The two women paused outside the door to Rikard's hospital room and moments later only one of them entered, Cordelia knew that Fiona was more than willing to follow her in, to stand by her side as she did what she needed to do, but it was a risk that she herself wasn't willing to take. It was bad enough that she intended to expose herself as Sailor Corvus to Richterite, a Captain of the Negaverse. It was
bad enough that she was doing something she had sworn never to do. She couldn't make Fiona an accomplice to what she was considering. If she had to...
Cordelia pushed the door shut behind her, listening to the final
click while leaning against it with her eyes closed. Rik's father was wealthy. He hadn't been involved in his son's life in longer than was at all
right, all things considered, but his money had enough pull to have secured a private room for his son-- better for what she'd come to do, honestly.
She drew in a breath, holding it for a moment longer than she normally would have only to expel it slowly as she opened her eyes. It was easy to push away from the door and approach Rik's bed, running her fingers lightly along the rail before reaching out to tenderly brush a lock of hair away from his face. Chariklo had done a number on him. He looked so
fragile and here she was contemplating...
His eyes opened and she sucked in another startled breath, contemplating flight for the briefest of moments. "Hey, Rik..." Her voice was low and gentle, eyes soft and sad. "Do you remember what happened to you?" When last she'd checked with the nurses they confirmed that he was conscious and responding to questions. She hated to do this now when he'd barely had a chance to recover, but there wasn't
time to wait.
"Mugged outside of the club," he confirmed after nodding, mouth dry and head pounding. The words he'd pushed past his lips to answer her questions were words that he'd heard passed around. They were as good an explanation as any when he couldn't exactly tell the truth about what had happened or why he'd been there. "Nurse said something-- something about a terrorist attack."
Her lips twitched as her nose wrinkled, mild irritation almost becoming a sneer. She reigned in her distaste, eyes closing as she let her hand come to rest on the bed rail again. "Senshi. It was a senshi, Rik, and I
know you know what I'm talking about." While her voice was still soft her tone had taken on a sharp edge. She didn't
want to get waspish with him, but if she was going to do this she needed to steel herself. She needed to let go of Cordelia and embrace Corvus.
The henshin pen was drawn from her back pocket and she kept her eyes on him as she let it slide into her fingers, settling against the palm of her hand. "Corvus Eternal Make-Up!" Light danced beneath the door as she rose, losing the civilian guise of Cordelia Carden in favor of becoming Eternal Sailor Corvus. Her heels clicked as they returned to the sterile hospital floor and she was left holding her pen down in front of her, gloved fingers curling around the object as she watched the young man she'd powered up in front of-- the
Captain she had powered up in front of.
His lips had pressed into a thin line and he said nothing, He wouldn't even look at her. Was it because he remembered? Was it...
"Richterite. That's who you are, isn't it? We've met before, like this. You were with another officer. I don't remember her name, but I remember
you... And then there was the other night. Rik, what were you
thinking?" She wanted an answer. She wanted the
truth. She wanted to hear that the look of guilt on his face was because no longer wanted to be associated with the organization that he had represented during the attack on XS.
She continued to glare at him as Eternal Sailor Corvus for a time before powering down to sit next to him as a friend instead of glaring at him as an enemy. They talked long enough that it seemed like forever-- long enough that it likely worried Fiona as well, but she trusted the other woman to trust her. Underneath it all she found Rik again. Rikard Colby, one of her dearest friends from elementary school. Rik, who had remained a friend even as they'd entered middle school up until they'd parted ways into their own respective boarding schools afterwards.
When Cordelia Carden opened the door and stepped out into the hall it was to flash Fiona a tired but reassuring smile. "You were right, he doesn't want it." Her voice was soft as she reached out to take her friend's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before drawing back. "I have a phonecall I need to make, and then we have to figure out how we're getting him out of here."
Time was no longer on their side. They had to act fast to keep everything in order.
Order. Hah.. They were going to save someone. They were going to rescue him.
Nuxaz
Fin. I am so sorry it's taken me over a year to do this. Thank you for your patience with me.