The Old Friend

Felix couldn’t believe that his grenade gambit had actually worked, but there wasn’t any time for celebration. He had to rescue Velvet and get out of here. Even though he was debilitated from Velvet’s battle, he used every bit of his willpower to get up and jog towards her. She was truly in a sorry state. Her eye had been gouged out and her leg severed off.

“Velvet, are you okay?”

“Felix…” She was barely even conscious.

“Don’t worry, just hang on, I’ll get you out of here.”

Quickly but carefully, Felix picked up Velvet, her leg, and every broken piece he could find and put them into a backpack before fleeing the scene as fast as he could. Thanks to Edea’s rampage, much of the base’s personnel had been wiped out, and the rest were in a state of chaos, so it wasn’t too much trouble to slip out through an exit.

The fire had been mostly taken care of thanks to the efforts of the Paradiso Fire Department which, while underfunded and understaffed, used a combination of old world firefighting techniques and magic to stop fires.

To the benefit of Felix, however, a large crowd had gathered outside of the building to witness the chaos, and even the police had been called in to try and control them. In all the commotion, Felix was able to sneak in and push his way through, hearing some chatter as he did.

“What’s going on!?”

“Is it the Empire?”

“How can the military let the imps get away with this!?”

“What if they come for us next!?”

Practically the entire city got out of bed because of this, and it wasn’t inspiring confidence.

As Felix got away from the Doll Corps HQ, the crowd thinned, so he picked up the pace. He had to move fast, but first he wanted to check in with Velvet. He dashed down a dark, empty alley and took off his backpack before opening it up.

“Hey, Velvet, you all right?”

“Felix…?” A bit more lucid, she looked up at him hazily.

“Yeah, don’t worry, you’re safe now. Just hold on, okay?”

“Okay…”

“All right, sit tight, Velvet.” Zipping up the backpack, he carefully put it back on and started moving.

Healing Velvet was his top priority, but he couldn’t do that without his tools or supplies. His workshop was far and it was probable that the Republic would chase them there. The Empire was too risky and just as far. Ultimately, there was really only one choice.

It was quite the walk, a few hours. Just outside Paradiso was a suburb called Thuri. This was a place that Felix never wanted to return to, but he had to do it to save Velvet.

Along the way, Felix would periodically check up on Velvet. Overtime, she recovered, returning to her usual mental state, although she was still reeling from her battle with Edea as well as her lost leg and eye. Plus, being stuck in a backpack for the journey wasn’t helping her mood at all, but that was necessary in order to stay incognito.

It was early morning but still dark outside when they finally arrived. Felix stood nervously outside the quaint little atelier called “S&K’s.”

“What are you waiting for?” Velvet had unzipped the backpack and poked her head out. “Isn’t this the place?”

“Yeah, but… It’s a bit awkward…”

“How so?”

“Well, the person who runs this shop is an old friend, you could say. But the problem is that we sort of parted ways on bad terms.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think my last words were ‘I hope I never see your goddamn face again.’”

“I see…”

“Well, they say time heals all wounds, right? Regardless, we don’t really have any other options right now.” Felix sighed. “Here goes nothing.” He knocked loudly on the door.

After about a minute, the door opened. It was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She had clearly been sleeping due to her messy hair and pajamas. Groggily she mumbled, “What is it?” as she rubbed her eyes, but after getting a good look at Felix, silent but palpable shock overtook her.

“Uh, hey, Suzie…” Nervously, Felix broke eye contact and rubbed the nape of his neck.

“Felix…” was all she said as she kept staring at him, that was until she screamed, “Felix!” and lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

Felix wasn’t much for physical affection in the first place, but this hug was so tight that it was like he was in a wringer, and Velvet who was still in his backpack felt the same way.

“I was so worried! I missed you so much!”

“Y-yeah, I missed you too,” accompanied by a crack, Suzie’s vice grip around him got even tighter, “but can you please let go, it’s starting to hurt…!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” She ended the hug but still held onto him. “I’m so happy to see you, though. I was worried that something might’ve happened.”

“Well, something did happen…”

Velvet climbed up out the backpack and stared angrily at Suzie.

“Suzie, this is Velvet. Me and her have entered a covenant together.”

“Oh, I see.” Suzie smirked. “Well, it was inevitable with you. I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean!?” Blushing, Felix looked away.

“Oh, nothing.” Suzie looked Velvet in the eye and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Velvet. My name’s Suzie. I’m a tailor by trade, but most of my money comes from alchemy work.”

“I am Velvet, one of the Gwehrtain Angels.”

“You are!?” This was astonishing to her. “Could it be…?” Before getting lost in her own thoughts, she snapped herself out of it. “Anywho, please come inside. I can tell Velvet at the very least needs some help.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Suzie opened her door wide, welcoming in the two unexpected guests.