For Halcyon (Vainglory)

Regret (part 2)

"Celeste..."

Regret. What is it really? Is it pain? Sadness? Maybe both? I never fully understood it until I made the decision to join the Storm Queen's side. The look on my twin's face that day is one I probably won't forget until my last breath.

"Celeste come on! Ardan will kill me if he finds out that we left camp without Ringo! Let's go back please?"

"Oh don't be scared Skye, Dadda won't kill you I promise."

"Kill maybe not, but punish... that's for sure!"

Vox who remained hidden watched as his sister conversed with another girl piloting a robot. This is the first time in months that he has seen her since he left them and he injured her arm. Vox never encountered Celeste in the field ever again and for once he is thankful for their father's overprotective nature. He wouldn't be able to bear fighting his own family again, although he has already been in another battle against Ardan. It was a painful match for the boy, not because of the injuries he sustained but the hurt on his father's face when he attacked him to prove his loyalty to the queen.

"Just a few more minutes. I just want to see the Kraken." Celeste said.

"That's not a good idea." Skye said. "We're also near the enemy's territory, if the Kraken wakes up and make any sound I'm sure the enemies will come and we'll be toast."

"You worry too much." Celeste laughed.

She's laughing. She's okay. Vox told himself, a sense of joy rose in him. All he wanted was for her to be safe and happy, and seeing her that way makes him not regret everything. As he watched them from afar, Vox began hearing Joule approaching. He didn't want to leave yet but he had to keep his team mate away. The boy dashed in the speed of sound to Joule's location, even almost knocking up against the metal surface of the robot mount.

"Vox?" Joule said, her expression confused.

"H-Hey." Vox greeted.

"Why are you running? Are there any enemies in the area?"

"No! No." Vox said, trying not to be obvious. "I was just creeped out, I heard Krul dragging himself again and cursing. Not the best sound around, it's way beyond haunting. Super scary." he said.

"Okay..." Joule said then laughed. "I've never seen anyone who's not scared of him anyway, okay maybe the general but I mean who wouldn't be? He just appears out of nowhere and from the shadows. His voice is way beyond the grave too, it sounds hellish." the girl shivered.

"Yeah." Vox answered. "So, are you done patrolling?"

Joule shook her head. "Nope, I still have to check near the Kraken lair."

"I already went there to check, it's all clear." Vox lied and smiled.

Joule raised a brow at him then looked down on her radar. "Are you sure? My radar says that two people are there right now. Maybe they're in stealth and you missed them."

Vox pursed his lips making the fake smile he had disappear. "Should I check again?"

"Yes but we'll go check together. I'm 90.95 percent sure those are enemies." Joule said.

"Okay but wouldn't it be better if we get someone to come with us too? Go locate Glaive." Vox instructed, hoping Joule would comply. "It's great if we outnumber them."

The tech girl although skeptic did what Vox suggested. She went off to look for Glaive giving Vox time to go back and hopefully be able to make Celeste and her companion go away. As he came back to the Kraken lair, he held himself back and hid behind a tree when he saw his twin wandering into their side of the jungle. No! The land mine!

"Celeste no!" Vox yelled and tried to reach for the girl.

"Vox?!"

But it was too late. Celeste had stepped on a hidden land mine making it explode upon contact with her weight. Vox became frozen in place from the shock of the explosion. His sister just blew up and he's unsure if she was able to shield herself in time or not. When the smoke subsided a muzzle pointed directly at him was revealed. It was the robot girl who is with Celeste—if he remembers right, her name is Skye. Although on the verge of being shot Vox was relieved when he caught sight of his twin unharmed behind the massive robot.

"Vox!" Celeste cried out.

Vox fled as soon as he heard her calling him. He couldn't imagine himself battling nor facing Celeste right here and now. Skye began firing at him but stopped a few seconds later when Celeste yelled not to hurt him.

"Don't leave me again..." Celeste cried.

"I can and I want to." Vox lied before his voice croaked. "Don't follow me."

Celeste for some reason attacked him. Vox was barely able to dodge her core collapse if it wasn't for his sonic zoom. Before Celeste was able to inch closer to Vox as they ran, Joule and Glaive arrived. Skye who was tailing the twins was quick to grab Celeste before Joule was able to crush the princess with her rocket leap attack.

"Not today." Skye taunted Joule before flying off and escaping with Celeste.

The tech girl although annoyed did not bother going after them anymore and instead went after Vox.

"What was that?!" Joule scolded.

Glaive followed them quietly, secretly observing the boy who wore a stoic expression.

"That? Those were enemies Joule." Vox replied.

"Yes I know but why the hell did you let them escape?!" the tech girl almost screamed.

"The lad did the right thing," Glaive chimed in. "We need to save our energy for tomorrow's ambush. Catherine will kill us if we get injured in a trivial battle."

Joule sighed and glanced down on Vox who now walked a few steps ahead of them. "That was your sister Celeste right?"

"And your point?"

"Nothing, I was just asking." Joule said.

"Loyalty to the queen." Glaive reminded.

Vox held in everything he was feeling; all the anger, sadness and regret. He curled his hand into a ball of fist once again and stopped on his tracks.

"I never break my word. My loyalty is with the queen."

A/N: Hey person reading this! I hope you're having a good day! So I know in the original Vox lore he was in favor of Celeste going to the Storm Queen, but since in this fanfic world I'm writing he already went and joined the queen's side he learned that their intentions were ill and wicked making him not regret his decision, but what he actually regret is how he can't bring himself to explain to Ardan and Celeste why he's doing this. Anyways, that's my little explanation to anyone wondering stuffs.

If you have any requests, feel free to leave a comment!