Chapter Fifty Three

The cold icy air struck like needles, the air made it difficult to breath, but it did not matter within this moment. It had taken several days to track down and find the beast. But now, after finally discovering it, he had come on the horrible realization that they were not strong enough to face it. Even with his best men.

They just barely held back the Telethia that roared in rage.

And like a fool he over estimated this creature, it was something he hadn't done for what felt like eons. He knew such a mistake would cost them.

"Captain!" one of his men cried. "You must withdraw, head back to the Empress! Tell her the strength of this monster!"

"I will not, you believe I would be such a man to leave his men and flee for myself? I refuse to back down until the very end!" he proclaimed to that of the High Entia Guard as he held up his staff. "If anyone is to flee, let it be you. I will remain to distract the beast so you may be able to escape."

"But Captain!" the man cried again before the Telethia rushed, sending a blast of Ether sending the Captain of the Guard back, his feet remained rooted into the snow-covered ground, but as for his men, whom had taken the brunt of the attack, vanished into ether particles.

The captain grits his teeth as he knelt on the ground, gloved fingers digging deep into the cold hard ground. All his soldiers had now vanished leaving him alone to fight off the beast. His mask beginning to crack, which he ignored as he forced himself to stand up.

"My allies, those who worked under me for so many, many years. Forgive me, my foolishness has caused you all to parish from this world." He said as some Ether particles floated into his hand before he clenched it into a fist. "But I will not let it be for not!" taking his staff with both hands, he stood firmly as he lifted it in the air and shouted. "Bestow your lives unto me to vanquish this beast!" he proclaimed before releasing the full extent of his abilities.

A bright flash of Ether erupted from his staff as he held it high in the air, striking the beast as if cried out in pain before it, and the High Entia faded within the seemingly endless winter storm.

Meyna stopped in their mountain trek to look at how much further they needed to go. Which was still that of a great distance, and yet something kept nagging her at the back of her mind. She turned to Yuma.

"By chance, is there a way to detect Ether levels?"

Yuma looked almost surprised. "That's a rather odd question to ask suddenly, what brought this on?"

"Well, I thought that since the Telethia absorb Ether we could find where it could be, so we would have a better chance of finding it."

"Right!" Rei added with a snap of her fingers. "Just like in the forest at our Colony, the Telethia there absorbed the Ether in the ground and the surrounding area causing it all to turn grey and decay."

"That is true," Yuma agreed. "But we won't be sure if it'll be the same Telethia which this man used to attack your Colony. We won't know until we get there."

"Even so it's worth the risk," Grithiff added. "Whether or not it is the same Telethia it doesn't matter, just so long as we stop it before it can harm anyone who is in the area."

"Would anyone be so foolish as to even venture that far away from any Colony?" Yuma asked, sounding rather puzzled by this.

"Well, there's us!" Rei said as she folded her arms behind her head. "I mean, if we're heading this far up on our own surely there are others who would do the same, explorers and the like?" she then shuddered as a cold wind blew through. "Ugh, you'd think with the clothes we bought it could keep you warm."

Before they had left Colony 8, the group had gone and purchased some warmer clothing for the trek up the mountain side, for both Homs and Nopon. Yuma insisted that she was fine with what she had, for being a Machina she could regulate not only in hot temperatures but also in the cold as well.

"You're just being thin skinned." Grithiff told her.

"Oh, shut it. If that's the case why isn't Meyna cold? She's wearing less then me."

Meyna merely had the proper dark blue jacket with a furred trimmed hood, black gloves, white pants, boots, in comparison to Rei who had bundled herself in thicker clothing, as did Grthiff, but didn't seem at all bothered by the cold weather. She shrugged in response unable to give any kind of answer. "I'm not sure, it's like when we were at Colony 5, the heat never bothered me all that much. But I couldn't tell you why."

"It's just how you are," Grithiff added as he folded his arms across his chest. "You always held a high tolerance to any type of weather even when you were young."

"Huh, really?" she paused as if recalling something. "Well, actually if I think about it. Yeah, I think I did when I was a kid, and for some reason I always loved the rain."

Grithiff laughed. "Loved it? Meyna, Mom or Dad would have to try to keep you inside because you always wanted to go out and run around, especially near puddles."

She gave a small laugh. "Oh, wow, but you know. I feel like I did that for a reason, like I wanted to known what it felt like. Since the Machina couldn't really get wet due to shorting their circuitry or something like that."

"Yes, it's a rather ironic conundrum." Yuma agreed with a half-hearted sigh. "We Machina thrive solely on water with a bit of Either, and yet the mere issue of getting wet causes us so many issues."

"Dose that mean you can't swim?" Rei asked.

"We can, technically, but due to how heavy our bodies are we often have the tendency to sink then float."

"So, you can't swim then."

Yuma sighed again. "Regardless of that issue we've recently been able to have that problem fixed. So now we don't have to worry as much when it comes to getting wet or even swimming. Although not all of us have this capability as of yet, those like me do. I think it's actually being further developed by a Machina in Colony 9. But we won't really know until we get there."

They continued onwards through the snow, further up the mountain. But the closer they began to reach the top something began to change.

The ground beneath them shook briefly, causing them all to stop.

"That can't be good…" Rei said.

"Ground shake, snow tumbles down, Ethon and friends must hide before all get swept away!" The Nopon said as he hoped around in worry.

"Wait, I don't think that's an avalanche, I would have been able to sense it long before if that was the case." Yuma explained before pulling her goggles down and began to look towards the top of the mountain. "There is a large decrease in Ether, near the center of the mountain."

"Is there anything in the area?" Grithiff asked.

Yuma was silent for a moment, text forming in front of her eyes as her brows knit together. "Not that I can see, but it seems that there is a great decrease in Either not too far off. If we continue on the path that we're on now I'm sure we will run into whatever it is."

"Judging from what you've said it could very well be the Telethia," Grithiff said in an almost grim yet optimistic tone.

"Then let's go," Meyna said. "We can't let the Telethia continue this." And though this is only my hope, but it could very well be the one that attacked our home. And if it is… she gripped the hilt of her duel- swords. Then perhaps that man won't be too far behind.

Yet when they had finally reached the area which Yuma has spoken of, there were no monsters. Only a High Enita man, collapsed on the snow-covered ground. And near him was signs that the Either had been taken.

Without a word, they all rushed to the fallen man, dressed in High Entia armor, and wearing a mask, with small wings growing from his head meaning he was related to a Homs in some way.

"Is he all right?" Meyna asked as Yuma looked him over.

"He's somewhat stable, but I need Either crystals to assist. He's suffering a slight case of Either deficiency, it must have been from the Telethia in the area."

"It seems to only be him," Grithiff stated as his eyes scanned the area. "Did he fight that monster alone?"

Yuma looked to the large patch of grey with a slight frown. "Hard to say, either way I need someone to go and collect some pure Water Either Crystals for me. I can't leave him here."

"I'll go." Meyna offered. "I think I saw a geyser or a small lake nearby. I can grab them from there and be back as soon as possible."

"I'll go with you," Rei offered. "Better then going by yourself and dealing with all those monsters."

"Then Ethon and I will stay here with Yuma in case anything happens or a Telethia comes around." Grithiff then rested a hand along Meyna's shoulder. "Be safe Meyna."

"You too." She then turned to Rei. "Alright, let's go."

"Lead the way, and if any monsters show up I'll be sure to smash them."

Grithiff merely watched as Meyna and Rei headed off down the mountain and would have continued doing so until Yuma spoke. "You'll have to tell her eventually you know," he looked to her. "About her body, about what she is. it's not something that you can keep quite on forever. Sooner or later she will need to know, and will have questions when she does."

"I know…" Grithiff sighed. "I've been meaning too, but haven't found the right time to do it. But then it always feels like that, I never know when the right time might be or not be."

"Why not bring it up when you ask her about her memories, even if she can't recall everything, it may help."

Or it may bring up memories she doesn't want to remember. He thought recalling their father's journal and what had been written within. But even if those memories were painful, she had the right to know of the truth. I'm sorry your brother is such a coward Meyna…

The two of them found they didn't have to go all that far in finding the lake, which they found to be with no creatures in sight, on top of which the two young women spied a large water crystal that seemed almost to encompass most of the lake in the center.

"And I thought that was just going to be ice." Rei says as they begin to descend a slop to reach it. "Good eye Meyna,"

"I was going to suggest heading here to collect some but I figured it'd be better for you and Ethon to reach the Colony then a chance of getting even colder."

"Ah don't remind me!" she complained as she hugged herself close and hopped from foot to foot. "I'm just trying to pretend it's not so cold. The sooner we get there the better."

"Careful of the ice," Meyna says with a shake of her head as they headed down a path. When they had reached the bottom of the slop and collected several that they believed would be more then good enough. "With this it should help the High Entia." Only to pause and look around, the feeling of being watched from somewhere in the distance began to grow.

"Meyna? Something wrong?"

"No… I just felt like we were being watched by something."

Rei instantly pulled out her weapon, readying herself. "A monster? Or one of those cloaked bastards?"

"No," she said her gaze remaining on a cliff side. "I didn't feel any ill intent, but, I knew someone was watching me it made me feel… almost disturbed."

"Disturbed?"

Meyna nodded. "Yeah, like I've… felt it before. But I'm not sure why."

"We are hunting down the Telethia that attacked our Colony, so maybe, they have people around the mountain?"

"If that was true we would have seen them by now don't you think?"

Rei had to agree, but they could have very well been hiding too. "Whatever the case, we have more then enough crystals. Let's head back."

Meyna remained silent still looking to the cliff-side, with a shake of her head she followed after Rei, not wanting to draw out the excursion any long then it already had.

When they were gone off in the distance, he immerged looking to where they had gone. Even in only his black clothing the cold did little to bother him. The girl was becoming even more preceptive, more cautious of her own feelings. The fascination he had with her would continue to grow. Even though he had a roll to play in regards to whom he followed, perhaps it would soon be time for a change of pace after all these years? Thinking on that alone brought a smile to his face. He wanted to see her growth, her powers becoming greater and what expression she would give when learning the whole truth.

"You sure it was nothing?" Grithiff asked out of worry when Rei described what happened as Meyna assisted Yuma and Ethon in preparing the crystals. "You saw no one there?"

"Well Meyna was sure, it wasn't like there was any ill intent but she did say it bothered her. Right Meyna?"

"I thought I felt it before for a moment," she said walking over to them. "But I'm not sure why, maybe it has something to do with my missing memories."

"Well you've recalled some memories, but nothing else so far." Grithiff said, from where he sat cross-legged in the snow. "But you may remember more when we're in the Colony, since that was one of the places we went too in order to reach Colony 6."

"One can only really hope at this point." Meyna said. "Even if I don't recall anything, just being able to reach the Colony would be good enough. I'd be happy if I could see Croystzel again."

"That's the guy you mentioned before, right?" Rei asked.

Meyna nodded. "Yes, but with him being so far I never get to see him that much."

"Okay it's ready," Yuma said suddenly drawing everyone else's attention as she readied her gun to fire into the air. "Step back everyone."

When they had Yuma sent off two rounds into the sky, either particles now floating in the air before then quickly being absorbed by the High Entia.

"Did it work?" Rie asked.

The man groaned, but with his mask it was hard to even tell if he was awake. That was until the man let out a surprised breath, and with his wings was quickly able to leap into the air and land back on the ground ready to fight holding up a staff in his left hand.

"Who are you?" the masked High Entia demanded.

"We aren't enemies." Grithiff said with an air of caution, moving to stand in front of Meyna, shielding her on an almost instinctive level. "We found you here, alone. Were there others with you?"

The masked High Entia remained ready to fight for a moment before letting out a breath and retracting his staff. "My apologise, I should not have reacted in such a way. Yes, there were but they… they did not make it. A mistake I greatly regret. I and several of my men came to try to deal with the Telethia which had attacked several Colonies only to fall from the beat's onslaught of attacks. My error caused my men their very lives."

"Wait…" Grithiff said noting his armor. "This maybe a ridiculous question, but by chance are you, the Captain of the Guard for the Empress?"

"It is no such thing, for indeed I am, but I am surprised you've heard of me unless you've been to Colony 9 before?"

"During the war with the SkyRays," Grithiff said. "But this is the first time we've met. It's an honor."

The captain of the guard shook his head. "No, it is mine, you and your companions saved me from dying on this cold mountain. But I must ask, why are you traveling up the mountain?"

"It's a rather long story," Grithiff said. "It might be best to find a place to rest, I'm sure you're still feeling exhausted."

"I am fine, but yes, there is a place. A cave not too far from here, we can rest and talk there, please follow me."