February 21, 1976
Location - Unknown
(Jezebel's POV)
As I have mentioned before, my physical body is sealed behind the Door of Truth.
However, I still possess the ability to astral project an "image" of myself elsewhere. And it was through that humanoid, yet featureless avatar was I able to hold a conversation with Yamato in person, so to speak.
In any case, after me and her talked for a little bit longer and finalized some more of the basic details, Yamato casted another magical portal and eventually took her leave.
The two of us now looking forward to the day where she would attend Cerulean Academy. All that left was for us to wait for that fateful day to come and pass.
In any case, after confirming that Yamato returned back home in the other reality, I recalled my avatar.
As my digital avatar slowly faded into pieces of static, my real body reclined back in my chair.
*Sigh*.
Even if it was only for a second, I don't like how it got so touch and go there. For a moment, I was sure my whole plan fell apart, and I would be forced to start from scratch.
I must be losing my touch. Well, I suppose I can blame that on how I'm stuck behind this door.
It's been a long time since I had proper social interaction with other people. And because of that, I think I'm starting to lose my touch in my "crowd control" abilities.
Oh well, atleast in the end, everything still went according to plan. I was a little afraid that the plan was going to be behind schedule, but in a way, Yamato's irrational pride came in clutch.
In any case, feeling rather tired, I couldn't help but rest my head on top the of the table before me.
"As always, you did a great job, Jezebel."
As a certain woman woman compliment my hard work, she exited her seat and walked close to me to rub my back and massage my weary shoulders.
For a mere friend, it was a very nice and affectionate gesture.
"Thanks, Meredith. I appreciate it." I replied, feeling rather grateful.
"Sorry we put you through something like this again." This time though, the apologetic comment came from somebody else across the table.
"There's no need to apologize, Zeras. I understand I'm the only person who can do something like this."
"Even still, it must be a difficult thing. Deceiving your own daughter I mean." A man named Kiliah said.
Well, that should be obvious. Clearly, this isn't something I enjoyed doing, you know.
But, considering the situation we are in, we have no other choice but to take such measures like this, no matter how cunning or immoral it may seem.
"It's all because we got a plan that we need to follow through with, isn't it?" Kiliah asked.
As always, that guy was too good at reading other people's thoughts.
"Unfortunately so." I sadly replied.
"But, like I said, there's no need to worry about me. I'm willing to do anything, so as long as it guarantees a bright future for my children." Despite my conflicted emotions, I tried reassuring my teammates.
"Even if it means plunging your precious daughter into yet another hell?"
"Zeras!" Meredith immediately shouted in retaliation.
Her shout suddenly garnished the attention of a third man who was also present in this room. However, as always, he simply chose to keep quiet and watch.
"Don't look at me like that. You saw it too, didn't you? How he hesitated." Zeras calmly yet strictly replied.
"B-but...."
"It's fine." I interjected. "The last thing I want to do with you guys is try and save face."
I won't exactly say when it happened, but some time during my conversation with Yamato, I felt a small twinge of doubt. Although minor, it was enough to make me hesitate for a moment.
Judging from Meredith's reaction, it seemed like Zeras wasn't the only who noticed. But unlike her, everyone else probably intended to keep quiet about this observation since I was still able to follow through and get the results we were looking for today.
However, if someone like her was going to catch me with my pants down like this, then I'm not afraid to own up to my own faults.
"It's true. I'll admit, I did hesitate for a second. And when Yamato caught on to the plan, I immediately resigned myself to defeat without even trying."
"Jezebel...."
"I see."
For some reason, being caught in between Meredith's merciful pity and Zeras's sharp gaze was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Thankfully, Zeras eventually softened her expression and looked elsewhere. A little tension escaped my uneasy breath.
"Don't get me wrong, Jezebel. I'm not mad or anything. I just want to make sure you haven't lost sight of our true goal." She explained.
"Oh, don't worry. I knew exactly what you was doing. You was trying to test my resolve, weren't you?"
"And you passed."
"An act of karma for deceiving my own daughter, huh? Heh, you really are an interesting woman."
"Heh."
Although it was fleeting, there was beauty in seeing the stiff woman break character and chuckle a little.
"Alright, thats enough fun and games. We need to talk about how we're going to move forward from here." Kiliah replied, trying to get us back on track.
"Indeed." After coughing, (to clear her breath) a little, Zeras turned her attention to Meredith.
"Meredith, I assume you have taken care of preparations on your end?"
"Why, of course~"
"Good, then that means all thats left is to inform Lucius of our current developments."
"Should I be the one to do it?" Meredith asked.
"No, leave it to me. It'll be easier that way." I offered.
The moment I said that, I pulled out a mysterious looking phone from my left pocket, before dialing up a certain number.
After a series of repeated presses, the phone rang for a second or two. But before long, the caller on the other side picked up.
"Hello? Yes, it's me." I said, greeting the man.
"Yes. The plan was a success. Uhuh. Yes. No, it was difficult, but I prevailed. Yes. In any case, all of the preparations have been made on our end, you're clear to take it away on yours. Yes. Just please make sure you relay the plan with everyone else one more time. Yes. Thank you."
Perhaps because I was tired, that short conversation felt like an eternity. But thankfully, after relaying the message and answering a couple of questions, our call was already over.
Which means I can leave the rest up to everybody else and finally relax. Atleast for now, anyways.
"So that takes care of that, huh." Meredith asked.
"Yep, seems like it. All that's left is to be patient and watch everything unfold." Kiliah replied.
"In the meantime, you should try to get some sleep, Jezebel. You been up for far too long." Zeras suggested.
"You're right. Perhaps, I'll do just that." After sliding my phone back into my pocket, I plopped my head on top of the table and closed my eyes.
"You're going to sleep right there?"
"Just for a second."
"Suit yourself."
As I began to drift off into another nap, I somehow noticed Meredith turned back to look to the man who stood a few feet behind her.
Appearantly, she had a question for him.
"Hey, Elliot? What do you think? Is what we did good enough or is there something else we need to do?"
Unlike the rest of us, Elliot was the only person here who was not seated at the war council table. Instead, he was leaning upon a decorative pillar, preoccupied with some sort of book he was reading.
As always, he was simply here to watch things unfold while Kiliah took personal command of things. But when Meredith suddenly asked for his advice, he was more than willing to talk.
"Don't worry, we did more then plenty enough as is. It's just like Kiliah said. All we need to do is simply be patient and act accordingly."
"Besides-....." Suddenly, he closed the book. The sound of the covers smacking against each other almost echoed throughout the room.
"....-I believe our future is looking bright."
After that, I finally fell asleep.
But those words alone was enough to help me sleep much more peacefully.