"The human?!" Sera thought to herself in utter shock, eyes bulged out as she stared at Kaito.
Her eyes frantically shot over turned toward the area Aqua had been sent flying.
"AQUA! GET UP! GET UP! DAMN IT! YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" She screamed, voice cracking from both rage and fear.
Aqua stiffened at the sound of Sera's voice. Her body trembled as she pushed herself up, wiping the blood dripping down her face. Her vision swam for a moment until it focused on Kaito.
"Him again…? I thought he was out… Why?.... WHY WON"T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALRE—"
Suddenly, the same stabbing pain ripped through her skull again, this time much more violently.
"AAAGGHHH!" She grunted out
Her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto her knees, clutching and squeezing her head together as if she was trying to hold her mind together. Tears began to flow down her face.
"What… is happening to me?!" She cried to herself.
Sera's eyes filled with panic.
"No… I'm losing control of her too!"
She tried to will her body to move, but the shadows and the crushing weight of the stones refused to let her even budge an inch.
"Damn it! I can't let this happen! Not when I was so close! So close to having my dream…"
Talon, still hovering in midair, finally snapped out of her momentary shock.
"Hey rookie! What in the stars are you doing!?"
Kaito didn't turn to her, his eyes locked dead onto Aqua.
Talon gritted her teeth.
"The jutsu is about to activate! If you're inside the perimeter, you're done for! Get out of there and take Nara with you!" She demanded, her tone completely serious.
"Na-uh."
"…Huh?" She blinked at him, utterly baffled.
"What do you mean 'na-uh'?! Did you not hear a damn thing I just said?! What part of you're done for isn't computing in that thick skull of yours?!"
Kaito partially turned his head to her.
"I need to get Aqua out of the perimeter too." He said calmly.
"Aqua?! Why in the stars would you do that? She's our enemy?"
"Because… I don't think she's like the rest of the starborne troupe. I think she's under Sera's control and isn't fully aware of what's going on."
"Under Sera's control?" Talon thought to herself.
She looked over towards Aqua who was still on the ground in pain.
"And how exactly do you know that?"
"I don't. It's just a gut feeling."
There was a brief silence between them for a moment before Talon's face contorted into a mix of confusion and anger.
"A gut feeling? That's all you got?"
Kaito said nothing. She scoffed.
"And even if you're right, what makes you think she'll be okay? If she's been controlled this whole time, who's to say that she'd be right mentally or if the real her isn't worse than what we've seen? That she won't snap the moment she's free?"
She stared at him, waiting for an answer. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"I don't know… But I'm not about to just leave her here to die. I can't when deep down, I have a strange feeling she could be innocent. I can't really explain why… But I can't ignore it."
They stared at each other silently for a moment, staring deep into each other's soul. In that short moment, Talon understood everything he was saying without a single word being spoken… He wasn't going to change his mind, and nothing she would say or do would change that.
Talon sighed, shaking her head.
"Tch. You really are an idiot who'd throw their life away for anyone in need… aren't you?" She whispered to herself before speaking louder.
"Fine, do what you want you damn idiot… But listen to me carefully. If she turns out to be a danger… if she's a bigger threat than we thought, I'll kill her myself. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand… But I won't let that happen." Kaito responded calmly.
Talon watched him for a moment longer before she let out another sigh, this one seemingly mixed with concern instead of annoyance.
"You've got thirty seconds to grab her. If you're not out by then–"
Her words were cut short as she noticed Kaito turned back to her again, a small smile on his face, his fist lifted in the air. She stared at his hand for a long second before closing her eyes, muttering under her breath.
"You damn idiot…"
Still, she raised her own hand, dapping him up over the air. The very next moment, Kaito vanished in a blur of lightning.
Talon remained in place, watching the spot where he had just stood.
"AQUA! GET UP!" Sera's voice cracked as more rubble swirled around her.
Aqua sucked in quick shallow breaths, her body trembling as she staggered to her feet. The ice cover scythe trembled in her weak grip. Her vision was blurry like a badly unfocused camera, her limbs heavy as rocks, but she forced herself to move. She had to.
For Sera…
For her friend…
With all her remaining strength, she leapt off the rock before landing onto the large boulder in front Sera. As soon as her feet touched down and her legs nearly gave out. A thick cloud of vapor began to emit from the icy scythe.
"Hurry Aqua! There isn't much time!" Sera screamed out frantically.
Aqua stumbled forward, the ice covered scythe vanishing in the same icy vapor it arrived in.
"Something's wrong… My head... I can barely see..." She sputtered out.
"Don't worry about that right now bestie, I can fix it later, okay!? I just need you to get me out of here first? Can you do that for me?"
Step by step, Aqua moved closer, reaching out to her. Her webbed fingers trembled, just inches from touching her—
"WAIT!" A familiar voice yelled out!
Aqua froze.
"That voice…" She mumbled to herself.
She turned her head slowly, her hazy vision focusing just enough to make out a figure standing a few meters away.
"Kaito…?" She muttered out, eyes wide.
Sera's face twisted in fury.
"You again?! Get out of here, you damn pest!"
Kaito ignored her, his eyes locked onto Aqua. Her breathing grew more erratic, fins on her head twitching.
"She doesn't need to think! She just needs to do what a friend should do when their friend needs help!"
"Friends don't use each other. Friends don't manipulate each other. They don't treat each other like tools for their own selfish goals… and that's what's happening to you Aqua." He said calmly.
Aqua's head pounded as her eyes frantically darted between the two.
"I don– but…" She stuttered out.
Her mind was drowning in two opposing voices, pulling her in different directions.
"Aqua, I don't think you're like the rest of the starborne troupe. I know it. I can feel it. You're not like them, are you? You never were." Kaito said warmly as he extended a hand to her.
"Come with me. We can–"
"PAY ATTENTION TO ME, AQUA! FREE ME! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO'S EVER CARED ABOUT YOU!" Sera screamed out to the top of her lungs, only her face uncovered from the shadows.
Aqua clutched her head, eyes wide as the voices grew deafening inside her skull.
"shut up…" She whispered.
"Aqua! Listen to me—"
"SHUT UP!" Aqua screamed, essence bursting from her body.
A freezing shockwave erupted outward, ice spiraling in every direction. The floating rocks, trees, even Sera partially was encased in frost within mere moments.
Kaito felt his legs freeze up, ice crawled up his boots then pants. Aqua hunched over, her breath coming in ragged spurts, her already shattered mind spiraling.
"I don't know what to do..." She choked up.
"I–I don't know who to listen to... I don't know anything anymore! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Thud-thud
"No." Kaito whispered before—
"NO!"
Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud
With sheer willpower, he forced his foot forward, shattering the ice holding him in place. But the moment he moved, more ice crept up his leg again. Aqua stared at him with wide eyes, shaking.
"Why?! Why won't you just stop?! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud
"Because I won't let you stay trapped in this nightmare anymore. Because I know what it's like to feel alone. To feel like no one's on your side. To feel as if no matter how much or loud you scream, no one listens."
Aqua's pupils began to shrink slowly as she stared at Kaito forcing his way closer, breaking through wave after wave of ice with each step.
"I know that pain, Aqua. I've been there. I know what it's like to have people tell you who you are, to have them try to carve your future into stone before you even get the chance to live it. But guess what… No one decides that for me… And no one decides that for you either."
A white-hot essence ignited around him like a blazing inferno. Aqua instinctively shielded her eyes, small burn marks forming all over her body even from her distance from the unbearable heat.
Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud
"This heat... this is just like before!No... this is even stronger… It's like I'm standing in front of a small star!" She thought to herself.
In an instant, the ice around them didn't melt—it completely vanished, skipping the liquid state of matter and going straight to vapor, disappearing as if it had never existed.
"So that's why... you need to—"
Kaito vanished before appearing right in front of her, head and neck arched back.
BOW!!
They're skulls violently clashed against one another.
A violent shockwave exploded outward, shattering the remaining floating rocks and trees around them, sending her flying backward like a comet.
"—WAKE UP AQUA!"