---

Toast turns the corner, appearing from behind the rubble with a handful of cards between her fingers and a clever grin on her face. Marron grimaces, and braces herself for the incoming onslaught, probably wishing she had guarded instead of assaulting Packo. She raises her arms in front of her, trembling in fear of Toast’s offensive power. The sorceress winds back her arm in preparation to launch, and with characteristic vigor she… stops. Her expression seems to fall a little. All the while, Marron, eyes shut, braces for impact.

Toast tries to throw her hand (of cards) again, but something seems to be preventing her. She tries again, and again, with different techniques, with different styles, and even trying with her off-hand, but the cards simply refuse to leave her fingers. Of course, this restraint isn't supernatural in nature. She's stopping herself.

TOAST: (Why can't I do this…?)

Marron’s stance seems to loosen up, peeking between her arms. She still doesn’t dare to lower her guard.

Out of frustration, Toast slings the cards at the ground. They embed themselves amongst the rubble, radiant magic dissipating into the air. She certainly hasn't had problems like this before; why now?

MARRON: A-Aren’t you gonna…
MARRON: ...E-End this? E-End me?
MARRON: Just… do it, already, and stop toying with me…
TOAST: I-I'm…

Toast is slightly surprised, before she renews her courage.

TOAST: ...F-fine! I-I will!

With a new hand, she tries again, and again- but each time, her fingers hold them tight. She grits her teeth.

TOAST: (I-If I just focus…)
TOAST: (I-I should just be able to…)
TOAST: (...Do what?)

Some part of her mind interjects with a helpful 'Kill her?'. Toast looks at her hand, and then at the terrified Marron. With a sigh, she tosses the second set of cards behind her, where they go careening into the forest. Then, she raises her arms slightly, palms up.

TOAST: …
TOAST: I give up.
TOAST: I… I can't fight you.
TOAST: Not like this and…
TOAST: ...Not after everything that happened.

Toast's expression appears sincere, the fire of battle now gone from her eyes. Marron drops her arms, fear washed away and replaced with utter confusion.

MARRON: ...Give up?
MARRON: You… give… up?

Then, that confusion is immediately booted into the atmosphere, and replaced with her trademark seething fury. Chloe stares on, but opts to keep her mouth shut.

MARRON: Y-YOU WHAT?
MARRON: F-First, y-you almost kill me, t-then you duel me but instead of actually FIGHTING, you just stop US from fighting YOU, a-and now you’re j-just… giving up!?
MARRON: W-WAS THIS ENTIRE FIGHT A JOKE TO YOU!?

TOAST: No, I-
TOAST: None of this-

She closes her eyes, swallows, then looks back with a firm gaze. Her hands drop to her sides, no longer showing 'I surrender', but 'There's something I need to say'.

TOAST: I'm not surrendering for your sake!
TOAST: I don't know what YOU expected, but this wasn't the way that I wanted this to end.
TOAST: R4 was an accident, so striking you down NOW- when you can't even fight back?
TOAST: How can that possibly be okay!?
MARRON: T-This is a DUEL! I ASKED FOR THIS!
MARRON: I-I wanted to prove that I-I d-don’t need you, a-and your…y-your… e-everything, d-damn it!
MARRON: W-What’s even t-the point!? I-I’ve already lost, a-and you might as well j-just end this…

Toast's eyebrows almost meet as she angrily glares at Marron. With a swift stride, she marches forward, meeting her opponent face-to-face.

TOAST: For the last time, I don't care about winning this anymore!
TOAST: In fact, I never even wanted to duel with you!
TOAST: But you keep fighting and fighting and fighting!
TOAST: And I don't WANT any of it!
TOAST: All I wanted was to apologise for before- now we're dueling, and now this is how I'm supposed to say sorry for blowing you up?
TOAST: By blowing you up?!
TOAST: I thought that winning- or even coming as close as this- would mean that you would listen to me!
MARRON: W-WHY WOULD I LISTEN TO YOU, I-IF YOU’RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!?

Toast, previously balling up her fists in anger, pauses.

MARRON: I-I wanted to prove myself, d-damn it!
MARRON: I was angry, and I wanted to b-beat you up, a-and prove t-that I’m n-not weak, a-and that I c-can actually do t-things by myself, a-and t-that I deserve you, a-and t-that…
MARRON: W-WHY CAN’T I JUST HAVE THIS!?
MARRON: I-I w-wasn’t even given a chance t-to do what I wanted! Y-You just kept running, and placed walls and gorilla, a-and e-even with e-everything in my favor, I screwed up EVERYTHING!
MARRON: I-I’m… s-so…

Marron is on the verge of tears, her face mixed with rage, sorrow, and a small smattering of blood. She tries to turn and run off, but there’s still at least a turn’s worth of sap rooting her to the ground. Throughout the puppeteer's rant, Toast's face has softened. In fact, you could say that her eyebrows had done a full 90° from anger to regret.

TOAST: Th-That's…
TOAST: B-But I…

Toast curses softly in another language, turning her gaze towards the sky. She turns and gives a pitying glance to the sap-covered Marron, a withering stare at the faded glyphs in the ground near them, and a figurative overview of the repertoire of annoying spells she'd acquired as keepaway tactics.

TOAST: …
TOAST: I…

Toast sighs, resigned.

TOAST: I guess I really gorillaed this up, didn't I.
TOAST: ...I'm sorry for ruining this fight.
TOAST: I… guess I really didn't realise how much it meant to you.

Toast’s realization hasn’t tempered the puppeteer’s rage; not in in the slightest.

MARRON: Oh, you THINK?
MARRON: Gee, wow! TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!
TOAST: I'm sorry!
TOAST: I thought that…
TOAST: I thought that if I lost this, I'd lose you forever!
TOAST: So… that meant I was trying to avoid you and Chloe for most of it.
MARRON: L-Lose me!? W-What?
TOAST: W-when we talked about the duel, you… you said I'd have to gorilla off…
MARRON: I-I didn’t mean it like that!
MARRON: J-Just… i-it was more of just a “go away” sorta thing?
MARRON: I-I don’t know! Y-You were pressing me, a-and I… y-you know!

The two of them stare at one another. Marron’s rage is still simmering, fists clenched tight. Toast's has become more of a full-body display of sheepishness. Her analytical mind is already trying to find a way to mend the divide she's created. Soon, an abstract idea strikes her. She frowns.

TOAST: W-What if…
TOAST: ...It's just you and me.
MARRON: ...What?
TOAST: We… have another duel, except without... all of them.

Toast points at the incapacitated Chloe, the pillow-fighting Packo and Ette, and the other, unconscious members of the party. A hint of a smile crosses Marron’s face as she realizes what the sorceress is suggesting.

TOAST: I won't have to do ridiculous tricks to avoid Chloe's mad skills, and you won't have Nez's similarly insane analytical prowess to beat us down with.
TOAST: like seriously she could reverse engineer a quantum teacup
TOAST: So… you and me.
TOAST: ...What do you say?

Marron takes a look around the field, much like Toast did. Then, she turns to face Toast, and grins. A somewhat wicked one- she’s almost certainly scheming.

MARRON: Hm. Seems like you’re speaking my language now.
MARRON: Why don’t you free me, and… we can get started?

Toast smiles in relief (and perhaps anticipation), happy to have found a solution. She bends down, and starts muttering the counterspell to her trap. The sticky bindings start to evaporate, losing their viscosity. Chloe, still covered in sap, watches on in curiosity as the two approach each other. Weren’t they just trying to kill each other a few moments ago? Before the two begin, Marron gestures to Toast’s various wounds as the girl straightens up.

MARRON: Hey, if we’re gonna do this, you should probably fix yourself up first.
MARRON: Otherwise, well… what’s the point?
TOAST: R-right, uh...

Toast fumbles around in the inventory, before pulling out a bright red potion. You know, like the ones in video games. Downing half of it, her wounds quickly seal, before she offers the remainder to Marron. She moves in, snags the potion, and gingerly sips down the rest. Once finished, she throws the bottle to the side, it shattering across the ground as it exits the arena. As Marron does that, Toast shouts over to the rest of the duelists.

TOAST: Hey, uh, could you guys get the unconscious people out of here?
TOAST: I have a feeling we're gonna need the space.

The others on the field nod, and drag the unconscious Author, Irongutta, and Nezira out of the area. The only one still on the field is Chloe, who’s still covered in sap. She flails her arms around, trying to comply as hard as she can.

TOAST: Right, um.

Toast approaches, and with another casting of countermagic, the sap restraining Chloe suddenly dries to become brittle and flaky; It now bears an uncanny resemblance to pastry. Not that you'd want to eat it. Chloe manages to break free of her sappy prison, before addressing the two.

CHLOE: H-Hey, um…
CHLOE: I-It’s good that you two are going to… s-sort things out by yourselves, but…
CHLOE: Mind if I-I stick around? Just in case something happens.

Toast defers to Marron, raising an eyebrow.

MARRON: Yeah, sure. Whatever.
MARRON: Just… stay out of this, alright?

Chloe nods, then retreats to the outskirts of the battlefield, watching from behind a wall. The two duelists then approach each other as the wind picks up. Marron’s cloak billows in the wind, as does Toast’s scarf. They stare each other down for a bit, both of them steeling themselves for what’s about to come. Marron holds her crossbow at the ready, loading a bolt into it.

Then, she rushes forward towards Toast, casting her crossbow aside as she rushes forward, fists at the ready. Toast, expecting a barrage of bolts, lacks the reflexes to raise her arms in defense. Then, the puppeteer slugs her right arm into Toast’s jaw with great force. There’s a solid crack as the blow connects, causing Marron’s eyes to widen, and Toast to drop. Not the sound she expected. Isn’t her arm made of-

...She stares at her right arm. Made of metal, as of only a hour or so ago. For a moment, it seems like that's a battle won.

MARRON: O-Oh gorilla, I-I forgot about the arm!
MARRON: I-I mean, t-this is like, I-I don’t want t-to like, g-give you a concussion or anything, a-and god t-this was meant to be p-proper-

The sorceress, standing, bleeding from the lip, interrupts Marron's panic with another loud cracking sound as she repositions her jaw. She's grinning.

TOAST: Hey.
TOAST: Now we're even.
MARRON: W-What d-do you…
MARRON: ...Oh.

...Despite the realization, the puppeteer is still somewhat bashful, but manages to restore her focus rather quickly. Quickly enough to see the incoming punch that is. The puppeteer ducks, the crystal limb passing barely over her head. She surges back up and tries to quickly deliver a hook to Toast with her normal left arm, but a follow-up kick knocks her back before she can land anything. Toast hops on the spot in a boxer's stance. Surprisingly good form for a self-proclaimed sorceress.

Marron takes a few steps back, still reeling a little from the kick. A small patch on her new arm begins to glow- looks like she transferred over some blood magic glyphs onto the new arm! She suddenly launches herself back, tumbling backwards whilst grabbing Therma in the process. She whips it towards Toast, but her opponent has other plans. A cloud of arcane darts have manifested themselves around that crystal arm of hers, each hovering, directed at the ranger.

Marron opts to meet offense with more offense. She accompanies a quick burst of crossbow bolts from Therma with her own barrage of magically conjured needles, sending them soaring towards Toast. With a hint of alarm, the mage creates two point-blank blasts of energy. One to knock herself back, then another to dive behind a wall. The darts remain hovering, awaiting instruction.

The storm of needles rains against the wall, most of them shattering and bouncing off the barrier, but a few needles embed themselves deep. Marron then conjures a few strings to those needles, and begins to pull on the wall in an attempt to take it down. The wall soon crumbles! Marron grins triumphantly as she readies another shot, but the just-revealed Toast points to a location over her shoulder. Marron quickly glances behind her, thinking that she’s being deceived. The arcane darts from earlier have shifted, now directed at the puppeteer's new location. Once Toast gives the signal, they careen towards their target.

Marron quickly raises Therma in the face of the barrage. The crossbow withstands the brunt of the storm, but a few darts nip at Marron’s arms and legs, drawing a bit of blood. Suddenly, Marron rushes to the side, out of the storm of darts. A small burst of pink petals from an unknown source accompany the movement. She suddenly pivots towards Toast, attempting to fire a few bolts from her crossbow at her. The crossbow refuses to do much, though- turns out it wasn’t meant for tanking!

MARRON: D-Damn it!
MARRON: Whatever, I’ll just...

She throws Therma aside once again, and, now brandishing a needle, rapidly closes the distance. In response, Toast grins and braces herself, shaping her right arm into a crystal shield; her left remaining a more figurative sword: the kind made for punching. Marron’s needle deflects off of Toast’s barrier. After a few further strikes, the defender effortlessly knocks the needle to one side, but as she winds up for an electric counter-punch, it dawns on her that Marron’s brandishing a second needle in her other hand. The second needle rakes across Toast’s body, leaving a large but clean cut.

Marron follows up with a flurry of blows, but after making that first mistake, Toast’s defenses seem to shoot up- her unrefined swings are easily deflected! Marron attempts a desperate lunging swipe at Toast, putting her body weight into the swing. Which isn’t much, but still. The attack is met with two arms crossed in a defensive 'X', though it isn't quite enough. The needles pierce straight through through crystal, embedding themselves within within. Resisting the urge to cry out in pain, Toast follows up with her mechanical hand in an uppercut, using a fist surrounded in an electric aura.

The puppeteer is nearly knocked off of her feet, sent stumbling backwards as she tries to regain her bearings. Meanwhile, her opponent wrenches the dueling needles out of her crystal arm, which begins to return to its natural "arm" shape as it rapidly bleeds an emerald liquid. Marron wipes a bit of blood away from her lip, conjuring another needle and pressing her assault! Toast braces herself, but notices an unexplained glow from Marron’s right arm. Suddenly, a needle swipes at her from behind!

TOAST: Hey!

The needle nips Toast, mostly grazing her. Marron can practically hear her foe’s sigh… then her inner panic as she realizes that a bit of her robes have been stolen away! A stream of fabric flutters towards Marron, wrapping around her semi cut-up arms. She grins at Toast, who looks more than a little shocked at the seamstress's brazenness.

MARRON: Aw, what? Afraid to show a little skin?

The sorceress quickly steps up to the challenge and matches that confidence.

TOAST: Actually, I'm starting to like your style. Mind if I borrow it?

Toast's aura flashes pastel pink, as the smell of roses spontaneously fills the air. She materialises a needle in her own hand (much to the surprise of Marron) and mimics the technique to steal back the stolen fabric. Or at least, most of it- given scaling and all. Equipping a small pout, Marron opts to continue her assault, making use of more blood magic glyphs. A bit of fire envelops Marron’s right arm. She then whips her arm towards Toast, and suddenly, a cone of flame rockets out towards her!

Syllables fall from the lips of the sorceress in a practiced tempo, as a mighty gale is summoned to meet the gout. Even after the fire is blown back into the face of the puppeteer, burning her, Toast keeps her spell active, two (albeit damaged) arms posed in a magic-conducive fashion. Marron tries to stand against the gale, leaning into it in an attempt to stay upright. Suddenly, her cloak disconnects from her, launching away from her at high speeds!

Somewhere in the back, Chloe reaches out and snags the cloak- she probably wouldn’t want to lose it!

Eventually, the winds overcome Marron, sending her tumbling head over heels, and back into a wall. She gasps in pain as she slams into it, wind leaving her lungs in a sudden moment of irony. Meanwhile, Toast begins slowly making her way towards Marron with an irregular gait. Seems that the spell had taken a bit more out of her that she'd have liked. Especially for an unnecessary one. 100% fire resist and all.

Marron just manages to get herself back on two feet, as she feels a burning sensation in her eyes. SP Gauge Filled! She smiles towards Toast- even with the bumps and bruises, she seems to be genuinely enjoying herself. She can’t help but threaten Toast a little.

MARRON: Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.

Toast's aura shines visibly out from her body, its sweet scent permeating the battlefield. Aura(?) Gauge Filled! Her grin matches Marron's, even if their physical vs magical injuries are near-opposite. She responds with a challenge of her own.

TOAST: Let's see how long you can keep it up!

The energy in Marron’s eyes crescendos as she looks up into the sky. A pulsar of crimson energy shoots out of them in a terrifying beam for a brief moment, delivering a fatal blow to a nearby cloud. Marron locks eyes with the sorceress, her irises practically glowing with power. She grins once again, as she sieges Toast with violent beams.

But unlike classic anime villains, Toast does not sit idle as Marron prepares her finale. Gathering her aura in front of her, she begins chanting powerful countermagic, sending forth a beam of her forest-green aura to meet Marron's onslaught. The beams clash in a cliche manner, the collision point between the beams a beautiful dance of color and death! Marron begins to yell- or perhaps scream, the intensity of her eye beams surging. Toast responds by hastening the pace of her chanting, but already her aura starts to thin.

A bit of smoke begins to waft up from Marron’s eyes. The beams from her eyes begin to destabilize- while normally not a great thing in a laser duel, this destabilization comes with a huge increase in power! Suddenly, a huge surge of energy rockets outwards from Marron’s eyes as the stream ends, the recoil quite nearly knocking her over. Toast is forced to devote more and more of her aura to upkeep her defense until, in a shimmering climax, her aura is finally consumed, and the energy beam catches her in the chest. She's thrown to the opposite side of the arena, prone, struggling to get up.

With blurred vision, Marron rushes- or at least, as close as she can get to rushing- towards Toast as she regains her footing, clearly struggling to remain on two feet. Both of them are spent in terms of mana, but neither appear willing to give up. Toast throws a punch as Marron draws near, her right arm deflecting the blow with a metallic clang, leaving a noticeable dent. Then, with whatever strength she can muster, Marron throws as hard a left hook as she can towards Toast’s jaw.

The last light of Toast's aura winks out as she is all-but-instantly knocked unconscious. The previously overpowering scent of mangos vanishes with it, leaving a distinct sensory absence. The momentum carries her backward, leaving her crumpled and unconscious on the ground. Marron stands there in a daze, barely able to comprehend what just happened. She pants heavily, her words shaky and weak.

MARRON: D-Did I…
MARRON: D-Did I w-win?

Marron raises her left arm in triumph, however shaky it is. However battered and bruised she is, her sense of triumph and happiness is clear as day. Even as her legs start to wobble, and her eyes start to flutter. Her arms drop to her sides, and her entire body begins to tip.

MARRON: I-I… f-finally…
MARRON: d-did i-it...

Pain and exhaustion finally overtake the puppeteer. And, with her frustrations properly vented out, she really doesn’t have any fuel left. Marron blacks out, falling face-forward onto Toast. She’s out for the count, unconsciously drooling on her girlfriend’s chest.

...Chloe peeks out from behind a wall. That last laser pulse really did a number on the area- I mean sure, most of the walls are still standing, but everything within a pretty sizable cone of the beam is burnt. She heads over to the downed couple, and sighs. Had she not spectated the fight, she wouldn’t be able to tell which of the girls actually won the brawl.

CHLOE: T-They… wow.
CHLOE: T-They really just went at it, d-didn’t they?
CHLOE: That’s so irresponsible! I-I mean… I-I mean...
CHLOE: ...M-Maybe that’s just how their relationship is…?
CHLOE: I should… go and maybe… grab Ette.

---

Marron wakes up to the sensation of dull aches and pains all across her body. There’s most certainly bandages wrapped around her limbs and chest, and probably some sort of medication on her eyes (which would explain why they sting so much). Where was she, anyway? Her vision’s a bit too blurred to see properly, but the color of the roof and the hue of the floors seem to indicate that she’s in the southern bedroom of the House.

She turns her head to the left, getting a view of blurred green. Toast is lying next to her, equally bandaged. It looks like she’s been well-tended to- save for a few bruises, there’s really not too much damage present on her face. Marron tries to sit up- it takes her a few moments to muster the strength, but she does manage to do it. Then, she notices the scent of cookies- someone’s left her a treat on a sidetable. She gingerly nibbles away at a cookie, her vision clearing up enough to witness a blonde step through the door.

CHLOE: O-Oh, you’re awake!
CHLOE: T-Thank goodness!
CHLOE: W-Why’d you two even push yourselves that far? I-I needed to carry you guys over here, and I-I was lucky that Ette was conscious and able to help with your wounds…
MARRON: W-Well…
MARRON: W-We pushed ourselves… b-because…
MARRON: I-I wanted to h-have a proper battle…?

Marron’s sounding a little bit slurred at the moment. Still though, there’s traces of a smile on her lips. Chloe sighs, crossing her arms.

CHLOE: W-Well… at least you seem happy.
CHLOE: So… w-we’ll talk later, alright?
CHLOE: Don’t push yourselves too hard- if you need anything, just yell!
CHLOE: Or, uh, ring a bell? Do we have a bell?
CHLOE: ...Y-You know what I mean!

Toast begins to stir from her sleep. Chloe gives them a warm smile as she heads for the door.

CHLOE: And besides…
CHLOE: You two probably have a lot to talk about.

Chloe vacates the room, as Toast's sleepy eyes begin to flitter open. Marron leans over her as she comes to, a mixture of worry and exhaustion across her face. As Toast comes to, she is immediately wracked with aching pains from the earlier skirmish. She winces, but smiles through it as she sees her girlfriend. Marron’s worry vanishes the moment she sees Toast’s smile. She tries to start a conversation, not entirely certain how she should be acting here.

MARRON: S-So…
MARRON: How… are you feeling?

A wry smile appears on Toast's face.

TOAST: I had the weirdest dream, you know…
TOAST: This pink-haired girl wanted to fight, so we went and beat each other up.
TOAST: She was a pretty good fighter too. Kinda reckless- and cute.

Cute. Marron’s cheeks go aflush. She opts to sink back into bed, lying down next to Toast. She’s trying to hide her embarrassment- just a little. She attempts to tease Toast back.

MARRON: F-Funny you mention t-that.
MARRON: I think I had the same dream, too!
TOAST: Oh really?
MARRON: I fought this green-haired sorceress, and we fought with magic and stuff!
MARRON: She packed a pretty surprising punch, too!

A devious yet playful smirk crosses Marron’s face.

MARRON: I t-totally clobbered her~
MARRON: ...I-I mean, I-I fainted like, a few seconds after the fight, but…
MARRON: It was… it was fun!

Toast laughs a little, and rolls over a bit to face Marron better. Her mock confidence melts away a little.

TOAST: It was fun.
TOAST: I haven't really had that much fun fighting since…
TOAST: W-Well… ever!
TOAST: So... I-I'm glad you enjoyed it, too.

Marron smiles back at her, inching her body closer to Toast’s. Her smile slowly fades though, her voice taking on a more somber tone.

MARRON: S-So… u-um…
MARRON: I-I know that… y-you wanted to apologise t-to me… b-but…
MARRON: I-I… I’m sorry.

Toast's smile falls too, but she doesn't trust herself to respond just yet. Marron shuffles around awkwardly, sheets still holding her snugly in place.

MARRON: I-I… a-acted like a total gorilla before we ended up fighting and stuff.
MARRON: My mind w-was racing, a-and I-I-
TOAST: I understand.
TOAST: I understand because… w-well, I'm sorry too.
TOAST: I-I know I said it before, but I am sorry for ignoring your feelings for this long.
TOAST: M-Maybe if I'd been paying more attention, none of this would have started…
MARRON: I-I mean, none of this w-would’ve happened if I didn’t yell at you and basically make you fight me…
MARRON: I-It’s just… I-I’ve acted like a child recently. I-I ignored your feelings too, a-and… j-just, I-I wanted t-to prove t-that I was… b-better, for some reason?
MARRON: J-Just, sometimes, w-when I look at you, I feel… i-inadequate?
MARRON: I-It’s like… y-you’re like, my first real friend, a-and you’re good at magic, fighting, a-and you’re also really pretty…
MARRON: You also have bigger… y-you know!
MARRON: And I-I look at myself, a-and… i-it’s like, h-how can I compare? T-To anyone in our party?

Marron turns, planting her face squarely within her pillow.

MARRON: I-It’s kinda dumb, I-I know...
TOAST: …

Toast looks at Marron, uncertainty and concern clouding her face. She's never been good at this kind of thing. Not even all of the mock confidence in the multiverse could help her to comfort someone.

TOAST: W-well…
TOAST: ...You beat me, didn't you?

Marron pulls her face out of her pillow.

MARRON: I-I mean, I guess…
MARRON: This is like, one victory out of like, four battles we’ve had now?
MARRON: It’d be pathetic if I d-didn’t win one by this point...

The puppeteer looks at Toast, blushing bashfully.

TOAST: I-I mean…
TOAST: ...Maybe your talents don't lie in the "predict every move, plan ahead" four against four duels.
TOAST: When we fought one-on-one… it was intense.
TOAST: I-It was like… your instincts kept you alive so you could focus on the fight.
TOAST: I needed to put all my energy into defense to even keep up, and whenever I tried to counter, oh, you would punish me for it.

Toast mimes being stabbed in her hand, before returning to her piece.

TOAST: I think you're better suited for those more personal duels.
TOAST: Frankly, that kinda suits you.

Marron perks up a little.

MARRON: I… I haven’t really thought of it that way.
MARRON: It’s… n-nice that you can see the good in me t-that I can’t see...

MARRON: But, like… y-you’re still so composed, compared to me…
MARRON: I like, t-threw a tantrum before the duel, a-and during it, I-I freaked out and thought I was gonna d-die or something when you took the upper hand...

TOAST: That's… not necessarily a bad thing.
TOAST: I mean, being able to feel emotions like that isn't a weakness.
TOAST: I-In fact, I kind of admire it.
TOAST: If someone ever goes around and starts talking gorilla about me, I know that you'll stick up for me.
TOAST: ...That's really comforting.
TOAST: And… fear?
TOAST: Everyone feels that.
TOAST: When I thought you wanted me gone, I was afraid.
TOAST: Back on Between, when I thought you were actually gone, I was terrified.
MARRON: A-And I was… t-terrified t-that… w-well, y-you’d destroy me, a-and I’d be a-a failure again…
TOAST: Well, I think our last duel proved otherwise, don't you think?

Marron seems to fall out of her slump, pulling herself closer to Toast and hugging her. She can’t really hug too tightly due to injuries, and the fact that she’s applying unwanted pressure to Toast’s wounds probably isn’t appreciated, but Toast enjoys it nonetheless.

MARRON: …
MARRON: I… I don’t know what I did t-to deserve someone l-like you…
MARRON: ...but I’m thankful t-that you… j-just, like, exist…?
MARRON: Y-Yeah! That.

MARRON: L-Let’s…
MARRON: Let’s not fight again, a-alright? Or at least, f-fight really seriously, ever again.
MARRON: Beating you up is way more fun when we’re not really at odds.

Toast can't help but laugh at this.

TOAST: Completely agreed.
TOAST: Next time, we'll talk before we start throwing punches.
MARRON: And I’ll win the next one! For sure!
TOAST: We'll see…
TOAST: ...But first.

Toast shifts a bit closer to Marron, their faces almost touching. Then, she pulls away in a teasing motion, sitting up on the pillow. Marron looks on in curiosity, scrambling to sit up as well. In a sudden movement, Toast lifts her (quite light) girlfriend such that she's sitting on Toast's part of the bedding, face-to-face. The puppeteer yelps, but once she’s safely back on the ground, she gently smiles towards her. Toast attempts to bring back her confidence from the start of their encounter.

TOAST: ...You know?
MARRON: Hm?

Toast takes Marron's hands in hers, and they look into each other's eyes.

TOAST: You really are my dream girl.

She gently tugs the girl towards her, tilting her own head as Marron approaches. Marron resists a little at first, before she realizes what she’s going for. Blushing heavier than ever, she tilts her head as well, and moves in towards Toast. Their lips brush against one another, before they meet in full. They remain locked together like this for a few moments, neither of them really wanting to break it off.

Eventually, Marron pulls back, her body glowing with happiness and warmth. Wordlessly, she slips to Toast’s side, wrapping one arm around her lover, content with simply cuddling up with her for now. Toast mimics the motion as the two lean into one another. Their embrace warms them to drowsiness, and before they know it, they begin to nod off.

The both of them, if only for a moment, forget their worries. They forget the legions of Charians out for them, they forget the rebels threatening to seed chaos. They forget that moments later, they'll be ascending the One-Fifth Scale Model of Yggdrasil and thrown back into the thick of it.
Knowing what they are thinking exactly would be impossible, but it wouldn't take a genius to guess.
After all: right now, each of them only have one thing on their mind.

Each other.