This one's actually something that's been showing up as a Warshade concept in my head for almost a month now. I
figure I'll get the story out so people know her when she shows up....or I'm just impatient.
***
"Hmm? Oh, it's you," the man in the tattered hood with the strange goggles says. "Just in ti-...no, wait, this doesn't make
sense. My scans show you aren't nearly ready to do what I need you to do. Your Temporal Scaling is far too low to handle the stres....oh, oh yes. I know
now. I've mixed them up again. You aren't the you I need yet. It happens all the time..." the wanderer says, looking at you with a fatherly smile.
"Why, it reminds me of a young heroine I've, technically, yet to meet. I may never meet her, in fact. So confusing, the changes time travel can
create. She's not yet ready for the mysteries she'll find here. And she may come from where you do, or from where those that Mender Tesseract handles
do. It all hinges on possibility now. But she really is a sweet girl, once you get to know her. It took a few years. Not that you'd know...still, let me
tell you about her....about how things will be if they go right, and young Twilit Blade arrives here as is needed to mend a certain timestream. Who knows,
maybe you'll be the one to help her make the decision that sends her to me. Weighty, isn't it? But I'm rambling....it all begins in a certain
lab...."
Tales of the Legendary: Path of Twilight
Lynna looked around her. The full auto blasts of Family thugs and the Council's own Nebula troops echoed back and forth through the massive facility. She
felt cold, as she touched her stomach....and pulled a hand away coated in blood. The dark crystal in the container behind her was cracked and leaking some kind
of smoke, but odds were Lynna'd be dead before she suffocated from it. That stray grenade had gotten her well and good. How? How did this happen? She
wasn't supposed to die this young....her parents were investors, not Council officers. Why was this thing here? How did the Family thugs know to take her?
Why did this all happen?
Lynna Mason....
"What?"
Lynna Mason...listen to me....you need not die here....
"...I'm listening..."
***
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Lazarus says, seeming consternated. You gently point out that you have no idea what's going on and
he slaps a hand against his forhead. "Oh, I did it again, didn't I? Yes, you wouldn't know the events that led to the lab, even if that's
where she became what she's going to be. I'm getting ahead of myself again. It really begins in a mansion just off Independence Port...."
***
Clothes flew everywhere as the dark haired young woman dug through her drawers, trying to find something to fit her fickle tastes. Not finding anything, she
looked about on the racks of her closet, scowling at them as her emerald eyes flashed in irritation. Lynna grumbled and threw a pile of clothes back into the
closet without a second thought.
"The most important date of my life, and I have absolutely nothing to wear! God, why the hell am I lacking anything proper? George'll think I'm
some homeless girl off the street if I wear this sort of thing," she said, discarding a top into the growing pile. After a few more hours searching, she
gave up, going to the door. "Sarah! Get in here!" she yelled down the hallway. A few seconds later, the older woman came running up. Lynna rolled her
eyes at the maid's panting from the exertion. "I've got nothing to wear for tonight. Go out to the store and get me something, would you? Not too
slutty, but seductive. And in red," she said. Sarah looked resigned to inevitable disatisfaction with whatever she chose, but nodded. "Of course,
Miss Mason. When would you like it by?"
Lynna considered. "By five, so that I have time to veto it if you pick something too prudish," she said. "And don't be late!" Her
servant nodded, running off as Lynna plopped onto her bed in a huff. "So freaking hard to find good clothes these days...."
The rest of the day passed as usual for her. A length and luxurious bath in her tub led to relaxing and watching some The Price Is Right as Connie properly
combed, dried, and primped her hair, Lynna letting herself air-dry in the meantime. After that was a good lunch, with the usual nod and small talk her parents
expected to prove she was still alive and their daughter. Lynna really didn't care. As long as her allowance came in, she was fine with whatever level of
contact they wanted as long as it didn't interfere with her schedule.
Next were the self-defense classes. These she actually took seriously, at least more than other things, because she liked the feeling of being in control of
her own person. Master Li continually said she could be even better with more focus, but what she was learning was enough for her. She felt like she could
handle anything. Sure, Master Li was better, but he'd spent years on this. Maybe even longer. At the end of their session, Lynna bowed as required and
watched as Master Li slid his black coat on over his rather elaborately tatooed back and shoulders. As always, he complimented her while saying she could do
better. If he kept it up, Lynna made a note to have her father fire him and get another one.
Finally getting back, Lynna blinked in surprise at the outfit waiting her. "....Sarah....this is...actually good. Clearly, I've started rubbing off on
you," she said, the maid's surprised expression fading fairly quickly. Putting it on, Lynna twirled a little in front of the mirror before darting
downstairs as she heard the doorbell ring. "That'll be George!" she yelled at her parents' general direction and slipping out. She barely
noticed the long limo pulling up elsewhere as she drove off. Or her parents greating the man that stepped out, albeit with obvious nervousness.
"Please, come in Monsignor Uzzano..."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Well, the thing takes place in present day(albeit a slight bit "forward", if you will).
Requiem is indeed no longer known by his former name. From my perspective, he used it here as an "alias" as a bit of tongue in cheek humor only he
would understand, and because I needed a way to imply it was him without saying it outright. Lynna doesn't know who Uzzano is, and her parents merely think
Requiem doesn't want his name being said aloud, for fear of any spies. This project has nothing to do with Arahkan, to not-really-spoiler.
As to the name, Lynna is something like Positron in that she's an old RPG character revamped for the setting. Originally a spinoff of the appearance of
duplicate Sabers in 2040, Lynna went from Linna's evil twin and recurring villain to something of a devil may care independent who was certainly close to
the Neutral side of the scale, but never gave up her sense of self-entitlement. Making her a spoiled rich brat here was the closest I could get to that
perspective, though this Lynna will probably end up being a little more moral.
And the storytelling method will probably continue in a linear perspective from here. I just got the crazy idea to use Lazarus since I don't actually
*have* Kheldians yet, and it'd be an amusing reference to the fact that, as a character, she doesn't quite exist yet.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Lynna grumbled as she fell onto her bed that night. The date had been expectantly disappointing. Sure, she did it more for the social points that having every
hot hunk at school tied around her finger got her, but she wished sometimes that they'd at least try not to imply they expected she would spread her legs
for any random jock that asked. She wasn't a prude, but she also wasn't going to gain a reputation as the school slut. Appearances needed to be
maintained.
Sighing, she looked up in annoyance as the lights flickered again. Hadn't her father told her they were having an electrician come out to look at them? All
this money and they didn't even have reliable wiring. What a waste. She might as well head out for the night if everything was going to be half-cocked here
at home.
Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a box full of specific clothing she hadn't let anyone see but her and slipped on some rough jeans and a vest, as
well as the fighting gloves that she'd been careful to buy while her parents weren't home. True, if all went well, she'd not even have to dirty her
hands, but they looked tough, and that was the important part. Her gang had gotten the message quickly enough. Slipping on a bandana over her face and a
backwards cap, she adjusted her hair and began climbing out the window, heading towards Steel Pier….
****
"Excellent, what a refreshingly competent operation you have here, Adjutant Mason," Requiem said, his voice sending goosebumps up the spines of both
of the pair as he strode about the lab, smoke wisping from anywhere his Nictus-infused body was able to reach open air. The former head of the Fifth Column and
general of the Council looked at the large black crystal lodged in a protective tube.
"You say he was attempting to defect?" he asked.
Harold Mason nodded nervously, trying to keep his voice clear. "Apparently, he was in our organization for some time, offering information to the
Peacebringers and their ilk. We caught him as he and his host attempted to escape once and for all. The Void Stalkers were able to subdue him non-lethally, and
I thought he'd be an excellent source for our experiments here, given what you've informed me of the Nictus existence."
"Yes….Arakhn thinks she controls the Nictus on Earth now, thanks to her connections with the Center. But her Galaxy troops are infiltrated by my
loyalists, and the Nictus are whimsical. Given her defeat and the destruction of the energy transfer device recently, all I need do to gain their favor is to
provide results she has not. With control of the Nictus forces on Earth, the plan will proceed accordingly. And the ability to fuse Nictii to unwilling hosts
that this project will give me troops beyond Arakhn's wildest dreams for her Galaxies. How long do you think it will take?"
Jenna Mason swallowed slightly, looking at the burning eyes of the warlord with a nervous tic. "…most likely a few months before active testing can begin.
We've carved pieces of the subject's essence off for low level tests, but we need a freshly birthed Nictus, and gaining enough fragments to create one
without killing the source material will take time."
"Yes…well, your ability to keep hidden is proving remarkably good. Continue with your plans at my direction and perhaps an Archonship is not out of the
question, or a transfer to one of the more elite bands," Requiem advised. Putting on his disguise again, he turned back to them with burning eyes he had
yet to disguise. "Similarly…I advise you to remember the price of failure should this project fall due to your bungling," he noted. Upon getting a
suitably frightened "yes sir!" from both, Requiem nodded and left, the two Masons looking after him uneasily.
****
"Well, that done confirmed that," the capo noted, watching through telescopic binoculars as Requiem exited the building and climbed into his car.
"You was right. This is connected with da Council. All da way to da bloody top. You've more then earned yer pay from us for this little job. The
question is, how do we get inside to take whatever it is??"
The Tsoo Death's Head seemed to be smiling despite the permanent rictus grin of his skull-like oni mask. "Their need for secrecy will be their
undoing. The two who live there have little knowledge of how vulnerable their precious daughter will make them…" Master Li chuckled.
"Blackmail 'n a human shield? I knew I liked you Tsoo for some reason," the capo grinned.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Valles slipped into the apartment, dropping her backpack into the closet and absently reorienting various joints that'd been strained by the weight of
the pack. Even with an alien symbiote enhancing her physical strength and giving her a variety of superhuman powers, the average 25+ pound student's
backpack of textbooks was still an uncomfortable thing to lug about. As she tossed off her shoes as well, she looked up as she heard someone talking in the
kitchen.
"Not necessarily. If she doesn't suspect anything, she won't ask."
Valles blinked, stopping in the doorway and stepping back as she recognized Lynna's voice.
"I don't want her getting involved in this, M'kel. That's the last thing I want.....yes, maybe she could help, maybe she
couldn't. I don't want to gamble on it....because, M'kel...." She frowned in V's field of vision. "You know why. More than
anyone else does. You're in my head, after all.....I swear, if this is another of your problems with Peacebringers....yeah, I'm sorry. That was unfair
of me.....yes, yes, I know...but I don't...I don't want to risk that. I love her, M'kel. I'd rather keep it a secret....it's
easier that way. For her. ...thanks M'kel."
Valles frowned, stepping back into the bathroom as Lynna walked out of the kitchen and back into the bedroom. Waiting what she thought to be a reasonable
time, she stepped out again, walking up to the door and looking in the bedroom. Catching sight of Lynna sprawled out over the bed, fast asleep, V smiled
slightly, before it faded slightly as she slid in beside her. What was worrying her so much...and why didn't Lyn want to tell her about it?
***
The first warning the Kheldian duo had that this was far from the simple retrieval mission they'd been tasked with was when a blast of dark energy
knocked Lynna away from Valles as she worked at the lock of the chest containing the item several Council operations had been centered around activating, known
only by the ominous operation title "Path Of The Dark". Lynna grunted in pain as she rolled, before her eyes widened behind her goggles as a familiar
smouldering form stepped out of the darkness, burning coals locking onto her.
"Well, if it isn't young Lynna Mason and my old friend M'kel. What a wonderful coincidence that you would appear to attempt to foil
this," the archvillian Requiem said as he stepped into the cavern. V-chan made a slight noise of what might've been fear for a second before
running over to Lynna's side. The Nictus watched her with obvious amusement as he slowly advanced towards them, in no real hurry. "And in the
company of a Peacebringer, no less. Snuffing out one of your sanctimonious kind in the process will make this even better."
Valles tried to ignore the villian bearing down on them as she checked Lynna over as the Warshade lay stunned on the cave floor, before she groaned and
tried to sit up. "Run...you've got to run..." she whispered.
"I can't just..."
"You're not strong enough. Both of us together isn't strong enough to stop him," she groaned.
Valles frowned, looking at her. "I'm not just leaving you here..."
"C'n teleport...can get away like you can't," she replied, drawing a snort.
"You're barely able to stand. You think you can teleport in that condition?"
"If I may make a suggestion?" Requiem noted as Valles looked to see he was barely a foot away. "Perhaps you could
simply both die?" he noted, energy crackling about his hands. Valles tried to dodge, but Requiem had anticipated the motion, and dark energy
snapped out of the ground, tendrils of alien energy anchoring her in place before the follow up blast hit her square in the chest. Requiem observed the
resultant crash clinically, before turning back to Lynna. "You know, it's hard to tell which of you caused me more trouble. The brat that set
my analysis of the Galaxy program back months when she escaped with the test subject, or the traitor that helped Shadowstar split my potential forces by
appealing to the weak-willed that could be swayed away. Nonetheless, you've both certainly caused me enough trouble, and that ends
today."
Lynna tried to gather herself as he came closer, but the sputtering energy attacks she fired at him barely singed his attire, and nothing she used could
hold him still. Growling in fear and anger, Lynna let her body go as she shifted into the enormous armored form of a Black Dwarf, before charging him. Requiem,
however, didn't even flinch, parrying one blow with strength entirely disproportionate to his size, and then absorbing a blow that connected with barely a
flinch. Lynna tried all she could to beat and drain away at his power, but she could feel his own dark power around her, leeching away the energy of everything
it could feed on in range....including her.
Lynna gasped, falling back as she shielded V-chan's dazed body with her own, trying to get over the mind-numbing terror. She couldn't do this. She
couldn't deal with it...they were going to....
Lynna. Steady. Hold steady. Tactics. We can't do this, but we know people that can.
Lynna grabbed V and warped a few meters away, getting an indulgent chuckle from Requiem as he followed her, a rift in space opening for him to step through
as easily as it did for her.
Lynna started breathing again as she saw V groan and move again, then warped into a corner out of sight, shifting back to her human form and activating her
radio. "Mayday, mayday! This is Twilit Blade in the caves under Perez. I need backup ASAP. Archvillian has us cornered. Repeat, need heavy backup ASAP! Is
anybody on this frequency? We need help!"
"Easy, easy, kid," a familiar rumble said as Lynna recognized Mag's voice. "What's the situation?"
"It's Requiem. We were tracking some Council troops and then he just showed up. We didn't expect him at all," Lynna said, aware she was
babbling somewhat due to stress, but mainly grateful she was keeping herself from panicking entirely.
"We?"
"V's here too. She's a bit out of it after he hit her with some kind of stun thing."
"Right. I'll be there shortly with some backup. Just keep out of his way," Mag advised. There wasn't any censure in his tone at the fact
they hadn't been able to handle the archvillian themselves. Just reassuring firmness.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Lynna said, teleporting again and thanking Paragon's bizarre geology for the first time in her life.
"Right. Just hold on."
***
"Hey," V said, handing Lynna a cup of something warm and steaming, which the warshade didn't look too closely at before taking a drink of.
"Hey...heh...rescuing people sounds a lot more heroic than running away, doesn't it?" she said, as Valles frowned slightly, putting a hand on
her shoulder.
"We were both out of our depth and he had the element of surprise. And you did what you could," she said. "You called for help and we stopped
him from getting the shadow seed...whatever that was. And you saved my life," V pointed out.
Lynna took a deep breath at the last, before nodding, taking another drink to steady herself. "M'kel says the same thing....but all I can think of
is the fact that the minute I saw him, I froze. I was absolutely terrified. And you nearly got killed trying to protect me from that screwup."
"Everyone has things that scare them, Lyn," she said, sitting down beside her.
"It never stopped...this is different."
"Different how?" V-chan asked.
Lynna looked at her, and Valles tried her best to look reassuring. After a long moment, Lyn shivered slightly as she let out a breath.
"Okay....just...not here, okay?"
Valles considered the constant tight lipped silence her girlfriend had held about her past, and what she remembered of Requiem's gloating through the
haze left by the hit she'd taken. It suggested this was far more than a simple heroic scuffle with a villian. Between that and the uncharacteristic lack of
brashness bordering on cockiness from Lyn, and it all pointed to something that was most definitely not what you discussed in the streets outside a cave system
with a dozen possible eavesdroppers, well meaning or not. "Okay."
***
1 year ago...
Lynna blinked as a troop of armed men whirled around the corner, opening fire with automatic weapons. The range was so close that they couldn't miss,
and the rattling of machine guns was echoed by the clinking of shells falling to the ground. Instead of rending flesh and shattering bone, however, the bullets
bounced off of crackling purple energy as Lynna recoiled out of the path of fire, staggering down an alleyway as the Council troops began to follow.
Wait, a voice said, cutting them off. Several glanced over their shoulders, only to snap to attention as the distinctive
sillouhette of a Void Hunter stepped around the corner. Requiem wants the symbiote alive. If you kill her, the other will die before we can bring
the body back for extraction.
"Yes, sir," the lead adjutant said, sweating despite himself. The Galaxy troops were distinctly within the command chain of the Council's
ranks, alien symbiosis or not, but the Void Hunters stood apart, and while this one had been more eloquent than most, he had yet to give a name or do anything,
really, beyond relaying orders from the higher ups and generally advising them in pursuing the escaped Warshade.
She has nowhere to go, the Hunter continued. No home, no haven to go to ground at. However, she is young, and the
symbiote will not seek to compel her actions. He bent down, picking up a scrap of clothing from the ground and running it between gloved fingers.
If we pressure her too hard, she may give into despair and self-terminate to spite us out of our quarry. If we leave her a glimmer of hope, though,
she will grasp at it even as her mind tells her she cannot escape. She will continue to run until she falls into our snare.
He turned back, eyes glowing slightly with energies that seemed otherworldly even to the soldiers with long experience with the Galaxies. And
then...we will have Requiem's prize.
***
Lynna panted as she ran between some trash cans, exhaustion, adrenaline, and the strange, alien energies she knew were the only reason she was alive warring
for supremacy over her current state of mind.
Do not panic, Lynna. We are still alive, and they expect you to act like a panicked child. If you listen to me, we will get out of this alive.
Lynna nodded slightly, jumping into a dumpster even as she cringed at the feeling of various pieces of gunk she didn't want to identify. The Council
soldiers ran by, but Lynna's hair stood on end as she heard a few run back in and begin searching. That...and something else.
Search every possible hiding place. She cannot have outrun the exterior elements.
For the first time, Lynna felt a surge of apprehension from her passenger. Who is that?
Vod'rzgahn. The Hunters From The Black. Arakhn has brought her hounds with her to your world.
How do we get away? We're trapped!
Concentrate, Lynna. They can track us, but we are not trapped. Not yet. Just concentrate....
***
The Hunter watched the search expand, before a surge of energy caught his attention, the masked figure drawing out his rifle, crackling with destructive
energies. Making a bee line for the nearby dumpster, he waited a moment, then hurled the lid off one handed, bringing his weapon to bear at the interior....and
a few rats that chittered in fear and scurried out of sight. The Hunter frowned, before turning around to the groups still searching. She's
teleported away! Find her!
***
Lynna wheezed, even as her passenger quietly worked at keeping her from noticing how long they had been fleeing, boosting her still tiring body as best he
could. They needed to get deeper into the city, perhaps Atlas or Galaxy where Council pursuers would raise more suspicions. Lynna, by contrast, was still
trying to catch her breath. However, as they finally broke into sight of the tram station, Lynna allowed herself a brief flare of hope that they might finally
get away.
Then the world exploded.
Lynna's body tried to scream, even though such an act was impossible given her body was being torn apart at the atomic level. Every piece of her
that'd bonded to the alien inside the tube simultaneously tried to reject it, a matter made all the more complicated by the fact that she no longer truly
existed apart from her alien bond partner. Every piece of her felt like it was trying to explode and tear in two simultaneously, and through the crippling
pain, she was aware that she wasn't alone in it as...M'kel....writhed in agony alongside her. A small part of her mind was somehow grateful for the
company before they collapsed into unconsciousness, a dark suited figure stepping up behind them. The Hunter conisdered his catch with professional air before
handing her over to the other Council troops, manacles and specialized dampening fields being put into action as she was loaded into an unmarked van. He
considered her one last time before the doors closed.
Such a waste that the extraction will kill you before the end, little girl.
***
"Monsignor Ri-"
"Please, Adjutant Mason, the time for such theatrics is past now, I think."
Lynna came out of her pain filled unconsciousness as the eerily similar voice made her think of the black clad hunter that'd nearly cornered her in the
alley....at which point she shot awake as her previous day came back to her in a rush...and came face to face with a living nightmare. The black, smouldering
face, the glowing coals of eyes, the slick black and red uniform in a pseudo military cut....the face was infamous from a dozen news stories shown to anyone
that lived in Paragon. Requiem was the former head of the 5th Column and one of the elite leaders of the new Council that had replaced it...and the other
senses that Lynna hadn't known she had could see the gaping, vacuum-like hole in space that he created around himself. There was something inherently
wrong with the way he fed off everything around him, and she shivered despite herself.
"Ah...and so the prodigal daughter is awake..." he said, his face in a rictus expression that might be intended to be a smile as
he turned towards her. "You quite surprised me, you know. I'd thought my men would bring you back on their own. Contracting one of
Arahkn's Void Hunters wasn't in the plan, but you required their skills to bring in. Of course, now your running is at an end...as is
M'kel's."
"...Requiem, sir, you aren't going to..."
Lynna looked up at the sound, only to gawk at her parents, both wearing pseudo-military uniforms of their own, adorned with Council insignia.
"Extract him from her? Of course, Adjutant Mason. That was the whole reason I had her captured to begin with. And, frankly, you can consider
this a warning about the poor security that allowed the breach to take place in the first place," Requiem noted casually. "And you
will accept it as that, unless you would prefer to share your daughter's fate."
Lynna looked back at them frantically, expecting them to make some sort of objection or argument. Some kind of bargaining for her fate. Instead, her mother
looked away as her father looked back at Requiem. "...we understand, sir," he said stiffly.
"Very good, Adjutant Mason. Corporal, take her to the extraction facility. I'll join you later."
***
"I was taken to the warehouse after that....someone must've slipped up on operational security or the troops following me were just a tip off, but
a Legendary team led by Lora'lai broke in, rescued me..." Lynna said, reciting it mechanically. "I never saw Requiem after that,
but....he...."
"All those times you tried to find any excuse to avoid the Council," Valles said, her eyes slightly wider in understanding.
"I didn't know...if he'd sent them after me...if one of those....things...would be with them...hunting me. After I met you, I didn't want
to risk running into a Void Hunter again. Every time we saw one, I was afraid it was after me personally and that you'd get caught in the crossfire...or
worse, that he would send someone else."
"Someone else?" V asked, confused.
"...like my parents," Lynna said softly.
"...oh."
"The only reason I can think I didn't know is because they were hiding it from me. And I don't think they were field troops...but Requiem...he...I
can see him sending them after me to punish them. He's....evil. And I...I...."
V moved forward, embracing Lyn as the younger woman broke down on her shoulder. "....they were my parents," she managed through the tears.
"I...why didn't they even try to...to stop him? They just stood there...they were going to let him kill me...why?"
Valles simply shook her head, holding Lynna as she did, letting the girl finally give voice to doubts and pain that she'd kept pent up for months now.
Eventually, the words ceased, replaced by inarticulate sobs, leaving V with little recourse but to remain by her side, providing a reassuring presence. Her
mind, however, echoed Lynna's questions.
Why? Why didn't they try to save me? Why?
Valles found no answers to give...for herself or the young woman finally letting her emotional wounds come to light as she cried against her shoulder.
***
Author's Note: The intro to this piece is based off a (much less dramatic at the time) actual series of events where Lynna and V-chan got their asses
handed to them by Requiem's surprise appearance at the end of the arc and Mag had to save their attractive hind ends from him. It's just been that long
since I've gotten around to writing this.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
On the mission itself, it was, as noted, based on actual events and thus, Braende wasn't present (Ironically, I only mention Mag because he's the only one that showed up to bail us out. To this day I can't recall how, but I recall he managed to solo EB Requiem. I boggled).
As for the rest, while Lynna certainly sees Braende as fun to hang out with and a partner in crime when getting Valles to loosen up a bit, she's not someone Lyn would bare her deepest, most traumatic emotional scars to. As noted, V-chan barely edged in, and that's because it was dragged out in front of her and Lynna can't bear to lie straight to her face(and part of her wanted to tell her anyway, so there's emotional catharsis involved there). Quite simply, V-chan's the only person that knows about how Lynna joined the Legendary in detail besides Lora'lai (who was there), and the only person, full stop, that knows about the parental abandonment issues that Lynna has hidden, because Lynna isn't the type to lay that out in the open, even when it's detrimental to her own emotional well-being. Braende could certainly be present in the house at the time, but Lynna would've firmly refused to say anything until it was just she and V-chan alone, even if pressed on the matter. She likes Braende. She loves V. That's a crucial difference in getting her to lower her ingrained defenses.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
![[Image: smile.gif]](http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif)