Chapter 22 – The Masks of Light
"Sometimes I really feel like kicking myself…" X muttered as he continued making his way back home, with the strange boy following behind. "If I'd gone back there sooner..."
"Hey, cut yourself some slack." Ness said. "You couldn't have guessed she'd leave a message there. From what you told me, things were completely hectic."
"I suppose." X conceded. "But it just feels so damn obvious in hindsight…"
"Now that I finally got to see her face, I can understand even better why you're so bent on finding her." Ness teased.
"It's only proper." X grumbled. "I've already kept her waiting for far too long."
"Yeah, but you're not gonna get anything else done before you've had time to rest your head." Ness countered.
"You have a point." X conceded. "This new data… Signas really planned ahead. Many of these outposts weren't on the maps I had."
"Wherever you are, old friend… Thanks for everything." X thought, pausing for a moment.
Ness noticed and stopped to wait for him. In that uninhabited part of the world, with the ruins of had once been a vast urban sprawl overtaken by vegetation, for a brief moment everything was completely silent.
"I should probably ask Cerveau to send in some engineers and pick through the HQ servers for more useful data." X pondered once he finally resumed his stride. "Something to talk to him about when I get home."
X looked at the road ahead. The nearest Trans Server terminal that he knew of was still around a hundred kilometers from their location as nobody had settled in the region since the HQ's destruction. With his mind abuzz, he silently wished he could abbreviate the trek back.
"Well then…" Ness said, as if guessing what was on his mind. "How about I send you on your way a little faster?"
"You mean…?"
"I know you can teleport like Rock, but not while the old satellite network is busted… and I don't know how to fix that." Ness said. "But I can do something else."
"You mean like you did last time?" X asked, feeling rather curious.
"Bingo!" Ness said with a grin, before grabbing X's arm. "Hold on tight!"
With that, the boy broke into a sprint, dragging him along and soon reaching impossible speeds even by X's standards.
"Is he really human?" X wondered in surprise, right before his sight whited out in a flash of light, accompanied by a strange sound resembling a toned down sonic boom.
A blink of an eye later, X found himself standing right outside the settlement once again.
"Is that what that man called… Radiant Translocation?" X asked, a little disoriented from the flash and the abrupt transition.
"Maybe." Ness said, grinning again. "But it's no fun if I hand you all the answers on a platter, is it?"
"I suppose not." X conceded. "Well then… thanks."
"No need to thank me." Ness said, patting X on the back. "Just watch yourself out there… and don't give up."
With that, he sprinted into the distance and soon disappeared in another flash.
"Giving up is out of the question." X thought with a smile as he watched the boy leave.
Feeling mentally drained from the long journey and the emotions raging inside him, X proceeded into the settlement proper at a leisurely place. He walked past the temporary school building and the permanent one being built right next door and sat down on a nearby bench. The children had just finished another lesson and were taking a break outside, playing together.
"Look at them." X thought with a fond smile as he watched them and set his backpack down for a while. "So full of life and dreams."
Though the children were visibly excited about the game they were playing – with Axl once again acting as a coach of sorts – they eventually noticed X. First Alouette waved at him, then some of the others spotted him. One thing led to another and he soon found himself surrounded by excited children once again, tugging at his sleeve, asking for him to share stories of his adventures. Axl watched from a distance with amusement, having witnessed similar scenes many times before their parting and after their reunion.
Eventually, Rocinolle called the children back to class and they reluctantly parted company with X. Axl then walked up to his old friend and sat next to him on the bench.
"So, buddy?" Axl excitedly asked. "How did it go?"
"I'm such an idiot sometimes…" X muttered, planting a hand on his forehead.
"You don't even come close to my top hundred list." Axl retorted. "But I'm guessing that means you found something."
"Yes…" X confirmed. "Alia left a message and some files in her old Mission Control computer."
"Go on…" Axl said, his face lighting up with a smile.
"My checklist just got a lot bigger." X said. "It looks like Signas had a lot of emergency shelters and hidden supply posts we didn't know about. Alia could have ended up in any of them."
"Oh. By the way." X added, watching Axl's reaction. "I found some of our things in our old quarters. Including some… interesting reading material."
"I suppose we all ended up forgetting some stuff in there back in the day…" Axl said, trying to conceal his nervousness at X's choice of words.
"I'm not going to make fun of you for your tastes…" X said slowly and deliberately with the hint of a mischievous smile creeping over his face. "But I wasn't expecting that."
"What?" Axl retorted, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I was still a kid. Trying new things and all that."
"You'll probably always be one." X said as his smile widened. "Still, that was more the kind of stuff I'd expect to find in Ciel's collection."
"Ah yes…" Axl scoffed. "The one Zero isn't supposed to know about. But you don't have to be a girl to enjoy that."
"Even after all these years you continue to surprise me." X said. "Heartthrob Tales?"
"Yeah yeah…" Axl awkwardly muttered. "But I don't suppose you also…"
"Yes, I also found your Go Nagai Omnibus." X confirmed. "Maybe there are copies in the old library stock, but I hope you won't lose this one again."
"Axl. Real talk." X added. "You..."
"Yeah…" Axl said with a sad smile. "I like playing the part of a clown, but even this clown used to wonder what it'd be like to feel loved."
"I'd say you already are." X said, patting his old friend's back. "Just look around you."
"Yeah… I know." Axl conceded. "I just wish Palette was here… but I know she's not coming back."
Suddenly, a sound resembling a strong gust of wind echoed above their heads and the pair glanced around in time to watch as Harpuia landed in the adjacent playground, carrying a certain Reploid boy on his back.
"Menart!" Rocinolle cried out. "Where have you been?!"
"Field trip." the boy said without a hint of shame as he got off the Guardian's back. "Working on my history assignment."
"You should watch your students a little more carefully." Harpuia advised, glancing at Rocinolle. "The old Maverick Hunter HQ is no place for children to explore on their own."
Menart had no time to say anything before an irate Rocinolle crossed the distance and twisted his ear.
"Fool!" she scolded. "Do you have any idea how worried everyone was?!"
"Ow ow ow!" the boy protested. "I'm fine, really! I just didn't want X to go alone, so…"
X just watched with a bemused expression. From what he had seen of the boy to date, he seemed clever and determined, but his irreverent streak and impulsive nature could definitely make him a handful.
Once again X found his thoughts turning to the old picture of Rock.
"I wonder if he was like this back in the day too..."
"You need to learn a lesson in responsibility, young man." Rocinolle scolded. "I'll have to have a word with your parents."
Her expression relaxed slightly and she turned to Harpuia.
"Thank you for bringing him back… and sorry for the inconvenience."
"No inconvenience at all, Madam." the Guardian said with a polite nod. "Merely doing my duty… for the future we share."
"Does that mean you've… reconsidered?" she hesitantly asked.
While she'd initially been on the fence about welcoming the Guardians back, she already had a prior rapport with Harpuia from to his temporary stay at the old Resistance base and she was quite aware of the help the Guardians had tried to provide behind the scenes since their return.
"If you mean moving into the settlement…" Harpuia said with an indecipherable expression. "We are… discussing it further. It will take more than a few token deeds here and there for us to be accepted, you know."
Meanwhile, at the firing range...
"You're getting better." Zero noted as Ciel hit one of the farthest targets.
In response, she smiled.
"It still doesn't feel right to see such a sweet girl wielding a weapon, but she would have probably tried to learn this on her own or asked someone else…" he conceded, grudgingly accepting the fact… and rather proud of how quickly she was learning.
Then the door opened and Cial stepped inside.
"Oh." she said. "There you are."
Her gaze shifted back and forth between her sister and Zero.
"I wasn't expecting you two to be sneaking off together." she quipped with the faintest hint of a grin.
"We're not sneaking." Ciel retorted, feeling a little embarrassed at the insinuation.
"So easy to get a rise out of you…" Cial thought, enjoying her reaction. "Then again… I guess he's your first, is he not?"
With a casual stride, she walked up to the table where a crate of Buster Guns and stun clips was lying ajar, grabbed one of each and stepped to the safety railing.
"How about we make this a little more interesting?" she suggested while loading the weapon. Barely taking a moment to aim, she fired a shot and struck a target in the back row.
"When did you…?" Ciel asked, surprised by her precision.
"A girl in my position had to know how to defend herself." Cial said with a shrug. "Nobody was coming to bail me out if things got out of hand."
"We would have." Ciel countered, her next shot grazing the side of a mid-range target. "If you'd asked us to."
"If I'd asked…" Cial pointed out as she lined up another shot, which went a bit wide and struck the back wall. "Back then I thought you'd never want to see me again."
"We're both young and emotional." Ciel countered, taking aim more carefully with both hands. "Even if you try to pretend you're above such things."
"I suppose." Cial conceded, firing a snap shot that hit a close range target. "Maybe sometimes I try to be different just for the sake of being different. To prove I'm not a copy of you."
"I guess Anya's remark really hit a sore spot…" Ciel thought.
"For someone so clever, sometimes you can be really thick." Ciel noted, before finally pulling the trigger again and hitting a target at the very back of the range. "All you need to be is your own person."
"I suppose I can be." Cial conceded. "And I don't connect to people as easily as you."
No longer in the mood to continue, Cial locked the safety, removed the cartridge and placed it and the Buster Gun back in the crate. Ciel glanced at her over her shoulder, put her own Buster Gun down and walked up to her.
"Siblings fight all the time." Ciel noted. "It's almost expected. But I hope you got all that nonsense out of your head for good."
With a sudden mischievous smile, she walked up to her twin and tugged at her cheeks.
"You're too serious for your own good."
"I suppose I am." Cial conceded. "But I have to look out for you and Mother… not to mention our newest little sister."
"You've been doing great so far." Ciel noted, giving her a hug. "Just… try to relax a bit, will you?"
Zero watched the exchange in silence, not wanting to interrupt the tender moment between sisters. However, they had other ideas.
"I know you and Mother like teasing me about my feelings." Ciel remarked. "I admit, I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen back then."
Zero felt a little awkward to hear the two discussing such things in front of him and turned to leave, but Cial stopped him in his tracks.
"You." she called out abruptly.
Surprised, he turned to face her.
"Listen very carefully." Cial said, stepping closer to him. "I shall say this only once."
He gave her a quizzical look as she stared him down and a hesitant smile appeared on her lips, soon followed by an open one, which he had never seen her show before.
"I'm not going to pretend I understand your relationship." she said. "Not completely at least, seeing how I've never been in love. But… paraphrasing my mother… if you continue conducting yourself like a gentleman and give her the time she needs to come of age, then I have no issues with it."
Then a glimmer of steel flashed across her eyes, much like would happen to Lune when she got serious.
"But if you break my sister's heart, you'll answer to me." she added, still smiling.
"I'll… keep that in mind." he said, surprised by how unusually expressive she was being.
"Good. We shouldn't have any problems then." Cial said, before surprising both her sister and Zero by giving him a quick hug.
This too was a change. Zero had never seen her openly show affection to anyone other than her mother and sister, though she had come close with Alouette and X on a few occasions. Before he could say anything, however, Ciel found the presence of mind to crack a joke.
"I saw him first." she teased, earning a chuckle from Cial.
"He's not my type." Cial retorted, playing along before letting him go. "But you do have good taste."
"I was… surprised myself." Zero hesitantly said. "When I realized what was happening to us, I fought it because I couldn't bear to let anyone else get too close. I'm still not where I need to be, but I can't deny that this little genius did a number on me."
"It's weird…" Ciel mused. "Sometimes I can't help wondering if Axl knew this was going to happen when he got us the information that helped us find you."
"I wouldn't put it past him." Zero noted. "But I'm still worried you may be throwing away your chances at a normal life."
"None of us can exactly be considered normal." Cial retorted. "But I'm glad you've been conducting yourself appropriately."
"My sister is still young." she added, glancing in Ciel's direction for emphasis. "And… well, it's good that at least one of you is able to keep their head out of the clouds."
"Sis!" Ciel protested, again feeling a rush of heat on her face.
"Too easy." Cial thought. Though she was being genuine, she was also thoroughly enjoying the reaction.
With that, Cial started heading out.
"I'll give you some space now." she added, still smiling. "We'll have to do this again soon."
"She may try to act cool and detached most of the time…" Zero remarked once she was out of earshot. "But your sister has quite the mouth on her."
"I guess she takes after Mother." Ciel said, smiling despite the embarrassment. "But yes, sometimes she can be as bad as Axl."
"To be fair, considering how easily you get all bothered…" Zero teased.
"You're terrible, all of you!" Ciel protested in mock outrage, playfully punching his shoulder. "Besides, this is your fault… and I'm holding you fully responsible when I'm older."
"Is that a promise or a threat?" he quipped.
"Yes."
"And you were talking about them..." Zero scoffed.
"I guess it runs in the family." Ciel conceded. "But on a more serious note…"
"Hmm?"
"I suppose… I can't stay mad at Leviathan for her taste." Ciel mused. "Only her approach. Maybe I'm learning to be more forgiving now that I stopped being so hard on myself, but… I hope she'll find what she needs too someday."
Meanwhile, in front of the ruins of Hunter HQ…
"I'm surprised." the armored man remarked as he glanced at the armored woman. "I thought you'd make a beeline for X's notes."
"You should have mentioned that there was someone else missing sooner." she countered. "I hate leaving a job half finished."
"Yes, but Rock and Roll mean something to you." the man pointed out. "Alia…"
"I may have never met her, but if she has ties to that family then that's enough for me. The point of this is getting them all together again, isn't it?"
"My apologies." the armored man said. "I thought that asking you to help find her too would be pushing your goodwill."
"You thought wrong." the armored woman retorted. "Family… is more important than you think."
The armored man froze in place, as if struck.
"I'm sorry…" he said with genuine regret. "That was thoughtless of me."
"My personal history aside…" the woman said. "You shouldn't be so quick to assume. Besides, there's a good chance we'll find some useful information here… and I have my own reasons not to want to meet with X just yet."
"This place…" the armored man remarked, hesitantly stepping through the front gate. "Can you feel it?"
"Ruins." the armored woman remarked, taking point and scanning her surroundings. "The kind where people lived once."
"If these walls could talk…" the man muttered, approaching the memorial slab and running his gauntlet across its surface. "Even after all this time, echoes still linger."
"Are you trying to mess with me?" the woman grumbled. "I'm not afraid of ghosts, but this place already feels heavy enough without that kind of talk."
"I definitely wouldn't come here without a good reason." the man noted, his discomfort apparent in his tone. "These abilities… this sensitivity… They can definitely be a curse sometimes."
"If you're not up for it, you can just go back and wait." the armored woman retorted, briefly gazing upon the slab before resuming her stride. "Isn't this why you asked me to come?"
"I got you into this." the man countered, keeping pace with her. "That means anything that happens to you here is my responsibility."
"You do know who you're speaking to, right?" she asked, sounding a little irked.
"Of course I do. That's why I went looking for you in the first place."
"Then calm down and let me do my thing." she said, approaching the door to the main complex. "Nothing in this deserted ruin is remotely a threat to me."
Once they reached the interior, both of them paused, spotting footprints in the dust.
"Somebody's been here recently." she noted. "What do you make of it?"
"Adult-sized boots." the man hazarded a guess. "Slow. Pondered."
"Hesitant." she added, pointing at the trail. "They took their time and stumbled here and there. But they didn't randomly blunder around. They knew where they were going."
"I could stand to learn a thing or two from you." the man said, genuinely impressed.
"Flattery will get you nowhere." the woman answered in a mischievous tone.
"Just... stating facts." he retorted, shifting uncomfortably at the remark.
"It's too easy to get a rise out of you kid." she scoffed.
"W-What…?"
"There are things you can't hide with the suit and the voice modulator." the woman elaborated, her tone betraying her amusement at his reaction. "Even with that time relativity bullshit, I know you're not as old as you try to look."
"You really are the best at what you do." the armored man said with genuine admiration.
"You still have a ways to go kid…" she retorted as they followed the footprints to the Mission Control room. "But I have to respect your dedication."
"Some might call it obsession." he remarked. "But I just can't put this matter out of my mind."
"I know." she said. "It's not the first time I've seen you go out of your way like this."
As they glanced upon the consoles arranged around the central holographic emitter, her stance shifted and her green visor lit up, seemingly scanning the entirety of the chamber piece by piece.
"Now just sit tight and let me do my thing."
Stepping back to give her some space, he ended up leaning with his back against a pillar to watch her work, not noticing that said pillar was horribly cracked. After a few moments, a portion of the ceiling rumbled ominously and both of them tensed up.
"Crap…" he hissed, glancing over his shoulder and realizing what he had done.
Feeling her glare, even through her visor, he sighed.
"I think I'll just… find something else to do outside." he hesitantly said.
"You should." she retorted, slightly annoyed.
Once the armored man had stepped outside, the woman let out a sigh.
"I guess I'm a sucker for kids with hearts bigger than their heads…" she grumbled under her breath. "You'd better not have ended up a pile of scrap somewhere, Rock..."
Some time later, after the woman's sophisticated suit of armor had finished interfacing with the computers and scouring them for useful data, she glanced around.
"A place like this should also have reference databases…" she pondered. "Best to take another look around."
That night, as the former Head Administrator stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air after a long day of planning and coordinating logistics and construction projects, she spotted a strange figure outside, clad in an odd suit of armor, clearly advanced but with a design that seemed like a cross between medieval and futuristic, evoking the knights of old, but without any visible seams.
"What…?"
Then she realized that the black visor on the armor's helmet was fixated on her.
"Can I help you?" she asked, slightly unnerved by the unexpected apparition.
"My apologies. I mistook you for someone else." the wearer said. Male, she realized, though the suit also seemed to lightly distort the voice, making it difficult to discern much else.
"Ciel, right?" she deduced without skipping a breath.
"I was not aware she had a twin." the stranger remarked.
"And you are?" she asked, rather perplexed by his appearance, clearly out of place.
"Just a tired traveler." the stranger said. "My path and hers have crossed before. Say, do you know where I can find X?"
"He's not here right now." she answered, a little suspicious of the figure's strange appearance.
"Pity." the man said, noticeably disappointed. "Do you know when he'll be back?"
"Possibly tomorrow." Cial said. "What is this about?"
"A matter of his interest. Thank you. I'll be back later then."
The figure turned to leave, but Cial felt something strange about his presence that she couldn't quite put into words.
"Wait." she called out.
The figure stopped in place and looked back at her.
"It's you, isn't it?" Cial deduced. "The one who showed up at the buried library… and when that crystal fell from outer space. The so-called paladin?"
"Yes… Why do you ask?"
"I have… questions."
"About the Warriors of Light, you mean? I don't know how much I can tell you that you wouldn't learn from that Radiant Shard."
"I'm not even sure if I can activate that thing…" she said. "Also, I must confess you and your lady friend intrigue me as well."
"Why is that?" he asked, sounding a little surprised.
"If what you said is true, and you have the ability to travel between worlds… and beyond…" Cial wondered. "Why exactly do you do the things you do?"
"Because I cannot stand the suffering of others… and because while all of you are firmly grounded on this world, I don't belong anywhere. That means every place is my responsibility."
"Excess empathy and unrestricted movement…" Cial noted. "It sounds more like a curse than anything else."
She sighed and looked intently at him.
"I do not know why I am telling this to a complete stranger, but sometimes… Sometimes I fear that my sister may one day awaken to that power… and leave this world behind. Leave me behind."
"Perhaps it is because I am a complete stranger." he mused. "Someone you have no attachments or obligations to. Someone you may well never see again."
In his tone, Cial sensed something strange, beyond the voice modulation that made it difficult to discern his age or whether he was even human at all. Before she could formulate a thought, however, he spoke again.
"Neither your sister or X would not do such a thing." the armored figure said with conviction. "I have already taken the measure of their character. I think neither of them would know what to do with themselves without the people they care for."
"You are probably correct." Cial conceded. "As for the feeling of not belonging anywhere… I too suffered from that until recently."
The figure stayed silent, allowing her to continue.
"My sister and I had some… disagreements and were estranged for a time." she elaborated. "And then everything we had worked so hard to build was torn down… in part by our own hands. It did not fully hit me how much I had missed her and my mother until I had them in front of me again."
"Is something the matter?" the armored figure asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Maybe I am just tired." she said. "The last few years have brought so many changes to our lives and to the world… but now I finally feel like I am where I belong."
"Maybe one day I will have the same good fortune." the stranger mused. "But for now I will leave you to your rest. If you still wish to talk, then we can do that after you've had a good night's sleep."
"So you're not leaving again?" she asked, a little surprised.
"Not just yet. I'm here to see what I can do about X's predicament, and I brought… some outside help. We'll speak again soon."
"Wait a minute…" Cial said, realizing what she had just done.
"Don't worry. My lips are sealed. But for the record, I'm glad for all of you. You've already accomplished far more than I could ever hope to."
And with that, the figure disappeared in a burst of light, reappearing some distance away from the settlement, away from prying eyes.
"I'll try again tomorrow." he said to an unseen interlocutor. "Are you sure you don't want to meet him?"
"Not yet." the Huntress replied through whatever communication system they were using.
"You've been very reluctant about approaching him. Why is that?"
"This planet has more buried ruins than most I've ever been to." the Huntress pondered. "I have plenty of recon to do before I can even begin to think about the rest."
"Meaning you don't want to make any promises before you know what you're talking about."
"Something like that."
"Help yourself to our scanners." the armored man offered. "It's definitely a lot of ground to cover. You see why we needed an expert like you."
"And what are you doing in the meantime?" the Huntress asked.
"Well, since you don't like working with people hovering around and looking over your shoulder, I think I'm going to try to supplement our arsenal with some… unconventional methods. I did ask you to come here, and I hope you won't be offended, but… as you said, we've got an entire planet to search."
"Suit yourself." the Huntress retorted with a surprising intensity in her tone. "In this case getting results is all that matters. Just let me know the minute you find anything. Anything at all."
"Are you all right?" he asked, with genuine concern.
"What?" she asked in turn, caught by surprise.
"There's another reason why you don't want to meet X just yet, isn't there?"
"This isn't the kind of conversation to have remotely." the Huntress said, seemingly caught off guard by the remark. "But it's… like looking at a ghost. Or at a grown up version of Rock, at least."
"I understand." the armored man said earnestly. "I won't pry, but if you need to…"
"What, are you trying to buddy up to me now?" the Huntress scoffed.
"Hey!" the armored man protested. "I'm just…"
"I know." she answered, her tone slightly softer. "I guess I shouldn't yank your chain too much. You may have changed a bit since last time, but you're still soft and take things too seriously."
"I guess I'm not so different from X in that regard." he pondered.
"Is that why you crossed dimensions to get help for someone you barely know?" the Huntress pointedly asked.
"This isn't the kind of conversation to be having remotely." he retorted, echoing her words. "But I guess you're right. There are things the suit can't hide."
"Don't worry kid." she remarked. "I'm not gonna spill it."
"Sometimes I do wonder…" the armored man mused. "If I could just settle down in a world like this and forget about everything else."
"I may not have weird abilities like you and Ness, but…" the Huntress said. "Not likely. People like us can never get a break for long, and we'd probably go crazy trying to live a normal life."
"Do we… even have the right to try?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" the Huntress snapped. "We're people too, kid. If you run around putting out fires without sparing a thought for yourself, you're just digging yourself an early grave."
"We may not be normal…" she continued, her tone less scolding and more concerned. "But we need to pace ourselves, kid. You're still young."
Around the same time, inside Ciel's home...
Cial stepped inside, closed the door and started making her way to bed. As she walked past the living room, she stopped, smirking in amusement at the sight that greeted her.
While Zero lay on the couch, having dozed off under a blanket, Alouette was sitting next to him, braiding his mane with a mischievous smile.
Coming out from her room, Ciel stopped in place to watch as well, struggling not to laugh.
"Might as well tie a bow while you're at it." she suggested with a snort, trying to keep her voice down.
"Maybe some pigtails?" Cial suggested.
Alouette simply chuckled in response.
Ciel stepped closer smiled fondly, looking at his resting face.
"Look at him… so peaceful."
Then another thought crossed her mind and she lightly ran a hand over his mane.
"It may be synthetic, but some girls would kill to have hair like that."
Another thought soon occupied her, however. Even though they had known each other for over three years, it still surprised her to see him like that, without his helmet, dressed like a normal person and so utterly relaxed. Once again, she felt a pounding in her chest and an unbidden impulse crossed her mind.
"No." she thought, immediately pushing the notion aside, ashamed to even think such a thing after the incident with Leviathan.
Instead, she lightly caressed his cheek and watched him for a while longer.
"I can wait… as long as it takes."
Eventually, she decided to head to bed, hoping to clear her head with some rest.
"You've got it bad, Big Sis." Alouette thought with a mischievous smile as she watched her leave.
Pausing to admire her handiwork, the small Reploid girl giggled softly.
"He's in for a surprise when he wakes up."
"Pranks aside, you do have talent for those things." Cial noted as she stepped closer to take a better look, just barely maintaining her usual inscrutable composure.
"I can do yours next if you want." Alouette with a smile.
"Maybe when I have a little more for you to work with…" Cial remarked, pointing at her shorter hair.
"Glad you stopped wearing that mask around, by the way." Alouette said. "It was creepy."
Meanwhile, in the wilderness next to the outpost the Four Guardians had claimed for themselves…
"I'm impressed." Leviathan said with a smile as she walked alongside Colbor. "You're a quick learner once you manage to break through the anxiety."
"You… give me too much credit." he said dismissively.
"Oh hush." she scolded, raising a finger. "When someone is complimenting your progress, you take it."
"Y-Yes Ma'am…" he said, suddenly stiffening up.
"And now you're getting wound up again." she said, shaking her head with a disappointed look on her face.
"I guess I still have a long way to go…" he said, a little downcast.
"One step at a time." Leviathan said. "For now, let's leave that obstacle course aside. We need to find a way to help you keep your cool in tense situations."
"And this is where I come in." Fefnir announced, stepping out the door.
Noticing the mortified expression on Colbor's face, the fiery tempered Guardian cast a quizzical look at him.
"What?"
"W-Well, after the scare your sister gave me on the first session I suppose…" Colbor hesitantly said.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Fefnir retorted with a laugh before glancing at Leviathan. "Sis, make sure you get it on camera next time."
"Don't be a jerk, Fefnir." Leviathan scolded. "You promised to help with this without your usual monkey business."
"Fine." Fefnir huffed, before loudly cracking his knuckles. "Let's get down to business."
The crimson-clad Guardian appraisingly eyed Colbor, circling around him.
"By the time I'm done with you, I expect you to be able to beat a hundred of those Pantheon tin cans."
The intensity in Fefnir's stare and his unsettling grin made Colbor momentarily question his life choices, but his decision was made.
Meanwhile, some distance away, Axl watched the whole thing unfold, struggling to contain his laughter.
"Didn't think you had it in you Colbor!" he thought with a grin. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one to help her move on."
Later that night, as Colbor made his way back to the settlement, Axl popped out of nowhere, causing him to jump with a start.
"Ah!" Colbor cried out before he realized what was going on. "Oh, it's you. How the hell do you keep doing that anyway?"
"I'm Batman!" Axl retorted with an exaggeratedly deep voice.
"What you are is a troll." Colbor grumbled. "But I'm guessing you didn't come all the way here at this hour just to mess with me."
"Well, no." Axl said with a grin. "Just wanted to congratulate you."
"For what?" Colbor asked, genuinely confused.
"Oh, you know." Axl said, still grinning. "Private lessons?"
"So you know about that…" Colbor said a little defensively. "What about it?"
"Seriously." Axl said with an earnest smile. "I'm happy for you man."
"Let me stop you right there..." Colbor remarked, fully aware of Axl's reputation.
"I know what this is." Axl countered. "The beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"I wouldn't go that far…" Colbor said, clenching his fist. "But for now I just don't want to be useless anymore."
"Dude…" Axl interjected, all trace of humor gone from his face. "Stop it. You're not useless. You're not. You're not helping anyone by thinking that way."
"It's going to be a while longer until I can actually believe it." Colbor lamented, before his expression became a little more serene. "But I think… I think I'm on the right track."
"I've gotta admit." Axl said, looking unusually pensive. "I wasn't expecting that from Levi."
"That makes two of us." Colbor admitted. "Of her own initiative, no less."
"Some of us did have hopes they'd end up joining us one day." Axl pointed out. "Maybe you'll end up being the first of many."
"Honestly, I think we rank and file could use the training." Colbor admitted. "I'm still not sure why she'd make this offer to a nobody like me but…"
"Maybe because she saw something in you that you couldn't see in yourself." Axl remarked, surprising the Resistance soldier with his insight. "I know I talk a lot of crap, but I have an eye for some things."
"I'd appreciate it if you kept it between us, at least for now." Colbor said. "I still don't know where this is going and don't want people to get the wrong idea."
"Gotcha buddy." Axl said with a grin, giving him a thumbs up. "Just let me know if I can help with anything."
The next morning, as X finally emerged from the shack he shared with Zero, he was surprised by the sight of the armored man standing outside.
"It's… been a while." the stranger hesitantly said. Even through the suit and the altered voice, X could tell that something was off. The outsider seemed tired and somewhat downcast.
"It has." X said with an open smile. "But is something wrong?"
"I've just… returned from a long journey." the stranger said. "I suppose I need some time to gather my thoughts, but this takes priority."
"So, what brings you here?" X asked.
"I know what you've been doing." the armored man said. "Your search."
"Oh?"
"I can't… promise anything, but… there's someone who may be able to help us."
"Us?" X asked.
"There are others who sympathize with your predicament." the armored man said. "I know it's none of my business, but I have some contacts who may be able to help in some way."
"I wasn't expecting that." X noted. "Then again, I still never know what to expect whenever you show up."
"I suppose a small part of me may enjoy leaving people wondering." the armored man mused, sounding a little amused. "Anyway, do you have time for a little trip?"
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
"It's probably best if I just show you." the armored man said. "Walk with me, would you?"
The armored man led X outside the settlement, seemingly taking his time to take in the scenery.
"So what have you been doing out there all this time?" X asked along the way, trying to strike up a conversation.
"The usual. Trying to find myself while giving a hand here... and there... and everywhere."
"How's that coming along?"
"It's not." the man said, noticeably tired and frustrated. "Sometimes I feel like I'm on a fool's errand. You put out one fire, five more pop up elsewhere."
"I know a thing or two about running yourself ragged." X noted. "Maybe you should slow down a bit?"
"I suppose. But my work isn't going to do itself."
"I used to be like that." X pointed out. "If trying it on one world was madness, then I can't even find a word for what you're doing."
"Life would be a lot easier if I could simply shut down like a machine for a while. But pay no heed to my ramblings. We are here for your sake."
The armored man abruptly paused and his gauntlets lit up, not with the increasingly familiar white light but with a rather nebulous, golden radiance. Then he thrust his palms forward and uttered something in a language X did not recognize – commanding words that seemed unfit for the mouth of a mortal.
As the armored man finished the final utterance, a ripple appeared in the air in front of him and then it seemed as if the fabric of space itself receded, revealing a hallways as if an invisible door had been thrown ajar.
"What's this?" X asked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"A sacred place seen by few." the man said. "Go on. I'll be right behind."
Though slightly unnerved by the display, X felt his curiosity winning over his hesitation and he did just that. As he stepped through the threshold he suddenly felt as if he had crossed a vast distance with a single step and his surroundings shifted.
X found himself in a strange garden underneath a cloudless sky, surrounded by abundant grass and a myriad of plants he had never seen, from shrubs and flowers to tall trees laden with fruits he had no name for, all of them impossibly beautiful. The landmass where they were standing had visible edges, and from what X saw it appeared to be floating over an endless sea of clouds.
"Where am I?" he wondered.
He hesitantly glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the armored figure follow, and a moment later the conjured passageway disappeared as if it had never been there.
"Don't worry." the armored man said. "I'll open the way again when it's time to leave. You are among friends here."
"What is this place?" X asked in awe, just as a flock of multicolored birds flew overhead.
"The Librarian's Garden." the armored man simply said. "Come. There's someone I'd like you to meet."
After a few moments walking over the pristine grass, taking in the scent of flowers and admiring the almost unnatural beauty of the garden, the two came upon a large wooden gazebo where a wide table was set. The figure sitting on a garden chair behind the table seemed to notice their presence and X felt a pair of eyes upon him.
"This is new..." a male voice said with a cultured accent. "Not only did you come to visit, but you brought a friend."
In front of him, X saw what looked like a man of indeterminate age, tall, fit, with dark hair and a slightly pale complexion, wearing what looked like a white toga over a strange golden suit of armor of archaic design and masterful craftsmanship. His eyes glowed with a soft blue light as he surveyed the newcomers.
On the table before him was a series of hardcover books, the largest and most prominent of which was lying open in the center, next to a small tray containing what looked like a large teapot and a cup on a small dish.
"You know how inter-dimensional travel messes up one's perception of time." the armored man said in lieu of justification. "Besides, I'd say you have plenty here to entertain yourself with."
"Regardless, even if you are not here about the matter I asked for your help with, it is good to know that you are unharmed." the man said, standing up.
"Unharmed… but still incomplete." the armored man lamented. "But I am not here for my own sake."
The strange dark-haired man then turned to X, the semblance of a smile appearing on his face.
"I know who you are, of course. It is past time we spoke in person."
There was something familiar about the man's voice, though X was sure they had never met before. He was sure he had heard it somewhere, and relatively recently.
"But where are my manners?" the strange man continued, rising from his seat to offer a polite nod. "I am Raziel. Welcome to my domain."
"Unusual name…" X pondered. "And this place… Wait..."
It was then that recognition dawned on X and he tensed up as one particular memory shown to him by the presence in the Radiant Shard returned to the forefront of his mind. A day of destruction, brought about by a figure wrapped in light.
"Is something wrong?" the armored man asked, glancing at X.
"You tell me..." X said, glancing back at him. "I think I already know your friend from somewhere."
"You what?" the armored man asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Oh?" Raziel asked. "Do tell."
"I'm still not sure what I saw, but the words rang clear as day." X said with a frown, staring intently. "Tetractys Grammaton."
The man smiled again and his response confirmed X's suspicions.
"Ain Soph Aur."
"Infinite Light?" the armored man asked. "What's this about?"
"One of my youthful indiscretions." Raziel said with an indecipherable expression, staring directly at X while resting his elbows on the table with his fingers intertwined. "I did hear about the Radiant Shard that fell into your world. That confirms who its creator was."
X knew then and there that despite the placid appearance and odd mannerisms he was dealing with someone incredibly dangerous. He did not know what to think of the whole situation and while he was not afraid, he definitely felt uneasy.
"So you don't deny it?" X asked.
"Why would I?" Raziel retorted, parting his hands before clasping them together again. "It happened, by my own hand… and it needed to happen. You may have caught a glimpse of the events of that day, but you have no idea what that ridiculous conflict was doing to that world."
"What do you mean?" X asked.
"The three most powerful nations of that world and their rulers lost all reason at the prospect of power stemming from knowledge they did not earn." the strange man countered, surprisingly calm as he sat back down and took another sip of his tea. "They were never going to best my countermeasures in their lifetimes, but in the process of fighting for that one page they brought their world to the brink of ruin."
The strange man then turned his gaze back to X.
"I can understand that someone like you would be reticent about such things. Horrified, even. Admittedly, I can be fiercely protective of my work, but with good reason."
"Quite the dangerous friend you've got here." X said, glancing at the armored man.
"You could be considered dangerous as well." the armored man said. "So could I. I doubt either of us could compare, if we're going on destructive power alone, but there's more to him than that."
"And how does the original Usul tie into all this?" X asked.
"It is as others have probably told you by now." Raziel said with a nod. "Even in the span of infinite infinities, those touched by the Light frequently cross paths. He did attempt to defuse the situation, though it was not his world and he had no obligation to do so, but it was far too late."
"What did you do?" the armored man suspiciously asked.
"He wiped out their armies in a scene right out of scripture." X said.
"I wonder…" the armored man added, glancing at Raziel. "Is that why you asked others like me to seek out the remaining pages in your stead?"
"Among other reasons." Raziel said. "Or are you going to deny that the search you undertook on my behalf has benefited you as well?"
"What do you mean?" X asked.
"My training is… incomplete." the armored man said. "And so am I."
"This young man here means well, but he is woefully lacking in some areas." Raziel explained. "His mentor did not stay with him for long and even now his absence is felt."
"This… Actraiser, was it?" X asked. "The copy of Usul mentioned that there were some out there who thought him a Primal, whatever that was."
"Ah yes, Primals." Raziel said, resting his chin on his closed fist.
As he continued to speak, the pages of the larger tome turned on their own, until they settled on a segment featuring otherworldly beasts with a combination of human and beastly features. A towering, musclebound demonic creature with crimson skin, a lion's mane and prominent black horns. A bulbous stone giant with a grotesque face and massive arms. An impossibly beautiful woman with blue skin, wearing clothes that left very little to the imagination. An old sage, clad in robes and clutching a gnarled staff, with an impossibly massive white beard hanging in front of him as he cast a stern glare.
As the pages continued to turn, the creatures became more unsettling and outlandish in appearance, some clearly modeled after dragons or embodying cataclysmic forces. Then, the pages abruptly stopped, displaying two menacing beings with vague forms, one black, one white, seemingly grappling in an endless conflict as everything around them burned.
"A blight once upon a time, parasites robbing worlds of life and reason, now relegated to the pages of history and legend." Raziel said.
The page turned again and showed a different scene. A man, wearing an archaic suit of armor of a familiar design and wielding a pair of blades, one wrapped in white flame and the other in black, striking both fiends down with their opposites.
X leaned closer to take a better look and his eyes widened.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"I knew the Actraiser better than most, before his disappearance." Raziel added. "He was… is... no Primal."
Then Raziel casually waved a hand over the open tome and the pages turned again until they reached the drawing of an old stone statue, holding a sword aloft. Compared to the strange creatures from earlier, it looked very much human, like an ancient work of art celebrating some sort of warrior or king of ages past.
"A being even older than the Primals." Raziel elaborated further. "Strengthened by faith, but of an entirely different nature. Benevolent, some might say to a fault. Quick to give of himself for the sake of mortals. You could almost call him a prototypical Warrior of Light."
"I still don't know his full history." the armored man said. "Only that he is unfathomably ancient. I have never seen his true form, but he took to inhabiting stone statues crafted by his followers, putting evil to the sword and protecting the innocent, before disappearing until needed again."
"It sounds like you may have picked up some of his habits, then." X remarked. "But what happened to him?"
"Nobody knows." the armored man said with a shrug. "When I was but a lost child, wandering across the infinite infinities, I came upon him on a distant primitive world. He taught me a great deal about the Path of Light before setting out on a quest of his own, but he did not share the details."
"I think I'm beginning to understand you a little better." X noted. "Even if our methods and worlds are different, we have a few traits in common."
"We do." the armored man said with a nod. "The fact that you share this power may have led me to you, but your character intrigues me much more."
"Just how long has it been to you since the last time we met anyway?" X asked.
"Five years." the armored man said with a shrug. "Possibly a little more. It's incredibly easy to lose track."
"You don't sound all that concerned." X pointed out, pondering the implications. "If you're human, doesn't it worry you that you might burning away your lifetime without even realizing it?"
"Not quite." the armored man said, before hesitantly reaching for his helmet, slowly removing it.
Much to X's surprise, he saw the face of a boy, seemingly not much older than Ciel and Cial, with short dark brown hair, matching eyes and a soft face, though the tone of his skin definitely seemed excessively pale, likely from spending so much time completely covered. He also definitely looked incredibly tired, with dark circles around his eyes and other telltale signs of lack of sleep.
"As you can see..." the boy said with his true voice. "I age extremely slowly. A side effect of being exposed to the Light and some other powers along my journey."
"I… wasn't expecting that..." X said. "But why the suit?"
"I like it." the boy said with a shrug. "The original design may not have been mine, but I've made extensive improvements over the years. It keeps me safe, it's incredibly sturdy and useful and..."
Then he smirked.
"How many people do you think are going to take some kid seriously?"
"Some people consider Ciel and Cial kids, but look at them." X pointed out.
"Even with this power, I just don't have their presence… or yours."
With that, the boy put the helmet back on.
"I suppose I can be… rather self-conscious about letting others see my face." he added, though he kept the voice modulator switched off. "Part of the whole… not belonging anywhere bit."
X took a moment to process this and then gave his honest opinion.
"You're definitely not normal… but I suppose the same can be said for most people I know."
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"And that woman who was with you before?" X asked.
"If you mean what she truly is, that's not my business to tell." the boy said rather reverently. "As for what she is to me, that is difficult to describe. We've been traveling together for a very long time and while I'd like to say that we've fostered each other's growth, the truth is I rely more on her than she does on me."
X couldn't help noticing the shift in tone and wondered if there was more to it.
"I… might not have approached you if not for her encouragement." the boy hesitantly admitted. "It's still not something that comes easily, but I'm… slowly getting better."
"But on the subject of oddities." X said, turning to Raziel as he recalled one particular part of the preserved memory. "Who exactly is this Altima?"
The man's brow curled into a frown and he slightly bared his teeth, clenching his fists on the table.
"So you heard that too. Of course."
The shift in demeanor was obvious, and X couldn't help feeling a chill in the air as the strange man emitted a nearly palpable aura of hatred.
"Altima is filth." Raziel hissed, abruptly standing up, quivering with anger. "A fiend who thinks herself a deity. Worse than the Primals. Worse than anything you can imagine. You have no idea the kind of havoc her delusions of grandeur and her manipulations have wrought across creation."
As he spoke, X noticed his entire body becoming alight with the increasingly familiar white light, almost as if catching fire.
"Her greed is boundless and her crimes innumerable." Raziel hissed, while the light coalesced around his back. "She and two other fools whose names I shall not utter once attempted to steal the Ozar Midrashim for themselves. She enticed them into it, but all of them are scum."
Then the light took the shape of six feathered wings behind his back and the azure radiance in his eyes became almost unbearable to look at.
"And as the Keeper of Knowledge, it is my sworn duty to put a stop to those who toy with things beyond their paltry comprehension. Things that could burn worlds."
X's eyes widened as he realized what he had in front of him. Not a mere man, but what looked like an angel from ancient scripture.
"You..." X said. "You are..."
"Yes." he said with a polite nod as he placed a hand over his chest. "Raziel, sometimes called Hamalakh. Keeper of Knowledge, shepherd of mortals, patron of scientists, scholars and truth seekers."
"And notoriously bad tempered when someone messes with his books." the armored boy jokingly remarked as Raziel sat back down and calmed himself with a deep breath. "I can relate. But… back to the reason for our visit. Go on, X."
"I'm on a search for truth myself." X said. "The truth of what happened to my siblings… and to someone… close to me."
"You do not need to mince words." Raziel said, all trace of hatred gone from his tone and posture. "My sight reveals your nature and my tome lays your life story bare."
"Really now?" X asked, feeling a little self-conscious.
"Unfortunately, I must reiterate, I am not omniscient." Raziel reminded. "There may be methods of locating those you seek, but I will need time to seek them out. If the knowledge required is contained anywhere within my repository, I will find it eventually, but those you seek are neither living or dead. That complicates things."
"That's more or less what Ness told me." X recalled. "Just what is he anyway?"
"Another of our kind, as you've probably guessed." the armored boy said. "I'm not familiar with him personally, but I'd bet he's older than he looks too."
"When you say our kind…" X said.
"Touched by the Light." the armored boy clarified. "Human, like me. I told you before, I'm human. Not a robot, and definitely not one of the Thousand Myriads… at least not for now."
"For now?" X asked.
"For those who seek long enough, the ability to change one's appearance to reflect their nature… or their nature itself... eventually becomes attainable." Raziel clarified. "There were men and women in the past who ascended into the ranks of the Thousand Myriads or became primal forces attuned to other powers. There were even synthetic life forms in the past who found ways of reforging themselves into living flesh. Such mysteries will become clearer in time, should you choose to pursue them."
"No offense…" X said, noticeably uncomfortable. "But after seeing a certain copy's pretentious ornaments, I don't think I'd want to wear wings. In fact, after all the changes I've already been through… I hope to stay the way I am for a long time."
"None taken." Raziel said. "After all, many are the paths of power. Bearing limitless potential also means being able to choose whether to change or to stay the same."
"Limitless… potential?" X pondered with a haunted look on his face. "That's exactly what my maker… and others have said of me. Limitless potential and limitless danger. The reason why Sigma was obsessed with me…"
"And your maker was wise." Raziel remarked. "He gave you the ability to choose and hoped the world would allow you to make a peaceful choice. It may have seemed that you were destined to fight but the choice was always yours and yours alone."
"Your choice of words doesn't escape me." X noted, recalling some of the recorded messages in his maker's capsules. "Did you…?"
"No, I did not know your maker." Raziel clarified. "His work is known to me, but we have never met. A rare exemplar, even across infinite infinities."
"Actually, this may be a good time to point out." the boy added, glancing at X again. "Are you aware that you have another brother as well?"
"I… I've found traces of his existence." X recalled. "But very few. Almost as if someone had intentionally removed them. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it. After all, it has been centuries."
"What would you say if you could see them again?" Raziel asked with genuine curiosity. "Or your maker?"
"I… don't know." X said. "I know my father was a good man, but I'm not sure what I'd say or do if I saw him in person again."
"Hold that thought." Raziel said with an enigmatic expression. "We shall discuss that at greater length once I have looked into a few things."
"Was this your plan all along?" X asked, glancing at the boy.
"I had no plan when we first met." the boy clarified. "I was drawn to your presence... but did not know how to approach you at all or what to say, and then I couldn't put your predicament out of my mind."
"We will speak at greater length later once I have something to show." Raziel said, not insisting further. "But if I may make a suggestion…"
"Yes?" X asked.
"While I can use this location as an observatory of sorts and gaze upon events in other worlds, there is a vast area in yours where my sight does not reach."
"Oh?"
"I believe it to be centered on the place you once called Megalopolis. Whatever took place there in ages past has cast a dark shroud upon the entire region."
"I'll keep that in mind." X reasoned. "Thank you."
"You still have a long road ahead, and I do not see where all paths lead." Raziel said. "But in the meantime, feel free to avail yourself of any of the books in this place."
Noticing X's reaction, he elaborated further.
"Do not be concerned. The dangerous ones apart from the Ozar Midrashim are under lock and key. Those you will find here are merely recreational or instructional."
X blinked, again caught by surprise.
"How did you end up in such company anyway?" he wondered, glancing at the armored boy.
"In his mentor's absence, someone had to watch over him." Raziel noted. "I was always better at learning than at teaching, but I do what I can."
"I'm not so clueless anymore…" the boy retorted. "Or at least I'd like to think I'm not."
"Perhaps…" the archangel mused. "But you are every bit as obstinate as him… and his Herald."
"Herald?" X asked.
"There was another before my time." the boy said. "A hero of the Thousand Myriads who abdicated his power to live among humans."
"And now a human rises to take his place." the archangel mused. "Fitting."
"No one can take his place." the boy reverently retorted. "He was the Herald. I am the Hand. He took front and center and led the charge. I merely act wherever needed."
"So that's why you take this whole mission of yours so seriously." X realized.
"I do have… a momentous legacy to live up to." the boy acknowledged. "I may well never know why I was given this opportunity, but I won't disappoint."
Indulging his curiosity, X stayed a little longer, exploring the vibrant garden. Eventually, though, something else caught his eye – a single floor marble building further ahead, decorated in a strange eclectic style – a combination of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern architecture with some Renaissance elements – and far larger on the inside than on the outside, completely laden with bookshelves.
As the large carved wooden door moved out of their way to let them through, X noticed that, despite the lack of windows, the interior was as bright as the exterior.
"If Ciel finds out about this place, she'll never want to leave." he noted as he turned his gaze upward, unable to see the ceiling.
"Understandable." the boy said with a nod. "I have spent countless hours here myself."
X heard a rustling and glanced to the side, just in time to see the boy's companion, clad in an azure dress, shift between rows of bookshelves. Noticing his gaze, she paused for a moment.
"We meet again." she said in a manner of greeting, waving at him.
"Miss." X said with a polite nod.
It was then that he noticed something strange about the way she moved. A graceful lightness, as if her feet, clad in comfortable flat shoes matching the dress, were not completely touching the marble floor.
X also felt something behind the gentle face that he had not noticed on their previous encounters – an energy, similar to the one he was becoming increasingly acquainted with, but considerably more concentrated than he had sensed in anyone apart from his erstwhile host.
"How did I miss that before? Was she hiding it?"
"I hope you won't mind the question…" X hesitantly said. "But… what exactly are you?"
"That depends on who you ask." she said with an enigmatic smile as she ran her index finger along one of the shelves.
"Hmm.." she muttered to herself. "What shall I read today?"
After a short pause to ponder, she pulled two large hardcover tomes off the shelf and laid them out on a nearby small wooden table. Curious, X stepped closer and glanced at the covers.
One was branded with some sort of white insignia in the shape of a bird, perched with open wings upon a set of three golden triangles, with one standing atop the other two. X was surprised to see that the engravings were actually made of pure gold and silver respectively. The other cover was instead decorated with a crimson, fiery bird, whose eyes were tiny genuine rubies, seemingly cut by hand.
"The Eternal Legend and the Chronicle of the Soul Blazer?" X read them out loud. "I can't say I'm familiar with those."
"Some of my favorites." she said with a fond smile as she reached for a wooden chair and sat down, setting both books on the table. "I must have read them a thousand times."
"I'll have to take a look sometime." X said, watching as she took the first book and carefully opened it. "If I can read the language, that is."
"You should be able to." she said. "I have a bit of an advantage in that I can understand every language in all of creation, but these tomes are enchanted so that anyone will be able to understand them as if they had been written in their own native tongue."
"You what?" X muttered.
"You'll find that the lady here is full of surprises." the boy remarked, amused at X's astonishment.
"But since we're here, enjoying a bit of peace and quiet before something else calls out to us again…" she mused, turning her gaze to X.
"I can tell your skill has grown since the last time we met." she added. "But limitless potential means limitless room for growth. Would you like some pointers while you're here?"
"I suppose it couldn't hurt." X reasoned. "I'm not hoping for more trouble but Zero is right. I can't get complacent."
"I had the feeling you'd say that." she said. "Now watch closely."
The radiant energy flared in her grasp and she waved her fingers around with deliberate slowness, allowing X time to observe.
"Sometimes you need to be a little proactive." she noted, weaving the energy into something resembling a barrier in front of her hand. "After all, it's better to keep others from being harmed in the first place than mending their wounds after the fact."
"That would have saved me a lot of grief back in the day." X noted appreciatively, trying to mimic what he had just observed. The barrier he conjured did not last very long, sputtering out after a few seconds, but after the first attempt he felt he had at least grasped the gist of it.
"And if that fails…" the boy added, his tone suddenly grave like that of someone considerably older as he summoned his sword and held it horizontally. "Then you smite."
X watched as the blade began to glow with the same light, but with a different, searing intensity, as if wrapped in white flames.
"I know you're older than you look…" X remarked. "But this still doesn't feel right."
"Don't get the wrong idea." the boy said, before dismissing the flames and then the weapon itself. "I'm not some kind of child soldier of the Celestials. I chose this path. Besides, you have already used this power for the same purpose, even if it was against a mindless machine."
"So you saw that…" X noted.
"I would have jumped in myself…" the boy admitted. "But there were… complications."
He seemed rather reluctant to elaborate further and X did not press the subject.
"That was a little much though." the young woman said with a frown, before pulling up another chair and easing the boy onto it.
"Sorry." he said, his tone once again softening. "I wouldn't want to damage the books."
"It's not the books I'm worried about." she retorted, shaking her head. "You know how you get when you start thinking about those things."
"You're right…" the boy conceded. "This is supposed to be a time of rest."
Again X had the distinct feeling that there was something profoundly wrong with the boy.
"You definitely look like you haven't had a decent night's sleep in a long time." he remarked. "But maybe there's something more..."
"I find it difficult to stay still for long." the boy admitted. "I start thinking about all the things I could be doing out there, all the places and people in need and..."
"I'm surprised he's shown you his face at all." the young woman remarked, taking a moment to pat the boy's back. "It's almost like a phobia. Something we're working on."
X couldn't help noticing certain things about their body language. Whatever sort of being she was, there was a protective tenderness in her motions around the boy. He, on the other hand, seemed to be not only exhausted but under a considerable amount of stress, but her touch and voice seemed to relax his posture ever-so-slightly.
"But enough about that for now." she added, smiling again. "The books are wonderful, but we bet you have many stories of your own."
"That's one way of putting it." X said.
It was not the first time someone had asked him about his life story and adventures, and it would most certainly not be the last. Alouette and Ciel had done the same on a regular basis, as had the children of the settlement and some of the adults.
"How about a trade then?" she suggested, summoning a third chair seemingly out of nowhere.
The conversation soon drifted between various topics, from the history of X's world to various sights the odd pair had beheld on distant worlds, which fed the veteran Hunter's imagination. While he couldn't quite imagine himself leaving his beloved Earth, he was still intrigued by the vivid descriptions and colorful anecdotes of little events here and there. In turn, the odd pair felt a renewed sense of sympathy for the ancient Hunter and his description of events during their absence warmed their hearts.
After an indeterminate amount of time, X checked his internal clock and something felt off.
"Just how long have we been here?" he wondered.
"Time has little meaning in a place like this." the young woman said. "But we should probably send you on your way back."
Then she paused for a moment and, remembering something, reached into a pocket in her dress.
"Oh, before you go." she added, handing X what looked like a library card, complete with his picture.
"What…?" he muttered, caught by surprise.
"Our host made it while you were checking out his garden." she explained with a smile, amused by his confusion. "With it you can come and go as you please."
"Thank you then." X said, hesitantly accepting it. "But why?"
"We all need a break sometimes." she said, still smiling. "To force ourselves to step away from everything and clear our heads. Besides, you may be a robot, but spending too much time hooked to the Shard isn't good for you."
"So you know about that…" X realized.
"Educated guess." she clarified, before glancing at her companion. "You're not the first one to have used them as a silent room."
"After all the time I spent drifting without a body, it does still feel a little strange to be there for extended periods." X noted.
"And the world doesn't stop while you're floating there." she added. "Unless you're in a place like this, maybe."
Some time later, as the armored boy escorted him back to their entry point, X glanced over his shoulder.
"Is it just me or…"
"What?" the armored boy asked.
"Is there someone else here with us?" X pondered.
"I don't sense anything." the boy said with a shrug. "But this place does have a lot of concentrated Light. It helps people like us relax a bit by acting as a buffer, unless we're actively peering outside."
"Oh well…" X said, feeling tired and a little overwhelmed by everything he had witnessed. "Maybe I'm just imagining things."
"But it definitely feels familiar… Like that time at the lab…"
Moments after they left back through another portal, a slim figure walked into view, clad from head to toe in a completely white ensemble – a hooded coat, gloves, trousers and shoes. An unnatural shadow obscured its face under the hood.
"What were they doing here?" the figure asked with a male voice, glancing at the archangel as he perused yet another of his endless tomes.
"Paying a visit." Raziel said, before taking another sip of his tea.
"I hope they won't make a habit of it…" the hooded figure said. "Otherwise things could get… complicated."
The hooded figure walked up to the wooden table and raised a gloved hand, summoning a chair out of nowhere.
"So that's Caged Light." he noted as he sat down. "I hope his meddling is not going to bring more turmoil to their lives."
"You seem restless." the archangel remarked, noticing the figure's hands fidgeting around. "Are you still wondering about what might have been?"
"No." the hooded figure said, shaking his head. "What's done is done. The rest is up to them."
He paused for a moment and sighed.
"But I do suppose the memories can still be… painful at times." he admitted, placing a gloved hand over his chest.
"There is a simple way for you to put those regrets to rest..." Raziel suggested.
"No. My role in their lives is over… almost."
He then reached into the coat and produced a battered metallic sphere, with its casing dented and pitted by scratches and scorch marks, as if it had been caught in an explosion of some sort and bearing signs of having been pried open and then welded shut again.
"There is still work to be done… and I still need to make up my mind about certain things."
With that, he stood back up and walked to one of the edges of the strange landmass, overlooking the seemingly endless sea of white clouds.
"So much pain and sorrow you have caused…" the figure mused, staring intently at the sphere and turning it over in his gloved hand. "Then again, I suppose I am partially to blame. So what now? What am I going to do with you?"
That night, as X tried to rest his mind, he heard a tap on the outside of the window. Surprised, he glanced in that direction only to find the armored wanderer's yet-unnamed companion.
"Huh?"
Rising from his bed, he walked up to the window and opened it.
"Sorry to disturb your rest." she said hesitantly. "I need a word with you in private."
Zero had headed out again, likely to spend some time with Ciel and her family, so the two could speak without being overheard.
"Go ahead." X said.
She sighed and her expression betrayed her considerable concern – almost fear.
"I'm terribly sorry to impose, especially when you have your own burdens... but I need to ask you for a small favor."
"What's wrong?" X asked, immediately uncomfortable at the sight of her troubled expression.
"I could tell by the look on your face earlier that you noticed something was wrong." she said. "The truth is… I'm worried about him."
"What do you mean?"
"He abandoned his world and everything he had known when he was but a child and set out alone." she said. "That leaves its marks."
"Like feeling he doesn't belong anywhere?" X asked, recalling their earlier conversations.
"Among other things, yes." she confirmed, downcast. "He went so far as to disregard my advice and burn the memories of his world from his mind, but the wounds that place inflicted are not so easily mended. Then consider the fact that his training is incomplete."
"The pieces are beginning to fit together." X noted. "At least when it comes to certain things."
"He's driven, but I'm afraid it may lead to his self-destruction." she said. "The Light burning in his heart and the ability to travel between infinite worlds. A dangerous combination… to him."
"What do you mean?"
"He's trying to use the Light to fill the emptiness in his heart." she said, looking even more downcast.
"Is such a thing even possible?" X asked. "I know using this power feels… fulfilling, but…"
"No." she said, shaking her head. "Some things you can't mend with a glowing hand or a shining finger."
"Then why is he doing that?"
"He's never said it outright, but I suspect he measures his worth by his ability to help others. You know what it's like to drive yourself to the brink for the sake of everyone else…"
"Yes, that does sound familiar." X recalled. "Like I came close to becoming back in the day. Or worse."
"He runs the risk of losing himself, yes." she confirmed with a nod. "Despite his difficulty forming bonds, he takes on the suffering of those around him… and can go to ludicrous lengths to ease it. It's like a compulsion. I try to keep him grounded, to keep him from neglecting himself and burning out… and I fear for what may befall him if anything happens to me."
She sighed and looked right into his eyes.
"I'm not even sure how he managed to bond with you, but it's a promising sign. It almost never happens with anyone else. So as long as we're here, I need you to do me a favor. Keep an eye on him. Keep him engaged, distracted. He needs more actual contact with people, not just a mission."
"I think you may be overestimating what I can do…" X hesitantly said. "But I'll try."
"Thank you." she said, bowing her head slightly. "In the meantime I'm going to continue trying to get him out of that suit. But please don't mention this conversation. He's stronger than he thinks, but for someone so eager to help others, he hardly ever asks for help for himself."
"Is that why you travel with him?" X asked.
"Among other reasons." she said with a slight smile. "I think someone like you can understand the rest."
"You…" X realized.
"I do." she said with a nod, her smile blooming further but retaining a touch of sadness. "Even if he's blind to it… or refuses to open up. Even if he doesn't see his own worth… and turns wonderful, liberating gifts into a prison for himself."
"So that's what Ness meant…" X understood. "A cage of his own making."
"He's aware of what he's doing to himself on some level. That's why he hates that name so much. But he doesn't know how to break out of it, and nobody else can do it for him. So I try to make sure he lasts long enough to succeed."
"Just… how long have you been doing this?" X wondered.
"Ever since he crossed over for the first time." she said with a wistful expression. "We only met in person much later, but… I've been watching over him all this time."
The way the radiance danced around her and subtly coalesced around her brow and not-so-subtly behind her back did not escape X's notice.
"You…" he said as realization set in. "You're..."
She simply smiled.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, considering some of the company you keep." X reasoned. "But tell me. Do you know anything about what happened to Croire? Or how Zero made it back from Ragnarok alive?"
"I do not." she said. "We were nowhere close to this world when such things happened. But why do you ask?"
"Because of something Croire said when she got back." X recalled. "I think one of your people may have had something to do with it."
"It's possible." she conceded. "But many of my kind have a habit of interfering in other worlds."
X then paused for a moment, struggling for appropriate words.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but…" he hesitantly said. "May I touch them?"
"I'm used to that reaction." she scoffed, turning sideways and leaning closer to the open window. "Just remember, they're very sens-"
"Amazing…" X muttered with childlike wonderment as he hesitantly ran his hand over the soft feathers of the two snow-white wings protruding from her back.
"That tickles." she snorted, the wings slightly twitching.
"I'm… not breaking any taboos I should know about, am I?" X hesitantly asked, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious.
"No." she said, amused at his bashful reaction. "But as you can imagine, these are not very practical when you want to keep a low profile… or walk in tight spaces."
With another flash, the wings vanished.
"Does he know?" X asked.
"I only keep one secret from him, and this isn't it." she retorted with a mischievous smile. "In fact, these can come in quite handy when I need to restrain him from doing something thoughtless."
She paused for a moment and then lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone.
"By the way… we've asked someone else to come lend a hand with your search. She's been working in the background and has her own reasons for not approaching you right away, but you should probably expect a visit from her sooner or later."
"Someone like you?" X asked.
"No." the woman said, shaking her head. "Someone with a different set of skills. You'll know her when you see her. Don't let the tough exterior fool you though. She's hardened by battle but still has a big heart. She dropped everything to come here as soon as she knew who you're looking for."
From out of sight, Axl watched.
"Figures Reploid Jesus over there would get this kind of visitors." he thought with one of his usual grins. "I had the feeling she was more than a cute face."
As they eventually finished their conversation and she vanished in a flash of light, Axl started making his way back to his quarters in the local garrison, satisfied that he didn't need to keep watch.
"Must be rough having so many people wanting your attention old buddy… but I wouldn't complain to have someone like that knocking on my window."