"G--Gabriel," Reine breathes out as she stares me in the eyes and the bridge of her nose becomes tinted pink, "why did you...?"

"Your favorite color is anything blue-green, black, purple, or red. We started training together on September fourth of two thousand and nine. We had hot cross buns together and your mom stood there watching over us. You knew she wasn't happy about us being out in the rain, but she smiled nonetheless. I lived with you while my parents were gone and we grew up next to each other. And you told me you loved me twice. Remember that time you slipped and fell in the streets and scraped your knees and I patched them up while you wiped away your tears? I promised you I would never leave you, and I'm never going to leave you again as long as I can help it," I breathe out in a rush.

Reine's eyes widen and tears start to stream down her face as she smiles. I brush away her tears with my thumb and a bubble of laughter escapes her lips.

"You remember everything?" Reine asks, eyes hopeful.

"I remember everything," I smile, "and this entire time I've always felt drawn to you. And while I knew we used to be best friends after I found out from overhearing Dimitri and you telling me bits and pieces, I didn't really know everything. But...I knew I really cared about you, even if I didn't remember all that we'd been through. And I realized that I was starting to fall in love with you, but I didn't fully realize it until I had all of my memories back. I'm in love with you, Reine Yvatlovich, and there's no getting rid of me this time."

"Good," Reine smiles and breathes out, moving so that she buries her face in my chest and wraps her arms around my torso, "I'm glad..."

"Good," I laugh out sheepishly, "I was kinda hoping I didn't...force that kiss on you there."

"What? This?" Reine smirks as she leans back before she stands up on the tips of her toes and presses her lips to mine in a quick kiss before she pulls back, "I don't think so."

Reine grins impishly before she pulls completely away from me and I shake my head, chuckling. She bends down and picks up the pile of clothes before she grabs my right wrist and leads me out into the hallway.

"Come on," Reine says, "we don't wanna be late. We can talk more about us later."

"Alright," I sigh, but am actually really relieved to be going to see Ayette because she is my step-sister, after all.

I smirk to myself as I maneuver my hand so that I end up holding Reine's hand instead of her holding on to my wrist, and she sighs and shakes her head but doesn't disapprove nonetheless.

Once we arrive in the medical room, I spot Dimitri sitting on Ayette's bed while she's sitting up and making various hand gestures and complaining. Meanwhile, Kaltrina is standing in the corner of the room next to Shitau and Ciana while Renee is talking to Aidan.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?!" Ayette snaps and Dimitri sighs.

"What's going on?" Reine asks, her eyes flickering between Ayette and Dimitri.

"Dimitri won't tell me what happened to me," Ayette rolls her eyes.

"I told you, I have to wait until you're calmed down," Dimitri sighs once more.

"I am calm!" Ayette narrows her eyes at him as Reine places the extra clothes down on the bed.

"Actually, I'd say you aren't," Reine hums and Ayette turns her irritated gaze to Reine, "but that's to be expected."

"I think it's fine to tell her now," Aidan adds, "she has to find out sooner or later and she may as well find out before she stresses herself out even further."

"Right..." I clear my throat, knowing Aidan is right, "well...how are you feeling, Ayette?"

"I'm fine," Ayette pauses for a moment, "I think. I feel kind of different...almost as if I can feel energy moving through me, kind of like electricity. But, otherwise...I feel fine."

"What all do you remember?" I ask.

"I remember Khalida picking me up and then...just blackness..." Ayette breathes out before her eyes meet mine, "what exactly happened?"

"Khalida ended up sacrificing herself," Reine starts carefully, "she gave her gifts to you for you to use."

"Then..." Ayette's eyes widen and she looks at Dimitri, "does that mean I'm...?"

"You're an Iegashyia now," Dimitri clears his throat, "and your relic is...well...Eden's trying to fix it. Your relic shattered during the transfer."

"Would I even be able to use it now?" Ayette asks, her eyes flickering over to Reine, "I mean, it canceled out powers...wouldn't it cancel out mine?"

"I'm not sure," Reine frowns, "but it most likely would, yes."

"I don't want to overbear you, but...since Khalida is gone, you're also the new role model for any Angel based Iegashyias," Renee adds.

"Damn," Ayette breathes out and looks down at the bed sheets as she clutches her hands in them uncertainly, "that's...a lot of pressure. I...I don't even know anything..."

"Hey," Dimitri starts softly and places his hand on her arm, "we'll be there for you."

Ayette meets his eyes and a small smile forms on her lips before she nods.

"I appreciate that," Ayette says quietly.

"While we need to absolutely make sure Ayette is fine," Kaltrina starts, "we also need to figure out what our next move is. Our entire plan revolved around trying to get Khalida to help us, but now she's gone. We have Ayette, but she's just learning and that would be too risky to just dive in."

"Not to mention all that's already happened," Ciana says sadly, "I'm all for having more support and strength, but I'm tired of seeing people I love get hurt. I just wish there was a way we could keep some of us away from the battlefield without any risk of Coralyinn or her allies finding them."

"You make a good point," Reine says in a pondering manner, "while more strength is better, it also creates more risk, but so does having less allies fighting. If they could help us off of the frontlines while also staying protected, that would be beneficial."

"Or we could split up," Kaltrina offers, "half of us could go one place and the rest another. We could meet up in winter then."

"How would we decide who goes where?" I ask.

"Take a vote," Renee shrugs.

"I don't know..." Shitau trails off nervously.

"Aw, come on," Ciana grins and ruffles his hair, "it'll be fine."

"C--Ciana," Shitau sighs and blushes slightly, "cut it out."

"Where would we be going though?" Dimitri asks, "we still haven't figured out what to do next."

"What if you send half of you to find Ghost and the rest of you try to apprehend Mikasa's brother?" Aidan suggests and we all turn to look at him with a mixture of various expressions, "it's just a thought, but what if some of you convince Ghost to come with you while the rest stall Zen? It could be beneficial to have him on your side."

"How would Phoenix help convince Zen to help us?" Dimitri asks, "I know Phoenix's gift allows him to interact with the dead and such, but do you really think doing something with Jin will bring back Zen's sanity?"

"Nobody ever said he had to be sane," Renee offers, "if he helps us, it doesn't technically matter what state of mind he's in. We'd just have to reach through to him enough."

"Where even is Zen?" I ask, "the last we heard about him, Mikasa thought he was here in Orina."

"If you want my brother, all you need is me," Mikasa says from the doorway and startles us, "he will follow wherever I go."

"Are you telling us to use you as bait?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"In a way, yes," Mikasa nods, "we could lead him to the Winter Sector, since that's where Coralyinn should be."

"Once you decide who's going where, whoever's going straight to winter, I want you to come see me in the throne room before you leave," Aidan says as he makes his way over to the doorway, "I have something for you."

"Well..." I glance over at Reine and sigh, "shall we call a meeting?"

"Yeah," Reine nods, "let's do this..."