16 - Photograph

“What is going on?” Aizawa asked. “Why did they attack you?”

“We were trying to c-c-chase down an intelligence gatherer from the Heisei.” Katya said, fear slowly devouring her mind. “They attacked us because...”

“Lady Aizawa, why did you erase her memories?” Nightseer asked, taking a step forward. He held his blade close to his head, ready to either kill himself or Katya at a moment’s notice. “Katya, drop all your reinforcement.”

“There is a reason I did that.” Aizawa said, her expression remaining calm as if she spoke the truth.

“Is that so?” Nightseer asked.

“Katya was experiencing extreme grief.” Aizawa explained. “She was nearing borderline self-destructive behavior. She could not handle things anymore, especially after the integrity of LV2 was breached by Nachtvessel Alpha.”

“You don’t know about grief.” Nightseer said. “You don’t know anything about grief or emotions. You don’t know what she was feeling and you had no right to erase her friend from her mind!” Nightseer yelled.

“Nightseer...” Aizawa said.

"Matter of fact...g-get back! All of you!" Nightseer said, taking a step forward. Despite the Nachtvessels and Aizawa herself standing in front of her, he was ready to hold his ground if it meant making sure Katya could escape. "All of you, none of you know anything!"

"It was the optimal and most humane course of action." Aizawa said.

"And what do you know about what's humane?!" Nightseer yelled. Even he was surprised by how much he raised his voice, especially against his employer. Aizawa acted surprised too. "You're...you're not even a human anymore! It's like you don't even know what a human even is!"

As the many shells continued raining upon the city in the background, the participants of this grueling standoff entered a strange silence. But a few moments later, Nightseer noticed something that he'd never seen before in his life. Aizawa's expression....changed.

"No..."

"No way, she's...crying?!"

Indeed, a tear slowly ran down Aizawa's cheek. Her eyes got more, as she looked at Nightseer with a sorrowful face.

"Lady...Aizawa?" Katya asked, slowly taking a step forward. Nightseer was still too shook to react in any way.

"No way...I've...never seen her express any emotions whatsoever, especially like this."

"I thought she was incapable of crying."

"I..." Aizawa spoke through the tears. "I simply wanted to...pick the most optimal route in order to keep the morale of my soldiers high. I eliminated the root of the problem. But..."

"You had no right to mess with my head, especially after you promised that you wouldn't!" Katya lashed out.

"I...am aware...that this might have seemed like an unfortunate decision, but..."

"Lady Aizawa." Nightseer asked, his voice now calm, but as intense as a raging thunderstorm. "Why...did you give this life to us?"

"Because it was a mutually beneficial exchange." Aizawa said, more tears slowly sliding down her face. "I resurrected you from a perilous state. In exchange for your life which you were content with, you would aid me in my cause."

"Bullshit!" Nightseer yelled. "Then why is a warning the very first thing I remember?! It was you, wasn't it? All along, it was you! We just...trusted you!"

"Lady Aizawa..." Katya asked, slowly approaching her more and more. "Who was...Reiner?"

"I sincerely apologize for overstepping my boundaries..." Aizawa said, kneeling down. "Please...forgive me for my mistake..."

Her tears slowly dripped on the ground, like the bombs being dropped on the city. For the first time in perhaps her entire life, Aizawa appeared...vulnerable.

"Soon, the Heisei will attack." Aizawa said, raising her head a little. "This is my desperate plea to you. Do not leave my side. Because if you do, we will both perish. Me and the stronghold by the hands of the Heisei, and you, by their relentless efforts to hunt you down."

"I want to know who Reiner is." Katya said.

"I will...correct my mistake." Aizawa said, abruptly standing up. "I will return those memories to you. Everything that I have taken from you will be returned to you."

"That includes our lives-"

"I just want to know who Reiner was." Katya interrupted Nightseer. Even though she was hesitant, her own desire of that knowledge surpassed her gut and allowed her to approach Aizawa.

"Wait!" Nightseer said, quickly running up behind her. "Katya, this is going to hurt, but...have your regeneration active, okay?"

Nightseer quickly stabber her with his blade. He inserted it into her back, and the rest of the blade came out of her abdomen. Nightseer made sure that no vitals were struck and it was as painless as possible, but a stab was still a stab.

"N-Nighty?!" Katya quickly tried to spring froward, but Nightseer held her in place.

"I don't know if you even remember, but this is how I protected Reiner from the ice manipulator's attack." Nightseer said. "Assuming memory manipulation attacks the body, if she tries anything, I'll be able to protect you from it."

"I hope she tries something."

"I hope I get the chance to deflect her memory erasure back at her, and kill her off for good. And the Nachtvessels...I'll find a way to deal with them."

"Please, I beg you to allow me to redeem myself..." Aizawa said, sounding even more desperate.

"She's never been like this..." Nightseer thought. "Katya, we approach her slowly. Make sure the blade remains inside you."

The two sides carefully approached each other. Once they were face to face, Aizawa slowly raised her hand and put it on Katya's forehead. Katya was scared, but she trusted that Nightseer would protect him if anything were to happen.

"Memory Injection."

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"Reiner...you were..."

As the most intense minute of their lives passed, Katya found herself filled, even overwhelmed with information. All of the information regarding her comrade was recovered. Aizawa pulled her head back and still looked like she was sorry for everything. Katya, however, escaped the blade, turned around and looked at Nightseer.

"I remember him now..." She smiled.

"You...do?"

"Yeah." Katya smiled, her smile brighter than the cursed moon above them. "I do...he was a joker, and he was bad at card games..."

Nightseer sighed in relief. He was still cautious, but seeing Katya's smiled warmed his heart enough to surpass his reasonably paranoid stance. Aizawa took a step towards them, not bothering to wipe the tears off her face.

"The Heisei is going to attack at any moment. We must reposition immediately." Aizawa said. "We may discuss these...predicaments when our safety is not compromised."

"Lady Aizawa..." Nightseer asked. "Why did you not just...turn us into Nachtvessels?"

"Because there is a difference between you...and them." Aizawa explained. "There is a reason you are the soldiers of the special task force, not them. You...are my priceless soldiers."

She hugged Katya.

Katya didn't know how to respond at the moment, she had never been in this situation before, but she accepted the embrace. Despite the pain and fear of forgetting, she was grateful to Aizawa. She found it in herself to forgive her. Nightseer watched, still unable to believe what was in front of him, but still...even he felt hopeful. Aizawa slowly let go.

"Head towards the castle. We will hold our positions there."

"I..."

Nightseer slowly took a few steps back and turned to walk towards the castle. Katya followed suit, and Aizawa walked behind them.

"Knowing how obsessed she is with this stronghold, she probably did this out of despair."

"Whatever...she has a point. The Heisei are the real threat now."

"Please, do not worry about the conflict." Aizawa said. "Once we destroy Naja, I will make sure we are rewarded properly. I do believe it is time to change our residence."

"Really? We're moving out?! This is aweomse!" Katya cheered. She seemed genuinely happy. "You hear that?"

"I...did." Nightseer nodded, continuing to walk.

"As long as things go fine..." Katya said.

"They will." Aizawa said, gently patting Katya and Nightseer on their heads. "Trust me, they will."

"Would be sad that Reiner wouldn't get to see it, but at least...things will be fine. I hope..." Katya said, with a dearest smile on her face. She turned to face Nightseer. "Nighty, thanks for being here for me!"

“ ✦ Complete Memory Erasure. ✦ ”

A warning flashed in front of Nightseer’s eyes. He quickly parried the incoming attack, knocking Aizawa’s hand away and stepping to the side. He summoned his blade and prepared to attack, until he saw that he wasn’t the only one getting that deadly pat on the head.

Katya just looked at Nightseer, lost, confused, scared, and a moment later, completely empty and devoid of any feeling and emotion. A second later, all that remained of Katya was a motionless body that didn’t know why it existed. It didn’t even ask any questions, it was put to sleep.

“...”

“Katya?”

Nightseer’s hand shook, he couldn’t hold the blade properly anymore. And Aizawa looked at him with that cold and emotionless smile.

“No...”

“She said...”

“She was...”

“The...the cuts...the amnesia...the...”

“The truth...”

“KATYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Nightseer yelled with so much genuine hatred in his voice that he felt like everything he had said up until that point in his life was a confession of love.

He charged at Aizawa, but the latter punched him as hard as she could, breaking multiple ribs with just one strike. The second strike was a kick, and it knocked Nightseer down. He was being completely outclassed. In the corner of his field of vision, he saw Gamma and Oskar reunite with Aizawa. She wiped her tears, revealing her usual expression...

"Crying is simply a bodily reflex used to moisturize the eyes."

"To think that I would insult myself like this..."

"And to think it would forge a sense of trust in them..."

"How utterly pathetic."

“I know about your reflexes, Nightseer.” Aizawa said. “This is why only a stealth attack could be functional. But your soul expression managed to bail you out yet again.”

“You...evil...bitch...” Nightseer said, trying to stand up. He received another kick in the stomach which knocked him down, leaving him growling in pain. “Give her...back...”

“You served your purpose.” Aizawa said. “You and your friend group. You helped me create Nacht. Now, you’re simply a useless soulful with nowhere to run. You are simply pitiful.”

“You’re the one whose...p-pitiful...” Nightseer said. He tried to get up yet again, but this time, he was stabbed in both arms by Aizawa’s blades.

“How come?”

“You’re a crazy...manipulative...bitch...” Nightseer said. “And the Heisei will maul your pathetic self to death...” He summoned his blade and slashed at Aizawa’s foot. She only seemed mildly annoyed by it.

“Why is that?” Aizawa asked, towering over Nightseer, forcing his foot on his chest and breaking even more of his ribs.

“Because they’re more like me...they’re...not mindless fucking killers...” Nightseer said. “They...remember...and they fight for each other...”

Aizawa tried to reach for Nightseer’s forehead. But something stopped her. She carefully straightened her back again. His only last hope of deflecting complete memory erasure was fully read through. And Aizawa didn’t want to mess with Nightseer’s precision, timing and potential determination.“You disgust me...” Aizawa said, kicking him away, far away into a dumpster somewhere a few buildings away. Nightseer had trouble breathing, and there was nothing he could’ve done against Aizawa anyways.

His breath slowed down, as he reached for the photograph hidden in his clothes, he noticed that the frame was a little cracked. He rested his hand on it...

“Katya...”

...

“And there you are.” Aizawa smirked, as Katya came to her senses. Her usual joyful self was replaced with an emotionless, concentrated and mindless impostor. She was stuck in a bathtub, in the same room she used to remotely pilot from.

“Nachtvessel Zetta.” Aizawa said, rubbing Katya’s head. “Your duty will be to control and manipulate as many NVs as possible. Use them to break down and halt the Heisei’s offensive. Have zero regard for collateral damage.”

The NV was a remotely controlled LV1 with a Nacht slapped on top of it. It did its purpose of being a giant goliath that would disrupt the Heisei’s movements.

Across the city, many of the giants emerged. They all had a similar design, complete dark gray green and purple around the eyes. Every trace of Katya’s personal touch and her design choices was completely terminated. Aizawa watched the new line of defenses arise with pleasure. She made her way back to the throne room, where all the Nachtvessels were waiting for her.

“The Heisei will soon begin their advance.” Aizawa said. “They will have to go through the now destroyed and cleared city before reaching here. Your job is to intercept them.”

“Your primary task is to eliminate any and all Heisei agents you see. Engage on sight, call for backup if necessary. Try to go for separation and unfair fight tactics if possible. The NVs will act as magnets or support units, you will utilize their presence in the battlefield wisely.”

“Pay special attention to Sakuto Hitori. He will likely have the highest soul presence among all the Heisei members.” Aizawa said, with a smirk emerging on her face. “Try and get to him if you can.”

“Deploy to your positions and wait.”

The Nachtvessels all left, and Aizawa, smirking to herself, resting on her throne, was more than excited.

“Whether or not I manage to neutralize and capture Sakuto Hitori decides the fate of the Servata Cordis.”

“Since you Heisei people value emotions so much...let me talk to you in a language you can understand.”

“I will make you feel true despair.”

The end of part 9