Colin's posts

Nicolas's eyes widened a bit when she said that.

"...huh." he muttered.

"I guess that's... a good point..." he admitted.

"Never considered that..." he went on.

"..." he was then silent as he followed her, still having reservations, but clearly opening up to the idea.

"I... I only have reservations because of... well... fate." he responded.

"Will Ana be okay with this?" he asked.

"She writes this stuff. And you know as well as I do that the two of us technically fall out of her purview." he reminded her. "Well... I do, and you do now that you're awakened." he then mumbled.

"For all we know, we're pissing her off by discussing this." he continued.

"...or messing with some grand order."

Nicolas stuttered and stumbled over his words for a few seconds, but when he saw she had already made her way to the door... and was headed out it... he quickly, hurriedly, followed her.

"Wait for me!" he said.

"I..." he stammered further, before catching up with her.

"...yeah, sure, I'll come with." he mumbled.

"At least for now..."

"That makes sense." he replied.

"But... I mean... what about constantly being reminded of-" he started to say, before Pandora interrupted.

"If you don't want to be around me any longer..." she said, her voice sounding QUITE sad now... though she was suppressing a laugh.

"NO! No, no, no!" Nicolas exclaimed. "No, that's not it!" he said.

"I would LOVE to be with you!" he told her, before stopping abruptly, realising what he had just said.

"Well, yeah, obviously." Nicolas responded.

"Which is why... I... figured I wasn't allowed to have a 'life', so to speak." he told her.

"Would anyone really be able to put up with a box being the priority?" he asked her.

Pandora merely raised her eyebrow in a 'really?' fashion.

"...and do YOU want to constantly be around the thing!?" he practically exclaimed.

"........." Nicolas was silent as he pondered her question.

He then looked away slightly, biting his lip.

"....no..." he admitted.

"I admit, it's lonely." he told her.

"But I always just... assumed that was to be my lot in life."

He opened his mouth to argue, but... no words came out.

"Can't... argue that..." he admitted.

"But... but would that be right?" he asked.

"Would we be... allowed to do that?" he asked further.

"I am Prometheus. Is it not my destiny to be... alone? By myself? A lone sentinel?" he continued.

".......am I allowed to be.... happy...?"

Nicolas was about to argue her points when she paused... before he was completely thrown off guard by her final statement.

"I... I..." he stammered.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

"Come home with you?" he asked her.

"As in... LIVE with you?" he asked further.

"Good boy!" Pandora responded, clapping lightly.

"...why? Why would...? I mean...?" Nicolas started to ask further, but couldn't really get it out.

Nicolas watched them go and looked confused and quizzical, before looking to Pandora when they were alone.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"I am Prometheus. It is my destiny to spend my existence guarding the box, sequestered away from humanity and the world." he said.

"So why do you say I am not doing so?"

"I'm going to call the medical wing and let them know the situation has been solved, and things should improve." Ilias told them, before turning and leaving the room.

"I'll go see how things are going there." Cain interjected, following Ilias out of the room.

"..." Nicolas was silent, gathering the box and putting it in the backpack, as well as the molds and now-empty cloth bags.

"And I am going to... fade away again." he sighed.

"Pretty much disappear into obscurity." he added, shaking his head.

Ilias shot a look towards Aedan, as Nicolas shrugged.

"Perhaps." he said.

"Perhaps?" Cain asked.

"Depends on how she likes her food." Nicolas replied. "With disease and famine and all that death, things would have been grim all around." he explained. "Bodies and organs would NOT be in good states." he said further.

"Ah." Cain said.

"But that is all academic now." Nicolas declared.

Cain's expression was that of immense relief when he heard that.

"Oh thank goodness." he said.

"Sicknesses should be getting much better, attitudes should be improving..." Nicolas interjected. "Overall, really, things will rapidly improve." he assured the group that was there.

"Good." Ilias responded.

"So we've saved the world?" Cain asked.

"You have." Nicolas confirmed.

Cain groaned as he got to his feet as well, shaking his head slightly.

"It still hurts." he told them.

"Ugh..." Ilias mumbled, standing up slowly.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Now, Pandora closes the box, and I lock it." Nicolas responded.

Pandora then picked the box up, and pressed down on the top as hard as she could, the box giving considerable resistance, but she managed it. Nicolas stepped up, lock and key in hands, and they nodded at each other. He put the lock around the clasp and put the key inside it, turning it, with a loud clicking and clunking sound being heard from it.

And then... nothing. In the most literal sense. Kiah could sense the nothingness around them now, and the rune on her skin was beginning to fade away.

Cain cracked his knuckles.

"Let's do this." he said.

And so they did. They all worked on the lock and key. For close to 20 straight hours. Aedan and Cain were fine, but Kiah and Ilias were showing their tiredness. However, with one last pulse of mana, and one more splash from something the alchemist mixed up, the entire group was sent flying against the walls from an expulsion of mana and compressed air.

As they got their bearings, they saw them on the table; a perfectly formed, exquisite, lock and key set.

"...wow." Nicolas mumbled.

"You all did it." he said, approaching the implements.