Chapter 153: Interlude: Nia - Under Orders

From what she’d heard from passing gossip, Saint Barbara had returned to consciousness only a few hours earlier.

"That’s what I would like to know, Scarlet. I’m sorry, but we’ll need to discuss the details you have in private as a matter of national security. Did I hear correctly that you have the answers for us?"

Nia’s lips twisted, eyes narrowing at the soldiers in the hallway. "Unfortunately, Captain Barbara, Rachel made it clear to me that I wasn’t to say anything beyond a few details regarding myself and her condition. I am to collect more information about the fallout after the operation and report back to her for further instruction. Until I receive orders from my major, I am only here to ensure Rachel’s safety and to complete the few tasks she has given me. She will awaken in mind and spirit before her body."

Sam, Rachel’s father, moved to look down at his daughter, resting with a sensor showing quite unnatural vital signs that made no sense to Nia. "You can communicate with her before she wakes up, then? She’s okay, though." He brushed back his daughter’s thick bangs and smiled. "If it’s Rachel, I’m sure this is all business after letting us know she was safe. Can you tell us more about yourself?"

"Minimally," Nia confirmed, pulling everyone’s attention and Barbara’s slight frustration. Rachel said the woman was probably under a lot of stress from superiors, but she would back off if Nia were blunt and honest. "It shouldn’t be more than another day or so until I can give you an answer. Perhaps more if the major wants me to be in this adult form." Her tone brightened as she grinned at Molly’s sad face. "I’m here to support."

"How so?" Barbara questioned, her vision drifting to the true body the hare wore. "Were you the one who crushed a nurse’s fingers when they tried to undress Rachel?"

Placing a hand on her hip, Nia gave a shrug. "Probably. It’s my job to protect my wearer, including from horrendous fashion. I’ve looked forward to meeting you, Mrs. Park. Rachel has built you up to be quite the woman."

A rosy smile lifted the woman’s eyes. "Daww. Every mother loves to hear that. Sam and I would love to hear all about you if you’re the one who protected our daughter. Isn’t that right?"

The man gestured to the window seat. "I’ll take notes. Captain Barbara, Scarlet, care to join?"

"Yes!" Scarlet chimed, jumping to move her chair to face the closed window; the sun wasn’t out, and the window blinds were totally open, but it appeared to be a new moon, or it had already fallen below the horizon. "First, how do you turn from a little girl to, uh...well, how you look now?"

Nia snickered, making the girl’s cheeks color as she smoothly sat. "Rachel’s right, you are pretty awkward—oh, but in an adorable way! She was worried about you like you were a little sister."

"Mmmgm. I didn’t want her to worry about me," Scarlet grumbled, biting her bottom lip and glaring at the sleeping hare. "She was super positive, wasn’t she?"

"The major?" Nia asked, crossing her legs and fixing her skirt. "Rach is my owner and a hopeful realist, I guess you could say, and I am her captain. And, no...you should say she saved me...multiple times. How did I turn into a little girl? A curse I cannot go into detail about. I must be brief since this curse will return in less than fifty minutes. Let me begin by reintroducing myself..."

Going over herself and her bond with Rachel, she skipped over how she was created or came into contact with her leader. It only took eight minutes to satisfy everyone’s curiosity as to what a Soul Item was and how she was connected to the lunar hare, but it certainly seemed to have the saint interested in outfits that could enhance anyone, and not just those with the Seeds.

As for Molly, the woman was more fascinated by her child-like curse, time limit, attributes, and fashion choices than anything else, catching her a tad off-guard. The mother seemed thrilled to have, as she put it, yet another adorable daughter to dote on. Molly appeared even more tickled as she went on to express the promise Rachel made her about shopping together once out and things settled down. Scarlet even wanted to get in on the action.

Getting to her feet, she waved them goodbye to reach her next destination: Selvaria, Maria, and Fiona. Rachel wanted to be sure everyone was committed to joining her in DC, which appeared to be the case. She directed everyone but Maria to Rachel’s parents to learn more about who she was, since more than one person mistook her for the hare, which she knew would piss off her major.

The unicorn held up her arm, a scowl in place. She blocked her path to the elevator as Roy and Fiona looked between them.

"Aye, chica, we ain’t done. I got somethin’ ta say."

"Maria," Fiona whispered with a stressed smile. "She said she was limited on time. We’re all going to DC, right? I mean, the President asked to see us personally. Do we have a choice?"

"I’m not talkin’ ’bout that. I gotta know now..."

Nia frowned, feeling the curse’s return getting closer by the second. Selvaria and her mom were really nice but had been a bit talkative, which wasted a bit of time. Well, her mother was a Chatty Cathy, as her daughter said; the leviathan kept trying to tell her that she had to go.

"If it’s quick," she mumbled, scratching the base of her left ear. Rachel wanted her to quell any fears the others had of her and prevent any negative feelings from forming before things could build up or spin out of control. So far, no one had been all that angry at her leader, only wishing her a speedy recovery and a thrilling account of their time in the Legend Quest. "I still need to talk to two more people, and I’m running out of time."

Maria swept past her, silky braided hair swinging at her back. "I don’t need long."

Seeing Fiona’s helpless shrug and grin, Nia followed the unicorn outside the cafeteria hallway into the brightening skies; morning was coming.

Sniffing, arms crossed, Maria gave her a searching glare. "What’s up with the devil kid shit and evil feeling I got from ya when we last met, huh? I didn’t like it then; I don’t like it now. I don’t need no damn possession shit complicatin’ my life, ya know? And if the hare wants my help, I gotta know why she looked like a damn demon when she got back. We clear?"

Nia shifted her weight to the opposite foot, seeing the seriousness in the woman’s illuminated silver eyes; Rachel did give her permission to come clean if things did look like they’d spiral out of control.

"It’s...complicated, but the simple answer is that it was the effects of the Hell Moon. Just like any other moon that gives Rachel powers, it affected her in that way, but it is only temporary, and the same thing would happen under, say...the Celestial Moon, only in reverse. They aren’t powers she uses lightly, and it is one of the reasons she’s in such a critical state. She promised me it would be only a last resort. Does that answer your question?"

Maria’s mouth tightened as she tapped her upper arm. "That’s not all, chica. I checked again when I got back; there’s some insanely dark shit tattooed here... She made a deal with a devil or somethin’? What’s with those tooth tattoos, huh?"

Hugging herself, Nia puffed out a long sigh. "Again, complicated; something she’ll go into when she wakes up. It is actually meant to be used against a powerful demon trying to come into our world and drag it into Hades. It is to capture a demon, not bring one to Earth."

"Hmm... ’ight," Maria grunted and walked off to walk around the hospital, causing Fiona to balk inside and tell Roy to open the door since the unicorn was ditching them. "I’ll think on it; at least ya were honest. This is bullshit... Hell Moon? Celestial Moon? Damn. What’s next, huh, Santa Claus?"