Elizabeth's eyes slowly cracked open, and she hugged Nyx to her chest. Her mind was still hazy, so she hugged the woman tighter, waking her. They were too lazy or tired to wake up just now, so they enjoyed each other's warmth a little more. Finally, Elizabeth gathered enough energy to speak.

"I'll go make something to eat for us." Kissing Nyx's forehead after she said this.

Nyx's only answer was a low affirmative hum. Elizabeth got out of bed and went to the kitchen to let Nyx fully wake up. The message she got after she turned off the jammer was still blinking as she prepared the ingredients she called the sender.

"Tell me what you got on her." Said Elizabeth in a cold tone while beating eggs together.
"Good morning, boss. Her name is Yamasaki Akane. She used to live a nor-" Elizabeth frowned when the boyish voice said that "civilian life until about two years ago. Her parents died during an emergency evacuation after her grandmother became her guardian. Three months ago, she passed away from natural causes. The girl was 18 by then, so she needed a job while not even starting high school, and that's when she disappeared. Pretty general Synt stuff, and she is now out cold on your couch. I have many files I can send you if you are interested."
"That would be appreciated. Serious matter aside, how are you?" she asked as she bathed the slices of bread in the beaten eggs.
"Good, aside from the constant bathing in cold water to cool my systems, lives have been pretty boring lately." answered the voice.
"You are still repairing Goliath AIs?" Asked Elizabeth as she put two yellow pieces of bread into the simmering oil. "Does your boyfriend not get angry over you making more money than him? "
"You know how the wildlife is on the resource planets. Not getting those big boys damaged is a miracle." said the voice, a little flustered. "And how can such a handsome guy not be cool with it? I should introduce Tom to 'mother', shouldn't I?"
"Lex, how often do I need to tell you not to call me that?" Elizabeth cringed as she took out the golden-brown loaves of bread from the oil while putting another two into it.
"Ahh, 'mommy' can't take that her 'son' got somebody he could trust with everything he's got?" The boyish voice mocked her so-called 'mother'.
"Lex. If you don't stop now, I'm going to retrain that boy pussy of yours." Elizabeth's voice carried a hint of anger.
"Sorry to inform you, 'mommy' but his size is bigger than the strap-on you used to..." Elizabeth cut the voice off. "You genuinely think that I still need that thing? You honestly thought that I would not, at some point, get a real one? FYI there are two of them. Both are knotted, so I can lock myself to you after we finish so you can never escape. They also have little barbs at their end that you liked so much. Just imagine one night with me again using this new equipment of mine. What do you say we meet at..." Before Elizabeth could finish a question, she heard that her little 'son' had put the phone down. "Still can't take a little teasing, I see." She just smirked as she finished making breakfast.

Elizabeth used some paper towels to dry off the oil from the loaves of bread. She poured herself and Nyx a cut of coffee to go with the bread. Soon enough, Nyx came out of the room yawning and hugged Elizabeth while she was still packing stuff away into the dishwasher.

"Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?" Elizabeth got a low hum of affirmation to her question before Nyx answered.
"Aside from the mild soreness of my hip, yes, I did. Are you done?"
"Still got to make a few calls to BioTechnika about my body after that..." Nyx lightly tapped on Elizabeth's stomach to make her realize what she was asking. "Ahh, you meant breakfast. It is done. Just sit down. I'll be there in a second."

Nyx did just that, sitting by the table and looking at the girl. Elizabeth was finally done, but before she joined Nyx for breakfast, she rummaged through a cabinet to find her pills which she popped into her mouth and swallowed without any water. Nyx watched her sit down at the table while trying to cool her food down by blowing on it, and when she found it not that hot anymore, she tore off a piece of the bread and tossed it into her mouth.

"Hmmm, this french toast is quite different from the ones I had up until now." Stated Nyx as she looked at the yellow bread.
"Is it now to your liking, Mother?" Elizabeth had quite a smirk on her face when she asked.
"Everything you make has quite the love put into just like this one, so I would never say it is bad. It's just different from the ones I've eaten up until now. Also, that smirk says you were thinking something perverted again." Nyx pointed a half-eaten bread at Elizabeth.
"I would have said, 'Then I have something that you would surely like' and would have pointed down, but it's good to know that I already captured your stomach." After she finished saying that, she just bit into her bread.
"So, how is my 'grandchild'?"
"He is doing fine, just doing his usual repair jobs and special jobs from someone exceptional." A sad and happy smile appeared on Elizabeth's face as she said this.
"Do you miss it?" asked Nyx as she finished her meal and sipped her coffee.
"Some parts of it, like piloting those hunks of machines while having as much adrenaline in my veins it could be my blood. Others, such as following rules, not so much."  Elizabeth said with melancholy in her voice.

Before she could explain further, they heard a pained moaning coming from the couch. Elizabeth threw the last piece of bread into her mouth before standing up and walking toward the girl.

"Let's see what our little princess has in store for us." Elizabeth's voice carried a hint of amusement.

♠♠♠

Sally's footsteps carried her towards a particular room in the flying ship. The gray metal walls were getting duller by the second as she passed them. Her mind was in chaos, yet the calmness of her thoughts confused and annoyed her. The scene about her arm being torn from her shoulder replayed in her head like a brainwashing program. One second she is still barely holding her own against The Succubus Queen. By other, her arm has been torn from her body, and she is at the mercy of her enemy. She thought losing her powers was sure at that point, yet she gained some instead.  The morning exercise briefly kept those thoughts at bay, but they returned and asked the same question. "Why?". Why did she have to suffer through that? Why was she left alive? Why was she given power? Why me?

She stopped and looked at her gloved hand. Somehow after waking up, she has changed but not badly.  Her mind was calm, like the lake in the middle of a forest, yet her vision went crimson when she tried to use her mana. A mirror had already been a victim of her wrath. A punch shattered it when she looked at herself and injected mana into her eyes and arms. Even her clothing choices were different from that of a casual day. Gone was the anxiety of what to wear and what color combination to make herself look more girly. She wore a simple white shirt, a jean, and a white silk glove over her left hand to hide the fact it was artificial. Shortly after she started walking again, she arrived in front of the meeting room's door. She touched the little panel on the right side and directed some mana into it. When the shades of her vision started to shift into a color much like blood, she stopped the mana supply, and the door opened.  She was the last one to come into the small meeting room. Shinji and Veronika were sitting at the table in the middle of the room. Their faces suggested they were thinking about something so hard that they didn't even notice Sally entering the room.

"At last, you're here." said a sheep-like plushy standing on the table. "What?" Questioned the plushy as Sally just looked at it. Finally, the two other people in the room also noticed her.
"Nothing. I wondered why their faces looked like they had made their biggest life mistake." Sally said nonchalantly.
"Because they almost did. The twins are dead. Permanently." the plush's tone was more akin to anger by the end of the sentence, and Sally could only frown at that.
"Were the rumors true?" Sally asked, slightly concerned.
"Medical case-1097, patient name Ichijou Takuro, cause of death bloodloss from a shot off arm. Yet the case was not closed because of the younger twin's death. Rather, it was resolved, meaning he survived. Medical case-1158, patient name Kimikura Yakumo, cause of death lethal trauma to the neck, breaking the spinal cord. Case resolved."
"Can you even compare them? To my knowledge, their hearth hot torn out." Sally commented as the gears in her head started to turn.
"Yes, the autopsy reported no missing organs from the twins. Shizuku can heal even the worst injuries and death, yet what was the problem now?" the plushy looked down and pondered for a few seconds. "...that shouldn't be possible." in the quiet room, even this whisper was louder than intended.
"What, Emy?" Shinji questioned the plush.
"Nothing you should be worried about. Because the chance of what I'm thinking happening is zero. There is no universe where that would be possible, and it's better if you don't know about it cause it would only cause unnecessary worry for all of you."  said Emy as she motioned Sally to sit down. "I need to talk to all of you about something, so please take a seat Sally-chan."

Sally slowly walked to a chair, flipped it, and sat comfortably. Shinji and Veronika were a bit more tense than usual, but they listened attentively to what Emy was about to say.

"After last week's incident, Yakumo-kun has decided to resign as an Angel." Said Emy with sadness in her voice."In his place, HQ has designated an Angel to be transferred to this sector. Said Angel will be transferred from a level 2 sector, meaning as of now, they will be above all of you."
"Ins't the commander enough? Why send another Angel close to her strength?" Asked Shinji the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Firstly, we can't let the Synths know she is even here. Secondly, with The Succubus Queen showing up, this sector's danger level will rise from four to three." Answered Emy the first question, "And don't assume that old monster can be compared to the young Angels. So please put more effort into your training from now on."

They were all slightly surprised by what Emy said about the commander. Shinji was by far the most shocked. Over the last week, he had more than one eye-opening event. He looked at Sally, who was training until she dropped the last week, probably to seek revenge for what had happened to her. They all knew the consequences when they signed up to be an Angel, yet you never realize something until you see it happen to somebody you know.

"Any more questions?" They all shook their heads at Emy's questions. "Veronika-chan and Shinji-kun, please leave. I have something to discuss with Sally-chan."

Sally lifted an eyebrow at that and had no clue what could be left discussing. Shinji and Veronika just stood up and walked out of the room. The silence in the room was heavier after the steel door closed. Both Emy and Sally just looked at each other.

"Akamine Akeno, your status as an Angel will be suspended for the coming week. " Emy said in an almost angry tone.
"...what? You can't be..." Akeno was way too much in disbelief to continue her sentence.
"I can and am. Do you think I would not notice the small amount of mana you keep preserving from The Succubus Queen's mana without absorbing it? I know you want to call her to rematch, but please understand. We cannot let you get yourself killed. This is for your good." Emy looked at Akeno with her button eyes.

"Ma'am? Would you be so kind as to show an ID? The store can only sell alcohol to adults." asked the cashier-looking girl as she looked into Akeno's eyes.
"...Ah. Of course. Forgive me for daydreaming."

Akeno hastily fished her ID out of her purse and handed it to the girl. She confirmed that Akeno was above the legal age for buying alcohol and packed the six beers and whisky into a plastic bag. She didn't even hear the cashier's goodbye as she left the store. Her mind was so lost in her thoughts that the bright world around her looked grayer and grayer as the seconds passed by. The advertisement wanted to sell you the latest cars, clothes, jewelry, food, or drink was ignored by her mind just like the goodbye. The only time her mind came to rest was when she looked at the setting sun from the train window. None of the other passengers looked at that sun like she was too busy to care about the beautiful scenery because of the latest gossip or holo video in their feed. By the time the train arrived at her station, so did the sun had finally set, leaving its job to the moon. Akeno lived in a quieter part of the huge city, which showed on the road. No cars, bikes, and the people you would meet around these parts could be counted with your two hands.

"I'm home."

Silence. Not like she was expecting an answer, yet the words still left her mouth like second nature. Aside from the buzzing of a few machines, nothing could be heard from the little apartment she lived in. She swiped her hands over a panel making the whole place light up. The place had a simple layout. The kitchen and living room were connected into almost one room. The only divide between them was a cooking island. The living room was connected to three other rooms, a bathroom, and two bedrooms, one of which was not in use at the moment. She went to the kitchen island to put down the stuff she had bought. Not even sparing a moment, she got a glass from the cabinets nearby and looked into the dead-silent living room.

"Otou-san! Otou-san!"
"What is it, Akano?"
"Look, look, the Queen took down another bad guy! I really want to be like her one day!"
"Hahaha, you know what I and your mother always say to that."
"That if I put in the effort, even fate itself will bless me with luck."

A memory long lost played back inside Akano's mind as the alcohol she consumed started to take effect. She turned away from the house that was filled with nothing but pain. In her drunken haze, she didn't even notice grabbing the whisky. Her mind was more than all over the place. She didn't even notice her lungs were on fire until she finally reached the place her body was going. On top of a hill near the city, Akeno was lying on her back, her vision spinning as she looked up at the black sky. Soon a small chuckle escaped her lips, and ever so slowly, it turned into crazy laughter as tears started to streak down her face, it turned into sobbing.

"Is this what I really wanted?"

Spoiler

MrOwl

I'd like to once again apologize for this chapter being more than a year late. IRL stuff swallowed way too much of my time. If you want to know the reasons: my Sister's divorce, driving license, Uni, and general health problems such as reflux or getting my collarbone checked out because it needs an operation to pop it back into its place. Next chapter is hopefully before the end of this month.

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