The early hours of night left Velvet’s outpost in a flurry of activity as everyone prepared for the threat that awaited them. Velvet herself was in her own sense of a flurry, blurring over holos in an attempt to organize better defenses.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” “Shit! Rosa, don’t do that!” “.. and everyone blames me for being easy to panic, look at you here. I mean, in this situation, I think you would have to be crazy if you weren’t panicking. Even Kori was a bit on edge when she got the news. Oh, and Holi says hi, but she’s right now holding a presence with Kori.” “Please tell me you came here to give up, that maybe we wouldn’t have to worry about this threat quite as much.” “Oh come on, we’re going to have to deal with this problem whether you escape to another timeline or not.” “Oh, nice, so that secret’s out of the bag, at least there is some good news around here. Wait, where is Kori anyway?” “Well, we got the news while over at our own little headquarters. Kori at least had the idea that we should shift over to the other world and use a rift to make travel much easier. She didn’t take the rift though, so right now she’s still with the others.” Rosa managed to look smug while talking to Velvet, taking pride in not being the most panicked one in the room. Sure though, they were still in for a bad time, but she still really needed this opportunity.

“Well, when lightspeed transit becomes a bigger deal, that won’t be as much of a big deal anymore.” “Oh, a future thing huh? Lightspeed, that’s OSIDF stuff. Travelling at the speed of light.. I guess that would compare. Light is supposed to be pretty fast around here, closer to lightning.” “I know that even now, you know enough about science to know why what you said is ridiculous. Please stop wasting my time, I have more than enough to worry about already.” “Holi says they decided to not give you any more backup. Need some help then?” “I can read perfectly fine, unlike some people.. I think. I’m not sure if that changed yet.” “So that’s a no? I’ll let Holi know.” “Yes, damn it, you know that at the very least we’re going to need Holi there to hack aerospace infrastructure again and start the pretty light show. By the way, they amped up security, it’s going to be a lot harder now.” Velvet jumped as a notification came in on her holo, Rosa already trying to stifle a giggle. The holo was a report from an unnamed aerospace system administrator saying.. Hello World? Right, this should not have been surprising, holi’s skill with system security is how she had originally managed to get her own way into the system when she got to this timeline. Having complete network access thanks to archives uncovered of this time several sidera in the future had been plenty to secure a quick root to upper command. More than likely, Holi wouldn’t ever lose that touch either.

“Kori says we should meet up in the middle grounds like last time. Hypertech doesn’t exactly have combat forces, but they’ve done a lot to make sure that the weapon grid we have handy there is fully operational and waiting for action. Her plan is to hit these things hard, before they have an opportunity to react. If any of them survive though, they’ll be pretty mad.” “Great, so she expects a plan B. Obviously DMAs will want to charge the sources of their threats, so they will direct all of their wrath towards any of the heavy weapons. Slowing them down is then quite a tall order. Reloading on this side isn’t even anything close to quick.” “Yes, your HITS hits slowly, I know. We do actually have a secret weapon, but Kori told me to desperately avoid using it unless there was no other option.” Rosa paused at Velvet’s sudden silent glare, a look of pure seriousness coming from Velvet. That intensity suddenly took Rosa completely off guard, Velvet looking like a sudden internal strife had overwhelmed her. After a moment of seeking composure, Velvet took an uneasy deep breath before trying once more.

“No matter what, do NOT be so quick to throw your life away. You’ve even got Kori there who can undo most mistakes, but not that one. I don’t care what you think you might be gaining in the process, I don’t care what you think you might be protecting, you couldn’t even hope to grasp just how much is lost if you fall. In these battles, there isn’t a single thing here worth dying for.” “You mean, because you don’t care about this timeline anyway.” “Even to this timeline, we’re talking about a worst-case scenario. You die, the whole timeline is screwed.” “Why me? Isn’t Kori more important anyway, the whole time jumper and all?” “Kori… Okay, maybe that would be pretty bad too, but that girl at least doesn’t risk her life in her greatest attacks. Even so, the two of you are sort of bound, and your loss would…” Velvet was almost shaking as she spoke, a fact Rosa certainly did not miss. Rosa wasn’t nearly the analyst Kori was.. but something was telling her that…

“I die in the future, don’t I? I mean, obviously, everyone dies eventually.. but you got to see me die. Here, now, you don’t want me doing the same thing twice, you don’t want to experience the same thing twice, because you still remember that future me when you see this present me here right now.” “Damn it, yes. We were doing so well too, but.. things just got a bit out of hand. Kori was unconscious, you were there. You saved the day instead, but put too much energy into the explosion. You were so sick.. you died within the hour, before even Kori could wake up. Your last words.. were to make sure I saved everyone. We had long been considering the idea of going back, everything was in place, but Kori never went through with the plan. When you died.. all that changed. There wasn’t even any hesitation, we just went through with it. Kori then said that she would be getting Mari to make sure everything was ready on the other side, the last shift she could do without you. You really broke everyone, you know that, right?” Rosa blinked, startled by this news and Velvet’s tears. Clearly, this was a very serious matter that Velvet had tried to keep quiet about all this time, but such had proven too much for Velvet. Clearly, the whole incident had left quite the impact on the woman too.

“You know, in all consideration, wouldn’t that mean that my death would give you exactly what you want? I would die, Kori would lose it, she would give you the chance to go back and fix stuff.” “You know that travelling through time doesn’t heal your own wounds. Having to suffer that again.. I’m not sure I could take it. Besides, I’m pretty sure that not having you around to help out with the whole thing could have been a big deal in those last minutes of planning. If we then just left this Kori to shoulder the whole thing, everything would just certainly go wrong again. No, this time I want to make things work before we reach the worst case scenario.” “Well, it is surprising to hear how much everyone looks up to me, it really isn’t something I would have expected. I guess your new goal is to have me break under the responsibility.. without dying, of course.” Rosa had to admit, even knowing this thanks to Velvet.. it was slightly compelling. She still thought she wasn’t capable of very much at all, and that compounded with a feeling of responsibility just made everything so much worse. However, she had just learned that Kori was actually in much of the same spot as she was.. in Kori’s own way. There was that, and the feeling that in another timeline.. she had let everyone down. She might have saved the day doing it, but she had still let everyone down. Knowing this, she wanted to find a way to achieve a better future than the future Rosa had. Make sure to save everyone, that’s what the future Rosa wanted, and it was certainly the lofty goal. Future Rosa had needed to ask this of Velvet.. but the present Rosa felt that it might be much better if she took care of her own problems.

“Velvet, instead of just taking this time without asking, do you happen to have a bike we can use? Actually, since you know future Kori, is there anything you think she would be far better driving into this battle?” “She could always.. no, I guess I can’t recommend anything. Whatever, I’ll get a bike picked out. Please try to at least bring it back.” “I’ll make sure she gets your message. Holi is otherwise waiting for us to get in position. She’ll begin the assault once we’re close enough to be ready to play our part. How much longer until we can move out?” “I guess once I’ve picked out a couple of bikes. Please at least wait here, this conversation has wrecked me enough as is, I don’t want to show weakness to my own troops.” Rosa did as Velvet requested, waiting patiently as Velvet got everything ready. It was pretty obvious Velvet was pretty flustered, such a request was honestly rather sensible at this point. Rosa had even managed to measure that there was a solution better than bikes in Kori’s future, but that it wasn’t something to expose to the present. Of course, after wringing so much of the future out of Velvet, Rosa felt it might be best to let the future keep this secret, for now at least.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Velvet showed up soon after, dragging along two of those weird bikes. The things were practically hovering with the heat-induced updraft they generated. Fortunately, she wouldn’t need to worry about frying her foot fumbling with the thing, Holi had offered to take over the spare and bring it directly to Kori. Rosa would, of course, just be bouncing along her holos instead. She did however provide a small jump ramp for Holi to make a quick exit, completely to Velvet’s surprise. Instead, she pinned a holo seat onto the back of the other bike, sitting upon this instead. The front of the bike lifted into the air, the entire unit off balance, with Velvet glaring back at her. Huh, so that’s why Kori hadn’t liked this idea, Rosa had honestly thought it was just a matter about being critical of how complicated such a holo would have been. It didn’t matter, she was still quick enough to keep up with her holos alone. Flipping herself out of the outpost, she waited for everyone to gather on the other side of the barrier. Once everyone had finally set out, she set off on her usual dance between holos that threw her rapidly forward.

Along the way, she felt the growing presence of her enemy, a ritual she had already grown used to. Of course, like always, this proximity to chaos would leave her feeling compelled to its familiarity, an invitation to accept such chaos and the prowess it offers. Such a thing she would have been prepared for. But this time, as the feeling of being in proximity to temporal chaos awakened, she felt herself filled with a feeling of primal contempt, a complete innate rejection of this chaos that was filled with spite. In fact, she felt as if she radiated with this spite and hatred. The fiend, even despite this distance, visibly rotated as if turning to find her. It held a moment of wonder.. then concern.. and then hatred. Even from her distance, she could hear its unspoken cries, calling her a traitor. The two others turned at this same proclamation, and in turn also ignited with hatred. Unlike every instance that had ever come before, the three fiends did not wait for any signs of provocation, instead they enraged immediately.

“Enemy movement unexpectedly, even without any provocation. I’m circling around with your loaned bike, but this is still going to take a while. Enemy movement is making it very hard to pinpoint an effective shot.” “They.. they just got mad. But why? Sophie, not to ask something crazy of you but could I get a ride? … Okay, yes, I know I’m being crazy. Something just happened, and I don’t think any device we have here is going to pick it up. I have to get closer and see things for myself.” “I’ll come too, if you two don’t mind. It would be easier to direct you to this bike if I was there, present. Of course, being a holo, I shouldn’t be an inconvenience at all.” Holi and Kori quickly dropped what they were doing and made their way to the drifter. Sophie just stood there, realizing she wasn’t even getting a chance to have an opinion. Then again, supposedly her sister was out there. If Kori needed help looking after her sister, help would be provided. She just mostly didn’t understand what was going on. Then again, in her household, this too was normal. She was always being asked by Kori to do something wild to get her sister out of trouble, it was just a different sister this time. Sure, this sister was also proving to be vastly more capable of getting into trouble, but that was a completely different matter.

As Kori herself got closer, she found herself undergoing the exact same surprise as Rosa had. In fact, in much the same way, this had actually interrupted the advance of their enemy.. by having them turn around to call out Kori in the exact same way. A traitor? What exactly did she do? Well, other than playing her part in the assassination of a few of their own. Actually, the whole not being supportive in just opening the gate for them might have put some blame on her too. Wait, actually, didn’t she just finish giving them more access, so hadn’t she actually done exactly what they wanted? The random change of behaviour didn’t actually make sense, but the effects of such a change made complete sense. One of the fiends started rushing directly towards Kori while another turned to continue towards Rosa, with the third staying put in obvious support. The two girls were being considered with enmity, and thus they were being treated as a target. Things had broken down so much, even their presence was considered hostile. Okay, well, if things were going to be like that, then it was time to get hostile.

“Holi, we need you to take a shot, do you have an opening at all?” “That center one is providing a lot of potential, but not either of the others.” “Blast it, there are too many unknowns here. The stupid things are suddenly showing a lot of hatred for Rosa and I, but there is no idea how that will stack up to a show of force. I have no idea how the other two will react if we volley to the one.” “Well then.. wouldn’t it be best to find out?” “What? But that could be really dangerous.” “Reviewing the potential outcomes here, the options are that the enemy either chases the two of you, or the two outposts. If we do not fire, we know with certainty that they will chase the two of you. If you are being chased too closely, I won’t be able to fire. If you two get no backup, you will be overwhelmed. If instead the enemies charge the two bases.. then they would also urgently need backup else they would be overwhelmed. In those considerations, there is actually nothing lost by exploring our options, instead we will simply know the truth of the matter much earlier on.” Kori could see Holi had a really good point here, the nanite cluster would have considered the scenarios in considerable depth. However, in that same light, Kori would have to make her own move. This was now far too dangerous for Sophie, Kori would have to get out here and continue on her own.

Rosa caught wind of the fiend’s momentary hesitation and knew that the chaos had found Kori too. She had known this first by the silent shouts across the frozen gales, but heard an echo of the same from Holi too. The second instance at least came with a warning, that the night sky was going to get pretty bright very soon. If Holi was going to paint colors across this sky, Rosa could wait a bit for that to happen first, she knew better than to get in the way of such. However, her enemy appeared unable to care less, the fiend that had chosen her rushing during her own hesitation. Okay, if it wanted to dance, she could dance. She sprung off in a spiral away and around it, sustaining her distance but making it harder for the thing to succeed a straight line charge toward her. Her efforts at least kept her enemy away from her while slowing down its own distance from its companions. Mid way through her dance, she heard it, the melody of the first horn. She spun her partner back drawing it into a close cluster in tune to the second horn. By the time the third horn sang, she was on her reverse spiral, backing away desperately to put as much distance as possible before the great song rang it’s final conclusion.

As the fourth horn rang, the sky lit up with a surge of stars. The first volley surged forward.. only to fade mid flight into a white haze. The second volley followed, itself being equally interrupted. The great tower unleashed its massive tempo to the performance that again ended in a curtain call, this one at least not sparing the sights of the magnificent burst such a weapon was designed to employ. Of course the pillar of such intensity was nowhere near close enough, the projectile had shattered far too soon. With the end of their called strike, the shots all having completely done nothing, the true maestro of the act settled down into its regular chaotic mass, resuming its watch over it’s two frontline companions. Said two companions hadn’t even flinched, their attention never divested from their original targets. Such had settled that concern, Rosa and Kori were being considered the biggest priority targets here, the one in the middle making nothing else even matter.

Even as Velvet set into their enemies too, the artillery fire ran hollow in the wake of the chaotic defensive haze raised by the central fiend. It was enough to keep the central one occupied, but it left the other two invested in their own hunt. This in turn left each of them facing off individually against their own fiend. Rosa meanwhile had growing concerns about this very factor. Everyone wanted her to deal with her threat without going over the top with catastrophic meltdowns. She didn’t even exactly have much that was going to make this thing suffer otherwise, holos having no practical offensive and her weapon barely scratching her opponent.. if she actually hit it. Kori’s weapon would have a slightly more destructive edge.. but Rosa still remembered Kori’s concerns about such. Even taking a shot would leave her wide open, with her bike spinning wildly out of control. They couldn’t count on Velvet or Holi to pull them out of this one, and their foes had yet to expose their complete hand. There was still no sign what weird quirk the other two actually had, even if the two threats had already begun the typical lashing out at the fleeting forms of the two girls. It wouldn’t be much longer until their hunters tired of the hunt and resorted to more effective solutions.

So many unknowns, everything seemed impossible, and yet Rosa held the responsibility of not letting anyone down. Meanwhile such strife was not just Rosa’s problem, as even Kori was feeling responsible for causing this problem and was driven to find her own way to make amends.