"What- What are you talking about?! That person, we saw them, both of them at the academy several months ago!"
"Takaya…" her voice and face shows her exhaustion, her sweating body, and trembling hand,
"My- Taka!" Sanna catches her head before hitting the ground.
----------
<
Back to the bed, Vanny silenced herself while Takaya and Sanna watched over her. The sudden appearance of Zephyrus hugely impacted her mental state.
"Takaya… I need to speak with you," Vanny finally speaks after an hour being silent. Takaya looked at Sanna,
"Sanna, will you take a look at Asahi?" Takaya said,
Understanding the situation, Sanna nodded and left them.
Soon after she leaves, Vanny brings a little container full of pills. She grabs a glass of water, drink the pills.
"What is that?" Takaya asked,
Vanny puts the glass on the table, looks at Takaya, "A same drug as Asahi takes."
"Why do you need to drink that?"
Her face unsatisfied by his question, "Because we have the same problem."
Takaya takes the pills and examine it,
"Isn't this the time you tell me everything? Including what happened today?"
"I'm about to…" she move herself sitting in the side of the bed facing Takaya,
"First of all, will you promise me that… You will believe everything I'm about to tell you?" Vanny deeply stared at his eyes,
A serious tone made him swallow his saliva, "Fine… As long as you are willing to tell me everything."
"What happened today is the best evidence to tell that Asahi is gone. I know you hate this idea, but she is our family. My little sister, and your older sister."
Hearing that Takaya looked down, but he did not say anything,
"Everything that happened to her is the fact that all of this reality is already far away from its own. The more we deny it…"
"More complicated things will happen. I get it.." Takaya said,
Vanny is surprised by his response, "About this drug, is a drug for suppressing the A.W.P energy from growing over than my body is capable of holding. It will continue to grow stronger each time, even though I didn't train for it.
"Is the same condition as her, that her power keeps growing and growing. For this past month she's already had control over her power. She never gets possessed anymore to overuse the power, she even can cast a powerful move like she did earlier when she fights me."
He looked at Vanny with a serious eye, "I understand. But still… I need some explanation about how she was in our family? How supposed I believe that? From a series of explanation I've got, the second explosion, our parents death even memory-"
He stop his word suddenly widely open his eyes,
"Vanny… "
"I will tell you the truth, about what happened back then even after I lost my consciousness. And how I got my memories back," Vanny said,
Takaya trembles his hand, he understands that he needs to know about it,
"Alright… Tell me everything."
------------
Six years ago…
A roaring sound echoes throughout the darkness of the night, the ground shakes, the skies with flashing orange light. A sound of blasting metal could be heard at a long range of empty ground, followed by a painful scream of men.
<
"Lady Vanny, please do not go anywhere!" Screamed of a lady trying to tell the young Vanny struggling to getting off the lady's hand,
"NO! MY BROTHER IS STILL OUT THERE SOMEWHERE!" She screamed back at the lady, pushing her until the lady fell to the ground.
Vanny runs as fast as she can to get away from guards, but no matter how fast she is, her body is still a child.
The two guards fell to the ground, and a girl with a yellow short twin tail haired just like her is behind the guards,
"Asagi!" She continues run along Asagi,
"Did you find him?!"
"No! I didn't find him anywhere!"
"Where did you search for him?!"
"Third and second floor, no luck! But there's a place that I did not look at, the garden!"
"Let's go over there!"
A serious conversation between the two displays their worries toward their little brother. They run across the balcony only to see purple lights shining from the middle of the garden. Both exchanges a eyes contact and jump down from that balcony and landed just behind the surging lights happens to be,
Both breathing roughly for catching a fresh air before they approaches the unknown light in front of them,
"Why are you both here?!"
A voice of authority echoes through their minds, alerting their sense of fear. Like they are already getting used to the voice. Vanny looked at person in front of her, a long yellow haired woman with a familiar battle suit and posture, holding a long purple sword radiating a terrifying energy,
"Mother?!" Both Vanny and Asagi screamed,
A lot of question are in their heads, asking about how Erisa doing while the world is in brink of chaos,
"Mothe-"
"Have I told you to take shelter and watch over your siblings, Vanny?" Erisa turns her head sideways looked at Vanny
"We lost Takaya!! And I'm here to find him!" Vanny replied her mother,
"I'm late…" Erisa whispers,
"Late?!" Asagi said,
"Vanny! Asagi! Go away from here, and take shelter!" Erisa screamed to her daughters,
Both confused by Erisa unusual way of speak,
"What?!! We are not leaving Takaya alone-"
"I said, Go!" Erisa swings her sword creating a arc of energy fasly going towards them,
Vanny quickly stands in front of Asagi, letting the impact on her but the gust of the energy throwing them both. Vanny screamed in pain on her back that already wounded, while Asagi manages to hold herself from the impact unharmed,
"Bis sister! Mom?! What did you do?!" Asagi screamed unhappy of her mother's action, she stand recovering herself,
"Stay away! Bring your sister back-"
"Not before we find Takaya! And… What are you doing here?! You even not explain to us and suddenly attacks us-"
"I did this for all of you! For four of you! I wish I have enough time to explain-"
Suddenly her sword glows and sucks an energy from the stones behind Erisa, "No…" she said,
"You really need to go Asagi!" She turns her back on Asagi, and places her sword that is about to stab the ground belows her.
Asagi rushes towards her as fast as she can, "Explain to me why!!!"
Erisa surprised by Asagi is about near of her, try to push Asagi but accidentally swing the sword towards Asagi, made her unexpectedly touching the sword.
A huge surge of power exploded from both. The power flowing from the Erisa towards the sword heading to Asahi's hands,
"A..aaaaaarhhhhhhhhh!!! Ha…haarrrrgghhhh!!" Asagi painfully screamed out loud. Her hair changes into white. Her body levitated.
"A… sa…. gi…" Vanny whispers and faints. Witness the true nature of the power of the unknown, Vanny managed to stay awake awhile.
----------
"And that is what was happened… After that, I too lost my memories." Vanny ended the long story of her witness of the truth that they all seek.
Takaya rest his back on the chair, disbelief ot Vanny's explanation coincidentally connected to the event of he finds out on his own,
"When did you get your memories back?"
"Two years ago, when I got the power of The Volt, it suddenly unlocks my memories. After that I secretly doing an investigation along side Lania. Plus your curiosity also did help some of my investigation of her."
Takaya frustrated by the fact. Trying to keep himself calm,
"That two person from before, You did know them?" Takaya asked,
"Yeah… But only one of them I know, the one named Zephyrus is Goddess of Judgment. She represents this world, it's safety. But not the beings inside. She will eradicate any beings that threatened the world, including us. And she had a long history with The Forgotten. Unfortunately I don't know."
"That's explain why you're so terrified by her… They other also holds me when I'm trying to get over you…" Takaya said,
Takaya stand and fetching himself a glass of water on the dispenser. Still frustrated over the matter,
"So, what actually happened after?" Takaya asked,
"She did the memory manipulation. Just like the past Forgotten's do to her people. The reason is still unknown, thus I just concluded that mother and her had an argument and she did it anyway."
"Mother did not died after Asagi gained the power, so it is true she died after she came back to frontline…" Takaya said,
"Indeed, Bella is the only one that did not affected by Asagi memory manipulation. Right before my memories got manipulated, I still can hear that mother asked her to take care of Asagi, made her like her own child, because of the effect of the memory manipulation is Asagi existence will be erased, and giving a birth to the new personality…" Vanny said,
Takaya sits back at the chair, holding his head like he suddenly got an headache,
"Now it all make sense… Possession, it's was Asagi herself try to protect the body, Protect Asahi… So no one can hurt her."
"I hopefully that is the truth… But the point is, sooner or later all of this need to stop. Before things become more complicated, and more importantly, we don't know what Zephyrus will do…" Vanny said,
Takaya takes a deep sigh, letting his muscles and brain relaxed, closing his eyes even though he doesn't know what to do,
"I should've listened to you and Rin about this earlier… Now I don't know what to do…"
He regretted, disappointed on himself,
"Takaya…"
A small drops of tears fall from his cheeks,
"I will call Bella, informing her about today. For now, act like you still believe she is Asahi. Don't change any attitude towards her."
"Sounds like you already have a plan…" Takaya slightly smile raised his face looking at Vanny,
"I do. It was my mistake in the first place… I couldn't protect you from our nasty grandfather, I couldn't even tell you everything straight, and more importantly I couldn't even protect her from being so reckless…"
"Hey…" Takaya grabs Vanny shoulder firmly, looking at her eyes deeply,
"You did everything on your own for so long, for us… Don't blame everything on yourself like that… You know better than me…" he smiled at her,
"I remembered you always being a reckless child like her… I even forgot you changed a lot these days…"
"Hey… It is all because of you, please, don't overthink about it…"
A heartwarming scene of the two siblings finally agreed each other, despite everything that they've been through.
"Alright, alright… Geez… I supposed you're now accepting the truth, now let's talk about the plan…"
"Right…" He sit back at his chair,
"I will have Bella to keep her away for the time being, while you and your team continue practicing and find the missing Annabelle. I will be here helping you."
"You planned more than that, did you?"
"Geez, I didn't finished yet… Hopefully this week, I will visit her myself alone. Because we only have one week to put an end all of the mess.."
"A week?"
"Yes… Zephyrus will came back after a week,"
"No… no… no! You can do this alone, we do it together-"
"You cannot, she will keep hiding. I will call if I need you and Rin. Together we will stop her together. But for now, let me handle her… As my last try…"
Vanny serious tone made him realise of her sense of guilt,
"Alright… But let Rin come with you… Her sharp and straightforward attitude will make you-"
"I got it…" Vanny said,
------------
Meanwhile, in the other room, a shattered glass of cup already on the girl feet, jaw dropping by the surprise she just heard,
"Sanna… Will you keep it down for me?"
"You… Taking away your family, friend, everyone else's memories… hiding yourself behind someone else name all this long-"
"Because I have no choice!! What choice do I have to save their lifes? Now the fucking God herself just come by wrecked us like that, do you think you have ever think of that?!"
The other girl try to hold the angry girl at her bed by from move, the three girls suddenly silent,
"Have you ever think about Takaya's feeling? He is trying to accept something that himself didn't want to accept, he is to scared to getting himself near the truth. Fight with his sisters only ending up you're making this all-"
"I'm not trying to hurt them-"
"But you actions is giving them a hard choices!"
Once again Sanna screamed to the girl's face, try to put the blame on her,
"I always knew you're sensitive… Only a few months you guys are together, so much you can hear and learn. You think you have a right to justify my actions?"
"No. But because I have siblings, I can totally understand what it feels being betrayed!"
The girl overwhelmed by anger, but every word is like the truth that always whispers in her ears,
"I have no rights for your actions, but at least I can do you a favor…"
The girl lifted her face looking at Sanna,
"It's called advice. Try not to be a coward." She walked out, as the door slammed behind her, leaving behind a lingering sense of silence.
"Asag- I mean… I'm sorry-"
"No… it's fine… Sagara… But, can you do me a favor, I need some time alone…" She look away avoiding Sagara's eyes,
"Okay…"
The girl walked to the door, as she opened the door she look back only to see her frustrated.
She left her.
------------
Sanna is lonely walking in the hallway. Amist of the busyness of the facility, she finally found peace in the empty elevator. Lean herself on the steel wall,
"What I've just done…" she talked to herself.
"Try not to be a coward… But I'm also a coward. Casually kicks a Goddess, sometimes I couldn't imagine what things that finally made you scared.." she said,
"Nothing." The voice of someone suddenly replied through her intercom.
The elevator door opens,
"I wonder what she'll do after hearing that," It was Takaya who entered the elevator, reacting to Sanna self-talk.
"Taka? You're done talking with Vanny?" Sanna asked with a blushing face,
"Yup… And I've got so many thing to do-" Takaya stop his sentence, his hand touches Sanna's soft cheeks, "Are you getting cold or something, your face is red-"
"Your just tired, your eyes probably start to hallucinate."
"Eh…" Takaya flat face doubting her word,
"It's called Advice. Try to not be a coward, is a good freakin' word, you know"
"How'd-"
"I'm trying to reach you up from our private communication line, but all the sudden I hear you scream." Takaya smiled, unintentionally to mock her,
Sanna holding air in her cheeks, her face became more blushing,
"You know what, that is embarrassing. Forget that,"
Sanna slaps Takaya's hand from her cheeks and turns back,
"I really mean it though, well after the fact that I understand now, that word is undeniable for her. Unless she keeps denying,"
Sanna turns around again, widely open her eyes,
"Did something happen?"
Takaya deeply sighed,
"It is… But the point is, it seems like I have another big sister, and things aren't to good for talk about that,"
Sanna grabs his left hand and pull her body close to him,
"Earlier, I was about to go to her room, but overheard her talking with Sagara about herself, how and why she was doing all of this, I… I was very sad, after hearing her takes away your and everyone's memories… I… Can't help it,"
"I know… I also learned everything from Vanny… I'm about to tell you, but it's looks like she saved me an explanation."
Sanna move in front of him, hugs him,
"Can we go… somewhere we can be together for a while?"
Takaya can hear her beating heart getting fast, her warmth,
"Sanna, you-"
Her body suddenly fall, he manages to hold her,
"Hah…. Hh… Taka…"
"You got a cold, hang on…"