//------------------------------// // 12 - Twilight - The Girls Part 2 // Story: A Certain Scientific Twilight // by Babroniedad //------------------------------// Sunday, September 14, unspecified Tokyo time. “I have to go get her!” called out Sunset, pulling away from Twilight, then leaning forward to pony up. Twilight reached out and grabbed her BFFs shoulders. “Sunny, wait! We can’t! We don’t know where Kuroko and Yona are yet. If we go in there guns blazing, she could kill them!” Sunset collapsed. She buried her head in her hands. “Okay,” she sighed, falling back in her seat. Satisfied her BFF was not going to fly off, Twilight returned her attention to the drone on her phone and retraced her way back down the duct. Coming back to the main shaft, the drone continued down. Finding another junction, she flew down the shaft in order to look for another opening or grate. She found a grate, this time with light coming from it. Twilight positioned the drone behind the grate and panned out. Banks of monitors filled the wall, most showing the roof, street, and building sides. Two larger monitors in the middle showed their missing friends. On the right were Yona and Kuroko, stripped to their underclothes, bound and chained to a wall. Yona had her eyes clenched tightly shut and was clearly crying. Kuroko was lying flat next to the wall with an IV in her arm. A drip bag was hanging from a hook in the wall over her head. She was clearly unconscious. The other monitor showed Mikoto in false light, hanging suspended in the middle of the tank. She was looking listlessly around, bubbles curling up from her head to the top of the tank. A shadow moved across Kuroko, then disappeared. There was a flash then Ms. Campbell appeared in the room before the monitors. She sat in the seat before the monitors, reaching over to a drink on the console before her. There was a flash of teal behind her. Twilight wheeled around and Sunset was gone, her chair empty. “Shit!” she exclaimed, turning back to her phone. There was Sunset, draped across the chair Ms. Campbell was sitting in. She had her in a chokehold, holding a fistful of her hair with her other hand. Ms. Campbell flashed away, leaving Sunset to fall to the floor with nothing there to support her. A second later, Sunset flashed away as well. “Crap, crap, crap!” yelled Twilight, spinning the drone around and heading back for the grate looking out over Mikoto’s tank. She saw Mikoto still in the tank, still looking around. “Thank the Maker!” Twilight shouted. With a flash, she teleported to the top of the tank. She slammed her hand against the top several times. Mikoto looked up and saw her. She smiled. Twilight flashed her a thumbs up then took her phone and raced the drone back to the grate looking out over the control room. There, she saw the two screens with the girls. She could clearly see Mikoto looking up towards her from within the tank. More importantly, she could see that Yona and Kuroko were still there. Kuroko was still completely unconscious. Yona was looking around wildly, pulling at her chains. She settled down, then looked over to Kuroko, clearly trying to talk to her. Twilight sighed. “Thank you, blessed Faust! At least they are alright.” Placing the phone down so she could see the display, she started working on how to open Mikoto’s tank. Sunset flashed in just above Ms. Campbell, catching her fall with an arm around her neck. She quickly locked her in a chokehold, holding tightly, her other hand grasping Robin’s hair. “Not this time!” she screamed at Robin as she choked her out. Robin flashed away in a teleport. Sunset fell to the floor with a grunt. “You wish!” she yelled, flashing away after her. She landed directly on top of Robin, taking her to the ground. She immediately teleported away with her in a teal flash… …to appear two miles up above the city, free falling with the girl still in her grasp. “You can’t get away!” Sunset yelled. Robin flashed away. Sunset landed on top of her again. They were still a mile above the city. Sunset flashed away again. And they fell several feet rolling down a red hill of dry dust and rocks. Robin’s eyes started to bug out. She was gasping but couldn’t breathe. She flashed away. Only to completely panic when she was still on red dust and rocks and still unable to breathe. She flashed again. And again. And again. Still only red sand as far as she could see. Just as she started to black out, Sunset landed on her again and they flashed away in teal magic. They were back above the city again, this time several miles up. “We can do this all day!” shouted Sunset. “There is nowhere you can go that I can’t follow. And I will go to the gates of Hell and back if that’s what it takes!” Robin flashed away again. And Sunset again landed on her again. “Slow learner, aren’t you? Let’s go see a mutual acquaintance of ours.” They flashed away again. Twilight continued watching her two friends through the drone’s camera. There was a flash of teal in the tank below her and a spray of water shot out from around the hose next to her. Twilight looked down to see Sunset, her arm clamped around the neck of Ms. Campbell, floating in the tank next to Mikoto. With a wave of her free hand Sunset magically cut the cloth binding around Mikoto, freeing her from her bondage. Choking, Robin looked over, then stopped fighting. Her arms fell to her sides as she breathed out the last of her air, bowing her head and shutting her eyes. Sunset watched with grim satisfaction. Mikoto reached out, tearing Robin from Sunset's grasp. Glaring daggers at Sunset, she ripped the breather mask from her face and stuck it over the girl's mouth. Taking a deep breath, Robin’s eyes shot open. She flailed around, then saw who was holding her and noticed the breather over her mouth. She took another deep breath, and passed the mask back to Mikoto. Watching them, Sunset was overcome by a horrifying flashback. She was back at the formal, having just lost the crown to Princess Twilight. Broken, she lay in a crater, empty of everything but pain and regret, her remorse overwhelming her so completely she could barely crawl to the edge of the crater she had been blasted into. Shaking and sobbing, she looked up and saw the girls she had attacked, the girls she had just tried to kill, all smiling and hugging tightly. She sobbed even harder, grateful she had not taken anyone’s life, but hopelessly lost in her grief realizing she was justifiably and completely alone now, no one and no pony beside her after this, her horrible, horrific failure. She laid her head down, face in the dirt, abandoning any hope of life, any desire to continue. Abject regret and sorrow told her she deserved no better than to die here, right here, alone and forgotten in this hole after all she had done, after what she had tried to do. She heard the Princess call her out, telling her everyone had seen her true self. In her despair she knew every word was true, and everyone was better off without her. She looked up into the face of the Princess, uttering the only fact she could think of why she would have taken such a horrible path, why she tried to kill the young woman now scolding her, the woman who had stopped her, defeated her. “I didn’t know there was a better way,” she said. Hearing those words pass her lips, her head dropped again. Didn’t know? Pathetic. That was her excuse for her choices, her life, her near homicidal rampage? She lowered her head back down into the dirt, welcoming an end. The end. Death was all she deserved at this point. Then it dawned on her what she was hearing. She looked up to see the woman smiling, bent down with her hand out, reaching out to her. To her? Reaching out to her? But…. why? She had tried to kill her, stolen her crown, tried to use forbidden magic, and organized an attack against her very princessdom. She had become a raging demon, intent only on power and destruction. And here she was, smiling down at her. Holding out her hand. Talking to her. Sunset looked up into her eyes. Seeing that gentle smile, the love and concern in her eyes as she reached for her, ready to pull her from the pit, both literally and proverbially. Reaching out to bring her back from the pit of despair, to pull her back into the arms of forgiveness. Sunset wept even harder, not wanting to believe what she was seeing was true. But at the same time, not wanting to pass it by either. She didn’t want to die, even if that was what she truly deserved. She wanted to live. And here before her, holding out her hand, the very woman she had tried to kill was showing her. She wanted her to live too. It broke her. Sobbing, it broke her in the very best way. It broke her free from the chains of resentment, self loathing, hatred, and self hatred. Seeing the love and forgiveness in that woman’s eyes, a spark of hope was lit in her heart, a burning ember that quickly grew into a bonfire of hope. Hope that she could be forgiven. Hope that she might be worthy of a new life, another chance at redemption. Hope that she may not have to trod the paths of life alone, but might even be able to find, dare she hope, friends. Reaching out she took the woman’s hand. She pulled her up next to her, still smiling and talking. She pointed to her friends, who smiled and waved as well. And as she watched them walk away, a new feeling took root in her heart. It was hope. And a feeling of peace, a certain knowledge that someone had forgiven her and decided her life was one worth living. Looking on in awe as the group followed the woman back into the school, she clung to that surprising hope. She had a friend. Looking up from her memories, she saw Mikoto, holding Robin, the woman who had tortured her, tortured her friends, passing the mask back and forth between them. She saw herself over Robin, superimposed from her memory, hand outstretched towards Princess Twilight. She saw Princess Twilight over Mikoto, reaching out with the hand of forgiveness to her attacker. She wept, shaking as she saw again the grief Robin had experienced, her growing hatred and bitterness, then her brokenness when she realized how wrong she was and the monster she had become; like Sunset herself, a demon of her own making. She saw Robin reach out with the mask, passing it back to Mikoto, her own hand superimposed as she reached out in hope to the Princess. Realizing how deeply she had failed to live up to her commitment to friendship, to forgiveness, to Harmony, she curled in on herself, her heart aching in regret and rebuke for once again failing to learn the lessons of friendship. Still curled up, wracked with sobs, waiting and hoping this time death would take her away. Twilight watched them all from the top of the tank. Seeing Sunset fold up on herself, she muttered. “Screw this.” Sunset barely noticed the magenta flash in the water around her. Once again a hand reached out, but this time an arm wrapped around her tightly. In the loving grasp of another Twilight, she was pulled with a kick over to Robin, the woman she had tried to kill, where both were wrapped in Twilight’s other arm. Twilight teleported them into the control room where they all fell to the floor. Sunset was shaking, crying as Twilight held her, rocking her softly. Mikoto held Robin, still coughing up water from the tank. Seeing them, she reached out to Mikoto, her eyes glowing with empathic magic. Mikoto’s eyes lit in teal magic, then cleared as Sunset’s hand fell away, Sunset exhausted by her grief. Mikoto looked shocked, then turned to look down at Robin, still in her arms. Robin looked up at Mikoto. “I hated you,” she said. “I know,” Mikoto said, holding her tightly. “You killed him. You killed my best friend,” Robin cried sadly. Tears rolled down Mikoto’s face. “I am so sorry,” she cried, holding Robin tightly. “Why did you save me?” asked Robin. “Because you didn’t deserve to die,” cried Mikoto, then she added. “No one should have died. No one.” “Thank you,” said Robin. She disappeared. Before Sunset could flash after her, she appeared on the right screen. She cried as she hugged Yona, then reaching over to unlock her fetters. With a flash, they both appeared back in the control room. Seeing Sunset and Twilight, Yona ran to them and embraced them, sobbing. Robin flashed away again. And again appeared on the right screen. This time, she carefully removed the IV from Kuroko’s arm, then cradling her gently, flashed them away. She reappeared in the control room, carefully passing Kuroko over to Mikoto. “She should be okay. The sedative should wear off in a few minutes,” Robin informed Mikoto. Robin then sat apart from the girls. She curled up in a ball and wept quietly. Sunset extracted herself from Yona and Twilight’s embrace, dragging her way across the floor to Robin. When she was beside her, Sunset raised herself to sitting, then pulled Robin into her embrace. “I’m so sorry,” Sunset cried, holding the weeping girl. “I’m sorry too,” said Robin between tears. “It was wrong of me to try to kill you. I should have been more compassionate,” said Sunset, holding her. “Please forgive me.” “I should never have been so bent on revenge. I should have known your friend wasn’t some heartless killer,” admitted Robin to Sunset. “And I am so sorry I killed your friend,” said Mikoto. “I didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse anything. I am so very sorry. Please, if you can find it in your heart, forgive me.” Still holding Robin, Sunset took a calming breath, then spoke. “Robin, you have a choice to make,” she told her, gently stroking her hair. “You can stay here, but if you do, it probably won’t go well for you. Threatening Mikoto and coming after us and our friends, you’ve upset some powerful people. They’re not the kind to forgive. We can try to protect you, but there’s a good chance if you stay here, you will end up dead fairly soon. “Or you can come with us. We can keep you in a place where you will be safe for as long as it takes, until everything here dies down. If it ever does. Your choice. Personally, I want you to live,” offered Sunset. Closing her eyes, Robin nodded. “I want to live too. I want a chance to make it up to Mikoto, to all of you. I don’t want to die,” she answered. “Okay. It’s settled then. Everyone, on me. We’re heading to the lair,” Sunset called out. Mikoto wiggled next to her, Kuroko still out in her arms. Twilight passed Yona over to Sunset. “Where are you going?” Sunset asked as Twilight stepped away. “I’ll meet you there. I am not losing my damned phone,” she smiled, teleporting away in a flash of magenta. “Fair point,” nodded Sunset. In a flash of teal they disappeared. Twilight bent down and picked up her phone from the top of the tank. She then held out her hand, and with a flash of magenta their drone appeared, dropping down into her hand. She placed her phone and the drone into her dayback. “Two more stops,” she mused to herself, disappearing in a flash of magenta. She appeared by the building where she and Sunset were watching the drone. Looking around, she saw no sign of Sunset’s chair. “For the love of Riley!” she swore. She ran down the street, looking into alleys as she passed. Two blocks down, she came across a group of toughs all laughing and joking. And in the middle of the group one of them was sitting, sprawled out in Sunset’s wheelchair. ‘Time to take a page from Midnight’s book,’ muttered Twilight to herself as she turned into the alley. In the back of her mind a quiet voice added, ‘And I have your back! You’ve got this!’ She smiled grimly to herself. Walking down the alley, Twilight called out to them. “I’ll be taking that back, thank you very much!” The group looked up and noticed her, laughing loudly. The ruffian in the chair jeered. “Bitch, the only thing you’ll be taking is your clothes off! Then my friends and I are going to have a little fun with you!” He got up out of the chair and swaggered towards Twilight. “I so don’t have time for this,” Twilight grumbled. The ruffian wiped out a blade, lunging for her. With a magenta flash, moving faster than they had ever seen anyone before, Twilight sprang up into the air kicking him in the face. He flipped head over heels backwards and landed on his face, out cold. Twilight tucked and landed in a roll, popping up next to the rest of the gang. “Hi!” she smiled sweetly. The thug next to her went for a quick jab to her ribs. Before he could connect, she was already behind him. Grabbing him around the neck, she twisted, flipping him over her back and into the two next to him. They went down in a heap. Before the others could react, she was among them, dropping them right and left with sweeps, kicks and jabs, catching them all off guard with her speed. When they were all on the ground around her, she sat down in Sunset’s chair, then blew up a stray hair that had worked loose from her bun. “And that, gentlemen, is why it’s never a good idea to screw with a goddess. Toodles!” She disappeared with the chair in a magenta flash, leaving the groaning piles of bruised manhood still moaning on the pavement. In the back of her mind, Midnight was cheering wildly. Twilight appeared next to the couch in Dr. Hang’e’s quarters. “Hi guys! Did you miss me?” she smiled. Chang’e smiled back. “I take it all is well now?” she asked. “Yup. We found the one who kidnapped our friends. After an apparently epic bout with Sunset, she apologized profoundly and returned all our friends to us. Now she’s working to make amends, all thanks to Mikoto! “I think Sunset is rubbing off on her.” Twilight smiled. “So we’re all headed for the lair. Want to come?” “I would not miss it for the world,” smiled Chang’e. Everyone gathered around Twilight. With a flash of magenta, they disappeared. “Hi Sunny!” Twilight called out as they appeared. “Missing something?” Hovering in the air in her angelic form, Sunset smiled in relief. “Love you, Sparky! You’re a lifesaver.” Twilight got up, then Sunset settled down into her chair gratefully. “Hey girl! You look like you ran a few blocks. Did I miss anything?” Sunset asked, pushing the escaped lock of hair back out of Twilight’s eyes. “Yeah. Your chair decided to go on a little adventure without us. I had to find it and bring it back home,” Twilight snarked. “Nothing too bad I hope?” asked Sunset. “Nah. A gang decided to take it for a joyride. They wanted to take me for a joyride too when I asked them nicely for it back. So with a little help, I gave them a very brief demonstration on why it is a very bad idea to piss off a goddess. “I’m sure once they all come around, they’ll think twice about messing with the next cute young thing they see.” Twilight blew on her nails, then buffed them on her collar. Sunset grinned and shook her head. “Damn! Sorry I missed it!” Robin looked around at the cavern they were in. “Where are we?” she asked in wonder. Mikoto came over, reaching out to her. “Come with me. I’ll show you around,” she offered. Robin took Mikoto’s hand. “I’d like that. Thank you,” she said. They walked off to wander the gardens. Sunset beamed at her young friend as she led her repentant kidnapper away, pointing things out and telling the story of discovering it as they wandered down the garden path. Mikoto and Robin settled into one of the pagodas in the gardens. “This is a lovely place. And we really are on Mars, you say?” observed Robin. “Yeah. Hard to believe, right? If you stepped down that tunnel and out the entrance, you would be on the Red Planet. And no lie, it really is red. Like rust colored sand and rocks everywhere. Of course, if you just wandered outside you would be dead. The air is so thin you can’t breathe. And hardly any oxygen in it anyways,” commented Mikoto. “Ah! Yeah, I’ve already seen it then. So that’s where we were,” smiled Robin ruefully. “I guess I have to stay here if I understand your friend correctly. So, she is really a goddess?” “Yeah. She’s Mars Ascendant, goddess of Mars. So’s Twilight. They’re also students at Academy City,” noted Mikoto. “Why would goddesses want to be students in Academy City?” puzzled Robin. “To learn, apparently. They’re trying to keep the whole goddess thing a secret. They say they’re really learning all sorts of interesting stuff. Go figure. I would have thought, once you reached level 6, you would know everything,” mused Mikoto. “Yeah. That’s what I thought too,” agreed Robin. “Hey, Mikoto. I need to say this. We keep dancing around this, but I am really sorry for everything I did. I was so lost in my grief at losing Hughie that all I could think of was hurting you like you hurt me. “I didn’t even stop to think that, by hurting others to hurt you, I was becoming the very monster I thought you to be.” Robin looked down, her shoulders shaking as she started to cry. Mikoto leaned over and pulled her into a hug. “I understand. You had every right to be angry and grieve. I’m so sorry for your loss. I didn’t know anyone had been hurt, let alone killed. I thought the building was completely evacuated, but that doesn't excuse what happened. I’m so very sorry about your friend. Your Hughie,” admitted Mikoto, hugging her tightly. At the sound of her friend's name, Robin cried even harder. After some tear filled moments, Robin pulled away enough to look into Mikoto’s eyes. “Would you like to hear about him?” she asked. Mikoto nodded, and Robin smiled. Robin began. “He was my fiance. Hughie Ward was his name. We’d both graduated and decided to stay and work in Academy City, making a life for ourselves here. His studies were in finances and economics. He went to work for an accounting firm as an apprentice. They promised that if he were as capable as they thought he was, they’d make him a partner in the business after he completed his apprenticeship. He was ecstatic. It was a dream job for him. “I was always more on the technical side. As you saw, my skill was teleportation. I got good enough to reach level 4, but never advanced beyond that despite constant practice and training. I was content with that. I got a job maintaining the city's networks. We saved every bit we could. We planned on buying a condominium in the city center when we had saved up enough, then marrying and moving in together. “We would talk about it all the time. He used to send me links to different places he had found, places he thought would be perfect for us. That was our shared dream, a place of our own, living here together, making our lives in this city.” Tears were streaming down Mikoto’s cheeks as she listened to Robin’s story. She held tightly to Robin's hands as she continued. “He was a huge fan of yours,” admitted Robin. “Hughie had posters of you up in his apartment. I would tease him. ‘Should I be jealous?’ I’d ask him. He would get flustered and I would laugh. He really was quite innocent.” Mikoto looked confused. “Posters of me? Where in the world would he have gotten those? Was he stalking me?” she asked. Robin laughed through her tears. “By the goddess, girl, you really are innocent!” She smiled, then added, “Haven’t you wandered into the manga stores and looked through the posters and stories? There’s a whole section on Academy City Heros. You never read any of them?” Mikoto flushed. “I never bothered with any of those. They looked stupid. I figured they were made up stories to sell outsiders on how cool the Academy was. Not worth my time.” Robin laughed even harder. “Okay. Well, if you ever do read them, you might be surprised to learn that you and your friend are in them. “Kuroko I mean, not the goddess. Though hey, I haven’t read the newest ones. They might be in those.” Mikoto turned beet red. “What do they say?” she asked trepidatiously. Robin grinned. “I don’t want you mad at me even more than you are, so I think it’s best if I don’t answer that.” She smirked. “I will say one thing. You and Kuroko are definitely different from how you are portrayed in the Manga.” Mikoto growled. “And how is that?” she asked. “Well, you aren’t… how should I put this? You aren’t all over each other. Not being publicly affectionate. Not passionately showing your love for each other,” explained Robin with a grin. “Ugh! We’re just friends! We’re roommates! How hard is that to get?” groused Mikoto, thoroughly flustered. “She does call you sissy. At least that’s the same as the Manga,” noted Robin. “I hate my life,” groaned Mikoto. Robin smiled and hugged her tightly. “I wouldn’t know why,” Robin grinned. “I don’t have legions of adoring fans, so I couldn’t hope to understand.” Mikoto gave her a deadpan look which made Robin smile. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You may as well enjoy it. “So, is Toma really in love with you and jealous of your love for Kuroko?” Robin grinned. “Oh give me a break! You mean that’s in the manga too?” Mikoto glared at Robin. “In the latest chapters I’ve read. He was heartbroken over not winning your love,” Robin grinned. “Though for a heartbroken boy, he seems remarkably happy.” “I really need to meet the person who writes this garbage,” growled Mikoto. “It’s all anonymous. I don’t think anyone who writes it wants to meet you, especially not if you knew they wrote it,” smirked Robin. Mikoto just shook her head, hands over her face. “So, anyway, my Hughie was a huge fan of yours,” Robin continued. “He used to talk about your latest exploits all the time. He was an avid reader of the manga. He got me reading it too, but I was never the fanboi he was. He was all in. “In fact, that was one of the things I loved about him. He really went all in on something once he decided it was worth doing. He was all in on his studies, graduating with honors. He was all in on his talent, even if he never advanced past level 1. But he kept trying. He was all in on us, once he decided I was the one he loved. He was passionate. “That passionate dedication was what killed him. He got the order to evacuate, but apparently stayed, trying to get the financial records they had onsite backed up to their offsite storage before he left. He didn’t want their clients to lose anything because of the company's lack of foresight. He managed to get everything saved before the building was destroyed. He received a posthumous commendation for that. I saved it, and would hold it and stare at it while I planned on how I was going to humiliate you and make you suffer for taking him away from me. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I can see that clearly now. He knew he had to evacuate, but he put others' needs before his own. He took a risk, knowing what could happen, because he thought he was doing the right thing. “And maybe he was. I wish, with all my heart, he had just left like the rest of the associates. They didn’t care. Why should he have cared? It wasn’t right. But he did. He just wasn’t wired that way. It was his nature. So he stayed, and did the right thing. And died for it.” Mikoto cried bitterly, the memories Sunset had shared flashing quickly through her head. “I am so sorry, Robin. If I’d known anyone was still around, I swear I would never have let that happen. I would have let the battle go, accepted defeat, but I'd never have willingly sacrificed an innocent person’s life just to win a battle. Please forgive me!” she begged. Robin pulled her into an embrace. “I already have. “When you saved me in the tank, ripping the breather off of your own face and placing it on mine, I knew right then you weren’t the monster I thought you were. “I broke right there. I cried my eyes out, not that anyone could tell, with us being under water. But right then, I knew in my heart I was so wrong about you. “It hit me how much of a monster I was, with all the horrible things I did to your friends. You didn’t even know you had hurt anyone. I intentionally hurt several of your friends, and was willing to even kill them if I had to, all just to make certain you felt the pain that was in my heart. “So who was the real monster? Seeing myself like that, I lost it. If you hadn't tried so hard to save me, I would have let myself die.” “I’m glad you didn’t die,” cried Mikoto, holding Robin tightly. “There’s been too much death already. I’m very glad you decided to live.” “Me too,” agreed Robin, holding tightly to Mikoto. “I needed to live, so I could apologize to you and your friends for the pain I’ve caused you all.” “You needed to live so you could hear my heartfelt apology for what I’d done to you and your fiance,” added Mikoto. “I realize now. You’ve nothing to apologize for,” corrected Robin. “You did nothing wrong. I was the only one wrong here.” “You were grieving,” noted Mikoto. “After what I did I’ll never hold against you what happened here. You passionately set out against someone who hurt you. You were loyal to your lover, even in death. I admire that. I admire you.” Mikoto pulled back, looking Robin in her eyes. “Robin, I have two requests for you,” Mikoto asked. “First, will you forgive me for what happened?” “Yes, with all my heart. I already have,” agreed Robin, smiling through her tears. “Second request. Robin Campbell, will you be my friend?” asked Mikoto. “Yes!” agreed Robin with tears of joy. Kuroko stirred in Sunset’s lap. She turned, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at Sunset. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Sunset greeted her. “Huh? Where am I? What’s going on?” asked Kuroko, slowly coming out of the drug induced fog she had been under. “You’re in my lap, silly. We are in the lair, on Mars. We’re all here,” smiled Sunset. “We’re all here? Does that mean you rescued Mikoto? Is it all over?” Kuroko asked, hopeful. “Yes. Mikoto is fine, Yona is fine. Everyone is okay,” Sunset smiled. “Even you, now.” “Ugh,” groaned Kuroko, sitting up and rubbing her head. “I don’t feel fine. What the heck did that bitch put in that syringe anyway?” “Apparently, a drug to knock you out completely so you couldn’t use your powers to escape,” said Sunset. “If I ever meet her, I swear I will kill her dead,” growled Kuroko, holding her head. “You will do no such thing,” corrected Sunset. “What! Why wouldn’t I! That monster kidnapped my sissy! And me! And your friend Yona! “If anyone deserves to die, it’s her!” yelled Kuroko. “No one deserves to die. She doesn’t deserve to die. Her fiance didn’t deserve to die. No one else is dying here. Am I clear?” Sunset said firmly, looking Kuroko straight in her eyes. “No one. Not even her. Mikoto has forgiven her and she has forgiven Mikoto. You will forgive her too, just as I have. I’m not letting anyone keep hatred in their hearts over this. We need forgiveness all around. Am I clear, Kuroko?” she added. Kuroko cried, turning away. “I don’t get it! She hurt Mikoto. She hurt me! She hurt your friend. Why aren’t you angry! The Sunset I know would go to war if anyone hurt her friends!” she raged in tears. “I did go to war, Kuroko. Both Twilight and I went to war. We defeated her. “And she is done. She is sorry. I saw her heart, Kuroko. Right now she is sharing her heart with Mikoto, who’s forgiven her. Forgive her too. You know I’m right, and it’s the right thing to do. You need to forgive her. If you can’t do it for her, forgive her for Mikoto, and for me. And for your friends, who were extremely worried for you.” Kuoko turned back to Sunset, snuggling up against her. “I’ll think about it,” she agreed with a sigh. “Thank you, little sissy,” smiled Sunset, stroking her hair. Kuroko closed her eyes and snuggled into Sunset’s arms. Mikoto and Robin returned from their walk through the gardens, side by side and hand in hand. Both looked genuinely happy, like a great weight had been lifted from their souls. Seeing them coming, Kuroko seethed in Sunset’s lap. Kuroko tensed up, preparing a teleport to knock the little murderous bitch back to where she belonged. “Kuroko!” Sunset said, holding her tight. “Don’t do this!” She looked down at her little sister, deep into her eyes. “If you do this, you’re only going to anger Mikoto and everyone else, including me. For pity’s sake girl, let this go.” Kuroko pulled back, sulking for a moment. Then she tensed up again. Sunset and Kuroko disappeared in a flash of teal. They appeared in the bunker. They were the only ones there. “Or we can do this the hard way, if you don’t want to listen,” Sunset continued, still holding onto Kuroko. “I can’t believe you!” stormed Kuroko, tearing her way out of Sunset’s embrace and dragging herself across the room. She pulled herself up to sit, arms crossed, staring angrily at her sister. “How could you! Did you see her? Did you see that smug happy look on her face? “That bitch deserves to be dead! Not smiling, holding the girl I love’s hand and walking around with her! “That bitch hurt me! I’m bruised and sore all over from what that little shit did to me! And she tortured Mikoto! My girlfriend! The girl I love! “How the fuck would you feel if someone tortured Twilight, Sunset? The fuck would you be giving her rainbows and smiles? “You would fuck her up! You would put her in the ground! You did it before! You know I’m right! What the fuck, Sunset! How could you?” Kuroko collapsed to the floor, bursting into tears. Sunset wheeled over. Reaching down, she cupped Kuroko’s chin. Lifting her head and staring deeply into her eyes, she nodded, crying as well. “You’re right, Kuroko. “I wanted nothing more than to rip her throat out for what she did to Mikoto. For what she did to Yona. For what she did to you. “I was ready to kill her. I was watching her die, right in front of me. I felt no remorse. I was completely at peace watching her die, not lifting a finger to help her. “So I get it. I understand perfectly where you’re coming from. You’re not wrong. “When Twilight was attacked, I didn’t even think. I didn’t hesitate. I killed that girl so quickly I didn’t have time for a second thought. “One second she was stabbing Twilight with a knife. The next second, she was falling to her death on a dead planet several AU away. A flash of power, a thought, and she was gone. She was dead. “And after that, not even an afterthought, not even a memory. All I could think of at that moment was the girl I loved. All I could think of was Twilight. “So when I saw Robin, and what she tried to do to you, to your friends, to my friends, I knew what I had to do. She was going to die. “And what happened? I was floating there, filled with righteous rage, watching the life slowly fade from this woman who had dared to hurt my loved ones. “Then your friend Mikoto looked at me with shame. “With shame, Kuroko. “She was ashamed of me, for the way I was treating the woman who attacked her. She ripped the breather from her own face and pushed it onto her face. She saved her life. “She forgave her, right there, with that act. “And that look she gave me. I’ll never forget that look. “You girls may be younger than me, but I’ll never make the mistake of thinking that means you’re less. The look Mikoto gave me, that reproach, it was older and wiser than I am, and gentler by a long shot. She had compassion that I strive for, and all too often miss. “Kuroko. My dear sissy. Your friend, who was treated the worst of all of us by this woman, forgave her and risked her own life to save her. “If she can do that, I have no right to carry on my vendetta against her. I have to forgive her, just as she did. If I can’t do that, I can’t call myself her friend. I would be spitting on her gift, and on her. “So I’m following her example. I’m forgiving Robin, and giving her a chance to redeem herself. And I’m begging you, Kuroko. Please do the same. Forgive her too. If not for yourself, for your friend, whom you love so deeply I know it hurts. “Do this, please. I know it hurts. Trust me I know. But for the love of Mikoto, do it. Please,” finished Sunset, her tears falling down onto Kuroko’s forehead. Kuroko scowled, still weeping angrily. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” Kuroko said softly. “For Mikoto’s sake. For her love. And for you,” Kuroko looked up into her big sister’s eyes. “If you can do this for Mikoto, so will I. I’m not happy about it, but I’ll do it.” Sunset pulled her up into her lap, hugging her deeply and rocking her gently. “Do you need some more time to cool down?” she asked kindly. “Yes, please,” sighed Kuroko. Sunset just nodded, kissing her little sister on her forehead. She continued to rock her in place, gently holding her. Eventually, Kuroko calmed and relaxed in her arms. Looking down, she saw that Kuroko had fallen asleep in her arms, clutching tightly to her. Smiling down at her, Sunset gently stroked her hair and whispered. “We’re so alike, you and I, little sister,” she sighed. “I can’t help but love you.” She kissed her head one more time, then with a flash of teal they disappeared, returning to the goddesses' lair.