A/N: hello peeps!
well this is a ridiculous side story that literally came about because when i asked for a ship name for these two, xinfo threw 'Inquisitor Nyah' at me, as a joke... and well my brain ran with the idea XD
was intended to be a 'short' celebratory piece for completing my first '100 days' challenge... and wound up being 40k and a month later :P
i'm just gonna throw it all up here like i did over on AO3 but please, feel free to comment on any of the chaps if you'd like! criticism helps! :D
ENJOY!
"Wait-what?" Rex balked at the rumor he'd just heard from the Nopon information dealer.
"Heard just what said," the little yellow Nopon flapped their wings, "Gormotti Driver caught by Ardainians executed." They held up their ear-wing as if saying a secret, "My advice friends should skip town. Ardainians on hunt for anyone related to incident. Likely execute you!"
"But-that-they can't just…" the boy's eyes were wide, unable to comprehend.
"Rex," the red themed female Blade next to him in the Gormotti hood pulled on his arm, tugging Rex out of the alleyway, "We need to go." Pyra didn't want to think about what this meant, what happened to their short-time companion, but they needed to be practical. "You promised we'd go to the World Tree together," her grip tightened on his arm, red eyes showing a level of concern and sorrow she didn't want to fully express.
"But-!" Rex's light eyes crinkled at the edges. He'd never thought… never dreamed that someone he knew-just met! Who'd helped him out would… would be…
"Rex-Rex should go!" Tora flapped his ear-wings, "Let's head to titan Bum-Bum to see Unclepon Umon, we can get boat away from Gormott!" the Nopon Engineer was grateful to his new Driver friend for not only believing in him but also getting him the parts he needed to complete his life's work. While he was sad their friend was gone, he didn't want to see them stuck in a similar situation.
Looking at his friends, Rex nodded, sighing with a heavy heart, "Yea… let's go."
There was nothing left for them here, no reason to stay any longer.
Sitting on the metal floor of the brig on the Ardainian Battle-Cruiser reminded Nia of the last time she was in prison.
-Last time Jin showed up and saved me…- her clawed fingers fiddled with the knees of her jumper, remembering the stoic white swordsman appearing out of nowhere, opening her cell door and offering her a chance to leave. To save her from what awaited her in Indol.
But that wasn't going to happen here… not now.
-I messed up…- she had betrayed Torna… all for some stupid kid… a stupid innocent idiot of a boy they'd tricked from the beginning, trying to get the Aegis. Looking back she had thought they'd only have the kid open the door, she wasn't particularly familiar with this kind of locking mechanism and didn't really understand all the complexities of what was required, all she knew was they needed a Leftherian to open some door to get some crazy-strong Blade.
The Legendary Aegis.
Scoffing, she couldn't help but think on how much of a joke that all was. Hindsight was a bitch.
Pyra wasn't that different from a normal Blade. Sure, she seemed to 'know' more than a normal newly-awoken Blade and had some interesting powers, but nothing really all that amazing. Her and Dromarch were still doing most of the heavy lifting as they made their way up from Gormott's belly to Torigoth. Then again she was an experienced Driver, Rex still had no clue what he was doing.
Part of her hoped they got away safely. Another part didn't care. Just another in a long line of bad decisions and short meetings in her life that ultimately screwed her over.
-Da. Torna. Rex. What's next, ey?- her gold eyes glared at the heavy metal door, almost expecting it to open and a contingent of Ardainian soldiers to step in and drag her out… probably drop her off at Indol where she could be 'cleansed' and then it'd just all be over. No more worrying. No more caring.
"Jin…" her cream colored grey Gormotti ears just lowered as she stared at the floor and fiddled with the fabric of her jumper.
Morag stood on the bridge of the Ardainian Battle-Cruiser, a sour look on her face as she watched the nighttime shifts of the cloud sea.
Two days. Two goddamn days she had waited longer than necessary and not a single sign of the boy Driver and female Blade Brighid had described.
It irritated her to no end that they hadn't taken the bait. She had hoped, planned that the boy would be reckless and care at least enough about his supposed comrade to try and attempt a rescue of her. Morag had left enough information amongst the lower ranks and the citizens of Torigoth that they'd caught a 'Gormotti Driver and were going to execute her in three days', five bloody days later and the boy never showed up! She didn't know if he somehow anticipated her trap or was that callous.
It annoyed her. Brighid had said the boy attempted to rescue the Gormotti Driver when she was fighting them, only escaping when it was obvious they had no chance, but Brighid said it was clear they would have tried if they could or were given another opportunity. Apparently he didn't and part of Morag wanted to know why.
Why would someone abandon their comrade like that? Were Torna and that boy that heartless?
It put Morag in a foul mood, not only because she failed to capture the Aegis and its Driver, but because of this whole ploy she didn't have a chance to deal with the problem she'd come to Torigoth for in the first place. -Work for another day, clearly…-
She opened her eyes and tried, tried to take some solace in the fact they had managed to capture at least ONE criminal on this trip.
Even that left a sour taste in her mouth.
"Special Inquisitor Morag!" a masked Ardainian soldier stood in a perfect salute at her side.
"What is it?" her voice was crisp and she tried to keep the irritation she felt at the situation dropped in her lap out of it.
The man seemed to shake, clearly she wasn't as good at this as she'd thought, "It's about the prisoners," he finally lowered his hand, standing at attention, "The Captain says we can make a detour to Indol but the decision needs to be made quickly if we're going to change course."
Light brown eyes finally flicked towards the grunt behind her visor. Mor Ardain and Indol were on politically good terms, technically Indol was on 'good terms' with every other nation as they were the ones that controlled everything that dealt with Drivers and Blades. She knew very well why the captain would suggest they stop by Indol thanks to their captive. If they stripped her of her Blade she would be less of a threat and the Empire, hopefully, would gain another unique Blade.
It made the taste in her mouth turn almost rotten.
"I will speak to the Torna Driver first," making a perfect about-face, she moved towards the exit of the bridge, not caring for the messenger.
She may hate Torna for what it has done, for the Ardainian lives lost to them… but stripping one of their Drivers, no an Ex-Torna Driver of her Blade just didn't feel right. By standard procedure it was the most pertinent thing to do, disarming an enemy so they couldn't fight, but even then… it just didn't feel right.
She would speak with the Ex-Torna Driver one last time, remind herself why this was necessary. Then maybe this disgusted and irritated feeling she had would go away.
When the door opens to her cell, Nia was ashamed to admit she hoped it was Jin come to save her. -Yea right, there'd be more screams then…- the leader of Torna would have wasted this place if he had come… but it wouldn't have been for her.
Listlessly she stared as the Special Inquisitor stepped into her small cell, closing the heavy metal door behind her and pulled the only chair in the room over and sat pristinely in front of Nia.
That caused a Gormotti ear and brow to quirk, "What's this?" she leaned over both ways, making a show of looking at the door, "All alone with lil' ol' me? Didn't even bring yer fancy Blade this time?"
"Brighid is outside along with a contingent of Ardainian soldiers," was the cool, crisp response. Morag had her arms crossed, hoping to look intimidating. When all the Gormotti Driver did was lower her ears and look away in a submissive way sitting on the floor she almost felt she'd overdone it, "How have you been since our last meeting?"
"Keh," the Gormotti Driver snorted, still not looking at her, "That why you come here? Come to check up on me, ey?" a short, sharp glance with those gold eyes before they were on the wall again, "Can't say I'm much complainin', bit nicer cell-wise compared to the other places I been held up in, yea."
A trim black brow rose behind the Inquisitor's visor, "A repeat offender?" a small smirk picked at the edge of her lips, "Why am I not surprised?"
Again that scowl on the woman's white marked face, "Kind of comes with the territory an' all, yea? I'm just a ruffian terrorist after all." Her words were meant to be scathing but the frown on her face spoke of something else.
Morag just stared at her a long minute, trying to organize her own thoughts and assess this woman better, "Do you know what awaits you in Mor Ardain?"
"Keh," another scoff as she looked to the side, "What, I'll get put in a smaller cage?" a shrug, "One prison's the same as any other…"
"You will be tried for Torna's crimes. You could be executed." Morag spoke flatly, simply stating the truth, watching her reaction. The Gormotti Driver's face didn't change, "Your Blade will be removed, taken to Indol for cleansing…"
Gold eyes glared at her with a fire she hadn't seen before.
It seemed there was one thing this Driver cared about. "Did I strike a nerve?"
"You leave him out of this, hear me!" Nia growled, facing the woman dead on, "You can do whatever you want with me; poke me, prod me, torture me for all I care, hell I'd be surprised if you could manage a way to kill me! But you leave Dromarch out of this! He ain't done nothing!"
That slim black brow rose again, noticing her choice of words, "If you're executed he will return to his core crystal and be sent to Indol anyway, why bother with idle threats?"
She growled again, gripping her ankles tightly and nearly baring her fangs at Morag, "Like I said! I'd be surprised if you lot managed a way to off me, but if that happens," a clawed hand defiantly pointed at the Ardainian woman in front of her, "Then you take his core crystal hear me? None of this 'cleansing' in Indol nonsense, you take him and watch him, yea?"
Morag was honestly surprised by this response, even more so about the conviction in the woman's eyes. She needed to prod this a bit more, "You would be fine with that? Dying and your Blade taken by your enemy?"
An odd snort from the Gormotti woman as she looked away, "Ey, if someone was gonna steal him off me, best you, right?" those gold eyes slyly shifted to Morag a moment, "Yer real important in Mor Ardain, yea? no one would question you not sending your new Blade off to Indol, right?"
The Special Inquisitor had really nothing to say to that. Her own Blade, Brighid, and her brother's, Aegaeon, were family heirlooms of the Imperial family of Mor Ardain. Their core crystals weren't given over to Indol to 'cleanse' simply handed to the next in line. By all rights she had nothing to say to oppose the woman's claims or assumptions.
She was certainly audacious, it brought that small smirk back to Morag's lips, "You are certainly a strange person…"
"Nia," she said flatly, ear flicking in clear annoyance, "In case you'd forgotten, Special Inquisitor."
That smirk got a bit bigger, "Can't say I would forget someone as memorable as you," there was something soft in her light brown gaze, something that certainly shouldn't have been there.
"Tch, yea, whatever…" Nia just mumbled, her eyes deadening as she looked to the ground. Torna forgot her, Jin forgot her, hell even Rex and Pyra forgot her… why should she care what this Ardainian thought.
Idly one of Morag's gloved fingers tapped under her elbow. A rather crazy idea forming in her mind. "It would be a waste for someone as capable as you to simply be executed for the crimes of an organization you no longer work for…"
"Ey?" a cream colored grey brow rose, Nia's gold eyes turning to the woman. She couldn't possibly be suggesting…
The look that passed the Ardainian woman's pale face was oddly smug, "And you are a strong Driver, from what Brighid can attest." Casually she waved her hand, "It would be a waste to simply have you locked up in prison."
Nia just snorts, "Tch, yea, what, you want to have me follow your around on a leash or something, ey? Be a pet?"
The Special Inquisitor just smirks smugly, "That's an option." When the Gormotti woman just growls as a response, Morag tones down her smug grin, getting serious about the situation in front of them, "Truthfully, I doubt Torna would appreciate a former member abandoning them, meaning they may send someone after you…" light brown eyes stare directly into the woman's gold ones, hoping she understood what this all meant, "Anywhere you are, there is a chance they will show up, and I'd rather not have anyone else in danger, so it would be best I keep an eye on you…"
"What are you saying?" Nia gave her a skeptical look. She didn't believe for a second this Ardainian really cared about her or her safety. -What's your angle?-
"I'm offering you a chance to avoid prison," Morag states as plainly as she can. Already she could see the obvious skepticism in the Gormotti woman's eyes. From what she could tell and had seen, Nia wasn't stupid but very cautious. "You will work for me, you will tell me whatever information you have about Torna and the Aegis, and I will protect you from any retaliation."
Nia just snorts, rolling her eyes, "Yea, how? Just gonna keep me around?" gold eyes glare scathingly at the Ardainian, "I was joking about the pet bit, yea."
A smooth, if still extremely smug smirk passes Morag's lips as she links her fingers in her lap, "How does 'Junior Inquisitor' sound?"
"Wait-what?!" Nia almost shouts in surprise. This woman couldn't be serious! She was bloody mad if she was saying something like that!
That smug look didn't leave the cunning Inquisitor's face, "It's as I said. I would give you the title of 'Junior Inquisitor' making you effectively my assistant." She waved her hand, almost theatrically, "That would mean not only would you be under my orders but you would be trapped within my purview," another smug look at the Gormotti prisoner, "Essentially within easy reach at all times; I could get whatever information from you as I needed, and should any Torna members or even the Aegis come and attack you as retaliation for your services to the Empire, I would be there to protect you from such threats."
A scowl crossed the Gormotti woman's face as she just crossed her arms, eyes in narrow slits glaring at the madwoman in front of her, "You make it sound like I can't take care of myself, ey?"
A black brow rose as Morag simply waved her hand, gesturing to their current predicament.
Nia really wanted to slap that smug look off the woman's face, "Tch!" instead she just looked away, angry at herself for walking right into that one, "Fine!" gold eyes glare back at the Ardainian, "So what? I'll be like your assistant or something? Just follow you around, bark orders and do tricks for you just so you can keep an eye on me? and I gotta report to you? Do whatever work you want doin'?"
"That's basically how an assistant works," Morag gave a funny nod, cutting the theatrics to try and convince the woman of her seriousness in this matter, "You will have relative freedom, but everything you do has to come through me, understand?"
"Like I got a choice," the Gormotti woman just scoffs. A glance back up and she saw that hard to read serious face on the Special Inquisitor again… but something about it seemed… softer, than before. As far as Nia knew she was hallucinating and this was all some loneliness inspired dream, "So what then? I get a collar or something? Get a funny new uniform? Learn all my military courtesies and all that shite?"
"It would be for the best," Morag answers crisply, "You will be an informant for the Ardainian military, as long as you're useful you will have the position under my care. You would have to look the part, so a uniform would be issued along with papers, enough to hide you in plain sight…"
"Tch," she scoffed again, "Thought you wanted me in plain sight, use me as bait to lure out Torna."
An edge to Morag's lips rose, "I see you do understand your true role in all this."
Nia just rolled her neck, leaning back on the cold metal wall, "Why else would you say all this? It's not for me, not like I matter, I don't even know that much, but the way you see it if you got even the smallest chance of gettin' one'a those bigger guys, the ones really responsible for all the things Torna's done that pisses you off," she held up her hands, shrugging as if she didn't care, "Then by all means, dangle me out like a bloody grub on a wire." She dropped her hands, ears going flat as she stared at the side wall. This was no different than Torna, no different than anywhere else she'd ever been…
"I'm asking you to agree to this," there was something strange about the Special Inquisitor's voice, "I'm asking that you choose to join us and help us of your own freewill and don't force me to use you just like you claimed." Morag couldn't believe how stubborn this woman could be. Perceptive, apparently, not a fool, clearly, but damn the Architect and all above could she be stubborn and full of self-pity. -Where is your damn pride!-
Gold eyes glared back sharply, "You're the one askin', yea? You got all the cards, you got all the power here?" Nia threw her hand out, "Hell if you wanted you could just strap me with some kind of control collar, send me back to them and blow me up if you damnwell wanted! Isn't that what you Ardainians do! Use those you have the power to!"
Morag's jaw visibly clinched and there was a fury in her eyes her visor did not hide. Her voice coming out very harsh and low, "You are making this very difficult."
Cream colored grey Gormotti ears dropped and Nia looked away again. She remembered the war with Mor Ardain and Gormott. She knew the kinds of tactics and things the Ardainians were capable of, seen most of them first hand. Judging by how young this woman looked there was no chance she fought there herself, likely just a kid at the time and probably groomed on Ardainian propaganda, like most of them, about how their 'claim' over Gormott was good for everyone.
Either way she was just going to be a slave for this woman or executed, so what was the point? "Either way I'm going to be bait for you, so what's it matter?"
Taking a deep breath, Morag let go of her frustration, "Agree to work for me and I won't have this ship head to Indol," she tried, she really did, to look at Nia as sincerely as she possibly could, "Agree, and you can keep your Blade."
That visibly struck a chord, immediately her gold eyes went wide and shock covered her face, "You… you mean that?"
"I am the Special Inquisitor of Mor Ardain, it would be useless for me to lie," unconsciously her hands gripped into tight fists on her knees, hoping this woman would take her offer so her conscious would no longer plague her about the lives she would be ruining otherwise. -I do this and there's at least one life I can save here… for now.-
A sharp determined look passed the Gormotti woman's features as she moved forward on her knees, just close enough to hold her hand out to the Special Inquisitor, looking her straight in the eye, "Deal."
Morag pushed past the lump in her throat, showing none of the worry on her features at what this would cause, as she reached out, her gloved hand meeting the Gormotti woman's clawed one, and stared directly into her hard gold eyes, "Deal."
A nod, a shake, and the deal was struck. Nia was now sworn under Morag's protection.
Come Torna or the end of the world, anyone that dared to come after this Gormotti woman would have to deal with the Special Inquisitor of Mor Ardain.
And Nia… Nia would have to learn to deal with her… and taking orders.
A/N: and thus it begins~ :P
Till next -salute-waves- Sayounara, mina!
-Ikasury