Lady Atlantia, commander of the Seventh Order of mech knights, closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she walked down the castle hallway to her office. There were times when she missed the war – the peacetime routine of requisitions, paperwork, and social functions seemed never-ending. And today was going to be yet another dull, boring day. Then she opened her eyes to see her XO, Sir Roderick, standing before her, looking pensive.

    “What is it?” Atlantia asked. “You look...confused.”

    “There’s somebody here to see you,” Roderick replied. “It’s...odd. Yes, that’s it. Odd.”

    Atlantia cocked her head. Might something interesting happen today after all? “How is it odd?”

    “Well, there was a group of them,” Roderick began, “seven in total. Most of them are young women, but there was a man with them. And they said that it was very important that their friend speak to you.”

    “Lots of people make appointments with me on other people’s behalf,” Atlantia pointed out. “I’m the head of the most prestigious knightly order in the kingdom. The only reason I don’t have people also chasing me because of my royalty is because I withdrew from the line of succession years ago.”

    “They don’t have one of their friends calling them a former god of destruction,” Roderick stated. “The person’s sister...or possibly lover, I couldn’t be sure...stated that she was capable of erasing the castle and everybody in it from existence with a word. Then she said that her...sister?...didn’t do that sort of thing anymore, so you don’t need to worry.”

    “I see,” Atlantia said. “And what did this...sister...have to say?”

    Roderick blinked. “I don’t remember her saying anything at all, as I think about it.”

    Atlantia stared at him. There was something else, something important he hadn’t mentioned...

    “They’re already in my office, aren’t they?”

    Roderick nodded. “Just the two sisters. One of the others, this young lady with a ponytail, suggested that it would be better for them to wait for you in there. Her suggestion seemed to make a lot of sense at the time. She and the others are exploring the castle grounds.”

    Atlantia suppressed a sigh. Roderick was reliable – she wouldn’t have promoted him to XO if he hadn’t been – but peacetime had made them all a bit slow. By all rights, she should call the guards and have the two interlopers in her office arrested and their friends rounded up. This was, after all, a classified military facility, not a tourist attraction.

    Instead, she opened the door to her office and stepped inside.

    Sitting on the chairs in front of her desk were two young women, both in their mid-twenties. The first was of average height with long light blue hair, wearing what appeared to be an open black military coat with a popped collar. The second was dressed in a blouse and skirt and wore her hair in pigtails.

    “This was a mistake,” the blue haired woman said, shaking her head. “We should just forget it and go home. No harm, no foul.”

    “You need to do this,” the woman in pigtails said. “You’ve come so far. This is the last step.”

    “Well, you’ve got my interest,” Atlantia declared, startling them both. She stepped across the room, sitting down behind her desk. “Not many people can talk an entire group of civilians into a classified military facility, all with the intention of having just one person speak to me.” She took a close look at them. Roderick was wrong – they weren’t sisters, they were lovers, and had been for a very long time. “So, what can I do for you?”

    The woman with pigtails took the blue haired woman’s hand in hers. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m right here.”

    The blue haired woman took a deep breath and looked up at Atlantia. “My name is Aquila. Aquila Agawa. You won’t remember this, but there was a war on another world and, in it, we were enemies.” She frowned. “That’s not right. I was your enemy, but you never allowed yourself to become mine. You tried to help me right to the very end.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m not explaining any of this well. I was the enemy of a different version of you – that’s why you won’t remember any of what I’m talking about.”

    Atlantia leaned back in her chair, looking Aquila up and down. “I don’t think I really understand. So, there was another version of me, and you were her enemy?”

    Aquila nodded.

    “In a war on another world.”

    Aquila nodded again.

    “And what happened to this other me?”

    Aquila brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I killed you. I’m so very, very sorry.”

    Atlantia blinked. “That’s quite a story,” she said as Aquila reached into the inside of her coat. “I really don’t know what to make of it. I–” Her eyes widened as she watched Aquila place her signet ring on the desk.

    “That belongs to you,” Aquila said, her voice almost a whisper.

    Atlantia picked up the ring. It was her signet, there could be no doubt about that. It even had the scratch on the outside band from that training accident years ago.

    “Where did you get this?” Atlantia asked.

    “I took it from you after I killed you,” Aquila said. “At first it was a trophy, but later it became a reminder of the monster I had become and all the bad things I had done. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You should have it back.”

    Atlantia’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you here? It’s not to hurt me, and it’s not just to apologize – I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody with as much guilt on their shoulders as I see in you.”

    “You – the other you – never stopped trying to reach me,” Aquila replied. “You never stopped trying to help me. And your reward was that I mocked you as I killed you. I wanted you – a version of you – to know that you were right. And somebody did reach me in the end...right after I killed you.”

    “You must have been very lost,” Atlantia said.

    Aquila nodded and squeezed her knees. “I was. And I did a lot of bad things and killed and hurt hundreds of people as a result.”

    “And saved many more after,” Aquila’s lover said. “Entire worlds are safe because of you. Don’t ever forget that.”

    Atlantia blinked. “Sorry, you are?”

    “Kasumi Agawa,” Aquila’s lover said. “And she’s very dear to me. It took her a long time before she could come here and talk to you.”

    Atlantia put the ring back on the desk. “I see.” She looked at Aquila. “You want to be forgiven, don’t you?”

    Aquila didn’t answer. Instead, she hugged her knees tighter and stared at the ring on the desk.

    Atlantia sighed and leaned back in her chair. “You know I can’t do that. Not because I don’t think you’re worthy of it – it’s just not mine to do. I’m not the person you fought or killed. I have no memories of the events you’ve described. I never met you before today.”

    Aquila nodded, a tear running down her cheek. Kasumi reached out and gave one of her arms a squeeze.

    “But,” Atlantia added, “if I had been her, I think I would have forgiven you.”

    Aquila looked up. “Really?”

    Atlantia gave her a kind smile. “Without hesitation.”

    Aquila stared at the table, another tear rolling down her cheek, and mumbled, “Thank you.”

    “It takes a lot of courage to do what you’ve done,” Atlantia said. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in your shoes.” She slid the ring across the desk to rest in front of Aquila.

    Aquila glanced at the ring, and then looked up, a confused look on her face. “But it’s yours.”

    Atlantia stood and shrugged. “I already have one. Besides, I think you need that more than I do.” She stepped over to the door and opened it. Roderick was waiting.

    “Your meeting...” Roderick began.

    “Went very well,” Atlantia stated. “We have been honoured with a visit by a hero from another world. Please assign her party guest quarters and make sure they have everything they need.” She motioned to Aquila and Kasumi. “Those two will be sharing private quarters – I believe the ones for visiting married officers should be appropriate. They’ll also need a few moments to collect themselves.”

    Roderick blinked. “Should they really be left in your office for that, though? I mean–”

    Atlantia smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “They’ll be fine. As I told you, I was written to be an excellent judge of character. On second thought, before you arrange the quarters, I’d like to meet the rest of this party of heroes.”

    “Yes ma’am,” Roderick said. “They’re this way.”

    As they headed down the corridor, Atlantia grinned. Today wasn’t going to be another boring day after all.

Aquila wiped the tears from her eyes, but more came. Kasumi wrapped her arms around her and held her.

    “It’s okay,” Kasumi said. “You did great.”

    “I never thought she would...” Aquila sobbed.

    “I did,” Kasumi stated. “We all keep telling you, you deserve better than you think you do.”

    Aquila nodded and wiped her eyes again. This time they stayed dry.

    “Now doesn’t that feel better, coming here and doing this?” Kasumi asked.

    Aquila nodded again. She reached out and picked up the signet ring, and then put it back in her coat pocket.

    “So, I suppose the next stop is home,” Kasumi mused. “It’s a pity. This seems like a nice enough place to spend a couple of days.”

    “Mostly it’s just a shameful memory for me,” Aquila said.

    “And a good one now,” Kasumi declared.

    Aquila looked at her and smiled. “Yes, and a good one now.” Then it registered. “Wait, did she say ‘written to be’?”

    Kasumi blinked. “She did!”

    They stared at each other.

    “She couldn’t have,” Aquila said.

    Kasumi shook her head. “Absolutely not. Natsuki did it, but–”

    “Natsuki had Daiki Yamato wander into her story world and create incongruities,” Aquila stated. “Without outside interference, a story world has nothing that would hint to anybody inside it at the true nature of its reality. And she has no memory of my war. So, she can’t have figured it out by herself.”

    “She can’t have.”

    “It must be a religious thing,” Aquila declared. “Her creator must have created a mythology about the world and everybody in it being written...into a book.”

    They stared at each other again.

    “When you read her character description, what did it say?” Kasumi asked.

    “That she had an unerring ability to determine the truth of things,” Aquila replied.

    Kasumi’s eyes widened. “She figured it out.”

    Aquila blinked. “She figured it out.”

    They sat in silence for a moment.

    “If she figured it out, then she might still be in her existential crisis,” Aquila said. “If that’s the case, we have an obligation to help her.”

    Kasumi nodded. “Definitely. We’ll need to stay a few days and make sure she’s okay.”

    “At least a few days.” Aquila frowned. “We promised the others, though...”

    “Yuri and Matt are newlyweds,” Kasumi stated. “They’re treating the entire thing like a honeymoon anyway. So long as they can ‘canoodle’, as Matt says, they’ll be happy.”

    Aquila nodded. “Good. As for the others...”

    “Natsuki’s up for any puzzle that comes her way,” Kasumi said. “So, ‘Detective Natsuki’ will be fine. And Sayori and Yukari have never complained about spending a few extra days anywhere.”

    “So they’ll all be fine,” Aquila mused. She shook her head with a smile. Getting home would just have to wait a little while longer.