I woke up, strangling my pillow. I was in the very cell Eve was in only yesterday afternoon. When I looked around, a knight was staring my way.

“Ah… are you okay?”

A knight asked.

“What?”

I questioned.

“You were screaming for the last 12 hours. I asked Elizera if I should take you to the medic bay, but she told me that you're a dark vessel and your curse gave you night terrors."

He sighed.

"Your scream… kind of pissed off the others. I don't think anyone in here… appreciated that noise. Can't you turn that screaming off?"

“Fuck you.”

I rebelled. The knight just laughed as he walked away.

“So, Elizera wants to kill me in a week, huh?”

I had no plans to let her use me like an animal. My goals changed because of this. Clearly, she was hiding something and wanted to kill Yuu Yuu and Janova as soon as possible. She has no intention of allowing me out of this situation. I could see it in her… Elizera wanted the three of us dead without a trial.

I stood up from my bed and touched the gates. They had a spell reducer on them meaning if I tried to use my level 2 abilities, the gates would turn them to a level 1. It was likely so no spells could break down the doors from inside. I had one light above me, a toilet, and a sink. My bed was full of scratches likely because of my night terrors.

"Might as well give it a try."

I attempted to shadow walk to the shadows past the bar. But my body got stopped, hitting the bars as I was kicked out of my level 2 ability.

"Tsk... figures."

I complained, hitting the bars in frustration. It appeared that the bars were reducing the spells that were used on them, not the cell itself. I nodded that as I began to formulate my plan.

 

 

“How can I… get out of here?”

I whispered. I walked over to the gate.

“Hey! Can I get a phone call?! Do I get anything?”

I screamed to the nearby knight.

“You’re a high risk, Feodora Cicer. You don’t get any luxuries. However, Elizera told us that you like cinnamon, so all your meals will have that in there.”

Cruelly, they said.

“What a psychopath! She said that?! Are you serious?!”

"Those are the orders. We aren't supposed to even be talking with you. You are on a no-contact order, meaning we can only give you food. Our chat ends here."

I shouldn't have told her I hated cinnamon. I think that was the last straw out of everything that's happened. I had to get out of here, find Janova, and understand why they did this. It was clear to me that Janova does have feelings for me. If… If I talked with her, I'm sure she'd open up. Something… bigger was going on below the surface, and Elizera was up to something.

“Yuu Yuu isn’t safe as long as I’m in here.”

I couldn't leave the cell. This place was tight in their security, and I wasn't sure where my sword and belt were either. I needed to get information fast. That would be the only way that I could escape from here…

“Information…”

I closed my eyes, and thought about my next course of action.  The idea that came to mind was a way for me… while being here, to walk around out there…

“Possession.”

I thought about what happened at the Cero Village. How Vert was using possession to control Marable and Caesar. I had the same ability being a level 2 dark vessel. Maxwell taught me how to set it up.

“I need my blood… and a victim to fall into my trap.”

I looked around for a way to make myself bleed. There wasn’t anything at first glance. The sink or bed may have been my best bet. So I walked over to the sink and turned on the water. After a bit, I turned it off, realizing I was just wasting time. So, I walked over to the bed. The mattress was full of cotton and had no springs. Needless to say, this was going to be a bit harder to do. I sat on my bed.

"Alright, Feodora…"

I mentally prepared myself for what I was going to do. I turned away from the cell doors and put the side of my thumb in my mouth.

“I hope this will be enough blood.”

I murmured before I bit down as fast and hard as I could. The skin tore like a bandage, and blood began rushing down my arm. Quickly, I stood up and crouched down to the floor.

Maxwell taught me a spell using this symbol. It's different than the one that Vert was using. I'm sure Vert's spell was designed for mass possessions. I… just need one person.

I rubbed my bloody wound on the cold hard ground. It was sharp as I made a symbol representing an X. Within that X was a circle and two dash lines. Maxwell didn't teach me about all the characters in my dreams, but he gave me the tools I needed when it came to possession and necromancy.

 

 

“Alright… it’s time to shine, Feodora.”

I stood up and raced to the front of the gate.

“H-Hey! I’m bleeding! Can I get some help?!”

Nobody reacted… they were following the order of their head of knight to the tee. Annoyed, I pressed the issue further.

“I’ve lost a lot of blood, and I think I’m going to pass out!”

I lied.

The other cellmates began to moan.

“Oh, hell no! Don’t let that dark vessel pass out! She’s going to keep me up all night!”

“Someone help that bitch!”

"C'mon, knights! Nobody could sleep last night!"

I wasn’t expecting the prisoners to chime in, so I played off that.

“I’m about to pass out! I’m not feeling good!”

I cried in a whiny voice.

One of the guards sighed harshly.

"Fine, Feodora! But this is the last we speak to you!"

I rushed over to my creation and stood behind it. I dropped the blood all over my bed to make it look worse than it was. Then I sat down and waited for my victim.

 

 

“Oh my god, what happened in here?!”

The female knight gasped.

“I-I swear, I just cut my arm on the… bed over here.”

I said, pointing at all the blood. The knight cautiously walked over. She was on guard as she whipped her bright red hair and approached me with her weapon at her side.

“Listen, I’m defenseless. All I need is some aid.”

Still, the knight walked over and looked at the bed on high alert. Little did they know, the blood spell was underneath them. Darkness crawled up her leg, and before they could cry out, I could see through their eyes. It was a strange spell. When I blink my eyes and focused, my consciousness went back into my original body. 

Back in my original body, I wrapped the bloodied thumb on my sheets and sat down facing the wall.

“Alright, time to go.”

I blink my eyes again, causing my body to stare into the distance motionlessly. However, I could see through the eyes of this knight. It was strange as she was taller than me and more well endowed in the chest area. With authority, I spoke aloud in her body.

“There, that’s all you get, Feodora!”

 

 

Pridefully, I walked out and closed the cell door but not before giving myself the key… It wasn't time for me to escape yet, but eventually, I will. I confidently left the cell. I saw a door to the right, when I opened it there were a bunch of my belongings and my sword sitting on the wall.

“Okay, this is good.”

Knowing where my weapons were being stashed added to my confidence.

First order of business was to find out what was going on with the knights. That way I could plan out how to locate Janova and Yuu Yuu. I left the door ajar and made my way up the steps. When I got outside, I passed a few Radiants who gave me strange looks. After a bit, they shrugged and turned away. I continued walking, towards the knight station next door.

"Hey, you!"

I froze at her authoritative voice. Jade Opal stood there with her hands on her hip when I turned around.

“Ah…”

I couldn’t tell if I was caught. Knowing Jade Opal, she was a keen-eyed knight that could see through any lie told. She stared at me for a moment.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Terra?!”

Jade said as she walked towards me.

“Eh?”

Terra must have been the name of the knight. I looked around to make sure she wasn't speaking to anyone else. Radiants and knights alike passed us as they went into the knight's station.

“Get with it. We have a meeting, and you should have been in there five minutes ago. Hurry, run along."

She smiled… it was clear to me then that Jade was just joking as she walked away with a huff. Jade met up with Vivian Heart and Lana Pasco standing outside the knight station.

“Why is Vivian here?”

I questioned under my breath.

Being a Light Camp member, I was confident the knights would be all over them because of Yuu Yuu’s association. Instead of drawing attention, though, I walked into the knight's station. There were many people, and even in another body, I was feeling my anxiety peak. I made my way to the back, next to Eve and Mellissa.

“I can’t believe Elizera is punishing Feodora for this!”

The kind human said as she crossed her arms. She looked furious for my sake and that warmed my heart. I knew Mellissa had a soft spot for me, but it was a little charming hearing her get bent out of shape about my situation.

"Yeah, this is kind of extreme. Clearly, Feodora didn't have anything to do with the bombings. But the Radiants act this way…."

Eve complained. 

 

 

("Thanks, Mellissa, Eve... for having my back.")

I thanked them internally.

After a bit, she turned to Mellissa.

“Listen, thanks for watching over me while they draw up another contract for me and give it to Atom… You… saved my life there, Mellissa.”

With a tilt of her head, she held Eve’s hand. The blue-eyed psycho cackled as she turned away.

“It’s no worry. Atom is scary.”

The human said.

“…Yeah… she’s terrifying...”

It was strange knowing they talked about me… while I was right here. As Terra, I stayed in the shadows as the meeting began. Jade made her way to the front to address everyone.

“We have bad news. I’ll get that out of the way right this minute.”

With her papers in hand, she announced.

“After our investigation at the resident of Yuuna, a Light Camp member we are suspecting as the serial bomber, we found an alarming piece of evidence.”

The soon-to-be head of the knights announced as she straightened her shoulder.

“We have reason to believe that there are at least 40 active bombs in the city at this moment.”

Jade announced.

“40 active?!”

The group roared. Even I was internally panicking.

“The Radiant Order has reasons to believe this… they even suspect that there are a lot more. 40 is the lowest number we have. So, it's our job to start evacuating housing and bringing people into shelters. We are about to comb the city and look for these bombs. We don't need any more casualties."

Internally… I cursed Janova.

“Dang it…”

I whispered. I still had no idea what Janova's and Yuu Yuu's main goals were. Everything about Janova and Yuu Yuu was a mystery to me. I… just wanted to rescue Yuu Yuu and run away with her. Forget living around the Radiant City like Maxwell asked. Everything about this place… was turning out to be a problem. People… are stressful to deal with.

“We have a statement from the Light Camp regarding the suspect, Yuuna.”

Jade cleared her throat.

“The Light Camp member, Yuuna has been exiled from our company due to recent events. We have lost all contact with her in the days following these accusations. Our family is willing to aid in the search to find and apprehend her. We do not condone her actions nor support them in any manner.

Signed, Mother.”

The knights in the crowd were skeptical. Even Eve and Mellissa didn’t believe the words from that paper. I felt the “mother” who wrote that letter was doing one thing… and that was making Yuu Yuu public enemy number one… and then washing their hands on the entire matter.

Noticing our apprehension, Jade addressed everyone once more.

“We aren’t sleeping tonight, everyone! Vivian Heart agreed to be the adviser to show the Light Camp’s support. She will be teaming up with Lana Pasco and a few knights to help with evacuations.”

Jade said. The white bunny hopped up.

“Yep! You can count on me! I know one of our FORMER members is batshit crazy, but I assure you, we all aren’t like Yuuna!”

The knight crossed her arms and turned to the overly excited girl.

"Listen, I don't trust you one bit, Vivian Heart! So, you can cut the act. Shut up until I'm done, or else I’ll throw you in a prison so deep that your light won’t even brighten up your day!"

Jade erupted on the white bunny.

Dejectedly, Vivian did just that as she held onto Lana's shoulders. I could see the fear in her eyes. Jade… scared her good.

Jade pointed to Eve and Mellissa in the back.

“Eve and Mellissa will also be helping out the bomb unit. I have business with the Baron leader, Abigail Pasco, so if you need me, contact Caesar to get a hold of me.”

I knew Jade was going there for business, but after seeing that kiss from her earlier… I was a tad suspicious. As I was contemplating things, Elizera came up to the front.

“Jade, I have something to say.”

Confused, Jade stepped to the side. My stomach churned when I saw her. Obviously, Elizera didn’t give me a great first impression.

“Yuuna is a level 2 chaos vessel. We believe she is being aided by a mentor who is just as powerful. When looking for them, expect tricks and the like to be used. If you need to, use force to take them down."

With a slam of her fist, she announced.

"People who terrorize our lovely city will be given the harshest punishment. If you come in contact with them and must use force, don't be afraid to kill them! They have caused enough pain and suffering and will be judged by the knights and Radiant Order!"

“Yes!”

The knights screamed. It was intoxicating how in sync they were with her. Even I could feel the power behind her statement, and… it made me sick.

“Kill her?”

Mellissa asked as she turned to Eve.

“You mean that cute girl with the pink starry eyes? Don’t you think that’s a little much?”

Eve shrugged.

“She did get me thrown in jail. And if it’s true that she is the serial bomber, she gave up those rights to leniency the moment she hurt someone, Mellissa.”

I wanted to attack, defend Yuu Yuu at least… but Eve was right. Until I figured out everything, I couldn’t say that Yuu Yuu was innocent or even just partially responsible. I… had to find Janova before the Radiant Order did.

Because as it stood….

Elizera is giving them killing orders, and I wouldn’t be able to hear Yuu Yuu’s side of the story if they caught her. The knights began to set up their groups. Eve and Mellissa walked to their side of the room. It would seem I wasn’t going to get any more information in this body.

Elizera would likely only divulge information to a closed circle and me being just a regular knight at this moment made me fall into the category of less important. So, as she was talking with the Radiants, I made my way up the steps. Everyone was downstairs discussing the best course of action for dealing with the bombs. That meant that there would be less security up here... and better yet, Elizera's office.

I approached the door and tried to open it.  

“Of course, it’s locked.”

I looked around, making sure nobody was around. I peeked into the keyhole and was able to view the room a bit. It was dark inside with the holy light off. 

“Perfect.”

I whispered. Because the darkness was strong inside, I closed my eyes, channeled myself into my shadow walking ability, and appeared within the dark room. Thankfully, I could see in the dark so I wouldn’t alert anyone to me being inside. 

“Now... what am I looking for?”

I needed information to decide what my next course of action would be. The room I was in with Jade less than a day ago was in front of me. I walked around the desk and pulled up the first drawer. What sat there were two folders.

 

 

"Hm?"

One folder had my profile, written by Jade Opal. The next was another file. It was Yuu Yuu’s. Seems this was what Elizera was studying before interrogating me 12 hours ago.

"I don't have time to read this."

Cautiously I looked up, hoping nobody was coming inside. I picked up our folders and underneath caught me by surprise...

 

[Steeble Lake Incident]

 

 

"Could this be referring to... the dead lake? Steeble Lake?"

I was running out of time so I took the report, put it with Yuu Yuu's and opened the window behind Elizera's desk. Like what I did with my sword during the fight with the beast in the abandoned ruins, I toss the folders outside, into the darkest corner I could see. The files disappeared, waiting in the shadows until I was ready for them to reappear.

“I’ll get them later.”

With the folders planted in the darkness, I exited the room using the same method. 

"It's time…."

I whispered.

Slowly, I made my way downstairs. The crowd was thinning and I was able to make my way up to the front. Elizera was walking down the steps, and I luckily met with her.

“Head knight, Elizera!”

I tried my best to sound… cute. I wasn't sure if this Terra girl said anything like this.

“Oh, Terra. Do you have a question?”

 

 

She smiled that cocky look she always had. It was apparent her guard was down. Jade mentioned that they rarely dealt with dark vessels, and this was going to be her wake-up call to do better next time.

"I had something important to tell you."

“Oh, what might it be?”

I clenched my fist with a smile of my own.

“Don’t fuck with me!”

 

 

My fist connected with her face. The satisfaction of retribution made me blink my eyes in excitement. There I was, on my bed. With the key in hand, I raced over, opened the door, and ran into the room across the way with shadow walking. Once I appeared, I got my articles of clothing and my blade.

“I need to hurry before they locate Janova before me.”

Using my destructive craft, I aimed my blade to the side. With a slice, the bars on the prison’s gates were broken down, freeing people as I did.

 

 

“Holy shit, that dark vessel is a queen!”

Convicts began escaping as I continued releasing them. The amount of power I was thrusting at the bars overshadows the resistance, causing them to break with ease. At least 20 cells were open in less than a minute. People pushed their ways outside of the prison. Waiting for my chance, I shadow walked after them.

“We have a red alert! Prisoners are fleeing! Get every available unit down here right now.”

Knights cried out.

When I appeared in the shadow of a roof across the street, Jade and the other knights in the meeting rushed out and began battling it out with the convicts. I witnessed Terra being held in cuffs and Elizera with a bloody nose.

“Serves you right.”

I didn't want to get caught, so I vanished into the shadows. After I moved a distance, I called the stolen folders to reappear in the night. I had the files of Yuu Yuu and the [Steeble Lake Incident]. I didn't bother to take my phone because of the chance I would be tracked there.

“There’s a connection between Elizera, Janova, and Yuu Yuu. I have to find it…. And it might be in these folders."

I melted into the shadows of the street.

“Elizera was going to silence me… She’s clearly hiding something.”

I stopped.

“But I don’t have anyone to trust here. Everyone I know is working for Jade… and Yuu Yuu is kidnapped by Janova. As far as I’m concerned, she’s my enemy too.”

I pondered my next move. Before I saw Janova physically, I couldn’t find her. It was no different today. She was just as much of an enigma as before. And as we stand, Janova is my enemy, and searching her out will yield a conflict.

“For now, I’ll stay in the shadows and learn what the Radiants are doing. Then after I gather enough information, I’ll find Janova and save Yuu Yuu. With Yuu Yuu in my hands… I’ll escape and leave Radiant City.”

Clearly, something was up, and if I could save Yuu Yuu, that was my top priority. Even running away as a fugitive felt more right than staying here any longer.

“Time to gather intel and find Janova before the Radiant Order… before Elizera. But where should I start? Should I spy on the bomb units or the evacuation teams? Maybe I could find out things by following Jade... but that's risky..."

 

 

 

Gather information from…

The Bomb Units (Mellissa and Eve)

The Evacuation Team (Lana and Vivian)

Track Jade (Jade and Abigail.)

 

THIS CHOICE IS FOR THE SIDE SHIPS!

 

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Jade x Abigail WINS!

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