Pabloc: "Talk about overkill…"

The man couldn’t help but curtly shake his head after seeing the wide-spread destruction below. His two attackers completely disappeared alongside of tens, maybe even hundreds of tons of the earth under their feet. Now the place where they were standing was nothing more than the middle of a huge crater. The sand, the rocks, even the very air that surrounded the two were consumed in a blink of an eye, as if the very concept of matter was destroyed by the jaws of the being that devoured them.

Speaking of the creature in question, the man’s eyes were quickly drawn to the black spot in the middle of the crater. It was a swirling, indescribable mass of something that this world had no concept for; even the strange, suffocating viridia it emanated was enough to further erode the ground around it. Finally, as the man slowly descended into the site of annihilation, the shapeless other compacted into a humanoid form, then after a bright flash of crimson…

Lily: "There."

The blonde girl gracefully landed as she returned to her familiar form in mid-air and faced the scientist with a weary expression.

Pabloc: "Nice work, but… Ouch! Hey!"

The girl covered the distance between them as quick as thought and delivered a surprisingly powerful punch to the abdomen of the baffled scientist.

Lily: "That’s for making me worry, jerk."

Pabloc: "Ugh. Sorry."

Lily: "I’m serious! Just because I can remake your body it doesn’t mean you can go kamikaze by the drop of a hat!"

Pabloc: "Yes, yes, I’m really so- Gah!"

Soketsu: "That’s for playing dead on me, you goddamn bastard!" Soketsu, who just closed up on the scientist from behind, angrily shook his fist after hitting him on the back of his head. "For the love of all that’s holy, what the hell were you thinking!? I really thought you were dead back there!"

Pabloc: "Uuuugh… Yes, I’m also glad you are all right, thank you for asking."

While the scientist was still holding his head, Soketsu finally directed his attention to the small girl standing beside the two of them. He had seen it happen only a few moments ago, yet he still had a hard time believing it. Lily, the most innocent individual he had ever seen and the gigantic thing whose devastating power he just witnessed… Were they really one and the same? There was only one way for him to find out.

Soketsu: "Say, would one of you mind explaining what happened here?"

The scientist gave him a weary glance before he straightened himself and began dusting off his coat.

Pabloc: "Okay, I will-"

Lily: "Wait. First things first." Saying so, the blonde girl took two stark steps towards the scientist and raised her hands towards him. "What are you looking at like that? Carry me."

The girl waved her outstretched hands with a pouting look. Pabloc shook his head in resignation and reached for her waist, scooping her into his arms while Lily’s hands firmly clasped behind his neck.

Lily: "I was a little mad so I used up too much of my viridia-reserve. I’m going to sleep now."

Pabloc: "Sleep? As in…"

Lily: "Zzzz…"

Pabloc: "Yes, hibernation, of course."

As the scientist’s surprised eyes glanced up they found themselves face to face with a really impatient Soketsu.

Soketsu: "Now, about those explanations…"

Pabloc: "Okay, okay, let’s just keep moving. I’ll tell you everything on our way back."

With those words the scientist’s feet slowly left the ground and floated beside Soketsu as he started walking out of the crater.

Soketsu: "… Why are you floating?"

Pabloc: "Well… To be honest, she is kind of heavy, so I’m just easing my load."

Soketsu: "Ah, I know what you mean."

[Kay]: "Hey!"

[Soketsu]: "What? I didn’t imply that you were heavy this time."

[Kay]: "Argh! You just said it again!"

[Soketsu]: "Ugh… Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose."

While silently bickering they finally left the crater behind. As the two stepped over the brink of the site, the scientist abruptly stopped and turned around.

Pabloc: "Wait, we shouldn’t leave things like this. I have no intention of announcing our presence with this hole; this one attack was quite enough for a while. It’ll only take a moment."

Soketsu: "Huh?"

Soketsu’s eyes instantly widened in shock as he turned back to Pabloc. The scientist almost absentmindedly raised his hand and the motion was immediately followed by the echoing sound of an impossibly deep roar, rushing towards them from all directions.

Soketsu: "Whoa…!"

It was not the sound a living being but the noise of billions upon billions of grains of sand closing upon them like an avalanche from all directions. All the nearby dunes seemed to be gone as their sand was poured into the tear on the ground like as if a huge, invisible hand was shoving them around. It was a strangely majestic sight as the black mass flew around them in graceful arcs, covering the night sky and filling up the hole in a matter of seconds. Just the prospect of moving such a huge amount of matter in such a short time was mind-boggling, but after this day’s events it was only mildly baffling for Soketsu. Finally, as the crater disappeared and the scientist turned around…

Pabloc: "What?"

Soketsu’s eyes were much less surprised than seriously irate right at this moment.

Soketsu: "Mind if I ask just why didn’t you do something like this when we were fighting?"

Pabloc: "Oh… Well, that’s because of her." He gently shook the girl in his hands, who in response snuggled even tighter to his chest. "It is actually all interconnected, so I don’t even know where to begin explaining these things to you."

Soketsu: "How about at the beginning?"

Pabloc: "Yes, obviously, but the beginning is complicated too."

[Kay]: "Hey, can we move already? It’s cold out here; I’d rather listen to his explanation inside!"

Soketsu: "Fine. Let’s move inside first."

The ex-Rover briskly turned around and jumped right into the huge hole leading to the facility, lying only a few dozen meters away from them. By the time he landed Pabloc was already behind him, simultaneously covering the hole with his power. Just as he finished he once again reached for his nonexistent glasses, then let out a small sigh.

Pabloc: "I really need to get rid of this habit. As for explanations…" While saying so the scientist started moving and Soketsu immediately followed him through the ruined corridor. "You see, this is all related to an accident that happened five years ago."

Soketsu: "Five years ago? I think you said that was when Lily came to this world."

Pabloc: "Well, yes. To be more precise, she was brought here by Gabe to help me."

Soketsu: "Help you? With an experiment?"

Pabloc: "No. I needed help to survive. You see, I had an accident in the main labs five years ago. I nearly died back there while I was testing a plasma-based weapon system."

Soketsu: "Plasma weapon? Was it some kind of gun?"

Pabloc: "Not exactly. It wasn’t even a real weapon to speak of; it was an upgrade for Gabe’s armor. Still, it was quite dangerous. We underestimated its output and one of the containing fields started collapsing during the test. While I was trying to get the staff out of the workshop I got blasted by it when the containment gave in."

Soketsu: "Blasted by plasma? That doesn’t sound pretty."

Pabloc: "Trust me, it wasn’t. I lost both my hands, my left leg, both my eyes and around eighty percent of my skin evaporated on the spot."

Soketsu: "Wait, what?"

The man’s eyes widened in bewilderment as the scientist kept talking in a calm, almost detached tone, accompanied by a slightly vexed smile on his face.

Pabloc: "It was quite awful indeed. Thankfully I don’t remember any of it since I immediately fell unconscious. It was a miracle I even survived, and afterwards I fell into a coma."

Soketsu: "But… how did you…? Was it the regenerative treatment?"

Pabloc: "Well, partially. It helped but even that couldn’t do miracles."

Soketsu: "You say no miracles, but the fact that you are still here with all your limbs speaks otherwise."

Pabloc: "Well, because it was not thanks to the regenerative treatment but her."

The scientist affectionately stroked the little girl’s chin, who started smiling in her sleep in response.

Lily: "Zzzz… Gihihi… Zzzz…"

Pabloc: "To be honest, even to this day I have no idea how he did it in just a few days, but after stabilizing my state Gabe somehow managed not only to get into the realm of the su’blolis, but he also returned with Lily."

Soketsu: "So that thing that I saw really was her…"

Pabloc: "Though I don’t really like how you just called her a thing, but I let it slide this time."

Soketsu: "Uh… Sorry, I guess."

Pabloc: "As I said, Gabe did something outrageous back then. Just to put it into perspective, he not only managed to open a gateway to the realm of the su’blolis, something that took me six years to accomplish before, he also entered there and came back with Lily. That was the first time an actual su’bloli entered our world, and even though officially she came here as an ambassador she was more or less dragged over here by him in order to help me."

Soketsu: "So she was the one who healed you?"

Pabloc: "Technically? Yes, though the world healing is a little misleading here. We sort of entered into a master-familiar relationship in order to save my life."

Soketsu: "I see. So she is your familiar? That explains a lot."

The scientist’s eyes suddenly widened hearing these words and an awkward laugh left his lips.

Pabloc: "Hehe… Well, almost. You got the order wrong."

Soketsu: "Wait, are you trying to tell me…?"

Pabloc: "It’s not entirely accurate to say that I became her familiar, but it’s relatively close. Ours is a mutually beneficial relationship, I would even go so far to say that we are acting as the life-support for the other. You see, su’blolis have the ability to destroy an object while leaving its Core intact. It is something like the reverse of using Image Cores to create phenomena. I’m grossly simplifying things here, but the main point is that she used this power to completely erase my physical body and then she bonded my Soul Core to herself and created a new body for me. The truth is, this body you are seeing right now has no Soul Core, I am actually inside Lily and only using this body as a proxy."

Soketsu: "Whoa… That’s… A lot to take in at once."

Pabloc: "Obviously. I admit it’s an out of the ordinary state of affairs, but I had little to no choice in the matter."

Soketsu: "But wait, you said you are like a providing life support for each other. What are you giving?"

Pabloc: "Oh, you see I-"

Soketsu: "Wait!"

As the scientist turned a corner he was immediately pushed back by the intense heat filling the shambling tunnel. The melting, bullet-hole filled floor and cut walls were a familiar sight for both of them. Of course it was, they only been here a few minutes ago, fighting for their lives. As Soketsu looked over the ruined hallway he couldn’t help but shrug his shoulders. Thinking back on it, this was probably the most hectic day of his life. He got into a fight with Kay in the morning, got a counseling from Tiari, then he was warned by Ahaz, in the night he managed to confess to his partner and then he was thrust into a difficult battle by Gabe’s workshop. Just thinking about all this made his head spin.

Pabloc: "What happened here?"

He absentmindedly glanced up that the scientist who was earnestly inspecting the burning holes on the floor.

Soketsu: "Oh, that? You were out when it happened, but it turned out both of those guys were Alternates. The man turned himself into a minigun and shot up this place."

Pabloc: "Minigun, you say? Fufu… Interesting."

Soketsu could have sworn that he saw a scary light in the scientist’s eyes but it was gone by the time he turned around. However, they had a new problem on their hands.

Soketsu: "We obviously cannot go through here, this tunnel is not only hot but I think it’s about to collapse too."

Pabloc: "Yes, you are right. Let’s go that way."

They only took a few more steps when Soketsu noticed something on the floor.

Soketsu: "What the…?"

Pabloc: "Oh, look at that. My blood."

Soketsu: "You are awfully nonchalant about the place you died."

The scientist absent-mindedly shook his head and smiled at him in response to the remark.

Pabloc: "Well, technically I didn’t die, did I?"

Soketsu: "Speaking of which, you know I am still mad about your stupid stunt, right?"

Pabloc: "You are?"

Soketsu pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and let out a pitiful groan.

Soketsu: "Yes! Of course I am still mad! We had the TCs in our ears the entire time! Would it have killed you to tell me you cannot be killed?"

Pabloc: "But then it would have spoiled the surprise."

This time the man with the halberd buried his face in his palm and could barely hold back the urge to punch the scientist one more time.

Soketsu: "Are you Gabe in disguise? Because that is the only way I can rationalize you saying something so monumentally dumb."

Pabloc: "There’s no need to be rude about it," Pabloc huffed as he rotated mid-air and started floating down the corridor again. As Soketsu followed after him in a hurry, he told him; "Not to mention, I am not really immortal per se. Even if my body was dead, my Soul Core is inside Lily, so a couple of physical wounds might hurt like hell, but I wouldn’t ‘die’ from them. If my entire body disintegrated though, that is another story entirely."

Soketsu: "Disintegration?"

Pabloc: "Yeah. It’s really tiring to recreate a complete body, and in her current state Lily wouldn’t be able to do it without using up all her reserves, so unless she got some external source of viridia, she would die as well, and then I would follow after her for good. Thankfully a couple of limbs surviving is enough to offset that, so if I were to die in the future, I would appreciate if you returned my remains to her. Speaking of Lily, where was I before we got derailed?"

Soketsu: "I was asking about why Lily needs you. You just mentioned something about her needing an external source of viridia."

The two of them entered into another corridor as Pabloc took a deep breath.

Pabloc: "Oh, that. You see, the realm where she came from has an entirely different kind of Ether from ours. Because of that she cannot process ours and turn it into viridia for herself, so I’m constantly feeding her something that is like ‘proto-viridia’. It’s halfway between proper viridia and unprocessed ether, filtered by my Soul Core beforehand, and she can use it to create the specific kind of volatile viridia she needs."

Soketsu: "I couldn’t really get about half of that, but let’s move on… Does she really need viridia that much?"

Pabloc: "Yes she does. She comes from a world that’s bordering the Tangible Universe. Their realm is more or less complete chaos and the su’blolis are like formless gods who are sailing through this primordial space by bending the world around them. Lily is a su’bloli, so obviously she needs a huge amount of viridia just to keep her form stable in our world."

Soketsu: "So you are sharing a lifeline?"

Pabloc: "Ah, yes, that’s a good way to say it. Still, what I can provide her isn’t quite enough so she has to sleep just about all the time to spare her reserves as much as possible."

Soketsu: "I don’t know… she didn’t seem to be sleeping that much…"

Pabloc: "Well, because you probably didn’t even notice when she was sleeping. In fact, you probably never even seen her awake until today." Seeing the confusion in Soketsu’s eyes, Pabloc hastily continued. "Su’blolis ‘sleep’ differently than us. When they sleep they just turn off some parts of their mind."

Soketsu: "Wait, are you telling me that the Lily we have been talking to all this time was actually sleeping?"

Pabloc: "Yes, though I’m only calling that state sleeping for lack of better words. In truth we humans have no condition like that."

Hearing this explanation was steep, but at the same time it made so much sense that the man couldn’t help but accept that the Lily he knew was one serious sleepwalker. Still there was one last, obvious question left hanging in the air.

Soketsu: "But if she was sleeping back then, then what is she doing right now? Sleeping in her sleep?"

The scientist’s lips curved hearing the query as she glanced down that the little girl’s face.

Pabloc: "Oh, this is called hibernation. She only enters into this state either when she is really low on viridia or when she is digesting."

Soketsu: "Digesting… as in, those two?"

Pabloc: "Indeed."

Lily: "Zzzz… delicious~… Zzz…"

[Kay]: "Uah! Creepy!"

[Soketsu]: "Yeah, a little… But don’t tell that to him or he will kill us."

[Kay]: "Obviously."

Soketsu: "So, let me try to put this together…"

Pabloc: "Yes?"

Soketsu: "If I got everything right, you are something like a familiar to Lily who is something like a monster-goddess who is usually doing something like sleeping because she came from a place that is something like an extremely lawless universe and you have to channel her something like a special kind of ether to keep her in our world or both of you will die or something…"

The scientist froze in place as an annoyed grin spread on his face.

Pabloc: "Ugh, why are you saying it like that?"

Soketsu: "Well, excuse me. It’s your fault of not explaining anything properly."

[Kay]: "He actually did, I understood everything."

[Soketsu]: "Hey, that’s you. You are clever; I’m just a plain old Soketsu."

Pabloc: "No, it’s your fault for being ignorant. You have been with us long enough; I can’t believe you didn’t pick up enough to figure out these things on your own by now."

Soketsu: "Hey, you are mixing the roles here. My job is about breaking things, not about understanding them."

Pabloc: "… Sorry, you cannot pull off the ignorant brute image at this point. You have to accept that you are just thick."

Soketsu: "Hey!"

Seeing Soketsu’s confounded expression Pabloc couldn’t help but shake his head.

Pabloc: "Seriously now, I can try to explain things in more detail if you’d like me to."

Soketsu: "No need. I got a general picture… though there is one last thing."

Pabloc: "Yes?"

Soketsu: "That thing you did a few moments ago, moving mountains and everything. Is the jump in your ability related to her suddenly turning into… you know, that big whatever?"

Pabloc: "Well, technically it is, though it’s not that complicated as you might think. Since I and Lily share the same soul-core at the moment, the seal that was put on her in order to keep her from accidentally blowing up half of Avalon in her sleep affects me as well. That’s why I have a limited range and force to my power, and that’s also why it is so easily unbalanced by small disturbances."

Soketsu: "Then, just for the record, how long would this fight have lasted if you had all that power you showed off a few minutes ago?"

Pabloc: "If I had my full power at my disposal? That’s simple: There would have been no battle to speak of."

Soketsu was much less surprised of the scientist’s words as he was baffled by how naturally he said them, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Still this was only the beginning.

Pabloc: "Without the seal my power is nearly unaffected by the ether-disturbances or the viridia-density of the target, so I could have smashed the guy into the concrete before he could have even started to move, then restrained him with his own arms while keeping the scythe-woman separated from him in order to minimize the danger they posed, then if that didn’t work out well I could have still got rid of them by collapsing the whole tunnel-system onto the top of their heads, and in the worst-case scenario I could have still just reversed the flow of blood in their veins and blow up their hearts... Actually, you could say they were lucky that it was Lily who got them."

It sounded almost unbelievable, but after seeing what he could actually do Soketsu couldn’t help but believe the scientist’s slightly boastful words. For a split-second he tried to imagine how he would fare against Pabloc if they both went all out, but he quickly brushed off the pointless thoughts, not small part thanks to the fact that they finally arrived to their destination.

Pabloc: "Finally. We took a big detour."

Soketsu: "Yeah, right."

Sure enough, they were at the corridor leading up to Gabe’s place. Even if the white light coming from the other side of the missing wall-panel had left questions about where they were heading, the familiar voice coming from the other side made it obvious whose home they were about to enter.

Gabe: "… woke up in the infirmary and we managed to bring his memories back, so…"

The mad scientist’s voice was somewhat flustered, but otherwise nothing seemed out of the ordinary… until…

Jill: "I understand, but you still didn’t answer my first question…"

The two men involuntarily glanced at each other, as if to ascertain they weren’t hearing things, but the baffled expression on the other’s face made the answer clear as day. Suddenly both of them left their strolling speed behind and dashed towards the entrance.

Soketsu stormed into the room with loudly echoing steps, followed by the scientist’s flying form. They both looked around, they both raised their eyebrows and they both lost their words at the same time as their stares met with the woman sitting on the bed not too far from the entrance. Even though they were the ones who blew into the room like they were about to storm a bunker, in the end it was them who looked more bewildered that the ones inside.

Soketsu: "Jill…?"

There was no doubt about it. At first he had to question his eyes, but the more he looked at her, the more obvious it became. Her form was different. Her hair, her body, even her voice was different, yet he instinctively recognized her, and once he did so, he couldn’t see her as anyone else.

Jill: "Yes. Hello Soketsu, Pabloc."

For a few moments both of them were at loss for words. At last, the scientist awakened from his daze, and just as he was about to reflexively reach for his glasses…

Gabe: "Finally! I’m glad you guys found your way here at last! Especially you, Pabloc!"

Pabloc: "Wait, what is Jill-?"

Gabe: "Oh, wait a second! Please don’t forget what you wanted to say, I need to get something!"

Followed by the two men’s baffled and the woman’s disapproving stares, the mad scientist rushed to the back of his workshop and started rummaging through the pile of books there. After a mere few seconds he triumphantly raised a weather-beaten piece of paper.

Gabe: "Here you are!"

Pabloc: "Wait, I don’t know what that paper is, but…"

Gabe simply let the comment go by his ears as he took an old fountain-pen and overdramatically drew a huge X onto the parchment, then promptly shoved it into Pabloc’s face.

Gabe: "You can bow down and worship me now. Bwahahaha!"

Pabloc: "What the hell are you talking a… bout?"

Only then did he finally realize what it actually was, an ever so familiar page with a list of things, each followed by a filled checkbox, the last one freshly marked. For a few moments he silently gawped like a fish out of water until his eyes turned to Gabe with a sharp light in them.

Pabloc: "Are you serious?"

Gabe: "I’m always serious."

Pabloc: "So she is…?"

Gabe: "Yep. The real deal."

Pabloc: "So you really have proven it?"

Gabe: "Proven it?! I USED it!"

Pabloc: "…You magnificent bastard! I don’t know if I should punch you in the face or kiss you!"

Gabe: "Uhhh… If those are the only two options, I go with the punch, thank you very much."

This was the point when the third man in the room couldn’t take it anymore and raised his voice.

Soketsu: "… Excuse me guys, but would someone tell me what the bleeding fuck is going on here?!"

The two scientists looked over him with eyebrows raised, and…

Gabe&Pabloc: "You wouldn’t understand."

Soketsu: "Gah! For the love of…!"

Jill: "Excuse me?" An abrupt silence filled the workshop as the men stopped on their tracks when the woman in the background raised her voice. "I’m glad you are happy to see each other, but Gabe was in the middle of explaining me that I am actually not dead, and his reasoning was shaky enough without you jumping in. Could you stand aside, please?"

The three of them promptly looked at each other then let out a small, awkward laugh.

Pabloc: "Hehe… Yes, sorry."

Soketsu: "Yeah."

Gabe: "Of course."

For a moment it seemed like things have finally calmed down, but then…

Pabloc: "Say, could I just use your bed to lay Lily down?"

Gabe: "Sure. It’s not Ry’leh, but I guess she has to do with it for now."

Pabloc: "Very funny…" He walked over to the bed and gently laid the little girl onto it. He even managed to force her locked arms around his neck apart, which was a clear testament of just how weak she became. "If we are talking of Lily, can you re-seal her?"

Gabe: "Yeah, in a moment."

Soketsu: "In the meantime, is there a place where Kay can change back?"

Gabe: "Yeah, the bathroom is over there. There are some clean bathrobes inside that she can use until you find her clothes."

Soketsu: "Okay, thanks."

Jill couldn’t help but become even more irritated as the three men started minding their own businesses around her, with Gabe once again tinkering with the blonde girl’s forehead and Soketsu disappearing behind a door at the back of the workshop.

Gabe: "Okay, she should be fine like this. She used up about two-thirds of her viridia-reserves, but it should fill back up in just a few weeks. How about you, are you all right?"

Pabloc: "A little late for asking, as usual, but yes I’m fine. The reconstruction was successful."

Jill: "Reconstruction?"

Hearing the question Gabe awkwardly spoke up.

Gabe: "Oh, yes, that. You see, Pabloc died a few minutes ago but Lily here ate his body and then reconstructed it."

Jill: "Ate him?"

Gabe: "Yeah, happens all the time."

Jill: "… And where is the other girl?"

Pabloc: "Kay? She is with Soketsu."

Jill: "I didn’t see her."

Gabe: "She is the halberd."

Jill: "The… halberd?"

Gabe: "Oh, yes, she is an Alternate and she can turn into a halberd. Didn’t I tell you that?"

Jill: "No, you just said she was Soketsu’s partner."

Gabe: "Really? Well, sorry, my bad."

Jill: "… Are you sure I’m not in limbo?"

Gabe: "Yes, I told you. I brought you back from the dead clean and proper."

Pabloc: "Speaking of resurrection…" As the scientist turned towards the two, his eyes were once again sparkling with their previous excitement. "Were you serious?"

Gabe: "Of course! How else would I have been able to bring her back?"

Pabloc: "So the list is complete… I’m seriously impressed."

Jill: "List? That piece of paper in your hand?"

Pabloc raised his hand and showed the torn piece of parchment to the young woman.

Pabloc: "This was my challenge to Gabe I made way back before this whole Reckoning War and Devastation business."

Jill: "Just how way back are we talking about?"

Gabe: "In college."

Pabloc: "Heh. Long story short, we were something like best enemies back in those days, and I challenged Gabe to prove me his Core-theory by making up some outrageous conditions for him. As you can see, he just finished the last of them."

Gabe: "Yup! Now I’m the unconditional King of Science! Bwahahaha!"

Pabloc: "Yeah, sure."

Pabloc slowly shook his head at the mad scientist pumping his arm in victory. In the meantime the strangely silent Jill finally found the question she wanted to ask for a while.

Jill: "I think it might sound conceited, but… why is this more important than the fact that I’m apparently undead?"

Gabe: "Huh? No, you are not undead! You are ex-dead."

Jill: "I’m still not completely convinced."

Gabe: "What? Why is it so hard to believe that I have resurrected you from thin air three hundred years after you died by bending the very fabric of the universe using an unproven and pretty much unexplainable method of Soul Core reconstruction?"

Pabloc: "Gabe… Please stop digging your own grave. It’s pitiful."

Contrary to the lighthearted atmosphere the two scientists tried to create, Jill’s sullen scowl didn’t ease up the slightest.

Jill: "I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but aren’t you a little unceremonious about me coming back to life? I mean, no outrage, no demand for proof, nothing…?"

Gabe: "There’s no need. You may look different but essentially you are Jill."

Seeing that she was still confused, Pabloc let out a short sigh and gestured for her to get her attention.

Pabloc: "What he is trying to say is that we could immediately acknowledge your existence because of your Soul Core is the same. It’s the exact same situation as it was with us after Project Rebirth."

Jill: "Project… Rebirth?"

Gabe: "Oh, yes. You see, I told you that we are three hundred years into the future because-"

Jill: "Wait! Does the explanation have anything to do with your Core-theory?"

Gabe: "Yes, but-"

Jill: "I don’t want to hear it."

Gabe: "Why? It’s-"

Jill: "I said I don’t want to hear it."

Gabe: "But-"

Soketsu: "Guys, we need some help!"

Their discussion was abruptly disturbed as Soketsu called out to them from the direction of the bathroom. Although the mad scientist seemed annoyed at first glance, Pabloc couldn’t help but feel that he was actually relieved to be called away from them.

Gabe: "The bathrobes are on the second shelf to the left, above the-"

Soketsu: "I’m serious! Come here right now!"

Hearing the weight of his voice Pabloc immediately rose to his feet, but…"

Gabe: "What’s going on?"

By the time he could say anything the other scientist was already at Soketsu’s side with a surprisingly serious expression.

Soketsu: "There is something wrong with Kay; she says she cannot turn back to her human form!"

Pabloc: "Calm down, we should bring her back to the infirmary and-"

Gabe: "Let me see her!"

Without even wasting a breath Gabe grabbed the halberd out of the shocked Soketsu’s hands and raised her to his eyes.

[Gabe]: "Kay, can you hear me?"

[Kay]: "Wha-What? How did you…?"

The girl’s voice was underlined with panic and confusion, but her consciousness was strong. The scientist let out a quick sigh then once again called out to her.

[Gabe]: "Listen, this might feel a little unpleasant, but bear with it, okay?"

Before the girl was even able to answer the scientist’s hand flared up, though it was so quick that for the onlookers it seemed like nothing but a small sparkle. Similarly, the unpleasant feeling of someone else’s viridia roughly rushing through her body faded even before she could properly register it in her mind. Less than a moment later the scientist’s eyes narrowed and…

Gabe: "For the love of watermelons, you almost scared me out of my hide back there!"

After letting out a relieved sigh the scientist calmly walked over to one of the shelves on his right, not even bothered by the piercing gazes of the others. He reached for the bottom shelf and grabbed a metal cylinder as the other scientist loudly cleared his throat.

Pabloc: "So…?"

Gabe: "So what?" Gabe calmly took off the top of the cylinder while answering. "Oh, you mean with her? Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. It’s just that she cannot change back to her child-form because she is burned out. I’ll fix her condition in a jiffy."

Soketsu: "How the hell do you know that?"

Pabloc: "I have to second Soketsu here. How can you make a diagnosis like that without proper examination and-"

Gabe: "Here you go…"

The others suddenly turned silent like they got the words frozen into them. The mad scientist’s hand was covered with an eerie glow as he dipped it into the contents of the container.

Soketsu: "What is that…?"

Gabe: "Oh, this? Just some stabilizer I had in arm’s reach in case Jill would need it. You know, just in case her new form was unstable or something, but she is fine so I might as well use it on Kay."

Soketsu: "But that glow… Isn’t that magic?"

Gabe: "Magic?! Bwaha-khm. No, please don’t try to make me laugh while I’m in the middle of a delicate procedure. It’s dangerous."

Soketsu: "Delicate procedure?! You are just smearing some kind of shining thing on her!"

Gabe: "Yes, but with great precision."

Pabloc: "But why are you stabilizing her current form?"

Gabe: "Huh? No, I’m not stabilizing her current form; don’t be silly! I’m just using this to reset her transformation so that she can turn back to her real shape."

With the others finally falling in silence, Gabe kept on working without outside distractions. As for the inside…

[Kay]: "Excuse me, but…"

[Gabe]: "Shhh… We’ll talk later; I need to concentrate here…"

[Kay]: "Okay."

[Gabe]: "… Actually, just between you and me, don’t really need to concentrate that much since this is nothing compared to what I did a few minutes ago, but hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You don’t want to turn back and have an additional pair of limbs, do you?"

[Kay]: "N-Not really."

[Gabe]: "Good, now then all I need to do is to… Ooops!"

[Kay]: "What!? What happened!?"

[Gabe]: "Uh-oh…"

[Kay]: "What happened!?!?"

Gabe stayed silent for a couple of seconds, but then he couldn’t hold his snickers any longer.

[Gabe]: "Haha. Just pulling your leg. I’m done, you should be able to transform now. How do you feel?"

[Kay]: "I… Actually I feel surprisingly good."

Gabe: "Great!"

Soketsu: "Huh?"

The mad scientist suddenly became hyper again as he whirled the polearm over his head and then handed her over to her anxious partner.

Gabe: "Here, she is good as new."

Soketsu: "Really? Are you sure?"

Gabe: "Yeah, it will be forty-nine ninety-nine plus tax. … Hey, I’m just trying to ease the mood, don’t look at me like that! Anyways, go and have her change back!"

Soketsu: "Okay, okay. You don’t need to say twice."

As Soketsu stepped back into the small bathroom Pabloc quietly stood next to Gabe.

Pabloc: "About your method…"

Gabe: "Pssst! It’s a secret!"

Pabloc: "Seriously now, what was that?"

Gabe: "Hey, I told you, it was my special brand secret ingredient, and it’s a secret."

Pabloc: "Why do you have to be so-"

Their conversation suddenly came to a halt as they got a glimpse of the green flash shining under the bathroom’s door.

Soketsu: "Kay, are you all right?"

Kay: "… Yes… I think. My body feels a little heavy, but… Wha…? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

The men’s relaxed expression turned grave at once as they heard the girl’s muffled scream from the other side. Soketsu immediately moved and grabbed the doorknob, yet decided to ask one last time before barging in.

Soketsu: "Kay, what’s going on!?"

Kay: "I… I have… there are… What’s going on!?!?"

The girl’s weak voice gave him the last push he needed and he instantly threw the entrance open, only to find something that he could never have anticipated…

Soketsu: "… Kay?"

On the bathroom’s floor sat an utterly stunned, roughly sixteen years old girl, her skin hastily covered with a towel and nervously looking up at the even more astonished man from behind her extraordinarily long locks of green hair. Even though she seemed to be the most shocked of the group, the momentarily awkward silence was broken by her voice in the end.

Kay: "I… have breasts…"

And thus the once broken awkward silence returned victorious and stronger than ever.