Chapter 12: Convergence
A/N: I'm sorry, the [snacks] you are trying to reach have been disconnected. Please hang up and try again.
Lora's eyes winced as the light of the setting sun's rays began to slip beneath the horizon of the cloud sea. The light glinted off the cables that spanned the Ardainian wasteland, carrying cargo back and forth suspended above them.
Near her, Nia yawned loudly from Dromarch's back and Lora looked over just in time to see her ears twitching back and forth violently as she stretched. Lora was tired too and had to fight back a yawn after seeing that. She didn't envy Dromarch, who had valiantly endured carrying Nia on his back for most of the day.
"How much further do we have?" Nia called.
It was encouraging that she didn't sound as angry as she had the other night in the cave. Lora hadn't asked, but had a feeling Pyra had something to do with it.
At the head leading their little walking entourage, Mikhail glanced back. "Not much further." He raised a finger to point to hanging cable lines. "Those cables run with supplies to and from the city to out to their main industrial centres and factories. You'll be able to see the city proper around this cliffside; after that the bridge to the main entrance will be in sight."
Just as they made their way past the cliffside, there it lay, nestled above the crook of the Ardainian Titan's left shoulder. Lora made a 'whoa' of appreciation as light from the setting sun glinted off the buildings of the large metal metropolis. The light filtered through steam rising from nearly all parts of the city.
"Pretty good, right?" Mikhail asked. Lora couldn't help but agree. "The Ardainian Empire has come a long way in five-hundred years."
"What's that big building?" Pyra asked, pointing ahead.
Lora followed her gaze to a commanding sight. Reaching out over the high tide of the cloud sea, the twin towers of a magnificent structure loomed like a fortress importantly over the city. It was suspended by metal sub towers support structures of some kind – connected by walls with ramparts – that lead back into the rock of the Titan.
It was an intimidating site, and didn't look particularly welcoming to her.
"That's Hardhaigh Palace." She heard the disdain in Mikhail's voice, and wondered where it came from. "Seat of the high and mighty Senate and the emperor of Mor Ardain."
"Sheesh, there's a lot of guns attached to that thing," Nia remarked snidely. "Compensating, much?"
"It is quite an imposing sight," Dromarch rumbled in agreement. "A veritable fortress in and of itself. I don't envy anyone that tries to lay siege to it."
"Lucky for us, with our present company," Mikhail's eyes looked Pyra's way, which Pyra seemed to ignore, "we won't be gracing the emperor with our presence. Somehow I don't think she'd be welcome there."
Lora let out a quiet, and somewhat guilty sigh of relief. She doubted Hugo would blame Pyra for his death, but there was no way of knowing how the empire in that five-hundred year gap in between his sacrifice had interpreted it. Even if the current emperor was anything like Hugo, she doubted she'd find them as kind as he had been.
"That's good." Nia chuckled, completely missing the subtext of the conversation. "Wouldn't want to go there anyways. Besides, from this angle, it looks like it's ready to fall into the cloud sea. Is there even something holding it up?"
Mikhail smirked. "Afraid you'll fall in, Nia?"
She huffed in annoyance, ears flattening on her head. "No. I can swim, dimwit."
"Don't worry, it's secure!" Cressidus piped in. "You can't quite see it from here, but below the city there are struts holding up the city and the palace. And those," he pointed to the semicircle of sub towers, extending out of sight in either direction, "even if they look kind of like walls, they're just there to help anchor the structure really deep into the Titan itself. Even when the Titan's left arm broke off, the city and palace stayed right where it was."
"Wait, the Titan's arm fell off?" Lora asked, worry creeping into her voice.
Mikhail set one hand on his hip. "Yeah, that was a day and a half. Mor Ardain is an old Titan, and the empire stripped that arm of its resources. It happened a long time ago, but I happened to be here for it. Cressidus is right, though; the whole city shook when the arm detached, but the palace stayed secure. Didn't stop them from making extra reinforcements just in case."
"So you see, Nia," Cressidus eyes practically glowed with excitement, "it's not coming out even if the Titan dies!"
"Oh." Nia blinked. "Er...thanks, big guy. I think."
"Even if we don't go there, it's impressive." Pyra chimed in, a modest smile on her face. "It's very representative of the Ardainians, don't you think?"
One of Nia's eyebrows rose. "Paranoid and covered in armoured metal and guns?"
"Well, um, maybe," Pyra's smile became strained, "but it must have taken a lot of hard work and industry to build and maintain that."
"Sure, sure," Nia waved dismissively. "By the way, it's not just me, right, but does the cloud sea look rather high to anyone else?"
"The tide's unusually high right now." Mikhail pulled out a small instrument, checking it. "Every Titan has orbits and goes through different phases as it revolves around the World Tree. Since it's near the end of October, this should be about as high as the tide gets here in Mor Ardain this year. Great time for easy salvage if you can get the Empire to sanction it."
Lora saw Nia's brow rose again in an almost grudging respect. "Wow. I'm actually somewhat impressed. Where did you learn all that?"
"I've salvaged before here, but that was a long time ago. Besides," he cocked one hand on his hip, cracking a grin as pride seeped into his voice, "I had to get all the parts to get the Marsanes fully operational somewhere. Most of the bits were salvaged from all around. I just wasn't always the one doing the salvaging."
"Most impressive, master Mikhail," Dromarch agreed.
"Yeah, yeah." Nia leaned forward, squashing Dromarch a little and unintentionally squeezing a little whoomph of air out of the beast Blade. "So, not to put a damper on the mood or anything, but why are we trying to go in the front door if we don't want to attract attention?"
"Oh! That's easy." Lora set a confidant hand on her hip. "As far as anyone knows, we're probably just mercenaries, right? If we tried to sneak in and failed, it would attract unnecessary attention. No one would expect a wanted person to walk in a way that's heavily guarded. Of course, that only works assuming we have a legal way in already."
There followed a pause long enough that it leaned towards awkward. Lora tilted her head in confusion as she received odd looks from the others. "Um...what is it?"
Nia raised her eyebrows. "I guess I just didn't take you for someone who would think about that sort of thing."
Her cheeks flushed. "O-oh, right." She scratched her cheek embarrassed. The solution had come without her really thinking about it. "Well, let's just say Jin and I had a...rough start." She cleared her throat. "But we do have something, if we're going in the front way, right?"
Thankfully Mikhail took the hint before Nia's obvious next question, which she was grateful for. "You've got it spot on, Lora." He reached into a pouch, unfurling a very official looking document. "It just so happens that we have a very good excuse for stopping in from our lovely sponsor, Blueball. Even though this many Drivers and Blades doesn't raise as much attention as it used to, it never hurts to be careful."
"...Blueball? Do I even want to know?" Nia asked.
Mikhail rolled his eyes. "Patroka started it, but he deserves it. His name is Bana. He's a piece of work, even for a Nopon. But he's done what we needed quicker than anything else without raising a fuss. So, if anyone asks, we're a mercenary group on an errand for the chairman of the Argentum Trade Guild. It's true enough. Just not quite the errand Bana thinks we're on."
Nia's ears flicked impatiently. "Just the kind of thing I'd expect from you."
He gave all of them a long look over. "Just follow my lead, and don't say anything stupid. We're just a friendly mercenary band who had a long trip, and just want to a place to sleep before we take care of our errand."
Nia sat up on Dromarch as he began to pad forward. "Sure. As long as I get to sleep in a real bed, I'll play along. Just no funny business, yeah?"
Mikhail smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Follow me then."
The thirty or so minutes it took to walk to the entrance bridge to the city made Lora's heart flutter. Or, at least, it brought up the memory of her heart doing that, as the feeling in the shared core was different, but similar enough. The last time she'd had to do something like it was when it was just her and Jin on the run.
The city in front of them began to light up from the glow of ether lamps as dusk fell on the dreary wasteland. Even though Lora had said it would be fine, she was still surprised when no one really gave their group so much as a glance as they approached the checkpoint line. Maybe a double take at Cressidus' size until they realized he was a Blade.
The entry line - full of other travellers, traders, merchants and a surprising amount of salvagers - simply moved steadily forward past a few guards standing watch until they were up.
"Next."
She hung back as she watched Mikhail take vanguard as they approached the guard. She noted that the armour the guards were wearing, while different from what she'd seen on the soldiers on Hugo's flagship, was still of a similar make.
The guard looked them all over. "State the size and type of your party and your business here."
"There's six of us," Mikhail responded casually. "Three humans, one Gormotti, two Blades."
She and Pyra traded glances. It must be part of Mikhail's insistence on hiding Pyra's identity as a Blade, or specifically the Aegis. He pulled out the document he'd flashed to them earlier, handing it to the guard. "We're a mercenary band on an errand for the chairman of the Argentum Trade Guild, getting some parts in the city for him."
He looked them over - and Lora saw Nia give a yawn, striving in vain to cover it with her hand - then looked back to the document. "Big group for just a few parts."
Mikhail smiled easily. "Yeah, but you know Nopon. They like to protect their investments, and the chairman has a lot of moolah lying around to do it."
The guard snorted. "I'll bet. You picked a good time to come around for them. With how high the cloud sea tide is combined with the salvage bulge, it's salvager heaven right now."
"Really, a salvage bulge?" Mikhail sounded intrigued, and maybe a little excited.
"Yeah," the guard shook his head in wonderment. "Didn't think I'd ever see one. It just started a few days ago. All the salvagers from Chilsain over on Mor Ardain's right shoulder jumped at the chance. So, things are a little crowded with them and all the Nopon merchants. How long are you planning to stay?"
"Not more than a week. Probably less if we can find the parts quick."
The guard seemed satisfied as he handed back the document, after making a stamp on it. "Looks all good. You can go on through."
They started moving through and Mikhail gave the guard a mock two finger salute. "Thanks."
"Hold a moment." They all stopped and looked back. "One thing before you go. I'm mandated by Emperor Niall to tell you all this, but if you ever spot a Blade with an emerald core crystal, or have any information that leads to their whereabouts, let the officers in the city know. There's a handy reward on it too, which I'm sure you mercenary types would appreciate. Welcome to Alba Cavanich."
As Lora and Pyra walked right by him, Pyra smiled brightly at him. "Of course. We'll keep an eye out. Have a good day, sir!" He waved them on paying them no more mind, simply saying 'Next,' to the ones behind them.
As they walked across the bridge, beside her, Pyra nervously adjusted her black poncho even though her emerald core was already covered. Looks like the Aegis wasn't as forgotten as she hoped. Leaning over to Pyra she whispered, "This isn't good."
"It'll be fine. Let's just take it one step at a time, right?"
"Right." Lora nodded and smiled despite the weight once again seeming to settle on her shoulders. "One step at a time."
"Who seeks to stand before the Emperor?"
"Special Inquisitor Mòrag Ladair, and the Jewel of Mor Ardain, reporting from leave in Gormott."
The palace guards knew Mòrag, and one could hardly mistake Brighid, but as per formality, they had asked her to identify herself.
"You may approach." They stepped aside and she stepped firmly forwards, the sliding doors on the lift opened by the command of the guards.
Mòrag's thoughts swam long and hard as she rode the lift up to the throne room of the imperial palace. Through the glass of the lift, below, she spotted the rest of her crew unfurling from the Gladio. In the midst of them, Rex and Azurda mixed in the small crowd of Driver recruits being led to their new quarters on base in the city proper. Though she couldn't see them, she imagined Tora and Poppi were among the crowd as well.
With a sigh, she bowed her head, eyes closed. Beside her, Brighid laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, the warmth of their bond flaring in a brief moment of silent understanding. Calm, the feeling seemed to say.
The lift came to a stop and opened to the smell of the throne room, and she breathed in the familiar, comforting scent.
Inside the throne room proper, the light of the sun shone in through the domed glass pane ceiling overhead. The plush red carpet adorned the path up to the throne - , and the walls and ceiling adorned with banners the crest of the Ardinach family mixed in with the empire's own crest.
The emperor however, wasn't alone. Mòrag immediately spotted three other figures already present.
Emperor Niall, sitting up straight on the edge of the throne feet skimming the floor; Aegeon, to the right of the throne, ready and waiting to defend him. In front, someone who had become an increasingly familiar and prominent figure of late.
"-as such, your majesty, I feel that our resources would be better spent dealing with threats abroad. The more clout we give these hoodlums, the more influence they will gain." Senator Roderich turned and raised a pointed eyebrow, noticing her approach. "I'm sure you would agree with me on this matter, Inquisitor?"
"Senator. How...unsurprising to see you here."
"Quite. I am glad you returned safely from your journey, Lady Mòrag. Any thoughts on the matter?"
He knew she knew exactly what he was talking about. "While I agree that Brionac is spread far too thin to cause any lasting damage on their own, we cannot let them gain enough momentum that other underworld organizations are willing to tie themselves to them. Nor can we ignore the underlying panic it is causing in the populace."
"Even more panic than the supposed return of the Aegis?" he countered. She narrowed her eyes. "You know as well as I do how history speaks of the destruction she can cause, especially if this rapscallion entity known as 'Torna' has won her to their cause. Why, in more global terms, if this Torna were to target us here, Mor Ardain would be open to attack from everyone, not just internal rebels. Do you not agree that Uraya would jump at an opportunity like that?"
Niall finally spoke. "We are aware of the potential dangers that both parties pose, and I will consider the points you bring, Senator. As you know, we have already begun taking precautionary measures, but we cannot fully muster our forces for a potential threat of unknown proportions. No final decision will be made just yet, but I thank you for your continued concern."
He seemed to take the rejection in stride and grace. "That is all I could ask of you, and would urge you to remember what I have said in the coming days, your eminence." He bowed. "By your leave."
Niall waved him away and she allowed the senator to pass by her as she crossed the long distance on the gold trimmed red carpet to the exit at the lift. The lift doors slid shut with a sense of finality as he went.
As was customary, she knelt one knee before him, head bowed, Brighid right beside her copying her motion.
"Guards, you may leave. I wish to take counsel with the Inquisitor privately." She heard the guards salute, and file out, the doors sliding closing behind them. "Sister, it is good to see you."
Mòrag raised her head and was met with her younger cousin's genuine smile. Standing, she returned the smile, placing her hands behind her back. "You as well."
"It seems the good senator is still at it," Brighid commented wryly.
Niall sighed, slouching slightly on the throne, which seemed to swallow his small frame even more. "I know he means well, but I wish he didn't come so frequently."
Aegeon folded his arms. "As you know, your majesty, it is simply another tactic to attempt to make you fold from perceived pressure. 'A leader may bend, but-'"
"'But they do not break,' yes." Niall finished the saying. "It's good that I have you to keep me on my toes, Aegeon." He turned to Mòrag. "I heard that you two had an eventful time on leave in Torigoth."
She smiled wanly. "You could say that."
He tutted. "Did you at least get to see some of the sights of Gormott in between all the chaos?"
She glanced away. "I'm afraid that there was no time for leisure. Everything piled up rather quickly, but as you know, it was fruitful."
Niall shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. "What am I to do with you if you don't even take leave on your leave?"
She caught the humour in his voice, which she appreciated. From their talk nearly a week prior, they both knew how productive - but worrying - all of this was. "On the way back to the empire, we had an encounter with Torna."
Niall sat up to his fully again on the throne, and she could practically see the mantle of leadership descend on him again as his expression turned neutral. "I was notified of this, and informed that details would be forthcoming. What happened?"
"There was a raid on one of our own ships transporting core crystals to Indol. The Invicta. We received the distress call, but it was too late."
"Were there survivors?" Aegeon asked, concern leaking past his neutral façade.
Mòrag shook her head, sadly. "Not a single one. In the hour between the original distress call and our arrival, not one member of the Invicta's crew was left alive."
Niall bowed his head, and though it was subtle, she saw his jaw clench. "...My condolences. Have you arranged to notify their families and loved ones?" She nodded. "Good. How was Torna involved in this?"
"From the distress call's recording, it sounded as though there was only one man from Torna participating in the raid," Mòrag answered. "We may have had a brief encounter with them, a man Rex called Jin. While the way he accomplished it is unknown, he redirected our ether cannon fire back towards us, damaging the Gladio. Before we could react, the ship - which we now know as the Monoceres - escaped beneath the cloud sea."
"Was the reflection some new weapon? Or perhaps a Blade's ability?"
"It's unclear what reflected it; the distance was far enough that it could have been a number of things. Unfortunately, we couldn't give chase, as Torna's ship was a submersible."
"Like some of Uraya's Titan ships?"
"Yes. However, this ship didn't have a Titan integrated into it. Some of my crew theorized that it could go further underneath the clouds because of that. It may also be why the Invicta didn't detect their approach, and potentially why Torna have remained undetected for so long."
"...I see." Mòrag could practically see his mind racing at the possibilities. After a moment he looked up. "Was the Invicta intact?"
"Yes, but its cargo of core crystals gone." The rest of what had been carried was untouched. Even though there were many signs of damage and fighting in the ship's interior. She shook off thoughts of the ruthless waste of life. "The ship itself was still functional, and some of my crew manned it. It should be docking behind the Gladio before long. We already informed Indol of the situation with the shipment of core crystals."
Niall grimaced. "I can imagine how...happy they were about that."
"Yes, quite," she replied, dryly.
"With how many core crystals were on board, you would think Torna was trying to raise a small army by stealing them," Aegeon mused. "Not that they would need it if they have the Aegis."
"Unfortunately, there is no clear motive behind their core crystal raids as of yet," Mòrag replied, "and I don't believe it's the usual reason raiders go after them." Most raiders, like the one she had been attempting to capture in Gormott, went after it for the money they could get on the black market. "It is... admittedly frustrating how little we know. I will continue trying to ascertain what it is, but it will take time."
Niall smiled in spite of it all. "Take courage, sister. Despite it all, this is a big breakthrough. Just be careful that you don't try to split yourself too many ways."
Mòrag let out a breath. "I know." He was talking about Brionac, and a host of everything else she kept trying to do. Brionac, Torna, the Aegis. All of it. "Thank you, emperor."
His smile grew. "You are most welcome." He paused. "I have been thinking. Regardless of his intentions, Senator Roderich makes a good point. With all of these potential threats floating around, the people are rather wound up. What if we sanctioned something to cheer the hearts of the masses?"
"That sounds good in theory, but what would we do?" Brighid asked.
Niall turned to his Blade. "When is the salvage bulge predicted to end, Aegeon?"
"The phenomenon is nearly impossible to predict, but past recorded instances have generally lasted a week at most. This one has already gone on for three days."
Niall nodded in understanding. "I see. Why not throw a parade after its closure? That way we don't step on too many salvagers' toes and lose potential business. I would love to be involved in any way I can."
More than likely he would just ride on a parade float. But just his presence outside the palace would be enough. Despite his young age, the people loved Niall. If anything happened to him...
Her fingers clenched behind her back and she dispelled the grim thought with a thoughtful hum. "It would take pulling some strings with the Senate, but it would be possible to make it happen before week's end." Especially with the salvage bulge happening right now, it would be a nightmare to organize everything. "I for one believe it is a fine idea. A show of military strength, and a way to stir national pride."
"So long as there is fun involved. We need not instil in the youth of Mor Ardain just pride in their heritage. We are attempting to calm the people, not instil more fear in them." Niall looked to her, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "I have seen your persuasiveness in action in the Senate before, so I will leave that task to you. I will put my support behind it as well."
She bowed. "Understood."
Hopefully, nothing got in the way. The empire deserved a little levity.
The chatter and clatter of the afternoon industry of Alba Cavanich thronged around Lora as she munched on a skewer of armu steak strips. As the juices and the flavour seeped into the recesses of her mouth, she made a happy sounding squee.
Of course, it wasn't home-grown Ardainian food. From what she had seen, it hadn't really evolved in the past five hundred years. If she was desperate, she could probably stomach it, but growing up with Jin's cooking hadn't helped. At least this restaurant had good stuff.
After a mostly lazy day yesterday resting from their trip, Lora felt loads better, good enough now to really enjoy herself out in the open. The table they where they sat was outside the restaurant proper with a little awning to protect from the sun overhead.
Across the table from her, Nia was busy tearing into her plate, laden with seafood, while to the side of the table, Dromarch munched more delicately on his own food. She glanced to the side where Pyra quietly sipped imported Gormotti Honeytea.
Pyra's red eyes met hers as she serenely put the steaming cup down. "Something up?"
She swallowed her most recent bite of the succulent steak. "Are you going to get anything else?"
"I'm not really hungry, but thank you."
"...if you're sure." There was quite a change in appetite from what she'd seen back before Torna fell. "Don't hesitate to say if you want anything; we definitely have enough."
She had felt weird when Mikhail had casually given them their large spending allotment. It had always been Jin or later, Addam, that had managed the funds before when she was traveling.
"Don't worry, I will." Pyra looked around. "So, what do you think of Alba Cavanich so far, Lora?"
Glancing around again at the bustling main market and thoroughfare, Lora let out a thoughtful hum. "It's different from what I'm used to. Hardly anyone here seems to want take a moment to sit still. So, the atmosphere's very lively, but I think overall I'd prefer it if it was more green and a little quieter. The people seem nice enough, at least. Oh, and their hot springs look divine!"
"Yeah," Pyra agreed. "From how they look it's no wonder Brighid was always bragging about them. Maybe later, we can all try them tonight! Would you want to join us, Nia?"
Nia looked up from her plate, swallowing her latest bite, waving it off. "Wasn't it open to all the inn's residents? If you aren't careful, people will spot…you know." She tapped a spot on her sternum and looked meaningfully at her and Pyra, lowering her voice. "It'd only take one mistake before the entire Ardainian army's on your tail."
"Oh." Disappoint creased Pyra's face. "I guess that's true, isn't it?"
"Don't worry, I'm still getting used to what it means too." Lora laughed awkwardly in a poor attempt to cover her own embarrassment for forgetting that herself. Pyra smiled briefly, and went back to sipping her tea.
Nia just mumbled something and went back to eating.
A crew of salvagers still in their full-dive suits walked past near their table, balancing a wrapped, heavy-looking load of metal between the four of them. Even in just the short amount of time they'd been sitting here, oodles of them had already passed by. Even since yesterday, it felt like more had arrived, all of them hopeful to take part in this "salvage bulge."
"Do you think Mikhail is going to get back anytime soon?" Lora asked.
Rolling her eyes, Nia snorted derisively. "You saw his workshop too, right? If that's any indication, I'd say we won't see him and Cressidus back until tonight at the inn at the earliest with all the stuff being sold here. It's a good thing the big lunk is with him, otherwise he'd get hung up flirting. You're not worried about him, are you?"
"No, I don't think so." Even after seeing him in action, Lora was still having trouble separating this Mikhail from the quiet boy who sometimes clung to her leg. "I'm sure he'll be fine. But what about you? After the other night, you weren't exactly…" she trailed off.
Nia rolled her eyes. "I still want to punch his stupid face again. But, well," her face scrunched up like she was swallowing something sour, "he had a point, didn't he?"
"What do you mean?"
"Secrets. Everyone's got 'em. His just came back to bite him, well us, more than most do. Well, probably." She glanced back and forth between her and Pyra. "You two aren't hiding anything like that, right?"
Lora was taken aback by the statement. "Um…no?"
"My lady, perhaps a modicum of tact would be useful in this situation?"
Nia gave Dromarch a flat look. "What? It's not like I'm asking them to spill their guts or anything, but just look at 'em. They have this whole 'air of mystery' thing going on about them."
"Really?" Lora asked, surprised. "I don't think anyone's ever described me as 'mysterious' before."
"Well for one, until a week and a half ago, you were just big awkward popsicle that was hard to get a straight answer about. The closest I got was from Patroka, calling you 'Jin's isicle lady,' or 'Jin's frozen girlfriend,' which didn't tell me anything."
"What?!" Her cheeks flushed at the last name. "That's... Jin's my closest friend. My first Blade." But girlfriend? "He practically raised me."
"I know that now. No need to get so worked up about it. Careful reacting like that, people might tease you more about it."
Lora crossed her arms and let out an annoyed huff.
"Sheesh. I kid, I kid." She turned her attention to Pyra. "Course we can't forget you."
"Oh!" Pyra flushed as the attention shifted to her. "I'm nothing special, really."
"Says the girl who's literally the- ow!" Nia hissed, glaring down again at Dromarch, who had nipped her. "What was that for?"
"It would be wise to refrain bringing that up in the open."
"Well whatever. Enough about that. I've got a question for you, Lora. Remember the other day, when you were talking about you and Jin having a rough start?"
"Oh, that?" Lora glanced away, embarrassed. "It's nothing special."
Pyra clapped enthusiastically. "No, you should tell it, Lora! It's such a beautiful story. You and Jin were always so close and in sync. I was always jealous."
"C'mon," Nia urged further, "Jin was so worked up about you while you were out cold after you stopped being a popsicle. What's the story?"
She looked back and forth between the two, and finally to Dromarch. She was unprepared for the assault from those big pleading eyes of his.
"Alright, fine." She took a deep breath. "It started when I was ten," she smiled, even as she blocked out the bad parts of the memory. She and Jin had already taken care of Gort, after all, "when Jin rescued me from a life of misery."
"Rex-rex look ridiculous."
Tugging at the collar of the plain brown shirt and cargo pants, Rex couldn't help but agree. The fatigues he'd been given were dull compared to his normal fare of blue, but at least it wasn't the full armour they were going to have to wear during drills and training. He looked to the left at Tora, who retained his overalls and vertically striped collared shirt.
"Well," Azurda mused, "the empire isn't a mercenary band. The easiest way to tell if someone is friend or foe is the uniform."
Tora wrinkled his nose unappreciatively at Rex's clothes again. "At least Rex-rex doesn't have to wear pointy helmet." The Nopon shuddered. "Clearly, they not take into account aesthetics." He glanced at the uniform hanging in the wardrobe. "Driver uniform have pockets, so it somewhat salvageable."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Rex agreed. Finishing buckling his tool belt and pouch around his waist, he fitted his grapple around his left arm. It pretty much ended up being the only splotch of colour on his person.
He turned to the Nopon. "By the way, Tora, I don't mind, but I'm a little lost. Why are you here? You didn't seem like the type to be interested in joining up. Weren't you wanted or something?"
"Is all water under bridge now. Bigwig in charge offer very, ah...persuasive deal."
"Mòrag?" Tora nodded. "She's not too bad, I guess. But I still don't understand what made you join up with the Driver recruits."
"Oh! Rex-rex misunderstand. Tora is not a Driver recruit."
"Really?" Rex tilted his head inquisitively. "So what are you doing in the recruit barracks?"
"To see Rex-rex, of course!"
"Thank, I think." Tora made it sound but like that was obvious. "But, I'm still kind of lost."
"Masterpon needed protection from bad men chasing him, and help paying debts." Rex looked over to the side of the small room that had Rex's bed to where Poppi sat. Facing away from them for purposes of privacy while he changed, her small metal legs dangled over the edge, bouncing up and down. "Mòrag promise sanction from empire and protection from bad men if we help her search for dadapon."
"She's going to help look for your dad? Sounds like a way better deal than I got."
"Well," Azurda mused, stroking his beard-like stone appendage, "I believe there's more to this deal than we see on the surface. However, I would wager that Poppi had a large part in it."
Rex crossed his arms, still unused to the feel of the unfamiliar cloth. "Does it have to do with the fact that she's an 'artificial' Blade?"
Poppi nodded "Rex correct. That why Mòrag seem to take lots of interest in Masterpon and Poppi." Still facing away from them, Poppi plopped down onto the floor with a soft but audible clunk. "Mòrag seem very worried about Poppi's potential siblings. Is only natural. Could be very dangerous in wrong hands."
"I see," Azurda mused. "I suppose that the nature of even artificial Blades depends on their Driver. Or, maker, perhaps? Regardless, you two have quite a lot of potential, so I have no doubt you will find what you're looking for."
Tora sighed. "Is easy for big Bladeypon to say that. But Tora couldn't even handle cloud sea monsters without help from Rex-rex."
"Everyone has different skills, my young Nopon friend."
"Besides," Rex interjected, "Didn't you say you'd fought some other monsters before finding us?"
"Poppi and Masterpon fight three monsters before running."
"So it ended up being a team effort!" Rex set his hands on his hips. "It's all well and good to be strong, but it's better when you have a good crew you can trust to help you out with the bigger jobs. You've got Poppi, and now if you need it, Azurda and I will have your back!"
"Hmm. Tora never think about it like that. Until recently, Tora just have himself. Friend Rex-rex make very good point! Tora feels same way about Rex-rex and Azurda! Together, we will become bestest Driver and Blade teams on Alrest!"
"I like your attitude!"
"All of us have quite a lot to learn before that happens." Azurda sounded cautious in a very Gramps like way. "Remember, pride comes before a fall."
Rex smiled. "Yeah, I know. Anyways, I'm going to go check out the city. I saw a bunch of salvagers on the way here from the docks, and one of the officers was talking about a salvage bulge."
"Salvage bulge?" Tora gasped, headwings spreading wide as his big Nopon eyes practically started shining. "Rex-rex not lying?"
"Well, yeah." Rex rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. How could he not tell? "Even if they hadn't pointed it out, couldn't you see everything going on? Salvagers were practically lining the streets, the cloud sea was up really high, and it was low tide." He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "This kind of thing only happens around major titans once in a lifetime, so I plan on taking advantage of it."
Tora patted his new pockets down as if looking for something. He looked up, somewhat sheepishly. "Does Rex-rex happen to have spare change Tora could use?"
"Hold on." Rex's forehead creased. "Weren't you just trying to escape debt collectors or something getting here? Why would you want to be in more debt?"
"Masterpon did promise Mòrag to not accumulate more debts," Poppi helpfully added.
"Meh, is fine." Tora practically deflated for a moment. "Is fine," he repeated, before perking back up again. "Tora used to window shopping anyway." He started shuffling out of the barracks room. "Come on, Poppi. Even if new friend is being stiffypon, is still great time for looking for future upgrades and ideas!"
"Aye, aye, Masterpon!"
They both burst out of the room, leaving him and Azurda alone in confused silence. Eventually Azurda broke it. "They don't let anything stop them for long. He's a very opinionated fellow, isn't he?"
"Tell me about it," Rex agreed.
"It reminds me of someone I know."
"Really?" Rex was about to ask who he was talking about before he noticed that Azurda was looking pointedly at him. "Wha-me?"
He tapped the side of his head. "Just saying what I've noticed." What did he mean by that? "Well, there's no sense wasting any more time here. After all, you wanted to look around, correct?"
"Yeah, let's go." And if he was lucky, he might be able to scrounge together enough to do some salvaging.
Thankfully he didn't have anything else to do today. They already had a brief orientation, and they'd been given the rest of the day as shore leave before their 'real training' was supposed to begin early the next day. After exiting the sectioned off area of the barracks that differentiated between Driver and regular recruits, he and Azurda wound their way through the base to its edge.
Showing the little pass he'd gotten in the orientation to the guards at the edge of the base, he busted out into the lively streets. He grinned as he spotted all the salvagers mixed in with everyone, a sense of belonging welling up in him.
He was glad that even here, he could feel a bit like he was home.
"So Jin basically raised you?"
"He did," Lora affirmed. "We both started out with nothing but each other. Maybe it sounds strange, but just like he rescued me from Gort, I wanted to help others like that in any way I could. He inspired me."
"I get it." Across from her, a soft knowing smile grew on Nia's face. "That sounds about like him."
Lora nodded, heat rising in her cheeks. "He's amazing. Of course what I didn't know at the time was that Jin was famous."
"Famous?"
"He'd been passed down as a Blade in the royal family's guard for a long time. Until me I guess, but that's another story. Jin was known as the 'Paragon of Torna.' I didn't really get it at the time, but he said it would be a bad idea to walk into a city without a disguise. I wanted to help, so I made him a cloth bandana. It...wasn't the best, but it covered his core. The ones I made later were much better until I made his mask."
"You made his mask?" Lora nodded at Nia's question. "That's impressive! I thought that was part of the package."
The praise made her beam. "Yup. The first time we entered a major city, word was quickly going around about how 'the Paragon was gone' and that it was such a bad omen for the future of the Tornan Titan. Jin said they would think I had stolen his core crystal. Even though I was only ten!"
Nia crossed her arms. "I don't know. I've known some pretty conniving ten-year-olds."
"My lady…"
She turned to Dromarch. "What? We have."
Lora waved it off. "It's okay. It just made being really careful a part of our daily lives." Otherwise the Kingdom of Torna would have caught wind of him and put her in prison. Or worse. "We drifted around and Jin took up doing mercenary writs for a while to scrap by, but that was it. As soon as I was big enough, I chipped in too. Eventually, after some close calls, we found a good routine in different mercenary groups for a long while. The freedom was nice, being able to help out wherever we felt we should. I absolutely loved it." Her eyes darted over to Pyra. "Until we bumped into Addam."
"My first Driver." Pyra answered Nia's unspoken question. "He was the prince, fourth in line to the throne of Torna." She looked down, sadly. "He would have passed away hundreds of years ago."
"Oh. Sorry."
Lora saw a smile make its way onto Pyra's face. "No, it's alright, really. I still have fond memories of him."
"I know I saw you in that old ship, but I still don't get why you didn't…" Nia glanced around, leaning in, whispering, "return to your core after he died?"
Pyra shook her head. "No. I was just sealed away where you found me. Even if I wasn't, I would have stuck around. Something to do with this." She tapped her core hidden underneath the black poncho.
"Figures." Nia's ears flattened. "So...what are you two planning on doing after this?"
"After we eat?" Lora asked. "I was thinking of looking around the city some more. It's been a while since I've had a chance to just mosey around, and I wanted to see if anyone sells talismans; they're always useful."
"Er, well, that does sound kind of nice, I guess, but I meant what are you and Pyra planning on doing after," she gestured wide to the city, "all this?"
Pyra set her teacup down, sending a look to Lora, asking with her eyes. Lora gave a shrug. Leaning forward, Pyra looked into Nia's eyes. "What do you know about the World Tree?"
Nia's eyes narrowed in confusion. "The World Tree?" She clasped her hands together on the table in front of her, and leaned back in her chair. "Honestly, not that much. I mean, I know it's there." She waved in the general direction of the ever-present massive tree, "And sure, tons of people make up reasons for why it's there, or what's on it, but at the end of the day, it's just a big glowing tree. I don't have a great reason to learn more."
Pyra tilted her head in confusion. "You don't? Aren't you going there?"
"Eh?"
Dromarch nudged her. "That is what master Malos was saying, milady. They're going to the World Tree to see the Architect. To do what, exactly, I didn't quite catch."
"You found that out somehow while you were distracting Malos the other day, did you?" Dromarch bobbed his head affirmatively. "Well that's fine and dandy, but I still don't think that changes how I feel."
"Well," Pyra gestured between them, "we're going to go too, you know."
Her eyebrows raised. "Really? Why, though?"
"Pyra wants to talk to the Architect. I'm going to help her get there."
"You're serious?" They nodded and she let out a big breath. "Seems like everyone's talking about that tree these days," she muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. "Well alright then. I guess we wouldn't mind them coming along too much if we're already headed there, right, Dromarch?"
Dromarch chuckled. "Of course not, my lady. I think Lora and Pyra's presence would be a most welcome addition."
Nia scoffed. "You're only saying that 'cause Lora gives you good scratches."
Dromarch stiffened. "Her capabilities and knowledge are far more important than that."
Her eyes lowered, unimpressed. "Sure. That's all it is."
Lora chuckled at their antics. "I'd be happy to provide them, any time."
"Hey! Don't encourage him."
Pyra giggled behind her hand. "Well, should we go look around some?" she offered.
"We should," Nia agreed, "before Dromarch makes any more of a fool of himself."
"Excuse me, ladies."
They all looked over to the new voice up to see a Blade with striking red hair braided behind him, wearing a dark, flour stained apron and striking pink boots. Thinking about it, Lora had spotted him cooking in the back of the restaurant where they were eating at. "Are you perchance mercenaries?"
"Maybe." Nia crossed her arms. "Who's asking?"
"Me. Everyone else I've already asked has said no, and this salvage bulge isn't helping. If you can spare some time, I need your help. I'd pay you, of course."
Lora glanced at Pyra, who nodded in a 'might as well' sort of way. "We might. What is it you would like us to do?"
"Well, a while ago, an old friend of mine, a woman named Smaia, asked if I could make some deliveries to her. I keep meaning to get around to it, but…" He gestured to the huge crowd of salvagers which still hadn't really dispersed, and the line peeking out the door of the restaurant.
Lora winced in sympathy. "I get it. Your food is absolutely divine, by the way."
The Blade let out a hearty laugh. "I saw you scarf it down, so I know your compliment means something. It means the world to a chef." He glanced around. "Not that there's much competition in the Ardainian Empire for good cuisine."
"So what is it you need us to do?"
"Take a look at this."
He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of a pocket on his apron, smoothed it out and handed it to her. As she glanced down, she noticed a mercenary writ attached to it. Underneath the writ, she glanced at the list he was talking about and her eyes shot up. Even though she wouldn't be able to guess what half of the stuff was for, there was a lot of it.
"That's quite a list." Lora glanced back up to him. "When does she need it?"
"A week ago." When she gave him a questioning look, he rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed way. "Sadly, aspiring to be a world class patissier drains my time, and my Driver and I can only do so much to keep up with the salvagers from the bulge going on right now. I put this off for too long, and with the bulge now, not as many people are paying attention to the jobs on the mercenary board. Smaia's a sciency type who needs them for a project she's working on, pronto."
"I guess..."
"She also happens to be one of my biggest financial backers, and secret ingredient supplier. No one else is able to get the kind of exotic ingredients I need for my best dessert dishes. She threatened to cut off my supply if I don't get it to her soon."
"That's rough. I wouldn't want you to go out of business. Even though I've already said it, your food is amazing."
"Don't butter me up too much." He chuckled before his expression turned serious, "Can you check up on her and see if she's doing alright, as well? Something's been off lately with her. It worries me more than the whole Aegis debacle the city has been in an uproar about recently."
Though she was still somewhat hesitant, her heart - er, core? - melted at the worry in his voice. "Of course we can. I know how hard it can be to be away from those you love."
A portion of the stress she'd seen as he approached seemed to drip off his shoulders. "Thank you...um. Pardon my manners. I never asked your name."
"Lora."
"Gorg," he returned. "Thank you, Lora. I need to get back to cooking before the lines gets too long. I'll see you and your party tonight, hopefully. I'll treat you to dessert too when you get back." He quickly went back inside the restaurant, bypassing the line of people, which had increased almost by ten in the short time he'd been talking to them.
"Well, that was something," Nia quipped, "but is it really a good idea to do this now? I mean, I get that he's in a rough spot and all, but we're…you know." She glanced meaningfully at Pyra.
"Maybe," Pyra admitted. "But there shouldn't be any harm in helping. It wouldn't be the first time someone has laid their problems on almost complete strangers, right, Lora?"
Lora knew exactly what she was talking about. "It's happened a lot to us." She looked down at the paper he'd given to them, trying to figure out where the 'Admar Storage Zone' was. "It can't do much harm, right? Besides, if I ever get to come back here, it'd be a shame not to be able to have his cooking again."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, I get it." Nia stood, sighing. "What's the worst that could happen, eh?"
"Sorry, son. We don't have any."
'Son.' If only this guy knew how much older I am than him.
"You're sure?" Mikhail shifted impatiently. Unless his information was out of date - which happened more often than he liked to admit over the centuries - they'd just passed the season for Gold Condensers on Mor Ardain. But there still should be some left.
"Positive. What do you need them for, anyways?"
"I'm part of a mercenary group getting it for a high-profile client."
The salvager didn't look impressed. "Who's the client?"
"The chairman of the Argentum trade guild." He flashed the little missive the sleaze chairman Bana had given them to 'persuade' less willing parties in getting materials for the bots. This wasn't for them, but it was for a good cause, so he didn't feel the least bit guilty using it for this.
"Ah." That seemed to quiet him and his hand went up to his chin, thinking. "Well, I hate to sink your Titan, but it doesn't change the fact that I still don't have any. Someone bought my entire stock. I was actually talking to a couple buddies of mine and they say some fellows bought out the market in Alba Cavanich for that part a couple days ago. Paid good money for them too."
Mikhail narrowed his eyes at the information. This was new. "Did they say what they needed them for?"
The man shrugged. "Said they might build something with it, but I didn't pry too hard. Why? Think they might be a competitor or something?"
"It's nothing." The timing was obnoxious, but things like this happened in the market. If it happened two days ago, then it was likely they were already gone.
The older man shrugged. "Alright then. It's not my business to know how customers use what I bring up. I just sell it."
"Sure."
"Anyways," the man continued, "no salvagers have brought any Gold Condensers in recently. Titan's moved past where they usually salvage them up. Might be some over in Chilsain or one of the Trade Guilds, but not here in Alba Cavanich. Not for a while, at least." He shrugged. "But who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky with the salvage bulge."
"Right, thanks," he deadpanned.
Mikhail walked away, shifting through the throngs of people shopping, both salvagers and more local citizens before he eventually spotted Cressidus' massive form waiting at a street corner.
"Any luck on your end, big guy?" Mikhail asked.
"Nothing. I had to tap out on this one."
"Yeah, I figured as much. Those were the last dealers." Every one. Every single last shop and dealer they'd checked out from the last two days didn't have the Gold Condensers. Even the rarer parts that had been a pain last time were available to buy. "What a waste of time. I probably could've found the parts easier if I salvaged for them myself by now."
So many delays. He wasn't sure who would kill him first. Patroka, for being late picking up the bots or Jin for taking Lora out and putting her in 'danger,' without telling him.
"Excuse me."
He felt someone tap him mid back and quickly twisted around to see who it was. To his surprise he saw a short, brown-haired kid in Ardainian military fatigues. His eyes travelled behind him and up to see a Blade, head like a white dragon with a grassy mane looking down at him with intense yellow eyes. The difference in size between the two was almost comical.
The kid spoke up again. "I might be able to help you out."
Even if it was just a kid, the fact that he was from the military sent up a red flag. He threw up a fake smile. "Really? And how does the ardainian military plan on doing that?"
The kid put up his hands in a placating way. "No, no, don't worry about that. I'm honestly more of a salvager than I am anything else. I just overheard you talking about not being able to find a part, and thought I might be able to help you out. What are you looking for?"
Mikhail glanced at Cressidus sceptically, who shrugged. "Unless you know how to whip up some Gold Condensers out of thin air, then I don't think we need to keep talking." He expected the kid to stumble out some excuse.
"Actually, a while back I heard from old Monell that you could find them in Mor Ardain off Jarlin Wing Area around this time of year. And with the bulge, there's bound to be something."
"You mean that salvage point off the palace?"
"Well, yeah. You need permission from the empire to salvage from there."
He raised his eyebrows. "And you do?"
The kid put his hand on his chin, thinking. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard. Right, Azurda?"
Azurda?
The name sounded familiar, though he couldn't place why. Then again, he'd met a lot of people in nearly five hundred years, and after a while they started blending. Maybe he'd met the Blade before when he had a different Driver? It wouldn't be the first time.
The massive Blade crossed his muscular stony arms over his chest. "Would it be wise testing the limits like that? We only did just arrive after all."
The kid put on a confidant grin. "It'll be fine. Besides, it'd kill me if I passed up the opportunity to salvage during a bulge." He turned back to Mikhail. "What are you planning on using the parts for?"
Mikhail thought about feeding the lie about getting parts for the chairman, but paused. The kid was a salvager, and they always went for good personal sob stories right?
"Well, my ship went through an unexpected 'remodelling.' Basically, there's a big hole where there was some delicate machinery. I was able to find most of the parts to fix it except one. Normally it's not a huge hassle to get, but someone beat me to the punch and they've all been bought out."
"Sounds like a pain."
"You don't know the half of it."
The kid cracked a grin. "Probably not, but I've heard enough salvagers complain about maintaining cloud sea worthy vessels. 'It's just big ol' money pit.' they'd say."
"Pretty much." Mikhail could sympathize. The Monoceres alone was hard enough to maintain, and the Marsanes was on a whole other level. Not that Torna was low on funds, but when there was really only one real mechanic to go around, things piled up quick.
Even so, this could be interesting. "Well, if you think you can do it, go for it. I can give you two thousand in advance, and three thousand if you can haul it up before the end of the week?"
That would be as long as they could afford to wait.
The kid stuck out his hand. "I won't even need a day."
Mikhail barked out a laugh. "Cocky, aren't you? I like that. We'll see if you can live up to it. How about you get to keep all the extra parts that you haul up? Sell them; use them, whatever keeps your Titan floating."
If there was hesitation before, it disappeared when he said that. "Shake on it and we have a deal."
He did. Salvagers. So predictable. He should know, given how much time he'd spent being one a lifetime ago. He counted out the gold for the advance and handed it over.
What he'd just offered was chump change compared to what Jin had dropped on hauling up the Aegis. Not that this kid needed to know that. "What's your name, kid?"
"I'm not a kid, but my name's Rex."
"Alright, Rex. Show me what you've got."
A/N: The timelines have finally converged.
Rex and Lora do what they do best and agree to help random strangers with their problems.
Nothing wrong with a little sidequesting, right?