trans_9 | In which the former queen cannot believe what she has seen [Closed to BUS residents]

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In which the former queen cannot believe what she has seen [Closed to BUS residents]

Arika couldn't get away from the Obs Deck fast enough. As soon as the worst of it began, she was gone. She'd steeled herself enough to watch the main course, and she'd had enough. She'd been quick to get the WITCH Bus in her low heels, moving quickly through the City despite how tired she felt, or how her feet ached so much.

She'd flung open the door to the Bus and burst in. She headed for the kitchen, eyes closed tight as she tried to block out the images of what she'd seen. This of course lead her to stumbling over the small table and fall flat onto the kitchen counter with a SMACK.

It hurt, but it did some help in distracting her from what had been circling around in her mind. Shakily, she raised herself up, staring down at the table, trying to regain control of her breathing.

She should be used to this. She had been a queen and had heard and even once or twice witnessed that kind of brutality. But in truth, Arika had a weak stomach for the kind of violence.

"...how is that even allowed?"

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Like a certain young man, Negi had sneaked over to see it. And what he did had brought back terrible flashbacks.

But being turned to stone would have been kinder than this. At least as stone, you didn't feel pain when THAT happened.

Slowly he trudged back into the bus, his face ashen. Even Chamo on his shoulder was uncharacteristically quiet. And some of the replies on Zetta's post was making his stomach churn.

"Mom..." he said looking up.

"Hey," greeted Chamo as he leaped to the table.

Arika turned around, a hand covering her mouth. Her eyes went from the floor to her son's face. She didn't really say anything, but quickly swept her son into her arms and held him close.

Negi just hugged back, unable to get a sound out. For a long while he stood there, just being held in his mothers arms before he croaked out, "Sorry... for breaking my grounding..."

"Oh Aniki," sighed Chamo as he lit up a cigarette, a real one. At least Arika wouldn't begrudge him one right now would he? Not after what the pair had seen.

"I will not penalize you," she said softly, rubbing her thumb against his cheek.

"I feel helpless," admitted Negi quietly. "That wasn't a fight I could win, or anything I could change. Even master wouldn't have appreciated it. I think. I mean, I think she wouldn't but..." Negi fumbled for words and sighed softly.

"How are we supposed to save the world... if this place keeps tearing things apart?"

Arika seated herself on the edge of the table. "We do what we can, Negi. It is not the ship, but us." She threaded her fingers through his hair and tucked his head against her neck.

"Still doesn't make me feel any better," pouted Negi like a kid, kicking at a chair leg. "We don't need the Ohm to tear us apart, it's the ship that'll do the job for them."

And he sighed as he was hugged. "Mom... I know I don't say this often but for once in my life... I'm actually really scared. I don't want to see anyone go through that again, and I certainly don't. But it's watching us. Like some kind of demented Hal 2000 or something."

Irony since there WAS a Hal before but Negi didn't know it.

Arika held Negi incredibly close in the kind of way a mother clings to her child.

"If Stacy dares to harm you, I will make her regret waking me from my long slumber." She meant every word.

Negi allowed a light smile to play across his lips. "Thanks mom."

He hugged her a little tighter, glad she was there. If there was one person he really needed to connect to, it was his mom, the woman who was never mentioned in his history, the woman who gave him life. It was definitely a comforting thing to feel her presence around him all the time.

Probably the only one who was faster leaving? Was Irma. She'd never seen anything this cruel. Nerissa wasn't like that. Not even Phobos. It had unnerved her greatly... and at the same time, made her a little bit harder.

Reentering the bus, she caught Arika stumbling and she rushed over to help her.

"...I wish I knew. My god, I wish I knew..." Irma said.

Arika appreciated the help.

"I have seen much worse than that...but I still would have preferred to not have seen it."

"I know, I just... I..." Irma said, lost in her own words, before shaking her head and turning to Arika. "S-Sorry..."

Despite who she was and what she could do, she was still human. Between Steve and this? It was too much. Her arms reached over to hug Arika, crying as she did.

"It is all right," Arika covered her mouth with her hand.

When Irma started to reach for her and cry, Arika pulled the young girl into her arms, tucking her head beneath her chin, rubbing Irma's back soothingly. "Shhh..."

For a few moments, Irma continued crying, slowly being comforted by Arika. Soon, she pulled away, wiping her eyes dry.

"Th-thank you... I'm sorry I did, just... it was too much."

"It is all right. If you must cry, then cry. I will not judge you." She placed a hand on Irma's shoulder.

"Thanks..." Irma said, calming down. "I have to admit, it's... a little easier coming clean with all of this. It's not easy holding in things that scare you when you can't even tell your parents what is troubling you..."

It was tough. Had she'd seen this as herself, as a Guardian, all she would have was her friends and a few others. Here, she could lean on just about anyone. And right now? Arika was the cloest thing she had to a parent to talk to...

"...but it feels much better admitting how you feel about something, yes?" She nodded her head with a light sigh.

"It does, doesn't it?" Irma said. A brief silence before... "...are you okay?"

She lifted her arms up slightly. Something told her that Arika just might be reaching her own point.

"I am..." Arika turned her head away slightly. "I just have not witnessed such brutality in quite some time, that is all." Her stomach lurched and she placed a hand over her mouth again.

The whole thing made her sick. Poor Arika...

"It's okay... really..." Irma said. "You... wanna talk, I'm here. You helped me a little, and, well... I should do the same..."

Arika removed her hand and breathed. "A Queen...does her best to keep a strong face when confronted with such atrocities." She shook her head. "But I have not been Queen in so long. So I do not need to keep face."

She shook her head. "I would rather not talk about the past. I would rather talk about what can be done to assure that we must never have to witness such brutality by the ship that we live upon."

"We can start by figuring out how to get rid of Stacy... or at least the evil one." Irma said, crossing her arms. Right now, that was their big problem - Stacy was two sides of a coin. And that other half had to go.

"Everyone has that side of them that is the lesser of the first," she said. "And it is the most difficult task to get rid of it."

"Gotta do something. The longer that thing still exists, the worst things are gonna get." Irma said. "Though... right now? I need something else..."

"What do you need?" she asked softly.

"A drink. A friend. Anything to get my mind off of this..." Irma said, moving to sit down. It was obvious she was still affected by it all.

Arika placed both hands on Irma's shoulders. "There are some beverages in the fridge if you need something cool to settle your stomach." She hadn't yet tried any of them, due to their wide labels and the exclamation titles upon their wrappers, but her son and the others seemed to enjoy them.

"And I can be a friend if you would like."

Irma smiled a bit hearing the last bit. She needed it. She can find Hay Lin later - Arika'll do in a pinch.

"Thanks... mom." Irma said, the 'mom' coming out half-teasingly. She knew she was Negi's mom, but at the same time? It was nice to have some sort of parent around. She showed that appreciation by hugging Arika once more.

She blinked a bit at the added 'mom', but she supposed by the tone of Irma's voice, it was meant in good humor. She accepted the hug, though, with a smile.

"...How's what even allowed?" Asuna asked while making her way into the kitchen; she'd been in her room the entire time, listening to music and trying to keep the bus clean. 'Someone' had to do it, according to her and as long as Negi was out saving the world and didn't need her help - yet she knew that wouldn't always be the case - that task fell to her.

"It is nothing," Arika said, placing a hand over her mouth, turning away.

"...It's not nothing!" Asuna placed a hand onto Arika's shoulder, gently turning the woman around to face her; she oould already tell what traits Negi had gotten from his mother. She just wasn't sure which ones were the good ones or not.

"Something happened, didn't it?"

Arika gently removed Asuna's hand, walking away, a little wobbly.

"Something happened, yes." She wrapped her arms around herself, taking a deep breath. "You do not need to know."

"...!" As much as she was trying to hold back, Asuna's patience was starting to wear thin. After everything she'd experienced, what else could be thrown in her face that she couldn't handle?

"...Where's Negi? If you won't tell me, then I'll ask him!" The girl balled her fists for a moment, already feeling deep in her heart that something extremely bad had happened.

Arika whirred around, hair flying, and a very serious and somewhat angry look to her. "You will not ask him anything about what had happened!"

Asuna was slightly taken aback by Arika's response, but didn't back down. "...Then why won't you tell me?! Haven't I always watched over Negi ever since the day we met at Mahora, made a Pactio with him and from that day on vowed to protect him no matter what?

"How can I protect him from something when I don't even know what happened?"

If Asuna wasn't backing down, then neither was Arika. "You will protect him even more by not reminding him of what he has seen! Do you not understand me, Asuna. You are still stubborn!" She turned away and started to walk out of the kitchen.

And, at least in Asuna's mind, this was the common pot calling the kettle black. "Look who's talking! The only reason I'm considering asking Negi in the first place is because you won't tell me about it!" She moved forward and managed to keep Arika from leaving.

"I'm gonna find out eventually, so why can't it be from someone that I know instead of someone I don't?"

Arika narrowed her eyes, settling a stone-wall serious face upon her facial features. "If you ask my son what had happend then you will be pouring salt upon a fresh wound."

Asuna felt sweat bead down her face, and not the kind that might show up in a humorous situation. Still, she closed her eyes and tried to calm down. Maybe cooler heads would prevail; wasn't that Negi's way of handling things?

"...Then please tell me...what's happened? None of my other friends are here anymore, I don't know 1/2 the people that you do and the only person I'm closest to here, you won't let me bring it up with him at all! Who else can I turn to about this?"

Arika looked at Asuna. Seriously. Asuna was before Negi. Just about there when she'd been opening herself up as a person. Asuna had been precious to Arika, just as she still was now. She still had that stubborn personality to her, grown and strong.

"...a crewmate was dismembered before a crowd of observers."

Asuna's eyes widened just a bit as she listened intently to Arika's explanation, expression anything but fearful. Her tone however, spoke otherwise.

"...Negi was there, wasn't he?" There were times that Asuna's stubbornness was like a two-edged sword. While she wouldn't back down from anything put in her path or directed at Negi, a part of her also held herself accountable for whatever happened to the young teacher no matter if she'd been there or not.

Arika nodded grimly. "Yes. He was." She then pushed Asuna out of the way, and continued to the halls, and then down them.

Normally, Asuna would've responded quite loudly to anyone who pushed her in that manner. This time, she just allowed her hands to ball into fists while hitting the wall with one of them.

I might not have been there for him then...but I'll be there for you now, baka Negi! If silence was golden, then Asuna would do her best to keep what she'd heard to herself. At least around Negi, anyway.

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In which the former queen cannot believe what she has seen [Closed to BUS residents]

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