Rising Shards

09 stared in amazement as the energy channeled into the daggers. None of the Sharai retention sprites stayed with her, they were all zooming around the race course around them. She could tell which ones had real people in them, but she tried not to watch them. Seeing any of them smash against each other and explode was a lot. In the center of the storm, she found herself quietly contemplating.

“Are they done?” Ovie asked.

09 flinched, looking around as Ovie didn’t seem to be close.

“Where are…? Oh.” 09 said.

Ovie lowered down by a floating platform, landing behind 09.

“Are they done?” Ovie repeated.

“I don’t…know. I think they’re close?” 09 said. “The Sharai didn’t exactly explain anything about this.”

“Don’t you have anything on the daggers in your clybrid databases?” Ovie asked.

“It’s kind of hard to search them in a void node like this,” 09 said. “There’s a lot of interference. It’s like trying to remember something from a dream from a week ago.”

Ovie growled and started hitting the totem. The statue shook a bit, the contorted expression of the monster carved into it staring down at them. Eventually, Ovie managed to accidentally hit a lever or button hidden in the statue. The arms opened outward, then down. The daggers, now crackling with energy, were in arms reach. Ovie carefully removed them from the hands of the statue.

“Now what?” 09 whispered. She’d seen the daggers quite a bit since coming into contact with Arctus and Octa Kathron, but seeing them nearly fully charged felt different.

“Now…” Ovie said. Her expression darkened.

You don’t know, 09 thought. After all this…you have no idea what we’re doing. That should be enough reason to end this quest that had taken her to places she’d never thought she’d go, but she’d been given a lot of reasons to end this quest, and still ended up choosing to stay. The sight of Ovie looking so low made 09's eyes well up. 

“Maybe we need to go.” 09 said. “Just get out of here and regroup. Maybe take that elevator back up?”

“Back to Jeans, yeah…” Ovie said, sounding distant.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not an option.” Jeans said.

09 and Ovie whirled to see Jeans standing there. Or “standing” there. Even with 09’s clybrid scanning abilities being weakened, she could still tell this Jeans was a projection. Her Cani power was some sort of illusion based one, but she mainly seemed to use it just to cast an image of herself elsewhere.

“Jeans…” Ovie said. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m leaving,” Jeans said.

“But we just got here!” Ovie said. “We just got the daggers charged! I just…found you. After everything.”

“I know,” Jeans said. “But the daggers were never my idea. I have places to be, and a castle crawling with Rising Shards folks isn’t it. They’re approaching you rapidly, by the way. You don’t have much time.”

“I’ll deal with them!” Ovie snapped. “I’ll give them beast tendency like you said!”

“I’m glad you remembered what I told you,” Jeans said.

“But how?” 09 asked. “The Kathrons needed a whole…like summoning ritual for it. We don’t have walls to paint Endora’s name on them…”

“There’s something else you could do.” Jeans said. “I asked Corinani, my new teacher, well more like a servant really. She knows about Endoran artifacts. She said that while it won’t be as powerful and not a true beast tendency, you can force a powerful transformation. About a quarter beast tendency. That would be enough to stop the people from Rising Shards.”

“Are you saying…we should use it on ourselves?” 09 asked.

“Why not?” Jeans said. “All you have to do is stab yourself with it. Do that, wipe out anyone in your way, then ascend. There's no one else who can do this. The Sharai soldiers are too far away to help you now. And I’m leaving.”

09 couldn’t believe that Ovie was considering what Jeans said seriously. What was worse was that 09 herself was considering it as well.

“If I get beast tendency…” Ovie said.

“If you get a quarter beast tendency.” Jeans corrected.

“Sorry, a quarter beast tendency,” Ovie said. “Then how do I find you again? What if I can’t turn back to normal?”

“Those are problems you’ll have to ask yourself when you get there.” Jeans said.

Ovie winced, as though an entire universe was collapsing inside her very spirit.

“Can’t you just come back to Wildfire Hearts with me?” Ovie asked.

Jeans shook her head. “I’m not going back home for a long time. My work is too important here.” She stroked Ovie’s cheek. 09 felt a sudden anger rise in her, wanting to smash the projection in front of her, but she resisted the urge, because she knew Ovie would not be pleased. “I'm sorry I said this was your last chance. I was speaking from a place of hurt, one that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't hit me with a car. But I'm willing to forgive you. You know I'm a very caring person. And I know how much you care about me. You always find me, Ovie. I’m not worried about that. When I leave with the Corinani, I’m sure you’ll pick up my trail. You’re my knight, and knights always find their princesses.”

Ovie nodded.

“I have to go now, Ovie,” Jeans said. “They’re almost here."

“I love you.” Ovie said. “I love you so much, and I’m so, so sorry, for…for every—”

“Stop wasting time.” Jeans said. “Just do the right thing.”

Ovie nodded.

“Ovie Chirhart!” Caya bellowed. “This is over.”

09 blinked, and Jeans was gone. Caya Kilander approached, rage in each stomp.

“Drop the daggers and stay there.” Caya said. “And 09, if you do move an inch, you will regret it. You’re already in an obscene amount of trouble, don’t make it worse.”

Caya began to swing her bloodsaber, likely bubbling them, her preferred method for stopping students. Without thinking, 09 conjured her own form of that power, putting a crystal shell around herself and Ovie.

“That won’t stop me!” Caya yelled, her voice somehow coming through.

09 figured they had about half a minute.

“What do we do?” Ovie asked. She trembled, the daggers in her hands. “I need to get back to Jeans.” Her voice was weak, and her head low looked so pitiable, so different from Ovie’s usual smugness. She tried to stab the daggers into her thigh, but failed. “I can’t…”

09 held Ovie’s shoulders for a second. Their eyes met, and even though both had tears in their eyes, Ovie's brow furrowed.

“Why are you here?” Ovie asked. "Why'd you come all this way?"

A lot of answers went through 09’s mind. As she thought about it, she gently took one of the Sharai Daggers from Ovie. The two locked eyes as 09 knelt in front of Ovie.

“Because you need me.” 09 said.

Ovie only slightly nodded in response.

"And because I...well. Need you too, I think." 09 said. "So whatever it takes to...I'll do it."

Ovie wiped her eyes, and nodded with more determination. There wasn't time to debate any further. The two wordlessly got in position, each aiming their dagger at the other’s back, almost hugging each other.

“On three?” 09 asked.

“Just do it, on one.” Ovie said. “One!”

09 stabbed the dagger into Ovie’s back, as Ovie did the same to her, immediate burning pain scorching through her.