The Crimson Tale of Conquest

In a flash of blue flame, Lucilla appeared on the deck of the 'MS Ann,' still holding Morella's torso. With a quick glance around her Lucilla noticed Sara and Judieth had also returned to the ship, the both of them looking at their surrounding in confusion. Cristin and her crew had also returned, just as confused. Behind them was Kate and her party looking at them all with shock, half eaten food in front of them. Clearly, they wear enjoying a meal until they all suddenly appeared in front of them. Ignoring them all Lucilla turned her attention to only one person that could possibly help her in this situation.

"Judieth help me please!" Lucilla called out to the doctor.

Turning in her direction, Judieth's face clouded over the instant she saw Morella. She was wearing her mask, so she was able to tell Morella's soul was already gone. The only thing left was residual energy that was quickly being absorbed into Lucilla's body. Even if she didn't notice her soul was missing, the fact that the insides of Morella were spilling out onto the ground, leaving a bloody mess behind was enough for her to realize she was unsavable.

"Lucilla...." Judieth started approaching the grieving woman. Crouching next to her she placed her hand on Lucilla's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "She's already dead I'm afraid."

Sobbing Lucilla looked back down at Morella. She couldn't do anything. First her mother and now her sister. What good was she? Why couldn't she save those she loved? This was her fault, she thought she could fight the Hero, but he outclassed her in every way, even with a power boost. She should've come up with a proper plan like Morella suggested. 'Maybe then she would be alive.'

"Alright y'all we're retreatin'! Just as we planned, we're heading back to the lost country. Let's go!" Cristina started. She was complete covered, even wearing a black mask and hood that hid her head completely to block out the sun completely.

Cristina looked over at the monster woman currently curled up on the ground hugging a corps. She understood what she was going through and decided to just let her be for now. They can take the corps away from her later, right now they just needed her to calm down a bit more, and taking the body away won't help that. Even if it's a bit morbid at the moment. Shaking her head, Cristina went back to work on trying to get the ship into the air and out of the Fay Forest as fast as possible.

Sara walked over to her teacher, and after hesitating a little, hugged her. "Maisy, Judieth; can you go get something to drink for her?" She requested.

"Sure." Answered the red-haired doctor.

"Roger." Maisy responded, slipping out from Sara's clothes. Haven been ordered to protect the young girl earlier that day.

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A while later Lucilla had stopped crying and instead just stared into empty space. Her eyes were red and puffy, with dried streaks of tears covering her cheeks. Dried blood from her sister covered her clothes and arms, creating a horrifying visual for anyone that passed by. Her already pale skin color looked even paler, making her look like a ghost. The others had taken Morella's body and put her on ice. They figured Lucilla would want to bury what was left and was attempting to keep the corps as fresh as they possibly can. Lucilla for her part was despondent and hardly reacted to what was happening around her. Sara had even led her to the cabin room that they slept in so she could have some privacy.

"We need to clean you up; you're covered in blood." Sara mumbled as she grabbed a bucket and a sponge, she had brought in.

Looking down Lucilla noticed that her cloths and body was covered in blood. She hadn't even noticed. "It's white." She noted, looking at the blood on her hands.

"... What?"

"White, the bloods white." She repeated.

Sara glanced at the blood covering her teacher's body with a weird look before looking at Lucilla again. "Sure. Just take off your clothes so we can clean you up."

"... Yeah...."

After that the two of them didn't say anything else. Sara scrubbed the blood of her teacher's body in silence while Lucilla sat with a blank look on her face, lost in thought. After the younger girl was finished, she had Lucilla change into new pair clothes before grabbing the now dirty bucket of water and leaving the room. The monster woman watches her leave before looking back down at her hands again.

Everything was cleaned, yet her hands wear still covered in blood. getting up she left the room, heading straight for the rest room, looking for a sink. Once she found one, she headed inside and activated the water crystal, causing water to flow from the faucet. She grabbed the bare of soap located next to the sink and tried washing the blood away. Yet it didn't leave. She continued to scrub her hands, trying desperately to get rid of the blood, but no matter how hard she tried, it stayed.

"Auhh!" Yelling in frustration Lucilla slammed her fist into the sink's rim, breaking it.

"You okay!?" Judieth asked opening the door. She had happened to be passing by when she heard commotion.

"It won't go way." Lucilla explained with frustration looking at her blood-stained hands. The white blood taking on a sinister tone.

"What are you talking about?" Judieth asked.

"The blood... Morella's blood won't wash away." Lucilla repeated showing her hands.

"Other than the small cuts on one of your knuckles, they seem clean to me." The Doctor told the woman in front of her. "Look they even healed up while we had this conversation, just rinse the little blood from that and your hands should be cleaned.

Withdrawing her hands from Judieth, she looked at them again. They were stained by her sister blood. How could she not see it? Looking back up, Lucilla was greeted with a concerned look coming from the red-haired Doctor. She really didn't see what she was talking about.

"Are doing alright?" Asked Judieth.

"I'm- yeah, I'm alright." Lucilla said pushing past Judieth to head back to her cabin. "I just need some sleep."

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Lucilla found herself back in Dr. Vancer's underground lab. Observing her surroundings around she realized she was back in the shared room that she and her sisters were sorted into. The three cots with trunks full of cloths in front of them, with the single lone desk in the corner made Lucilla weirdly nostalgic. She hated this place, but she had spent a large portion of her life in this room.

"Hello Twenty-four." A voice said behind her. Turning around she was greeted with her sister Morella. The blue Nymph watched Lucilla as tears spilled from her eyes. The Silver haired girl went to hug her, but Morella moved out of the way, silently stepping back.

"Ella?" She questioned with a quiver in her voice.

"How could you let this happen to me Twenty-four?" She asked as white blood bubbled up from her eyes, flowing down her face like tears. "I thought we protected each other. I thought you were supposed to protect me."

"I- I wanted- it just- I'm sorry I didn't mean- You know I would never...." Lucilla stuttered trying to apologize.

"Then why am dead?" Morella asked before being cut from behind, her top half slowly sliding off her bottom, the entire she never lost eye contact with Lucilla, dark blue eyes boring into Crimson. With both pieces of her body toppling to the ground, Lucilla backed away in horror when the perpetrator was revealed, and she saw herself standing behind Morella with a black blade slicked with blood.

The white color of the bodily fluid slowly turned black as it dripped onto the ground. Looking down, Lucilla saw that the floor was covered in a thin layer of white, that was slowly rising and had almost completely swallowed the body of her sister. Her deep blue eyes still looking at her.

"This is your fault." The copy said to her, causing Lucilla to look at her again.

"What?"

The copy then pointed the black blade in her direction the blood almost completely black at this point. "You got complacent. You got a little power without having to work for it and decided that was enough."

The blood had turned completely black, and as if her eyes were being drawn to it, she watched as a single drop of the black fluid fell from the blade. "You couldn't even be bothered to come up with a proper plan. You had already seen what the Hero was capable of. So why did you think you could take him?" 

The black drop splashed into the white blood that had risen to their knees. The spot where the blacken blood had landed slowly started to darken. "She warned you. You ignored her because you couldn't be bothered."

The more of the blood the black liquid transformed the quicker it started to spread. Before she knew it Lucilla was in a sea of darkness with a pure white sky. The familiar room that she had lived nine years of her life was gone, the only thing left was her and the clone.

"...." Lucilla tried to speak, to ask what was happening, and what was going on, but her voice wouldn't come out. Instead, the black liquid that had reached her waist turned more viscus like a tar, making it hard to move.

"Don't bother speaking." Her clone said as she tossed the black blade her way. "Just listen."

Catching the sword, she looked at it, as she now held two of them. She then looked back to her clone that had transformed into the form of her mother who smiled at her. The last thing she saw was a cruel smile before dragged under the black sea. The feeling of suffocating and the sensation of a thick substance filling her mouth and noise, blocking her airways was the only thing she could feel, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

"The only way to keep everyone safe is to seek power. Don't ever settle." Her mothers voice whispered to her. "Remember you lost them because you lacked power and a plan. If you can't plan just gain more power."

Lucilla couldn't hold it anymore, her lungs burned, and the sensation of choking was too much. She could feel her consciousness slipping away. "Sometimes all you have to do is ask." Given those parting words Lucilla fell unconscious.

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"Ahhhhgggg, cough, cough." Jutting awake, and drench in sweat, the Crimsoned eyed woman hacked and coughed while simultaneously trying to get as much air into her lungs as she could.

After settling down and gathering herself, she realized her twin blades were in the bed with her. Finding it strange, she got up again and set them against the wall. She noticed that some of the blood on her hands got on the blades, but she was unable to do anything about that. There was still light outside, and considering they were still flying, they clearly haven't made it to their destination yet. Even though it was still early, Lucilla decided it was a good time to pray to Ovana, blood or no blood. Kneeling in front of her swords, closing her eyes, and clasping her hands together she began to pray.

"Hello Goddess of souls and the moon... I've come here to request something." She spoke, holding back tears. "My sister just died, and I know I pray for you to take care of my mother already, but can you make sure she's also taken care of? Please?"

Sitting there in silence for a moment, as if expecting an answer, an image of her clone holding her blade covered in the black blood flashed in her head. "One more thing. I'll do anything you want just...." She hesitated. Before she could say what, she wanted the door to the room open.

"Lucilla, you're needed." Judieth said when she entered. "I know you're dealing with some stuff right now, but if we want to use those Fay and Monsters later, we need to make sure they're still willing to follow you."

Turning around, the silver haired woman gave Judieth a nod in acknowledgement before reluctantly standing up. If she wanted to kill the Hero, she would need their help. Taking a deep breath and smacking her cheeks to hype herself up, Lucilla followed the red-haired doctor out the door.