Leerin,
I must say, that was quite a letter. It almost made me think that Seira was the one writing. Speaking of her, how is she? I hope she still isn't angry with me. I would love to write to her, but I don't have her address and I can't help but feel nervous. After all, I didn't give her much time to comprehend that I was leaving. Then again, I didn't give you much time either.
Things are moving very fast and I don't just mean education in the Military Arts program. Things have been getting weird here lately. I feel that coming here was more than a coincidence. It actually concerns me.
Ah… what am I saying? I'm making it sound worse than it is and that will worry you. There honestly isn't much to worry about. Layfon is doing well also. I still want to beat him and haven't gotten a chance yet. My DITE keeps breaking on me and that's only because of my kei output. The Dite isn't able to handle it for too long.
So far my grades have been very well. I am happy to say that even my writing has gotten better.
I really do hope that you are doing well Leerin and I miss you and father dearly. Please give him my regards and keep him up to date.
~ Lyra.
-x-
Lyra hurried down the stairs. She jumped the last few, wanting to get to the docking bay as quick as possible. She was already changed into her uniform. All she needed was her DITE, which Harley had. They weren't leaving until another hour, but Nina had asked that everyone be there early so that she could make sure that everyone had what they needed. Lyra wasn't sure how many times before they had gone out like this, but from how Nina was being very precautious, she knew that it wasn't often. Zuellini was an academic city, and like most other cities, it avoided filth monsters so the people of the city never had to worry about fighting the beasts. They only focused on being strong enough to protect their mines.
However, there were a few cities that were much stronger. The main reason was because they were constantly heading towards filth monsters. The two cities the Lyra knew of that did this were Grendan and her home city Noemi. While Noemi wasn't as constant about going towards filth monsters as Grendan was, it did run into them often, giving the military artist of that city a chance to experience the beast that had now taken over the world.
Lyra gritted her teeth, as memories appeared in her head.
The thought of Noemi reminded her of the distress signal and what the president had said earlier that morning, which was the reason why she was running late.
However, what the president said bothered her. Lyra had just left her dorm when she saw one of the secretaries standing at the end of the was amazing just how she would always be there at the exact time. It made Lyra wonder just how closely was she being observed. Lyra let out a sigh and followed the secretary, knowing there was no way to avoid it.
"It's strange. Cities normally don't send out distress signals like this. What's even stranger is that Zuellini seems to want to head that way," he was saying when Lyra entered.
"And you called me in to tell me this why?"
Karien placed the paper he was reading down and looked up at Lyra, his hands crossing to make a bridge, allowing him to rest his chin on it. Lyra instantly knew she was in trouble. It wasn't necessarily a scolding trouble, but she knew it was going to be trouble.
"Yesterday you had an interesting reaction," he started.
Lyra bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from giving any sort of feedback right away. She knew as soon as she asked about a recording, he would be on to her. After all, he would have played the recording after explaining the reasoning behind their summoning, but she needed confirmation.
"You know something don't you?" Karien asked.
Lyra let out a sigh and shrugged, "only what you know. Filth monsters attacked the city and it's most likely destroyed now."
"Of course, but I meant about the attack. Minerva was a powerful city. For it to send out a distress signal like that meant that Filth Monsters weren't the only issues it was dealing with." The president interrupted her.
Lyra was impressed that he managed to catch on to that. It seemed keeping secrets from him would be difficult. She was going to have to be more alert now.
"If you're not going to give me answers, then I will have no choice but to use a different method to get them from you."
Lyra narrows her eyes, seeing the president's expression suddenly darken. "Are you threatening me?"
She saw the president smirk and shift his head so that there was now a glare behind the glasses, making it difficult for Lyra to read his eyes.
"It's interesting how a heaven's blade successor arrives to Zuellini and only a few months later, you arrive as well."
Lyra frowned, not liking the response she was getting, "I applied to this school knowing Layfon was going to be here," she remarked. She then studied the president, expecting a remark, but he seemed to be expecting more, "what makes you think that there's anything suspicious about that? It's happened before?"
The president soon sat up straight again, leaning back in his chair, but his expression stayed the same, as he picked up the paper before him and began to read it again.
"True. Layfon only came here because it was financially the easiest for him. As for you, why would a girl who was set in one of the strongest cities, want to transfer out and join an academic school? Looking at your records, this was the only school you applied to. Before that, you were in your second year of biology studies and suddenly deciding that you wanted to transfer to the military arts program."
Lyra sighed, "if you look, you'll see that my transfer to Grendan's Military Arts program was rejected."
Karien nodded, "so it was, which makes me wonder why?"
Lyra shrugged. She, herself, wondered that. Especially since she trained with Savaris, Lyra was confident that she would get accepted or at least she would have enough connections to be allowed into the Lucken's military arts school. But then the rejection letter came and the Queen ordered her to head to Zuellini, as her skills would be needed there more.
The order made her even more curious, but after learning about her brother, she understood the reasoning and knew that she had a legacy to continue. She let out a sigh, and brought a hand up, to push some hair out of her face.
"I can assure you that there aren't any secrets behind me coming to Zuellini. I only came here due to Layfon being here," she finally replied.
"I think there's more to it. It seems you may not be aware of it yourself," The President replied, which made Lyra's brows furrow. Now she was really curious. What did the President mean by that?
Lyra went to speak, but Karien was speaking again, this time looking at the clock, "well, it seems I've taken too much of your time. You need to get going. However, I expect a full report on the condition of the city and what happened. Along with that, you will find the true culprit behind the attack," he ordered.
"And if I don't?"
"I have faith that you will."
Lyra narrowed her eyes. She was tempted to just refuse it, but that would just be causing more trouble for herself. Instead she just nodded her head and shifted her glasses before turning around to leave.
She exited the room and her eyes traveled to the clock outside the door.
Ten minutes left.
"Ah shit…"
-x-
Lyra glanced up at one of the clocks along the wall. Five minutes passed the meeting time. Nina wasn't going to be happy.
Why couldn't the president have just asked her to stay behind yesterday after everyone had left? Now she was rushing.
Lyra turned around the corner, and started down another set of stairs, which was the last set.
Just how many were there? And why wasn't there an elevator? There probably was an elevator. Because she was rushing, Lyra didn't bother to look. Just then a black wall appeared before Lyra. Her eyes widened in surprise. Where did that come from? She tried to stop herself, but then…
BAM!
"Wah!"
With a grunt, Lyra hit the ground. She groaned rubbing her bottom. Because of her speed, she wasn't able to stop in time and went falling back; however, that wasn't what caused the pain. The impact with the wall was what got her. Lyra was convinced it was the wall, but why would they have built a wall like that? It didn't make sense.
She looked up to see if what she crashed into was a wall of not and then tensed, as she noticed the figure there and instantly realized it was a person. Was that who she crashed into or did they come out when they heard her grunt?
Cursing to herself, Lyra looked down to find where her glasses were. Somehow they flew off from the collision. Lyra was hoping that they weren't broken.
"Here."
Lyra looked up, as a hand reached forwards. They were holding her glasses. Lyra took them.
"Thank you," she said and brought her glasses up, to examine them. After wiping them, Lyra started to put them on. She was sliding them on when she noticed the face and tensed. It was the captain of the fifth platoon, Gorneo Luckens.
Luckens…
This man really was the younger brother of Savaris Luckens. However, she was having trouble believing that. Yes, she knew Savaris had a brother. The two brothers looked very similar, but at the same time she couldn't help but note how different the two were. While Savaris was always seen with some sort of smirk, this man looked as if he barely ever smiled.
"Hey, you okay?"
Lyra jumped hearing him speak. She didn't realize she zone out. Instantly she was up and bowing quickly, apologizing.
"Y-Yes! I-I'm sorry for running into you. I was in a rush and saw you appear at the last second and wasn't able to stop," she spoke so fast even that she wasn't even sure if he could understand her. Why was she feeling so nervous around him?
The captain didn't seem to pay any attention to how she spoke. Instead he just took a step back and nodded, "It's fine. Seeing as you weren't even able to stop in time, you must be in a hurry," he remarked. While it could have been a humorous remark, Lyra wasn't sure because of the serious expression he had. She just let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of her head.
"Well I was trying to find my captain. She wanted to discuss with us what the plan was before we headed out and to make sure we had everything before we departed. I was supposed to be there a while ago," she explained. What surprised her was how he stood unaffected. It was almost as if she did run into the wall.
Gorneo nodded, "that would explain why she sounded so frustrated. You're late."
Lyra let out a sigh, "I got caught up by The President, who wanted to speak to me…That and… I haven't been in this area before so I got a little lost."
She then noticed a smirk appear on the fifth platoon captain's expression, but then he turned away, "we decided that in the last hour we would meet up and finalize our preparations. My platoon is already there. Most likely yours is there as well," he commented and started to walk.
Lyra nodded her head and then decided to follow him, instead of trying to find her own way. Gorneo didn't seem to object so she assumed it was all right.
Lyra wasn't sure why she was justifying herself. She felt that she needed to with the aura he gave off. It was strange. She was getting such an uneasy vibe from him, but why? Was it because of how serious he was? It shouldn't have been a problem considering how she was used to Felli and her expressionless way.
No… it wasn't that. Lyra wasn't one to get easily intimidated by one's expression. He wasn't giving off an intimidating amount of kei either, but still… Lyra couldn't help but sense a form of hate emitting from him.
They arrived to a set of doors, which Gorneo pushed open and walked through. Lyra followed behind him and then paused to look around. There were large crates stacked on top of one another and along the wall. Lyra noticed near a group of them, the fifth platoon sat waiting. With them Gorneo now stood, finalizing everything with them. On his shoulder now sat the short red haired girl. She sat there casually, looking around. Her eyes then met Lyra and instantly she was growling, sticking her tongue out Lyra.
Lyra was confused by that, but she made sure not to show any other sort of reaction. Instead she heard her name and turned to see Nina and the others standing there.
"Hey, hey, looky who finally decided to show up," Sharnid's remark came.
Lyra didn't even have a chance to react, as Nina stepped forwards, "what took you so long?" she demanded.
Lyra flinched. Why did she get a feeling that something happened, which was making Nina look scarier than usual? Looking a little off, she noticed Layfon there, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. Lyra's eyes narrowed. Something did happen, but she wasn't sure what.
Fingers were snapping in front of Lyra, as Nina was trying to get her attention.
Lyra jumped and then started to wave her hands in front of her, as she tried to explain her reasoning.
"I got a little lost while coming here. I took the wrong tram and ended up somewhere else," she scratched the back of her head. That wasn't a lie. After leaving the president's office, Lyra thought it would be smart to just take a tram to the docking bay. After all, that's what she took when she first arrived to Zuellini.
Nina didn't seem to approve of the answer, but she wasn't able to ask more, as Lyra felt someone coming up behind her.
Turning around, she saw that it was Gorneo and the girl, Shante, still on his shoulder.
"Everything is set by us," he reported.
Nina nodded her head and started to reply, but Lyra wasn't paying attention anymore. She had walked off towards Harley, who waved her over.
"I changed some settings on your DITE. I was hoping to make some last minute adjustments before you left, but I don't think we have time now," he explained, handing it to her.
Lyra looked at the DITE. It was a lighter color now. She then nodded, "sorry. That was my fault, but thanks Harley. I'll be careful with it!" she smiled.
Harley nodded, "you better get going now. Good luck!" he waved and watched, as Lyra headed to the bikes.
There were three bikes assigned to the seventeenth platoon. That meant that one of them would be riding alone. Lyra wondered who would be riding alone. Based on her judgment, she knew it was safe to assume that Felli would be riding in a passenger and Layfon and Sharnid would be driving two, which left the last one to either Nina or Lyra. Lyra didn't care for who would drive.
Staring out the exits, her thoughts travelled to the city that they would be investigating.
Minerva…
Lyra had never heard of that city before, but the fact that it sent out a distress signal. Like the president said, it was rare for cities to request aid. It was usually every city for them self.
Lyra sighed and turned around and leaned against one of the bikes. Looking over she saw Felli coming towards her.
"Nina has requested to ride with Layfon therefore I will be riding with you."
Lyra nodded her head, "sounds good to me."
Behind them, she saw Nina, Layfon, and Sharnid coming. Layfon headed towards one of the bikes with Nina following behind him and taking her seat in the passenger car.
She then heard a whine of disapproval come from Sharnid.
"I have to ride by myself? Well that's no fun."
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to entertain yourself," Lyra remarked as she then put on her helmet. She made sure her hair was neatly tucked into her helmet so that it was damaged by the polluted world before them.
"I wish you all the best of luck now," a voice suddenly came. Lyra blinked and turned to see that the President was there.
"I hope you can bring back some good news."
Lyra instantly turned her head away before he could look at her, but she still felt his glare, reminding her of his orders. Around her, she heard the others starting their bikes. An echo of roars soon followed as Lyra started hers.
The door soon began to open.
She turned towards Felli, who was now seated. "Ready?" she asked.
Felli just nodded her head and as soon as she saw the others leaving, Lyra followed right behind them.
-x-
The travel time to their destination was a few days away. The President didn't want to wait for Zuellini to get any closer out of the concern of potential danger. But they needed to information before it was too late. From what the city droids had detected, there was no sense of danger, meaning that they shouldn't have any trouble arriving there.
The journey was mostly quiet. The platoons conversed among themselves, creating separate campsites each.
On the fourth day of their journey, they soon saw the city coming into view. Both groups soon began to slow down. Lyra's eyes widened. Around her she could tell the others had a look of shock as well. Before them stood the academic city, Minerva.
"Well now…" Sharnid's shock came through the transmitter.
Many of the steel plates along the legs had been torn off. It was obvious that filth monsters attacked the city. As for what stage they where, Lyra wasn't sure.
"Everyone stay alert." Nina's voice came, as they arrived at the base of one of the legs. A message from the fifth platoon psychokinesis user said that they would be securing the other side. Nina agreed with that and while waiting they decided they would try and find a way in.
Lyra looked scanned the area around the city.
"It seems after the attack, the city managed to move away," Felli's voice came.
"Well if it managed to escape then why'd we get a distress signal the other day?" Sharnid objected, looking up the leg of the city, noting the damage.
Lyra nodded, "He's right. The message we got was while the city was under attack, but based on the damage to the outside of the city, it's been days now."
"It could have been the message we received was delayed. After all, it's not easy trying to contact different cities," Nina added.
Lyra shrugged, "that is an option, but even so, do you think it's safe to assume that?"
Nina nodded her head, "something must have happened afterwards."
Lyra agreed with her.
"Well there's only one way to figure out the truth."
The group turned to look at Layfon who had his steel threads out and attached to the top of the city.
"We're going to have to go inside and look," he commented.
Nina nodded her head, "Felli. Contact the fifth platoon and tell them that we're heading inside and to join us."
Felli nodded her head, restoring her wand and started to deliver the message. Once she was finished, she looked at Nina.
"They said they would do the same and send a rendezvous later."
Nina nodded, "alright then. We'll begin our investigation."
Lyra watched as Nina and Sharnid went back to the bikes and grabbed the ropes. Layfon and Felli had already traveled up using Layfon's steel threads to begin scouting the city.
"Hey Lyra, heads up."
Lyra barely had time to catch the anchor rope. It was thanks to her reflexes that she caught it.
"Nice catch," Sharnid remarked.
"You could have warned me you know," she grumbled.
"But I did. I said heads up," he insisted.
"Yeah that was after you tossed it," Lyra argued.
Sharnid just let out a chuckle and shook his head, "should have been paying attention."
Lyra just sighed and then along with the other two, she threw it up and then began to climb.
Arriving to the top, Lyra heaved herself up and then stood straight, fixing her suit. She then moved forwards allowing Sharnid and Nina room to come up.
"Well now… now what?" Sharnid asked, turning towards Nina.
"Let's catch up with Layfon and Felli," Nina ordered and started to walk. Lyra and Sharnid followed behind her. Layfon and Felli weren't that far off. They caught up with the two in few minutes. Layfon was in the process of reeling in his steel threads.
"How is it?" Nina asked.
"No corpses so far," Felli said emotionless. She had restored her DITE and the flakes were now scattered in the sky.
Lyra raised a brow, "nothing?"
Felli nodded.
"Then investigate the important facilities in our vicinity," Nina ordered.
"If it's to investigate half of the city, I will have it finished in an hour," Felli remarked.
Nina shook her head, "it's not that I doubt your ability, but there are people who don't accept the results of this type of investigation."
Felli stayed quiet for a few seconds, before she nodded, "very well."
"Have you found entrance to the Mechanical Department?" Nina then asked.
Felli shook her head, "not yet. It doesn't look to be anywhere near here."
Nina sighed and nodded her head.
"But I have found shelter."
"Then we should investigate that. There may be survivors."
"A very tiny hope," Sharnid muttered, earning a glare from Nina.
Felli ignored the comment and turned on her heels, "this way," she told them and guided the group deeper into the city.