[Endgame: rise or DROWN]

[warpweft]

[How long have you been exploring Nessa's palace now? You've met her family, viewed her memories, learned how to fight as a witch and tried to find the source of her power and the Treasure of her palace: the Voidheart. And along the way, you've tired your best, with mixed success, to avoid the incarnation of her eldest cousin and the representation of her trauma and fear, the Nightmare of Esmau.]

[Wherever you are in the Palace right now, you feel the ground briefly shake under your feet. Little shakes here and there haven't been out of the ordinary - Esmau is trying to blow the place down to the studs, after all. But that felt different. That felt....worse.]

[Your phone beeps as you receive a message.]

Comments

[cosplayed_out]

[narrows her eyes]

Surrender is a responsibility taken by the leadership of the chain of command. Individual units decentralized from this hierarchy are free to pursue the mission, despite surrender.

This mission will not be failed.

[warpweft]

Tsumugi, my dying wish is that you drop the bit.

1/2

[cosplayed_out]

Denied~!

[she gives a wink]

Do you know how rare it is for me to be able to play Mukuro Ikusaba, especially because she's always paired with Junko?! I'm not letting you spoil my fun anymore!

2/2

[cosplayed_out]

...

Leaders take responsibility. When the mission is a failure, it is your failure. When the mission is a success, it is the success of your soldiers.

Remember this.

[warpweft]

Ugh.

Now I wish you would leave for two reasons.

I'm taking responsibility for you by telling you to go. There's nothing else for you to do here. Don't go down with the ship just to try and prove a point or something.

[cosplayed_out]

You failed to inspire confidence in your orders. As an individual unit, it is within accepted procedure to disregard your commands. I will complete this mission in accordance with all standards and parameters. That is: through any means necessary.

If you are convinced you are facing a suicidal operation, you have two options.

[warpweft]

....what options could there possibly be at this point.

[cosplayed_out]

One: mission success. Two: self-termination.

Can you self-terminate, Shadow Nessa?

[warpweft]

Fuck you.

[That's a no.]

[cosplayed_out]

[small huff through her nostrils that might have been the beginning of a laugh]

Then, that narrows it down.