"You're unusually passionate about the mana cannon today," Raine said, crossing her arms. She narrowed her eyes at the Chosen, who had decided to tag along the day of the second test.
Zelos shrugged. "Hey, I missed out on all the action last time, and some exciting shit went down."
"That is true," Raine sighed. She had to admit that their record of testing days seemed to be dramatic, at least. Perhaps a man like Zelos would not like to miss out on the carnage. But Raine was sure that today things would go exceptionally better than they had last time. There would be no betrayal, no murder, no systemic malfunctions. Today would go excellently.
"Let's get this show on the road," Sheena said, almost cheerfully. Raine wondered if Forcystus had told her about the recapture of her previous employer. She would no doubt be forced to meet Yuan sometime in the future, and perhaps face chastisement for her defection. It wasn't like Raine was going to bother to investigate; what happened between the assassin and Yuan was none of her business.
She crossed her arms and nodded to the chief engineer, who in turn nodded to the men and women at the controls. Forcystus stood in his usual place, by the wide window, looking out over the length of the cannon. Lloyd lingered beside him, eagerly pressed against the glass, awaiting the moment of truth, the moment when he would find out if his hard work paid off. Raine could understand the strange mix of eagerness and dread that must've been coursing through him. She could barely hold herself still.
"Ready," one of the operators said from the control board.
"Start her up," the chief engineer said. He had been enthusiastic lately, since they had apprehended the saboteurs and fixed the cannon completely. Despite his utter lack of assistance in that endeavor, he still seemed proud of himself for quelling the threat.
Buttons clicked, apparatuses beeped, and the cannon's massive silver barrel shifted toward the sky. With its base at the command tower, it stretched hundreds of feet across the ocean, metal plating glinting in the sunlight. Raine could not help but feel a swell of pride in her chest. She knew it was going to work. It would take out Yggdrasill, it would clear the way for her and her race to ascend to a safe haven. It was the salvation of all half-elves, and she had helped build it. She didn't know what else she'd accomplished in her life that could compare.
Her heart fluttered as the cannon gathered power. A deep rumbling shook the room, and a small sphere of light gathered at the tip of the barrel, obscured by the haze of midday sunlight. She held her breath, waiting for the sphere to widen, to thicken in intensity, to rise the same way it had the first time they tested the cannon, before the reactor had broken. Her fists clenched by her sides as the rumbling intensified, and she bit her lip. She expected them to reach maximum power any moment now, and then it would be over, they would've succeeded, and they could move on…
She glanced to Lloyd and saw him looking at her, a worried frown on his face. She swore to herself and beckoned him over with a small tilt of her head. He scurried over to her and whispered in her ear, pointing out the window. "Look at that plate, halfway down the shaft."
She followed his finger, squinting at the bright reflection of sunlight down the barrel. She could make out a twisted glint of metal where one side of a plate had come off the main body of the machine. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Just what I need today. She glanced up to Forcystus. He watched them with his steady, knowing gaze.
"Lloyd," Raine hissed. His inquisitive brown eyes widened at her tone. "To the left is a door to the balcony. You can get to the cannon from there. We will hold the energy level as is, so you will be in no danger. Go out there and nail down that plating before it flies off and this whole test turns into a catastrophe."
"You think it's an accident or not?" Lloyd asked.
"I don't know. At this point, it doesn't matter. If we still have some saboteurs on our hands then we'll deal with them later. Now, for the love of Martel, fix that damn plate."
Lloyd nodded and dashed off silently, grabbing a crowbar and the omnipresent toolbox from the control panel, and slipped out onto the balcony. Raine watched Forcystus' red eye follow him out, and she stepped up to him, anxious.
"It seems some technical problems have arisen," she whispered to him.
"Do you suppose our vandal is back?"
"Or wasn't caught in the first place." Raine sighed. "Forgive us, sir. We assure you this will be a successful test. I sent Lloyd out on the barrel to see what's wrong. Until then, we have to halt the start-up. Unless we want to fry him."
Forcystus crossed his arms. "I don't suppose Yuan found the time to sneak out of his cell and destroy our cannon."
"It's not likely," she said. As far as she knew, Yuan had stayed safely and quietly in his cell since his capture the previous night. His presence had caused no disorder—even Lloyd himself had received the news with a half-interested "Oh." No, Raine was sure Yuan had not been the one to pull up the plating. She was leaning more toward the theory that they had failed to completely quell the little rebellion they had on their hands. But if Lloyd managed to screw the parts back on the cannon before the test ended, they could worry about the betrayer in their midst a little later on.
"So, looks like some shit's going down again," Zelos said, smiling. "I knew I wasn't gonna miss out on all the action."
Raine did not appreciate his commentary. She turned to him and shushed him loudly, before settling her gaze back to Lloyd, who slowly made his way across the barrel of the massive cannon, steadying himself with each step. She grit her teeth, hoping he wouldn't slip and tumble down into the deep ocean far below him. She wasn't certain if he'd survive that fall—but he was surefooted and determined, and he made it to the bent plate without any trouble. He squatted down, tools in hand and started to fiddle with the metal. The rumbling died down, the sphere of light dulled at the tip of the cannon, and the machine stilled. Lloyd began his work, safe from the bursts of power that shuddered down the length of it.
"What is that thing?" Sheena asked quietly, striding up beside Zelos. She squinted into the bright sunlight, shading her eyes with her hand. Raine followed her gaze, trying to make out the small black dot that had risen behind Lloyd. He continued his work, focused only on the repairs. He didn't seem to notice the distant shadow behind him.
"I don't know," Raine said, turning to Forcystus. "Sir, something appeared on the horizon. Any guesses as to what it is?"
Forcystus grimaced. "I have a few." He glanced down at the workers by the screens. "Did you pick it up?" he asked.
"Yessir," one replied. "It's large. Very large."
"How large?"
"On the same order of magnitude as our cannon, sir. Maybe twice as big."
"Shit," Forcystus muttered under his breath. "Pronyma."
Raine went cold. She had to get Lloyd out of the line of fire, before—
"Protect the cannon at all costs!" Forcystus stepped away from Raine and jumped down to the workers at the screens. "Call up all units. It seems the first Grand Cardinal is paying us a visit."
"Yessir," one soldier said, fingers typing up a storm on his monitor.
"Get the boats out there. We need to shoot her down before she gets to the cannon."
"Dispatching all naval units."
Forcystus turned to Raine, and his one eye went wide. Raine looked over her shoulder, stepped back and scrambled to steady her rifle. She didn't have time to aim and shoot before she saw Zelos, red hair flying, drawing his sword. With a smile and an almost mischievous glint in his eye, the Chosen turned on the person nearest him.
"Nothing personal, honey," he said, and thrust the blade into Sheena's gut. Her eyes went wide, and she stood in shock, a red stain spreading from her stomach. She reached for him as he pulled the blade from her and stepped away. She collapsed to her knees, mouthing something, but no noise came out.
Raine managed to get her rifle against her shoulder and pointed it at Zelos, steadying herself. Everything clicked into place in her mind—the technical failures, the missing parts, the dents in equipment so high up you'd almost have to fly to get to them—she narrowed her eye, training her sights to Zelos' forehead. But before she could pull the trigger, Forcystus was beside her.
"Don't shoot! We still need him!"
Raine cringed, resisting with no small effort the desire to blow Zelos' head off. The Chosen smiled, stepped backward, his form consumed in an envelope of light. Shit, she said to herself, when another figure emerged from that hazy glow. She swallowed, trying to keep herself calm, and waited for Forcystus' command. To her abject dismay, he stayed silent as Pronyma stepped from the light, smiling widely.
"Chosen," she said, not taking her eyes off her rival Cardinal. "Retrieve the Angelus Project for me."
"You got it," Zelos smiled, before kicking up his heel and jumping forward. Raine forced herself to hold her fire as a bright red glare burst from his back. He twisted his body, petal-like wings sprouting, and disappeared in a flash of orange light. Raine reeled, steadying her rifle, keeping it trained on Pronyma.
She wanted to leave Pronyma to Forcystus and rush out after Zelos, chase him out onto the cannon and plant a bullet in his back before he got to Lloyd. But she knew she was needed here, with her commander.
Keep yourself alive, Lloyd, she thought fervently. She looked at Forcystus, then back at Pronyma. The woman raised her open palm, an oval of blue light appearing between her fingers. Raine gasped, lowered her weapon, and grabbed Sheena's arm, dragging her behind a control apparatus just as the light exploded around them. She glanced over at Forcystus, and he nodded at her before raising his arm cannon and charging it. The room went white with a burst of light, and the air crackled with electricity. Raine steeled herself against the hair-raising surge of energy and lay Sheena down beside her, under the apparatus, out of Pronyma's line of fire.
"Sheena, can you hear me?" she hissed. She didn't have time for this. She should be out on the cannon, protecting Lloyd from that goddamn traitor.
"Why…" Sheena opened her mouth, and some blood dripped down the side of her cheek. "Why would he…"
"Stop talking," Raine said. "Let me look at this." She ripped Sheena's obi and opened her shirt, looking at the slow spread of blood. In either modesty or an attempt to keep her own blood inside, Sheena covered her exposed skin, and Raine had to yank her hands away from the wound. "Doesn't look good." An explosion of light and energy on the other side of the room interrupted her. She heard a scream from Pronyma—Forcystus must've landed a hit. And here I am, stuck playing doctor. She wanted to lift her gun and end this fight, but she couldn't leave the woman to bleed out, betrayed and abandoned on the floor. She was above leaving a comrade to die, even if that comrade happened to be human.
She sighed, smacked a red button on the nearest apparatus before applying pressure on the wound. "Sheena, are you still with me?"
"Y… es…" she croaked.
"A medic will arrive soon. You're going to be fine."
"Am… I…" Sheena forced a weak, cynical smile. "Sorry… I didn't see it coming." Another explosion made Raine duck closer to Sheena, covering her.
"I'm equally sorry in that regard," Raine replied. She reached back to her waist and pulled off her belt. She bunched up Sheena's ripped clothing and folded it a few times over itself. "Hold this over your wound." She did, weakly, with a blood-covered hand. Raine wound the belt over Sheena and pulled the makeshift gauze tight. "Look, Sheena," she said. "Look at me."
Sheena raised her eyes, glazed over in pain.
"You're going to be all right. The medics will be here in no time at all. But first we've got to get rid of this pest." Another shot from Pronyma sent a bundle of wires falling to the floor, spurting sparks. "Don't move."
"All right." Sheena leaned against the apparatus, holding her wound. Raine glanced down at her one last time before raising her rifle to her shoulder and surveying the room.
Pronyma floated at the center, armor glowing, a ring of blue light surrounding her. A few guards stood around her, shooting uselessly at her ethereal shield, bullets dropping from the circular metal like dead flies. Raine bit her lip, wondering if she should drop her rifle and go after the Cardinal with her fists, for all the good bullets were doing them. Pronyma spun, arm raised, and summoned a spear of red light, throwing it in Forcystus' direction. He rolled aside, arm cannon positioned across his knee. He knelt, tense, waiting for the firearm to charge, as Pronyma spun toward him. Raine gasped, unthinking, and jumped forward, raising her gun. She knew she couldn't take down Pronyma with one shot, knew her bullets would simply fly off the shield around her torso, so she waited until the woman raised her arm, conjuring another powerful spell.
Raine narrowed one eye, taking a deep breath. She told herself this was well within her ability, that she had shot much smaller targets from much farther away. She wouldn't flinch, she wouldn't hesitate. Just as a thin, bright spear of light appeared in the air above the Cardinal's palm, Raine pulled the trigger.
Pronyma screamed as the bullet tore through her hand, taking a few fingers with it. She staggered, the spear of light disappeared, and she drew back her blood-soaked arm in surprise. Raine lowered her smoking rifle and sprang forward, landing beside Forcystus. He lay his arm over his cannon, steadying it for the final shot. Raine kept her gun on Pronyma, and let Forcystus lean on her as he prepared himself for the recoil. She clenched her muscles, staying firm as his cannon reached max capacity.
"Steady," he hissed. She steeled herself for the shot, but when it came, she couldn't help reeling backward, ears ringing. Bright light blinded her, and she flinched, struggling to keep her gun aimed at Pronyma should she survive the shot. The energy from Forcystus' cannon hit the Cardinal dead center, sending a burst of energy out from her. The large window separating the room from the cannon shattered in an explosion of blue light and glass shards. Raine shut her eyes against the shower of debris, and an electric wind threatened to blow her away. She shifted her weight to her back leg, leaning on Forcystus to keep herself from flying to the other side of the room. When she opened her eyes again, she saw only a cloud of dust where Pronyma had been.
She stood, keeping her gun ready, and looked around. The mist started to clear, the wind blowing it through the empty window frame, out over the sea. Raine squinted through the dust and saw a splatter of blood across the floor, but didn't loosen her grip on her rifle. Forcystus stood beside her, cannon at the ready, and his eyes followed the trail of blood to where the body of the Cardinal lay.
What was left of Pronyma did not move, it posed no threat. So Raine turned her attention to the action on the top of the cannon. She rushed to the shattered window, resting the barrel of her gun on its sill. She put Pronyma and Sheena out of her mind and focused on staring through her sights at the two figures dancing around one another atop the cannon. She swallowed, trying to keep her hands from trembling.
Lloyd, armed only with a crowbar, attempted to hold his own against his winged attacker. He dashed from side to side, avoiding Zelos' skilled slashes, parrying when he could, dodging when he could. His feet slid along the metal barrel, occasionally slipping. He stumbled around Zelos, trying to keep his balance, while the Chosen leisurely danced around him, flitting on his floral wings.
Far off, under the heavy shadow of the massive warship, Forcystus' gunboats swarmed, cannons ready. They shelled the warship with a cacophony of booms, as Pronyma's massive dreadnaught returned fire in a column of yellow light. The sea steamed and curled with white foam where the beam entered the water, the tumultuous swell swallowing a few of Forcystus' ships.
Raine did not have time to pay attention to the naval skirmish. She instead focused her gun on Zelos. Her finger touched the trigger, and she narrowed one eye at him.
"Hold your fire, Lieutenant," Forcystus said. To the other soldiers, "Someone go out there and get that damned Chosen back!"
She grit her teeth, watching the Chosen shove Lloyd backward, down the large metal cylinder. He rolled to his feet, barely regaining his balance as Zelos moved in on him, sword raised. Raine took in a sharp breath when she saw the sword tip make contact with Lloyd's face, drawing a spray of blood. She tensed, gripping the forestock tightly. A few soldiers climbed from the balcony to the ladders on the side of the cannon, but they moved so slowly, far too slowly to get to Lloyd before—
"I have a clear shot, sir," she said.
"We need him alive," Forcystus replied. "Hold your fire."
Raine began to sweat. Lloyd clutched his face, smeared with blood, and swung the crowbar wildly at Zelos. He twisted out of the way, floating easily on his orange wings, the silver blur of his sword reaching out toward Lloyd. It took all Raine's strength to keep her hands from shaking. Forcystus stood silent beside her, unmoving, unwavering.
"Permission to fire, sir," she pushed, knowing it would come back to haunt her later.
"Are you listening, Lieutenant? We need the Chosen to open the Tower."
Raine swallowed, keeping her sights on Zelos' head, knowing it would only take her a fraction of a second to save Lloyd. A fraction of a second and an irreparable act of treason. "We need the Angelus Exphere more. If Lloyd dies, the exsphere disappears into the sea. Then we can't fire the cannon at all."
"Wait, Lieutenant."
When Zelos landed a solid kick to Lloyd's stomach, Raine couldn't hold in her gasp. Lloyd flew back, tumbling over the side of the cannon, gripping the loose metal sheet. He barely hung on as Zelos landed above him, laying one foot on his fingers. The crowbar tumbled off the side of the machine, spinning slowly as it fell down into the hungry ocean. Raine saw Lloyd's fingers begin to slip as Zelos stomped down on his hands.
"Sir, permission to fire!" she almost screamed. She silenced herself, trying to keep her breath steady, fingers twitching. She did all she could to keep her eyes from blurring with tears. "Please," she whispered, not softly enough to escape Forcystus' hearing. She did not take her eyes off Zelos and Lloyd, but she could feel Forcystus' gaze bore into her, dismantling her to the core.
She heard him sigh slightly. "Fire at w—"
He hadn't even finished before she pulled the trigger. A bullet screamed through the air and hit its target dead-on. A red hole appeared in Zelos' forehead, blood spraying into the air behind him. He wavered, eyes wide, as if he expected to recover from this blow. His legs took a moment to go limp, his wings dimmed, his posture deceptively calm. He stood still for a long, agonizing second before he fell back, tumbling off the side of the cannon. His wings evaporated into the bright daylight as he soared downward, toward the ocean, arms limp at his sides. After too long of a fall, he hit the water with a sickening splash.
Forcystus stood, barking orders to his inferiors. He walked over to them, calmly, regaining his unwavering authority, and focused his attention on strategies to take down the warship. The soldiers sent to retrieve the Chosen turned on their heels and made their way back, leaving one man to help pull Lloyd safely back to the top of the canon. Raine lowered her rifle, eyes wide as the commands around her flew past her like the slow, meaningless whispers of words spoken in dreams.
"Should we fire the mana cannon at it, sir?" asked one of the officers.
"No. We've only got one shot. Two at most. Save them for Yggdrasill."
"Sir."
"We're going to take her men out the old fashioned way."
While he issued commands, pointing this way and that, Raine leaned out over the window and called out to Lloyd, who with the help of the Desian soldier was scrambling up the side of the cannon, leaving a smear of blood in his wake.
He stumbled back toward them, holding his side, bleeding heavily. When he limped to the window, she leaned out and pulled him in, helping him over the broken glass and holding him close. His cheek was split wide open from mouth to ear, deep enough to see his teeth, and a rivulet of blood dripped from his side. He let her lay him down on the floor, exhausted and shocked.
"Why… how…" Lloyd said, more blood than air coming from his mouth. Looking too closely at his split cheek made Raine slightly ill, but she still pinched it together, until the medics showed up.
"Don't talk, Lloyd. You'll make it worse."
He gripped her wrists, squeezing her when the pain intensified. A couple medics, freshly covered with what Raine assumed was the blood of the previously injured, knelt down beside Lloyd. "Let me help you," she said. She had stitched up a wound before—it shouldn't take long, and it would let the real doctors take a look at Lloyd's ribs. They acquiesced, since the medical team being short-staffed was an inevitable side effect of a battle.
"You examine his torso. He doesn't need a pretty face, but he needs his organs."
"Yes ma'am."
She leaned over Lloyd, needle in hand, and told him to stay still as she sewed his cheek shut. He sat paralyzed, his hand squeezing her knee at the pain, and he occasionally let out a few hisses when she pricked the needle in and pulled it out again. She secured the last stitch, pressed some gauze to it and ignored Lloyd's pained groans. When she was sure he was all right, she stood, leaving his care to the professionals, and returned to Forcystus' side.
He folded his hands behind his back, issuing order after strategic order. He seamlessly wove one line of attack into another, and Raine couldn't help but admire the elegance of his gunboats' movements.
Leaderless and outnumbered, Pronyma's warship eventually fell. Two gunners, with two lucky, simultaneous shots, destroyed the cockpit, sending the massive warship crashing into the ocean with a colossal spray of seawater. The wave that resulted from the ship's capsize overturned a few of Forcystus' boats, and threatened to soak the cannon and send water down its shaft.
But the wave subsided, and for the first time in what seemed like hours, the room fell quiet. The worst of the injured were hastily taken away to the infirmary, Sheena included, and Raine took a moment to get herself breathing steadily again. She stepped up beside Forcystus and looked out over the length of the cannon, eyes wandering to the spot where Zelos had fallen into the water. Lloyd had managed to pull himself back onto his feet, gauze on his cheek already stained with his blood.
"There goes our chance at opening the Tower," Forcystus sighed.
"F…" Raine hesitated. "Forgive me, sir."
Forcystus turned to her, narrowing his remaining eye. That sharp gaze wandered from Raine to Lloyd, and back to Raine. She suddenly felt exposed, vulnerable. She wondered if she was turning any incriminating shade of red, so she averted her gaze. She faced the ocean, taking a deep breath.
"Well, there's no stopping this now," Forcystus continued. "Kvar will be mobilizing, no doubt, especially if Pronyma already has. He knows he can't isolate himself forever. Lloyd, are you still alive?"
"Y-yeah," Lloyd croaked.
Forcystus turned to him. "Now is the time for us to make our final plays. Now is the time we end this war, and take down Kvar. We're going to face your father and destroy the Desians. Now is your one and only chance to free your mother."
Raine almost had to catch Lloyd as he stumbled forward. "What are... we waiting for?" he slurred, speech impaired by his injury, and most likely, debilitating blood loss. He looked tired, scared, utterly unable to hold himself up. Raine grabbed his arm and held him upright as his legs weakened under him.
"We are going to wait to recover from this little fiasco," Forcystus said, before nodding to the remaining medics. "See that he is treated." They practically had to wrestle him from Raine's grasp, but he stumbled off after them, still apparently in some state of shock.
"So," Focrystus started, when they were alone. "The Chosen was our saboteur."
"I suspect so," Raine answered, watching the elevator where Lloyd had disappeared.
Forcystus strode up beside her and lay a hand on her shoulder. "I want to know if the summoner had anything to do with this."
"I doubt it. She was the first one he turned on."
"Lieutenant." She faced him, pursing her lips. She hoped he could not see how worried she was. "Get some rest."
"Yessir." She saluted him and made her way to the elevator, but before she could enter, Forcystus stepped up beside her, lowering his voice.
"It's a terrible idea," he said. She swallowed guiltily. "Loving that boy. When you leave this world, you will only suffer because of it. You belong with your own kind."
She took in a sharp breath, heart skipping a beat. "I know," was all she could say, before she stepped into the elevator, doors hissing shut behind her.
