Tales From The Kronos

The anomaly was just in front of Neige, looking seriously into his eyes. For once, she seemed more interested in something else than him.

"Last time I saw you, you wanted to kidnap me."

"I suppose the last time we talked was in my empty world, and even then, it wasn't really a conversation!" The anomaly laughed at the situation. Neige failed to understand what was so funny and waited for the nun to explain herself "Anyway, I wasn't careful enough. Miss Red Pantie stole a precious memento."

"A memento?" Neige was a bit curious about this 'Miss Red Pantie', but was more curious about what she held so preciously in her heart.

"Indeed, it belonged to you, Neige. Or rather, another you? I'm a bit confused with all that multiple-world thing, I just want to live happily with you. But if I lost this dagger, I would never forgive myself, it's the only thing I have left..."

The woman seemed devastated but Neige still had some trouble believing her. She tried to catch him, which was also why Kairo was that way now. He couldn't bring himself to fully believe her words.

"That's great for you, better find it then and leave me alone."

"What do you mean? You're going to help me, we are against the same person."

If what she said was true, then maybe she could be useful. She seemed to have incredible powers, and she seemed sincere. His friends' safety was more important for now, and nodded his head in agreement. It made the nun more than happy and even clapped her hands.

"It's the return of the great duo! Together, nothing can stop us!"

"Sure, but the moment we both get what we want, our alliance stops."

"Understood!" The woman had a big smile on her face, and even if Neige resented her, he still felt a bit happy for her. It was weird, maybe it's because he learned that his best friend and leader was the anomaly's other self. Or maybe it was because of something else that he couldn't understand. Either way, he couldn't help but feel safe and nostalgic when looking at her violet eyes. Without even realizing it, he gently caressed her cheek. When he noticed what he was doing, he quickly retracted his hand from her, making the woman giggle slightly.

"You truly are Neige, whatever the world. I remember that you did that when I was sad."

"I don't know why I did it, don't get used to it. And just so you know, I'm not the Neige you knew."

"I know." The nun looked at the moon with a saddened face. She let out a tired sigh before looking back at Neige "Anyway, it would be suspicious if people saw a nun, I think you'll need to carry me!" The anomaly suddenly transformed into a black matter and took the shape of the same dagger that Neige saw on his belt. Neige stared at the dagger for a while before letting out a sigh.

"Why am I in weird situations like that?" Despite his complaint, he picked the anomaly that took the form of a dagger and strapped it on his belt "I hope I won't regret it. I need to get some sleep now, it's late."

The night passed, and Neige joined with the two girls he met yesterday. Even with the help of the anomaly, he decided that it would be better to get all the help he would need. The two thieves were more than happy to have a new member, even if one of them didn't show any enthusiasm.

"So we're all here." Said the girl named Rose "Eirika, I let you explain the plan!"

"Alright. So it's pretty simple, the casino will be open tonight. Rose will go into the basement. It's probably where they're kept hostage. Neige will go to the boss's room, it's basically a suicide mission if you ask me."

"Eirika! Don't scare him away..."

"It's okay." Said Neige, in an attempt to make Rose feel better "I'm fine with it."

"See, he's fine with the plan. Now we just need to wait tonight."

Eirika returned to her computer, but Rose looked unsure and deep in her thoughts.

~Tonight?~ Said the anomaly ~Can't we go right now?~

"Trust them, they have more experience." Both Rose and Eirika looked at him when he talked, visibly confused.

~Don't talk out loud, only you can hear me!~

Neige was a bit annoyed that she only told him now, but quickly found a way to get out of the weird situation.

"I'm just thinking out loud, don't worry."

The two girls continued what they were doing, but Neige knew that they found him weird.

"Still, it's weird." Said Rose "This Silv, she never did anything like that, is she trying to do something?"

"I can only suppose that she captured Emel because she knows her way with engineering and electronics. And I guess Leo was with her. New guy, do you know why she kidnapped your friends?" Eirika said without looking away from her computer once.

"That's a good question. I guess I'll have to ask her."

"I don't think she'll tell you, she's weird."

Even if he didn't have a lot of interaction with Silv, he knew that Eirika was right. It was hard for him to believe that it was Silva's other self. But he had no other choice than to believe it.

The night finally came and the casino was open. A bunch of police officers were around, guarding the building. Rose was standing next to Neige, waiting. Unlike Neige, who still was in the Kronos's uniform, Rose put on black clothes that resembled the uniform of a fancy thief. The two looked at everything from far away, but it seemed like it would be hard to enter.

"That's weird, there are so many cops. It's like they know we'd come..."

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Rose said, interrupting Neige's thoughts "We always send a visit card, so they know we rob them."

"You what? Aren't we supposed to be discreet?"

"It's the value of the Rave of Justice, we always act for fairness, even for our foes!"

"Your group had a name? Why didn't you tell me any of that? I thought you were just a group of thieves stealing chips!"

"Hey, I'm not the leader usually, I joined later. I'm still not used to it..." Even despite the mask of her thief uniform, the sadness on the girl's face could be felt. "Our former leader sacrificed himself for what he believes in... We're trying our best, but without him, it's not easy."

"What happened? If I can ask."

"We stopped another mafia that my father controlled. It's silly, but in a way, I feel like our former leader did it for me. It's as if he sacrificed himself for me."

Neige nodded at the girl's words. He was expecting Silv to be behind every problem in this world, but it looked like it wasn't the case.

"And this Silv, you have a common past I think."

"Yeah, we stopped her before, but she got out of jail. She even helped us, but now she's against us. Can't say I'm surprised, she can't be trusted."

"Can you tell me more about it? I'm trying to learn more about her."

"You want to stop her? Good luck with that, she escaped every time. I don't know the details, but She killed her parents when she was younger. Now she's the head of a mafia group, but..."

The girl seemed hesitant, Neige noticed it, and let her the time to gather her thoughts.

"She disappeared for a while, but like vanished. No one knew where she was, and suddenly, she appeared back and is acting strangely."

Neige thought about it, it was probably because she started to go to other worlds. But why did she come back here then? Was there something that she needed in her homeworld?

"Wait, I have a message from Eirika... She said it's time to go, Neige, good luck."

The girl ran toward the casino's entrance. It was the moment, it was finally time to face Silv once and for all.

Neige managed to enter without being seen, there were a lot of mafia members inside, but he managed to sneak past them and make his way deeper into the casino. It was definitely an unusual experience to walk around a fancy casino. The chandeliers on the roof, the expensive alcohol on the floor, and those weird paintings on the wall. They looked really similar to what Silva painted but with more experience and skill. It was like someone who lost vision painted them, as opposed to Silva, who never had vision to begin with.

~Are you going to watch the paint dry for long?~ The voice surprised Neige until he realized that the anomaly had been here all along.

"My bad... But still, this place is so big, I think I'm lost." Complained Neige.

~Yes, and so sinful...~

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you were a nun. It's probably not the kind of place a nun would hang out usually."

~Indeed, this place reeks of greed, all this gambling, exciting their souls. All this alcohol, refreshing their body. And those girls dressed as maids with their black panties. It's all so... Forbidden!~ The anomaly's voice sounded more like desire than anger, which made Neige doubt her intentions.

"How... Do you know the color of their panties?"

~Eh! Don't ask that! And besides, a classy woman like me would never drool over other girls dressed in a cute and adorable maid outfit!~

"You manage to somehow sound more pervert than Silva... It's impressive."

Neige continued walking in this long hallway. Thanks to the maps around the casino and the help of the anomaly, they both finally made their way to the upper floor. The nun used her powers to turn off every light, making it easier for Neige to sneak in. After reaching the top of the casino, a door made of beautiful black wood was waiting at the end of the hallway. Neige took his firearm in hand and took a deep breath before pushing the door, ready to face Silv.

The room was a fancy office. Silv was sitting there, but Silva and Sepide were also there, both attached with a rope. Silv was trying to take Sepide's watches, and without thinking, Neige shot at her. The girl managed to step back before getting hit by the bullet but couldn't take Sepide's watch.

"Neige? I didn't hear you, if only you came a bit later..."

"Really? I busted the door open. Well, it doesn't matter much, I'm going to put an end to all the problems you caused. Right now."