Last time: We followed Torna to Uraya. A 'mysterious nopon' was secretly sent by Mikhail to join the group, with a prototype blade bot.

"We'll camp here for the night. We've travelled a fair distance from Fonsa Myma." Maria halted, outside a floodgate. The lake was elevated far from the lower level of the titan, but the area around it was clear.

"I'll sweep the area for dangers. You two go and gather some firewood." Said Sanzang.

"Alright, just a moment... Kouki, help Sanzang sweep." Rhod turned and started looking around for trees. "...Maria, I hope you can light a fire. Because I sure can't."

"Didn't... didn't you sleep outside the city once?"

"Yeah?"

"Without catching a chill?"

"Luck."

Maria shook her head. "The extent of your... haphazard... nature astounds. Nim, make sure your driver doesn't get attacked while he's getting wood. I'll find a tactically defensible area and prepare our food for cooking."

"Tactically... defensible?"

"Shut up and get firewood."

Rhod rolled his eyes. "Aye aye, captain. C'mon Nim. Maybe if you hug the tree it'll give us the wood without a fight."

"Urayan trees are so pretty, don't you think? Kit likes the way the light goes through the leaves!" Nim was holding far, far more sticks than Rhod.

"..." Rhod looked up. "You got me. They're pretty nice." Something shifted in the corner of his eye. "Monster. Careful."

Nim turned her head to see a Skwaror coming slightly too close for comfort. "Oh, hello there! We're a bit busy now, can you go somewhere else?"

"...You can talk to these?"

"I'm trying to... I can only speak Phonex fluently..." Nim looked back.

"Wait, what? Don't get too close, then!"

The skwaror was getting far too near. They were small creatures, but they were renowned for being virtually insdestructible and having vicious tendencies. And that's before you factored in the smell. It snapped, and another two appeared.

"Oh, you brought friends. Just wait a moment, we'll be on our way!" Insisted Nim, but her words weren't reaching the audience.

"Nim, we have to run-" Rhod was cut off as one of them attacked him, trying to bite his leg. He kicked it back as hard as he could, dropped his sticks and slipped his knuckles on in record time.

"Aw no!" Nim threw her bundle of sticks clear of the incoming battle. "We're outnumbered!"

"Just tell me I'm not gonna die to these things!" Rhod dropped down to one knee and punched one, then swept his arm around to the side to knock away another.

Aim for the throat.

Rhod made an awkward uppercut, catching one of the monsters, but despite the edge of his weapon having the force to rip through normal skin or bone easily enough, monster hide was another matter. From his side, a blast of foul-smelling ether crashed against his barrier, and Rhod's nose revolted. "That... that smells like a fermented vegetarian soup!" He swiped to try and force the beasts back, but felt one of them bite at him hard.

"Watch out, you have to heal!"

"Pain Gain!" Rhod swung upwards and lifted one clean off the floor, patching up his ether barrier for a moment. There was another vile blast. "Urgh! Clothesline spin!" He was quickly getting desperate, missing with more than a few hits of the art.

One of the monsters chomped onto Rhod's left knuckle, and it cracked.

"Oh no! No no nono!" Nim watched as her driver staggered back, rapidly losing ground.

There was a burst of gunfire. Rhod ducked instinctively, but the enemy hadn't been aiming for him. The three monsters all stopped in confusion as they were shot, the bullets not enough to kill but certainly too painful to ignore.

"Seem like you having trouble." Called a nopon voice.

Rhod watched a nopon clad entirely in black drop down from above, holding a pair of strange spiked guns on his arms. "Who are you?"

"Name not important. Fight!" Said the ninja. "Your friends arrive."

"Master Rhod! Catch!"

Rhod threw his half-broken knuckles aside and caught the two twin rings from the air, as Kouki bounded in, Maria close behind. He crossed the two circles in front of himself, defensive.

"I told you not to get attacked!" Maria called, as she swung her hammer into the closest monster. "Well, fight back! They cannot stand against a servant of the architect!" Her tone was a very effective taunt, but two monsters were still closing in on Rhod.

"Blind spot!" Said Nim, and they looked confused for a second, before turning to attack Maria. "Kouki, here's the stored ether!"

Rhod felt a stream of power connecting him to Kouki. His rings made a pair of cutting edges. "Attacking!"

As he swung in, he tried to pay attention to the nopon assassin. They were scratching with these strange gun-claws, while... an incredibly odd blade supplied power. "Rapid discharge!" They called, before letting loose a short but intense round of ether bullets, and waddling in to keep scratching.

Meanwhile Maria was holding firm against the tide of battle, brandishing her hammer against all incoming threats, and even fighting back well. "Judgement Hammer!" She lifted her weapon high and flattened the closest one to paste. Fighting back well indeed.

Rhod was conscious of his allies wearing down. "Healing disc!" He moved the rings in a circle, and the barrier around Maria patched itself up. Snatching his weapons down from the air, he chucked one of them at a target without even thinking, while screaming "Shuriken pitch!" It thudded into the target, and then flew back into Rhod's hand. He wanted to get this over with, seeing the second Skwaror get impaled on the weird claws the nopon was using. "Nim!" He held up his hands and caught a pair of gloves. "Brrreak!" He slugged the last enemy.

"Toppling!" Maria launched her crazy dropkick, flooring the enemy.

"Eheh! Assassin Flair!" Rhod watched as the nopon swung upwards with the claws it had, a pair of small explosions serving to lift the monster off the floor, and in the same motion it jumped into the air, and drove down onto the monster. It hit the floor with a crash, and splattered.

There was a moment as Maria put away her hammer. "Rhod, why is it you can't go out of my sight without getting attacked? And who on Alrest is this?"

The nopon looked away. "Is of no concern. I follow."

"...Well, he saved my life right now, so I don't mind if he does."

"I don't like it. Having an ally we have no information on whatsoever-" Maria shook her head vehemently.

Sanzang countered. "I believe it to be reasonable. And at any rate, we all just got out of a battle. Let us fall back to the camp, first."

Nim held a hand over her chest. "Nature, lend me some help." She shifted the dirt in the middle of the clearing around a bit, making a good firepit. "Yes, Sunny, I'm going to put the wood in now. Be a dear and keep watching... that."

She didn't like this machine. The mysterious nopon had used few words, simply stating it was an... an artificial blade. It was currently lurking dormant at the edge of the campsite, next to its puppetmaster.

She shuddered at the very notion. Something like that terrified her to the core. It was a soulless killing machine that would do anything it was told to, without the slightest regard to morality. It could go haywire and kill everyone at the drop of a hat. It would come for innocent animals just because it coudl! It-

"You okay there? I know you're a nature head, but starting a small campfire shouldn't annoy you this much." Said Rhod.

"I- I'm not annoyed! It's just..."

"Lady Nim, I'm afraid you were making the most frightful snarl. Even your own phonexes were afraid." Whispered Kouki.

"O-oh. Sorry Kit, I guess I didn't notice since Sunny was too brave..." Nim reached up and petted the blue phonex."

Rhod put a finger on his chin. "I suppose this confirms that they are actually attached to you. Anyway, I'm going to help Sanzang tend to the fire, you two have fun." He got up and moved off.

Nim looked around. "Hey, Kouki. You can keep a secret, right?"

"Of course. But my loyalty is to Rhod first, so do not expect me to withhold important information from him."

"...I'm really, really terrified of that robot. People just should know better than to make things like that. It... I..." She trailed off. "I'm torn between fight or flight."

Maria sat down next to Nim. "There are things worse than Mor Ardain, it seems." She replied wryly. She jerked her head back when the closer Phonex snarled at her.

"Oh, sorry! Sunny gets overprotective when I'm stressed." Nim leaned away. "...I bet that thing was made in Mor Ardain."

"I doubt it. While they are the technological leader of the world, that robot... It's unlike anything I've ever seen before." Ruminated Maria, as she fiddled with her thumbs. "I will suspend judgement until I have reason to pass it, but it does seem... inherently evil."

"See, you agree too." Said Nim.

"At least try to make something good of your dilemma, Nim. Realise Mor Ardain, as much as you may dislike them, are not truly evil, at least... they don't..." Maria glanced. "A fool I am, feeling this way. Superstition has no place in the heart of a loyal servant to the Architect."

"Superstition? Lady Maria, is it not superstition to place such faith in a being you have not seen?" Kouki asked, keeping his voice measured and calm.

"We can see the Architect in each and every item around us." Said Maria, as easily as if reading. "How could such a world have been created by chance? Nonetheless, watch your tongue, blade. Do not speak against the divine so easily."

"Apologies."

"Is that guy ever gonna talk, or..?" Rhod jerked a thumb in the direction of the strange ninja.

"Doesn't seem so." Said Kouki, lying down. The sun had set, and everyone was gathered around the campfire.

"While I'm not opposed to the idea of having some more peace and quiet, it is somewhat disconcerting to be unable to talk to a member of the party. How can I know he'll follow my orders in battle?" Maria sat and stared into the fire, as the embers died down.

"Have some faith." Rhod lay back. "Look, he already had the chance to see me dead, so if he'd wanted to steal away Nim's core then right now you'd be down two blades and a driver." He rolled over. "

There was a short while of silence, as Maria took out a small book and started slowly going through it. Nim had fallen asleep already.

Eventually, Kouki spoke. "Master Rhod, I have a question."

"Yeah? You can ask me anything, what am I going to do? Say no?" Rhod sat up a bit.

"I was just wondering... you seem strangely driven to succeed, but you don't seem to be attached to Maria. What is your grudge against Akhos? What did he do to you? Why does it drive you so much?" Kouki had a habit of staying deathly still as he talked. Whether that was because of his personality or the fact he had less ether than most blades was unknown, but it made his words hit Rhod just a little harder than could be deflected.

"I... I never told you why I'm doing all this, huh?" Rhod looked up. It was easier than meeting his blade eye to eye. "I lost someone in a monster attack. Back in Gormott, the land is cursed by the most horrendously, irredeemably stinking pile of hellspwn to ever exist. It's really the worst monster I can imagine or describe, if only for the relentless aggression." He sighed.

"...This person was important to you?"

"Yeah. I probably should have died with them, but I got far too lucky, and survived because I awakened Nim mid-fight. So now here I am, just... trying to work my way around to revenge. I can't let that thing exist any longer. I'm going to be the one to kill it. That's my purpose in life."

Maria put down her book. "And what then?"

"Huh?" Rhod sat up.

"What are you going to do if you get your revenge?" Maria leaned in.

"I don't know. I don't want to join the army. I guess I'll..." Rhod shrugged. "You know, I used to have a plan for my life!" He said indignantly. "I haven't had time to work out a new one."

"You don't need to take revenge, you know. You're more likely to get yourself hurt, especially against a powerful foe. Although, I suppose wiping out monsters is something that benefits us all." Maria shut her book entirely, and slipped it into her robes.

"Hey, would you come with me and help put it down? Maybe if this new guy doesn't decide to wander off under his own orders, then I can get him to lend a hand too. C'mon, with three people, then I'm sure we can do it." Rhod said. There was a spark of hope in his words.

"No. I have my own duties to attend to. Find another driver." Maria sat down.

"...If we can take care of your duties?"

"Fine."

Rhod never knew a frown could be audible, but as it turned out, Maria could manage that. "So, that's really all there is to it, Kouki. I'm tagging along to help catch Torna because they stole something, and I need allies. Not much point hiding that."

"I see. Well, as your blade I will draw out as much power as I can for the tasks I am given." Kouki wasn't complex. Simple loyalty was something Rhod could appreciate.

"Thanks... goodnight..." Rhod yawned.

Rhod knew something was wrong when he woke up under something like a soft blanket. The campfire had burned out to nothing but embers. Light was starting to filter through the colossal shell of Uraya, bringing some warmth with it. Maria was already up, probably...

As he started to actually wake up, he realised exactly what was wrong. He forced his eyes open. He was indeed under the only soft surface in the entire camp. Half-awake as he was, the only thing he could think to do was look around awkwardly.

Kouki was still out cold. Maria was actually still asleep, it was Sanzang who was awake. The nopon was outside his sight. And there was a weight on top of him.

"Nim, I didn't fall asleep anywhere near you, so what are you doing there?" Rhod twisted around. "...She's asleep. Of course." He started trying to pry himself out from underneath his blade.

"You know, a lot of people your age would be quite happy to wake up next to a good-looking girl." Said Sanzang, from right next to Rhod.

"Okay, but when you wake up under one, and you know them, and you're not attracted to them particularly, and you know they're permanently attached to a pair of phonexes that tend to bite, that's different. Give me a hand getting out?" Rhod tried to look around.

"...Nope. Been a while since I was amused." Said Sanzang. He chuckled a little. "You could of course just get up regardless. I'm sure she's had plenty of rest."

Rhod put a hand to the floor and stood up. To his mild surprise, instead of rolling off him as he got up, Nim stayed balanced and was lifted up with him.

"Eek!"

Rhod ducked as she hopped back a bit, flailing.

"Falling! Wait, not falling. Was I sleepwalking?" She looked around. "Oh, right. Rhod, Kit says you know what you did."

Rhod was more than a bit irked that of all the things to instantly tell on him, it was a phonex. Never mind that he was in no way going to try and hide it or in a situation where he could have hid it. "Well, yeah. Morning." He said sarcastically.

"What? Is something wrong? Why'd you throw me?" Nim glared.

"Why were you sleeping on top of me?" Countered Rhod. "That's weird."

"You were shivering." Nim crossed her arms. "I thought you might appreciate the warmth. I was trying to look out for you."

"Rhod, it's the very first thing in the morning, and if I have to resolve an argument between you and Nim then I will not be happy." Maria was climbing to her feet.

"Now look what you've done, you've upset Maria." Rhod gestured aside.

"I was only trying to help! Dunderhead!" Nim huffed.

"I can call you way worse than that." Rhod was about to let loose with a carefully-crafted insult that could be relevant to the situation, but something stopped him. by the time the words reached his mouth, they'd all just collapsed down to one. "...Nevermind."

They set off, starting to descend into the waters of Uraya. It was a long way to travel, and fraught with monsters. It was nearing noon, when the mystery nopon ran out ahead. "Stop here. This important moment."

"Hm? Oh, you're finally ready to talk?" Said Maria. "But here? We're a bit too close to danger." She looked at the nearby area. Indeed, the path ahead was clogged with more than a few enemies.

"No. We fight all monster. Important."

Rhod looked out ahead, trying to gauge just how many there were. "That's a lot. I don't think we can berak through."

"We must, though. Every moment we waste, Torna is moving." Maria got her hammer out.

"If I might make a suggestion?" Said Kouki. "What if we were to create a third stage blade combo?"

"Ah, a good idea!" Responded Sanzang. "The ether blast would be able to wipe out a good number of weaker enemies."

"Alright. That is what we shall do." Maria put her hammer down for a moment to consider her options. "What elements are available to us? Sanzang provides Fire."

"Earth, Ice..." Added Rhod. "Hey, Earth-Fire-Earth will work, right?"

"It not optimal. Hard to charge up third level in time! Anyway, Xiaxia is Dark element." The nopon folded their wing-hands.

"I'm not surprised, really." Said Nim. "But what shall we do... If you could change Xiaxia to water, then we could set off a Diamond Mist, but... erm..."

"Will take note. Cannot do now." The strange nopon actually did take out a notebook and jot down something in it.

"Looks like our only option is to try and use the Earth-Fire-Earth you suggested. I guess the timing is on me." Rhod shrugged, and pulled on his gloves.

"Once you start the combo, I'll wait as long as I can. We just need to trigger a third-stage blast..." Maria picked her weapon up."

"Oh, one thing!" Nim said, voice getting squeaky. "You can extend the time we have to add the next stage by starting a fusion combo!"

"And that'll heal us, too... Looks like you're the right blade for the job." Kouki nodded. "Rhod, don't forget to call on me if the party needs healing."

"Architect, this thing really is all on me." Rhod stepped forwards. "Does that make me the party leader for once?"

"...For once." Maria said begrudgingly. "I will follow your calls."

Rhod nodded, and turned on his weapons. "We're gonna knock these trumped-up piles of compost flat!" He started running in.

"Xiaxia, run combat data!" Shouted the nopon, as Maria actually went in to get her job done of tanking for the team.

The group of four or so ignas was set upon by the party in unison. Unlike the ambush he'd fallen into yesterday, this time Rhod felt like he was in control of the battle. Almost detached from it. He was striking hard and with intent to kill, but he wasn't feeling the desperation to survive this time.

This was like a chemistry experiment, almost. He had to set up the reaction to get what he needed. The difference being is that he wasn't spooning little bits of crushed rock and acid into a tube this time. He was going to throw ether energy at itself until it blew up. "Are we ready to start the blade combo?" He yelled.

"Quicken your action!" Replied Maria. "I cannot hold!"

"Nim! Heal us up!" Rhod didn't need to look back. This time he felt like there was a connection between him and his blade. Indeed, a thin blue stream of ether was visible.

"Nature, I call on you!" She held up the weapons like idols, and a pulse of energy flowed out. Rhod immediately felt renewed, and Maria stood straight, while the nopon was still skirting around the edges of the fight, avoiding damage.

"Alright Kouki! Now let's build up some energy!" Rhod held his hands out to the side, and rings flew into them. He smiled. He was feeling great about this fight. He felt like he actually knew what he was doing.

"At your command!" Kouki stepped up, powering the weapons in Rhod's hands.

The battle became a matter of careful timing. Rhod had ten seconds to tell Maria to start the combo. Maria had to avoid dying, which wasn't so easy when she was enduring four attackers at once. Muimui was just tearing up the enemy, making stupid nopon sounds and somewhat spoiling the mysterious ninja vibe.

"Start the combo!" Instructed Rhod, blocking an opportunistic attack with his arm and jabbing with his free hand.

"Sanzang, punish the wicked!" Maria tossed her hammer back, a barrier of ether blooming around her as she folded her hands in prayer.

"Hammer Beat!" The blade moved in swinging, flames alighting. Yet instead of just setting things on fire, they morphed to burning chunks of rock, spraying out.

"We doing well. Continue." Muimui moved back, and Rhod could see the bizarre blade he had making strange motions.

"Is your blade okay?" Rhod asked, before being forced to turn his attention back to the fight and block a crude stone blade that was aimed at his head.

"Master, your barrier is depleting. You'd best switch, you've already cast your healing art." Kouki approached, threatening to attack any enemy that got too close. One did, and Muimui shot them until they backed off.

"Nim, here we go." Rhod passed the Twin Rings back, and took the knuckles. "Break!" He cut loose, and decked the closest enemy.

"Righteous Assault!" Maria knew exactly what to do. "Assassin, hold your attack. We need to time it well..."

Rhod kept fighting, charging up Nim's reserves of ether for an attack.

"This is chance." Muimui went and launched, stirring up the atmospheric ether.

Rhod knew it was time. "Complete the reaction!" He threw back his weapons. Part of him was proud at actually taking a blade combo all the way. Part of him was curious to see what would happen when that was done. He expected Nim would probably have a cool-looking attack too, maybe she'd do a flip? Rhod turned to look.

"Here we goooo!"

She didn't do a flip. Instead, the eyes of the two phonexes flashed once. And then they started firing lasers. The lasers caught Rhod more than a little off-guard, in that his entire train of thought labelled 'This is just like chemistry I'm so smart' was immediately renamed to 'What the fuck why do the tiny and fairly cute things shoot lasers'.

And then there was a huge explosion. Rhod ducked, covering the side of his face from the flying chunks of rock, but when one hit him it just evaporated into ether.

There was a second of stunned silence, before Nim started cheering. "Yes! We did it!"

Rhod patted himself down. No missing limbs. Even his ether barrier felt like it was in perfect condition. "Uh... what did you just do?!"

Nim reached up and petted Sunny. "Organic Automata." She reached over to pet the other one. "Good boy, good girl... You did great, Kit, Sunny."

"Regardless, the path is clear now. Let us proceed." Maria inspected her hammer, and calmly broke the head off. The rest of the weapon dissolved into ether. "Cracked in battle. Please make a new one."

"At once, Lady Maria."

They kept on travelling through the day. Whatever Nim's last attack had done, the healing seemed to have given everyone a nice second wind for walking. Rhod was still trying to start up a conversation with the nopon.

"Your blade... in battle, it looked like something was wrong with it." He eyed up the strange being that was trailing the group. "And honestly, I've never seen any core crystal that's orange before. Are they sick?"

Nim hopped over. "I'm telling you, his blade's not natural. It's giving off all kinds of weird ether."

Rhod gently pushed her away, trying to get some kind of response. "Why are you helping us, anyway? Like... what's in it for you?"

"Grief, Rhod. Haven't you heard of charity?" Said Maria, from the front of the group.

"Not from a nopon, honestly." Rhod answered. "So yeah, what's your deal?"

"Mm..." While nobody could see it under the tiny hood and bandanna, Muimui was practically burning to boast about the technical marvel that was this artificial blade, second only to the Lila and Rosa models he'd been working on. "Cannot reveal."

"Nothing?"

"One thing, actually." Muimui looked to his robot. "But top secret! This part of important task for rich friend. Now, not talk to you."

"...Not at all?" Prodded Rhod.

A minute passed.

"He's serious." Said Sanzang. "Either way, the additional firepower isn't a bad thing, especially when the standard number of drivers considered safe for roaming the wilds is three."

"Yeah, it's a shame. Still, why's the core crystal on his blade orange? I've never heard of them being anything but blue..." Rhod folded his arms, as they kept walking across the damp rocks.

"The two aegises had different colour crystals according to legend. But neither were orange. This somewhat makes me think of ether poisoning..." Said Maria, before she slipped a bit. "...Watch your footing."

"Ether poisoning?" Asked Rhod. "You can be poisoned by ether? The stuff that's in the air everywhere?"

"Well, you can drown in water, too." Retorted Maria. "Anyway, ether poisoning is a condition that can only effect blades, because anything else would die instead of developing such a condition. When in combat, ether is primarily vented from the core crystal of a blade."

"Yeah?"

"Well, as you also know, the only part of a blade that cannot be regenerated is the core crystal." Continued Maria. "They are essentially the heart and brain of a blade, rolled into one. Now, they're not easy to break at all. They have a nearly impenetrable field of ether around them, especially when they're near their driver. You could try to smash Nim or Sanzang's core and you'd break your tool."

"I would NEVER-" Rhod didn't like that notion. Even hearing it made his heart tremble.

"Just an example, cease your interruption." Interrupted Maria. "However, it can happen. And in old times, it was occasionally a practice to put a steel cover over the crystal to protect it further. But this inhibited the flow of ether, and caused a buildup. That had the potential to damage the crystal with a serious overexposure to ether, and change the colour to gold for a few hours before it crumbles to dust."

"...That's kind of terrifying..." Admitted Rhod.

"It's nothing to worry about. The ether overload has to be extremely severe to cause ether poisoning. A normal case of fighting in synchronisation will generate a golden aura." Maria looked ahead. "Ah, we're almost out of this wet patch. Come on, once we're on those flats there we'll camp for the night. Then we can go onwards to Garfont." Maria kept her head held up, marching through the wetlands.

"Hey, Rhod. So does this mean you won't ever ask me to try wearing anything again?" Nim asked, from behind him. "Please?"

"Um..." Half of Rhod said to make a joke. The other half wanted to be serious. "Alright, alright." He sighed and grinned. "Now look what you've done, Maria. You scared me into letting my blade walk around dressed like this forever."

Maria somehow managed to roll her eyes with enough force for Rhod to know, even if she wasn't looking at him.

Author's notes: Guess what I can't do! Write fight scenes that play out like the game without taking up 70% of the chapter.

So Muimui... as more of a scientist, I personally think it would make more sense for him to have lower fitness/'stats' compared to Rhod or Maria, but good arts to balance that out. Speaking of arts, I'll list all of them by blade here, in case anyone cares.

Nim (Knuckle Claws): Throughput Straight (Break), Pain-gain (Heal self on hit), Clothesline Spin (More damage at high HP), Concentrated Blow (more damage vs launch).

Kouki (Twin Rings): Recurrence Cut (Refresh 50% on critical), Restoring Disc (heal party), Shuriken Pitch (Strong vs humanoid), Encircle Edge (Generates life-force potions).

Sanzang (Shield Hammer): Locked Gates (guards), Blunt Whirlwind (AoE, aggro up), Judgement Hammer (More vs aggroed), Righteous Assault (Topple).

Xiaxia (Prototype Arms): Rapid Discharge (More vs toppled), Assassin Flair (Launch/Smash), Cruel Claw (Instant death vs sub 10%), Electro Shock (Blowdown/AoE).