volieredeatori | Ancient Future (working title)

"It wasn't a dream." Emilia twisted her fingers together in her lap, lacing them tightly, and closed her eyes, unable to bear looking at Sera. "All of it...the relic site...the Stateria...you getting hurt...everything you tried to tell me about the Ancients that I wouldn't listen to...it's all real. I...I can't believe this, but..." She trembled harshly, made a low, helpless sobbing noise in the back of her throat and didn't protest the arm that was eased around her shoulders, pulling her into a sympathetic hold. "This shouldn't be possible. It can't be possible. But that strange guy...when he threatened us...I-I got so mad, and then all of a sudden I heard this voice in my head, saying my name and telling me that I needed to just believe for a little while, and then all of a sudden it was like my body went to sleep but - but I - I could still see everything, and hear everything, and...you really weren't lying, Sera. You really weren't imagining things. There really is an Ancient inside me...and I think she saved our lives."

Sera exhaled slowly, gave Emilia a gentle squeeze and cast frantically about for something to say - if there even was anything. It sounded more and more like she was coming to terms with the truth the more she spoke, just from the way her tone was changing, so perhaps it was better not to say anything at all...but then she inhaled again and gave the barest hint of a nod, suddenly having to turn her own eyes away. "...Yeah. I'm sorry." Sorry that Emilia had been so suddenly forced to confront everything, sorry that she hadn't tried harder to make the girl believe her, sorry for even bringing it up in the first place...she wasn't really sure what, honestly, but the need to apologize was overwhelming. "I'm really sorry, Emilia. This - I can't even imagine how hard it's got to be for you. Honestly, I've kind of been envious of you this whole time. The way you could just push everything away, dismiss it as nothing but dreams...I can't do that. I've never been able to. And it's painful."

"Escapism isn't any better than being able to confront the unbelievable," Emilia pointed out softly, and unlaced her fingers, reaching for Sera's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"I know, but--" Sighing heavily, Sera tried to give a wan smile, returning the squeeze. How very like Emilia, to try and be comforting even when she wasn't even sure which way was up anymore. "I guess there isn't any happy medium here, huh? Either you believe it, or you don't. Man, Kraz was right - we really do make a hell of a pair." She couldn't help laughing softly, even if the sound broke, and when Emilia laughed with her, a little of the strange pain just drifted away. "I know I shouldn't just keep apologizing like this, but I am sorry. I'm...I'm also happy, though. You know?"

Letting out another laugh, stronger this time, Emilia nodded. "Yeah...I know. I think I'm kind of happy too, actually. Now that I'm not trying to pretend I'm imagining things any more..." She shivered, took a deep breath, and raised her head, staring out the window. "Now that I have to actually believe it, and come to terms with it, I feel...really light, somehow. Like I've been carrying this really huge weight around, and all of a sudden I was able to just put it down. I could almost just...float away, or something." She paused abruptly, looked down at herself, and squinted a little suspiciously. "Er, I'm not...actually going to float away, am I?"

Sera could only shrug helplessly, not really having an answer to that question - and then it hit her that it was a joke, making light of the situation, and she felt as if some invisible weight had lifted off of her as well as she dissolved into helpless giggles, Emilia right behind her with a teasing shove at her shoulder.

Neither of them particularly noticed when the air grew warm and bright around them, too involved in their much-needed emotional release, but they were pulled back to reality soon enough by a soft, affectionate voice, looking up as one to see the image of Mika standing before them and smiling. "Emilia...thank you. I have been waiting for your acceptance, for the day that you would finally open your heart and mind to me. I wish that the words existed to tell you just how much this moment truly means to me." She reached out, putting her hands on Emilia's shoulders, and Sera realized with a flare of surprise that even despite having no body of her own at the moment, the Ancient was as solid as either of them. "There is only one thing left that I must ask of you, now. You have come so far, and accepted so much...but even despite that, the story I am about to tell you may be more unbelievable yet. Knowing that, do you think you are ready to hear it?"

"I..." Emilia hesitated, her gaze going hazy and distant as she forced herself to truly think about her answer, to decide whether she could suspend her disbelief or not - then her expression firmed, gaze brightening, and she nodded decisively. "You wouldn't have been trying so hard to get through to me if this wasn't important. So...I'm ready and willing to listen."

"...Thank you, Emilia." Mika smiled wider, and this time, the smile remained for a while as she began to tell her story, describing the follies of the Ancients and the coming of the Seed, the creation of humanity to take their place in Gurhal, the decision to discard their bodies and become only a single mass consciousness hidden away within a pocket of subspace; she seemed more emotional this time, her voice pitching high with despair and low with grief at many points, and as she spoke of the egotistic nature that the majority of the Ancients possessed even now, her voice broke roughly and she was forced to pause and regain her composure at several points. It was as if finally having her presence fully accepted had allowed her to let loose the flood of emotions she had been so completely unable to express before, and when she finally fell silent, even the very air seemed to weep from the power of the words that had spilled forth; the stifling quiet reigned for a few moments longer, until finally Mika emitted a breath of a sigh and looked down, wrapping her arms about herself tightly. "I fear it may already be nearly too late. That man - he is possessed by an extremely powerful Ancient, and I sensed the energy of a Codex about him. If they are already seeking the Codices..."

"Hold on a second." Sera interrupted her, very gently, confusion warring with fearful apprehension on her face. "What's a Codex?"

"They are..." Mika hesitated, closing her eyes, choosing her words. "Powerful artifacts from the time of the Ancients. Your civilization has found them and begun studying them to try and gain the power and knowledge of ours. But to the Ancients, the Codices are not simply reserves of information - they also serve as keys to open the path to where the collective consciousness resides. If one were to gather all the Codices and properly utilize them, it is certain that the gateway to Maghara would be opened, and the Ancients allowed to flood out into this world once more. There is no doubt in my mind that opening the gateway is his goal...and we cannot allow this to happen. We cannot allow the greed of the Ancients to set upon your civilization. To that end...I must ask you to help me."

"Of course we will!" The words burst immediately from Emilia, and she rose quickly to her feet, determination etched deep into every line of her posture and expression. "I - I'll admit this is still really hard to believe. And I'll admit that I don't understand a lot of it. But that's not the point. The point is that Gurhal is in danger, and someone has to avert that danger, right? I'm not sure how much we can really do, but the least we can do is try, and that's exactly what I plan on doing." She lifted her chin stubbornly high, hands curled into tight fists of resolve at her sides, eyes flashing with a surprising strength that hadn't been there before. "And you're with me, right, Sera?"

Sera only dimly realized she was staring in awe; this was a side of the girl she instinctively knew was all too rare to see, and it somehow seemed to infuse her with that same strong will. "Damn right I'm with you. I can't just sit idly by and do nothing. Besides, I gotta keep you safe, don't I? Just imagine how Kraz would rant and rave if I let anything happen to you."

"Rant and rave with glee, more like," Emilia muttered with a roll of her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Quit that." Sera reached up and tapped her knuckles lightly against the side of her partner's head, a smile on her own lips. "And maybe...yeah, okay, this is a selfish reason. But maybe I can find some of the answers I'm looking for. Who was that man? Why do I feel like I know him? Why does he know me? What the hell have I forgotten?" Her voice grew soft and unsure by the end, face twisting into an image of distant, pained grief, and it was her turn to look away from the two sets of eyes on her and wrap her arms tight around herself. "...I'll be honest with you. I barely remember anything before about four years ago. I only know who I am and that I'm running away from something - I don't even know what it is I'm running away from. But maybe if I see him again, I'll start to remember. It's got to be worth a shot..."

She hesitated, wondering if she should go on and dredging up the courage to get the words out when she decided it couldn't really hurt anything. "Earlier, I guess I fell asleep for a while. I had a strange dream...a dream about a castle. It was old, falling apart even - all the gardens were overgrown with weeds and there were broken stones and half-destroyed pathways all over the place - and then everything went black and I saw this...this pretty gold flower, just growing there right out of all the black, like it belonged where nothing else could possibly be. Then I reached out and picked it - it felt like sacrilege until I realized it was me doing it - and that's when I woke up. Even if I can't remember, I've never had a dream like that, I know I haven't...just like I know it's got to have something to do with him. The two things have got to be connected somehow. Him...and that flower." Staring down at her hands, she forced a weak grin, feeling distinctly vulnerable and not liking it at all. "...I know, it sounds kind of stupid. Okay, really stupid. I probably shouldn't have even brought it up, what the hell does a flower have to do with saving Gurhal?"

Mika looked at her thoughtfully, a bit distant. "It may have more relevance than you think. A golden flower, in connection with an Ancient...it makes me think of the tethis flowers that grew in Gurhal so long ago. They faded away with all of us long ago, but perhaps some variant remained..."

Blinking a few times, Sera slowly decided that nothing would probably ever surprise her again, if even a small thing like that could still be somehow connected to the big, important picture. "Tethis...huh."

"Okay, I don't get it, but if you say it's important, it's important." Emilia looked between the both of them, blinking slowly herself, then pasting on a frown and putting her hands on her hips. "But right now, there's something more important! We gotta find out who that guy was so we can track him down! Not that I have any idea where to start, but if we can do that..." The frown turned into an outright pout, one hand lifting to her chin, her eyes closing in deep thought. "Maybe we can get Chelsea to help us search. Heck, maybe the boss would even lift a few fingers to help out if we persuaded him just right. Hey, there we go!" She snapped her fingers triumphantly, opening her eyes again. "Let's go talk to the boss, tell him about all this! He'll have to help us out if it's for the good of Gurhal!"

"Ah, Emilia..." Mika looked uncertain, fidgeting very minutely with her fingers.

"No, no, don't try to stop me now! I'm in my groove and I'm gonna make the most of it! Hey, Mika, you can still kinda...hide yourself, right? I mean, so people don't get weird ideas seeing the three of us all walking around the colony. Might be a good idea." Emilia, beaming now, took hold of Sera's arm and pulled her to her feet, nodding satisfaction as Mika's form simply faded away. "Hope you can still hear me in there. Anyway, Sera, come on! No time to waste, right?"

Sera briefly considered protesting as she was bodily dragged out the door, but decided against it. A determined Emilia was enough to dissuade even her from speaking up against whatever idea was stuck in that bubbly head. "Uh...right."

As it turned out, their first lead was a lot closer than either one of them could ever have expected. Chelsea was focused very intently on a monitor above her desk, not even glancing over when they approached, and when Emilia started to clear her throat, the CAST put a finger up and waved it reprimandingly. "Taisez-vous! Not while the news is on, s'il vous plaît! This is very important, you see - sit down and watch with me, yes? Then I will listen to your causette."

Looking bewildered at one another, Sera and Emilia finally shrugged in synchronism and gingerly settled themselves into two free chairs, craning their heads up at the screen as well.

It was sort of strange, in retrospect; normally Sera avoided the major news channels like a plague, especially Gurhal Channel 5, but tonight she found herself focusing intently and trying to drink in every word of the overly-perky newscaster's reporting, a tiny frown touching the corners of her mouth. It seemed like it couldn't just be coincidence, not with the way events had turned for them lately - maybe she was reading too much into it, but after everything Mika had told them about subspace and the Codices and things like that, a report on the Inhelt Corporation (who? she thought to herself in bemusement, making a note to do a little research) and their generous contributions to the field of subspace research just struck a little too close to home to ignore. She didn't even realize she'd sunk into a deep, frowny reverie until she was startled out of it by an indignant exclamation from Chelsea next to her, and she turned her head with a raised eyebrow, looking puzzled. "Er - what?"

"How very rude!" Chelsea was positively fuming, her arms folded tight beneath her ample chest. "Skyclad has paid so much to this research, our name should be written there in lights! Zut alors, you cannot just ignore one company and give all the credit to another! Je ne comprends pas the nerve of some people!" She trailed off into muttering that sounded very rude indeed, rubbing her temples in aggravation just like a human woman might, but once the flare of temper was past, her unshakably cheerful expression was immediately back on her face and the smile she gave Sera and Emilia showed no signs of distress at all. "Now. There is something you wished to speak to me about, non?"

"Well, we--" Sera blinked, frowning again, then startled suddenly and turned to grasp Chelsea's arm with wide eyes. "That man in black, the one who was standing in the back of the shot - right there!" She pointed sharply at the TV screen, where the announcer was currently going over another story with highlights from the previous ones in the background. "Chelsea, who is that? I know that sounds like a strange question, but I swear, it's really important!"

"Oh? Ma chérie, your face is so red - and your eyes, they shine with adoration! C'est adorable!" Chelsea smiled far too innocently, overriding Sera's sputtered protests by resting a finger against her lips. "That man, he is Shizuru Shu - the son of Natsume Shu, the head of Inhelt Corporation. Non, non, tais-toi - you wish to know more about Inhelt, yes? Sit back and be comfortable, and let Chelsea tell you all she knows." Gently, she nudged Sera from her arm, humming thoughtfully as the redhead sat back with an expectant, nervous look. "Inhelt's biggest contribution these days is to the field of subspace research, yes? Everything they do, everything they say, it is all subspace, subspace - Monsieur Shu is so very sérieux about his work. Mais, before this research came to be, they were known for great success in l'industrie du chimique...producing medicines, industrial chemicals, that sort of thing. And their efforts in the construction field - très incroyable! Quite the reputation, Inhelt has." She made a small moue, then, casting a glare up at the screen. "Such reputation that even our Skyclad goes pale in comparison! Euh, but I forget myself - I hope I have answered your question well enough?"

Sera wasn't honestly sure for a moment; she felt like her head was spinning, trying to parse everything Chelsea had told her in a timely fashion while still reeling over the fact that it had been that easy. They had a name for him, an identity - now it was simply a matter of finding him, and possibly even the answers she was looking for at the same time. "...Yeah. More than answered it. Thanks, Chelsea, you're a lifesaver," she responded finally.

Chelsea giggled softly and patted her on the head, smiling downright indulgently. "Pas de problem. Anything to help a little lovebird."

"I don't - Chelsea, I'm not in love with him!" Sera reddened all the way up to the points of her ears, wishing fervently that the ground would open up and swallow her when both Chelsea and Emilia started laughing. "Oh, come on, you guys! It's not funny! Why are you laughing too, Emilia?! You know just as well as I do how important this is!"

"Yeah, but--" Emilia, leaning on the edge of Chelsea's desk by now from the force of her laughter, tried rather unsuccessfully to settle down long enough to actually speak properly. "You're as red as your hair, Sera! It's so cute!"

Sera made a humiliated sound and hid her face in her hands. "I hate you so much right now."

"The hell is goin' on over here? You girls look like you're having entirely too much fun." Kraz's voice, sharp and annoyed, cut through the lighthearted mood, and the laughter immediately ceased as Chelsea turned back to her work and Sera and Emilia looked up with identical 'uh-oh' expressions. "Convenient, though. I was just about to call you two down. We got a job request in, and it's a big one. Not every day some piddling little company like Little Wing gets a request straight from Inhelt..."

Sera sat bolt upright, feeling rather suddenly like her stomach was twisting itself into knots. She wasn't sure whether she was excited or apprehensive, and frankly, she didn't know if she wanted to be sure. "Wait a second, Kraz. Did you just say Inhelt?"

"Damn right I did. What, you don't believe me?" Kraz snorted balefully and waved a hand. "They're having problems with rogue synthetics. Something about one of their subspace generators being in trouble, from what I could get out of it. Said they'd rather not call in one of the big-name groups, the less people there the better and all - if you ask me, this is suspicious as hell, but work is work, and you don't just up and say no to Inhelt. You get me?"

Emilia drew breath to protest, but Sera clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, shooting her a slightly wild-eyed look and giving a brief headshake. "Yeah, we get you. We'll take the job. But I want all the details I can get - this is not negotiable."

"Hrah, listen to you. What's got you chomping at the bit?" Another snort escaped Kraz, this one more of a laugh, and he shrugged slightly. "That's all I know. Inhelt wants us to go in and take down their synths to protect the subspace generator. Probably gonna be a hell of a job, taking their technology into account, but hell - you're shapin' up into a real pro, and with you there I'd almost trust the mouthy brat to pull her own weight. 'Sides, it's not like I'm sending you out there alone, we got a couple of new members I wanna test in the field. I oughta thank you for bringin' those two back from Crodog - we need all the decent help we can get around here."

Complaining something muffled around Sera's hand, Emilia finally reached up and shoved it away. "What two? You mean Tonnio and Liina?"

Kraz nodded, pushing a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah, those two. They were more than happy to sign on, said somethin' about nowhere else being willing to take them. Then there's the kid - got a hell of a motive up his sleeve, keeps goin' on about how he's gonna kill the guy who torched his village. Probably not a good idea to send him out yet, we gotta keep this one as low-key as possible..." He grumbled and stretched a cramp out of his shoulder. "So, you still want the job?"

Sera's eyes briefly flashed. "You shouldn't even have to ask."

"Well, whatever. Don't know what the hell's got you so excited, don't want to know, but you need to get out there ASAP. You'll need this." Kraz flipped a datacard in her direction, not even deigning to look impressed when she snagged it in midair without even tracking its movement. "Anyone tries to give you hell for being there, show 'em that. The other two are already waiting on your ship. Get going." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked away, rubbing the back of his neck and grumbling again.

Exhaling slowly, Sera briefly reflected on how much her morals had probably just gone down the drain before getting to her feet, forcing the wave of guilt away and replacing it with determination. There'd be time enough to regret helping the enemy, such as it was, later; for now, they needed to follow that lead and hope it would bring them a few steps closer to figuring out just what they needed to do, even if it did make her feel a bit uneasy at how easily everything was starting to fall into place. "And here I was starting to think that if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have none at all," she grumbled, rubbing her face and heading out, unable to help but feel a little relieved when she heard Emilia's footsteps follow after her. "Hey. You get why we have to do this, right? It's not for their sake. It's for ours."

Emilia bit her lip, not looking at Sera. "Yeah...I know. I know, but..."

Sera stopped just long enough to fall slightly back, putting a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Guilt later, Emilia," she said gently, hating herself for it, but pushing that forcibly aside too. "Focus now."

"...I know. You're right. I'm sorry." Now Emilia did meet Sera's eyes, offering a weak, helpless smile, then pushing past her to the teleporter.