Twisted Tonelico

Phase 02-Book 01: Dia Rosa Rudje (pt. 9)

Previously: Deuce felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to see Meryu, face pale as a ghost. "M-Meryu-san?! What's wrong?!!" The panic in his voice quickly caught Ace and Grim's attention, and worried Trey and Cater.

"Minion! You ok?!"

"I..I don't...know..." her words slurred, and her vision faded again. The last thing she heard were friends' fearful shouts of her name before losing consciousness.

~Twisted Tonelico~

~???~

Meryu felt herself floating, as if she was drowning in an ocean. 'Am I dead? Was I disconnected from [AR TONELICO] already?' All these thoughts floated in her mind.

She opened her dull, lifeless eyes to see a void of darkness once again. 'I really am dead, aren't I...' and yet she doesn't at the same time. So why?

She felt a hand on the back of her head and one placed on her chest. 'Hmm?' Is someone there she wanted to say, but her mouth felt like cotton; she couldn't speak at all.

~Rrha ki ra grandus yor elle zodal~

~Presia enne manafeeze tes yor~

'Th-this is...'

~Was yea ra spitze elle gatyunla en shen manafeeze oure yor~

"Hymmnos...?" She tried to process who was singing to her, but to no avail. "Lady Syreli...?" Her vision was fading away again; the last thing she heard was someone embracing her and whispering in her ear this...

~Please come back to me. To us. We still need you, our dearest.~

~Night Raven: Nurse's Office~

Everything sounded muffled as Meryu's sense had come back to her once more. Instead of floating, she felt that she was laying on something soft. Her body felt like lead; she couldn't move her arms for a few moments. Her movement caught the attention of the people in the room with her.

"MERYU/!MERYU-SAN!/MINION!"

Her vision slowly returning, Meryu sees Ace, Deuce and Grim all looking at her with worry and relief. "Thank the Seven you're ok!"

"Guys...?" She replied back. "Where..am I?...happened..."

"We're in the nurse's office. You... passed out in the Dorm."

"I did..." Didn't something like this happen before?

"Ms. Melenas!" A loud, boisterous shrill echoed in the room. "I am so pleased to see you awaken once more!"

She cringed at the sound of the Headmage's plight. "I'm sorry for causing you all to worry." She went to touch her neck-

Only to feel it bare. Huh? "Where did the collar go?"

Crowley placed his hands on his hips. "Why, I removed it."

Meryu, hearing this, perked up a bit in confusion. "You did, Mr. Crowley?" He nodded. "Oh...But why?"

"How do I best put this," he pondered. "You looked closer to near death when Mr. Trappola and Mr. Spade rushed you out of their dorm. I assumed they were exaggerating when they said they needed medical assistance. That was until I saw your condition." He crossed his arms, his golden, beady eyes staring at her. "I was hoping we were past the point of you collapsing after the Opening Ceremony, but considering the circumstances of what transpired in the Heartslabyul Dorm, I could not, in good consciousness, allow such a tragedy to continue on."