Aionios was not immune to those with ambition: despite Moebius's manipulated drama, the spirit and the will of any given person could not be repressed entirely.

Variables were inevitable, amidst the slew of constants: the long grind of the eternal war, the maximum lifespan of ten years, and the underhanded trickery from Moebius themselves, were all that kept the variables from taking root, and blooming into something new.

As a reflection of the desires which gave birth to Moebius, one could say that the world itself refused to change.

Hence the harpoon cannons, for example: in a time long past, Colony 29 had engineered these devices for use in combat operations within the dense jungles of the Maktha Wildwood, where hover-type Levnises were ill-equipped to operate. They were especially necessary against the mighty Colony Upsilon, which was an ever-present threat in the Pentelas Region, on the proverbial doorstep of Keves Castle.

For a relatively short period in the world's frozen history, tales were abundant of soldiers sliding upon thick cables, traversing whole sections of the Maktha Wildwood in minutes whereas before it would take hours, or even days. Colony 11 placed them around the Hovering Reefs for practice purposes; plucky Agnians — unable to crack the internal protection of the contraption to get an understanding of how to reproduce them — stole numerous harpoon cannons, repurposing them throughout the Cadensia Region for practice. Outposts on high places within the Fornis and Aetia Regions were suddenly at risk of being rendered vulnerable by these tools; even certain Levnises had been retrofitted to use these harpoon cannons to drag down flying vessels.

Alas, soldiers were rather vulnerable when sliding on these cables; in the open air, bereft of the dense overgrowth of the Maktha Wildwood, they were easy targets. In certain high-intensity battles, whole swathes of these tools were destroyed, and Colony 29 — the only manufacturer of these contraptions — had been annihilated. Furthermore, the greater activity within the Maktha Wildwood that these harpoon cannons had allowed for? It had only aroused the ire of great and terrible monsters within its depths, forcing Upsilon to retreat to safer ground.

In a matter of generations, the utility of the harpoon cannons ceased to be, as their use died out due to a lack of production. The inherent defense systems of these devices rendered them unable to be destroyed except by Ferronis-grade ether discharge, which was deemed a waste of resources by both sides. As such, most of the cables had simply been reeled back in — after all, allowing easy access to your own bases from distant vantages was simply foolish — and left alone: why worry about a useless technology that no longer had any use?

(As for the Hovering Reefs? Keeping the cables had been easily justified, because they reduced the risk of aerial drift.)

The harpoon cannons had been an interesting diversion. But a diversion only; the emotions and despair of those involved in the day-to-day drama of eternal war drew greater eyes. (And so Moebius was content in simply letting them be.)

In certain locales, some cables — forged from a unique metallic alloy that was resistant to rust — remained attached, abandoned instead of being deactivated: let the monsters have them, it had been said.

Time passed. Knowledge of the harpoon cannons, how to maintain them, and how to traverse them, simply died out. The status quo had returned.

After a time untold, an Agnian Colony called Tau would take up residence within the Maktha Wildwood's depths.

Lacking any understanding as to the origin of the harpoon cannons, Tau nonetheless incorporated them into the skillset of its soldiers, using the cables to traverse whole swaths of the jungle's expanse.

Which brings us to the newest incarnation of Ouroboros...

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 4, after completing Juniper's Hero Quest/

/Outskirts of Colony Lambda, Maktha Wildwood, Pentelas Region/

"An intriguing method of travel," remarked Taion; in return for their prior assistance, Juniper — the seventh-termer commander of Colony Tau — had been willing to instruct Ouroboros in the art of 'rope sliding'. "We've seen similar devices during our travels; are you familiar with how they're produced?"

Juniper shook their head, stating, "We have no clue as to their origin. Tau's original commander went through the trouble of teaching himself how to utilize them, so that every member of Tau could use them ourselves. Why waste something that will give us an edge?"

"Rather risky, innit?" asked Eunie, gazing over the edge at the misty depths of the jungle-infested city. "One false move, and you're snuffed."

"That's why we practice. No soldier goes on an away assignment until they've mastered sliding on these metal ropes."

"Why not just go through the buildings?" asked Noah. "Is the time saved worth the risk?"

"...yes," admitted Juniper, looking warily at one of the dilapidated skyscrapers; amidst the gloomy fog of the Wildwood, and with the sun's light obscured by the great trees, they appeared as mere silhouettes: shadowy monuments to some bygone era of great and terrible works. "There are...things, which lurk in the dark." That was all she wrote, so to speak.

(What remnants of the Old World lurked within the great expanse of Morytha, still lingering on into this stillborn era? Perhaps that's a story for another time...)

"You know, why can't we just crawl?" asked Lanz, as one pointing out the obvious. "Even if it'd take longer, it would still be easier than doin' all that."

Juniper simply turned toward Lieutenant Raine. The ninth-termer, whose ether lines ended in sharp protrusions of solid crystal around his ears, sighed and wrapped a long, fibrous rope around the tall man's waist.

Lanz blinked with confusion. "Hey, what gives-?"

"Sena, could you please hold onto the other end?" asked Juniper.

"Oh! Uh...sure."

Thus it was that Lanz slowly crawled along the metal cable, keeping his ankles locked together as his hands pulled him along. "See! No big deal!" he called out, even as Sena and Raine kept a tight hold on their end of the rope.

Taion suddenly frowned; did he hear someone counting down?

"Five...four...three...two...one..." whispered Juniper.

At that instant, the origin of the cable hummed with activity; there was a loud sparking noise, followed by a surge of ether soaring along the surface of the cable. The green energy field crackled, leaping onto Lanz-!

"SPARKS!" yelled Lanz, impulsively letting go. "Oh COME ON-!"

"HANG ON!" screamed Sena. The length of rope went taut, as she and Raine dug their heels in. Without another word, Noah, Mio, Eunie, and Taion took hold along the rope, arresting their forward progress. After several frantic seconds, Sena cried out, "Lanz?!"

"Are you okay?!" yelled Noah.

From far beneath the ledge, a distant reply echoed back. "Just...hangin' around...!"

"And that's why we learned to rope slide," remarked Juniper, leaning over the side to watch as the others pulled Lanz back up. "We've not tested the limits of the defense systems on that device...but since we learned how to rope slide, there was no point in doing so. Why risk unnecessary injuries?"

"Says the clod who let him fall with just a bit a rope to hold him up," grumbled Eunie under her breath.

"...your point has been made," grunted Taion, pulling hard until Lanz had finally cleared the edge.

Noah and Eunie crowded around their podmate, inquiring as to his welfare. "I'm fine, was just startled, is all," assured Lanz.

"...so, fancy another go?" joked Eunie, trying to ease the tension.

"Snuff off, Eunie," griped Lanz. "I'll learn how to sparkin' slide down the sparkin' cable!"

"...maybe we should go grab some food from the Canteen first, and calm the nerves," offered Noah. "We shouldn't be doing this without Riku and Manana anyhow."

(Meanwhile, within the Colony, Manana was listening with intrigue as to how the resource-deficient Tau had managed to stretch their food supply without sacrificing recipe quality.)

(As for Riku, he was haggling with the local traderpon, as any good Nopon worth their salt could do.)

"...good idea," relented Mio, her eyes briefly gazing at the mists of Maktha before turning back towards the gates of Colony Tau.

xxxx

It was perhaps no surprise that Mio was the first to cross: she had always been an overachiever.

So it was that she remained by the end of cable, waiting patiently for the others to master Juniper's lessons.

It was a small thing, to wait for them...truly. She believed this.

Yet small things can pile up, and become big. Such it was, the hour or so spent waiting for everyone to make it to the other side.

The time spent waiting; the time that would be spent needing to replenish their stolen food supplies; the time that wouldbe required in order to stop the Keves Castle Annihilator, once they learned of its existence...it would all linger in the back of Mio's mind, raring to burst. Noah, alas, would be the unlucky recipient of the ensuing emotional explosion.

But that's a story you all know, isn't it?

Thus, we turn the page: once learning the art of rope sliding to Juniper's satisfaction, Ouroboros continued onward, towards an uncertain future...

xxxx

Author's Note: Because seriously, these harpoon cannons are all over the place.