Author's Note: I had previously discussed mentioning how, for the sake of narrative compliance, I would have Ino's Ascension Quest taken care of in Chapter 7 (since the final part of Ino's Ascension Quest was in Erythia Sea, where the final Origin Shard for the ship upgrade would be obtained).

However, due to some logistical difficulties, I think I would instead have it be taken care of in Chapter 6, whilst they were globe-trotting with the 'Triton-Mobile'. It's just more flexible, that way.

xxxx

Certain details regarding a certain Nopon genius are shrouded in mystery. Whether this was by design or by happenstance is...uncertain, if you'll forgive the wordplay.

Oosoo: the inventor and creator of the Artificial Blade named Ino. Was he a descendant of Tora? Was he actually Tora, kept alive through the Endless Now by some arcane means? Or was he perhaps, however unlikely, someone entirely different?

Who could say...but that's not the point.

The point was that Oosoo was someone who had possessed knowledge of life on Alrest: of the Blade-Driver system, and how it had functioned. Furthermore, he had been aware enough of Aionios's afflictions to keep Ino focused solely on protecting the Nopon Caravans, and away from the wider war between Keves and Agnus...and hence away from Moebius's wandering eyes.

Yet one must wonder...just how much awareness Ino may have had, of what it meant to be an Artificial Blade...especially in light of who came before.

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 7, whilst Samon is Upgrading the Boundary into the Bravery, prior to the First Invasion of Origin/

/Ladras Way, Captocorn Peak, Aetia Region/

Ino quietly held her swords aloft, glaring at the immense Ansels — scarred, with gnarled green flesh and old feathers — that hovered about the area with a strangely territorial air. "Ino must make demands: do not trouble Nopon as they scavenge for scavengables!"

The avian monster huffed, tilting its head with a strange sort of sentience...before, with a bestial snort, it flapped its wings and moved away from the old Levnis wreckage.

"Meh-meh," muttered Momama, his minty green fur ruffling from the cold winds. "Grateful to Ino-Ino for being a scarypon! Must obtain parts, quickedy-split!" The tired Nopon frantically gathered his fellow traderpon; before long, the old Levnises — of Keves and Agnus make alike — bore colorful fluffballs on their ruin, scoured and investigated like corpses beset by ants.

The Artificial Blade's Inosabers were nonetheless held aloft, ready to strike if the nearby monsters got any funny ideas! Yet...they seem not interested in attacking Ino. These machines...some new, some old. They...protect this place? It was an interesting thought...and yet, as Ino gazed up at the imposing form of the Cloudkeep, she perhaps had an answer as to why. Although...this why Ino come here.

xxxx

It had not been too long ago that Ino had run into Ouroboros once more (accompanied by a strange yet oddly jovial Moebiuspon called Triton. He was the only one registered in her databanks as 'Friend? Foe? Who knows?!'); during their travels, they had defeated the wicked Nopon Eater. Glorious!

Yet, not too long after that great battle, when Ino and Ouroboros had gone their separate ways...something had happened.

An odd signal began pinging off of her internal receptors: one that she hadn't felt in many centuries. (Not that keeping track of time was truly meaningful in a world like Aionios; so long as she kept track of the Nopon Caravan's schedules, that was all she needed.)

A signal that meant something. (A signal that fired when — little did Ino know — Queen Nia awoke from her long slumber.)

What that thing was, she wasn't sure.

All that she knew was that Grandmasterpon Oosoo had programmed her to realize that this signal would be the harbinger of the end.

But the end of what? Ino had no clue, to be honest.

And she was not one to be dumbfounded for too long. (Or, as she would put it: "Dumb of Ino beyond foundation!")

xxxx

"...Ino has been Champon of all Nopon for so long," she whispered in her high-pitched voice, staring at the Cloudkeep with her emphatic eyes. "What it mean, for time to come to an end...?"

She pondered these thoughts and more as she escorted Momama's caravan further down the heights of Captocorn Peak, back to the Tsang Camp; only once they were back in its relative safety did she return, moving with uncharacteristic stoicism towards the grand stairwell. The very form of the Cloudkeep evoked the image of a great crown...or perhaps a gigantic hat. Maybe a giant robot could wear it? Would have to see what Grandmasterpon would say.

The interior of the Cloudkeep further inflamed her sensors, as one being assaulted by phantom memories. Times and places that she had never witnessed filtered through her, courtesy of eyes and ears belonging to someone else. Ino never been here...question mark? (Had Oosoo blocked memories of this place? Perhaps. She'd have no way of knowing. And he would have known best!) But it feel...warm. Maybe Ino need to get synthetic sensors checked? Temperature reading still super frosty!

Eventually, she neared the top of the complex; at the height of the stairs, she stared with wide eyes at the bust of a tiger's head over the doorway. Old memory files opened up in an instant. "Image of Legendary Blade: Dromarch the Gentlecat!" Kneeling with exaggerated glee, she bowed with such force that her head smacked into the ground. "Mannerisms of such refinement merit great respect, and bigger words than Ino would normally use!"

It was upon clearing the stairs and entering the serene hall...that she saw it: the complex cluster of machinery, centered around a vault-like door, its design evoking a familiar pattern. A pattern that...she knew. Ino see it all the time on Grandmasterpon's house. As one in a trance, she quietly walked towards the grand computer (but oh, it was so much more), reaching up as if enraptured. "Ino...is...glad...?"

Her left hand fell upon the computer's surface-

xxxx

Ino awoke in a place that existed nowhere in Aionios, except as forgotten potential. It was a small shack, sitting on a grassy island...surrounded by a sea of clouds, instead of water. Amidst the clouds, fragments of numerous events splashed about like water, unveiling glimpses of Aionios in a burst of memory and spacetime.

Standing at the window of this shack was an Artificial Blade. Ino knew it was an Artificial Blade: even as her image cycled between three bodies — a child with a Jet Biter hanging on her back; a teenager in a maid outfit; an adult with long hair and an even longer scarf — the sensation was unmistakable. "You..." Furthermore, Ino knewof this being. "You are...Progenitor of Ino?"

The Artificial Blade briefly stopped flickering, settling on the adult's body; the designation 'Quantum Technochampion π' helpfully dinged inside Ino's visual interface. "It must be nice..." she said with a deep voice.

Ino blinked. "Meh-meh?"

"Nature of Origin construction...and then nature of its malfunction...meant that greatest effectiveness would be if Poppi would sit on sidelines. If Poppi would remain in 'QuanTum Paradox Binary Tunneller'...then information could be collated in a manner that would be safe from the enemy. Would always be able to provide data to the one with the Key. Would be able to witness for an effective eternity." Turning away from the window, the Artificial Blade looked at Ino with orange eyes that would have cried if they could. "It is a painful thing, to be separated from friends...and from Masterpon. To see so much, and do so little." Smiling sadly, the woman said, "Poppi is glad...that 'Oosoo' was able to carry on legacy."

Ino gulped with a strange hesitance, unsure as to what she was witnessing. "Did...did Ino make you sad? D-D-Did not mean to!"

"...Poppi is only sad because of circumstances. Poppi look forward to when...this will all be over. Do not think that you've done wrong, acting as you have."

Ino's lip quivered. Why were her emotional gyro-turbines going so wild?! "B-But...Grandmasterpon told Ino to stay away from humans, to only protect Noponkind! If Poppi was watching, then she saw all of Ino's failures! And, and, and-and-"

Poppi QTπ calmly embraced Ino, pressing the smaller Artificial Blade's face into her bare shoulder. "...Poppi likes to think that your Grandmasterpon told you to stay away...because he knew that it would be best. Because he knew that one day, your Driver would appear. And he has. Poppi can sense resonance, even now...of how Ino is connected, body and soul."

(That connection had never faded, despite their distance; even though all of Ouroboros had managed to utilize her 'class' by this point, thanks to their strange powers...only Noah possessed that unique bond. Only her Masterpon was her Driver. Even if Artificial Blades did not possess conventional souls — or did they? It was a nebulous thing to consider, as to when artificial life transitioned to true life — that bond was still something tangible. Something real.)

"How does it feel...?" asked Poppi.

"...like M-M-Masterpon is focused on something big. Like N-Noah has a heart too big for a human body, to hold Ino and all his friends...Mio especially."

"Ah. Mio." Poppi smiled fondly. "It's been so long, since Poppi has seen her, face-to-face..."

"Meh?"

"...maybe, at the end of all this...once Moebius is finally defeated...maybe, Ino will be privileged to witness the things that Poppi has seen." Stepping away, the adult body flickered, giving way to the more childish body designated as 'Alpha.' "Until then, Poppi promise to endure. Will Ino promise to keep fighting?"

At such a heartfelt request from her Progenitor (in so many senses of the word), how could she say anything but 'yes'? "Absotively posilutely! Ino would be honored to engage in Nopon promise ritual!" Excitedly, Ino held up her left hand. "Will make sure to boop with maximum efficiency!"

With a small yet heartfelt smile, Poppi α raised her right hand and gave Ino a high five-

xxxx

-at which point, Ino found herself staring once more at the mainframe containing Poppi, her left hand resting on its surface. "...boop?"

"That's a question I'd like to ask."

Ino yelped with shock, whirling around to face the newcomer. "Ah? It is Queen Nia!" Looking her up and down, she immediately added, "Machiney Queeny status: negatory!"

Nia looked at her with a measured glance. "Was wondering who would step foot into this place while I wasn't around...after all, without my Key, there's nothing here that those Moebius tossers would be interested in...but I can guess as to why you would be interested." Gazing up at the QTP2T, Nia added, "You...could see her, couldn't you?"

"Oh. You refer to Ino's Progenitor." Somehow, it felt that saying Poppi's name out loud — even in front of the QuanTum Paradox Binary Tunneller — felt verboten. "Yes. Ino did so, with heavy yet emotional gusto!"

Gazing quietly at the machine, Nia quietly — hesitantly — asked, "...does she hate me?"

Ino's response was instant. "Of course not! Ino knows this much, without a Gonzalez's shadow of a doubt!"

Nia palpably pondered her next words, before finally asking, "I suppose you couldn't tell me where your 'Grandmasterpon' holed himself up, would you?"

All sorts of warning signs and alarms flared through Ino's internal code. "No can do! Location locked behind super-de-duper classification!" Five very awkward seconds passed. "...Ino apologizes for inconvenience."

"Eh, I suppose it's moot by now...Ouroboros will be invading Origin soon."

"How did Nia get to place? Nopon Caravans last said you were travelling world with Masterpon and his friends!"

"Those kids dropped me off at Agnus Castle...and I had a Levnis bring me here," she said, walking towards the southward railing that overlooked a vast swath of Aetia, with the regions of Cadensia and Fornis being tiny blobs from her current perspective. Sure enough, a City Levnis was resting at the base of the stairway. "I have to be here, for when the time finally comes to act..."

(How little did she know, that Ouroboros's incursion into Origin would be delayed by the rescue of Queen Melia...but that's a story for another time.)

"...if end is about to happen, would it be okay if Ino stayed?"

"...only if you're willing to share some stories about what you've been up to over all these years," remarked Nia with a toothy grin.

Ino beamed brightly. "Ino's fan has never been so tastic! Experiences as Champon of Noponkind, and then as Blade for Noah, are great and noble!"

(If the Artificial Blade's stories were somewhat bombastic in their retelling...then it was only fitting, given Ino's audience of two.)

(Even if Poppi's witnessed all of your stories...it's more fun to hear them being told by a friend.)

xxxx

Naturally, Poppi's memory was much better than Nia's.

As such, when the end was finally upon them — when Origin slowly began to churn, and the world prepared to split back into two — there was no reason to remain within the QTP2T. In those last moments before Aionios separated into its component halves, when Poppi exchanged a cheerful smile of relief with Nia...she spoke truly.

"Poppi does not hate Nia."

"...ah. So you heard."

"Of course!"

"...I wouldn't blame you, after being cooped up in there for so long-"

"Poppi already told you. Poppi doesn't hate Nia. End of story."

"...you Artificial Blades are really one-of-a-kind, aren't ya?"

"Of course!" Poppi said, on her behalf and Ino's. "That go without saying!"

And then the frozen time began to flow.

xxxx

Author's Note: I'm leaving Oosoo's identity somewhat vague, so as to leave me some wiggle room in case future DLC showcases his true identity.

As a side note, the 'QuanTum Paradox Binary Tunneller' in acronym form would be QTP2T...or, if said out loud and real quickly: 'cutie patootie'.

I make no apologies, have a nice day.