Early morning in the Indoline Sanctum was... quiet. That was Nia's first thought as she slipped out of her and Rex's shared room. With the palatial vibe she had gotten from the place the previous day, she'd really been expecting a lot more activity. In her experience, nobility-types could be real busybodies when they wanted, rushing about here and there to prepare for the day – or, more often, ordering servants around to do the rushing for them. Technically the Praetor wasn't considered a "noble" per se, but still, she'd expected something similar. The whole vibe of the Praetorium in general, and especially the Sanctum, screamed "wealth". But nope, everything was quiet and still. In fact, Nia hadn't caught sight of even a single soul when she'd briefly glanced out her room's window.
Actually stepping out into the courtyard revealed much of the same. There were a handful of warrior monks scattered about, but with their white robes and stoic silence, they practically blended into the scenery. Between the beautiful architecture and the lack of activity, all under the gentle light of sunrise, most people would probably consider it to be a rather serene setting. Nia wasn't really focused on that, though. She was busy considering what to do to pass the time until the meeting with the Praetor rolled around – it was scheduled for late in the morning, while the Gormotti had risen at the crack of dawn, so she had several hours to kill. Going back to bed unfortunately wasn't much of an option, she could easily tell that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep even if she did. It was just one of those sorts of mornings.
Nia continued to gaze across the courtyard, pondering whether she should go wander the city for awhile until everyone else woke up. It probably wouldn't be too long before Rex and Vandham both showed themselves, if past experience with their early rising was anything to go by. While Nia had been thinking of that, though, something else was stirring. Her eye immediately caught onto the other figure trailing their way across the grass towards the opposite wall. Was that-?
"Fan...?" Nia murmured to herself. The Indoline Blade wasn't carrying her staff this morning, but even without it, she was unmistakable. Nia watched curiously as Fan stopped in front of the massive mural that graced the far wall, seeming to gaze up at it. Although Nia hadn't paid the artwork any mind before, looking at it now she had to admit that it was quite impressive. It was large enough to be seen even from across the way, after all. The image was roughly divided in half by a depiction of a rocky spire. To the left, crowds of people seemed to be fleeing from an enormous ruin consumed in flames. To the right, people stood below a brilliant blue, sunny sky as majestic titans descended from the heavens. She wasn't entirely sure what the significance of the image was – the finer points of Indoline faith weren't her strong suit – but Nia could admire the effort that must have gone into creating it.
But the real question was, why would the mural interest Fan so much? She was still just standing there, visibly lost in thought even from a distance. Shouldn't she be used to seeing it since the Sanctum was basically her home? Nia took a hesitant step forward, wondering if she should go see what was up with Fan...
"Hmm. Probably best to leave her be, there."
The Gormotti nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice suddenly piping up behind her. "Holy Architect, shellhead!" she gasped as she whirled around, the fur on her ears standing on end. "You scared the hell out of me!" Standing right there was none other than Zeke Von Genbu, Pandoria at his side as always. Exactly how those two managed to sneak up on her, Nia had no idea, since she got the impression that Zeke had never heard the word "subtle" in his life.
"Heh, sorry about that, fuzzy ears." Zeke apologized, though there was just a bit too much smugness in his eye for it to have been entirely accidental. Nia let out a huff of irritation, it was way too early to deal with this. But then, she didn't have a good reason to completely blow Zeke off either.
"So what's got you here so early, you need somethin'?" the Gormotti asked lazily, though she was secretly hoping that the answer was no. If someone like Zeke was seeking her out, that could only end in annoyance. It would be far better for everyone if he was just there on Praetorium business or something.
"Can't say I do, chum. I simply felt something calling for me to rise and grace the world with my presence!" Zeke declared bombastically, and Nia didn't even remotely try to hide the rolling of her eyes. Yeah, it was definitely too early for this.
"Translation: Turters woke him up by crawling on his face and he couldn't get back to sleep." Pandoria spoke up, ignoring the pouting look that her driver shot at her for sabotaging his dramatics.
Nia blinked. "Hold it, how'd you get that from what shellhead said?" she asked with a clear sense of bewilderment.
"Years of practice." Pandoria replied flatly. "Trust me, spend enough time with my Prince and you'll get used to how he works, for better or worse."
"Why Pandy, are you trying to pretend you don't enjoy my company? I'm hurt, truly!" Zeke exclaimed, holding one hand over his heart melodramatically.
"Oh quit that. You know I love you, really." Pandoria nudged him in the side with her elbow. Zeke just grinned his most charming grin in response.
"Oi. Do you two need to get a room for... whatever this is, or...?" Nia interjected, raising an eyebrow as she watched the whole exchange. Pandoria's face visibly turned red below her glasses, stammering a couple times. If Zeke noticed her embarrassment, he didn't show it, simply patting his Blade on the head and letting out an amused chortle.
"It's not like that, fuzzy ears." he brushed off the idea. Pandoria glanced away for just a second, but said nothing. "But anyway, I think it's time I turn your question back on you. Why exactly are you in a wandering mood so early, eh chum?" Zeke probed as he shifted the focus of the conversation back to Nia.
"Oh, right..." Honestly, Nia should have expected that. She was the one who'd brought it up, after all. She couldn't remember the entire dream that had led to her waking so abruptly. But what little she could recall was... unpleasant. Fleeing through a dark forest, hateful words ringing out behind her. A lifeless crystal landing on a stone floor. It was more a series of vaguely familiar images and feelings than anything cohesive, but the one thing she knew for sure was that she didn't want to recall the whole thing. And she especially didn't want to spill her guts about it to Zeke Von Genbu of all people. So instead, what she said was "Just felt like it. You know, one of those days, yeah?" A dismissive wave of her hand was thrown in for good measure.
"Hmmm." came Zeke's reply, as he rubbed his chin with his hand. His single visible eye peered at Nia searchingly for a few moments. "I doubt that's the whole answer, but very well. The Zekenator will accept it."
"I'm honored you approve, shellhead. Really." Nia commented dryly, crossing her arms. She wasn't really happy that he seemed to see right through her – because seriously, what the hell? Was she that easy to read? It was one thing when it was somebody like Mythra, who was at least fairly close, being her Blade and all. But she barely knew Zeke! Still, at least he'd had the good sense not to push the issue.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, what's up with you calling him that nickname?" Pandoria spoke up. Between her large glasses and her messy green hair, her eyebrows were basically hidden. Yet from her tone it was easy to imagine that they were being raised questioningly. Nia was silently grateful for the change of subject.
"He likes turtles, yeah? Carries one around and wears a turtle eyepatch, seems pretty obvious." the Gormotti pointed out casually. "That, and his first impression made him look like a right idiot." she didn't say that part out loud, but she definitely thought it. Showing up out of nowhere, picking a fight for dumb reasons, and then jumping off a high walkway wasn't exactly the best way to endear oneself.
"...Huh. That's a bit underwhelming. Not sure what I expected, really." Pandoria said, nonplussed.
"Being given a name in honor of Turters? I believe I can live with that!" Zeke decided with all of his typical bombast. From there the conversation trailed off into silence for a moment, nobody seeming to know quite what to say next. Which was surprising, since Zeke seemed like the kind of guy who would always have something to say. Idly, Nia turned away from Zeke and back towards the huge mural. Interestingly enough, Fan la Norne hadn't moved at all during the span of the conversation. She was still just standing there, obviously completely absorbed in whatever she was contemplating. Which reminded Nia of what she had been thinking about before Zeke had appeared.
"What is Fan doin' over there, really?" the Gormotti wondered to herself. Zeke and Pandoria followed her gaze back towards Fan as well.
"Ah, right. That." Zeke nodded seriously. "If I had to guess, I'd imagine she's caught up in the past again." he said.
"The past?" Nia repeated curiously, not entirely following Zeke's line of thought there.
"Well, yeah. That painting's supposed to be showing some real important stuff from Alrest's history – see how the titans are, like, coming down to save everybody?" Pandoria said, pointing out the detail in question. "So seeing it..."
"...Gets Fan thinking all about ancient times and such, and let's just say that's a bit of a touchy subject for her." Zeke finished Pandoria's sentence – something which Nia mentally noted was really weird. Even she and Dromarch had never been that in-sync. That aside, though, she was starting to get an idea of what they were talking about, but still, it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"And how's it touchy, then?"
"I'm not entirely sure I should be gossiping about Fan behind her back, fuzzy ears." Zeke replied putting his hands on his hips and trying to look stern. Then he paused, and a mischievous smirk formed on his face. "But! I'm going to anyway, because I respect your curiosity!" he proclaimed, with all the grandeur of a king bestowing his favor. Nia just pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, muttering a curse or two under her breath. Zeke was no doubt aware of exactly how frustrating he was being, given how smug he looked.
After a moment, however, his face fell into a more solemn expression. "You see, I've caught her zoning out like that myself before. When I asked her about it, she told me this: she believes that she's a Blade who's been around for quite a long time. But she can't remember, not a thing." Zeke explained.
"That's a normal part of bein' a Blade though. Unless you're an Aegis, I guess." Nia pointed out immediately. "Or a Flesh Eater..." she added mentally, but knew better than to say that out loud. Not in the middle of the Praetorium of all places.
"Yeah, but some Blades take it a lot worse than others." Pandoria replied matter-of-factly. "Personally I don't really care about that sort of thing, but you know." she added, almost as an afterthought.
"You... don't care? Really?" Nia wondered, her eyebrows having risen quite high in surprise. It was true that different Blades handled the matter of memories differently, but she'd never heard any bluntly state that they flat-out didn't care. That was a new one. Though, thinking about it, she could imagine Corvin saying something like that. He seemed like an "in-the-now" type.
"Basically." the green-haired Blade confirmed with a nod.
"It helps that we already know the basics of Pandy's history. After all, she's been with Tantal's royal family for ages." Zeke added his two cents.
"And anything more than that just isn't a big deal to me." Pandoria said with a small shrug. "Whatever lives I had in the past, that's not the same as me being here right now. Besides, I don't need to know about other drivers, my Prince is good enough for me."
"Pandy, I'm touched." Zeke placed one hand over his heart dramatically. Pandoria punched him on the arm, but there wasn't any heat to it.
"But don't get me wrong..." she continued, brushing past Zeke's comment with haste. "I'm not judging Fan for wanting to know or anything. She's got a pretty tough break, you know? She feels like something's missing, but the nasty part is, she obviously can't remember why."
"Somethin' missing, huh...?" Nia murmured to herself thoughtfully. Her mind raced, replaying words from her conversation with Mythra the day before.
"Some of the details about her don't match up with how me and Pyra remember them. Something has changed about her and we don't know why."
So Pyra and Mythra were certain something was different. Fan herself was certain something was missing. Could that really just be a coincidence? Nia really, really doubted it. There was definitely something weird, and Fan was at the heart of it. Unfortunately, even with that knowledge, she still had basically nothing to go off of. No real clue about the details of the problem, or the source. If Zeke and Pandoria were telling the truth, then questioning Fan about it wouldn't accomplish anything other than making her feel bad. And if Mythra knew anything else, wouldn't she have said it already? The Gormotti rubbed her temples with a small groan, all the running in circles and getting nowhere was giving her a headache. "I'm not cut out for this detective shite." she thought to herself.
"...You alright there, chum?" Zeke was looking at her with one eyebrow raised. It was then that Nia remembered that he and Pandoria were still there. "You're looking pretty out-of-it all of a sudden."
"Ugh, I'm fine. Just pretty tired, yeah?" she replied, shaking her head a couple times as if to clear it. If there was one conversational skill Nia was good at, it was brushing things off. She wasn't technically lying either, she really was tired.
"If you say so. Just make sure you don't fall asleep during your meeting with Amalthus, eh?" Zeke said, his teasing smirk back on his face. "Anyway, me and Pandy have other things to do. Hope you don't mind if we...?"
"Yeah yeah, go on, shellhead." Nia waved her hand dismissively. She didn't have any objections to ending the conversation there. Even if it had left her with more questions than answers. Zeke gave a mock-salute with two fingers, which Pandoria imitated.
"Until we meet again, fuzzy ears!" the eyepatch-wearing man declared, he and his Blade quickly striding away to do architect-knows-what. Nia reached up and rubbed her temples with one hand. It was still much too early for this. She was a bit surprised she hadn't seen Rex or Vandham yet, since they both claimed to be early risers. Perhaps the were just taking advantage of the comforts offered with the Praetorium's hospitality. She couldn't really blame them if so, despite her restless sleep she had to admit it was quite comfortable. A last glance over towards the mural revealed that at some point Fan had finally left, presumably to go attend to whatever business she may have. With little else to do, the Gormotti decided to return to her room to wait until the time for the meeting rolled around.
"Praetor Amalthus?"
"Yes?" the Praetor wondered in acknowledgement from where he sat ever-so-slightly slouched in the throne of his audience chamber. He opened his eyes, seeing the monk who served as his chief retainer – identified by the ornate black and gold mask – approaching him. Amalthus hadn't been dozing off, he had far too much experience leading the nation of Indol to be caught doing something so unseemly. No, he had simply been lost in contemplation for a few moments. After all, the arrival of an Aegis gave him a good deal to consider. In particular, he had been musing on his fateful expedition to the World Tree, and all that was revealed to him then.
"As you requested, I must inform you that your meeting with the Aegis and its driver is supposed to begin in fifteen minutes' time." the monk replied formally, seemingly oblivious to the Praetor's train of thought.
"Ah yes, thank you." The Praetor subtly straightened his posture as he said that. If the monk noticed the slight shift, nothing was said about it. "And what of the other matter I asked of you?" he inquired, eyebrows raising minutely with a sense of mild curiosity.
"I have to apologize, the information we've gathered on them is... sparse. There wasn't enough time for thorough background checks." the retainer said, bowing his head deeply in apology.
"No matter." Amalthus waved one hand dismissively. "I didn't expect much with only a day to work with. Simply tell me what you were able to find."
"The girl was the easiest to uncover. The Ardainian Empire considers her a wanted criminal. Though, for some reason, they seem to have chosen not to pursue her at the moment." the monk listed off first.
"A criminal? Really? On what grounds?" Amalthus wondered with the same tone of subdued interest as before.
"She is, or was, affiliated with Torna." the retainer replied bluntly. The he paused for a moment as if thinking of something. "That is to say, Torna the terrorist group, not the former kingdom." he added.
"A relevant distinction when an Aegis is involved, I suppose." the Praetor mused, sounding remarkably unconcerned about the whole thing. The warrior monk apparently noticed Amalthus's uncaring attitude, shifting uncertainly a few times.
"With all due respect, Your Eminence, couldn't this be a matter of some concern?" the monk asked with a hint of worry. "The rest of Alrest could frown on us harboring a known terrorist."
"If she were merely a terrorist, you'd be correct." Amalthus acknowledged. "However, being the driver of an Aegis changes her position on the board. Trying to apprehend her would alienate the Aegis. Furthermore, the other nations might see it as an attempt to seize control over the Aegis for ourselves, threatening our reputation of neutrality. And finally, doing so would be completely counterproductive to my own plans." he laid out his various reasons with an almost bored expression on his face. He thought it should have been fairly obvious that they weren't going to do something so foolish. Normally he would restrain himself, but since this was a private conversation, he allowed a bit of his distaste to slip out.
"Ah, of course. Forgive me, Your Eminence." To his credit, the monk didn't flinch even with Amalthus's hint of disapproval. At the very least, he knew how to do his job properly.
"It was an understandable concern, I suppose. Regardless, what of her companions? Were you able to gather anything on them?" Amalthus asked, deciding to go ahead on move on. They only had a few minutes before the meeting, after all.
"We discovered that the Urayan is a fairly well-known sellsword: Vandham, the leader of the Garfont mercenaries."
"Interesting." the Praetor commented, and it sounded like he genuinely meant it to some degree. "I actually know of that company, though only by reputation." he noted. "And the others?"
"The boy hails from Leftheria, we assume he's a salvager due to his clothing. And the Nopon is a complete unknown, I'm afraid." the retainer finished going down the list of the Aegis's companions. The monks knew that Fan la Norne would likely be able to provide more information, since she had traveled with the group for the past few days. However, her sense of scruples might lead to her objecting to the idea of snooping around behind their backs. It had been decided that doing that simply wouldn't be worth the trouble.
Amalthus hummed in thought. "So a rather eclectic group, all told. Perhaps that isn't surprising, by all accounts Addam kept an odd assortment of companions as well. It's quite fitting that the Aegis's new driver would do the same." he mused. "Ah well, none of this is truly relevant. As long as the Aegis and her driver are willing to cooperate, we shouldn't have any problems."
"As you say, Praetor."
Perhaps it went without saying, given the opulence of Indol as a whole, but the Praetor's audience chamber was certainly a sight to behold. As Fan la Norne escorted the group in, Tora let out a quiet "wow!", glancing about with awe. Nia certainly couldn't blame him, this room made the noble houses of Gormott look downright shabby by comparison. It was a high-ceilinged hall, constructed mostly of spotless white marble in standard Praetorium style. Blue ether lights formed lines across the floor in a way that almost reminded Nia of a Blade's ether pathways, while soft golden lights illuminated the walls. A stretch of fine red carpet ran across the center of the chamber, leading to a raised dais. There stood a tall white and gold throne with a surprisingly comfortable-looking blue velvet seat.
Easily the most notable aspect of the room, however, was the far wall behind the throne. The smooth marble wall was dominated by a massive bas-relief, reaching almost up to the ceiling way above. The sculpture depicted a great tree, a tall trunk stretching upwards. Patterns of countless branches spread out across the wall in an intricate web. Surrounding the tree was what looked to be some sort of halo, rays of light shining from the branches. And atop the tree was a prominent four-pointed star. Even to someone unfamiliar with Indoline symbolism, it would be obvious what it was supposed to depict. The World Tree, the ubiquitous symbol of the Architect. Quite a fitting image for the Praetorium to display in their seat of power.
The room's decor was so fancy, in fact, that Nia's eyes almost overlooked the figure standing patiently in front of the throne. The man's flowing white robes adorned with blue and gold trim certainly made him blend in rather well with his surroundings. He was quite tall, about the same height as Vandham – though unlike the muscular Urayan, this man was rather lean. His pale blue skin and long pointed ears were typical for an Indoline. Most of his hair was covered by a large cylindrical headpiece that matched his robes, but prominent white sideburns framed his face and a matching pointed goatee decorated his chin. His appearance certainly gave the impression that he was somebody very important, and normally Nia would have taken it in stride. But there was something about the way he looked that just struck her as a bit... off. Beside her, Rex's brow had furrowed slightly in confusion, so she clearly wasn't the only one.
"Oi, are you supposed to be the Praetor, or what?" the Gormotti blurted out curiously as they came to a stop before the dais. An embarrassed look ran across Fan la Norne's face at the outburst, and one of the man's eyebrows rose a slight bit.
"Getting off to a good start." Mythra muttered sarcastically beside her. Nia mentally kicked herself, knowing that these sorts of meetings tended to call for more "proper" behavior. But it was too late now, the question was already out there.
"I am indeed Praetor Amalthus, yes." the Indoline answered with an air of distinguished calm. That confirmed it, then, something was strange here. The man was undeniably young and handsome-looking, not so much as a single wrinkle below his eyes. But Nia knew how important it was to avoid getting on his bad side, so she paused that particular line of thought. "And all things considered, it's safe to say you're Nia, correct?" Amalthus continued, apparently unaware of the Gormotti's suspicion.
"Yeah, that's me." Nia confirmed, then paused for a moment. The Praetor didn't seem offended by her rude opening line, but she decided to tap into a bit of her "proper etiquette" lessons just to be safe. "Apologies for my informal address." she said with a bow of her head, her normally-rough Gormott accent sounding noticeably subdued. Rex turned to look at her, surprise written clearly on his face. Even though she'd told him about being a lord's daughter, he apparently hadn't thought she could actually sound like it.
"Oh, no need for that. I am the one who wished to speak with you, after all, I don't expect you to put on any pretension for my sake." Amalthus said with a small shake of his head. Nia exhaled a silent sigh of relief – one less thing to worry about. "Besides, meeting with the average driver is a very different thing than dealing with diplomats and politicians. Though, being the driver of an Aegis makes you far from average, I suppose..." the Praetor pondered, seemingly for his own sake as much as anyone else's.
"Er, right... whatever you say." Nia replied awkwardly, clearly somewhat taken aback by Amalthus's odd attitude. It wasn't that he'd said anything wrong so far, it just... wasn't what she had been expecting. The way he spoke seemed almost too calm and composed.
"About that..." Mythra spoke up, crossing her arms and looking up at Amalthus with her usual neutral-but-unimpressed expression. "Why did you call us here to speak with us, anyway? What's that about?" she asked. Nia glanced at her, instinctively guessing what the Aegis was thinking. Everyone in their group knew that they needed to seek out a meeting with Amalthus anyway, but they didn't need to tell him that right away. It wasn't a terrible idea to try and gauge his motives first before asking him for a favor.
"I was merely curious." the Praetor answered simply, and Nia couldn't tell if he was purposely being so vague and unhelpful or not. Either way, Mythra definitely seemed irritated by it, exhaling a deep breath through her nose.
"Curious about what?" the Aegis pressed, clearly having little patience for time-wasting at the moment. "Seriously, get to the point!"
"To meet your driver for myself, of course." Amalthus said immediately, his neutral tone and expression not changing at all in the face of Mythra's irritation. If his unflappably calm demeanor wasn't off-putting before, it definitely was now. Surely he should have shown at least some sort of reaction to the increased aggressiveness, even if it was subtle, right? But it was like he just didn't care...
"Or like he reckons he doesn't need to care." Nia suddenly realized, but she couldn't even begin to speculate on why he might be thinking like that. Still, she mentally added it to her list of things that were off in the Praetorium. Maybe it was nothing, but it never hurt to be careful, right? As Mythra had said, "if anything seems like it might be wrong... it probably is."
"After all, the opportunity to meet a fellow Aegis driver is a rare thing indeed." Amalthus elaborated on his prior statement. "It goes without saying that an Aegis, a Blade created by the Architect himself, is a force of great change for Alrest. With you having chosen a new driver, I wish to know what sort of changes I ought to expect from such a person." he explained, his gaze shifting to stare directly at Nia as he spoke. The Gormotti shifted uncomfortably under his gaze – despite his far calmer attitude, his stare felt oddly like Malos's typical glaring.
"Hold on there." Vandham suddenly spoke up from behind Nia, and she breathed a tiny sigh of relief at the fact that Amalthus moved his gaze off of her. "How'd ya find out when the Aegis got a new driver? We've been tryin' to suss out where those rumors have been coming from." the Urayan wondered, rubbing his chin with one hand thoughtfully.
"Ah, I'm afraid I don't have any sort of special insight into the situation. My agents simply reported that there were rumors of the Aegis's return, and looking into the matter revealed confirmed sightings in Gormott. I'm given to understand that she caused a bit of a scene in Torigoth." Amalthus took the question in stride. Neither Nia nor Mythra felt like pointing out that it had technically been Brighid who had initiated that particular confrontation.
"Your agents, eh?" Vandham repeated curiously. "I thought the Praetorium didn't usually go around messin' in other nations' business?"
"Oh no, I wasn't referring to espionage or anything of the sort. You're quite correct that the Praetorium goes to great lengths to maintain its neutrality." Amalthus replied. It was subtle, but his eyes had narrowed ever-so-slightly in response to the questioning. "However, we are not isolated from the rest of the world. Matters that affect everyone would naturally affect us as well. Thus, as you might expect, we keep an ear out for such things." he explained. Vandham considered the answer for a moment, then nodded in understanding. It wasn't clear if he actually believed it was the whole truth, or just didn't want to cause an unnecessary scene.
"Getting back to the actual topic..." Mythra began impatiently. "What you're saying is that you called us here to figure out our motives, right?"
"Indeed." Amalthus confirmed idly. He eyed Nia shrewdly as he spoke next. "Someone in your position must desire something. Something which requires my help, I suspect, as I doubt you would agree to come all this way otherwise. Am I correct?"
"Damn, he catches on quick... guess you don't end up runnin' a place like this if you don't..." Nia thought ruefully. She suspected that the Praetor probably already had a reasonable guess for what they were after, but still, they needed to play along. "You're right. See, we ran into someone in Uraya who pointed us towards you. I guess you'd know him as Minoth, yeah?"
"Minoth? Truly?" Amalthus wondered, his composed tone taking on slightly more interest than before. "It's been a long time since I heard from him. We went our separate ways over five centuries ago – but that is a tale for another time."
"Yeah, it was really him. Pretty sure I'd know." Mythra answered before Nia could reply. "If you don't believe us, we've got proof. Nia?" she looked at the Gormotti expectantly.
"Right, yeah. He told us to give you this knife back." Nia reached down to her belt and removed the dagger that Cole had given her back in Fonsa Myma. "I'm assumin' it used to be his Blade weapon." It was a pretty obvious conclusion, of course, since it matched with Cole's core crystal, but it wouldn't hurt to mention anyway.
"Bring it here, if you would." Amalthus instructed, stretching out his hand expectantly. Nia walked slowly to the dais – knowing that rapidly approaching a major figure with a weapon in hand was a terrible idea unless you wanted a fight. She stepped up high enough to offer the dagger to Amalthus, but carefully avoided imposing on the Praetor's space. That sort of decorum could be important. Once he took it, she swiftly retreated to Mythra's side.
Amalthus inspected the dagger, though his expression indicated that he already knew exactly what he would see. "So it is indeed his. Even back then, it wasn't often I held this. Unlike most, I am unfortunately not suited for being a front-line driver." he mused to himself. "Him returning this to me is an... entreaty, of sorts. A request that I aid you. Which brings us back to the core, what is it you seek from me?"
"We're tryin' to get to Elysium." Nia replied immediately. There was no point beating around the bush any longer.
"Elysium? For what reason?" Amalthus wondered, though his voice yet again betrayed a lack of surprise.
"Well, me and Pyra have business with the Architect, for one thing. He was the one who created us, after all." Mythra pointed out.
"And besides that, we think it would help a lot with making the world a better place. I mean, it's no secret that Alrest's not doing great, with titans dying off and all." Rex spoke up. Perhaps it wasn't a surprise that he'd want to chime in on this particular subject. "A lotta problems come from fighting over resources or territory, right? It'd do a lot of good to find a place where there was more than enough for everyone."
"To put it shortly, we want a world where people can live with peace and security. Call it childish or whatever if you want, it's still worth hopin' for." Nia agreed, her voice going a bit quieter towards the end.
"I see." Amalthus said enigmatically. And there it was again, that slight narrowing of his eyes. Was it a hint of disapproval? Annoyance? Or was Nia just reading way too much into things? The Praetor certainly wasn't giving anything away. "If that reason led you here, you no doubt know that I once climbed the World Tree, a very long time ago." Amalthus closed his eyes and lifted his head solemnly to the heavens for a moment, as if reminiscing, though he swiftly refocused on the matter at hand. "But at the top, I did not find any paradise... nor did the Architect reveal himself to me." he said, his tone sounding a bit heavier for just a moment.
"That doesn't prove they don't exist. I'd expect you of all people to know that." Mythra pointed out flatly, shaking her head.
"I am aware. I certainly wouldn't have reached my current position if I doubted the Architect." the Praetor conceded easily. "No, I have had a great deal of time to consider why I was unable to find him... The only conclusion is that I was lacking, somehow. That I hadn't done as the Architect wished, so I wasn't worthy. Are you all certain you would fare any better in his eyes?"
Nia frowned, glancing away for a moment. "No, there's no way of knowin' that for sure, is there?" she admitted. The idea of the Architect just... not allowing them to succeed hadn't even occurred to her before now. But now it seemed like a real possibility. Assuming Amalthus's theory was correct, at least.
"Maybe not. But we still gotta give it a try, you know?" Rex said, putting a hand on Nia's shoulder encouragingly. Nia looked at him, and the salvager gave her a confident nod. "Maybe the Architect likes us, maybe he doesn't, we'll never know if we don't make the climb." he pointed out earnestly.
"Yeah, you're right. Worryin' about worthiness and all that guff isn't going to help anyone." Nia agreed after a moment, nodding her head with a hint of determination.
Amalthus hummed to himself. "Nia, I believe I understand. I too was like that once. I too dreamed of a different world. I'm willing to offer you my knowledge of the World Tree, I believe it should aid you." he declared, spreading his hands out in a gesture of offering. Despite his seemingly-magnanimous decision, however, his eerily composed face remained unchanged. Not a hint of any real warmth was to be seen in his expression. Maybe he just wasn't the type of person to express such things that way? Nia wasn't entirely convinced.
"Alright, so what's the catch, then?" she asked expectantly, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched the Praetor for any hint of deception. She didn't think he was outright lying, necessarily, odd behavior aside – what would he gain? But still, better to be safe than sorry.
"Oh no, I didn't intend any catch. Consider it a favor from one Aegis driver to another, nothing more." Amalthus replied smoothly. He paused for a moment, as if considering something. "However, if I may ask a small favor myself..." he looked at Mythra as he said this. "I'd like a chance to speak with the Aegis privately before we proceed."
"What? Why me?" Mythra asked suspiciously, eyeing Amalthus warily. "What do you want to say to me that you can't say in front of them?" she pressed.
"You misunderstand, it's nothing like that. I simply wish to talk. It's been five-hundred years since the Aegis War, after all. I'm certain we have some catching up to do." the Praetor claimed, though Mythra's suspicious expression was barely moved. "Besides which, there's also this alternate personality I've heard about – Pyra, was it?" He waited for Mythra to nod in confirmation. "I'd be quite interested to meet her as well. Just for curiosity's sake, you understand." Mythra and Nia glanced at each other, an unspoken conversation passing between them. After a moment, the Gormotti shrugged and nodded her head towards Amalthus. Mythra simply sighed.
"I guess we can work with-" But the Aegis's decision was abruptly interrupted.
"Praetor Amalthus!" Loud footsteps echoed through the chamber, along with heavy breathing and the rustling of armor. Amalthus's eyes narrowed while the group turned to see a warrior monk sprinting up to the dais.
"What is the meaning of this? This is a private meeting, I specifically requested that it not be disrupted." Amalthus spoke up, his voice taking on a slightly imperious air.
"Forgive me, Your Eminence, but this is urgent. There's situation at the port, we believe it's a terrorist attack!"
….
Utter silence fell for a moment. That sudden pronouncement certainly got everyone's attention, the atmosphere of the room instantly becoming deathly serious. As Nia and co's faces fell into various tense expressions of confusion and concern, Amalthus frowned grimly.
"Explain." was all the Praetor said.
The monk seemed uncertain about discussing it in front of Amalthus's guests, but complied. "It started perhaps ten minutes ago. A group of unknown figures appeared at the docks and began wreaking havoc without a word. They obviously aren't human, we assume Blades, but we haven't seen a driver. The squad of warrior monks assigned to keep order attempted to apprehend them, but they're outmatched – several have already been injured. That's the basic situation, Praetor." the warrior monk reported, keeping up an air of professionalism despite the apparent emergency.
"I see, have any civilians been harmed?" Amalthus replied.
"None as of when I left, they were mostly destroying random cargo and attacking those that tried to stop them." the monk replied, and Amalthus nodded contemplatively. "But regardless, Your Eminence, if this is indeed an act of terrorism, you need to retreat to somewhere safer in case you're targeted."
"Hold on, if the attackers are Blades, I should be able to subdue them before they can cause any more harm." Fan la Norne spoke up, her brows furrowed in worry at the idea of people getting caught in the attack.
"Indeed, see to it at once." Amalthus agreed immediately, nodding to her. "Meanwhile, monk, if you insist we follow protocol, then very well, escort me to my chambers. The rest of you, return to your rooms until further notice." he ordered.
"Hold on! We can help!" Rex protested.
"Yeah, we ain't the type to just hide when there's trouble." Vandham agreed. The rest of the group were all nodding in agreement, varying looks of determination on their faces.
"I couldn't ask you to-" Fan started to protest, but Mythra shook her head.
"I'm an Aegis, anything that would be dangerous to me would be a complete disaster for you guys. No offense, Fan." she pointed out bluntly. Fan frowned, obviously still worried, but didn't seem to have a reasonable counter-argument.
"I'll allow it. Now don't waste any more time, we shall continue our discussion later." Amalthus decided. Without any further hesitation, the group hurried out of the audience chamber with Fan la Norne at the lead, hoping to make their way to the Praetorium's harbor as quickly as possible.
The port was in disarray, that much was undeniable. Crates of cargo, normally kept neatly stacked, had been recklessly thrown about and were now strewn across the docks haphazardly. Plumes of black smoke rose into the air from where several crates had been set aflame. Scorch marks dotted the wharves in a few places as if explosives had been set off – and they likely had. Many of the ships that had been docked had hastily departed and now floated some distance away from the Indoline titan. No doubt their crews chose to retreat to avoid the danger. A large group of warrior monks were scurrying around the area, some trying to keep crowds of frightened civilians at safe distances, others trying to get their wounded comrades to safety. Fan la Norne had to quickly step aside as two monks half-carried half-dragged a third away from the scene, dark red stains pooling across his robes.
And there in the midst of it all were the perpetrators, five figures ambling about causing chaos, seemingly with no rhyme or reason. The warrior monk who had delivered the message certainly hadn't been kidding when he said they obviously weren't human, especially for four of them. Those four were all identical, highly unusual if they really were Blades. They were tall, skeletal figures covered in some sort of gold metallic plating. Jagged orange metal plates formed what looked like wings on their backs, which seemed to allow them to levitate off the ground. Their arms were unnaturally long, stretching down from prominent armored shoulders. Disturbingly, their hands ended in vicious talons, each needle-like claw easily a foot long. These... things were unnerving, to say the least. The fifth figure, meanwhile, appeared more humanoid, but they were shrouded in a heavy black cloak, leaving only their gray metallic hands and feet visible.
As Fan and the others tried to figure out exactly what they were seeing, one of the skeletal figures suddenly turned its attention towards a fleeing warrior monk, for no apparent reason since the man obviously wasn't a threat. The metallic monster lunged towards him in a flash – or perhaps more like flew – and grabbed the monk, effortlessly tossing him away where he crashed into a shipping crate. That scene was apparently enough to break through the shock and spur Fan into action. The Indoline Blade stepped forwards, raising her staff over her head.
"I'll stop them in their tracks. Focus on getting people to safety." she instructed the rest of the group quietly. "Now, that's quite enough!" she declared, her voice noticeably colder and more authoritative as it carried across the docks. A blinding blue light shone from the head of Fan's staff, a ripple passing through the air, and Nia could practically feel the way the action distorted the ether around them. Even though it wasn't directed at her, the Gormotti could tell that whatever this ability was, it was something incredibly rare and powerful.
And then... nothing happened. It wasn't powerful enough, apparently. Fan's eyes widened in surprise, and the assailants slowly turned to look at her in unison. "If they were Blades, my power should have paralyzed them... so what are they?" she murmured, seemingly more to herself than anyone else. Now that they were facing the group, red eyes could be seen shining out of the monstrous figures' skull-like white faceplates. And there embedded in their chests were what resembled core crystals – except for the fact that rather than blue, these crystals glowed a fiery orange.
"Mehmehmeh...!" Tora stuttered, taking a small step back in shock. "T-those are..."
"Masterpon, those are artificial Blades!" Poppi confirmed what he was no doubt thinking, her eyes narrowed as she analyzed the opponents carefully. "Ether signature very similar to Poppi's, no doubt from internal ether furnace."
"But with such uniform designs... they not quite like Poppi." Tora mumbled to himself, clearly trying to puzzle out what was going on. "Maybe more like drones...?"
Mythra let out what sounded like a frustrated growl. "Artificial? Damn. That explains why your power wouldn't work, Fan." she sighed, remembering how Poppi was seemingly resistant to ether-manipulating effects. "Looks like we're fighting after all, get your asses ready!" As she said that, the group drew their weapons and stood tense and ready, while Fan still looked rather confused. The artificial Blades were still simply staring at them, but nobody expected the standoff to last much longer.
"Mythra, reckon you can take 'em out with those light beams like you did at Fonsa Myma?" Nia murmured to her Blade, though she didn't dare take her eyes off the enemies. Mythra shook her head.
"Only as a last resort. This is a public place, we want to avoid collateral damage. One badly-placed shot could collapse an entire wharf." she explained seriously. Nia simply nodded, knowing better than to argue – she trusted that Mythra knew what she was talking about – and instead raised her sword warily.
The cloaked figure pointed towards them enigmatically, and with that, the four skeletal artificial Blades broke from their eerie stillness and sprang into action. One hurtled straight towards Nia, vicious claws swiping right for her face – or at least, that's what she saw the prediction of it do as Mythra shared a glimpse of Foresight. As the green-tinted vision faded, Nia swung her sword to the side, just in time for its edge to catch the incoming set of talons and deflect them away. With its attack knocked aside, the artificial Blade's whole body staggered sideways as well. After all, a levitating opponent couldn't ground themselves, and thus would be relatively easy to push around. It had clearly been designed to account for that flaw, however, righting itself near-immediately. Nia took advantage of the moment, though, and lashed out. Her ether greatsword cleaved a deep gash across the artificial Blade from its left shoulder down to its thin stomach. The damage didn't seem to impair it much, however – its critical components must have survived. It swung its other arm arm in to strike at Nia's side, but it was deflected as well. The artificial Blade was fast, but with Mythra's ether flowing through her, Nia's reflexes were faster. The Gormotti had to be careful not to get too carried away, though. She could certainly overpower it, but who knew what tricks these things might have up their sleeves?
While that was going on, Vandham had barreled forwards to engage one of the other artificial Blades, in order to prevent them from ganging up. Twin scythes crashed into the thing's arms again and again, not giving it a chance to strike back. However, identifying a pattern in Vandham's swings, a clawed hand suddenly lashed upwards and grabbed the mercenary's left wrist when he went for a heavy downward swing.
"Why you...!" Vandham grunted, trying to pull his arm free, but it was trapped in a vice grip. It was less like trying to escape from a human's grasp, and more like being pinned by a piece of industrial machinery. Suddenly the artificial Blade's hand twisted unnaturally in its socket, twisting Vandham's wrist as well – with far more force than human wrists were meant to move with. The Urayan involuntarily let out a pained breath and the scythe dropped from his hand and clattered to the ground. With Vandham effectively distracted by the injury, his opponent pulled its other pair of claws straight back, prepared to plunge them directly into his chest... Or at least, that's what it was planning before a birdlike foot crashed into its side. Seeing Vandham in trouble, Roc had flown in as fast as he could, using his momentum to deliver a massive kick to the artificial Blade. The robotic hand released its grip on Vandham as its owner tumbled to the side. Its levitating form scraped the ground and sent it into a roll, skidding to a halt several feet away. Like the one Nia was battling, it quickly righted itself, but it seemed momentarily disoriented.
"That was reckless, even for you, Vandham. Take this seriously." Roc scolded quietly. The fact that he felt the need to speak up at all, much less with such a chastising tone, indicated how serious it was. Vandham sighed and rubbed his injured wrist, which throbbed sharply with pain. That'd need some healing as soon as possible.
"Yeah, I know... thought we'd be dealin' with some low-level grunts, but these guys ain't messin' around." Vandham conceded.
"You still ready to go, even down a hand?" Roc wondered, picking up the fallen scythe. Vandham hefted the other as the artificial Blade seemed to regain its bearings. The mercenary chuckled.
"Like ya have to ask." he replied immediately, he and his Blade standing side-by-side and ready for round two. "Heh, looks like we're takin' a page from the kid's book."
"The kid" in this case referred to Rex, who was similarly standing ready along with Corvin, facing down artificial Blade #3. Unlike the others, this one didn't immediately go in for claw attacks – perhaps it realized it was at a disadvantage with both driver and Blade ready to engage in melee. Instead, it held up one hand, a port sliding open on its hand. A crackling sound accompanied the smell of ozone, and a surge of electric ether burst from the hand, coalesced into a powerful beam. The attack surged towards Rex and Corvin, certainly nothing to be scoffed at, but the time it took to line it up gave Corvin plenty of room to react. Immediately he put himself in front of his driver protectively. He held his sword Durandal in front of himself in a resolute stance, an ether barrier projecting in front of him right as the beam was fired. The surge of energy crashed into the barrier with a high-pitched whine. Stray bolts of lightning cracked outwards, leaving small scorch marks on the ground. Corvin's grip on his sword shook slightly and a few hairline fractures appeared across the shield... and then it was done. Apparently the artificial Blade couldn't sustain fire for long – or just opted not to.
"Rex!" Corvin called, somewhat unnecessarily since Rex was already on the move. The second the ether beam stopped, the salvager darted out from behind Corvin and lunged for the artificial Blade. The thing had almost no chance to react before Rex's black sword plunged into its torso, several inches below the orange crystal. The artificial Blade reeled backwards, and Rex pulled the sword out, a few sparks flying from the newly-made hole.
And then, of course, there was the fourth of the artificial Blades. This one had taken a similar tact to the first, launching itself forward right out of the gate. Rather than aiming for Nia like its comrade, however, it had instead barreled right for Fan la Norne. It was possible it had realized that she was taken aback by her abilities not working, and thus less prepared than the others. Or perhaps it had simply picked at random, it was impossible to say. Fan was too surprised to react right away, instinctively taking a small step back as the artificial Blade flew at her, claws outstretched in front of it. As she clutched her staff, hoping to be able to summon a barrier in time, a blur of brown and gray abruptly appeared in front of her. The very next moment, the mechanical monster's arms crashed right into Tora's shield – the Nopon had leapt to Fan's defense without hesitation. The skeletal Blade apparently realized it wouldn't be able to overpower him that way, and quickly stopped trying to push past. Instead its claws gripped around the edges of the shield, trying to wrest it from Tora's grasp. Tora stumbled a couple steps forward, visibly struggling to keep his hold. He may have been an abnormally tough Nopon, but his opponent was a machine that would never get tired.
Poppi ran in, hoping to grab the shield as well and use her own very formidable strength to keep it out of the other artificial Blade's grasp. Before she even got the chance, however, the problem was resolved: Fan la Norne's staff swung in a wide horizontal arc right over Tora's head. The staff walloped the skeletal Blade right in the face with an audible "clang!", forcing the thing to release its grip. It held one claw up to its faceplate, which had a very noticeable dent on the right side, and the red light in the matching eye had gone out. Tora glanced back at Fan in surprise, seeing that a look of determination had overtaken her face. Her unique powers may not be effective, but that didn't make her useless.
The fights continued like that, each artificial Blade engaged by different parts of the group. The enigmatic cloaked figure, presumably the "leader" of the assailants, simply hung back observing the scene silently. It was as if they were waiting for the battle to end before acting. They'd get their wish soon enough, as while the skeletal monsters weren't to be trifled with, it became clear they couldn't quite match up to their opponents (Vandham's mishap aside).
Nia had scored several more blows on her opponent, including managing to cleave straight through the claws on its right hand, reducing them to far-less-dangerous stubs. Spurred into trying a different approach, the artificial Blade disengaged from the melee and launched itself several feet backwards. It held up both arms, the ports on its palms sliding open – no doubt planning to employ the same ether beam function that Rex's foe had done. Nia watched this happen in Foresight and shared a momentary glance with Mythra, who gave a tiny nod. Even with all her power, too much Foresight use would eventually wear the Aegis down, so they needed to go ahead and end it before that point. The vision ceased and Mythra immediately leaped high into the air. At the same moment, Nia flung the sword upwards out of her hands and hit the deck. She just dropped flat to the ground with an "oof", just in time as the lightning beams flew over her.
Meanwhile, Mythra caught the sword and brandished it in front of her with one swift motion. "Ray of Punishment!" she yelled, ether surging through the sword and bursting outwards in a shining golden ball. The burst of energy shot down like a bullet, crashing right into the artificial Blade's chest before it had a chance to react. It detonated in a relatively small dome-shaped explosion, blasting a huge hole through the skeletal figure's torso. With most its internal components obliterated, including its ether furnace, the thing simply collapsed while Nia stood back up. The Gormotti took a moment to rub her knees, which were rather sore from abruptly hitting the concrete.
The other fighters were faring similarly well. With Vandham no longer messing around as much, he was a force to be reckoned with. Even fighting with only one scythe, he was capable of deflecting strike after strike and carving gashes in his opponent in return. And any attack he wasn't able to stop – if he was occupied blocking a swipe from the other claw, for example – Roc was more than happy to defend him from. The artificial Blade swung its arms around wildly, perhaps trying to strike Vandham before Roc could counter it. The mercenary allowed himself a grin when Roc's talons lashed out and caught the mechanical right arm by its wrist. The artificial Blade paused for a moment, obviously not having accounted for that variable. Vandham knew he didn't have long before it pulled free of Roc's grip. But he didn't need long, raising his scythe and slamming it down onto the metal arm with all his might. Sparks flew as the edge of the scythe cut in, and with a mighty push, sliced all the way through, severing the arm at the elbow. The artificial Blade raised its other arm to swipe at the Urayan, who was left completely exposed... and then it fell backwards out of the air, twitching a few times when it hit the ground before going still. Its head had fallen next to it. Roc had dropped the arm as soon as it was cut, and before the artificial Blade could strike, his own scythe was already swinging.
Rex and Corvin found themselves trading places constantly – one would stand back while the other focused on blocking attacks. Then, when there was an opening, the one in back would dash forwards to strike, and the other would move back. Then the cycle would repeat. It wasn't an incredibly complex strategy, but it was no doubt effective, especially with the help of their affinity bond to instinctively coordinate their movements. Like Vandham and Roc's experience, the artificial Blade clearly wasn't capable of tracking two enemies as easily as one. And that was clearly shown from the numerous holes that had been punched through it, and the segments of melted plating from repeated light-infused strikes. Seeing that it was starting to slow from all the damage, Rex swung one of his heavy salvaging boots up in a strong kick to the torso, knocking the floating figure backwards. Corvin dashed forwards, smoothly claiming his black sword from Rex as he passed. A slash with one sword into the air blasted the artificial Blade with a crescent-shaped wave of light, sending it reeling. Then a slash from the other did the same.
As Corvin came to a stop, the black feathers of his scarf shimmered a golden color for a moment, and he slashed both swords vertically downwards, twin blasts of light lancing out and carving deep gouges down the artificial Blade's body. Apparently that was finally too much, and its systems failed. Corvin looked back to Rex with a cocky grin, giving him a thumbs up. After a moment, the salvager nodded and returned the gesture.
Meanwhile, Tora, Poppi, and Fan were largely playing defensive. Tora remembered Vandham's advice about playing to his strengths and took it slowly. Mostly he just focused on blocking attacks. When necessary, Poppi would help brace him for anything too strong for him to hold off alone – and intercept any attempts to sneak blows past the shield. Fan la Norne clearly wasn't specialized for melee combat, her staff swings rather slow and basic compared to many other Blades. But still, the staff was heavy and had a long reach – perfect for swinging past the Nopon to hit their foe – so whenever it hit, it still visibly damaged the skeletal Blade. The artificial Blade darted rapidly to the side, lining up a clear path and launching headlong at Fan as fast as it could, seemingly desperate to get past the wall of defense. Unfortunately, Tora wasn't going to make it that easy, tossing the shield to Poppi, who dashed into the opponent's path. The artificial Blade slammed right into the shield, visibly reeling from the impact. A moment later, the levitating Blade was thrown backwards by a burst of gale-force wind that tore through the air with a howl. Fan la Norne had her staff outstretched as if pointing with a scepter, the head of it glowing pale green.
"Now, Poppi!" Tora shouted, and Poppi ignited the rocket thrusters in her legs, flying up into the air. The drill head emerged from the shield and revved up as Poppi held it tight in both hands. "Show nasty bullies what good artificial Blade can do!" the Nopon cheered.
"Poppi Drill!" Poppi announced, angling herself downwards and launching herself at the skeletal Blade like a missile, her descent far too fast to reasonably avoid. Her shield crashed into it like a meteor, smashing it flat into the ground. The drill head, spinning at full power, not only punched a huge hole through it, but tore the metal chassis to shreds, and by the time the dust cleared, the opponent was in multiple pieces.
Via some serendipitous turn of fate (which Nia mentally added to her "unlikely coincidences" list), all four skirmishes concluded within moments of each other. The sudden lack of ongoing battle sounds seemed to clue them all in that their friends had each handled things. While they'd been distracted by their various fights, the remaining warrior monks had all managed to clear out. The docks were now oddly silent, save for the smoldering sounds of the fires that had yet to be put out. That and the distant murmurs of worried civilians who were being kept away from the scene.
"Is everyone alright? I hope those creatures didn't manage to hurt any of you." Fan spoke in concern as they regrouped.
"My arm needs some patchin' up, got a bit careless and let the blighter grab me." Vandham replied, gesturing to the offending appendage. His wrist was visibly bruised and swollen from the experience. "Looks like everyone else's mostly fine though, eh?" he noted, and he was met with affirming nods from Rex and Nia. Their Blades, naturally, wouldn't have had to worry about injuries unless their cores were damaged – not that they'd gotten hit regardless.
"All right, this should be a simple fix. Hold it out for me?" Fan replied, and Vandham held up the injured arm readily. Fan tapped the base of her staff of the ground, the head of it glowing green again. There was a tiny swirl of wind around the Urayan's outstretched arm, and the damage began to recede immediately in the face of the healing art.
"Thank ya kindly." Vandham grunted, lowering his arm, and Fan nodded with a small smile, just glad to have helped.
"I hate to interrupt, but we're not done here." Mythra's voice cut in sharply, the Aegis glaring away from them. Of course, the unidentified fifth terrorist was still there. It had seemed safe to ignore them momentarily since they hadn't moved from their spot, not with the battle raging or even after the artificial Blades were defeated. But now, they were slowly walking towards the group. There wasn't anything inherently hostile about the way they carried themselves, nor did they have any visible weapons (though in an all-encompassing cloak, that'd be easy to hide). In short, the figure didn't immediately give the impression of somebody spoiling for a fight. But given that they were seemingly responsible for the attack to begin with, nobody was feeling inclined to trust them. Immediately, weapons were raised, pointing at the figure.
"So Blade Bot models defeated, as expected. They no longer necessary." the figure suddenly spoke. The voice was feminine, with an odd stilted inflection. Between that and the obvious Noponic dialect, it oddly evoked the impression of an older, slightly deeper-voiced version of Poppi. The similarity clearly wasn't lost, either, as Tora looked visibly confused by the sound, while Poppi's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Nia asked irritably, pointing the Aegis sword directly at the terrorist.
"Blade Bots serve their purpose, getting attention of the Aegis and allies. They not really intended to win." the figure explained with a dispassionate, near-monotone air.
"Gettin' attention?" Vandham repeated, his tone dark. "Hold up. You caused all this mess-" he gestured around widely at the docks "-and hurt a buncha folk who hadn't done anything to you... just to get us to come find you?" he growled, hands clenched tightly around his twin scythes. His anger abated slightly when Roc placed a hand one of Vandham's shoulders and shook his head. Vandham knew what the feathery Blade was thinking, and he was right right. As much as they disliked innocent people getting dragged into fights, it was best to keep their heads.
"Correct. Those were orders of masterpon..." the terrorist replied, and for some reason her voice seemed to grow quieter for just a moment near the end. However, it wasn't really the right time to try and contemplate what that might mean – if anything.
"Masterpon? Then... mystery girl is artificial Blade as well?" Tora wondered to himself, sounding just as completely puzzled as he looked.
"Poppi included that in initial artificial Blade analysis." Poppi confirmed quietly with a nod of her head. Honestly, it probably wouldn't be a difficult conclusion to reach even without Blade-sensing abilities. The mysterious cloaked girl had visibly metallic hands and legs, after all. Not to mention her voice. But Tora couldn't be blamed for his confusion – none of them could have expected other functional artificial Blades to appear.
"So why waste so much time drawing us here?" Mythra demanded. "If you were trying to take me, then... no, that doesn't make sense. You said yourself you didn't plan to win, so why?"
"Lila's orders are simply to deliver important message." the figure responded flatly.
"Message? What kind of-" But Mythra's follow-up question was abruptly cut off by a shout.
"Lila!?" Tora exclaimed, his eyes widened in utter shock. Several of the others looked at him in surprise, not understanding where the sudden strong reaction came from. Tora had never mentioned that name, so why did he seem to know it? "That joke not funny... Take off hood and show nasty bully's real face!" the Nopon insisted, though it sounded more like denial than actual anger.
"Very well." the girl complied with surprisingly little fuss, and Tora let out a distressed gasp as she tossed the cloak aside, revealing her in full at last. She was unmistakably an artificial Blade, but not one like the so-called "Blade Bots". No, she was clearly built in the same vein as Poppi. She was taller and slimmer than Tora's Blade, designed to be more visibly feminine. But her face was extremely similar, albeit less childlike, with the same orange eyes. Her metallic "hair" was dark brown, in a professional-looking bob style. Her outfit was rather odd, a mid-length black dress with lacy white trim and a matching cap that looked bizarrely like a maid uniform for... no immediately apparent reason. Nobody dared to want to ask why.
"It really Lila...! But that – that not possible!" Tora stuttered, looking to all the world like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Oi, Tora, what's going on? You know who she is?" Nia wondered, looking at the Nopon in concern.
"That Lila, original artificial Blade prototype built by grampypon and dadapon." Tora replied uncomfortably. "But Lila not supposed to be here. Lila... disappear along with dadapon, on same day grampypon die..." he explained quietly.
"That bring Lila to message." Lila interrupted, perhaps getting impatient waiting for them to sort things out. "Lila's masterpon holding Professor Tatazo hostage." she spoke, blunt and right to the point. One might think that Tora couldn't look any more shocked, but they'd be wrong.
"Dadapon, a hostage...?" the Nopon whispered, distraught, and he was visibly trembling, so much that he looked like he was going to faint. Everyone was dead silent for a moment, not knowing quite how to react to a bombshell like that being dropped so suddenly. This was not remotely how anyone had been expecting this day to go, even Nia's most pessimistic predictions didn't account for it.
"If Nopon named Tora wish to see Tatazo alive, convince friends to follow demands of masterpon." Lila continued, sounding distinctly like she was reciting off a script. Which, given that she was delivering a message, she probably was.
"Hostages, demands... Your master's got some nerve!" Surprisingly, the indignant comment came from Corvin of all people. Nia glanced at him, and it was downright bizarre seeing him mad, a glare like that not seeming to belong on his boyish face at all. Still, she couldn't blame him, it was totally fair to be pissed about something like that. And from the looks on everyone's faces, nobody else seemed to disagree either. Vandham and Poppi were both looking borderline murderous.
"What are demands, then? What Tora and friends need to do?" Tora asked worriedly.
"Travel to Empire of Mor Ardain. Check in to Jakolo's Inn in Ardainian capital in three days' time. Further instructions given then." Lila replied. That was apparently the whole message, because without waiting for any sort of response, her legs suddenly ignited rocket thrusters like Poppi's. She immediately launched into the air, turning face and soaring away towards the end of the docks at the titan's edge.
"Mythra, can't you use your powers, stop her from getting away?" Nia spoke up quickly, pointing at Lila's escaping form.
"Yeah, I could." the Aegis admitted. "But if there's really a hostage, that'd be a terrible idea. Whoever sent her wouldn't like us shooting the messenger." she explained, glaring after the retreating figure. Instead, they simply watched as Lila swooped down past the edge of the titan and vanished from sight.
"She's right. Protecting the innocent has to be the most important part." Corvin agreed with a grim nod.
"I agree with ya, but just to be sure... how do we know they ain't bluffin'?" Vandham asked shrewdly, crossing his arms in thought. "Just because they've got the dad's Blade, that don't necessarily prove they've got the Nopon himself."
"Artificial Blades have ether furnaces." Tora mumbled quietly. Everyone looked at him in confusion, save for Poppi.
"What's that, furrypon?"
"Grampypon and dadapon only make one prototype furnace, and Tora eventually use it to make Poppi." Tora spoke up a bit louder, a frown etching his face. "And furnace design top, top secret – even Tora not completely understand it. Dadapon only one who could make artificial Blades work, because dadapon only one able to make new furnace." he explained. Vandham nodded with a resigned sigh – the mercenary knew it was a longshot, he just had to be sure.
"So you're saying those things we fought were made by your dad? That's pretty crazy." Rex mused, looking around at the wreckage of the Blade Bots. With the fighting over and the last criminal having escaped, multiple warrior monks had come onto the scene. They scurried about, extinguishing any fires that were still burning and looking for any bombs or other such nasty surprises that could be left behind. None of them seemed to know quite what to do about the artificial Blades, though, and largely avoided dealing with that for now.
"And they want us to run all the way out to Mor Ardain? That's goin' way out of our way from here." Nia groused. Three days was a fairly generous time limit, but it'd still be quite a bit of crossing the cloud sea no matter what.
"Tora know it horribly inconvenient, but... if dadapon in danger, then please, friends?" the Nopon all-but-begged. Nia looked at him with wide eyes, taken aback by the sheer desperation in the plea.
"Come on, Tora, of course we'll bloody help. You didn't think we'd really say no, did you?" the Gormotti replied immediately, giving him a smile just to try and show some confidence. Yeah, the situation was far from ideal, but there's no way she'd just hang Tora out to dry like that. To her surprise, Tora immediately launched himself forwards, hugging her tightly. "All right, all right, thank me once we've got your da safe, yeah?" Nia muttered, gently pushing him off her after a moment. The Gormotti glanced around, and her eyes narrowed. For just a second, she could've sworn that Mythra was actually smiling slightly at her, but the second she focused on the Aegis, it was gone.
"I'm sorry that all this had to happen, master Tora." Fan spoke up suddenly, bowing her head a bit. She'd been conspicuously silent for much of the encounter with Lila. But then, she'd only known them all for a few days, so perhaps she felt it wasn't her place to interrupt when it became clear that it was personal business. "I suppose I had best start making arrangements. After all, to get to Mor Ardain, we will need transportation."
Author's Notes: Whew, this was a long one. The longest chapter so far, in fact. I hope that makes up a little for the wait. And, well, we've got a lot going on this time – my goal for this chapter can be summed up as "PLOT, PLOT, PLOT!" I believe I mentioned before that the bits with Amalthus were giving me a lot of trouble. I know his dialogue isn't anything super intricate or groundbreaking, but I struggled a lot trying to get exactly the right tone to convey the polite-but-vaguely-ominous impression he makes in the game. I really hope it came across here. Then there's the whole deal with the artificial Blades, setting up this story's version of the Mor Ardain arc... I know the fight scene might be a bit of a mess, I admit I rushed it a bit trying to get the chapter done. Hopefully it's still coherent.
