Forest

A ping from Solis's phone would sound out a few minutes later with Karin's reply.

"Out and about as usual. If we need to talk, I can come to you."

"Come to the Forest. It's about your current standing, Sharyu... and a promotion."

Solis closed his phone, gripping his head as he felt an oncoming migraine.

Within the hour, Karin was there, having made her way to where the remaining drones currently stood. She wiped her forehead- She had ran a bit of a distance- and glanced at the two of them in turn, locking her eyes onto Solis after shooting a stare at Fuki. "Alright, I'm here, so what's up?"

Solis leaned against a tree, staring up at the bright, vibrant blue sky. He heard everyone against the Reapers cheering, but were they simply ignorant or wanted to be? No one can do anything about Harbinger still, and any victories today wouldn't change calamities of tomorrow. For two lifetimes, the sun warrior witnessed history repeat itself with stronger foes. Hollow was the celebration of mankind and its kin, and he only wanted to shout: "Stop celebrating you fools! Your main foe is still invincible! There is no future! And there doesn't need to be one!" Yet, he refrained. The nihilist waited patiently, but annoyed for his fellow to arrive. When she did, he turned.

"... I've been told to take your deck from you. Sharyu is to be given to me, and you're to be given something to help you fall in line." Solis stated bluntly after a small pausing sigh.

Karin put a hand to her hip, shooting a glare at Fuki again before shifting her eyes back to Solis. "Excuse me?"

In truth, she actually felt a chill creep up her spine. "To help you fall in line" was the purpose of this change in decks... This was bad. They hadn't just caught on to her every-growing free will, but they were actually going to do something about it. She knew how powerful they could be, how strong Harbinger was, and if it hadn't been for the circumstances of her joining the drones in the first place, she might have not been able to break free herself... But now she was, probably, about to get hit with another layer of it. Karin wanted to run, but another glance at Fuki reminded her that if she tried, she'd just get locked. She had no escape.

Hesitating, she lifted her deck from its box, holding it out to Solis. Her arm was trembling a little, and she avoided direct eye contact with Fuki. "...Fine, then... W-What am I getting in exchange for this? I can't exactly fight without a deck."
Karin tried her best to keep on a straight face and her usual attitude. Deep inside, she was terrified of what was coming.

Fuki kept her arms folded, watching the two Kagero players exchange words as Solis was visibly against this. He didn't earn his victory, and Karin didn't deserve to be stripped of Overlord. Yet, as cruelty would have it, the stoic leader and Harbinger cared little for what they "deserved". Only what furthers their ambitions: total erasure of existence. Solis moved from the tree, approaching Karin. "Just... a moment", Solis requested of Fuki, then gazed into Karin's eyes. ... He couldn't say anything to make this situation less miserable, so he remained silent. Closing his eyes, he placed his hand on the deck case before taking it from her. The two of Kagero began to glow red and orange, Solis slowly absorbing the heat of Overlord from Karin - the connection. While not all of it, it was just enough to fully process a stable connection to himself, the Great, and Sharyu, merging Overlords of the past and present within the hand of the coming God of the Sun. His eyes opened with a bright red sun for pupils, and they proceeded to quickly fade. Karin's deck vanished entirely, and his burned to ashes.

Fifty cards of red light revolved around Solis, materializing out of flames, and spiraled about until they all began to find their place in the man's deck case. Perditions united under the wings of two Winds of the Apocalypse.

"... I'm done." Solis, stated.

"In exchange..." Fuki began, then said nothing for a moment.

"Í̸҉̵ ͏̨̀͘w͞i̕͢͟l͟͏̶̀́l̸͟ ͘h̷̷̢́͠a̴͢͠v̴̀͞ȩ͜ ̨͢͢y̷̷ǫ̷̷͟u̶̸̡͜͝ ҉͏̸̢̕à̵͜͝s̷͞ ҉̷̶͜͠ą̵ ҉́͘͞ţ̸͢o̵͡u̸̡̧r̨͘͘͝͝ ̶̧g̀͘u̴̴͜i͏̨d͡͞e̡.̛͡͞͡" The booming voice of one half of the Twin Towers of the end: Sovereign reverberated throughout Karin's mind. A sphere of void popped into existence in front of her, floating in place. "Surely, you recall who I am? I have decided in my sister's place, I will keep you in line." Was hissed, a small plate of the power of erasure finding its way to Karin's heart, latching on like a parasite. She could have free thoughts, but she would have free will no longer if he had anything to say about it.

Karin's eyes widened at the sound- the voice she never again wanted to hear. Sovereign's words echoed loud in her mind as she felt a tightening in her chest, the fragment of his power clutching at her own life. She doubled over, grasping at her chest, unable to move, unable to speak. With her connection to her Overlord weakened, having been given over to Solis, her spirit was left vulnerable, and Sovereign's power found its way into Sharyu's place. Echoes of Sovereign's words filled her head, and the controlling, will-bending might of the Reapers clouded her vision. She shut her eyes and fell to her knees, trying to block out what was invading her mind.

The whole world slipped from her, and her eyes were forced open again.

Karin felt different. She still had control over her body, over her mind... But it felt as if she wasn't there at all, like she was far away from her actual body. She jerked back up, hopping back onto her feet before bringing a hand to her face. She was definitely still there, but...

"I... Can't feel..." She could barely make out her own words, as if hearing through some sort of thick filter. Everything sounded muffled.

She brought her hand to her face, and barely felt her own touch.
She knelt to the ground again, touching the grassy forest floor. Nothing.
She stood back up again, gazing at Fuki.

She couldn't say a thing. She couldn't bring herself to say anything. Every time she tried to think, to come up with words to speak, to act of her own accord, only one thing would fill her mind- Pure and absolute despair.

Karin breathed in deeply, and then exhaled. She almost sounded like she was on the verge of crying. But she said nothing.

Karin turned her back on the two without a word, and walked away.

Trinity had been carried to the forest by Rebirth as she recovered, opening her eyes once she had. She blinked a few times as she looked at the scenery before gazing at Fuki. "What is this? Whats going on? Has Lord Harbinger succeeded?" There was an odd mix to Trinity's voice. A hint of the cheery Flonne was mixed into it. But it was only that. A hint.

"Plans are changing, we won't be needing you for Shiki's awakening any longer. Instead, you will continue to lead the Reverse forces." Fuki immediately responded to the approaching Trinity. Solis was still sour about the situation, but the sun warrior gave some more input.

"We're changing bases. Shop Handsome is necessary anymore, apparently. In addition to that, nobody knows what happened to Harbinger. Sovereign and the other Reapers aren't in an uproar, and live has yet to cease to exist. I don't believe she failed... but I'm not sold that she succeeded either." Solis answered as much as was relevant to Halcion.

Trinity nodded slowly, taking in the new plans and information. She frowned though at the mention of Harbinger. What could have happened that is preventing Harbinger from fulfilling her goal? She had Chronojet when they disappeared. So why was she not here and why was their lives still going on? "So we're to standby at this new base till Lord Harbinger's return? Or is Lord Sovereign taking over command?"

"Fuki, Koga, and Sovereign are in charge, I would say." Solis replied, turning to his superior. The blonde woman nodded, confirming that they were indeed handling matters while Harbinger was god-knows-where. It was a bit concerning for the nihilist. What did they have to do while their top eraser was MIA? Knowing one of the highest gods of salvation in ending the future of agony was just... missing unnerved him greatly. He was visibly as concerned as Trinity, or at least, what he assumed was worry from her expression.

Fubuki wandered her way into the forest, a quiet place where no one would disturb her. She sat on a log, and stared up at the sky, wondering. Was just a resolution to be stronger enough? Was anything enough? All Fubuki seemed to do was fall. Fail. Even with a new power, she couldn't stand up against anyone. She felt empty. Hollow. Resolutions hardly mean anything if they can't be followed through. If one can't even succeed at the resolution.

Tears fell from Fubuki's eyes as she sat on the log. She doubted herself, doubted her ability to follow through with her own promise to herself. Her gaze fell to the ground, and she curled up against the log to protect herself from the cold. Even if there was a chance. . . Fubuki felt she couldn't add anything to it. The Reapers shut down everything she could do. She stood no chance against them as she was now. She was destined to lose, again and again. Every time she would try to rise, she would get knocked down.

"No. . ." Fubuki muttered to herself amidst the bitter winds. "I. . . Can't let it keep going like this. . . There has to be something I can do. . . I don't want to keep failing. . ." Even through the sweater, Fubuki felt the cold eating away at her. At her heart itself. Maybe just accepting death would be easier than trying to--- "I can't think like that, dammit!"

Everyone else held on, everyone else could keep going. "Why can't I...? Why is everyone else able to rise up again and again, but I can't?"

You didn't respond to my text! Where are you? Fubupls. -gummyaoi

This text message appeared on Fubuki's phone.

Fubuki felt her phone buzz, and pulled it out of the sweater. It was Aoi. . . Looking for her.

Somewhere in a forest.

Aoi nyoomed into the forest area, having grabbed a bunch of snacks on the way for Fubuki, herself, and Aedan who followed along. Still hopping around uncontrollably, the gumball landed by a squirrel, who was attracted to such powerful energy. Nay, it was awestruck. "That's nuts", it would say, if it could speak their language.

"Fubukiiiiii!!" She called out.

"Got my drinks, my gummies, my chips, and my cookies." Jellal was heading back to where Neo was while slurping from the straw of his giant slush drink from his right hand while eating gummy bears with his left.

Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp. "Aaaah that hits the spot. Nice and cold too." He said in complete satisfaction. He started walking near the front of the forest when he heard a girl call out a name in a cheerful tone. -munch munch- I wonder who that could be?" he said while chomping down on the gummy bears covered in a myriad of colors.

Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp. He took one more gulp before seeing the girl run into the forest holding a bag of snacks. "She has a lot of snacks." he observed. "She looks like a person I can relate too." He threw more gummies into his mouth and began to rain down on them with his teeth, grinding them to gummy bits.

"Jellal!" a sharp angry tone struck Jellal's ears as he stopped his famished carnage. "If you're not too busy being a fatass, you'll be happy to know that's-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jellal objected to Blaster Dark's comment of Jellal gluttonous nature. "I am not -fat- okay? I'm just hungry, that's all." Jellal was very defensive considering he had a habit of engorging anything that was edible, especially junk food.

"Okay, 'festively plump'. Better, Mr. sweet tooth?" said the dark knight in complete disgust.

"Eh, I'll roll with it. You were saying earlier?" Jellal said while indulging himself with yet another long slurp from his slush cup. Nearly two thirds of the cup was already consumed at this point.

"That girl. That's Aoi. You should follow her if you want to know more about Maelstrom." Jellal finished the last drop of his slush drink as he asked Blaster Dark if he was sure that was Aoi. The dark knight reassured that the girl who was running with snack bags about the size of Jellal's if not bigger, was indeed Aoi. Jellal threw his cup into the trash can and dashed after her while holding onto his bag. "You're welcome by the way."

"Thanks Blaster Dark, what would I do without you?" he asked sincerely.

"Be a hopeless awkward fatass?" he paused briefly seeing Jellal's dead expression. "Sorry, Be a 'festively plump awkward cardfight?" Aoi appeared to be farther a head of Jellal due to the delay of his snack break. Jellal called out Aoi's name numerous times in the forest, hoping she would hear while also running and looking hoping she might have heard him.

Neo went with Jellal to the Forest to go look for Aoi so Jellal can ask the questions he wanted. As they walked in the forest, the only thing Neo heard was Jellal's slurping from the straw of his drink.

"Thank goodness I have Iced Tea in a bottle unlike this fatty with his million snacks and drinks" Neo said

Neo then heard Jellal and Blaster Dark arguing about Jellal and being fat. Neo had to get his 2 cents in

"Ya know Blaster Dark has a point. You have to be like me and stay in top shape, not buy out an entire store and have it as a snack" Neo said with a laugh

Eventually Neo and Jellal reached the deep part of the forest and started calling out for Aoi.. who couldnt be that far away.

Aoi turned at someone calling her own name on top of her shouting Fubuki's, a mouth now full of strawberry waffers. A muffled "Uuu?" came out, munching loudly on the food while sharing some with Aedan, as an apology for swiping all his crackerjacks at Chronicle's Eve. The bubbly lass looked to see a blonde and Neo, she thinks? ... Wait, the one with blonde hair... Aoi's eyes widened, seeing a face that she saw encased in an ice tomb. He was dead... in her timeline. Hastily gulping down her sugar-filled treats, she gasped. "M-Master Jellal-" Aoi caught herself too late, realizing that he would have no idea who she was or their relationship as Teacher-Student while she was Cyan. The man she inherited Maelstrom from...

"Uuu?" She mewled curiously as the boys approached her.

"Thank you!" Blaster Dark said to Neo as his supporter. "See Jellal? Your friend even thinks you spend too much time snacking."

"I'm perfectly fine the way I am." "Wait. Did Neo...?" Jellal looked back at Neo with a confused look.

"How were you able to hear Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gloomy?" he asked.

"Gloomy!?" Blaster Dark retorted sharply. "This guy...." They both stopped their bickering as they ran into Aoi. "This is Aoi, Jellal."

Jellal was speechless to see a girl with dark hair with a waffer being nibbled in her mouth. She started to call out Jellal's name but stopped shortly. "Uhh, Hi." Jellal said while lifting his hand slowly followed by a friendly wave. "You're Aoi, right?"

"That's. What. I. Just. Said." Blaster Dark said while having his hand covering his face from completely embarrassment.

"Hush you."

Aoi popped another waffer in her mouth to keep the mood bright, raising her hand as she would whenever addressed by her masters. Munching down and swallowing quickly, she announced: "Ni hao, I am Aoi! Hello desu!" The lass mixed Chinese with Japanese to introduce herself, confirming she's the girl they're looking for. "I can answer questions for Master Jellal- Iiiiiii mean Jellal!"

This was going to be a bit difficult.

Fubuki stayed against the log when she heard Aoi calling. The wind was too cold to leave the shelter she had found. The girl was tempted to respond to Aoi, but held herself back when she heard other people. Fubuki looked around for somewhere to hide, not wanting to deal with the uninvited men. Nearby, she saw a small cluster of large rocks. Quietly, Fubuki approached the rocks and slid into an alcove among them. It was quiet, sheltered from the wind, and very difficult to see in to without being at the exact right angle. Perfect for moping in. There was even just barely enough room in the makeshift cave for another person. Just one though.

"Wow, she's very... lively. I kinda like her. See Blaster Dark? You could learn a thing or two instead of shouting in my ear all the time."

"Focus."

"Right." Jellal turned his attention to Aoi with a calm expression on his face. Disregarding his shyness, he was straight to the point. "Well, sorry to bother you and everything but I really need your help. I'm looking for a unit named 'Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom'. I was told you knew where he was." He reached into his back pocket and revealed his Shadow Paladin deck. "Although I use Shadow Paladin at the moment, a long time ago, I used to use the clan known as Aqua Force: and my partner was Maelstrom. However, I lost him when I was defeated by Neu even with his evolved form. Regaining my memories, I want to know where he is so that he can help us in this battle."

Aoi's ears twitched, her Fubupls senses tingling. The gumball detection program felt Fubuki nearby, but didn't know where exactly she was. After speaking with Jellal here, she's going hunting. "Wait, Neu?" The girl's face contorted into one filled with confusion. It might've been a name in a frozen tomb, but she didn't exactly recognize it, having no true "War of Liberation" in the timeline where Aqua Force dominated. Tilting her head inquisitively, she wondered if the Jellal of this timeline inherited Maelstrom from someone else, or simply, clumsily lost it.

Wait, he just said he lost it to Neu.

"... I don't know what happened to the Maelstrom of this timeline. You're lookin' for him, but I'unno where he is now." Aoi answered honestly. The Tear Dragon of her dreams in the Magallanica ruins probably wasn't the one he was referring to.