Unwavering Angel

"Don't do this, Itsuki..."

Amane pleaded with him, trying to be calm, but it was to no avail. Itsuki had trudged right out of the tower and was marching his way towards Evermere's border. 

She sighed, knowing there was no easy way to stop him. Itsuki would go to the ends of the world to save his brother - even if it was irrational and cost him his life. 

Amane wouldn't allow that. She may have been devoid of powers at the moment, but she was still the Goddess of Evermere.

"I command you to halt!"

Itsuki had no intention of listening, but the half-dozen guards that descended on him made it difficult to ignore. He was surrounded in an instant by men significantly larger than him and who were far more skilled in combat. There were no weapons drawn, but it was clear they weren't going to let him through. 

"I understand your concern, but you're not being intelligent about this!" Amane exclaimed. "You're smarter than this! Please, don't make me detain you..."

"I wouldn't suggest that course of action..."

Amane turned her attention towards the words of Yuna. Rather than coming face-to-face with the green-haired girl, however, she found herself staring down the shaft of a large golden arrow.

Yuna's face was stone-cold, her wings flared out for intimidation. Her eyes shifted to the guards, who were instinctively reaching for weapons. 

"If anyone draws their sword, your Goddess will be down one head!" Yuna called out, her voice emanating with divine radiance. "I promise I can loose this arrow faster than you can lay a hand on him..."

The guards froze in-place, looking to their Amane for guidance. Amane, instead, had eyes full of awe and fear. She had been hailed as the Goddess since the moment she arrived at The Fallen Lands. Not only did she have limitless power, but every citizen of Evermere was at her beck and call. 

This was the first time she had not had power, and did not have an army that could save her in-time. Her psyche wasn't prepared for brushing with death in this manner. 

"Make sure you're 'intelligent' about this," Yuna noted, mocking Amane's previous choice of words towards Itsuki. "I've been told about your world and how it was much more peaceful compared to this one. I know you've not been out to the Fallen Lands where the real bloodshed transpires. You're powerful, you're beautiful, you're worth admiring...but you are not skilled in violence quite as intimate as this..."

Yuna pulled the bow just a hair tighter. The sound of the bowstring stretching felt like the loudest noise Amane had heard in years. She knew Yuna was right. Without her powers to fuel her bravado, her resolve was not nearly what Yuna's was. Amane's life had always been protected, while Yuna had been abused and threatened nearly every day for last decade. 

"Let's approach this calmly, then..." Amane finally spoke with a slow, gentle tone. "I have no intention of harming Itsuki, but I can't let him pass. Even you must know that he's likely trudging off to his own death..."

Yuna did not respond - she didn't need to. It didn't take a scientist to see that Itsuki's behavior was fueled by emotions rather than strategy. She did not waver in her stance, but her gaze shifted over to Itsuki. What came next would ultimately be up to him.

Itsuki looked back and took in everything that was transpiring. The tension was incredibly palpable - like a bomb that could be set off with a misplaced tap. He didn't expect Amane to be on-board with his intentions, but he had not expected it to turn into a hostage situation.

"They have Shin," Itsuki stated to Amane, not looking to cause more problems. "Of all people here, you should know that there's no world where I can ignore that. Not even this post-apocalyptic one..."

"They're messing with you, Itsuki..." Amane pleaded, careful not to move and provoke Yuna. "It's a trap to reel in the Judge."

"There's no way they would know I have a brother! On top of that, one of the Directive soldiers that attacked me at Firefly Pond told me 'the truth will set me free'. If that isn't somehow a communication from Shin, I don't know what is!"

"What if it's fabricated?" Amane questioned. "What if they had him and extracted those memories to lure you in before disposing of him? These are terrifyingly evil people we're talking about! There's nothing that they won't do to achieve their goals!"

"Then what should I do!?" Itsuki screamed. "They've either got him alive or dead, and I need to know which! You haven't been successful in finding them, so you're useless in this situation!"

Perhaps it was cruel and uncalled for, particularly in this tense situation, but Itsuki couldn't hold back his frustration. Amane just stared at him for a moment in shock. In the time they had spent together, he had never once raised his voice or said something like that to her. 

She didn't know how to respond. She simply closed her eyes and hung her head in defeat. Instead, Yuna was the one who spoke.

"Get ahold of yourself, Itsuki."

His attention towards to Yuna, his eyes wide and fury still burning. She had never spoken down to him like that before. 

"What did you just say?" Itsuki questioned, an angry and threatening undertone underneath. "You think you can just waltz in here and..."

Yuna didn't allow him to finish what she knew would be a sentence full of insults and abuse. This was not the Itsuki she knew - his emotions from weeks worth of trauma were fully boiling over. While Yuna had sympathy for him, she refused to allow him to make a fatal decision. 

With blinding speed and precision, she lowered the bow and fired an arrow straight through Amane's lower leg. 

"AHHHHHH!"

Amane's agonized scream echoed out, escalating the situation even further. The guards drew weapons, but Yuna was quick to re-nock a fresh arrow to train on Amane's skull. The guards were visibly shaking in anger and anticipation to maul Yuna, but she was locked-in. 

"This is really simple, Itsuki!" Yuna declared. "Make a choice, right now! If you want to trudge off mindlessly to the Directive, then so be it. I will remove Amane's head and then let the guards take mine!"

Itsuki was completely blindsided by Yuna's extreme behavior, but the golden light of her eyes was firm. He wasn't sure whether she was psychopathic or horrifyingly calculated, but he knew she was telling the truth. 

"You're asking me to pick between my brother and you two?" he questioned. "That's not rational at all!"

"The one who pulled us from rationale is you..." Yuna shot back. "I'm not asking you to abandon your brother, I'm asking you to put yourself together and approach this intelligently. But let's be clear - this is not a negotiation. You only have one job - use your judgment and choose."

As if resonating with Yuna's words, the chained tome on Itsuki's side began to glow and vibrate with divine light. It did not open or unbind itself, but it was a clear sign. The Dragon of Wisdom was monitoring the situation, and eagerly waiting to see if Itsuki would make a sound decision. 

-- Your 'Wisdom' is going to be put to the test here very soon...

Those words played through Itsuki's mind as if Bahamut was actively speaking them. He was pissed - shaking all over for how powerless he was in this situation. But then again, perhaps that was the point. Just like in Velmoria, his lack of power meant he never had the luxury of acting on impulse. 

He was meant to endure, to experience, and then to decide. 

"Fine..." Itsuki finally relented, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not going anywhere, and I suspect that Directive army isn't either. You're both right - I need to get it together..."

Yuna felt relief that Itsuki seemed to be returning to normal, but it was not as if that cleared the air entirely. She turned her attention towards Amane. 

"What now, Goddess?" Yuna asked. "You're the one that can read minds here. Let me know if we can de-escalate this..."

Amane still had a pained expression on her face, but she was able to listen. Even though her body was already beginning to self-heal through what little power she still had access to, she had never experienced pain like that before in her life. Through gritted teeth, she processed the situation and made a call. 

"Leave them be..." she called out to the surrounding guards. "You can return to your regular posts."

"But, your Highness! She..."

"Not a word!" Amane yelled out. "We provoked her by detaining Itsuki. She acted to ensure the protection of the person she guards - it is no different than what anyone here would've done if the roles were reversed..."

The guards, despite hating that answer, seemed to accept it. Yuna lowered her bow and let her arrow of light fizzle away, showing that she intended to pose no threat. The guards dispersed a few moments later, amidst a small gurgling of complaints and grumbles. 

"Alright then, Yuna," Itsuki voiced as he approached the two girls. "You seem to be playing the 'level-headed' role right now. Did you have a plan in mind?"

"The details will need to be worked out, as a team..." Yuna replied, addressing both Itsuki as Amane. "One thing is for certain, though. If we decide that someone should travel with the Directive back to their main headquarters - then I will be the one to go."