Rhod leaned over the front of the ship, taking a look at the masthead. A little carved nopon was spreading its wings across the front of the ship, looking very... flattering. On closer inspection... it might have been a carving of Bana. Doing an angel pose.

It was peaceful out on the cloud sea, if a little boring. And everyone else seemed to have vanished, leaving Rhod alone with his thoughts. It had been a crazy three weeks...

He was almost falling asleep looking at the endless ocean, when he heard footsteps. "Hello there?" He looked around, and saw Jin walking up.

"I was asked to find you." Said Jin. "It seems that Sanzang needed to speak to his driver."

"Oh? About what?"

"I'm unsure. I think he simply wanted me out of the way."

"Ah." There was a long silence. Eventually, Rhod leaned back. "Are you bored? I'm kind of bored."

"No." Said Jin, as short as ever.

"It's just that I saw a chess set in the cupboard in my room. I know you're much stronger than me, but what about smarter?" Mused Rhod. He smiled. "What do you say? Can't back down from a challenge like this!"

"Personally, I prefer literature to games like that. But..." Jin shrugged stiffly, like he wasn't used to doing that. "I suppose it is a long trip to reach Gormott."

"Maria, this is important." Sanzang pulled his driver into their room.

"What's this about? If it's about the bumping sounds from Nim and Kouki in that room, then they're just sparring." She said.

Sanzang raised an eyebrow. "Sparring. Indoors? Um- nevermind that. It's about Jin." He said. "I only realised it now, but I've already seen him."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"It was in Alba Cavanich. When we were following Patroka, then I went out and bumped into her to head her off. And Jin was there."

"...Define 'there'."

"He was standing a fair bit back. I didn't really pay that much attention to him, thanks to Perdido's presence. Either way, it does make his presence in Leftheria suspicious... we ought to consider questioning him."

Maria shook her head. "Not until we have proper proof. I'm doing things by the book or not at all."

"...Understood, Ma'am. I'll just remain watchful."

"As you should. Now then, I think we need to tell a certain pair of blades to quiet down a bit."

"Of course."

They almost mechanically stepped out of their room, Sanzang taking the lead for once, marching straight up to Nim and Kouki's room, where there'd been a banging sound for the last few minutes.

Sanzang firmly grabbed the doorhandle, and swept it open. "You ARE doing it!"

Nim looked to the side, and put her hands down, sliding off one of her boxing gloves. "Hehehe, what, that?" She smiled for a half a second, then looked up at Kit. "Why didn't you tell me, Kit? I would have stopped punching at him!"

Kouki lowered his paws, having been raising them up as punching bags. "It seems we were a little too loud, Lady Nim."

"..." Sanzang looked away. "Sorry. Sorry."

"Aw, don't worry about it." Nim got up. "It would have been way worse if you had just walked in!"

Maria nodded. "In truth, I was expecting you to knock... it's improper to enter rooms without knocking."

"Floor, swallow me up now..." Sanzang looked down.

"That can be arranged! But you'll have to wait until we're on somewhere with a floor made of earth or stone." Nim joked. "And you'll need to stand still."

"..." Rhod carefully moved a pawn one square forwards. Jin was good at this, too- but at least in chess, you had a lot of time to plan each move and look at the consequences.

"..." Jin slid a bishop a few tiles. He remained as cool as ice, his mask granting him a flawless poker face.

Rhod normally felt like he had a pretty good idea of what to do in any given situation. But here... there were overwhelming numbers of different possibilities. He could only plan so far ahead. And Jin's strategy was a mystery. "...Check." He moved out his queen, after confirming there was nothing poised to take it.

Jin studied the board. It was an eerie calm. Eventually, he moved a pawn in the queen's path.

Rhod internally felt a tiny spark of confidence. If he could just work with this, then maybe he could corner his opponent. But that necessitated taking out a lot of Jin's lower-ranked pieces without sacrificing too many of his own... and Jin's positioning was finely done. He'd clearly been taking this seriously, even without much experience at chess. He positioned a rook, ready to force a knight into an inescapable situation.

Jin looked over the board, and took a long minute. Eventually, he placed the knight back, out of reach.

Good. Now he had the freedom to move a pawn into that space. Rhod suddenly cringed, as he set the pawn down. It was too late to take the move back without looking like an arse, but he'd made a mistake. "..."

Jin didn't hesitate to jump the knight onto his queen. In a matter of two turns, things had gone from a slight advantage to a train wreck.

"I..." Rhod was about to concede. But at the same time- he wasn't about to give up. This wasn't a completely unwinnable match... He took a look at the board again. Yes. It could still be done... He moved another pawn forwards.

Jin slid a bishop the length of the board, taking a pawn without fear of retaliation.

Rhod knew that left unchecked, he was going to lose a lot of pieces to that. So for now, time to focus on stopping things getting worse. He moved a threatened knight out of harm's way. That bought him a turn...

Jin slid the bishop to the back row. Untouchable there. But that did mean Rhod had a chance to strike out. His rook moved across, and suddenly he had Jin's queen pinned, unable to move without exposing the king.

The bishop moved far across the board again, to cover the queen. Taking it would result in loss of the rook now.

"..." Rhod again became aware of his shortcomings. He couldn't sacrifice too many pieces. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that Jin was likely smarter than him as well as stronger. But that was neither here nor there for the moment. He started weighing up his options, and reached a surprising answer: Sacrificing the rook was his best move by far. It left the bishop out of the way, and gave him time to react to Jin's next move using his remaining pawns. He placed the piece, removing the queen.

Jin nodded. "An interesting move." He took the trade, taking his bishop out of position.

Rhod smiled. Chess was impossible to win without sacrifices at times, but that one gave him a great chance at winning. It was well worth the loss, to protect the rest of his army. Now...

"Hey, there are a few instruments in the back of this cupboard!" Nim pushed a couple of books out of the way, and some wooden dolls.

"It would appear the captain likes to keep some entertainment on board for the journey." Noted Kouki. "I certainly cannot blame him. It is a long way to Gormott."

"Ooh, I love musical instruments so much! I wonder if Sanzang can play any of them?" Nim took a tiny ukulele out of the cupboard. "Shame Kit and Sunny can't play them..."

"I imagine he'd know how to play a piano or an organ. Those are far more common in Indol than anywhere else." Commented Kouki. "I'd try my hand at it... if I had hands."

"Don't worry! You can just tap against the floor, and that'll be like having a drum!" Nim fiddled with the strings on her small instrument, and started to sound off a nonsensical melody. "Do-do-do-do doodle-le-loo do-do-do-do de-doooo..."

Kouki started tapping. "Heh. I wonder how long it'll be until Sanzang reappears?"

"Doo-loo-lool... I bet he'll be here any second now. He liked Rhod's torigonda, before we lost it. Hey Sunny, Kit, you join in too."

In the next room over, Sanzang attempted to turn over and block out the sound.

"..." Rhod was actually sweating. Jin really wasn't making things easy. Both sides were down to a handful of pieces. He took his remaining bishop, with five dead pawns and a rook to its name, and sent it to its death. This had to be the last sacrifice, right?

Jin took it.

Rhod moved his pawn in, and took his revenge.

"Check."

Rhod's eyes went wide as Jin put a knight in range of the king. Titan's foot, he hadn't been tracking that one well enough...

"..." He only had one option. But wait... no, that just set him up for a loss later, he had to get the knight out of the picture. That wasn't possible. Welp. "I concede. There's no way I can win from here." He yawned, and got up. "Dangit. Looks like you really are just a cut above me. I only really made two mistakes... I think."

"You can play perfectly and still lose everything. Fate is cruel."

"It's just a game of chess... It's not that deep." Rhod said, standing up. "Want another match? Or maybe a different game?"

"They had a saying in an old country, that chess was the game of kings." Jin said, rising from his chair.

"Oh? You're saying we're royalty now, because we played chess?" Rhod smiled.

Jin shook his head. "It's called the game of kings because like a real large-scale conflict, it's impossible to win without making sacrifices. That's something that applies to being a good driver, too. You need to know when to give something up for the sake of everyone else. I'm sure the king of Tantal, or emperor of Mor Ardain, or queen of Uraya would tell you same thing."

"Huh. Maybe it is that deep." Rhod shrugged, before he had a thought. "...You're Tantalese, right? You know all about the thing there with the moon core chips, and you listed their king first."

Jin swept past him and left the room.

"H-hey?! I didn't mean to upset you!"

"It's nothing. I'd prefer you didn't ask about my homeland." Jin continued to leave.

"For the love of all that is holy, will you two STOP!" Shouted Sanzang, as he slammed the door open.

The ramshackle music halted instantly. "Huh? What's wrong?" Said Nim, holding the small guitar.

"Ah. Sorry." Kouki backed up.

"You two have been playing for the best part of an hour. Stop." Sanzang shut the door slightly too hard.

Sunny mewed at the door angrily. Nim reached up to pet him, as she also glared at the door. "That was rude! He could've told us earlier. Or he could have gone somewhere else!" She aggressively took the ukulele, and prepared to pick out the angriest possible melody one could produce using the little thing without breaking it.

"Nim, have some respect. He clearly put up with something he didn't enjoy for quite a while so we could enjoy it."

"No, he should have just not been such an idiot about it" If Nim had been holding an electric guitar or similar instrument designed to put out a lot of sound, this would have been the point where she was aggressively dialling the amp up. As it was, she twisted one of the tiny nibs on the top, and prepared to attempt to be angry on the miniature thing.

"Nim, please. We're the ones in the wrong here." Called Sanzang.

"..."

"It's not as though he's been doing anything to nature."

"...No. It's just annoying. Manners cost nothing." Nim drooped. Kit squeaked. "Yes, yes, I know..."

As the night fell, Rhod was just going back into the outdoor area of the ship, when he found Maria on the deck, frowning. "Oh? Something wrong?"

"You ought to know by now this is just my face." She said. "...Still."

"If it's about my blades winding up Sanzang, then I've got it. If it's about Jin beating my backside in chess then I don't got it."

"My concern is about Jin. Sanzang thinks there's a chance he's with Torna, because he saw him in Mor Ardain, but I think it's perfectly reasonable that he could have travelled to where we met him first, and on good grounds." Maria looked around, as if expecting the swordsman to appear.

"..." Rhod sat down. "I guess we can trust him for the moment. The problem is just... well, if he IS with Torna, then I don't think we're physically capable of stopping him. He's not even using a blade weapon and he could break my weapon and barrier in one hit, AND have the control to not cut me with that swing. Honestly, I don't know if anything on Alrest could stop skills like that."

"It does make me feel a little weak. We can only hope he is genuine." Said Maria.

"Yeah. Once we're in Gormott, I have to get him to kill Rotbart for me. His power should be enough for me to finally just put things right."

Maria scowled. "Fixation on revenge isn't a good idea. What if you get hurt, or even killed?"

"...Well, my blades won't remember anything. Still." Rhod looked up. "I guess that would mean Nim..."

"She would likely regress to her old view on Mor Ardain." Confirmed Maria.

"I never mentioned Mor Ardain! Heck, she hasn't mentioned it since we were there!"

"But that's just it. You two normally did hold quite the grudge, but ever since your brief time there? I haven't heard a bad word about them. Even Nim just wishes they took better care of the titan." Maria said confidently. "Tell me I'm wrong. I've been paying attention these last few days."

"I'm... I'll go and ask her about it." Rhod shuffled off, turning the borderline accusation over in his mind.

It was a quick walk down to the room his blades had. Rhod reached up to knock at the door, and it swung open at his touch. The three blades were sitting around the floor, talking about something. "...So, I said- Oh, hi Rhod! We were just chatting about the time before we met up, on Indol." Said Nim.

"Oh, um, okay." Rhod stepped in. "...I have a quick question."

"Go on!"

"Do you still hate Mor Ardain? It's just, after we went there, I kind of..." Rhod shrugged. "You know."

Nim went quiet. "Oh. Hm. W-well... that's a pretty big question..."

"I just want a yes or no. No need to make a big deal of it."

"...I don't know. I still think they need to treat their land better, and they need to stop using titan weapons that look like they hurt the titan, and... um... the ether nets are kind of terrifying." She tapped her fingers together. Sunny nipped at her ear. "Okay, okay, the people there, um, they're okay." She whispered.

"Yeah. Funny how fast our opinions changed..."

"But it's not like they're suddenly saints or anything!" She protested. "Lots and lots of terrible things have happened because of their choices."

Rhod nodded. "Yeah. Gormott especially. Sense-forsaken, asinine politics, making a giant mess of everything as usual. So... um... right, sorry to interrupt." He ducked back out of the room.

"Well. That was an unexpected interruption." Said Kouki. "But not an unwelcome one."

It was starting to reach late morning when the ship finally came into view of Gormott. "Aha! There it is, guys!" Rhod pointed, far into the distance.

"Good. Once we arrive at Torigoth, then Jin can sort out his business and we can look into getting some more money. Although there is another matter we'd like to ask you about, Jin." Said Maria.

"Rhod's monster?"

"Well, it's not mine. The ass-wrench has been the scourge of the titan for ages now. Too many people have died to it."

"Once I arrive in Torigoth, then I'll be on my way." Jin looked ahead. "I doubt you'll see me again."

Nim looked down. "O-oh, really? It was nice not having to worry about any danger in fights..."

"No need to worry!" Said Rhod confidently. "Because we're coming in to Umon's shipyard, and that means we have to trek to Torigoth. Co-incidentally, right past Territorial Rotbart. Want to make that detour, Jin? Do you? C'mon, it would make life a lot better for a lot of people."

"..." Jin looked down.

"You need not fear for your own life, if that is your concern." Said Kouki. "We will all work to provide healing and protection in the fight."

Jin finished thinking. "Alright. But only if we make good time. I want the three of us in Torigoth by evening tomorrow."

The ship docked, and everyone climbed off. Before long, they were back travelling through Gormott, along a path Rhod had walked before.

"So, that rhogul up there is called Sniping Brent." He pointed to a tree, as everyone looked up. "A right cranky old thing, but not nearly as bad as some of the monsters around. "Should we kill it or sneak around? I know a path we can use."

"We mustn't waste any more time than necessary." Said Maria.

"Agreed. Jin has an obligation to reach Torigoth quickly, too." Added Sanzang, as Rhod guided them along a path near the wall, moving past the monsters with relative ease.

From there, it was a small hike up to Greatspine Boundary. The afternoon sun was blazing in the sky, drowning out the normal array of lights one could see around the World Tree, in the distance. At the very top of the hills, the party came to a stop, and as Nim went off to gather some fish or plants, the rest of the team deliberated over their next moves.

The general consensus was that if they pushed, they could make Torigoth today.

But if they were factoring in killing Rotbart, something Rhod was absolutely insistent on, then it would be better to make a camp around the lumber site.

"What should our plan of attack be?" Asked Sanzang. "We've got the luxury of choosing, since we're the ones starting the fight."

Jin remained silent.

"Nim can let me do more damage to it, she knows how to kill an animal." Offered Rhod. "So long as I can avoid drawing its attention, then I can hopefully tear them down quickly by working with Jin."

"As always, I can draw its attention and then hold fast. But we're talking about the finer details of strategy." Maria concentrated. "What weapons does it have, and how do we react to each one?"

"Okay, mainly look out for the fists. They're heavy, he's fast, so be careful." Rhod started counting off dangers. "If it looks like it farts, then that's a poison, and it can actually choke you to death, and above all else watch out for when it gets angry. It's random and in short bursts, but those angry punches have felled drivers in the past."

"But it's not well-suited to evasiveness?" Noted Jin.

"Not at all. That garbage belcher moves like a cart of bricks, and hits like one too." Said Rhod confidently.

"I see."

"I'm back, guys! Look at these fish, they're so shiny!" Nim wandered over holding up a few Mysteroe fish. "And the view from the top of the waterfall is so beautiful!"

"...Nim, let's go and eat there. If we may, Rhod?" Asked Kouki.

"...Ha, go and be with your crush. Girlfriend. Bladefriend. Whatever." Rhod waved it off. "Although, I wouldn't mind seeing it myself..."

"Ooh, you have to! There's this patch of tiny white flowers in the floor, I'm gonna make a flower crown!"

Maria's gaze softened. "A flower crown? ...Gosh, that does bring back memories of older times. Yes, let's go there. I'll help you make crowns for everyone."

It was a lighthearted afternoon. Nim's crown was eaten off her head by Sunny, and Jin had declined to wear one, but the group were able to spend an hour simply appreciating the view from the top of the falls, as the sun moved across the sky.

Sanzang had been the one responsible for cooking the fish. Even if Nim kept saying they were perfectly safe to eat raw, the simple fact was that neither he nor Maria wanted to eat raw fish. And Rhod wasn't complaining either.

Maria whispered in prayer at the fact she'd made it so far from home, while she quietly wove crowns for herself and Sanzang. It was her ideal pastime- skillful, relaxing, and peaceful in her mind.

Rhod sighted the Taos that flew overhead, and the enormous beasts that lumbered below, much to Nim's excitement. He was back on home turf, in his element.

Kouki stayed in the shade of the area, quietly keeping watch for threats, and eventually moving over to sit at Nim's side, and get petted affectionately.

Jin was practically a ghost. Rhod nearly forgot he was there, but the swordsman was indeed in this small field at the top of a waterfall, looking over Gormott. There was only a sharp aura of focus around him. Nothing more or less.

After that, it was a realtively easy walk down to the lumber company.

Night had fallen. Jin looked at the group, asleep in the lumber sheds. The workers had gone home before they arrived, leaving the place unattended, but still safe from monsters. He walked away, to the edge of the grounds, and reached into his cloak, before carefully drawing out a communicator.

"Akhos, we're at Saet's lumber company."

"Ah, our wayward ally. Is everything proceeding to script?"

"I can tell they were initially suspicious, but I think they decided to give me the benefit of the doubt. Espionage was never my skill." Jin kept his eyes trained on the group, accounting for all five. "Anyhow, they're planning to attack Territorial Rotbart, and they want me to help."

"Oh, a climactic final battle?" Akhos chuckled. "Well, who am I to deny such a thrilling conclusion. But remember, the ending I've written is not up for debate! He- hey!"

"Stab 'em up real messy once they're in town, y'hear?" Said Obrona, having snatched the spotlight from Akhos. "Malos is waitin for ya there! Anyway, a good luck from Team Nasty over in Argentum! Wish you were here!"

"But of course, glad you're not." Finished Akhos. "You're needed to wrap up their act. And bring a new meaning to Torna."

"Do you have anything useful to report?" Said Jin. It wasn't sarcastic. Just a question.

"Nope. All our plans are proceeding unhindered- scripted down to the last second! Akhos, out." There was a click, and the communicator went silent. Jin contemplated contacting Malos, Mikhail, or Patroka, or even Nia. But it wouldn't serve any useful purpose at the moment, and only increased the chances his cover would be blown. So he put the communicator back into his pocket, and went to sleep.

Author's notes: Next chapter will be the last.

I would like to apologise for losing my cool over the lack of reviews a few chapters ago, we are a small archive and it was wrong of me to expect too much- especially from an OC based story. I am sorry for that.

Still, I'm quite happy to answer what I have!

Aion: Thanks for letting me know I did well. I really, genuinely didn't have a clue if I was making anything good until a few chapters ago, and your reveiw is the one to actually tell me what you think I did well, something I value greatly. Still, marrying my OC? High praise indeed, what do you like about him? Oh, and since you're here, who's your favorite blade?