(Remaster) The Abyss Calls Out

Sparking Solidarity

With a sigh, Kiana stretched in her cozy office chair and went limp as a noddle, relaxing with some nice sunshine after plowing through quite a bit of paperwork and orders sent from her Admiral compatriots. The works been getting better for her sure, but things never turn out easy when it comes to bureaucracy.

Oh, and there was one more thing to mention too.

She looked over to the additional couch in her office, where her newest add on, as everyone has come to calling her, was lounging about and napping. "Cleveland...Cleveland!"

"Nguh?!" She snapped away at the yelling of her name, shooting up before calming, seeing there wasn't any danger. "Uh...y-yeah?"

"If you're going to be cozying up in here, you might as well bring a chair over here and help me fill these things out. I've been meaning to get a Secretary and you've fit right into the spot."

"...Do I have too...? The paperwork looks..."

"Well you can leave and go socialize with everyone again then."

...

Kiana huffed, knowing she wouldn't get any answer from the currently depressed Cruiser about that. She's more or less locked herself away from her friends out of fear for losing them as well, and yet she's latched onto her Commander like a Koala.

Kiana's always had supernatural luck when it came to Abyssals...

With a sigh, Cleveland got up from the couch and dragged the chair from the front of the desk to Kiana's side, plopping down as a stack of papers were placed in front of her. As instructed, she got to work helping her Commander go through these papers, and luckily she was surprisingly good at it too, knowing most of the issues first hand and conversing with Kiana to find the best way to address them.

It was...oddly peaceful, despite everything.

SLAM!!

Then of course something had to ruin it...

The two looked up to see a battered and broken person walk through the door, Kiana standing instantly seeing her dilapidated state. "Lexington!"

"C-Commander..."

"Don't speak yet, sit down." Kiana came over to her side and helped her in, sitting her down on the couch while Cleveland ran out of the room, her own worry yet again eating at her as she rushed to find Vestal.

"Tell me Lexington...what happened out there?"

For a while, Lexington was silent, taking deep breaths as she tried her best to cope with the wounds she gathered. "We...all of us found the source...the Fiends make a single source corruptor..."

"A single...so what, a place to make more of them?"

"Yeah..." She closed her hand, opening it as she drew the bottle from that storage they all had. "This is what we gathered...that's when things went wrong..."

Kiana took the bottle and put it aside, already spying the contents and knowing exactly what it was. She sat down beside Lexington, gently squeezing her hand to keep her focused through the clear searing agony she was in.

"The Fiends came...hundreds...w-we were almost overrun..."

"Then?"

"...Enterprise."

Kiana felt that was coming. The girl had left of her own accord then, she already expected it.

Though...the look in Lexington's eyes definitely didn't reassure her that things went right after that. "Did she help clear them out?"