After All...

Having been sent down to the Delta by the Weaponmaster, the crystal charged with the power to create weapons would now fall into a dark room lingering with an eerie jade mist.  Upon its arrival, it would begin to shine, bringing both life and light into the once lifeless room. It would glow a bright shimmering green, revealing the 'Jade Amaterasu' that were these quarters of the academy. This is where people would receive their Instruments for Finely Tuning the world and keeping the Insanity at bay.

Green flares burst from the sides of the room, but they did not seem to be harmful in any way. Here, Paraprysmia would wait humbly for its next purpose.

At that moment, once the light was restored to her soul, the Jade Moon that had been rooted to this section of the Veritas, Trinity was able to awaken from her slumber after transportation, now with a shining halo on the back of her head and her hair of silver a deep, reddish pink. She'd made the jump from the Second Restriction straight to the Fourth. And though she was still inexperience, she at least had the power of the Fourth Restriction Card System at her disposal as some sort of means of defense.

The green flames of the Jade Amaterasu burst high into the sky once she opened her eyes, indicating that she was indeed completely and utterly connected with the entirety of this place... This planet... that was her moon.

"Mmm...? Where is... Trinity...?" It seemed like she was still a little groggy from waking up, but retained a little bit of her memories after the jump. "And where... Did those two guys go...?" she looked around, finding herself all alone. She didn't like that at all. Her eyes started to well up with tears, "And... Where is Daddy?! And mommy?!" It seemed like the both of them were nowhere to be found, for some odd reason... She wasn't happy about waking up alone. She still was a toddler (technically) after all.

"Do not fear, Ojou-chan," a mysterious voice called out to her from behind, appearing from the Mirror resting behind her and filled with the dim light of the Jade Moon's deep green hue, "You're in a safe place. After you completed the Third Moon and the Fourth Moon began, your soul and the omniverse within was rooted to this world, as it was meant to be." A man with shimmering silvery-white hair and a face with identical semblance to her father would step forth from the mirror and come to her aide, kneeling down to tend to her sadness, "Don't you remember?"

The young girl looked up to the two people that appeared before her, having no recollection of either of them. However, the man looked and sounded remarkably like her father in the Second Restriction. She eyed him up and down, wondering what his deal was. "... You... You look like Daddy... But... Are you really him...?"

In her state of perplexity, she found the sound of his voice soothing in her ear, for some reason... Like a lullaby. She immediately felt sedated by the voice of the man and the familiarity of his face and tone, becoming more comfortable with the situation as it was...

"Oh... Trinity remembers that part..." she finally said, "... But Trinity was... Having fun with two guys...? Trinity doesn't know where they are now... They got lost..." Though they did escort her to the point and get the Moon completed, they all seemed to be separated from each other as part of the effects. "Trinity hopes that they are alright..." She was a very sensitive little girl... To the point where she was able to sense everything that was going on in and around this entire building that she was now unified with. In that respect, she could feel a powerful presence at the Front Gate of the school. "Mmmm...!! Trinity feels something really strong outside..."

He turned his head to meet with the one from the Void; she who was allowed to retain her memory. Yes, he knew all about her, for his information was nothing short of complete about the ongoings of this world. "Ah, so I see you've appeared, Crystal Heart!" He chuckled to himself, shooting her a sharp stare from his shimmering silvery eyes, "No need to be shy. I know why you're here." As he was about to explain her purpose, the Trinigami made it aware of a presence that was outside. "What?" he muttered, turning his head down to her sharply, "... Hm. Well then, I will deal with our... Visitors. Excuse me." He turned around and in a moment, slipped off into a wisping plasmatic stream of the same color as the aura that would envelop him prior to. With a well placed 'Soul Transmission,' he would appear before the Gates of Pandemia in but an instant.

----- 20 Minute Timeskip -----

When Tear returned, it would be to open the doors of the Soul Chamber filled with the flames of the Jade Amaterasu for Nightshade to enter into and see his daughter. (6:46) It was clear that they were related (in Tear's eyes, rather), due to their link in the Fourth Restriction. The red hair was the giveaway.

"The Ojou-chan has been a little shocked and confused recently, though she seems to remember my face as the last thing she remembers. It's fine, that's only natural; the shift was nigh instantaneous, so for us to adjust to it takes a while, as well. New Information, and such..."

His voice kinda trailed off as though he were more talking to himself than to Nightshade at that moment, knowing things that others didn't about this entire ordeal, as per use.

"Perhaps interaction between the two of you will spark some sort of memory in the both of you, hm?" The whispering words slipped through Nightshade's ears caught on a stray wavelength, resounding loud and clear despite how softly Tear was speaking. Seems like he chooses his words wisely... (6:52)

"Thanks for the tip, jeeves," (7:07) he jested snidely with a toothy grin, making his way inside from the Gates of Pandemia. He walked directly to his daughter before him, arms crossed and with a stern, gruff look upon his face, glaring down at her with great intensity.

The sheer power of the man that walked through the door was a lot for Trinity to handle initially, causing her to recoil from the presence and start to tear up again,  *sniff... sniff* She didn't quite know who he was, but he seemed remotely familiar. Something about how he felt rather than what he looked like seemed to be more appealing to her. Yet, as she heard the words of her father ring in her ear, she would spring to life happily and run to him, crying "DADDY~!" and hopped into his arms, hugging him and giving him a kiss.




Upon giving him the kiss, she would have absorbed some of his energy; the part that he claimed was missing. Immediately, she would begin to take on his form as his energy poured through her and flooded her heart and mind, filling her with the strength of the Fourth Restriction that she barely ascended to on her own after completing the Third Moon.




She nuzzled into his arms and hugged him lovingly, before bouncing up and down and all around squeamishly, "What are we gonna do now, Daddy?! Huh!? What are we gonna do!?"

Tear wasn't used to people being so... Informal with him. Both Nightshade and the girl of the Void seemed to think that they were all merely so close that they could speak to him in any sort of way they felt like. Regardless of their power, manner was still quite important. However, being an eternally calm and collected gentleman, he needn't get worked up over such trivial matters. Instead, he would merely use this pent up energy as means for another Soul Transmission, of which he would appear behind the girl in a flash of light near instantaneously, eyes sharp and his smile slightly askew.

From there, he whispered into her ear, "Hush... We needn't incur things that should not be too soon. We'll talk later and I'll tell you everything you need to know... But keep quiet for the moment, s'il vous plait." There was a tinge of frustration in his tone, but nothing that was too noticeable. "When I am done with them, I'll handle you and your requests. Deal?" He was well aware of who she was and what she was doing here, and even if she retained her memories of everything that happened prior, she did not know what was going on nor of things to come, like Tear did. That's why... He needed her to keep her mouth shut for a little while.

After rather starkly dealing with her, he would clear his throat and pose his suggestion in the air, "Excuse me, you two, but I have a humble suggestion. Why not have the Ojou-chan take some of the energy from the two of us and learn to utilize both Wavelength and Manna? Even with all her power, she is rather... defenseless and has no skill. Then, you can remain with the young miss in this form whilst WE..." he nudged the girl next to him, as though to get her attention, and to play along "...Will handle teaching her the basics, until she is ready for something greater, hm?"

"Well, uh..." He pondered in a flustered manner, trying to keep her from falling out of his arms whilst also scratching the side of his cheek in a confused manner, "We're gonna... Well..." It wasn't until the most helpful white-haired man spoke up to him, explaining how inexperienced Trinity was as she was currently and how she needed proper training. It was clear that this was the best option, especially since Nightshade himself didn't really know what to do about anything right now. In his past life, he wasn't even part of the Veritas, so finding a place to fit in was a bit difficult... But he trusted the work of his brother. Especially now that he was actually integrated into it and him now. They moved in tandem as one, even if Pumpkinhead's consciousness remained in harmony with the Pumpking's Will that flowed throughout the entire Tensei family.

"Aha! Thanks, jeeves!" he'd say again, walking over to Tear and placing Trinity down, "Alright. Daughter. You will learn the ways of the Wavelength and of Manna from these two here. Daddy will work on the full assimilation of the Amber Moon and the Jade Moon..." Those were Trinity's Mind and Soul, so to speak. From the Dawn, Nightshade would have to instruct that the Great Furnace be moved and brought down to this academy. He could probably put it underground, or something like that. "... Ooooiiiii..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "... That's right. That is what I'm supposed to be doing here..." Now his memories were coming back to him in a flood, and for some reason, he wasn't enjoying the thought of it all. It was just a lot of fucking work.

"WAAAAI!!!" she screamed happily, hurdling herself into the two people that she was left to train with, "Trinity is gonna learn from you guys? Okay! Trinity knows just what to do!!" She would touch them both, extracting some of their power through means of Absorption, drawing in the essence of 'Yin' and 'Yang' from the two figures that were instructed to teach her. The power of 'Yin' would be drawn into her Left Hand whilst the power of 'Yang' would be drawn into her Right Hand. She concentrated reeeaaaally hard... "MmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMM!!!!" and clenched her fists, scrunching up her face like she were about to poo her pants, "MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!" Her face started to turn red, like her head was gonna explode, "MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!" And eventually... Sprouting from her hands would be two replicas of Trinity;


"YaaaaY~! Trinity did it--" Suddenly, Trinity would become weak, falling down flat on her butt. Seems like doing something that simple was exhausting, even for her. "Mmm... Nap time now..." She started to nod off, trying to keep herself awake...

"Indeed..." he muttered under his breath, growing a little more aggravated with the two of them and their rather uncouth means. His eyebrow twitched slightly after being called 'Jeeves' again and being nudged, clearly out of spite. These two were rather boorish, if he did say so himself.

"My name's not jeeves," he interjected swiftly and abruptly, a hint of irritation more apparent in his tone now, "However," he'd continue, snapping back to his initial calm, "It seems as though the Ojou-chan has successfully taken some of our power and made little replicas..." Watching Trinity fall flat on her butt, he smiled and chuckled lightly at her cuteness, his heart growing light again and all tension fading away.

He turned his head up to Nightshade, clearing his throat, "Ahem. Well, whenever you get ready, there is one order of business that also needs taking care of..." His eyes shifted slightly from side to side, glistening in the light of the green flame, "... And that is the release of the Creatures into this world... I was thinking of perhaps a 'Festival of the Hunt' sort of thing? It's the only way to properly train your daughter as well as those who will attend her school." He turned his head slightly, letting his voice drift off, "... Though we need the Gate Keepers to open the gates in order for that to occur..." He sighed, having no real means of getting that accomplished in a single go. "Perhaps, that is where you would come in, hm? Since you must deal with the Fourth Moon in the Dawn anyway..." Granted, nothing more than a mere humble suggestion... Though, hopefully it would be adhered to.

"Huh. Sorry." There was a hint of reluctant regret in his tone, since he could clearly tell the guy couldn't take a joke. "Lighten up, pal." He seemed like the serious and formal type, anyway, no matter how loose his demeanor was... he was definitely the 'fancy prettyboy' type that was all polite and 'bishoujo'-like. Not Nightshade's sort of fancy, but, hey. He was helpful.

When his daughter absorbed their power and replicated it within herself, he was astounded to see how much she was already capable of doing on her own. Naturally, his first thought was to praise her on a good job. "Well done, my Daughter! As expected from--" But, moments later, she would fall to the ground and begin to nod off. Looks like that took more out of her than she actually realized. "Hmhmhm... It is Nap Time, isn't it? Daddy will see to it that you are properly tended to."

Before long, the guy explained to him just what he thought of going on, and honestly, Nightshade wasn't opposed in the slightest. "Well, that sounds like a pretty badass idea," he agreed heartily. "I wouldn't mind having some game to score since I'm back and in a nice, functioning body for once... No more makeshift 'Scarecrow' bodies for me! HA!" He was ready to break in an ACTUAL body for ONCE in his life, so he was nowhere NEAR in opposition to this. (8:55) "I can get in contact with the Gatekeepers easy. Alls I gotta know is howta get this whole 'Hunt' thing started, huh?" Since this guy apparently knew everything there was to know about this type of stuff, he was gonna leave the organization of it all up to him. "So, what's the plan for getting this done, mister, uh...?" he hadn't been formally introduced, since this guy had been guiding him all this time and never really explained who he was.

Tear was actually rather relieved to hear that he was going to go through with this without a hassle. Seemed like everyone was so keen on doing whatever they wanted without thinking about such things first, it was really beginning to get on his nerves. That was why the Veritas was out of order in the first place; no instruction, no discipline and no order, and Tear wasn't having that any longer. He retained his memory for a reason, just the same as Tifa over here, and he would be sure to fill her in once Nightshade went about his business and the Ojou-chan was safely off to sleep. He looked to her and nodded, saying to her in passing, "Take the one who harbors the power of Manna and watch over her. I will deal with the Wavelength one and take her to the other room. After that, I need you to meet me in the catacombs of the building... We'll have our talk there."

When she was given her instruction, he directed his attention again to Nightshade, who was clearly pumped and ready for action now. That was good; it was necessary for what was soon to be unleashed upon the Veritas again.

"Well now... It's good to see such enthusiasm! It would be best to direct it toward gathering those who seek to take the trials of the Festival for themselves, hm? And I suppose the best place to begin such a momentous event would be in the Colosseum, yes?" If the warriors were gathered there and sent on their way, or even if they were to undergo the 'Hunt' within the confines of the Colosseum walls, it would still get things going... And those Gate Keepers to open those gates, as was necessary...

"Merely tend to the Colosseum and attract as much attention as you possibly can. Have the Gatekeepers open up the Gates on either end and unleash the creatures... And, well, move the Fourth Moon from up above to down here. I guess these are the only things that you have to really do in order for things to begin as planned, right?" It was all a real straight shot from here. All of the more intricate, behind the scenes work had to be done by Tear, himself... As usual... But this time, Tifa was here. She would actually be of more use than she realized... But all would be revealed in their talk later. (9:39) "Hmhmhm..." He was actually feeling better about all of this now that things were coming together. With this, Pandemia would be ready to open in no time. "And please," he had to add, bowing humbly, "Call me Tear Lacrimoso. Hajimemashite..."

Everything this man said was making perfect sense to him, and there didn't seem to be any real discrepancy in any of what he said and what needed to be done already on Nightshade's part. Guess this guy really did know the deal... Best to listen to his advice. "Well now, that sounds like a plan, my man! Uh... Tear, is it?" His name sounded kinda... artsy. Then again, this was an academy of art and whatnot, so it was to be expected, but... Even so... He was kinda... A piece of work in and of himself.

"Yeah, if that's all there is to it, I can get that done in a jiff! I'll get on that right now, actually!" In his excitement, he turned to the door and hurried out, leaving a smoldering streak of fire and the parting words "Take care of my daughter for me!" in his wake as he rocketed off toward the Colosseum. By the time he got back, the Fourth Moon would have touched down in the Delta and assimilated with the Third Moon.

After all was said and done and each went on about their business, it was time for Tear to take the young Trinity(s) to their quarters. He moved briskly and swiftly, collecting the tired girls in his hands and proceeding to use his Soul Transmission to warp them safely into the room that he governed; Yomi, the Death Room. There, they would be safe from harm. (2:25)

"Now, then..." he muttered, finally having time to be serious, "... Let's go deal with that Void Girl..." Without a moment to lose, he would make his way to the catacombs of the academy, where he hoped the girl would have found a way to enter without instruction... Otherwise, they may have some issues.