The ever eternal midnight of The Neon Desert still rages on. The sun, still shattered - maybe now more so than ever. The sands are still somewhat cool, though - it was never an issue of trying to maintain temperature, despite the name. There are ruins scattered about, like someone sprinkling cheese onto a pizza, not aware of the starches in pre-shredded cheese that cause an inability to melt properly. Our duo was hiding out in one such ruin - just a single room, without a ceiling or one of the walls. They couldn't see the city from where they were - but it would be quite the walk if they wanted to return. Right now, they didn't want to. Ika has holding onto her partner - they had both gotten their [[Rest]] for the night, but it was still strange to wake up to an eternally dark sky. Mako was in Ika's lap, humming to herself to try and calm the both of them down. Ika had her arms around, not tight per se, but it was nice to touch her lover. "Maks, you have a wonderful voice, I'm just realizing." Mako chuckled, just a bit. "You think so?" "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard..." The two had already discussed their plan for how to take down The Lady - they wanted some help. Their original mission of playing it low had failed due to miscalculations on the part of Velvet, due to it just being the two of them... despite being seemed to be lost, they had found a line to them, so they could assist as well. Right now, though, it was just trying to calm down and try and be normal. "Sweetie, can I ask you something?" "Always." "Did you... ever remember any more while we were in the city?" Ika thought for a moment. "You heard her when we were leaving. I was raised by her. I guess." Ika sighed. "I... I have this recollection of being in some kind of war room with her, with a bunch of other people. I was telling them how to attack the rebels, or something to that effect. I... I don't know much about whatever happened, but if there was a war, it was probably won. I don't know. It's all still a blur..." Mako reached out a hand to rub Ika on the cheek. "It's alright, sweetie, it's alright. I'm here, I'm here." Ika met it with her own. "I appreciate the support, Maks. You're a blessing to me." "Love you too, Ika." Once again, the silence returned. The sands rarely had winds, despite the dunes being a clear indication of that. Ika wanted to rummage through her mind a bit, trying her best to recollect what she knew about her past life, about Era... She mentally noted a couple of bullet points: - Era had been raised by The Lady to be a tactician of sorts. - Era had done single target elimination - as per the file that she had seen in the Evergreen's base. It still irked her that it said she had a kill count of 17. She didn't like it, but it also occurred to her that it *could* be more. - Era's father had undergone an Outburst when they were born, dying in the process. - Era had, in some way, made The Neon Desert, according to The Lady. - Era had once gone to Aether Labs to take care of *something*, themselves almost going under Outburst. "Mako, do you know anything about Aether Labs?" "Huh...? Oh, I think Edgie went there once. They do science stuff." "What kinds of science, exactly?" "Well, they do all this science, and Edgie said, 'I have not seen this much science in the mere aeons I have lived in The Plane.', and then they're all, 'Check this out!', and then, boom, more science." "So you *don't* know what they do?" "Not really." Just then, a knock on the stone bricks shook the two. Entering the "room" was their familiar guide through the city, in their typical lavender hair. "Good eve-morning. You two lovebirds doing alright?" Mako waved a hand. "Oh, yeah, we're just in the middle of something very intimate. You wanna watch?" Ika laughed. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I'm just trying to figure out something. Do you know a, uh, 'Aether Labs'?" "I think so. They don't operate in the city anymore, I think. They're like us - or, like we once were, I guess. Probably some hidden bunker, you know?" "Of course." Suddenly, tears came to Mako's eyes. She'd probably been thinking of something for a long while, and she couldn't hold it back anymore. The normally cheerful attitude washed away, in favor of someone vulnerable, sad, someone who couldn't take it anymore. "Ika..." she sniffed, her nose starting to clog. "Ika, I wanna go home. I miss home. I miss Gramps, I miss our friends. I... I don't wanna do this anymore. I'm sorry, I'm so, *so* sorry, Ika..." Ika held onto her tight. "No, no, it's alright, it's my fault. We can go home, it's okay. I'm here, right? " Velvet muttered to themselves. "No, no..." Ika turned to Velvet. "Truthfully, Velvet, I don't want to do this, but... well, you see what's going on. It's been so long, and... well, like you said, the case is cold. Only The Lady knows about it, right?" "Right, yeah, but..." "She's always cooped up in her tower. If she had a plan, I... I feel like it would have been enacted by now. I think it's best if we just leave, you know? Nobody else would know, and..." "No, Ika, I get it. I thought you wanted to tell everyone, though?" "I only know bits and pieces. It would be just performative. Nobody's lives would change. I've already had to <font color="#E64539"><u>Abscond</u></font>, already on the run..." Mako was softly weeping, trying to her best to keep her composure. Ika patted her on her shoulder. "It'll be alright... We'll get out of this desert and hop on a carriage back to The Residence, okay?" Mako just nodded, wiping away her tears. Velvet had some hold-ups about the idea. "I... are you sure that's a good idea? Just to let *them* win?" "They've already won. It's a shame, but, what are we to do? To change something like that is going to require a lot of effort and resources, and we're just three people." "What about your memories?" "What *about* my memories, Velvet? I have a good life back home. I could be making better memories." Ika looked down at her partner. "I've been putting my past before everything else until now. I have something that's way more important than that - and she's right here." "That's... fine. Fine. Fine! I guess I'm on my own now. Fuck! Thanks for nothing!" Velvet stomped off into the desert, probably the last time they'd be seen by our duo. Ika turned her attention to her partner. "Do you want to say goodbye to Gramps, first, or do you just wanna go home?" "Just wanna go home..." "Can you walk?" "You'll have to carry me..." This was a sleight, but Ika knew it - it made her happy that Mako could still be a bit silly, even now. "If you say so." Ika stood up from the ground, raising Mako with her, before picking her up, holding her back with one arm and her legs with the other. "Alright, off we go!" "W-woah! I didn't think you could hold me like this!" "Hey, if I have to get you home myself, I will." (End of [[Act]] 4?) You have a new [[Message]]!