“Grant, I must apologize, but I must side with my darling. Despite Archadia looking to be a center point for battle, Nadeline proved herself to be more than capable during the Black Night. Despite her bearing our child and despite everything that was telling her to quit, she didn’t. What was even more, she stood her ground and is the reason my--I mean our--city didn’t fall to the spawns of darkness.” Wesley took Nadeline’s hand, gripping it lovingly, and giving her a similar gaze.
“I will not leave her behind. So, either you go by yourself or we go together.”And, as a turn of events that Grant should’ve predicted, Wesley laid out his ultimatum.
Stepping through a portal and landing on one of the skyscrapers of Archadia, from the view, Michel had forgotten how beautiful his homeland was. Just based off of appearances along, even for Michel, he had to admit the wonders the city had. Buildings that were slick and had a certain design that really made one respect those who laid the foundation for what the modern architects had been able to achieve. Not to mention the several floating buildings powered by state-of-the-art cores that were just another reason for the praise that went towards Archadia’s technological breakthrough. It’s no wonder people often refer it as “The City of Wonders”.
“Do they really call it that?” Shemhazai asked, not seeing what Michel was actually meaning.
He shrugged,
“all I know is that we are often given praise for our breakthroughs.”“Sound kind of dumb.”“I agree, but we have to learn how to take the praise when it's offered.”This time, Shemhazai was the one who offered a shrug, though she rolled her eyes. Michel wouldn’t say nothing after that. He simply gave her a nod and she would fade back into the void until such a time came when Michel required her assistance once again.
Looking out at the city once more, Michel took in a deep breath, and took a step off of the building. He aimed his head down towards the ground, feeling alive as the wind began to pick up and his green hair was so far behind his face it almost seemed as though his hair was being sucked away from his head. But, just as it seemed that he was going to crash on the floor and become part of the ground floor in a permanent way, Michel extended his hand and Void Portal appeared below him. He went through it only to appear through a different one in that same moment just a few paces away and he took to a casual walk as if nothing had happened.
Michel knew where he had to go. As soon as he had stepped foot into the city, he could sense her mist. Of course, of all places, he would find her in this tavern not far from Old Archades. It only took him about ten minutes to reach it, but once he did, he walked in with his typical, low-key swagger that most in the Imperial Army knew him for. And much like how he won her over, he saw his darling sitting at a table all by her lonesome. Gods only knew that if some poor sap tried to make a move on her, she wouldn’t hesitate to kick his ass.
Let’s just hope she doesn’t do that to men.
He approached her table, sitting across from her and seeing her radiant, feisty eyes just looking back at him. A waiter came over to him. “What can I get you?”
“Whatever’s on tap is fine.” After the waiter had come and gone with his drink, setting it on the table, Michel just stared at her. Surprised as ever, she wasn’t wearing her usual digs. She was more...conservative than what she usually wore. But that didn’t say anything for how angry she looked. Time to say something clever, Michel.
“I hear my father is doing well with the flowers.”Meli let out something that was half a scoff and half a laugh. Without responding, she would down the rest of her drink before slamming it onto the table. She turned in her seat, eyeing him rather suspiciously. She crossed one leg over another, almost looking like a lady, though the scowl on her face would send even hardened soldiers running.
“That’s your brilliant one-liner?” She asked him, her voice venomous.
“For fuck’s sake, you had how long to come up with something, and that is it? Fucking--HEY!” She stopped her tirade long enough to snap her fingers at a passing waitress, startling the poor woman.
“I’m going to need another five of these to get me through this conversation.” She told him, placing her empty cup on the table and grabbing the drink she already had. The waitress fled the scene immediately, leaving Meli to return her attention to Michel.
She nearly got halfway through her second drink before she would place it down, giving him her attention once more.
“Michel. Darling. Sweetheart. Where the ever living fuck have you been?” She went straight into it.
“That’s a long story.”“I didn’t ask for a long story, I said where the fuck have you been!” Meli replied.
Michel let out a sigh, downing whatever crapshit ale he was drinking.
“The better question would be to ask where haven’t I been.” He stated with another sigh.
“Let me start over; I’ve been following lead after lead for our mistress regarding Zodiark - or who was parading as Zodiark. I’ve been from the most northern pole to the ruins of Pharos. It was only in the past few days did I finally get what I needed, so I’ve been with our Blue Rose for the past few days.” He told her, hoping she was satisfied with his answer.
“Is that why you ditched me out of the blue?!” She asked him, throwing herself back in her seat.
“You just up and walk out muttering some crap about ‘the dark one’ then you go who knows where and now--you know what, I have been worried sick about you, no message, no ‘hey babe I’ll be back’, nothing.” She huffed at him.
“You understand why I’m so pissed, right? Right?”Michel reached over to touch her hand, attempting to stroke it gently.
“Of course, I understand. And you don’t think I haven’t been keeping tabs on you. I know you have been doing a wonderful job. No words could describe how great of a job you have done with my responsibilities.” He spoke to her tenderly.
“But I’m here now, so let me make it up to you.” He said as he kept rubbing her hand.
She threw him another scowl, taking her hand from his.
“No sweet-talking your way out of this one!” She scolded him, placing her hands on the table.
“Tabs, but not a damn message to be seen. Unbelievable!” She let out a small whimper, suddenly putting her head in her hands.
“It’s like I don’t even matter! I’m not so clingy I need to know your every movement every second of the day, but…”“Technically, I just told you where I’ve been.” Michel said as he shrugged.
Slamming her hands onto the table, she glared at him.
“That’s not what I mean!”Though everyone else seemed fearful of Meli as she raised her voice, Michel would only smirk at his dearly beloved.
“You know I love it when you get angry.” He teased her.
“Honestly, it’s like you’re not even listening to me!” She whined.
“I’m being serious!”“Oh, I can tell,” Michel nodded.
“You’re angry at me for being gone. I am at your mercy, my beautiful goddess.” Michel feigned an understanding tone, faking a whimpering expression as she was still glaring at him.
As the waitress returned with her drink, she immediately downed the one she had stolen easier, taking the second drink. The waitress took the empty cup as Meli took a swig of the third drink, though she let out a shriek as Meli would slam that one down as well.
“Fuck off already!” She barked, sending the waitress to--once again--flee.
“Mercy my ass, you just think you can bat those eyelashes of yours and I’ll immediately forgive you. It’s not happening, Michel!”“Gah, you saw through my master plan!”“Fine, be an ass, go disappear again and see if I care,” She snapped at him as she would stand. She turned to leave, only to see the same waitress, who froze in place. Rolling her eyes, she fumbled through a small handbag and piled a collection of gil on the waitress’ tray, and promptly stomped away.
“Gods, I love that woman.” Michel snickered, giving the waitress a smile as he followed Meli out of the tavern. It only took him half of a minute to catch up to her, to which he put his arm around her shoulder, bringing her into a forced embrace.
“Michel, stop it,” She told him, pushing him away.
And yet, despite her protests, he persisted, bringing her closer, using his free hand to tickle her sides.
“Oh come on, you know you like my surprise hugs, babe.”“I’m not in the mood,” She told him, swatting his free hand away.
“That’s what you always say and yet...” Michel would snicker, giving her a mischievous look. He would go for round two of the tickling.
A laugh managed to escape her before she would grab his hand.
“I mean it this time!” She told him as she wriggled her way out of his embrace, continuing her strut.
“Is that all it is, Michel? You’re entirely convinced I’m just going to forgive and forget about this?”“Of course not,” he stated simply, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a set of
diamond hair clips, and handed them to her.
“Maybe this might help you see to my way of thinking.”She hesitated for a moment. Damn it, how long did he have those for?! Oh, they were so pretty--no, no, she was pissed, and she was going to stay pissed! She had half a mind to throw them at him, though before she even realized what she was doing, she had placed them in her hair, taking a moment to admire herself. Where the fuck did herself control go?! Okay, fine, she didn’t have to stay mad,but he needed to understand
why she was mad--and actually understand, not ‘yes I heard you’ understand.
Turning towards him, she tried very hard to ignore his very confident expression.
“Michel.” She said his name.
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”“Michel!” Her temper seemed to flare up, but for once she managed to calm herself down.
“Could you please stop being an ass, I’m really upset right now!” She pleaded with him.
“What? Are you not pleased with the gift? I should’ve got you the matching bracelet, huh.” Michel stated, feeling a tinge of regret.
As much as she was dying to know about the bracelet, she resisted.
“Michel, after you left, Lola went missing, too.” She told him, frowning.
“And with our Blue Rose going off on her own, I feel abandoned.”On the mention of Lola, Michel could tell just by her somber expression that she truly didn’t know the truth about Lola nor did she about anything about what has transpired. And how could she? As she said, they all left her hanging dry with only her and his father to take reins of Utena. It was no wonder she was so damn pissed at him.
He let out a sigh, now understanding. In the moment that followed, Michel took her hand and they both disappeared into one of his Void Portals. Though surprising to those on the ground floor, they’d be gone from sight in a matter of seconds, and their forms appeared on top of the Emperor’s Building.
“I take it back, I’m going to need some details of that story,” She stated.
There was a moment of amusement from Michel as he gave Meli a slight chuckle, though he could see the look on her face and it was obvious how she was equally intrigued and confused.
“I suppose a lot has happened. Fine, let me begin at the easiest to explain. I’m what they call a Chosen One. As you probably know, the Espers bond to one special Hume and once they find them sufficent enough, they are able to unlock their Inner Seals. I’ve done this twice over: once to become a chosen one and another to be an Ascendant of the Void.” Michel explained, hoping she was still with him at this point.
“That explains why your ego’s inflated moreso than usual.” Meli nodded in understanding.
“It’s not my fault that I’m more special than the likes of Savayna and Prince Grant, who by the way, totally sounds like a teenaged girl.”“What?!” She paused.
“...Is Grant the blonde one…?” “No, he’s the one that whines a lot. Savayna calls him Pussy Grant.”“Oh, that one...I don’t remember him. Maybe I confused him with that dark haired chick…”“Well, he is a bit feminine. With his new voice, he’ll be even more confusing than she--I mean he--was before.” Michel let out a laugh.
Meli nodded, though she would pause once more.
“So...you’re super special then? What does that mean? Like, what are you chosen for?”“Special things.”“Specifically…?”“Specifically things that are special.”She pushed his shoulder.
“Michel!” She whined.
“See, this is what I’m talking about, I’m trying to be serious and you’re joking around again.”Michel just let out a shrug.
“My bad, hun, but I’m trying to lighten the mood because what I have to say next is something you’re not going to like one bit.”“Why?” She asked him suspicious.
“Are you...trying to tell me something?”Michel eyed Meli, trying to think of what’d be the best way to say what he knew she needed to hear, but how did one go about it?
Just tell it to her straight. Shemhazai suggested.
Yeah, I know.Taking a long moment to carefully consider his options, he knew what he had to do.
“It’s about Lola. She’s not who we think she is.”“What do you mean?”Michel had began to explain it the best that he could. He told Meli exactly what everyone had told them when they got back from Henne Mines. They started with how Lola was with the Dark Seed, Keiran, the one that Leviathan had put in Emiri about two months ago and how his motives had been very ambiguious at best. Michel mentioned how he had been acting supicious as of late until his real motives were revealed and that he was working with Levi and Lola, the goal still remained cloudy at best, but what seemed obvious was the three of them were working -- in secret -- to revive the
real Zodiark and that Lola was actually not what they knew her as. “Lola” was a cover name; her real name was Nabriales, the Majestic, the famed Scion of Light opposite to Cuchulain, the Impure.
And when he told her that, it was obvious to Michel that she wasn’t prepared. And how could she be? The person she thought as a sister in arms was actually the sworned enemy of Ivalice. Not only that, but Lola and Meli seemed to have a bond closest out anyone of Utena, so he knew that this was a shocker for her.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Meli demanded to know more.
“Are you trying to tell me this entire time we’ve been fooled?”“That I can’t say with absolute certainty. Maybe she did actually care about our cause.” Michel sighed and shrugged.
“All I know is that, at some point in time, she became this false Scion of Light.” He said, touching her shoulder with his hand comfortingly.
“If you need more answers...well,” Michel opened a portal to the left of them.
“Let us step through and someone may be able to provide more answers for you.” Michel took Meli’s hand as the two of them would once again go into one of his Void Portals and they’d find themselves out on the balcony of Roman’s office where he and the others were enjoying some tea.
“Madame Blue Rose, how wonderful it is to see you walking.” 
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