.

"No!" Both Louise and Marie hissed at him, to all their surprise.

"There will be a time and place, but not here or now." Louise continued, her face serious.

"We are in the Barielle's seat of power. It would be suicidal to do that." Marie pointed out with a similarly serious expression.

"Accursed politics." Julius spat out in anger.

"With this, I would like to ask for your support and well wishes for their union!" Bellange happily continued his theatrics. Both he and Louise suddenly stiffened at his next words. "As well as support for house Barielle's future endeavors."

Serge wasn't as keen on politics as his sister, but even he recognized the veiled threat in that statement. So he was gunning for house Rault's position at the top of the great houses, huh? Serge was sure that his father wouldn't let that happen without a fight. Not after everything he had sacrificed for his position. The thought of people like Loic and his dad being in charge of the Republic was sickening in a lot of ways on its own anyway.

"We will announce the date of their wedding and the Sacred Tree Priestess ceremony within the next few days!" They all looked at each other in alarm at that announcement. He could only imagine the shitshow that would occur if Noelle was forced to try to control the Alzer Sacred Tree only for nothing to happen because it was the wrong damn tree.

"Is this bad? This sounds bad." Greg voiced what everyone was thinking. They all started talking to each other, but Serge kept his eyes on the stage.

He caught Noelle's gaze and the two of them could somehow tell what the other was thinking.

I'll save you.

I know.

…