Location: Main hall of the headquarters of the Fourth Branch, Crystal Rose
Nyx was sitting on one of the main hall's benches, casually chatting with Vanessa and Nyx-R. Beatrice was at the infirmary, receiving treatment for her depleted magical energy reserves.
- "So, do we have the same favorite foods? Mine is apple pie." Nyx says.
- "I am partial to any dishes consisting of beef imported from Utopia." Nyx-R replies. "I cannot stand local beef, strangely enough."
- "Even though we're the same person? That's weird…"
- "We are a collection of different experiences. It is perfectly normal."
- "..." Vanessa stares at the entrance of the tower. "Did anyone notice that it sounds like they stopped fighting outside?"
- "Is that so?" Nyx-R turns. "I see my son! And who is that with him?... Oh."
Nyx-R immediately gets up, a tense look on her face. Nyx follows her gaze, and sees Calliope float through the entrance as the giant glass gates open by themselves. Julian was following right behind her, his eyes darting around the room in panic.
- "Greetings, people of Crystal Rose." Calliope declares as the main hall falls completely silent. "I apologize for taking so long to resolve the situation. You will soon be able to return to your peaceful lives. Unfortunately, many will not get that luxury. On that note…" Her eyes emit a powerful neon blue glow, even as her face remains expressionless. "I am here to apprehend the entity responsible for these events. Their name is Nyx."
A single hand raises above the crowd. Julian audibly swears.
- "That's me!" Nyx shouts.
- "Greetings, Lady Calliope. That would also happen to be me." Nyx-R adds.
- "...I appreciate your honesty." Calliope answers, before hovering above the crowd to reach them. She stops in front of Nyx-R, looking down at her. "Why do you both claim to be Nyx?"
- "Because we are/It should be obvious that we are." Nyx and Nyx-R reply.
- "...It does seem that you are the same entity. A divided spirit?... Yes, that appears to be the case. I will rephrase: which part of you caused this?"
- "Me." Nyx firmly replies. "It's not anyone else."
- "So you recognize being responsible for all the deaths that occurred tonight."
- "Yes."
- "Very well. You are hereby arrested on multiple counts of facilitating terrorist activity."
A wave of black and blue energy suddenly surges around Nyx, swallowing her in an instant. The next second, she was completely gone.
- "This couldn't be any worse…" Julian whispers as the crowd closes in on them, asking for answers. He could see Agnes in the distance, staring at the ground and biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
Date: July 27th, 7:00 AM Location: High security dimensional prison, Headquarters of the Second Branch
Nyx is woken up by the sound of knocking on a metal door. She was in a small cell with walls made of metal, and a brick floor. The only source of light was an elaborate metal furnace burning with blue flames in the corner of the room, feeding magical energy to the white gold handcuffs around her wrists. She was wearing a simple green jumpsuit, instead of her high-end dress tailored by Vincent. The sliding peephole of the door is opened, and she sees a pair of eyes looking at her through it.
- "Lunchtime." The guard looking at her through the other side says.
- "Great, thanks!" Nyx replies as he slides a plate with a few diced potatoes and slices of chicken breast on it. "Oh, can I have some salt? The chicken is really bland, and I got used to the nice cafeteria lady's cooking at the Fourth Branch…"
- "...I'll see what I can do. You've been nothing but compliant ever since we took you in anyways. Makes it hard to believe you're one of the biggest terrorists of the century."
- "Thanks! Also I'm not a terrorist."
- "Sure."
The guard leaves, closing the peephole. As his footsteps grow distant, a new source of light appears in the room. It was a circle of dark and neon blue energy on the ground, slowly forming into a portal.
- "Oh, it's the magic from that Calliope person." Nyx comments. "Did you finally decide to listen to me? It's been two days."
- "I would doubt that." She hears Nyx-R say in her head.
- "She didn't seem like the kind of person you can reason with…" Vanessa adds. "That's weird, that's not what people say she's like."
- "Oh, I almost forgot we fused again." Nyx frowns. "Look, she's coming out."
A black haired head comes out of the portal, but it wasn't Calliope. Instead, it's an even smaller girl who climbs out of it, wearing a black cloak. She removes her hood, revealing her face.
- "Beatrice?!" Nyx exclaims.
- "Shhhh!..." Beatrice whispers.
- "What are you doing here?... They kept saying stuff about how secure this place was, and that nobody could break in…"
- "I didn't… really break in. I just reopened Miss Calliope's portal."
- "And why are you here?"
- "To break you out!..."
- "What? No."
- "Huh?..."
- "Then you'll also be a criminal. I don't wanna put you at risk too. Just go, I'll deal with this. They said my trial is in two weeks or so?..."
- "But I-"
- "No compromises." Nyx smiles. "I'm supposed to be the one worrying about humans, not the other way around. Now leave before the guard comes back, I can hear him."
Beatrice hesitantly steps back towards the portal as it slowly closes.
- "...If they try to harm you, I'll make sure to help you. I promise." She says before jumping back. The portal swiftly disappears after that.
- "Hm. Beatrice is acting weird." Nyx comments.
- "Here's the salt, you can hold onto it for the week." The guard slides the peephole open again, tossing a small salt shaker to Nyx. "I heard you talking, the voices in your head again?"
- "?..." Nyx tilts her head to the side. "I guess they were talking to me too."
- "Uh… Fair enough I guess."
The peephole slides shut once more, and Nyx gets up to get her plate, pouring half of the salt shaker on her chicken before swiftly regretting her decision.
Date: August 11th, 1:00 PM Location: High security dimensional prison, Headquarters of the Second Branch
Nyx hears the lock of her cell's door click open, and the guard steps in.
- "Alright get up, it's trial day." He says, extending his hand in front of him. An orb of white light appears in his palm, lighting up the cell.
- "Ah, finally!" Nyx jumps up from her bed, stretching her legs.
- "You seem eager." Calliope calmly comments, floating into the doorframe behind the guard.
- "Of course I am! Nobody wants to listen to me, except Michael." She points at the guard. "And he thinks I'm crazy."
- "I won't comment in the presence of Lady Calliope." Michael solemnly declares.
- "I see. Let us go then." Calliope says, snapping her fingers and filling the entire cell with her energy.
When it dissipated, Nyx, Michael and Calliope were in a massive, bright courtroom, its ceiling being a giant dome made of glass. The judge, an elf with long ears, dark golden irises and long, blonde hair, was sitting in his throne-like chair far in front of them, his seat standing above the entire room. Nobles and other officials were sitting in the public seating area, and Nyx quickly spotted Angelica among them, who waved at her with a smile. In the jury were an even assortment of elves, beastfolk, spirits and humans, some of which had a clear expression of profound anger painted on their faces. Quickly, the people in the public seating area start whispering after she appears, and she sees them looking at her with animosity. Dozens of robed mages were lining the walls of the large structure, wielding staves and wands enchanted with various elements.
- "I'm guessing they're all mad at me, huh…" Nyx comments.
- "Obviously. But don't mind them, I'm here with you. Just focus on my voice." Vanessa answers.
- "You think I messed up?... I think I did the right thing, but now I…" Nyx doesn't finish her sentence, as she stares at the crowd trying to read their lips.
- "Hey. Vanessa to Nyx!"
- "What? Sorry, I just-"
- "I told you, focus on my voice. Ignore them. As for if you're at fault here, yeah, probably. People died. There were a few members of the Fourth Branch that you probably didn't pay much attention to, but that I remember seeing every day around the cafeteria. Some of them, I didn't see come back from that incident two weeks ago."
- "..." Nyx clenches her fist.
- "But just because you did something wrong doesn't mean you were wrong altogether. If you're asking me, I stand with you. We've seen what Lady Night's capable of, and she still did all that to the capital after we caught her off guard. I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if we just let her proceed with her plans."
- "I agree with the vessel." Nyx-R adds. "Sacrifices needed to be made."
- "Alright don't put it that way, you're making it sound like she expected people to die out there… If anyone needs to be blamed in the end, it has to be Lady Night, not her."
- "...Thanks Vanessa." Nyx slowly nods, relaxing her hand and regaining her composure.
The judge suddenly slams his hammer on his desk five times with a small wooden mallet.
- "Order!" He yells. The court immediately falls silent, and he turns his attention to Nyx as Calliope floats up to him, stopping right next to his seat. "We are gathered here today to commence the trial in the matter of the individual named Nyx, where we will determine the truth of the matters alleged in this courtroom. May Lord Solomon's justice guide our hand towards a verdict that is fair, to the plaintiffs and the defendant alike. And should the matters discussed today be revealed to be as presented by the jury…" He points his mallet at Nyx. "While I would never dream to temper justice with mercy… May the Lord have mercy on your soul. With this, we hereby begin session!"