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Lyner Barsett      There was no posturing, and so beating around the bush with extraneous details today. Today was the day. The day that doors if the Phantom Cocoon would open, and this time, not as the precursor to another song that would drain more energy from the Plasma Bell.

     No, this time, the doors of the structure opened silently, and without fanfare. It was time to keep the promise. Time to allow those who've been through past trials to set foot inside the real structure, rather than a fantastical altered reality crafted by song.

     To that end, troops from Tenba, The Church, and the Knights of Elemia line the perimeter of the Phantom Cocoon in a protectice circle through the forest. This time, their gazes are outwards, instead of inwards. They were trusting that robot to keep her word. And over by the entrance, Radolf stands, spear in one hand, gesturing with the other.

     "According to that robot, this place should remain silent today. No songs or untoward actions. Regardless, keep your guards up still. I'll hold out hope that this is no trap, but stay vigiliant, friends." He smiled and nodded. "Good luck."
Deelel So here is Deelel she's arrived again back off the grid where she's been between operations here the basic looked a bit on edge given how things were she was however ready as she was ever going to be.

"So this is it? I understand. End of Line."

She notes formally to Randolf b efore she gets ready to more out. She seems ready enough but who knows how things were going to play out this time.
Reina Kinney "Silent or not, I ain't taking any chances," Reina says to nobody in particular. She snaps her fingers and her sword materializes in her right hand. "It's one of my primary rules that I never keep my guard down, even when I'm off-duty." She looks to Radolf and nods in return. "Thanks, we're gonna need it. Every little bit helps." It might sound sarcastic, but that's just Reina's standard mannerism.

    She looks to the others and says, "All right, I'll go first since I've got melee this time." She narrows her eyes and looks forward. "Anyone gets in our way, they're gonna regret it!"
Kazusa Ujikane     "I'm here! I'm here, I brought cards this time-!" Kazusa is a tad late. By which I mean, 'she only just gets there in time for Radolf to give his words of encouragement. Pant, pant. "I... I hope we can... solve it today... without fighting... but if... if it does..." She pats her purse, still trying to catch her breath. "Brought cards... Cutthroat, and... and beast..." Pant, pant.
Misha     Silence... It is, perhaps, not a sound Misha Arsellec Lune expects, when she knows another Reyvateil to be around. To sing is what it means to be a Reyvateil, and there's almost never a moment when she herself isn't doing it, or thinking about how to best express her emotions. The silence around the cocoon is... Actually more disconcerting than the haunting melodies and violent defenses pitted against them. She feels awkward. Unsure.
    The Star Singer isn't wearing any special outfits tonight, no alternate forms. She simply comes as she is, comfortable purple robes; nothing fancier than what can be attributed to a Reyvateil's normal style.
    She's staring at the cocoon, lips pursed, locked in her own thoughts and waiting to go inside.
    Today they're going to meet this administrator'. Perhaps it will be an enlightening experience.
X X has had about enough of these games. How the past experiences are TRIALS he isn't sure. All he's gleaned from the lyrics that yet haunt him now and then is the sheer negative weight of the singer. She must be very pained, very unhappy.... what can he do to solve this?

    X isn't sure. But maybe someone here will have an answer that he doesn't yet, and he wants to make sure they make it to her. And maybe he'll be able to learn something important.

    "End of line... sure seems that way. It all comes down to this mission!"
William Pauwel Will was here when this whole mess got started. There's no way he's about to just let it go now, when the end(?) is in sight! Also, he kind of wants to know what the devil is actually going on. And so he is here! At his hip is his loyal handgun, over his eyes are a set of tinted goggles. His coat seems to have been repaired since the last time, too.

The mysterious globe opens and allows their passage.

"I sure hope this is the end of it," Will says with a shrug. "But I kind've feel like we're ain't even stopped scratchin' the surface yet."
Yuna Kagurazaka Technically, Yuna hasn't been cleared to put any weight on her lately-injured foot yet; however, she promised Lyner and the others to do what she can to help with the Phantom Cocoon, and Elner's own analysis is that the injury is healed to the point where Yuna would have to poke something into what's left of the hole to exacerbate the injury; just walking on it might be uncomfortable but wouldn't necessarily hurt her.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to *walk* to be able to help her allies. To that end, she arrives at the meeting place in her Flight Form, purple highlights replacing the normal blue of her Light Suit, and the wings of her flight pack visible sticking out to either side of the back-mounted thruster.

"I do wonder," Yuna muses, "why that other Reyvateil went to all this trouble; if she just wanted to see if we were friendly and capable, there were certainly other ways to go about it."

Elner, hovering next to Yuna like usual, emits a soft noise resembling a sigh. "I'm not certain that 'friendly' was part of what the 'administrator' was looking for from the outset," the robo-faerie states. "Are you ready?"

Yuna nods, smiling. "As ready as I can be!" She looks around at her allies and friends. "Good luck all around, let's hope this goes smoothly!"

Elner repeats the sigh-noise.
Lyner Barsett      Lyner nods at Radolf, and then to everyone else.

     And they step inside.

     There is no flash of light. No rush of gravity. No /change/. They pass through the light, and when they come out the other end in a moment, what they find is...a sterile, white environment. Rigid and cubical, there is no other way to describe it. There are doorways leading north, west, east, and south. However, they are not alone here.

     Standing at the center of the area, is a very familiar purple haired robot. It's the same one that attacked them in the raining city, as well as the one who spoke to them in the reflecting chamber. Her form was a bit different this time, and the armor she previously wore seemed to be changed, looking more like a metallic maid-like dress. The skirt appeared to be made of the funnels she normally flew with, and she stood upon the ground with more normal shaped feet.

     Her blue eyes, which were closed, slowly opened as activity began to pass through the gate leading outside the cocoon.

     "You have arrived. Welcome." She states rigidly, bowing once before straightening back up. "The Administrator has been waiting. You may follow me." Without any further word spoken, the maid droid pivoted on her feet, and began to head for the western corridor.

     She did not bother to give her name or anything like that. She's just a cog in the machine. Don't bother with her, right? Get a move on, squishies.
William Pauwel Again with the mysterious room full of nothing but white. Will makes an uncomfortable sound and seems to cast a long stare down at his feet as they start on their way. It's only once he's sure his shadow ISN'T going to rise up to try and shoot him in the back does he turn his eyes up and finds...

That... Robot girl. She looks different though.

It's a good look for her! Much less... About to murder you with lasers, and actually capable of balancing on the ground instead of toppling over because her feet were also guns.

    They might still be guns, but that doesn't stop Will from being Will. "Oh, howdy!" Will grins as he sidles up behind the Killer RoboMaid. "So hey, uh. I wanted to ask the last time but you flew off 'fore I could!" A question that's been burning at the back of his head for weeks now, in fact! "I'm Will. Will Pauwel," the explorer tips his hat a politely. "Never did get your name, though! Mind if I ask what it is?"

damnit will
Reina Kinney Lowering her sword as she enters, Reina looks around at the white room with a slight look of suspicion and uneasiness as she makes her way in. She frowns a little at the appearance of this place, even though it should seem familiar to her by now. She looks at the droid and gives her a suspicious glance, but when the droid speaks, Reina eases up a little. She bows as best as she can in response.

    "Guess we're movin' out?" Reina says to the others, following behind the maid droid while snapping her fingers to de-equip her sword for now. She's got it ready to re-activate at a moment's notice, but for now decides to de-equip it since it appears things are peaceful enough.
Kazusa Ujikane     By the time everyone steps inside, Kazusa Ujikane has caught her breath.

    Mostly.

    She's settled down enough, at least, to be awed at the difference in the sphere this time. It's so much less... flashy. Grand. But in and of itself, that just makes it significant in a different way. They've been brought somewhere pristine and clean, no illusions or false realities. And... and there's a maid-droid.

    Kazusa's eyes might be sparkling a little.

    When their guide starts heading out, Kazusa jogs until she catches up, slowing down to a walk again only once she's right there next to Will.

    "...that maid outfit looks really good on you," she says after a short pause. "Have you considered trying out different costumes? I think they'd look adorable!"
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna takes a second or so to bow politely to the maid-droid, returning the courtesy which was shown to those arriving. The lack of obvious discontinuities between the outside and the inside is largely taken in stride ... although, she does find herself looking around rather more. "This is still a lot bigger than the Cocoon itself was ... it really is just a portal to somewhere else, isn't it?"

Elner does not reply - but the little robo-faerie is actively scanning, trying to collate map data in case the group has to find their way back to the 'receiving area' without guidance from the maidbot (or anyone else).

At Will and KAzusa gushing over the maid outfit, though, Yuna can't help but giggle as she glides along behind them. "The clothes might be part of her outer structure, for all we know ... the maid outfit suits her best, though, I think?" Even moreso than more combat-oriented clothes would, in her opinion.
Deelel Deelel sees a number of frimilar faces show up for this hopefully final mission or she hopes its the final one she keeps up with Yuna as she asks her question as she looks to her.

"We'll find out soon enough, my friend."5R
One way or another a they head onwards they reach the center as the robot girl appears once more. Deelel doesn't make a ostil move and they end up getting greeted without cause for a fight.

"Thank you for the welcome but may I ask your name? My ID's Deelel."

It seems Williamn and her have teh same idea in mind.
X "Hello." Replies X as his sensors clear and recalibrate. Not nearly as disoriented this time though, that's for sure. It takes him a moment to realize that he's not actually suffering from strange color blindness, everything REALLY IS that clean and empty here.

    Except for that other robot in the room. That's his proof that he's not suffering a malfunction...

    Will's behavior has him smiling a bit. As does Kazusa's. The latter of whom he shuffles up next to in case she needs his help.

    "I'm curious about your family. Mind if I ask who your creator is?" He asks the robot lady.
Lyner Barsett      Miss Robomaid does not seem inclined to make conversation. As Will sidles up to her, she does not miss a beat, het metal heels stepclacking along the smooth white floor at an even pace.

     "......."

     A moment passed, and then, without even so much as a blink, she speaks without an ounce of emotion. "Armiger Unit-0048. Designation: Phonon."

     Kazusa's comments are met with a rigid monotone as well. "Negative. My functions are maintenance, as well as long range termination of hostiles." Her eyes finally blink at that, which may have been the barest flicker of confusion that they would get out of the robot. "There is zero need for 'costumes'."

     This one was no fun.

     "Processing statement..." She pauses for a moment, working through Yuna's words over and over and over, before finally erroring out. "Error. Statement not compatible with reasoning systems. Discarding statement." Harsh.

     X's question is met with another emotionless reply. "My designated creator is Dr Lin Faolon." And that's it. She didn't say anything more. Not that she was hiding something. But more that it was all she was asked. Her creator.

     The walk through the western corridor is quiet and uneventful. No magically conjured guardians of the heart here to kill you on some Reyvateil's behalf. No. They finally step out into a new, equally white chamber. It's wide and spacious, and lining the walls all around are various computer systems. They're functioning perfectly well, and they all seem to be running data and calculations automatically.

     But the main features to take note of in this chamber are two things. One: The big, red crystal floating high above in some kind of protective, see through shell. All of that golden energy they've seen previously appears to be brimming within it. So this is where it was being draw to. The crystal also seems to be powering the computer systems, and perhaps much more, given that various cables are connected to the shell, which funnels energy through them now and then.

     The second: A large monitor fixed onto the wall at the very back of the chamber. It's there on the screen, that they can make out a girl floating within some sort of stasis pod. She is submerged in some kind of green liquid, her eyes closed, and some kind of breathing apparatus fixed onto her mouth.

     Her body, or what they can see of it anyway, seems to be grievously wounded, with stomach turning, gaping holes littering her body at varying sizes. They all go the way through, exposing flesh and bone fragment. There are numbers and charts on the monitor that appear to be keeping track of her vitals. Despite her horrible state, she is apparently barely alive, but her vitals are distressingly low.

     The stasis pod is clearly elsewhere. No way would they be taken directly to where it was, right? Right.

     A minor detail compared to what they've seen already, appears to be that another robomaid, looking almost identical to Phonon appears in th display, taking care of the area around the pod with an equally emotionless countenance. There are more of them.

     Phonon stops a few steps into the room, gesturing to the monitor at back. "We have arrived." She lowers her arm. Not batting at eye at the state of the girl on the monitor. Instead, she steps off to the side, arms settled in front of her, looking straight ahead at nothing. Her duty was apparently now done.

     ....But what now? Could they speak to a body in a stasis pod through a monitor? Because nothing was being said.

     "....." Lyner saw the state of the person on the monitor and grimaced. "Is that...her?"
X X was hoping for a more eloquent and emotional story. But apparently this girl's programming isn't terribly emotional. His expression's a bit sheepish and flustered for some of the walk that remains while he tries to ponder through questions like the best way to be polite to such a robot, or whether the concept's terribly applicable.

    The idea of a self-aware robot with no emotions is equal parts terrifying and disheartening...

    But his face shifts to a look of pure shock when they finally reach their destination. So much strange medical equipment! And his optics quickly analyze every detail of the girl in statsis' situation, the monitors... their meanings.

    "Is this what the drained energy's powering...?"
Kazusa Ujikane     "Well of course you don't /need/ costumes. The point is they're fun." Kazusa seems to have realized that Phonon is Miss Negative McRoboPants, and is slightly pouting. "...cosplaying robot defender made would have been way cool." Mutter grumble pout. She's going to stick to sullen silence for now, walking along with X and Will.

    But sullen silence transforms to quiet awe at the room they find themselves in... and then quiet, horrified worry at the image on the monitor. "Oh my god... what happened to her? Is... is that what this is all for? Trying to heal her, or... something?"
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna closes her eyes briefly at the sight of those injuries; even with the distance of the stasis pod and the monitor system, the wounds are grievous beyond Yuna's ability to simply look at them. "No wonder you were working so hard to protect her, Phonon," Yuna says softly. "I ... don't know if we can do anything to help her. We know people who could, but - if you needed medical help for her, you could have told us before." Her words aren't meant to be accusatory, just a statement of what she presumes to be fact in this situation.

Elner, on the other hand, is taking a rather interested-seeming look at the crystal, and the apparent power system attached to it. Presumably Elner's still scanning as much as can be scanned - although the robo-faerie will stop scanning if asked to do so.
Reina Kinney Reina goes wide-eyed at the sight of what's at their destination. It almost reminds her of the recent SEED experimentation facility that she raided a couple weeks ago. But she keeps a stiff upper lip and tries to remain calm and professional for this duration. She didn't really say much or do much, save for acknowledge Phonon's name when it was given. Other than that, she kept herself looking straight-faced...

    Until she saw the image in the monitor and her eyes went wide-eyed. She briefly placed her hand over her lips before removing them, her eyes still widened all the same. "Th-that's..." She trails off, unable to find the words she needs to complete her sentence.
William Pauwel     "Phonon, huh?" Will grins, finally having a name to put to the killer robomaid's face. "Well, s' good to finally meet y'all properly, miss Phonon. I gotta say, it's been a pretty wild ride. Glad to finally start figurin' out what's been goin' on here." And they're learning all kinds of things about her, too! Like who made her. And what her job was. This is very important information!

It means Will has more to look up later, too.

Not much longer, and they arrive at... Some kind of massive, glowing ruby? And...

And a girl, hooked up to what he can only assume to be some kind of life-support system.

    "What..." Will murmurs. "Y'all mean that all this power is just going to... Keepin' that girl alive? That's just..." He cups a hand over his mouth, and runs it down his face. "What *happened* to her? Is she healin' at all?"
Deelel Deelel does not press it with the robot maid too much but she smiles as she goes get the robot's name and she pauses at the robot and isn't sure what to think on that she does listen and starts to whistle a few bars of one of her own songs as they move on. They soon reach the rearch wing and she looks at the cocoon and grimces.

"Ho bad off is she....?"
Lyner Barsett      Phonon glances at Yuna, but she doesn't answer her.

     That's because soon after, a sound of footsteps can be heard from behind them, in the corridor they had come from. "I can answer that." A familiar, gruff voice states. Lyner turns around to find... Luke. It was Luke. "Luke! There you are!" He exclaimed, not having forgotten about the current situation, but seriously having needed to address the guy before him. "Where have you been? Tenba said they didn't know a thing about your disappearance."

     Luke snorts and then nods to Phonon. And finally, she speaks once more. "Master Luke has been here for several weeks now purusing our archives."

     Master Luke?

     He nods and then takes it from there, stepping forward, and then past everyone as he did. "That girl you see in the tank? Her name is Ayla. Ayla Es Sotiris." He stopped once he passed them, and frowned. "And she's been the curse of my family for centuries. He cracked a grim smile, and spoke on.

     "If you want to know what happened, then we have to dial the clock back." He turned around, grim smile dropping into a frown. "Centuries back. Back to the events that started everything." He looked up. Up at the huge crystal high above them, pausing momentarily before he went on.

     "And that event, is what would come to be called 'The Seven Bloodstains incident'. It was a time when two foolish nations fought an endless war, and in the end, one of them decided that using a weapon that could potentially wipe out a country, under suboptimal conditions, was a fantastic idea."

     He stopped there, to give everyone breathing room. How did he know all of this anyway? How did he even get inside without a song being sung first? So many questions, and he skipped all of that to begin his little storytime.
X "How the Sea of Death formed?" X postulates idly after taking all of these events in. He's been very quiet, just watching, listening, looking around, and thinking.

    "It always boils down to feuding... why...?"
Reina Kinney Reina nods a little, her expression looking neutral, but there's something about it that indicates she's really uneasy by this whole thing. A girl who's a family curse? Turning back the time? Seven Bloodstains Incident? Reina's really starting to freak out mentally. Behind those closed lips, she's gritting her teeth, trying not to show the shock she's feeling. In desperation, she fishes for her canteen and takes a sip of water (or some other drink that will quench her thirst and hopefully calm her nerves.)
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna turns to face Luke as he arrives, starting to greet him with a smile - which abruptly collapses into a confused look as Phonon calls him 'Master'. Before she can start asking questions, though, Lute starts dishing out answers. A lot of them.

Some of which just spark more questions ... and some of those are very worrisome. "Centuries ago ... back when there were actual *nations* on this planet -"

The color abruptly drains from Yuna's face. "Are you saying," she whispers, "that the Sea of Death, the Blast Line .... all of that was because of somebody's superweapon?"

Somehow, 'seven bloodstains' seems like it's a massive understatement ... but even though she's hovering due to being in Flight Form, Yuna finds herself leaning heavily on the edge of a counter or something, and looking like she really needs to sit down. Or maybe needs to curl up in a ball or something. Apart from her question, though, Yuna is quiet.
Kazusa Ujikane     "I knew it!"

    Kazusa is pointing straight at Luke.

    "...I-I mean... I made a lot of guesses, but... one of them was right! Kind of."

    She pauses, then frowns. The story Luke is telling is already taking a turn for the tragic, and it's just starting. This sounds... not good. Especially if X and Yuna are right. But for now, she remains quiet.

    but she totally called it
William Pauwel That's... Luke! "Is this where y'all disappeared to!?" Will gawps, staring daggers in a Luke-ward direction. "We were worried sick about you, you know?" The adventurer breathes a long sigh as the world begins to shift around him. But... They'll be getting answers.

Particularly interesting answers, at that.

    "It ain't so far-fetched, Miss Kagurazaka," Will says after a moment. He leans back on a convenient nearby wall, arms crossing over his chest. "The Ancients of my world did somethin' similar, or so people say. One day there was civilization, the next, it all went up in smoke."

"But..." he grunts, glancing towards the girl in the tank again. "What's that got to do with her? Or are you sayin' that SHE'S the superweapon?"
Deelel Deelel listens as the story plays out and she frowns.

"So they went to format the entire drive....?"

She can't understand such weapons try as she might. It's just not rational it's not glitcheds thinking it's viral thinking as far as she's concerned. She's very quiet now and she listens to the others talk she looks to Yuna, X and Kazusa and the basic is at a loss for words.
Lyner Barsett      Luke shakes his head. "No. Ayla wasn't the superweapon." He crossed his arms and turned around to face the monitor that was showing her vitals. "She was the cure for mankind's stupidity. She was to be our answer to the planet itself. An apology, and an plea for forgiveness." He smirked, despite finding no humor in it all.

     "The superweapon that helped set this planet on the path to destruction? ...We're standing on it. And I don't mean here. I mean all of it. This damn tower. Everything." The man in black armor waved an arm all around to indicate Sol Ciel itself. "During the war, the people of the country that controlled this tower harnessed it as a weapon against their enemies. ...But their enemies saw through their plans and jammed the tower through some method."

     He smirked. "But people are stupid. And you know what? They fired anyway. They fired their damn weapon, and what happened? The jammed frequencies caused the energy not to attack their enemies. No, they flowed into the core of the planet itself, piercing through the crust, and shattering the heart of the planet." He closed his eyes then. "The Sea of Death? That was the eventual result. The punishment for humanity's idiocy."

     But this story wasn't over. "N.W.R.P." Luke stated, opening his eyes. "The New World Restoration Project. Otherwise known as Project Sotiris." He turned around to face Ayla's monitor. "That was the project that a man named Dr Lin Faolon came up with." He shook his head. "He came up with the radical theory that maybe the planet itself has a will. And if the Seven Bloodstains Incident damaged that will, then there was only one way to fix everything that happened. Clearing the Sea of Death? That's not going to help in the long run."

     Luke turned to face everyone. "What he came up with, was a project to construct a Reyvateil. A Reyvateil whose body frequency aligned with that of the planet itself. If they could communicate with the planetary will, then they could come to an understanding. To apologize. To fix things."

     He shook his head. "...But things are never that simple."
Yuna Kagurazaka If nothing else, being able to sit down takes some burden off of Erina - and Yuna does try to keep her partners' well-being in mind when she's using one of her alternate forms. She settles into a nearby seat, the faint hum of thrusters fading away as gravity's hold is allowed to secure itself on Yuna again.

She still looks kind of weakened by the revelations - but Yuna continues listening to Luke. Any questions she could think of right now are already being covered pretty well ... except for one: 'how could people be THAT STUPID?' But she doesn't ask - it's kind of beside the point, centuries after the damage was done. If nothing else, Yuna is intensely grateful that *her* version of Earth managed to avoid a similarly self-destructive fate ...
Kazusa Ujikane     For the time being, Kazusa remains silent, though her face is easy enough to read. It's a troubling story, deeply so. Just... callously using the towers' energy like that? Despite the dangers? That was stupid. And generations have been paying for it ever since. It's a rare moment of maturity from Kazusa, and she doesn't even realize it.

    "...but what if the planet turned out not to have a will of its own after all...?" she murmurs, more to herself than anyone else.
Reina Kinney Reina takes a seat and nods a little, listening intently to what's being told. Unlike Yuna who wonders how people could be THAT stupid, Reina doesn't bother wondering. She has always lived by the belief that common sense isn't exactly as common as one might think anymore. In fact, Reina thinks that having common sense is a big skill within itself. So she doesn't seem too fazed right now. Which is interesting considered how much the revelations have fazed her...
William Pauwel     Will's smarter than he looks. He's a country bumpkin by anyone's reckoning. His twang's about as thick as half-cooled molasses, and his geniality is something straight out of the perfect pastoral country town. But he's sharp. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be in the business he'd decided to drop himself into.

"That's why she's wounded the way she is?" Will asks, cutting through the (quite frankly supervillain-ish) window dressing. "Seven bloodstains, seven wounds cut right into her. Then there was the thing that hit us the last time; that was called Seven Bloodstains, too, wasn't it? And if her body's synched up with the planet... somehow--"

The concept of a *living* planet is evidently kind of hard for him to grasp.

    "--Then that'd explain why she's in the state she is. And why, fer all the miracles miss Misha's made real so far, her wounds don't heal." The explorer inclines his head, shrugging mildly. "Am I close? I guess it don't matter much. Question is... what happens now?"

Because Luke is kind of sounding like someone who's about to break into a rant about why the people of the tower don't deserve their energy, and that this girl deserves life more, or something or other like that. Will's read enough stories! He knows how these go!

But for once, he kind of hopes that life's more complicated than the stories make it out to be.
X X WOULD sit down if he was the type to get dizzy or nauseous. As a robot he isn't, but... he does sort of jitter where he stands.

    This is giving him some really odd vibes. A few flashbacks of a face he barely remembers. A voice talking of hope and potential and a better future.

    "They never are." He agrees simply, unsure what else to say yet. The blue robot's frowning, head slightly bowed. A somber air's settled in around him for the moment as this story's fa, FAR too sad...
Deelel Deelel face becomes one of abject horror as the story is played out the basic tries to open her mouth but nothing happens she just stops trying to talk and listens now she ges a pained look on her face of hearing abotu Users decending to such madness it's not a pretty nor a happy story She dos listen there's some hope but it doesn't seem that there' going to be a way to do this or is there? She just slumps now...still there's hope and she's go to cling on to that.
Lyner Barsett      Luke recrosses his arms and closes his eyes. Silence falling for several moments as the others speak their minds. "You're close, Will. But there's a misconception here. Those wounds weren't given to her by the Seven Bloodstains incident." He looked aside. "Those were given to her by people. The very same people she trusted. The people that Dr Faolon worked with on Project Sotiris. In their ranks, was a traitor. An interloper."

     He sighs. "Right as the project was going into its final stages, and Ayla was set to fulfill her duty, with this place to be her Cradle of Hope, they struck." He spread his arms. "Most of the staff were killed. Ayla herself was nearly killed, as was Dr Faolon." When was this story going to get better. "However, Dr Faolon survived. ...But the incident, the destruction of that project, was also the destruction of his dreams for a better world. Instead, he decided that people weren't worth saving."

     Luke closed his eyes, shaking his head again, as if this story were somehow pathetic. "...He hooked Ayla up to that pod, and changed the original functions of the Cradle of Hope, into those of this Phantom Cocoon. Instead of going down to the core of Ar Ciel and making contact with the Planetary Wills... this place was instead set to draw energy out of the tower itself. With only one purpose"

     He opened his eyes. "To send everything crashing into the Sea of Death." He jerked a thumb towards the monitor. "It was simple. In theory. Using dive theory, and applying her inner voice to the outside world...Ayla would sing songs. Those songs would control the cocoon, and rerout energy from the Plasma Bell to here. Slow and deliberate. Over the course of centuries. ...And now it's nearing the end point."

     But then Luke stops. He turns his back on everyone, and faces the monitor fully. "Dr Faolon went on to found my family. And with his blood, come this cursed Reyvateil. ...I've decided that I won't let this go on any longer." He turns to face everyone with a resolute expression.

     "I'm going to kill that girl, destroy this cocoon, and keep this land from falling and killing everyone, due to the hatred of one man. That's my answer, as his descendant. The world has no need of a ghost from the past."

     "Not anymore."
William Pauwel     Will was... Off the mark. So terribly, awfully off the mark. The explorer produces a sound that's halfway between a snarl and a growl as the truth comes out. He tilts the lip of his hat down to cover his eyes. Why would anyone do something like that? Who would go out of their way just to... what? To sabotage an effort meant to save the world?

What kind of person gets to be that hateful? That... Full of malice.

    No. No, that's not important now. Not *why* or *how.* What's important is what's right here, right now.

What's at risk is an entire nation. A tower full of innocent people who, because of one man's broken dreams, are about to be sent plummeting into a literal Sea of Death.

But...

But--!

    "That ain't right either!" Will suddenly snaps, pushing off the wall. "You're going to kill a girl just for bein' an accessory to the worst day of somebody's life. I ain't about to say that the entire tower should die just to save her, but *killin'* her just like that is just answerin' one wrong turn with another!"

"You said that her powers were inverted," Will murmurs, turning to stare at the girl in the video feed. Vulnerable, half-dead already. She never got a chance to really live, and that...

That's just...

    "You said the theory's simple, isn't it? Dive theory. She's singin' from the inside, those painful, lonely songs. But that means that we can go in there, too. Nobody here needs to die. We just need to go and undo whatever it was your... your ancestor did to her. We need to fix what the bastard what ruined everything did. Make her realize that this world don't need to suffer for the sins of the past."

    Maybe offin' her would fix things, would stop everything. But the Sea of Death is *still there.* That girl's the best shot we got at ever fixin' it, inn't she?" Will breathes, resting a fist against the video panel. "Killin' her without tryin' to make things *right* means that all of the doctor's dreams really were worthless. That just don't sit right with me. Don't sit right at all."

He turns, staring out at Luke from under the shadow of his hat. "How much time do we have, Luke? Y'all've been looking at this longer than any of us. How long 'till it's too late to turn back?"
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna's voice is quiet and sad as she asks, "Is there any way we can save her? She's been through so much already, she shouldn't have to die just to stop the destruction of this tower ..."

Elner, ever the voice of reason, points out, "Her injuries may be so severe that she'd never be able to survive outside of that stasis pod. Based on what we can see, I wouldn't be surprised if she would die immediately upon the termination of stasis, life support or no. A clean death might -"

"DON'T TELL ME THAT, ELNER!!!" Yuna shouts, very close to an outright scream of grief. "You know me better than that ... !"

There's a faint shimmer across Yuna's armor. Not like the overcharge that builds up when she's about to go all-out, though; this is closer to the opposite - a darkening, a *loss* of power rather than an accumulation of it. It's just a brief flicker, but Elner goes quiet.
X X's attention SNAPS to full alert at this. He's going to kill her? Over something that wasn't her fault? Over something that maybe... just maybe.... they can change?! "You're going to WHAT?!"

    William proves a hundred times more eloquent than he though.

    "William's right. That has to be an option. Haven't you heard her songs? Ayla needs help, and soon. If there's any reasonable amount of time left we /have/ to make that attempt. A life's at stake here!"

    Although... the needs of the many outweigh the one, if they should fail...
Deelel Deelel listens as the tale goes on and the level of horror /grows/. Luke has a plan to stop this but as he speaks about it? Her eyes narrow and she summons her keyblade, okay if that's how he wants to play it. The topic comes up tht there can be something to do here. Maybe nothing can be done for the sleeping woman but for Luke? She can keep him from the same bloody path as his ancesto did in a way she however has the duel disc redy and she looks at him for a moment almost coldy.

"I do understand the needs of the many out weigh the few or the one, however. IF there is enough time an attempt should be made for the sake of atoneing for what you ancestor not only did to the world but did to /her/."
Misha     Misha has been silent up to this point... Reaching this far, and finding her suspicions confirmed? That Luke knew much more than he let on- that he was more than a simple Tenba employee... It wasn't so much that it surprised it, it surprised her that she had been right to think it important to keep an eye on the man.
    The Star Singer had sat with the others, silent and grim-faced as Luke regaled them of a history long past; of a time when the towers- the very tower that she was born on- was originally made as a weapon. Of when the world had become so injured by the follies of man that people had to retreat to live on the tower they had created.
    It's a story that echoes so very close to the one Lady Shurelia, the tower administrator had grudgingly shared of the reasons for Mir's near genocidal rampage and near success in the destruction of human life- of how the first wing of Horus fell into the Sea of Death and took so many lives.
    It is a dark shadow that shrouds over the Star Singer's face. Because it is something of a story that strikes too close to home for her.
    A lonely girl. Made for a purpose. Locked in a cage. Treated like a tool. Possibly scared and alone, and only able to do nothing but sing.
    That is how Mir was born.
    When Mir was sealed away afterwards, it was the purpose of every member of the Lune bloodline, herself included, were bred for, to keep that threat forever sealed under lock and key. Until...
    Jade eyes flick up. It is such a sorroful look the Star Singer gives towards Lyner Barsett, quietly weighing a dark option in her heart. A slow breath and Misha Arsellec Lune rises. Her feet carry her on a smooth path for Luke, stopping herself just in front of him.
    The blow is not gentle in the least.
    The resounding -crack- seems to echo almost forever as she strikes the young man across the face full on, with every ounce of strength her body can muster, a physical act that puts her feelings succinctly into one single action, rather than any mournful song. And it's not anywhere close to gentle. It's not the flat of her palm, but the blow comes wholeheartedly from the back of her hand, jade eyes blazing with a fury that enables her to completely shrug off the numb feeling and pain that comes with a potentially broken knuckle.
    "How dare you...?"
    Even the whisper carries. "How dare you?" She asks again. "You're going to just... Kill her out of hand? After all she's been through? She doesn't deserve that... It doesn't matter what she was made for. She's a person. She's not some tool that can be thrown away when not working as intended. Reyvateils are people, not tools or weapons or singing dolls." She says now, voice getting louder, shrill even as she motions for injured body in the tank.
    "She's hurt. Not just physically but emotionally too- you've heard her singing as well as the rest of us..." Misha finally calms, if only marginally, curling her fingers with a small wince.
    "This is just like what people did to Mir. They made her for a purpose. And when that went wrong they sealed her away. If it wasn't for Lyner and the others back then, she might have been killed out of hand, if she continued to go wild. Except there's no stopgap for Ayla is there?"
    This is where she pauses, another glans to the others. Kazusa. X, William, William, Deel. And finally Lyner. People she considers friends by this point. Much more in one case.
    "If she was born to save the world, she doesn't deserve to die because she didn't. ... If there's no other option. If we can't heal her mind or body, I can be that stopgap." There's a beat's pause. "I, Misha Arsellec Lune, 31st Star Singer, will sing to her. And she'll sleep. She'll sleep, peacefully."
    It is a heavy offer. One that goes against every ounce of freedom she had craved for so long, back in those old and dark days. One she can't meet Lyner's gaze as she makes it.
Kazusa Ujikane     Through all this, Kazusa is quiet. Everyone else, they're all making the points she'd like to make, probably better worded than she'd make them. All asking the questions she'd like to ask. She's only just managed to form into thoughts the basic sentiment of 'I don't want her to die, there has to be another way', when...

    Slap.

    Someone might have to pick Kazusa's jaw up off the floor.

    "...no, we can't... we can't just put her to sleep. ...we... we have to find a way to save her," the girl finally mumbles. "Not just seal her away. Not just stop the problem for now. We have to find a way to /fix/ this. Somehow... somehow we've gotta stop this for good." Or it's just gonna come back later, somehow. And either end in Ayla's death, or the deaths of lots of other people.
Lyner Barsett      Lyner frowned. And frowned hard. This entire story...he heard some of it from Shurelia, back when they were journeying to stop Mir's rampage. So many parellels were being drawn here, but the difference... Mir had a stopgap. Ayla Es Sotiris does not have a stopgap. If she stops singing, she dies.

     It's a cruel trap constructed from one mans hatred for humanity. She was being used as a tool. It didn't sit right with him. It didn't sit right with him at all. He met Misha's gaze, and then followed her form as she stepped right up to Luke and-

     CRACK.

     "M-Misha!" Finally snapping out of his stupor from all of the information they've all had to process, he steppes forward, to Misha's side and just a bit in front of her. And he spoke. "...Luke, the people of Sol Ciel do't deserve to die for the bitter feelings of Dr Faolon. ...But that doesn't mean that I can just accept Ayla's death like that! There has to be a way to save her!"

     He threw an arm out to the side. "If not here on Sol Ciel then maybe Metafalss! And if not Metafalss, then maybe Sol Cluster! ...And if there's nothing that can save her on Ar Ciel, then....then what about the Multiverse! THere are infinite worlds out there! One of them should be able to heal her, right?" Even moreso than letting her live to fulfill er duty, Lyner wanted her to live in order to have a life as a normal person. Something that was stolen from her unfairly.

     Dialing back the clock a bit, Luke's face violently jerked from the none too gentle slap that Misha gave him. ".....!" His eyes widened, and pain blossomed out from his cheek. He was silent for a few seconds, and then he turned his head back to face Misha and the others. "It doesn't matter if she's a Reyvateil or a human being. She's all but dead, her life being sustained only by dooming this land to death." He wipes is cheek, tasting a little blood, but not minding it terribly in the face of this situation. "You think I /want/ to do this? No, I don't. If there was a path to saving her without dooming Sol Ciel, then I would take it. But I'm not going to hold onto lofty ideals and what ifs. The needs of many outweigh the needs of one. If Ayla's death will save Sol Ciel, then she and this damn cocoon should die."

     He lowered his arm, fist clenched at his side. "This isn't some fantastical storybook where the heroes win the day and save the princess from the dragon before prancing off into the sunset happily ever after. This is the REAL WORLD, where the lives of countless people are at stake. All because one man decided 'I'll use the fragments of my broken dreams to doom humanity to death'. You want to save her, instead of Sol Ciel? Is that it?"

     Luke looks at Will next. "You want to Dive into Ayla? What good would diving into her broken wind serve? You're already seen what happens when she sings. The worlds she creates. They're nothing but the death throes of a girl forgotten by time. The best thing to do for her now would be to give her a clean death. Just like that thing over there says." He crosses his arms. "And let's say we dive into her, convince her she doesn't need to sing. She stops singing, she dies. She KEEPS singing, Sol Ciel dies." He frowned darkly, looking aside. "....I don't know. Given her rate of deterioration, if she stops singing now...maybe a month or two."

     He shook his head. "But there's a big damn if. You're going to have to dive into her, convince her to stop singing, at the expense of her own life, and then what? What are you going to do?" He gestures to Lyner. "Go to Metafalss? Sol Cluster? Try to find something in the Multiverse? What?"

     And then Misha volunteers. And with that declaration, Luke gives the Star Singer a snide look. "Heh. ...You'll sing for her? And do what? Keep her barely alive for the rest of your life? What the hell's that going to accomplish? You'll sacrifice your own life for the sake of someone who's barely alive? And toss away everything you've ever worked for?"
Lyner Barsett Lyner meanwhile turns to stare at Misha, stunned. "....Misha...you can't be serious..." He had already forgotten about her TWICE before, and THEN asked her to sing in the Crescent Chronicle against her wishes previously. ...Sure, he came back for her, but....but this? "....There has to be another way!"

     At this point, Phonon, who has been impassively listening to all this tragedy speaks up. "If I may." She turns to everyone. "It would be prudent of me to describe the original function of this Cradle of Hope." She gestured to the red stone above. "The Administrator is tasked with taking this Heart of Gaia down into the depths of Ar Ciel, using this structure as a ship."

     She lowered her arm. "By moving at speeds that exceed the Sea's ability to destroy, theoretically, it is considered possible to make it to the core. And there, The Administrator is to present this Heart of Gaia to the Planetary Wills while seeking their voices." Blinking slowly, the robot stopped. "That is the Cradle of Hope's original function. You are now fully informed."
Misha     "I don't want to do it." Misha whispers, to Kazusa at first. "I want to live. And be free. And see the world.." The Reyvateil says, voice trembling, now more directly to both Kazusa AND Lyner. "It's what I always wanted, when I sang to keep Mir asleep. I want to find a better way. But I'm serious. If I have to, I'll do it for her. Not to be her jailer, like I was for Mir. But so that she can have someone with her. Someone there to not just let her die, alone hurting, singing so mournfully. Or killing everyone as a result."
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna inclines her head to Phonon - really a slow, solemn nod - and reaches up to dry her eyes with her gloved hands. "What can I do to help? I don't know if Elner can do anything to help restore or sustain her body, but if there's anything that she or I can do, or the rest of the Matrix of Light, then I want to help. Getting Ayla to the core of Ar Ciel ... if that's her best chance to live, I'll do whatever I can to help."

Process of elimination, really. If the only other options are to deliver a mercy kill (which Yuna clearly considers a non-starter) or a slow, lingering death which would likely wipe out what life Ar Ciel supports, then of *course* Yuna is going to cling to that third option. And judging by how she leaves her seat and goes over to hug Misha, she doesn't really consider the Reyvateil's offer a much better option either.

Not that Yuna says anything to Misha. She just tries to hug her. Because it sounded like she really, REALLY needs one.
Reina Kinney Usually, Reina is more of a stoic woman, not showing much emotion personally. But when she watches Misha and then observes Yuna, Reina joins in the effort to try to comfort Misha. She tries to speak but can't find the right words. Instead she just tries to join the hug and help calm Misha down. Showing that Reina does, indeed, have a caring side to her.
X "I don't understand." X announces. "All that time and energy, all this technology... why hasn't her wounds healed? They look ALMOST fresh, and now you say she's running out of time to live. Something's not adding up right..." X is left staring, disbelievingly, at the proceedings. Though his attention's largely on the girl in the stasis pod, eyes focused hard and full of concern.
Kazusa Ujikane     Misha's words... they hurt. Just hearing that heartbreak in the reyvateil's voice is painful. But it's Luke's that have pushed the quiet one over the edge.

    It's probably the last thing anyone expected from the quiet, physically frail little nerd. He's got at least six inches of height and a hundred pounds on her, quite probably more. It's like watching David decide to get in Goliath's face.

    Kazusa is now in front of Luke. And grabbing him by the collar and /pulling/ downward so that his face is close to hers.

    "Not a storybook?! /NOT A STORYBOOK/?! HAVE YOU /LOOKED AROUND YOU/?! We're here with a super advanced robot who can copy weapons and think for himself and shoot energy! A living computer program! We've got a magical girl here, a real, living breathing one in the flesh, and we've got a girl who makes magic just by singing! And me! I've got these cards here!"

    She has one in her hand now; it's The Magus, expended. "See this?! I used it to BECOME MISHA! I was a reyvateil for a while! By using a card! /THAT I GOT FROM A UNICORN GRANTING ME A WISH!/ And- and-" She holds up her left arm next, showing off her Master's command spells. "You see /THIS/? This is a magical contract between me and a legendary hero! I grew up reading stories about her, thinking she was my favorite, thinking I'd love to be her friend so she wouldn't be so lonely and NOW I AM! Now she's my best friend and my protector and I've turned into her too!"

    Kazusa finally lets go, but she's still fuming. "Don't give me that 'this isn't a storybook' crap! Have you even /tried/ to find a solution?! Have you actually stopped and thought, 'Maybe these people from other worlds have some way to save her, or if they don't maybe they can find it'? Or did you just... did you just /decide/ that we wouldn't be able to do it? /Decide/ that it was impossible, that she had to die and it was the only way and just TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT like a selfish jerk instead of maybe, just possibly, TRUSTING US TO FIX IT?! WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU'D BEEN STRAIGHT WITH US FROM THE BEGINNING, HUH?!"

    Her shoulders are heaving. By this point, she's so furious she's crying. She's rapidly losing steam on the angry train, purely because it's so exhausting for her. But even now, she's glaring at him defiantly.
X At Kazusa's outburst X can't help but turn and watch. Partially just surprised at the yelling. But more and more in quiet awe. Mouth slightly ajar and eyes wide, it's pretty clear he didn't expect such a speech.
Deelel Deelel keeps her blade ready but she does not raise it she watches Misha step in this is her place she listens for a moment but her eyes narrowing a bit at this. She holds up the Keyblade in hand she does not do it hostility she notes calmy.

"This is hope given form, that is what a Keyblade truly is. You seem obessed with killing her are you so blind to see your obessed like your ancestor is the wish to wipe away all of his work good or bad, that's it isn't it?"
William Pauwel     Will watches as Misha... Misha bears her heart. Her pain is clear in her voice, in her action, in that single, roaring thunderclap of her hand against Luke's face. Emotion spills over left and right. Kazusa comes after Misha figuratively catches fire. Their feelings wash over him like a tide.

The answer is clear.

    There's no 'if.' In Will's mind, there's only one thing now. The problem is laid out to him. The only obstacle that remains is to solve it. It's the mind of an engineer; the soul of a problem-solver more than a simple explorer. "It's exactly because of her songs," Will says after a moment. He's seated, now. His elbows rest on his knees, his hands are folded up just over the bridge of his nose. The rim of his hat hides his eyes, but the lower lids twitch as his eyes swim, as if sorting through walls of information with flickers of gaze. "You've heard them. She's not singing for herself. That is not a *HEALING* song! She's in pain, and she's lashin' out! She's alone, she's in pain. But she brought us here anyway."

Does she want to die?

Is that what it's all meant?

Well, there are people around who ain't about to let that happen!

    "But it's in her songs. Y'all said that songs make the singer's feelings real. Well, if she ain't feeling like there's anything worth livin' for, then of course she ain't gettin' better." The Chaser grunts, unfolding his hands, resting his forearms now on his lap. He leans in, the gears continue to turn. "So we'll just have to heal her *for* her, whether she wants it or not. The first thing we need to do is make sure her body doesn't give out while we're divin' into her. We can do that, I've been broken worse than I've ever seen, and y'all've brought me back from that."

"So we do that. We get everything stable. Then we dive into her mind. We fix her body best we can, then we pull her out of the cage she's trapped in and get her to do the rest," he says, staring up at Luke and the others. "This ain't a fairy tale, pardner. This is real life. And that means we ain't limited by the story someone else wrote however many hundreds of years ago."

He glances over towards Phonon, then, and turns his eyes up toward the red gem overhead.

"We can't just let it end like this. Considerin' all the good this here machine can do, and all that girl was made for. Just ain't right."
Lyner Barsett      Luke's eyes widen a tad as Kazusa steps up and PULLS him down to be eye level with her. He just blinks, dumbfounded as she basically yells her tirade into his face. Once let up, he does do, fixing his sweater collar and rolling his neck with a frown. "...Feh." He scoffs lightly, but...it seems like he's run out of words for these do-gooders. These hero extraordinaries.

     He looks toward Deelel and her keyblade then, frown enduring at her words. "...Maybe I am, but this is for the good of people living in this moment. Not a ghost from the past, not the uncertain future, but now." But it seemed like these people weren't going to hear that. No they weren't.

     And then there's Will. Luke looks over at him, listening. "Stablize her in a medical facility, then dive into her? Is that it?" He turned away to look at the monitor, where Ayla's barely alive, wounded body floated in a vat of life sustaining solutions. ".....Tch-" He turned away from the sight of her and faced everyone present. Misha, who was being comforted by Yuna, Reina, and Lyner. Kazusa, who was rapidly losing her angry steam. X, Deelel, and Will who were asking the important questions and offering solutions...

     He closes his eyes and sighs heavily.

     "Fine."

     His eyes open. "If you think you can do it, then take your damn Multiverse technology, do whatever you think you can do to keep her stable, and then dive into her." He crossed his arms, frowning supremely. "We'll try your way first. And when it fails? Then we're doing things my way."

     Phonon, who continued to stand stock still off to the side, remained largely stoic. ...At first glance. Closer inspection would reveal her lips upturning just a little bit.

     Just a little.
X That's a detail that X actually notices, if only due to the way his optics processing works. He blinks just once... he'd pegged Phonon as emotionless... now what?

    But apart from turning his head briefly to peer at her, he does nothing to address her. Instead... instead he turns to face Luke and smiles, relief flooding his entire manner as his shoulders relax slightly.

    "That's all we can really ask for. If it comes down to that we /don't/ have a right to endanger everyone else for one. But there's still some time remaining. Let's use it to make things better. If you ask me... what I got from those lyrics wasn't just pain... also sorrow... loneliness. Isn't wanting someone to come help the entire reason for crying out when you're in pain? In this case it's singing."

    Because LOGIC, why not?

    "Best case scenario... maybe a far-off dream... what if she recovers and becomes what she was meant to be? What if the plan works and the planet's mended? I don't pretend to understand how that works for this world, but Dr. Faolon must have known what he was doing."
Yuna Kagurazaka "It's not a matter of 'thinking' we can do it, Luke," Yuna finally speaks again, slowly relaxing out of hugging Misha and looking - almost but not quite glaring - at Luke. "We *will* do it, because neither of the outcomes you laid out are acceptable. Even if it's impossible, we will *make* it possible."

She pauses, smiling (finally) and bowing politely to Phonon. "Thank you for your help, I look forward to carrying out this operation." She hesitates briefly, then asks, "I'm not a Reyvateil, just a regular singer, but - if I sang something to Ayla, to reach out to her heart and lift her spirits, do you think it would do any good ... ?"

She might linger long enough to sing to Ayla anyway, even if it won't do the ancient Reyvateil any good. Admittedly, a part of it is likely that Yuna could usefully sing something for *her* sake - but she's not about to admit that openly to the others, not right now anyway.
Reina Kinney Meanwhile, Reina takes her time to check on everyone before looking to Misha and then the others, then back to Misha again. "It's gonna be OK, don't worry," Reina says gently. A small but noticeable smile of reassurance can be seen on her face as she talks. She looks to Yuna and gives her a slight nod as if to say, "Thank you for helping me."
Lyner Barsett      Phonon glanced at X, her smile gone as soon as it was noticed. She says nothing to him either. And then she looks towards Yuna. "Master Sotiris can hear. But she cannot respond." The Robomaid bows a bit. "If it is your desire to stay behind and do so, then I will not object. As long as you pose no threat." A robot to the end, huh?
William Pauwel A chance.

    A single chance to save a life. That's all they'd get-- but with any luck, that's all they'd need. Will sighs as he rises from his chair, rubbing tiredly at the back of his neck as the full weight of the situation sinks onto his shoulders. "Well y'all, it looks like we've got our work cut out for us, huh?"

Fortunately, they don't exactly have to do it on their own.

    "'Course, there ain't nothing to do now but the trying," the Chaser grins, rolling his shoulders in a weary, but ready motion. "Don't you think too bad of extraversal medical technology, Luke! They put me back together after I got chucked through two walls and straight into a building! It'll be fine."

And then there's... Phonon.

DON'T THINK WILL DIDN'T SEE THAT SMILE, ROBUTT.

BECAUSE HE TOTALLY DID.

It's just that it was gone so soon after that it's impossible for him to actually tell if it was really there, or if it was a trick of the light.

BUT THE NEXT TIME!!
Misha     To her credit. After her outburst, Misha has slid into a glacial calm. Yet Yuna and Reina will find her tense- nearly flinching from the contact before allowing it. Taking long, silent moments to retreat into her own thoughts. The fear of being locked up forever all over again- and this time willingly. It was not something she had expected to even throw onto the table, let alone not something she even knows if she can truly go through with. It is why she lets herself sink silently into the moment of support and camaraderie, only now able to look into her fiance's eyes with a silent stare of pained determination, paying Luke's snide rejoinder no mind in the least.
    Until it is Kazusa next who unleashes her feelings- who pointedly informs Luke with undeniable evidence and fact of storybook hopes and dreams coming true.
    It is with a gentle hand and a vague 'I'll be alright' that she eases Reina and Yuna off her her. And it is that same hand- not the injured one- that sets softly on Kazusa's shoulders, somewhere towards the middle of her justified furor and tirade. But she does not STOP the girl. She simply waits until she's done.
    She's right. There can be a storybook ending.
    There was one for Misha.
    There was one for Lady Shurelia.
    There was even one for Mir.
    So why not for Ayla?
    "She's not a ghost of the past." The Star Singer says, softly; already putting an arm around Kazusa and pulling the weeping girl to her chest.
    "She's still alive."
    ... It is a long, long, long moment before she adds in her next after thought very softly.
    "... My hand hurts."
Kazusa Ujikane     "Hrmpf-!" Kazusa was not expecting to be pulled into a hug, but her emotional outburst was draining enough that all she can do is just sort of slump into it. There's a shudder or two of her shoulders before they relax, and the bookworm just kind of... quietly stands there, trying to recover.

    But there is one word that still escapes Kazusa with surprising fervor from the girl. "If." There's emphasis there. Emphasis on a single word, a single syllable, that says everything about the difference in worldviews.

    "/If/ it fails." She's looking squarely at Luke.
Lyner Barsett      Lyner smiles and looks towards Luke. "One chance is all we'll need. Ayla won't die, and either will Sol Ciel. We'll make sure of that." He looked off towards Misha as she comforted Kazusa, and nodded to himself. "No one has to be locked up in chains ever again." He turned to look towards Ayla's body in the monitor, still grimacing a bit at the sight of her. "We'll make sure of it."