The three friends safely returned to the dark remnant of the ship, where Emely and Remiel were waiting for them. Ina looked around the empty ship, saddened by the shell that was once their lively home. The darkness, along with damage to the walls and the lack of sun, made this place ominous to just be in. The group joined the young engineer, who seemed thrilled to see them all together.
"You managed to come back with Ina! I also managed to fix Remiel, almost everyone is here now!"
"Yes, we should go find Gwyn now..." Neige looked at the ground for a moment. Before they tried to stop their leader, Neige talked with Gwyn and saw a side of her he never did in the past "We'll save her and stop Polyetta, I promise."
"I'm sure you will. You should hurry and get some rest afterward, you won't be able to deal with the leader in this state."
"She's not much of a leader anymore..." Silva said, clearly annoyed "There's no way I'm accepting her as a leader after what she did, I feel so... Betrayed..."
"We'll see when we get there." Said Neige before looking around the room "Is Sepide there? I haven't seen her in a while."
"I have not found Sepide." Said Remiel "I believe she is in her room since it is the only locked room."
"I see... We should hurry and save Gwyn, we can deal with Sepide later."
Sepide found a piece of cloth in the box, she remembered it being from a scarf she wore as part of a uniform. They were fighting zombies with Remiel and tried to see who was better at dealing with them, and even if she lost in the end, it helped Sepide to understand Remiel a bit more. The box was starting to be emptier after taking all of these items out of it, the next one she took was a wooden necklace. It was shaped like a cat, the girl from the future gave it to Sepide. Even if she didn't know much about Snowflake, she remembered how she felt learning that there was a bright future in sight. Even if things may have changed, it was no reason for her to give up now. Sepide could feel that most of her memories were back, she took the little birthday hat in the box and softly smiled at it. It was for Emely's birthday, and even if Sepide was only supposed to exist to do the thing she was made for, she knew she had more to do than her initial purpose.
Silva and Neige both were in what was supposed to be Gwyn's world, but the two friends had some doubts when they found themselves on a ship sailing the sea. They barely had a minute before another ship shot cannonballs at them, violently rocking the ship and making them both fall. Neige managed to stand back up and looked at the enemy boat only to find a single woman on it, pointing at them with her saber. Silva hurried to Neige's side, panicked and lost.
"What is happening? Where are we?"
"We're on a boat, and it looks like we already have an enemy." Neige stared at the woman, she looked very similar to Gwyn, but her smug smile and pirate outfit were totally different from the nonchalant doctor they knew "It looks like Gwyn's not going to be an easy one to bring back."
~Should we attack her back?~ Ada asked with concern in her voice ~It looks like our ship will sink if we do nothing!~
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"But if her ship sinks, then we're all done for."
Neige held onto the ship the best he could, trying to hold on despite the waves of water falling on him. Silva took her firearm in hand and pointed it at the other ship, trying her best to threaten the woman.
"Hey, what do you want? That's not with your little cannonballs that you'll stop us!"
"Really?" Yelled the woman on the other boat "Maybe I should fire again then, just in case!"
"W-Wait! We don't need to do that!" Neige yelled, trying to calm the woman he believed to be Gwyn "Why don't we talk about it for a moment?"
"Talk? I don't want to talk. There's nothing more exhilarating than sailing the sea, plundering innocent souls, and discovering new lands!"
The pirate fired her cannons, bringing the two friend's fall even closer.
"Neige!? What do we do!? Can't you use your nun's power or something!?"
"I don't know how to do that! I would have used my superpowers if I could!"
~Can we argue later!? I can't do anything! Do something Neige!~
Neige took his dagger in hand and tried to gauge the distance between him and the other boat. It was just close enough for him to jump and grip onto the shell of the ship. Knowing he didn't have much time, Neige took Silva in his arms and jumped on the other boat, using his dagger to stay on it. After climbing a bit, Neige managed to face Gwyn, to the surprise of the latter. The woman quickly drew her saber with a smile of excitation on her face, while Neige took his dagger, ready to fight. Neige ran toward the pirate and tried to disarm her but had some difficulties against her. It was like she trained so much to fight with a sword, making Neige have doubts about the identity of the woman. Silva barely managed to stand up while the two others fought with their blades. the blind girl considered helping her friend but knew she would be more of a burden than anything else if she couldn't even stand on the ship. Neige dodged every attack from the woman, but even if she was skilled, she looked like she was holding back. Neige managed to punch the woman in the guts, forcing her to let go of her sword.
"It's over now, Gwyn."
"Gwyn..." The pirate stood up, still in pain from the hit "I don't like that name."
The woman grabbed her saber and slashed in Neige's direction, who managed to dodge the attack. The pirate pointed her blade at her opponent, her smile was gone now, only leaving a face of frustration and confusion.
"How do you know my name? Have we... Met each other before?"
"Gwyn... You don't remember your past?"
"I don't need a past! I am as free as the wind!"
~It looks like she won't listen to us...~
Neige grabbed his dagger, unsure about what to do. The two opponents stared at each other, waiting for the other to make its move. What they didn't expect was for Silva to suddenly lunge at Gwyn, making the two of them fall. The blind girl managed to stand back up thanks to the help of her friend, while Gwyn stood up using her sword as a cane.
"Little brat, I'm not going to be taken by surprise another time!"
"Gwyn, what are you doing!?" Silva yelled, trying her best to not fall from the rocking ship "None of this is real, you have to snap out of it!"
The woman stayed silent and looked at Silva for a while before finally answering.
"Does it matter if it's real or not? I'm feeling alive, why would I want to go?"
"Gwyn, you're the one who told me I shouldn't isolate myself! Why do you get to ignore your own advice?"
"I'm a pirate, I don't give no lessons! I only care for myself and my ship, your life barely matters to me."
Silva and Neige tried to approach Gwyn despite the hectic sea, trying their best to reach their friend. Silva let go of Neige and walked toward the woman, barely being able to stand up by herself.
"You don't mean those words! You always worked so hard, it wasn't just because of your duty, you really wanted to help us. You're one of the reasons I am who I am now, I can't believe what you're saying is true, and I know you don't either."
"Silva... Do you believe in Fate?"
"Fate?" Silva asked, a bit lost by Gwyn's words.
"Yes, some are made for a reason. Sepide was made to obey the leader, and I was made for another reason... No matter how hard I try, I can't escape my Fate. For once, Polyetta offers me a chance to break free from the person I was."
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard, if there's anyone that can break free from your Fate it's you!"
Gwyn smiled softly at Silva, with sorrow on her face.
"It's not that easy... I wish it was..."