Oneself was... an interesting addition to the suitcase.
They acted similar to Vertin, but was also more... volatile.
When it came to Sonetto, they acted very protective to her. Not to the point of choking, but it was very much noticeable.
Beyond that, however, they acted like a teammate... and one who got asked a lot of questions.
"You sure?" An-An Lee asked again, leaning back in her chair as Oneself looked at her boredly. In the sunlight, Sonetto could see how her pupils seem to be almost 'consuming' her irises.
"I am not a spirit, Miss Lee." Oneself replied evenly. "I may feel dead inside, but I'm still alive and kicking."
An-An Lee quirked her lips, humming towards the tall former Timekeeper, not believing her one bit.
A similar event happened with Regulus, mind.
"...Wait, how old are you?" she asked, and Oneself looked like she was going to answer instantly, before pausing.
"...Wait." she said, looking down at Regulus fully. "Guess."
Regulus immediately lost any semblance of being polite, wheezing loudly and heavily at the shocked expression on Oneself's face.
"I-I'm sorry?!" they exclaimed in shock. "Who immediately jumps to the thirties?!"
"Heh, oh boy, hah!" Regulus wiped a tear out of her eye. "Sorry, just couldn't resist! How old are you?"
"Not saying." she deflected. And walked away.
In combat, they're a completely different beast.
Like Vertin, they also have tricks to assist, with theirs being called Final Melody; it makes the lead up to their strongest attacks slower, but allows them to reach stronger Incantations quicker.
Beyond that, they fought almost like a feral animal. They held Glasfeder in their right hand tightly, and used it well.
She did not recite poems, merely voicing words. Discontent, Hatred, Desolation, Sorrow... just a few words.
Not only that, but with her left hand, a snap of her fingers seemed to weaken their enemies. A strange ability that was unlinked to the Glasfeder.
She had never seen her most powerful move. Yet, facing down Manus... she let lose.
"I ask only one thing...!" she said, as mirrors start to appear around the enemies and behind Oneself. "Stay alive, JUST LONG ENOUGH TO SEE..."
"MY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!"
Sonetto had never seen such a desolute world. If this was Oneself's world... she did not know what to say.
Oneself's pupils seemed to have gotten larger, and Sonetto saw something that had her stunned.
It was herself, on Oneself's shoulders... horribly disfigured. The fact the right arm was gone and the left arm's bone was showing already showed the tip of the iceberg.
Her right eye was gone, and her left eye hung out of its socket. Her clothing was ripped, and her organs spilled out, her heart still beating, and her large intestine hanging down to her broken legs. Or, broken leg, with one being ripped off just below the knee.
The only thing that was untouched was that familiar orange hair.
Sonetto did not realise that she took a long time to process that information, as the next thing she saw was Oneself looking down, almost ashamed of herself.
"...I scared you, didn't I?" she asked, her tone defeated.
"N-No, it was... w-who was...?"
Oneself blinked one eye at a time, looking surprised. "You saw Sonetto?"
"I did, yes... I saw Sonetto. Myself?"
"Themself." Oneself replied. They sighed. "They appear... I think. It used to be simple. It was Vertin and Sonetto. Nothing more, nothing less."
Oneself looked close to the beginning of breaking down. Not knowing what to do, Sonetto offered Oneself the best she could: a hug.
Oneself looked down, and slowly, began to shrink. Soon, Sonetto saw a shorter Oneself, appearing eerily like Vertin, but with... differences. Most notable being the hat tilting in the opposite direction, her blinking, and the gemstone having cracks in it.
She embraced Sonetto tightly.
"...I failed you, once. I won't do it again."
Sonetto hugged back, trying to hide the fact she isn't a very good hugger. Or one who hugs often.
"You won't. I... can't speak for Themself, but..." she held eye contact with the faded green eyes in front of her. "I'm proud of you, Vertin."
Oneself looked at Sonetto. Then, went back into the hug, placing their head into the assistant's left shoulder.
Dry sobs came from her, and Sonetto then saw Themself again. Oneself did not notice the mangled girl. But Sonetto saw her nod towards her counterpart.
"...How did she...?" Sonetto trailed off, and felt as Oenself growled into her arm.
"One word:" she said bitterly.
