Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

November 28, 2187

Elphelt eyed the bullet in her hand. It was still warm from its hiding spot in her bosom, as close to her heart as she could get it. This, surely, was where the magic that made people fall in love with her came from. Probably.

A smile plastered on her face, she eagerly loaded Ms. Confille with the bullet before getting into a ready position. The building she was perched on had a wonderful vantage point for the bullet’s eventual target, and the railing on the edge of the deck was the perfect spot to keep her hidden while giving her tons of room to make her shot. Elphelt giggled at her good fortune.

Humming to herself, she eyed the ground beneath her in search of a potential target. Excitement overcame her as she eyed a shady but suave-looking man standing in an alley, just barely in sight. Her pulse quickened as he very cooly took out a cigarette and lit it.

“Oohhhhmygosh!!” Elphelt cried, much louder than she realized.

“If he was my husband, I’d probably be getting in trouble with the law! I’d get roped into a big crime family that would put my life in danger! He’d try to push me away, not wanting to get me involved in that life, but that would only reinforce my resolve! Eventually, he’d let his guard down, thanking me for never giving up on him.” She smiled softly to herself. “Oh, it would be so romantic!”

Just as she made sure her shot was perfectly lined up, another man walked in front of her view. She was momentarily annoyed at him getting in the way, only to have her breath stolen when she got a good look at him. Appearing to be some sort of businessman, he was very sharply dressed and well groomed. He was also arguing loudly with someone on the phone. For whatever reason, this left a positive impression on Elphelt.

“If he was my husband, he would probably be away on business trips a lot,'' Elphelt mused. “I’d put up with the lack of attention until, deciding that I’ve finally had enough, scream at him ‘you married me, not your job!’ We’d argue and sleep in separate beds that night, but the next morning he’d apologize to me, and promise to spend less time away. The cycle would continue until, all of a sudden, his company goes under! We’d struggle and struggle to get through it, until one day he would tell me I was the only thing keeping him strong enough to make ends meet!” Elphelt put a hand against her flushed cheek, sighing loudly. “How romantiiic!”

Elphelt pulled herself from her daydream, her focus returning to her mission with deadly seriousness. With her resolve strengthened, she began to line up her shot with her new target when she was suddenly taken aback by yet another potential suitor. This man was not like the others. This man’s face was so kind. Warm. Inviting. There was a soft and calming, yet powerful air about him. A heat began to rise in her chest. She knew, even from this distance, that this was the man for her.

“He’s… perfect!!” This time, Elphelt had to take a moment to recollect herself as she swooned, too lost in her thoughts to notice her nose starting to bleed. “If he was my husband, I’m sure we would have a very quiet and peaceful life together. The type of marriage that others would certainly be jealous of! We’d live in a small and cozy cottage in the woods, and spend as much time in each other’s arms as possible! We’d go on like that for many, happy years, until one fateful night when he finds signs of some kind of alien invader in our home! Oh no! He panickingly worries for my safety, but when he finds me in our bedroom he's shocked to discover that I--!”

“Whatcha doing there, El?”

Elphelt shrieked in horror, whipping her head around to see Sin standing over her with a huge grin plastered on his face. She quickly tried to hide Ms. Confille out of sight before turning towards Sin, trying her best to play cool. She did not succeed at this.

“H-howdy, Sin!” Elpehlt managed to fumble out of her mouth. “I, um… really like the sights from up here!”

“The sights?” Sin shot her a puzzled look, walking over to the edge of the railing to peek over. “It’s just a boring little shopping area. If you want sights, you should really check out the areas by the Orange Tree Garden!”

“Right, silly me,” Elphelt said, nervously twiddling her thumbs. “Uh… how did you even find me up here?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Sin said with enthusiasm. “We could hear you talking to yourself from a ways away!”

Elphelt’s blood ran cold. “You… could hear me?” Wait, did he say “we?”

“Oh, yeah!” Sin said, oblivious to the nightmare Elphelt was in. “You were pretty loud so it wasn’t all that difficult.” He stopped suddenly, staring at Elphelt’s face. One moment that felt like a lifetime for her. What was he looking at? Why was he looking? Was this part of some Illyrian guard tactic for interrogation?

As the panic began to rise within Elphelt, Sin lazily scratched the back of his face. “I think you got some blood coming out of your nose,” he said nonchalantly. "Might wanna wipe that off."

“I do?” Elphelt hurriedly wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I guess I do,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Oh well, not a big deal.”

“Come to think of it, you get nosebleeds a lot, don’t you?”

“N-no, I think you’re mistaken,” she replied in a shaky voice.

“No, you definitely do.” Sin said. “The air isn’t even that dry now so I wonder what that’s all about? Maybe it’s worth looking into.”

“We don’t need to worry about this,” Elphelt said, hoping to die on the spot.

“But you don't want blood to stain your nice clothes.” Sin gave her an oh-so-naive grin. “But don't worry, I think I know just the person I can ask for help!”

Elphelt was ready to run away in tears before another voice spoke up.

“El… Why were you aiming your rifle at those people?”

Her blood now ice, Elphelt strained to turn her head, seeing her sister standing a little further from where Sin was moments ago. Ramlethal’s body language and tone of voice would appear neutral to most people--robotic, even--but Elphelt could read her sister well enough to notice the deep concern on her face that put a pit in her stomach. In that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to form words no matter how much she tried. Instead she just kept her head down, unable to look Ramlethal in the eyes.

Sin turned to Ramlethal incredulously. “Wait, are you sure that’s what you saw, Ram? I mean, this is El we’re talking about! She’d never hurt innocent people!”

“You are correct,” Ramlethal said, pausing for a moment before turning back to Elphelt. “But I can only think of one other reason you would aim your rifle at civilians.” There wasn’t a hint of malice or judgment in her words, only concern. Somehow that made it worse.

“I-I’m just looking for… you know… a husband…” Elphelt trailed off in shame. She cautiously looked up to meet Ramlethal's gaze. The pity behind her sister's eyes made her wish she hadn’t.

“El, you can’t force people to love you.”

“Oh no. Nonono,” Elphelt said, hands quickly shaking in a panic. “I’m not forcing them into anything! The Magnum Wedding only lasts for a little while.”

Ramlethal raised an eyebrow. “Then why use it at all?”

The amount of shame bubbling inside of Elphelt was overwhelming. What could she even say? She wasn't able to admit how difficult it was for her to connect with people because they thought she was too intense. She didn’t want to talk about how her anxiety made it difficult for her to not throw every emotion of hers at people. She didn’t want to talk about the void of loneliness within her, or how it compelled her to find someone who could fill it. She especially didn’t want to talk about how these facts constantly put her at war within herself. All she wanted was to put her sister at ease and be done with this conversation.

“It’s… an easy way to break the ice?” Elphelt said sheepishly.

Oh great, now Sin was giving her those sad eyes—er, eye.

“But El," he said, "won’t it just hurt you when it wears off and they don’t feel that way anymore?”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Elphelt said with a sullen smile. “I’m…pretty used to the rejection at this point.”

Sin and Ramlethal glanced at one another with mutual concern. Ramlethal leaned over and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Elphelt's nose. It made Elphelt feel small and weak. Standing back up, Ramlethal held out a hand to her sister.

“C’mon,” she said with a soft smile. “Let’s head home.”

Elphelt took a look at Ramlethal's hand for a moment before shamefully accepting it, pulling herself to her feet. She dusted herself off--neither sister letting go of the other's hand–and looked at Ramlethal with a small smile.

"I'm glad you're back."

Ramlethal returned Elphelt's smile. "I am too."

Elphelt turned to Sin. "I'm happy you're here too."

"Always happy to see you, El," Sin said, shooting her a thumbs up.

The trio took a moment to appreciate the fact that they were all together before beginning to walk home. The Valentines could have flown back to the castle, and with Sin being a Gear he could keep pace easily enough. But they didn't. Instead, there was a mutual understanding that they were taking their time. Together they walked through quaint Roman neighborhoods, with Ramlethal never letting go of Elphelt’s hand, and Sin walking closely next to her on the opposite side.

They didn’t say much, but they were all thinking of how nice it was for the three of them to hang out like this. It didn’t seem to happen often enough.

But Ramlethal couldn’t stop thinking about how concerned she was for Elphelt’s wellbeing. She wanted her to be happy, but what Elphelt was doing was only going to end badly for her. Ramlethal kept her grip tight on Elphelt’s hand.

Worries lurked in the back of Elphelt’s mind as well, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how strong Ramlethal’s grip was. She felt as though she was being guided along like a small child instead of an adult woman. It was then when Elphelt noticed that she wished she was as strong as her older sister. 

* * * * *

Between world saving missions and royal duties, family dinners had become rare for the Kiske family. Everyone, aside from Elphelt, was so busy that having the five of them together for one meal was something to be savored. They did, however, seem to make up for lost time by being quite energetic. Aside from the fancy decor of the dining room and the expensive meals, it would be hard to guess that this was the family of the First King of Illyria.

“Sin, please stop eating so fast,” Ky groaned, a weary expression on his face.

Sin looked up at his father with a mouth stuffed full of meat. “But I’m a growing Gear,” he said between mouthfuls, “so I gotta eat!”

“You’re five years old now, Sin,” said Dizzy, politely cutting her food. “You know full well that Gears are done growing before then. You’re no longer a boy.”

“Though you’ve still been growing despite that,” Ky muttered, almost too quiet for anyone else to hear.

“Oh yeah! Training with the old man really paid off, huh?” Sin flexed his biceps for everyone to see. “I mean, look at these things! Pretty impressive, right?”

Ramlethal’s eyes widened in awe and wonder. Dizzy's face glowed in astonished pride. Even Ky looked very impressed.

“Oh my,” said Dizzy with a smile. “You’ve really grown into such a man. I’m so proud!”

Sin smiled bashfully. “Aw shucks, thanks Mom!”

Elphelt hardly paid attention to the antics happening at the dinner table. She felt a million miles away from her own body, quietly taking small bites of her food with eyes unfocused. Usually she would be matching Sin’s energy and talkativeness, but ever since rescuing her from their mother, her mood had been alternating between her usual self and moods like this. She didn’t even react when Sin started flexing his muscles. Mentally she wasn't even there, at least not until a voice dragged her back from the void.

“Is everything alright?” Ramlethal quietly asked Elphelt. Her face was ripe with concern, immediately snapping Elphelt out of whatever trance she was in. She mentally kicked herself for making her sister worry.

Elphelt turned to Ramlethal with a sheepish grin. “Oh, I guess I just got lost in one of my daydreams again.”

It wasn’t a very good lie, but Ramlethal didn't press her further. She simply nodded to Elphelt. “You can tell me if you need anything at all.”

Elphelt's smile warmed into something genuine. It hadn't been long since Ramlethal believed herself to be nothing more than an emotionless tool. Elphelt and Sin were the ones to teach her about emotions in the first place, and now here she was offering emotional support. Elphelt was incredibly proud of her growth. However, Elphelt couldn't bear to burden her sister when she was only just starting to understand emotional depth. “I’ll keep it in mind,” was all she said.

Ramlethal smiled back, and then returned to her plate of food. A quiet sigh escaped from Elphelt. If anyone could understand at least some of what she went through, it would be Ramlethal. And yet, Elphelt wasn’t even sure what she could say to her.

Maybe it was better not to say anything. She needed to stop wasting her limited time with her sister, as well as with her new family. Ky was always so busy running Illyria, and Sin and Ramlethal were always away on missions. Even Dizzy didn’t have as much time for her anymore, as she was beginning to take on the duties of a queen. Soon the whole Kiske family would be out in the open, and preparations needed to be made. That meant a lot of extra work for the king and queen. It was rare that everyone in the Kiske household could be together like this. She shouldn’t waste this opportunity by focusing on the negatives.

And so Elphelt joined in on the conversations at the dinner table with all of the energy and cheerfulness that everyone had come to expect from her. It took a considerable amount of effort to maintain her usual sunny disposition, but she tried not to worry about that. The whole family was having a great time together, so she was going to have a great time too!

After dinner, Elphelt volunteered herself, Sin, and Ramlethal to help clean the dishes. Sin did complain a bit that they shouldn't have to wash dishes since they were royalty. Dizzy and Ky wanted the family to contribute to chores so that being in a royal family didn’t go to their head, but it didn’t stop Sin from going on about how roughing it with “the old man” taught him that dishes were useless anyways. Elphelt couldn’t help but giggle at both Sin’s remarks and Ramlethal’s textbook responses as to why dishes actually were, in fact, necessary.

Elphelt was just happy to be around Sin and Ramlethal. With Sin being the first person to ever consider her a friend, and Ramlethal being her dear sister who she had gone through so much with, they were without a doubt the two people closest to her heart. It was such a shame that they were never around much, but it didn’t matter in that moment. Elphelt was enjoying the company of her two favorite people in the world, and she was thankful for that.

After dishes, the three took a walk to the nearby bakery for some sweets. Ramlethal worried it would be too soon after they had such a big meal for them to have dessert, but Sin and Elphelt were too excited for sugar that her words fell on deaf ears. She figured if they weren’t worried about it, she wasn’t either.

Between the baked goods, playing fetch with Ramlethal’s dog, and what they called “Lucifero Ball,” Elphelt had exactly the kind of fun she was hoping for--stomachaches aside, at least. (How Sin never got them was anyone's guess.) Elphelt was so caught up in the moment that she forgot her time with them was limited, but it had to end at some point. She just didn't think it would be so soon.

The sun began to set over the horizon, and laughter echoed as the trio stepped foot on the castle grounds. Seemingly in tandem with their arrival, Ramlethal received a call.

“Yes?” she said into the sigil against her ear.

The laughter died down into a gut wrenching silence. Only a few moments passed, and yet Elphelt could feel her heart sinking further and further for an agonizing minute. She knew what was coming.

Ramlethal ended the call and turned to Sin. “It’s time for us to go” Elphelt tried not to let the despair show on her face. Sin merely frowned.

“Oh shoot,” he said. “Is it that time already?”

“W-wait!” Elphelt nearly shrieked, unable to stop her anxiety from spiking. “You both just got back. Do you really have to leave so soon?”

“Sorry,” Ramlethal said softly, giving her sister an apologetic look.

“Why don’t you join us, El?” Sin said, his trademark grin not faltering. “We could totally use your help!”

Elphelt looked down at her feet little too quickly. “That’s okay,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I’m ready to get back out there yet…” Sin and Ramlethal nodded in grim understanding.

Ramlethal walked up to her sister and took both of her hands in hers. “If you would like, I could stay here with you.”

Elphelt shook her head. “No, I couldn’t make you do that. I know how much being out there helping people means to you.” Elphelt forced a big smile that never reached her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I just need a little time is all.”

Ramlethal was still filled with unease, but she nodded. She took another step towards Elphelt and carefully wrapped her arms around her. “I’ll try not to be gone too long.”

Elphelt hugged her sister right back, pulling her in with a tight grip. “Don’t worry about me,” she said softly. “Take as much time as you need to.” The Valentines continued to hold each other for several moments, silently fearful about what would happen when they parted ways. Finding it useless to prolong the inevitable, Ramlethal apprehensively pulled away from Elphelt, walking over to Sin’s side.

“Don’t worry El,” Sin said energetically, shooting her a grin. “We’ll be back before you even know it!”

Elphelt crossed her arms and huffed. “You’d better not be making empty promises to a lady, mister! I remember the last time you said that.”

Sin scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, his smile faltering slightly. “Oh yeah, that’s right.” Just as soon as it left, his grin came right back. “Then I’ll be sure to get you a souvenir to make up for it! That’s a promise I can keep easy.”

"Hmm, I guess…” Elphelt trailed off, her arms still crossed. She shot Sin a mischievous smirk. “But only if it’s something really cute!”

Sin responded with a salute. “Yes ma’am, one cute souvenir coming up!”

Elphelt giggled as she waved the two goodbye. Ramlethal took one last look at Elphelt, her worry for her sister’s well-being no less palpable.

Noticing her apprehension, Sin leaned over and whispered to her, “Trust me, it’ll all work out fine.”

Ramlethal looked back at Elphelt, who waved with a smile on her face. Ramlethal responded to her sister with a small smile and wave of her own. She and Sin turned away from Elphelt to face the open sky, Ramlethal holding her arms tight around Sin’s waist. “Ready?” she asked him.

“Always am,” Sin said with enthusiasm. “Let ‘er rip, Ram!”

Suddenly, Ramlethal took off into the sky with startling speed, carrying Sin with her. Sin’s cries of excitement echoed off of the castle’s outer walls, startling a flock of birds on their way up. The commotion died down quick, and Sin's shouts of jubilation were turning fainter and fainter. Soon enough they were nothing more then a tiny spec in the sky, and then nothing at all. Elphelt’s face dropped. Suddenly she felt all of the energy drain from her body. Since when was trying to be happy this much work? She despised the idea of sleeping these days--especially so early--but she knew her body wouldn’t let her say no.

She slowly walked her way down the castle halls, fighting to stay awake long enough to reach her bedroom. Trying to remember which of the many halls in the castle led to her room was incredibly difficult. She nearly stopped and asked a guard for directions, but figured conversation would be too tiring. How did she not notice she was this tired until now? How could she be this exhausted in the first place? These were questions she didn't have the energy to answer, so she decided to ignore them in favor of her single minded goal of finding her bed.

Finally she turned the corner to see her familiar bedroom door, and she was relieved of her fear of blacking out in the hallway in a very unladylike way. She barely had it in herself to open the door, but alas she had made her way to the holy land. Unable to do much else, she fell on top of her bed, hardly having the time to get herself under the covers before sleep overtook her. Hopefully tonight's dream was a peaceful one.

* * * * *

Strings.

Nothing but strings.

All around are strings.

Trying to get her.

To latch on to her.

Control her.

Panic.

Fight them off.

Get them off!

Get. 

Them.

OFF!

She fought and she fought, but no amount of struggling was enough.

A scream. She didn’t remember screaming. It was as if she were forced to against her will. 

Will. 

She hated that word. It reminded her of having none. 

As if on cue, a sinister laugh echoed. It froze her in place, more effective than restraints ever could be. The strings avoided her mother as she walked closer and closer.

“Hello there my darling daughter.” Each word that she spoke made Elphelt’s brain scream. With each syllable, her mother’s face twisted into uncanny expressions that proved just how far from human she really was.

Elphelt wanted to run away. She could not.

She wanted to plug her ears. She could not.

She wanted to look away, yet she was powerless to do even that. Her mother smirked in that devilish way that only she could.

“Well you’re not exactly my daughter, are you?” She said, playfully tugging a string with her finger. “You’re more like my puppet.”

That was right, this woman was no mother--not to Elphelt nor Ramlethal. Elphelt’s stomach lurched at the knowledge she could agree with this woman on something.

Another ear splitting laugh. Her mother--no, Ariels--placed a hand on her face. It felt like decay against her cheek. Or like if a person’s touch could feel like agonizing emptiness. 

“You only exist to become a monster,” Ariels said. “Like I said; you were always destined to be the loneliest creature in the world.”

Lonely. There was that word again. Probably the most painful one Elphelt knew.

"You think you understand pain?" Ariels said as if reading her thoughts. "You have no idea what pain is."

Elphelt’s body twisted. Contorted. Writhing. Her body warped and grew in ways that were wrong. 

She looked down at her hand. It didn't look like her hand.

Her hand was a monster’s.

She was Justice.

Her panic only grew as she couldn’t stop the desire to kill rise within her.

(no.)

Eradicate.

(no!) 

Decimate.

(please, NO!) 

She was not herself, nor did she belong to herself. 

“Yes!” Ariels said gleefully. “You have no will. My will is absolute!”

The faces of Justi--Eplhelt’s loved ones all burned to a crisp with each gamma ray she fired. With each death, another fracture in her heart. 

Sin.

Sol.

Ky.

Dizzy.

Ram…

Oh god, not Ram too.

Everyone was dead.

She killed them.

She killed every last one of them. And now she was all alone.

Alone.

Alone.

She started to scream.

“No, my puppet,” Ariels’ disembodied voice pierced into her. “You can only scream when I say so.”

She continued to scream. Nothing came out. She could not scream.

She no longer had the freedom to.

She had nothing and she had no one.

Not even herself.

Alone.

* * * * *

Elphelt shot awake in a cold sweat, a silent scream desperately trying to claw its way out of her throat. Her body shook as she wrapped her arms around herself, barely noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks. A nightmare, she reminded herself. It was just a nightmare. Calm down. Ariels was locked away for good, and Elphelt was safe in her bedroom in Illyria castle. It took some time for her to believe any of it, but slowly she started coming back to reality.

She waited it out until she had calmed down enough to stop crying and shaking. Whether it lasted a few minutes or a few hours, Elphelt had no way of knowing. When she eventually convinced herself that she was ready, Elphelt cautiously shifted to the end of the bed and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Her legs trembled as she pulled herself upright, and they didn't stop trembling after taking a few steps. She didn't like that. She tried forcing herself to move normally. The nightmare was over, so it was better if she got over it as soon as possible.

Walking over to the vanity on the other side of her room, she freshened up her makeup, trying her best not to think of how much it hurt to lose the color in her hair. She used to be so proud of her pink hair. The white made her feel empty. But not if she could push those thoughts away. She didn’t need to think about that.

She was just fine, of course. There was no reason for her to worry anyone. She just needed to chase away the bad thoughts with happy ones! And what was more happy than finding love? So she has to find love, because she has to be happy. She was fine, because that’s what she promised Ramlethal. Because she didn’t want to burden anyone by making them worry about her.

She was fine. Everything was fine.

Elphelt looked at herself in the mirror and smiled as brightly as she could. She tried not to think about the fact that her smile looked forced. Fake, even.

Like a doll’s smile.

Elphelt Valentine was not fine.

* * * * *

Elphelt fought hard to not let the horrors of last night ruin a brand new day, and she knew the best way to do that was to socialize to forget her troubles. She spent the early morning hanging around every person in the castle she came across. The poor chambermaids were finally rescued from Elphelt's never-ending rambles about bush dogs when Dizzy found her. The soon-to-be queen's invitation to spend time with her sent Elphelt over the moon, and she joined Dizzy for the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon in the castle's family room. The dreadful night was barely a thought in Elphelt's mind during this period, and being able to help Dizzy made her feel less lonely. Sometime in the early afternoon, Elphelt was standing behind a seated Dizzy, brushing her hair with an abundance of glee.

“You’re always so helpful, Elphelt,” Dizzy said warmly. “It grows so fast. It can be difficult to maintain.”

“Not a problem!” Elphelt replied, Dizzy’s approval feeding her dopamine high. “You’ve done so much to make me feel welcome here. It’s the least I can do!” Unfortunately for Dizzy, she could feel Elphelt’s enthusiasm a little too well with each brush stroke, but she didn’t have the heart to tell her that.

“It’s nothing at all,” Dizzy said, trying not to wince. “You're family now. And besides, I know what it’s like for society to reject you for who you are. I’d never turn away someone in need of a home.” Elphelt sobered at her words. Much to Dizzy’s relief, this also calmed Elphelt’s brush strokes.

“I can’t imagine anyone ever being able to hate you, Dizzy. You’re the most caring and kind person I've ever met.” She hadn’t known Dizzy for very long, and yet she was very graciously cared for by her from the get go. Elphelt even started to see Dizzy as the positive mother figure that she never had, which was kind of weird considering Elphelt was a genetic copy of Dizzy’s mom. Or maybe that didn’t really matter since every Valentine was pretty unique from Aria? Or was it more accurate to say Dizzy's mom was Justice? Was there a difference?? Maybe it was better not to think about it.

Elphelt was brought back to reality by Dizzy's voice, responding to the comment she already forgot she made.

“Gears are starting to see some kind of acceptance nowadays,” Dizzy mused. “But humanity was afraid of us so soon after the war.” Dizzy started to blush. “It makes Ky all the more incredible for accepting me back then.”

Elphelt squealed in excitement, causing Dizzy’s cheeks to burn brighter. “Sorry,” Elphelt said, bashfully. “I just can’t help but get excited when I hear about you and Mr. Kiske.” She put both hands on her cheeks and sighed deeply. “You two are just so in love! You’re like the perfect power couple!”

Dizzy chuckled lightly at Elphelt’s enthusiasm, trying to hide her embarrassment. “We’re not that special,” Dizzy said, waving her hand as if to shoo the silly little thought away. “I believe that everyone has someone for them. When you find that person, you just need to be willing to put in the work.”

Elphelt’s heart sank. “But I already try so hard,” she said, somberly. Dizzy's eyes met Elphelt's with a look of apology and concern. A pit formed in Elphelt’s stomach at the thought of ruining Dizzy’s positive mood. She quickly brought her smile right back. “S-sorry, I shouldn’t make this about me.” She gleefully clasped her hands together. “Now tell me more about how you two met!”

Dizzy’s expression did not change, and the more Elphelt looked at it, she realized it looked much like the same expression of pity Ramlethal had been giving her the previous day. Elphelt started to feel small from her gaze.

“Elphelt…” Dizzy said, taking her time to carefully choose her words. “It’s not something you can force.” She looked up in concentrated thought. Elphelt leaned in closer, wanting to grasp every single word she said. “I suppose you can think of it like--” she paused in thought for long moment, before suddenly lighting up in realization--“Strings!”

“Eh?” Elphelt’s body became lead as she remembered the dream from last night, but did her best to politely listen without letting Dizzy know of her discomfort.

“Any relationship, not just romantic, can be thought of like a string between yourself and another,” Dizzy said, using her fingers to demonstrate. “The bond needs to be strong on both ends first before you can work on reinforcing the relationship, or the string, as a whole.”

Elphelt tried as hard as she could to listen through the noise in her own head, but she couldn’t make sense of the words coming out of Dizzy’s mouth. They sounded reasonable, and she knew what each word meant, but with every mention of strings Elphelt was further and further away from the conversation, until she suddenly snapped back to reality at the sound of another voice.

“Mrs. First Queen of Illyria, your services are required.”

Ky was standing in the doorway, his face hardly hiding his self-satisfaction at what was probably the most milquetoast attempt at a joke. But his face held something far, far deeper as he stared into the eyes of his wife, who smiled and laughed at his attempt at humor with genuine glee. It was brief, but the smile that the two shared in that one silly little exchange was unlike anything Elphelt had seen before. She wondered if she had ever smiled like that.

“Oh, hello Elphelt,” Ky said, finally sober enough from his lovestruck stupor to notice the other woman. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

“Nope!” Elphelt replied too quickly and too enthusiastically to be genuine. “I just finished brushing her hair!”

“Well, that was very kind of you,” Ky said with a smile. “After all these years my brushing skills could use work. I’m always afraid I’ll just pull her hair if I try,” Ky said with a laugh, but stopped when Dizzy got out of her chair to put a hand on his shoulder.

“You do just fine,” Dizzy quietly said through gritted teeth. She looked up at Ky with pleading eyes. “Trust me.”

A wave of horror overcame Ky as he wondered just how bad Elphelt could have been at simply brushing hair. He looked over at the Valentine nervously. How did she brush her own hair? Ky already dreaded the sleepless nights he was going to have over this.

“I-I'm afraid we must be going now,” he said to the Elphelt, his voice wavering. “There’s much for the First King and Queen of Illyria to do.” He waved awkwardly as he led his wife out the door. “Hopefully we won’t be too swamped with work to eat dinner as a family tonight.”

Dizzy waved politely at Elphelt. “Thank you again for helping me with my hair.”

As the door closed behind them, Elphelt stood in momentary confusion. They left in a bit of a hurry, didn’t they? That was weird, right? She was pretty sure that was weird. But they did have important work to do. Oh well, they couldn't have hung out with her forever. No use thinking too hard about it.

…

Silence.

She was alone again, possibly for the rest of the day. The dread crawled its way inside her body once more. She held herself tightly in order to calm down. What was wrong with her? She felt silly reacting this way just for being left by herself. Everyone else could manage being alone for several hours just fine, so why couldn’t she? She was broken, certainly. That must be the case. After all, Dizzy probably gave her the holy grail of love advice and she couldn’t even pay attention to her words.

In moments like these she felt compelled to confide in someone about her issues, but just as soon as the thought would enter her head she’d push it away. All that would do is burden other people needlessly. Everyone had their own issues, and she couldn't bear the idea of making things worse for the people she cared so much for. She just had to wait for everything to work itself out.

She looked over at the mirror hanging to her right. The panicked eyes of the trembling girl looking back sent shivers up her spine. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and forced the biggest smile she could before opening her eyes again. Fake. It looked fake. Images splashed in her head of the smiles shared between Dizzy and Ky. Why didn’t her smile look like that? Why did hers look so… so…

…Sad.

Her smile dropped and she realized her eyes never stopped looking scared and hollow. She couldn’t hide this anymore, could she? Soon enough the dam would burst when her family was around and she’d have no choice but to burden them. She couldn’t have that. She refused to cause them any kind of suffering. Though the thought made her heart ache, she knew what she had to do. She couldn’t stay here anymore.

Elphelt slowly started walking towards her bedroom. Each step feeling far too slow, and the many hallways feeling as though they continued farther than they ever have. So she started walking faster. It was still too slow. Her steps became faster. And faster. And suddenly Elphelt was running towards her bedroom. She ran as fast as she could, as though something were chasing her. Skidding down hallways and causing the heads of Illyrian guards to turn in confusion, she ran like her life depended on it. She didn’t know why she ran, but adrenaline pumped through her veins and told her to speed up nonetheless.

Bursting through the door of her bedroom, she quickly packed as many of her belongings as she could. She took a page out of her diary and left a hastily written note so everyone would know she left when they inevitably came to look for her. She then opened the window and took a deep breath, waited for her heartrate to slow, and then exhaled. Her mind was made up. She wouldn’t return to the castle until she was able to become someone who didn’t burden other people. She was going to be happy one way or another, and her best bet was surely to find love. Convinced that she was making the right choice, she leapt from her bedroom window and took off flying into the great expanse. She didn’t know where she was going other than away from Illyria castle. She simply let her heart lead the way as her home became smaller and smaller at her back.

Chapter Text

November 29, 2187

It had been well over a month since Ramlethal Valentine declared war on humanity, an action that allowed the Conclave to decimate the entire population of Babylon. Since then much had changed. Ramlethal became more than a puppet and chose to fight on the side of humanity, and both the Conclave and the Universal Will were no longer a threat, and yet the people of Babylon were still gone. That fact would never change. 

It was almost more than Haehyun could bear.

She sat solemnly from within Jeon Ryok, taking in the eeriness of such a huge city being so empty. If it wasn't for the occasional Illyrian soldiers that were still here doing god knows what, and the even rarer traveler that had come through, it would have been a complete ghost town. 

Haehyun had traveled nearly all over the world–she had the chains to prove it–but Babylon in particular was always special to her. It was the true melting pot of this age, a thriving metropolis for people from all over the globe. Humanity never seemed more connected to one another as it did among the citizens of Babylon. It truly made her feel as though humans from all over could one day live not as people of different nations separated by wildly different banners, but as a united whole that could come together in harmony. 

In one instant it was all gone. All of them. Every last adult and child had perished. Fragments of Haehyun’s own heart had perished along with all of the friends she'd lost.

She looked down at the chains around Jeon Ryok's wrist. The chain link she got from Babylon long ago was there. She figured as long as she was alive to continue collecting chains from the different civilizations all around the Earth, the soul of Babylon would still be alive. Those chains, each one from a different nation, linked together as a powerful symbol of the unity of humanity and the strings that tied them all together. Even if she was the only one who could see those strings, they were indeed there.

She wearily turned her gaze back towards the barren buildings and streets that had once been a vibrant city. Haehyun swallowed the bitter taste of her grief, casting it aside in order to focus on the task at hand. At once, Haehyun commanded the towering robot she resided in to guide her further into the city. It took her this long to work up the nerve, but she was going to pay her respects and she would do so properly. Her mind was set, and there wasn't anything or anyone who could stop her.

And it was at that moment when Haehyun turned the corner and locked eyes with Elphelt. 

The two of them froze upon seeing the other. Haehyun rubbed her eyes thoroughly, pleading to the universe that her sight had deceived her. No mistake about it; the woman standing before her was none other than Elphelt Valentine--sister to the same Valentine who worked with the Conclave to decimate the Babylonian people. Haehyun struggled to control the whirlwind of anger she felt in that moment. She knew most of those feelings were unfair to hold against Elphelt, but Haehyun still didn't want to go anywhere near her either.

Babylon wasn't the only reason for her to be on guard with Elphelt. Memories flashed in her mind’s eye of Elphelt and her very… aggressive approach to trying to make Haehyun her "husband." Though she was living her life as a burly old man for the sake of the Kum family, Haehyun felt sick at the thought of being anyone's husband . Her brain worked overtime to figure out the easiest way out of this situation as quickly as possible, preparing herself for the inevitability of Elphelt.

That is, until Haehyun noticed how apprehensive she looked--scared, even--like she was thinking less about shotgun weddings and more about whether or not to run away, if she hadn’t completely frozen up already. This calmed Haehyun enough to let down her guard a bit. She didn't want to scare Elphelt, and was honestly more than a little curious about what she was doing in Babylon. Perhaps the diplomatic approach was the appropriate response.

"It's a… pleasure to see you, Elphelt," Haehyun spoke through Jeon Ryok, moving casually but cautiously towards Elphelt, as though the Valentine was every bit the small animal her bunny-eared bow implied.

Seeing that Haehyun didn’t appear upset at her, Elphelt let go of her breath and gave Haehyun an apprehensive smile. 

"H-hi there!" she said with an awkward wave.

Haehyun gave a polite but stern nod. "This is a peculiar place for us to cross paths, isn't it?"

Elphelt's face fell. "Yeah," she said, barely above a whisper. 

Haehyun absentmindedly let out a hum in interest. Elphelt’s reaction seemed to confirm that she was feeling guilty about being in Babylon. But then why come here in the first place? Haehyun’s curiosity had gotten the better of her. "Something troubling you?"

Elphelt flinched in surprise, quickly recovering with a bright smile. "Oh, it's nothing really. Nothing I need to worry a stranger with."

Haehyun swallowed a laugh, remembering their prior meeting. "I'd say we're a little more acquainted than strangers," she said, a hint of humor in her voice. “Or are you that forward with everyone?” 

Elphelt’s face turned beet red. She flailed her arms in a panic. "I'm sosososo sorry about all of that, I just have like so many emotions and I didn't always know how to deal with them in the best way back then! Er, I suppose they still kinda cause trouble for other people, but I'm working on it, I swear! You won't have to worry about me trying to make you my husband or anything ever again, no siree! Wait no, not like I'm not interested either! I mean if you were interested that's–oh wait, would the age gap be too weird? I mean, I don't think so if you don't! I just…"

Haehyun was starting to regret not letting the Valentine run off. She pinched the sides of her nose with and exhaled a very tired and frustrated sigh. Elphelt immediately snapped her jaw shut, stopping her ramble cold. The two sat in silence for a brief moment, before Elphelt let out a barely audible "sorry."

Patience running thin or not, it was obvious to Haehyun that Elphelt wasn’t exactly doing well. She silently cursed her own conscience for not being able to just let the situation be, but Haehyun had no choice but accept that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't take some sort of mercy on the poor girl. Besides, who knew what sort of trouble Elphelt could get into if left to her own devices? Haehyun shuddered at the thought.

She silently weighed her options, and after a few moments she settled on an idea. She turned back to Elphelt. "Why don't you follow me?"

Elphelt blinked at Haehyun. "Huh?"

"There’s something I think you would like to see," Haehyun said simply. "This way." Without elaborating any further, Haehyun turned Jeon Ryeok in the opposite direction and proceeded without Elphelt, who quickly caught on that she'd be left behind if she didn't follow.

"W-wait for me!" Elphelt cried.

*****

After a few minutes of walking Haehyun stopped in front of a building that--to Elphelt--didn’t look much different from any of the other buildings they passed by. To Haehyun, the building was steeped in happy memories that now only served to cause her pain. She mentally prepared herself to step foot inside a building that shouldn’t be empty, but was. She could swallow her pain for now. She was too strong for this to stop her. “We’re here,” Haehyun said simply, steeling herself enough to push through the doors.

Haehyun watched as Elphelt took a very cautious step inside, as her timidness washing away almost immediately upon entering, instead being replaced with a look of awe and wonder. Haehyun smirked as squeeing noises slipped from Eplelt’s mouth, watching in self-satisfaction as the Valentine admired the beautiful--almost dreamlike--setting of the cafe. The place was decorated with cloud-like cotton along the ceiling, with a starry night sky painted overhead, and walls painted with tranquil red-violets and corals reminiscent of a sunset. Allowing Elphelt the opportunity to take it all in properly, Haehyun lit candles along the far wall, as well as candles in the inexpensive--yet quaint--chandeliers that hung above the tables. Doing so provided the place with an immensely soothing atmosphere that hit Haehyun with a wave of nostalgia. She silently chastised herself. This wasn’t the time to be sentimental.

Haehyun turned her attention back to Elphelt, whose eyes were wide as dinner plates, completely lost in her surroundings. “I had a feeling you’d like it,” Haehyun said. She sat Jeon Ryok over behind the bar counter against the far wall and started to prepare two cups of tea. “Have a seat,” she said, beckoning to Elphelt.

The atmosphere calmed Elphelt down, but apprehension began to creep its way back onto her features upon Haehyun summoning her. “Um, why are we here exactly?” Elphelt asked with a nervous laugh.

“You seem as though you could use some peace of mind,” Haehyun said, sipping her tea through Jeon Ryok’s mouth--however that worked. “I could think of no better place for that.”

Elphelt laughed half-heartedly. “I'm that easy to read, huh?” As Elphelt awkwardly took the seat across from her, Haehyun had to stop herself from asking what part of Elphelt’s disposition didn’t make her easy to read.

“Oh excuse me, where are my manners?” Elphelt said sheepishly, lightly hitting herself on the forehead. “Thank you for the tea, Mr. Tuner!”

Elphelt’s words hit Haehyun with a punch to the gut. “Just Haehyun is fine.”

“Oh I’m sorry, let me try that again.” Elphelt said. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for the tea, Mr. Haehyun!”

“Don’t--” Haehyun started to growl, before stopped herself from fully snapping at Elphelt. It was  alarming to her just how difficult it was to maintain her composure when treated like a man. This would not do. She made a mental note to meditate on this later. She took a deep breath to recollect herself, and addressed Elphelt calmly. “It’s just Haehyun.”

“S-sorry.” Elphelt said, shrinking in her seat. “Did I… do something wrong?” 

Haehyun mentally cursed at herself. “No no, not at all. It’s simply not necessary to call me by an honorific.”

Elphelt gasped, causing the tuner to worry momentarily that she somehow made the situation worse. Her fears were quelled momentarily when a smile grew across Elphelt’s features. “Does this mean… are we friends now!?" 

Haehyun nearly spit out her tea. “Huh?” 

If Elphelt noticed how taken aback Haehyun was, it sure didn’t subdue her excitement, nor did it stop her from speaking a million miles per hour.

“I haven’t been alive for very long so there's lots of stuff I don't know, but I hear with certain cultures you’re only allowed to be on a first name basis with the people you’re close to, so that must mean--!” Elphelt started to tear up. Haehyun started to panic. “I’ve been so alone for so long that having new friends means so much to me. Thank you for being my friend! I--”

Elphelt suddenly blinked away her tears, realizing that she maybe, just maybe was jumping to conclusions. Embarrassment began to set in, causing her to shrink in her seat once again. She turned to Haehyun anxiously. “You… did want to be friends, right?”

Haehyun simply sat there, her brain blue-screened at the whirlwind of emotions before her, making it nigh impossible to even speak. Too far in shock to think of anything else to say, it was all she could do to simply respond with “S-sure.”

“YAAAAAY!!” Elphelt shouted, throwing her hands up in jubilant elation. “Ohmygosh, we’re gonna have so much fun together! We could totally--wait, I don’t really know any of your hobbies or interests that well so I might need to ask what you’re interested in first. Do you like reading love magazines? There’s this one that I just adore that we could totally…”

Haehyun continued to sit in stunned silence, hardly listening to the clashing streams of thought coming out of Elphelt’s mouth. In her silence, only one thought kept repeating itself over and over in her mind; What on Earth have I gotten myself into?

Elphelt stopped her ramble cold when her attention danced its way back to the cafe they were sitting in, and gave herself a moment to get lost in her surroundings again. She turned back to Haehyun with a thoughtful finger on her chin. “So how did you learn about a place like this, Mr--I mean, Haehyun?”

Haehyun immediately felt the adrenaline leave her body, and in it’s place an intense heaviness took over, and her heart sank uncomfortably into her stomach. It was a simple question, with an answer that prompted emotions that were anything but. She took a long drink from her teacup, giving herself a moment to collect herself. There was no way for her to visit Babylon without opening wounds that were only partially healed, but doing so in front of Elphelt of all people was not what she was prepared to do.

“I travel a lot, and as a result I’ve made a lot of friends in different places.” She spoke evenly, but there was a grim undertone in her words. She took another sip of her tea, watching as Elphelt waited in suspense for Haehyun to continue. When she didn’t, a sombre realization took hold of Elphelt. She hung her head in shame.

“Did you have… friends in Babylon?” Elphelt asked, not looking Haehyun in the eyes.

Haehyun nodded grimly. “The owner of this cafe helped me collect my bearings the first time I visited.” She could feel the grief welling up, remembering his kindness when they first met. The sorrow tried to break her composure, but she forced it down. She was the head of the Kum family. She would stay strong. “He also told me that I would always have a place to stay here. I know he wouldn’t hesitate to welcome me even now.”

Elphelt nodded in response but said nothing, and yet the lack of words didn’t make the Valentine’s shame any less palpable to Haehyun. She had the ability to see the strings whose chords played the melody of a person’s soul. It was more difficult for her to read Elphelt’s unique soul, but it was far from impossible. From her physicality alone, Elphelt was certainly feeling shame for her association with the deaths of the Babylonians. But Haehyun could read something more within Elphelt. It felt almost like she was dealing with… grief?

That was unexpected.

Haehyun’s muscles eased. She looked back at Elphelt much more softly. It was one thing to be remorseful, but to feel grief for people she never knew? People she couldn’t have known? People whose deaths weren’t even her responsibility?

This unexpected variable cast into doubt much of who Haehyun thought Elphelt was. She didn’t expect empathy this strong to come from the Valentine. How did she not notice it sooner? And yet, how could she have when her interactions with Elphelt haven’t exactly screamed “I care about other people’s feelings.”  She pondered this fact for a while and, finally deciding on the character of the woman in front of her, Haehyun knew what to say to break the silence between them.

“It wasn’t your fault, you know.”

Elphelt’s blinked in confusion, slowly lifting her head barely enough to look Haehyun in the eyes. “What was that?”

Haehyun sat with arms crossed and closed her eyes in thought. “You aren’t someone who would willingly have a role in such a tragedy.”

“Yeah, but--”

“No,” Haehyun said firmly. “I won’t listen to whatever sort of poison in your mind that says you need to be punished.” She raised an eyebrow at Elphelt. “Do you think Ramlethal deserves that punishment?”

At the mention of her sister’s name, Elphelt’s teary eyes lit up like fire. “No, never!”

“Then why should you? Did she not have a far more direct role in awakening the Cradle?”

With just a few words the fire within Elphelt died, and she sat there, searching for something to say. The two sat in silence once again, eventually broken when Eplhelt finally settled on a response.

“How can you be so sure what sort of person I am?”

“It’s simple,” Haehyun said. “I am a tuner.”

Elphelted tilted her head in confusion. “I… don’t think I follow.”

“Are you familiar with the power of tuning?”

Elphelt shook her head. Haehyun anticipated her lack of knowledge about tuning. It was far from the most common ability, after all.

“Tuning is a form of ki manipulation that has existed long before the discovery of magic,” Haehyun said. “This power has run in my family’s bloodline for a very long time. The Kum family contains the last surviving tuners in the world.” Elphelt’s face fell hearing those last few words but asked no questions, something Haehyun appreciated.

“As I’m sure you know, ki exists within every single living being--from plants, to animals, to you and me. The power of tuning allows me to both see and control the flow of ki in the world. As a result, I can easily read people.”

Elphelt gasped in awe, her eyes massive and sparkling. “That’s so cooool.” 

Haehyun smirked. It would be a lie if she said she didn’t revel a bit in the praise, though she knew she shouldn’t. Casting the thoughts aside, she cleared her throat.

“We call this power ‘tuning’ because it’s not unlike tuning an instrument.” She said. “In a nutshell, I can see the discord within the souls of people, and then ‘tune’ them in order to create a more perfect harmony.”

Hope began to shine through Elphelt’s being, her eyes almost pleading. “Does that mean… you can tune me or whatever so I won’t be such a burden to people?”

Haehyun furrowed her brow. “I can only tune an instrument so that its sound is more harmonious. I cannot make your instrument play a lovely sonata, so to speak. You have to work at it yourself.” Elphelt nodded slowly, mostly understanding. “Furthermore, the shape of a Valentine’s soul is elusive even to me at the moment.”

“Meaning…?” Elphelt’s question caused the tuner to sigh.

“I’m ashamed to admit it, but my limited interactions with Valentines have made it difficult for me to understand their souls. What I do know is that they’re distinctly different from the souls of a human or Gear. Unfortunately, I’ll need time to piece together how to tune a Valentine’s soul.”

“Oh.” Elphelt deflated at the news, the hope in her eyes clouding over with uncertainty and defeat. 

Haehyun’s brow furrowed further. Her inability to tune someone sitting right in front of her felt like failure. Tuning was all she was, and her being incapable of it in any capacity felt wrong. She made it a goal right then to devote her full attention to solving this puzzle. She didn't bother telling this to Elphelt however. She avoided making promises she couldn't be completely certain she could keep.

She looked back at Elphelt. Though still emotionally struggling, she was seemingly in much better spirits than when they first ran into each other. That was good. Perhaps Haehyun could get a few answers out of her now.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for prying,” Haehyun said, refilling both of their teas, “but I’m curious why you’ve come all the way to Babylon.”

Elphelt winced. “That’s a fair question,” she said sheepishly. “I’m not even sure why. To make peace with this guilt? To torture myself? I don’t really know.” She let out a tired sigh. “For whatever reason I thought it would be a good idea. Now that I’m here… not so much.”

“I see.” Haehyun was glad she intercepted Elphelt when she did. Nothing good would have come from Elphelt wandering Babylon in such a state. “Did you come here alone?”

“Yeah.” Elphelt sullenly spun the tea leaves around in her cup with a spoon. “Everyone’s busy and I don’t want to bother them, but I don’t really know what to do with myself.”

Haehyun nodded. “You’re in need of some kind of direction.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Elphelt stopped swirling her spoon. There was a pause as she seemed to contemplate something. “I’ve been having bad nightmares ever since I almost fused with Justice.”

Haehyun looked up from her tea. “That sounds awful.”

Elphelt grimaced. “Oh, I mean--It’s not that bad. I’ll get over it.” She gave Haehyun a very forced smile.

Haehyun frowned. “You do realize you aren’t burdening others by relying on them every once in a while, right? Trying to bottle everything up might be making your nightmares worse.”

Elphelt huffed, turning away from Haehyun. “I said it’s not a big deal.”

“You can’t lie to me so easily,” Haehyun said, staring Elphelt dead in the eyes. Elphelt shrank even further under the weight of those eyes, Haehyun holding her gaze for several, long seconds. And then, abruptly, she relaxed her gaze from Elphelt and focused instead on taking another sip of tea. “But it’s not my place to make you talk.”

Bewilderment spread across Elphelt for a moment, before exhaling in relief. Haehyun knew she probably shouldn’t be antagonizing Elphelt like this, but she wanted to make sure the other woman knew damn well that such obvious lies weren’t going to fly with her. She hoped it would encourage Elphelt to speak if she was called out, but the Valentine said no more. Haehyun decided to drop it, instead choosing words that Elphelt would hopefully find comfort in.

“Once I figure out how to tune you,” said Haehyun, “I can help with those nightmares.”

Elphelt said nothing, instead looking off in space as if somewhere else entirely. Haehyun was unsure if the other woman even heard what she said. She was in the middle of contemplating whether or not she should repeat what she said, when she heard a soft “thank you” from under Elphelt’s breath. Despite herself, a smile tugged at Haehyun lips.

It was then that Haehyun noticed how dark it was outside. They must have talked for much longer than she had realized. She was frustrated at herself for losing track of time so critically, now not having the time to visit the memorial like she’d planned. She cast the thought aside as best as she could, deciding she would still have time tomorrow, on top of figuring out the puzzle of Elphelt’s soul. For now, sleep would have to take precedence over everything else, for no problem could be efficiently solved without proper sleep.

Haehyun turned to Elphelt. “It's late. We should turn in for the night “

“Huh?” Elphelt whipped her head towards the window, just now noticing night had fallen. “Oh wow, it’s really late!”

“Do you have somewhere to stay?”

Elphelt looked back at Haehyun with a sheepish grin. “Um, would you believe me if I said I hadn't thought that far ahead?”

Haehyun held in a sigh. Somehow she wasn't surprised. She supposed any old home in the city would technically work seeing as the people were gone, but that felt disrespectful to the those that once lived there.

“There are bedrooms upstairs.” Haehyun said. “The owner used to let people stay overnight when they needed it. I'll be taking one of those rooms, myself.”

Elphelt lit up in wonder. “You mean… I could stay here with you?”

“Not without ground rules,” she said with a sudden ferocity that made Elphelt jump. The last thing Haehyun needed was Elphelt poking her nose in her business. Her privacy--and by extension, the secret of her gender--was something she took very seriously. “If you don't follow my rules, then you can find somewhere outside to sleep.”

Elphelt was taken aback by the harshness of Haehyun’s words, but nodded in understanding.

“First, we sleep in separate bedrooms,” Haehyun said. “Second, you aren't allowed to enter my room under any circumstance.” 

Elphelt cocked an eyebrow. “The first one makes sense, but I can't enter your room no matter what?” 

Haehyun nodded firmly. 

“But what if it's an emergency?”

“Then knock or talk to me through the door,” Haehyun said. “I'll respond.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” Elphelt mused. “But you seem to value your privacy and I should respect that.” She gave Haehyun a smile. “Okay, it's a deal!” she said, sticking out her hand.

Haehyun eyed her outstretched appendage. “We don't need to shake on it.”

Elphelt slowly lowered her arm back to her side.

“Why don't I just show you to your room.” Haehyun slowly ascended the steps without another word, leaving Elphelt to follow awkwardly behind.

Haehyun pointed to a room for Elphelt to use, and decided to take the one across from it for herself. She could sense a bit of apprehension from Elphelt, however she assured Haehyun everything was fine. Haehyun was too tired to worry too much about it, so once everything was set up the two of them retreated into their respective rooms for the night. 

Haehyun felt her body un-tense as the door shut behind her, relieved to be away from prying eyes. She sat Jeon Ryok in the corner, exiting him slowly as her muscles yelled at her for staying in the same position for so long. She unwound herself with some light stretching before laying herself underneath the covers of the bed along the far wall.

She didn't trust Elphelt enough not to snoop, but she found the encounter too exhausting to try and delay her sleep any further. Her secret was too important to risk Elphelt of all people knowing about it, but she didn't think the Valentine would directly disrespect her explicit wishes to maintain her privacy. Just this once she let herself be a little bit reckless and drift off to sleep without a worry.

*****

Elphelt couldn't sleep.

On the one hand, she was thrilled that this guaranteed a night without a nightmare.

On the other hand… Elphelt couldn't sleep.

There were too many emotions running through her head. Sorrow for the people of Babylon. Guilt for her role in their deaths. Shame for feeling guilty when Haehyun told her not to. Joy from Haehyun being her friend. Frustration for having nothing to distract her from all of the intrusive thoughts in her head that she wouldn't need to think about if she could just. Fall. Asleep.

She sighed, accepting that she would just be tired tomorrow. She'd be fine with that, if she had something to keep her mind occupied from the uncomfortable loneliness. Oridinarily she would sleep whenever she was feeling sad or bored, but her nightmares and insomnia have ruined one of her favorite pastimes.

Laying in her bed, she looked over towards the doorway and felt a sense of longing. Haehyun was in the other room. Sure he was asleep, but asleep or not her friend was there. Elphelt really needed a friend right now.

She got out of bed and walked over to the door, putting her hand against it. She stopped short of opening it, wondering if it would really be okay for her to enter Haehyun's room. She figured he would be fast asleep, so what was the harm? But Haehyun also explicitly said he wanted separate bedrooms for the sake of privacy, and she didn't want to upset her new friend so early into their friendship. He seemed to value his privacy quite a bit, so Elphelt should respect it.

Though she decided at the moment not to go into Haehyun's room, her loneliness won in the end. The hours passed and the silence was enough to make her nightmares--both dreamt and lived--haunt her in the waking world. She couldn't take it anymore, and so she slowly made her way to the tuner's room.

Elphelt very carefully inched her way through the door to Haehyun's room, nearly shrieking upon seeing the burly man not asleep in bed, but instead sitting upright against the wall and facing Elphelt. She froze in her tracks, quickly scrambling for what to say, when she noticed through the darkness that his head was hanging downwards towards his lap. He stirred not once.

Curiously, Elphelt walked carefully towards the tuner and took a closer look. He appeared to have fallen asleep sitting upright with crossed legs. Elphelt let out a sigh of relief.

She immediately felt at ease in the presence of her friend, even if he wasn't even awake. The closeness with another person was enough to make her comfortable. It was a bit worrisome that he didn't look like he was breathing, but it was probably just some old martial arts technique or something. Finally, even without sleeping she could be at peace.

Peace didn't last long. Elphelt started wondering what would happen if she accidentally fell asleep and Haehyun woke up before her. He would definitely be very upset about the invasion of privacy. But she couldn't return to her room just yet, not while she would spiral from the isolation. Panic consumed her. Wasn’t she doing something very bad right now? What gave her the right to invade Haehyun’s privacy? She promised not to do that! And why did she decide to leave the castle in the first place if she couldn’t handle being alone!?

The panic swelled inside her, and the walls appeared to be closing in on her. Calm down, Elphelt. She could fix this somehow. She just needed to think this through and find a solution to make everyone happy.

And in that very moment she had a crazy idea; one she nearly shrugged off but the more she thought about it, the more it started to make sense to her. She dug around in her cleavage and pulled out one of her special "bullets for my valentine,” as she called them. She eyed it curiously.

The magnum wedding could make Haehyun far more amicable to the idea of Elphelt hanging out in the same room. By the time it wore off, Haehyun would have very clearly said that Elphelt was allowed to stay.

Haehyun also would have overwhelming feelings for her too. She wasn't proud of it, but the thought of Haehyun being infatuated with her gave her butterflies. Sure he was older than her, but they were both adults. And what if it started something between the two of them even once the magnum wedding wore off?

She felt her cheeks burn hot at the thought of it. They always say you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and Elphelt was a damn good shot. What reason did she have not to shoot that shot?

Elphelt pulled out Miss Confille and loaded up one of her special bullets. She was a bit worried about the gunshot startling Haehyun awake, but the tuner would wake up with feelings of elation and love no matter what. That was a net positive for sure, right?

She steadied her rifle, making sure her shot was lined up perfectly with where her supposed soon-to-be suitor's heart would be. She smiled to herself and slowly moved her finger towards the trigger. The silence in the room was faintly broken by a whisper upon her lips.

“Here's to happily ever after, darling.”

BANG

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"

The sound of screaming caused Elphelt scream, even more so upon seeing the shape of a young woman jump out from underneath the covers on the bed against the far wall. Before Elphelt knew what was happening, her body suddenly became overwhelmingly weak and she collapsed hard onto the wood floor.

"Wh-what's going on!?" Elphelt cried.

"That's what I want to know!" shouted the mystery woman. "Why did you shoot him!?"

"Uh… " Unable to make heads or tails of this situation, Elphelt couldn't come up with a reply if she'd wanted to. Unfortunately, the woman wasn’t having it.

"Answer me!" 

Elphelt felt cold metal against her throat. A knife.

Normally this wouldn't be enough to harm her much, but whatever the woman had done to Elphelt's body made her feel incredibly vulnerable.

"Did one of the branch families send you!?" cried the woman. "Answer me!"

"Wait, wait!" Elphelt cried, tears cascading down her face as her body shook in fear. "I don't know what you're talking about! That was a non-lethal bullet, I swear!!" Elphelt squealed as she felt the knife being pushed ever so slightly further against her neck.

"You're telling me you snuck into this room after being explicitly told not to, just to shoot a sleeping man with a non-lethal bullet?"

"Okay, that does sound bad," Elphelt whimpered. "But it's true! The bullet was magic so It doesn't hurt anyone! You can see for yourself!"

"What kind of magic?" 

Elphelt suddenly felt hot with embarrassment. "Umm… love... magic."

"...What?"

"IT'S SUPPOSED TO MAKE PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH ME, OK!?" Elphelt cried at the top of her lungs.

Whether due to the sheer surprise or something else altogether, the woman suddenly took the blade away from Elphelts neck. Elphelt immediately used as much of her energy as she could to shoot up from the floor and away from the woman. She wasn't expecting to make it as far as she did, but to her surprise she no longer felt so weak. She scrambled right over to where the hulking man was sitting, and faced the woman.

"Just watch," she said to the woman. "He'll be totally fine! Just… lovestruck." She turned her attention to the man beside her and started to tap him awake. Only, to her great surprise and horror, he still seemed just as unconscious as he was before.

"Huh?" Elphelt put a tentative hand against his arm. He felt cold to the touch. "H-Haehyun!?"

Elphelt began to shake him violently, as if that would accomplish anything. "Haehyun!" She cried. "Oh god no, Haehyun!!"

Did she actually shoot him with a regular bullet? No no, she was certain she loaded up one of her special bullets! But if that was the case, then why was he…

Elphelt quickly turned back to the young woman, who was observing in bewilderment. "I-I didn't kill him, you have to believe me!" Now bawling, Elphelt continued to shake Haehyun. "Wake up, please! We only just became friends, you can't die!"

She turned back to the other woman. “Please, help him! I don’t know what to do!”

The mystery woman wordlessly walked over to the body of the old man and inspected it. Watching the woman, Elphelt noticed a tiny pink aura surrounding the bullet hole right where the man’s heart would be. That was confirmation that she had, in fact, used one of her special bullets. A small amount of relief washed over her with the knowledge that she was not the killer, but it was short lived. She assumed that Haehyun had been sleeping when she walked in, but she also noticed that he looked as if he wasn’t breathing from the get go. He must have died before she even walked into his room. If that was the case, what alibi did this mysterious woman have? Wait, who even was she in the first place!?

Elphelt pulled out her handgun and pressed it against the back of the young woman’s head. “Don’t move,’ she said.

“What are you doing!?” The woman cried.

“Haehyun was already dead when I snuck into the room, wasn’t he?” Elphelt’s voice was stone cold.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“I thought he was asleep, but he didn’t look like he was breathing.” Elphelt’s fury towards this woman dripped into her voice. “Tell me, who are you? Why are you in his room!?”

A groan escaped the young woman’s lips. “Please, I didn’t kill anyone!” Several long moments passed between the two of them but Elphelt wasn’t any closer to letting anything go. She watched the situation visibly start to sink in for the woman, as even in the darkness her expression was becoming more and more distressed with the passage of time. Elphelt had to keep reminding herself that this woman was a killer, or she risked feeling bad for her and letting her go.

“Please, just forget you saw me,” the woman said with a shaky voice. “E-everything is fine.”

Elphelt scoffed. “Lady, that has to be the most suspicious thing you could have said!” She pressed the gun harder into the back of the woman’s head. “Now tell me who you are!”

The woman growled in frustration. “I can’t do that!”

“Then I can’t promise I won’t get the Illyrian guards involved!”

The young woman gasped, and then went silent. She muttered to herself, too quiet for Elphelt to hear, seeming to be weighing her options. At long last she hung her head and arms limply, her voice hollow and defeated.

“I’ll answer you,” She said as though each word caused her pain. “But you have to swear to me you will repeat this to no one.”

Seeing the woman look so despondent, Elphelt couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “I promise.”

“Not a soul,” the woman said. “And this time you better actually keep your promise.”

A pang of guilt hit Elphelt as she remembered the promise she only just made and broke within the last few hours. “I understand,” Elphelt said, her voice a little quieter than before. “I won’t break this promise.”

A long sigh escaped the young woman. “I'll talk.” Satisfied, Elphelt lowered the gun. The woman slowly turned around to face Elphelt, apprehension littered across her being. She took a deep breath. “I am Kum Haehyun.”

Elphelt looked at the woman as if she had three heads. Her eyes darted from the woman to the old man, back to the woman, and back to the old man, once more to the woman, and again to the old ma--

“Yes, I know how strange that sounds.” She motioned towards the old man. “This isn’t a human being, but rather a robot that I pilot in order to keep my identity hidden.”

Elphelt’s fury returned in an instant. Her handgun wasn't far behind. “How dumb do you think I am? A robot? You think I'd believe that?”

“Not really,” the woman said softly, wringing her hands. “But I can prove it to you, if you’ll let me.”

Elphelt stared at the woman for a long while, logic telling her not to let this stranger have the opportunity to do something funny. But in the end, her heart always wanted to believe the best in people, and she never could deny her heart. “Just don’t try anything.”

The woman nodded, motioning her hand over the old man’s body. The sounds of grinding metal and whirring motors came from within him, and Elphelt had to stop herself from getting sick when his entire upper torso split in half to reveal a hollow space with a chair from within the man she thought was Haehyun.

“His name is Jeon Ryok,” Said the woman who was most certainly Kum Haehyun. “As per my family’s tradition, only men are allowed to be tuners. My identity as a woman had to be concealed in order for the Kum family to survive.” Haehyun closed Jeon Ryok's chest cavity and turned to face Elphelt.

Elphelt stared straight ahead at Haehyun, unblinking. She slowly lowered her gun, letting her hand lay limply against the floor like a wet noodle. She slowly lowered her head as well, unfocused and unmoving eyes no longer capable of processing new sights. The assault on her senses from attempting to piece together the scene in front of her had destroyed every thought and feeling that was previously in her mind, the surviving pieces of which eventually began to coalesce until they were all able to form one cohesive response.

“Oh.”

Haehyun waited for Elphelt to finish. Seconds passed in silence before she realized that Elphelt actually was finished. Haehyun cleared her throat.

“I'll leave you be until you're ready,” Haehyun said, pulling a pen and a small notebook from her robe.

“Kay.” 

Elphelt completely stopped functioning for the better part of the next 20 minutes, all while Haehyun patiently continued to write in her notebook in silence. A concerning amount of time had passed without her so much as moving a finger, the subtle rise and fall of her chest being the only sign that she was alive. It took some time, but eventually Elphelt’s mind began to accept this new information as fact. She slowly started blinking herself back to the waking world, and just as slowly regained movement in her body, carefully looking around the room, regaining awareness of her surroundings.

“Do you need more time?” Haehyun asked, not taking her eyes off of her notebook.

“No,” Elphelt said groggily, her mouth still half asleep. “I think I'm good?”

“That's good.” In one refined motion, Haehyun slipped her notebook and pen back into her robes.

Elphelt couldn't help but stare at Haehyun. That's right, this young woman was actually Haehyun. That was going to take some getting used to. A hollow chuckle escaped her lips. How was this small woman Haehyun? Elphelt had experienced a lot of weird stuff in her short life, much of it brought on by herself, but this was a special kind of weird that she had never encountered before. She'd think she was dreaming if nightmares weren't the only dreams she had these days. Elphelt let out another chuckle, this one with a small amount of humor behind it. 

“Wow, I never would have guessed this,” Elphelt said with a smile creeping on her face. “I mean, a robot? That's just so silly.” Elphelt giggled.

Haehyun stared blankly at the other woman. “You seem to find this funny.”

“Oh, don't get me wrong!” Elphelt said, holding up her hands. “I'm not trying to insult you or your traditions. You gotta do what you gotta do. It's just--,” Elphelt giggled some more. “I mean c'mon, you know it seems a bit crazy, right?”

Haehyun exhaled sharply and crossed her arms. “I'd find it easier to laugh if you didn't do something inexcusable just now.”

Elphelt wilted on the spot, remembering exactly how this mess started. “Oh, right… I'm really sorry for sneaking in here. I know you said you wanted your privacy and it was wrong of me to not respect that boundary.”

Haehyun's eyes pierced right through Elphelt. “Is that all you have to say?”

“No no no,” Elphelt said desperately, “I never should have made you tell me your secret.” She bowed her head. “I'm so sorry!”

With each word Haehyun's brow drew tighter. “How can I accept your apology when you haven't even acknowledged the worst thing you've done?”

Elphelt was barely able to meet her gaze. “Oh… was it… shooting your robot?”

“You didn't just shoot Jeon Ryok, you tried to shoot me!”

“But wait!” She cried, throwing up her hands, "those bullets are harmless!”

“In what world is it harmless to force someone to fall in love with you!? You're trying to force people into acting against their own will!”

Elphelt's pulse quickened at that last word. Why did she feel cold all of a sudden? “Nonono,” she replied. “You misunderstand! I'm not acting against anyone's w-will. Those bullets--you know, it wears off super quickly. They're just for breaking the ice or testing compatibility more than anything. So as you see, it's… not actually…”

Haehyun's gaze never grew softer, and it was suddenly very difficult for Elphelt to speak. Why was she beginning to shake?

“Not actually…?” Haehyun said. “Not actually what? Manipulating someone's desires without their consent?” Haehyun took a step towards Elphelt. Elphelt instinctively took a step back. “It being temporary doesn't change that fact.”

Elphelt's back hit the wall. Her eyes were beginning to lose focus. “N-no… I'm not… I never…!”

“How many have you done this to? How could you justify that? How could you so easily lie to my face by telling me I wouldn't have to worry about you doing this?”

Elphelt vaguely recalled saying that. Why didn't she keep her promise? Did she have no self control? The room began to spin. She braced her arm against the wall for support.

“I never should have encouraged this.”

Elphelt couldn't stop sweating.

“I can’t stand by and watch you try to control people.”

She could taste bile.

“People are not your puppets.”

Elphelt's knees gave out. Shaking. Heaving. Vomiting a scream. Vision clouded to the world around her and everything sounded as if she were underwater. She sank further and further into that deep abyss, all the while quietly repeating one phrase like a desperate mantra;

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”

“I don't want to be Justice.”