BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Celeste's eyes opened up, finally in bed at her home. On top of her chest was a tiny black kitten with amber eyes, looking at her with an adorable meow. If the alarm on her nightstand wasn't enough, surely her cat was.

"Good morning, Bijoux." she said with her usual deadpan face, sneaking one hand out to pet him. "You got good sleep too?"

"Meow!"

A simple answer, for a simple morning.

Every morning for Celeste was the same. Get up from bed, and immediately start push-ups. Sit-ups. Stretches. With that done, she grabbed her change of clothes, and made her way to the bathroom.

Within her glass standing shower, she glided ivory soap along her body, shivering slightly as it made its way across the scars on her body. Cuts. Slashes. Bullet scars. Burns. Worst of it all are the words chiseled into each of her forearms, reminiscent of the titles she's achieved over the years. "Whore of North" "White Reaper". Names she's grown to wear, as much as she hates it.

Letting the soap rinse off, she quietly thought to herself, remembering her hallucination in the hospital.

"That voice... I feel like I should know it. Why did they call me "sister"? Why did I... hear that horrible laughter again?"

She wet her hair, lathering shampoo into it gingerly.

"It's probably just my imagination. It may have felt real, but I can't accept that weakness. Not if I'm going to make my last dream come true."

. . .

She soon finished her shower, wearing a bathrobe as she made her way to the living room of her apartment, turning on the TV. If not taking out Afflicted, the next best thing was to lurk on the news channels to see how the city was doing. Flipping through the news channels, she finally saw one that caught her eye: the raid on Basilis.

"—Two weeks ago, Plague Doctors from central took out a notorious playmaker in the Plague business: Basilis the Overseas Dealer. With his apprehension, the streets slowly but surely, seem just about clearer than before. Without a dealer across the channels that separate the districts within New Baltin, quick travel has been steadily halted."

Bijoux jumped on to Celeste's lap, yawning slightly, and circling around, until he comfortably fell asleep while tucked snuggly against her. With a faint hum, she looked down and gently stroked along his head, making a purr escape him.

"Looks like a good hit." Celeste stated, looking up at the TV once again.

"As for the Afflicted to took a safe haven within the old S.S. Marigold, very few bodies were collected by the clean-up team. Even the body of Basilis himself, seemingly never showed up. Back to Starla with the weather repo—"

Celeste quickly turned off the TV, staring at it with a discontent expression. She tossed her remote on to the table once again, letting out a groan, causing Bijoux to look up at her with a head tilt. Looking down at him, she pet him once more.

"Don't mind me. Just bad news is all." she reassured her feline friend, looking out the balcony glass door next to her. "We will have to take him out again if he's alive. What a pain."

Before she could mull over it for too long, an orange glyph appeared on her table. It let out a magical hum, as if like a ringtone.

Tapping it, an arcane projection of Fren's symbol — an orange demon head — lit up above the table.

"Ah, chica! How's it going, captain?" he asked, smiling.

"How are you using a glyph with two broken arms, Fren?" Celeste asked, ignoring Fren's attempt to break the ice.

"Mmmwell, I have my ways. Nevermind that! Everyone else is on their way, you should make your way here! Vamos!"

Celeste's eye twitched, before she sighed reluctantly, standing up.

"I'll be there soon."

Hanging up the glyph, she let out a loud sigh, looking down to see Bijoux staring back, tilting his head at her with a tiny meow.

"It seems like I'm getting some time to relax. I will be back soon." Celeste said reassuringly, walking over to her bedroom to get changed. "Also... I got you the new food you like. The chicken kind. Do not eat it all at once, or you'll get an upset stomach."

Bijoux meowed once more, as if to say "okay!"; the sound made Celeste grin slightly, closing the door behind her.

. . .

Noontime. The sun beamed down on the wet roads, but the gust of wind made it clear it was not quite summertime. The trees that filled the district square center were beautiful, as it's leaves gently floated down to paint the usually gray brick with vibrant orange and yellow leaves. Compared to usual, the citizens seemed a bit more... at ease. Maybe the pursuit of the Rat Basilis comforted the townsfolk.

Celeste, enjoying her stroll down to the bar by the square, wore a burgundy turtleneck sweater, a dark gray short skirt, black tights, and black boots; her usual casual attire. Her hair was tied back into a long ponytail, and her hair brushed in a way where it was truly free: it's form as if clouds of white with a tint of pink, swirling in the breeze. She had small red studs for earrings, and a pair of black-framed thin glasses. Celeste looked nicer than her usual self, to say the least.

Looking up at the sign to the bar, she read the sign above the large glass doors. "The Elderberry Father". She felt a bead of sweat run down her temple, unamused by such a name. Nevertheless, she pushed the metal door handle on the glass door, making her way in, and looking for the others.

"If I were a carefree group of people who just want to enjoy a day off, where would I be?" she said in her head, looking around until her eyes trailed over and saw everyone by the bar, chatting amongst themselves. "I thought they would have reserved a booth for us. Huh. That works too."

Terra was the first to notice her, glancing over and having a double take, his face growing a bright red hue. Everyone else one by one looked over as well, waving her over, but Terra was too awestruck to manage even that, time seemingly slowing down around him.

"Sorry I am late." Celeste simply said, taking the empty seat between everyone on the bar seats. "I thought you were kidding at first."

Netz clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Oh, Celeste... You should know that we meant what we meant when we invited you out to a bar. Now..."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He slid a tall glass of alcohol towards her, prompting her to catch it on instinct.

"Drink up."

She stared at the glass for a moment, then up at everyone else, who were all staring at her expectingly; besides Terra whom was still staring with a mix of shock and love.

Letting out a soft sigh, she quickly raised the glass, drinking it all in one fell swoop. Such a sight made everyone cheer on for her, and once again, Terra watched on with his mouth agape, absolutely flabbergasted.

Celeste wiped her mouth, humming slightly.

"If it helps you all, I will do it." she stated. After she spoke, her gaze trailed to see Terra, still staring at her all the same in shock. With a flustered blush — despite her nonchalant expression — she turned away from him to hide her sight from him.

Fren was quick to pick up on this, nudging Terra's shoulder with a gentle laugh.

"Aye, cálmate niño... You keep staring like that, and she will avoid you like... well, like the plague!"

Terra snapped out of it, looking at Fren with a nervous blush across his face.

"W-Wait, I was staring?" Terra asked, covering his cheeks with his hands, "Oh shoot... I didn't even realize...!"

. . .

The bar was lively, full of residents who finally escaped the mercy of the city of New Baltin, if only for this moment. The white noise of patrons chatting and laughing along the night gave those who were here a warm feeling in their core. Bright, homely, honest: these were the brand identity the owner upholds every day.

The Plague Doctors were chatting while buzzed, a faint redness along their face making it aware that the alcohol was taking affect. Terra, who took one more swig of his whiskey, let out a loud exhale and laugh, looking over at Joker.

"Oi oi oi! Tell me, the hell happened to you in the past, huh?" he asked, snickering. "How in the world does some guy walk around as a skeleton nowadays?"

Joker let out a hiccup; even a dead man walking like him could drink alcohol, it seemed.

"It's a long long long storyyyy... Let's say one thing led to another, yeah? One thing let to another, and I... I fuckin died! Haha!"

"No shit, dumbass! You're a skeleton!!"

"What, got a bone to pick with me or something?!"

Everyone but Celeste began to boo him, giving him a thumbs down for such a horrible pun.

"Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week! Hahaaaaaahh! Ahh... Well, if you really wanna know, my Arcane kicked in right when I died, keeping my soul in that portal of mine. I went back to my body, but y'already know that my ass got cooked already. Sis here was all "Wahhhh, wahhhh!!", thinking I'm dead and shit!"

As he mocked Kinae, she let out a loud whine, punching his shoulder between hiccups.

"Heyyyyyy, shut up! That's no fair, I thought you were dead!" she whimpered out, then suddenly switched to flirty, trailing her finger along Terra's shoulder. "You would do the same if you were in my situation, riiiiight...?~"

He audibly gulped, waving her off flusteredly.

"Heyyy, come on! Stop thaaaat! Hey hey, what about you, Fren? What's your story?"

Fren took a sip of his ale, smiling.

"I used to be a Rat, actually! Ay dios mio, was it a saga... If it weren't for Celeste here, I'd be dead. Made a promise that I'd clean myself up and fight against the Rats, if it means I can turn my life around." he answered, recalling his past while looking at his reflection on the bottle. "It's all been a fun ride so far, ay? I'd love to keep it up for forever, if I could!"

Terra's eyes widened, taking another swig of his drink. "A Rat? Really? Thought you were just some street kid like me. Huh...

Mmwhat about you Kinae? What's your story?"

Kinae took a big sip of her drink as well, exhaling and laughing.

"Meeeee?~ Well, I used to go to elementary school before the war to the East! They were all "pssshheeewww", then "BOOOOOM"! Ahh... Joker died back then, and I just barely unlocked my Arcane to protect him! Control of all metals will do that to ya, ehhhh?~" she asked after her tale, stealing Terra's drink and taking a sip. "Mwehehe, indirect kissy...~"

Terra pouted, quickly snatching it back with a silly grin. Joker used his portal to poke Terra on the forehead with his cane, chuckling to himself.

"What about you, kid? What's your story?" he asked, still poking Terra as he spoke. Terra slapped the cane away, laughing before taking another drink.

"You wanna know about me? Heh, you're in for a story!" he began, triumphantly holding his glass up to the air. "I lost my parents and home at the young age of twelve! I went to school... and then dropped out! From there, I've grown up as a thief, stealing from the rich to pay for my own expenses!"

Kinae stared up at him while clasping her hands together, leaning back and forth excitedly.

"Oh, oh! Then what, then what?!~"

"When I was old enough to gamble, I took my chances and went to the Jellyfish Casino! From there, I bet plenty, and bet big... and every time I spun the wheel, I won! I was making millions!" Terra continued, taking a big gulp of his whiskey.

The Plague Doctors stared up in awe, now all interested on how this story would go.

"So then what, ay? How come you don't have that money anymore niño?" Fren asked, sipping his drink after and raising an eyebrow towards him.

"Aha!" Terra exclaimed, pointing at Fren, "Excellent question! I suddenly lost one of my bets, thanks to Basilis' men cheating in the spin! They magnetized the ball to red, instead of black! From there, I was stuck in debt to them for years... until we went back and crushed him! Haha!~"

With a victorious laugh, he held his drink high into the air, as if to give a toast.

"To the Plague Doctors! To Asclepius Squadron Four! To the defeat of all the Rats in New Baltin!"

With his toast, they all raised their glasses, clinking them together.

"Cheers!~"

Even Celeste had been sipping her drink alongside everyone else. Terra glanced over to see that her, and something bubbled up within him. Whether it be confidence, the alcohol talking, or both... he suddenly spoke up to her.

All that was left was to ask Netz and Celeste about their stories; their past. Asking the two leaders of what could be a sensitive topic terrified him, but... the alcoholic buzz took over, speaking up to them.

"What about you two? Celeste, Netz? What's your story?"

All of the Plague Doctors suddenly went silent, staring at Terra while frantically signalling him to shush. Despite this, he went on.

"We all were free to share! C'mon, I'm curious! I want to know you all better!~" he asked innocently, smiling bright. Despite his attempt, the expression on Celeste dimmed down to a cold quietness.

"Terra..." Fren interjected, placing a hand on Terra's shoulder. His silence afterwards was vivid, as if to hush Terra. He shook his head.

Terra looked back with a meek expression, finally realizing what was happening. He glanced over at Celeste, who was already standing up from her seat, placing a tip on the bar.

"Thanks for the drinks." she simply said, stepping out of the bar.

Just as she left, Joker slapped the back of Terra's head. Hissing out in pain, he looked up to see the frustrated skeleton stare back at him.

"Y'know how long it takes to get Celeste to leave her house if she isn't working?!" he exclaimed, then let out a low sigh, "Awwwwh shit, she's probably not gonna go out with us for awhile. Damn..."

Feeling the guilt rush through his body, he quickly got up, following after Celeste.

"I-I'll go talk to her. I'm sorry." he quickly said, leaving the bar with haste. He could be seen through the glass windows calling out for Celeste, before running out to the left, out of the vision of the other Plague Doctors.

Netz sipped on some apple juice, looking at the others at the bar still, and then at his drink, then at the others again.

"You know, I could have explained it for him." he mumbled out, then chuckling mischievously, "Heh, I suppose I will let him find it out on his own..."

The others stared at Netz with an unamused scowl, rolling their eyes collectively at him.

. . .

"Celeste? Celeste?!" Terra called out, looking around the block to find her. A sinking feeling crept through his stomach, worry planting a seed within him. He finally began to speed walk, before breaking out into a full jog, looking for her, wherever she went.

"Celeste! Where did you go?! Celeste!!"

It was then he finally caught a glimpse of that flowing hair in the distance down the sidewalk, making his eyes widen. With haste, he began to sprint through the commute of people in the sidewalk, trying to catch up to her.

"Celeste! Celeste!!" Terra called out once more, bumping into people more and more, until he finally broke free from the commute. Seeing her full figure, walking down the stone brick trail away from him... it was oddly mesmerizing. He snapped out of it, finally making to right behind her, and slouching forward with his hands on his knees, panting.

Celeste stopped, still facing away from him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, "Were you not spending time with the others?"

"Look..." Terra began, still trying to catch his breath, "I know I screwed up. I shouldn't have asked you about your past, considering how seclusive you like to be. That was my bad..."

"And what about joining my team...?"

She finally glanced back at him over her shoulder.

"You have no Arcane. Just because you had the lucky chance against Basilis in that fight, doesn't mean the others will be like that. You know that, right...?"

Those words stung into Terra's chest, but nevertheless, he tried to interject.

"But I—"

"Why did you walk forward in that boat? What point were you trying to prove? How quickly you can jeopardize everyone?"

"Celeste—"

"In my eyes, you were a dumb civilian. Someone who could have got himself, and those around him, killed in an instant..."

She finally turned to face him, staring deep into his heart with those piercing eyes.

"Why do you care so much to stay? We all doubted you. Skeptical about you. Hell, one of us even took your sister away from you.

Why are you so adamant to be something you're not?"

Terra was frozen, staring at Celeste while gulping. Snapping out of it, he pointed at Celeste, staring at her with those fiery eyes he had with Pierce days ago.

"Who are you to tell me who I am?!"

Both of them stared at one another with dangerous glares, the tension only growing... until Terra finally sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Look... I know just as well as everyone else how terrible this city is. Whatever you went through, I'm sure it was horrible. Especially if it's bad enough to wanna keep it to yourself."

His gaze softened, looking at her with sincere, pained... but kind eyes.

"I may not have an ideal. I may not have a dream, living only in the present... but dammit, I want to fight for the right thing, like all of you are."

Celeste's anger wavered, shifting to a more perplexed expression.

"You do not know a thing. Not a single thing. Why do you care so much?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Terra grinned, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"I made a promise to someone. Besides... I ain't going anywhere until I get to break through that façade of yours." he said, smiling brightly to her.

The sun shined down on them through the clouds, as Celeste's eyes widened ever so slightly. Everything around them seemingly faded into obscurity, slowing down to a blur. She... felt something, deep in her core. Something that wasn't anger or hatred. Something positive.

Terra laughed over her flustered processing, making him raise his hand to her.

"See? All you need is some kindness." he said with a wink, "For saving me... I wanna save you. That's justice to me."

Celeste could feel a redness cover her face with those words, looking away from him. She felt as though if she were to stare any longer, she'd get mad at him once again.

Just as she looked away however, Terra was quick to grab her hand, pulling her back to the bar with a smile.

"W-Wait, what are you—?" she squeaked out, before Terra quickly cut her off.

"C'mon, they're worried sick! Let's enjoy the day while it's here, alright?"

Celeste wanted so badly to pull away. To smack his hand to the side, and leave then and there. However... in that moment, where that smiling face looked back at her, reassuring her, and comforting her... All she could feel was...

Happiness.

"...Yeah." she said with a quiet grin.