/Time: Thirty Years Before the Main Plot/
/Elgares Depths, Millick Meadows, Aetia Region/
Gray's investigation into these cavernous tunnels — seeking out odd metallic fragments of metal for Samon that bore certain, 'distinct' characteristics; a side job of sorts, to occupy himself between missions to find a mythical Ouroboros Stone — had been sidelined by a strange enemy: a Levnis that looked like a miniature Ferronis; bipedal; one with cloaking technology.
The glowing flames of the machine's ether axes flared brightly in the cavernous dark, playing havoc with his vision. He nonetheless avoided the strikes as best he could, firing his handguns at the center of mass. The local monsters hissed at the noise they made, which was another inconvenience; the more racket they made, the likelier they would get swarmed. This thing had to be tracking me. It waited until I got far enough from the entrance to ambush me. He summoned one of his drones, which released a constant stream of burning ether; the machine crossed its axes to block the stream, splitting it into a shower of sparks and bright lines. It gave Gray enough time to retreat further upward, before his drone got bashed to pieces. Tch. Persistent.
(Part of him pondered the practicality of his cloak, given that it flapped with rapid movement and gave away his position.)
(It's good for hiding your movements before you strike. Plus, you make it look good.)
(Not that he'd ever say the last part out loud. Bragging was for losers.)
Finally, he neared daylight: the long slope that led out of the Elgares Depths was within reach. Hope that lunk hears us coming. Leaping into the main tunnel, he spun around to open fire at his mysterious pursuer. Bullets and ether blasts crashed into the invisible foe, brightening its contours into slight visibility; the axes flared brightly, turning into blue beacons in the dim light.
"HUARGH!"
With a mighty war cry, a hulking brute of a man suddenly slammed his fist into the machine: it was a right straight of immense force, forcing the machine off balance and into the nearest wall. "Got yourself in a spot of trouble, eh?" grunted Guernica Vandham, his impressive pompadour wiggling from movement.
"Just make sure that thing's dead!" roared Gray, firing with abandon at the blasted machine now that it couldn't immediately defend itself.
"Fine by me!" yelled Guernica, pulling out his rifle and firing on full auto.
The salvo lasted for ten seconds; it was enough to render the mech inoperable, its cycloptic helm going dark. The invisibility tech failed, and the bipedal machine fell to its knees. The breastplate of the odd Levnis had been utterly demolished, exposing busted ether cylinders...and a pilot. "...someone's in there."
With his typical gusto, Guernica stepped forward, using his gloved hands to rip apart the damaged carapace; true enough, the pilot inside looked like a young Kevesi girl with silvery hair, no older than a sixth-termer. Beyond her two-toned skin, the most distinctive feature was the metallic horns protruding from her head like antennae. Her bodysuit bore bloody stains, as her torso had been perforated by their last attack. Had they been connected to a Flame Clock, her body would have been leaking red motes. "Poor sheila. Wonder what Colony she's with?"
"More importantly, what kind of machine is this?" grumbled Gray, resisting the urge to remove his eyepatch so he could scan it with his Iris. (Rule one of operating outside of the City: never remove the eyepatch. Ever.) "I've not seen the likes of it before."
"...think it could be why our solo scavengers have been getting picked off over the last few years?" wondered Vandham aloud, looking about with sudden concern. "Invisible Levnis, striking like an assassin? Would make sense..."
"...we should move," muttered Gray, memorizing the image of the girl's face. "I doubt something like this would be working alone."
"We should at least take it with us; let the eggheads back home tinker with it. You know they'll all be into it."
Before Gray could ponder Guernica's idea further, his sense for danger roared. "Get back!" Sure enough, two pairs of burning axes emerged out of thin air, slicing at where he and Vandham had once stood. The duo impulsively opened fire as they retreated up the slope; the invisible newcomers blocked their bullets with ease, but seemed uninterested in pursuing them further. "How far away is our ride?!"
"Less than a klick by the lake!" roared Vandham.
Gray grunted, firing a concentrated charge into the ground to loosen it up; as rocks and dirt began to slide down, he focused on running with all speed up the slope. "That'll slow them down if they try to pursue." It galled, that this foray into the Depths would be for naught. "...how about you? Find anything?"
"Jack and shit," griped Vandham, keeping an easy pace with him. "We busted up a new weapon, though! I count that as a positive!"
"...hrm." It was something to think about later.
(It would be many years until he ran into another Ferron.)
xxxx
Minutes after the two Lost Numbers had retreated — after their miniature landslide had forced the two Ferrons to stand protectively in front of their fallen comrade — a distinctive sound echoed through tunnel, accompanied by flashing purple motes.
Consul F — having teleported from afar — stared down at the ruined Ferron and the deceased pilot with a detached eye. "Alas, poor Number Seven," stoically said the Moebius. "Number Twelve, Number Thirteen: dispose of her remains. Leave no trace."
"Yes, sir," quietly echoed the voices of the other two Ferron pilots.
As all traces of Number Seven and her ruined Ferron were sliced, diced, and incinerated with machine-like proficiency, F pondered and mentally critiqued her performance. That was definitely the most capable combatant we've encountered thus far from those Cityfolk. A shame that I couldn't get more useful data. If nothing else, he couldn't help but applaud the tactical capabilities and fighting skills of her last opponents. Oh, if only their lives could inherently contribute to a Flame Clock...then they could be put to so much better use from the start. What a pity, that we're forced to simply reduce third-party interference to an...'acceptable' level. Frustrations with the metaphysical difficulties presented by Cityfolk aside, this incident solidified the reality that the Ferrons, as currently constituted, were not as combat-capable as they could be. Ether cylinders are easy enough to utilize for fuel, but the output is handicapped because of it...if only there were a way to obtain better synchronicity between the machine and its pilot. It would also save on the time needed to train the soldiers of Colony 0, thus enabling them to have more time in their short lives to act with purpose, and with results. Hmm...perhaps I'll consult with Y at our next encounter...
"The task is complete, sir," numbly said Thirteen.
"Excellent work, Number Thirteen. You and Number Twelve may return to the Ecto Hollow until your next mission."
Twelve solemnly went invisible, his Ferron's steps echoing through the tunnel as he departed. Thirteen, however, remained. "Consul F, sir...I request permission to self-terminate once I return to Colony 0," asked Thirteen.
Already, Thirteen's tone had lost some of its characteristic defiance. "...your telepathic bond with Number Seven is truly something, Number Thirteen," stoically mused F. "But our mission is a sacred duty...and the loss of one of my lambs is always present as a risk. However, mercy is not to be rejected if it allows for a greater outcome...so with that in mind: depending on your future performance, I will consider synchronizing Number Seven's growth module so that she will not return until after your time has come to an end."
"Thank you, sir," remarked Thirteen.
F then turned away without another word. Perhaps I'll have solved this conundrum with the Ferrons' energy supply by the time Number Seven is reborn...and I'll have to make sure that Number Thirteen's next mission is a suicide run. After all, every time her twin passes away before she does, her performance always degrades to an unacceptable level...a shame, that Number Thirteen lacks Number Seven's fortitude. These thoughts and more occupied the Moebius's mind as he warped away.
xxxx
Years passed. Number Seven lived twice more over in that time. During this span, the Ferrons had been modified to primarily utilize a personalized Flame Clock as its fuel...and to so much greater effect. Colony 0 changed locations numerous times in that timespan, residing within the Ecto Hollow, upon the Forerunners' Tower, atop the Cotte Fountainhead, and so on.
It was then, in the midst of Number Seven's next chance at life — her third reincarnation since her death at the hands of Gray and Vandham, during which Colony 0 was based by the Nocclia Mire upon Captocorn Peak — that she encountered Ouroboros...but you all know that story by now.
We thus enter the present day, after she had donned the name of Segiri...
xxxx
/Time: Chapter 6, during Ouroboros's Travels with Triton, before Unlocking the Cloudkeep/
/Apex Wing, Dannagh Desert, Fornis Region/
Gray would have rather spent his time tailing Ouroboros, if he could be perfectly honest. (If nothing else, it would keep his mind from wondering as to whether they were keeping out of trouble. Eunie would never let him hear the end of it if she knew.)
(Rozana knows, and you can barely deal with her sly little smile as is. Can you imagine what those brats would do if they found out?)
However, the movements of the unliberated Colonies still needed to be tracked, to ensure that they would not be striking at Ouroboros's allies. There was a definite change in the air, he could tell: a sense that the City would be coordinating with liberated Colonies to a degree that had not been done in ages. (Perhaps to the same level as the time of the Founders? There was no way of knowing.) Until that consummation, Gray would do whatever dirty work was needed.
And right now, that dirty work entailed finding out what had destroyed two squads: one Kevesi, one Agnian. The Levnis wreckage in the sands was not even a week old, and whatever remained of the soldiers was...unknown. (Corpses rendered down so as to hide the bodies? Barely living soldiers thrown to wild beasts before they became husks? Dead bodies thrown into one of the area's numerous sand pits? There was no way of knowing...only that, whatever had been done, there weren't any red motes floating around.) Regardless, the condition of the Levnises indicate that they had been scavenged for parts. "Hmm." Internal components only; non-interchangeable parts unique to certain Kevesi models were ignored. And as for the Agnian Levnises...they're only missing parts that could be jury-rigged to work with Kevesi tech...curious.
He focused more intently at the damage: jagged strikes, with ether scoring. Pretty deep cuts, but the lines aren't long enough to indicate a long blade...they're more akin to something like...an axe. Why was this ringing a bell-? DODGE!
Gray threw himself to the side, ignoring twin ether axes that attempted to cut him to pieces. They belonged to an invisible mech that rang so many bells that it wasn't funny; snarling, Gray fired his handguns and summoned his Blade's drones, unleashing deadly ether streams in a sweeping pattern. The mech leapt above his blows, landing a small distance away; surprisingly, the invisibility cloak faded, revealing a very familiar form. Save for the coat of dark red paint, the purple Flame Clock in the sternum, and the fact that the helm had more glowing ocular sensors...it was a dead ringer for the unit he had encountered decades ago.
(It didn't match any of the units that had recently taken up residence in Li Garte Prison, at least according to Ghondor's reports. 'Ferron' was apparently their official designation.)
(This thing may be a threat to those brats, then. A wild card like this is dangerous to let live...you have to deal with it.)
"How curious," echoed the machine; the voice of the pilot, no doubt...and a young female, from the sound of it. "One of those 'third-party troublemakers' that Moebius always despised." There was a strange liveliness to her tone, bordering on the verge of mania. "A shame...it would have been interesting, to ally with one of their enemies, to tear down this rotten world of theirs...but I can't get it out of my head that you once killed Number Seven. And that just makes me want to murder you SLOWLY."
Gray had only fought and defeated one Ferron in his entire life...which meant this Ferron's pilot could only be referring to the young woman he and Guernica had killed thirty years ago.
(That was impossible; her memory would have had to be retained through the cycle of rebirth, which just wasn't a thing...with the exception of traumatic memories, according to certain City historians.)
(You killing her comrade might qualify as a traumatic memory. Maybe that girl was to her what Guernica was to you?)
(That would do it.)
"Whatever grudge you have isn't my business," grunted Gray, steeling his nerves for battle. "But dying's not on my to-do list for today."
"That's okay. I can make your death last until tomorrow if I'm careful...maybe I can make it a week!" With a deranged yell, the Ferron's Flame Clock burned, and its frame surged with violet flames.
What followed was a daring dance of death; Gray definitely wasn't as spry as he had been thirty years ago...but he'd become more wily, more skilled. Despite the Ferron's speed and power, the pilot's maneuvers were somewhat predictable in their movements. Economy of motion was the name of the game; with each evasion, he got off potshots at the joints, whilst utilizing his drones for sustained bursts of ether energy at the center of mass.
Little by little, he seemingly whittled away at the implacable Ferron...until, at last, the machine backed away. Gray kept his weapons at the ready.
"...a shame. I need to do some maintenance. And I've used up more of my flame than I wanted to..." The Ferron glanced eastward; an Agnian transport Levnis was flying through the sky, hugging the imaginary threshold at which the landmass below gave way to open air. "Oh well, you win some, you lose some! Be sure not to die until I can kill you!" The Ferron promptly went invisible.
Gray unleashed a few more sweeps of ether from his Blade, keeping an eye on the sand for the Ferron's tracks...after minutes passed with no further harassment, he finally lowered his weapons. "Hmm." She retreated. I'll have to make a report about this...whoever that pilot was, she's belligerent against everyone. Looking around with wariness, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Best to get a move on.
The man in black continued his trek through the desert: a gunslinger ready to fight at a moment's notice...
xx
Meanwhile, within the adjacent Eagus Wilderness, another Ferron — fully cloaked — had been cataloguing signal intelligence.
The presence of a particular signal rocked the Ferron's pilot to his core. "That signal belonged to...Number Thirteen's Ferron..." whispered Number Six with trepidation. Could she...still be alive...?
This merited further investigation.
xxxx
That particular Agnian supply convoy belonged to Colony Lambda; it would not be the last one that Number Thirteen assaulted.
Thirteen's future attack on a transport belonging to Captain Whitby would end up providing a key clue for Ouroboros and Segiri to track her down...but they wouldn't have thought to investigate, were it not for Number Six stumbling upon her Ferron's signal whilst on reconnaissance. (One wonders if she would not have been detected, had Gray not kept her in one location for a relatively extended period of time...)
But that story has been told elsewhere.
So let us turn to slightly further into the future...
xxxx
/Time: Chapter 7, after Ouroboros completed their Hunt for the Origin Shards with Queen Nia/
/Li Garte Prison, Agnus Castle Barbican, Cadensia Region/
After Ouroboros had finished obtaining the last of the Origin metal needed for Samon's upgrades, they had spent those few days of mandatory 'downtime' (as if those brats ever paused to truly rest) taking care of various affairs around Agnus Castle. With Queen Nia having returned to reclaim her proverbial 'throne', the locals were in a somewhat jovial mood...which also explained why Triton was randomly wandering about the premises to 'absorb the atmosphere', but that was neither here nor there. (And in all honesty, after the impromptu battle in the Malevolent Hollow alongside Triton and Nia against a bunch of monsters, Gray had had enough of the eccentric Moebius to last a lifetime.)
In that time, Ouroboros had also attended to Colony 0...including a certain mission involving a rogue Ferron of sorts.
(He privately wondered if any of his recent reports had contributed to that fateful encounter.)
Even so, he had a bit of time to spare; once Ouroboros was ready to assault Origin, the Lost Numbers would all be mobilizing accordingly. Thus...it was now, or never.
Hence why Gray was leaning against the wall near the entrance to Li Garte Prison; he hadn't bothered hiding his presence in the least.
Sure enough, it didn't take long before a familiar face walked outside. "Number Six...I mean, Ix...informed me about the presence of an intruder. However, you have not exhibited any offensive or belligerent actions since arriving. Furthermore, you are in our database as the Ouroboros ally known as 'Gray'."
"Hmm."
"...hmm?" Segiri tilted her head. "I do not understand that query."
...this is getting nowhere. Huffing, Gray stared intently at her with his visible eye. "Do you recognize me?"
The girl peered quietly at him, stoically analyzing his entire frame. After a few seconds, she blinked with distant recognition. "Oh. Strange. I seem to recall a latent memory. How curious. You were responsible for my death in a prior instance." The girl seemed surprised by this. "This is an unusual phenomenon. Personal information like memories should have been filtered by my growth module."
Gray privately wondered if whatever Moebius mumbo-jumbo had gone into Colony 0 was responsible for such relatively easy memory recall. "I'm not in the habit of owing favors to people for long." It wasn't the first time in his long life that he'd run into a Kevesi or an Agnian that he'd had to kill before...but this was definitely the first time that someone remembered him killing them, which was bizarre enough. "Since you remember me killing you, I figure that merits at least one favor."
"...but why? There doesn't appear to be a logical motive or necessity for this action."
"You don't have to understand it. But it's something I have to do."
Segiri seemed truly dumbfounded. "...I am unsure about this scenario. There is very little that you could offer that I or Colony 0 need. Your function as an ally of Ouroboros...is what I would have had you do regardless. Requesting for you to do anything else would be...illogical."
"...hmm." At least the girl was easy to negotiate with. (She'd have to work on that, to avoid getting taken advantage of...then again, most people were probably too terrified of her imposing Ferron to think of swindling her. It would take the likes of a particularly gutsy or foolish Nopon to try and pull one over on a Colony full of kids who could each control murderous mechs.)
xx
Inside the prison cafeteria, a green Nopon with swirly glasses suddenly sneezed. "Meh! Who talking about Wheelideeli?!"
xx
Even so, Rozana had at least made sure to make him bring something along as a backup plan. "Then I'll consider the favor repaid in advance." Gray promptly pulled out a large paper sack from within his cloak, holding it aloft. "This concludes our business. Take it."
If nothing else, this would remove one more unnecessary distraction from his mind.
xx
Segiri obediently did so, despite her confusion. "What is this?" Gray had already begun walking away, not even answering her. "Um..." Her query had not been answered; what an unusual specimen, 'Gray' was. "Hmm..." I...could just open it. Number Seven, Segiri orders you to investigate. She promptly opened the bag, revealing it to be full of some kind of snack. "Some type of food?" Pulling it out, she investigated it with a curious expression; it appeared to be formed of puffed-up rice, covered in a brown substance. "Hmm..." Tentatively, she took a bite.
Her eyes widened with disbelief. "?!"
She took another bite. "Initial conclusion: overly sweet. Most likely high in caloric intake...yet such concerns seem irrelevant."
She would have to share with everyone else, to see if they disagreed with her preliminary finding.
xx
Gray went still as he exited the grounds of Li Garte Prison; underneath a nearby tree, a familiar mech decloaked. "...what was your purpose in coming here?" asked Number Thirteen from within her Ferron, which still bore its own Flame Clock.
How curious; she must have escaped before those brats could destroy it...hmph. Not my business. "Just settling the score. Balancing the ledger, if you will," freely admitted Gray.
"...what was that parcel you left with Number Seven?" As if catching herself, she added, "With Segiri, I mean?"
"Choclit rice cakes," he casually admitted. "My wife had me bring them along as insurance."
"Wife? Insurance?" The pilot seemed genuinely confused by those terms.
"Nothing a kid like you needs to worry about." Crossing his arms, Gray cautiously asked, "...not going to ask about the food?"
"I am familiar with rice. I've only ever had choclit once." The Ferron seemed to fidget. "That was probably my favorite convoy raid," she said with palpable nostalgia.
"If you're quick, they'll have enough for you," he grunted, sensing some long, complicated history between the maniacal Ferron pilot and her comrades; he wasn't going to pick at those emotional scabs. But letting her know the option existed was fair game, at the very least.
"...it wouldn't be prudent, for me to go back now." Thirteen sounded frustrated by this. "But I can sense from our connection...that she is enjoying herself. So...I will accept the fact that you have made amends, with Segiri."
"Hmm." Your compliance wasn't a factor.
"...I still really want to murder you, though," grumbled Thirteen. "Can I at least stab you? It'll make me feel better!"
Gray huffed, suddenly noticing the presence of someone bothersome. "Can't help you there."
"...not even once?"
"If you're looking for a fight, the fellow next to you will be more accommodating."
Confused by his words, the pilot turned her Ferron, only to go still at the sight of none other than Moebius T. "Well now, was wondering about the commotion I was hearin'! Haven't run into one of F's little munchkins in a while...how's that old shellhead, anyhow? Is he still kickin'?"
"Moebius," hissed Thirteen, impulsively unsheathing her axes. "Die!"
"HA!" exclaimed Triton, parrying her ether weapons with his glowing boat hooks. "And ye've got just as much moxie as ever!"
Gray promptly ignored the frustrated screams from Number Thirteen and the joyful bombast of Triton as their melee turned violent. He'd done his part...now it was time to focus on the upcoming battles.
(He was sure Segiri and her fellow Ferron tykes were much the same.)
xxxx
Meanwhile, the telepathic bond between the twins roiled with interesting emotions.
Segiri felt alarmed by the closeness of Thirteen's frustration...yet the residual image of Triton bled through, so she knew there was no danger.
Even so...Segiri made sure to save at least one choclit rice cake for her sister.
xxxx
Author's Note: Might as well make use of those random Keves vs. Agnus fights you see in the Dannagh Desert during Chapters 6 and/or 7.
Also, an interesting little tidbit that came to mind whilst revisiting Segiri's Ascension Quest: when telling Ouroboros about Number 13, Segiri indicates that Thirteen and her Ferron were lost "several years ago"...but she and Thirteen are explicitly designated as third-termers on the Affinity Chart. This would mean that this 'telepathic bond' they made such a big deal about could have only lasted through the end of their first term, if that.
So how to square this apparent contradiction?
It soon hit me that Segiri is aware of Moebius, and of the growth modules (speaking blithely to Sena about how personal identification is stripped from Colony 0 units at the time of rebirth). So unless there's a contrary bit of side dialogue that I'm not currently aware of, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they're also aware of the cycle of rebirth...and that Seven and Thirteen's telepathic bond (probably something to do with their Mechon-esque horns and the fact that they're twins) is likewise something which persists from life to life. This would also explain why Segiri was able to open the locked door to the Ecto Hollow during her Ascension Quest...because she's been there before. Which implies Colony 0 has been there before.
/also, the mental image of Number Thirteen being all 'vengeance is mine!' against any and all things Moebius
/and Triton just laughing like a grandpa going 'aw, that's adorable!'
/is too much for me right now