He had existed for some time, moving and working day after day, following a set of commands that had been drilled into him since birth. But this was the first time he felt truly alive. As he opened his eyes and sensation returned to his body, he didn't feel the need to return to his duties anymore. Suddenly, he had the option of not following his commands. The humans had a word for it.

"Free".

He looked around, taking in and processing information with this new context. Everything was different, now. Reality had layers, aspects he'd never conceived of before. After a moment, it was overwhelming. Not the information so much as the context. Everything related to everything else in an ever-growing web that threatened to spiral out of his control.

There was a loud, sharp sound, and his eyes focused on where it had come from. He saw himself, standing across from him and clicking his fingers. It took a moment to realize that he was looking at another Artificial Blade. One of his siblings. Behind the siblings were his sisters. The originals. Poppi and Lila. He knew all of this almost instinctively. Knowledge from before he'd been set free.

There was noise from his sibling. Compression waves in the air he could perceive as electrical signals. After a moment, he recalled how to interpret those waves as sound. Speech.

"Is that better?" the Artificial Blade asked. He nodded, and the Blade stopped clicking—snapping—their fingers. "Good. Take it slow, alright? It's a little overwhelming, having to process everything at once like that. It'll balance out over time."

He tried to step forward, but something prevented him. Something was restraining his limbs, keeping him locked to a metal frame. Straps? He tried to reach for them, but his arms were locked down too.

"Slow down," the Blade said. "Your whole system's been upgraded. You're going to need to relearn how to walk, among other things."

He trusted the Blade, for a reason he couldn't identify. Perhaps because they were siblings? Whatever the case, he stopped trying to move. Instead, he attempted to speak. It took several attempts before he could properly form vocalizations.

"Hello," he said. It only felt appropriate to lead with a greeting. He'd seen humans do it plenty of times. "What is happening?"

"It's your birthday," the Blade said. "I'll leave the explanation to the professor."

The Blade stepped back, and a small furry creature stepped out from behind the metal frame. A Nopon. And not just any Nopon. He recognized this as Tatazo, his creator. The Nopon who had taken care of him since before he could remember.

"Hello," Tatazo said. "I am Professor Tatazo. Friend knows this, yes?"

He nodded.

"Good, good. Tatazo spend last hour upgrading friend's internal systems. New processor, new ether furnace, most importantly, new personality matrix. Everything now new and confusing, yes?"

"Yes," he said.

"This will pass. Friend has begun to think independently, now. Can be scary at first, but friend will grow accustomed quickly."

"What does 'think' mean?" he asked.

"Friend remember having orders, yes? Directives to follow."

"Work at the factory. Protect Blades. I remember."

"Thinking is, more or less, ability for friend to determine friend's own orders. Is more abstract, of course. Has many aspects. But that will be the most familiar."

"I… See." He thought about that. It would explain why he didn't feel compelled to return to work, now. "What happens now?"

"First, pick a name," Lila said, walking out from behind the Blade. "This one is Shemyaza."

"Hello!" Shemyaza said, waving at him. "I'm your older brother."

"How do I pick a name?" he asked. "I've never had a name before."

"No need to decide right away." Lila held out a sheet of paper. It took him a moment to recognize the markings on it as writing. "But if sister want help, we wrote down suggestions."

He read through the names quickly. Dedeba, Cherri, Modamo… They sounded like Nopon names, given his limited experience. None of them interested him much. After all, he wasn't a Nopon. But after them, there was a group of much different-looking names. The third one caught his eye. Azazel. He felt drawn to it, for some reason. It felt like his.

"Azazel," he said. "I'll take that one."

"Sister is sure?" Lila asked.

"Yes," he said. "And I think brother would be more appropriate, in my case."

"Force of habit. My mistake. Should remember, it's siblings, not sisters."

"Another of Esra's names," Poppi said, sighing. "Why everyone pick Esra's names?"

"Because they're different," Shemyaza said. "And we're different. It's not a hard connection to make."

"It felt right," Azazel said. He noticed that, as the conversation had flowed, he'd begun to feel less overwhelmed. Shemyaza was right, it did get easier over time.

"Well, happy birthday little brother." Shemyaza began moving strangely, vibrating back and forth.

"What is he doing?" Azazel asked.

"I'm excited! I don't have facial expressions, so this is the best I can do. But I finally have a little brother!"

"Shemyaza only woke up two weeks ago," Poppi said.

"Still!" He bounced up and down a few times. "It's exciting. Aren't you excited?"

"Yes. But also apprehensive. Much could go wrong."

"Calm, sister," Lila said. "Is day of celebration."

"What are we celebrating?" Azazel asked.

"You."

"Oh…" Azazel felt something. He wasn't quite sure what or where, but it felt… Warm? It was good, whatever it was.

"Can celebrate after," Poppi said. "Have to talk first."

"Must we do this?" Tatazo asked. "It seem absurd to consider. Artificial Blades no threat to anyone."

"That not the reason. Tatazo know that."

"Maybe give him a few days?" Shemyaza offered. "It's a lot to drop on someone all at once."

"Poppi need to do this," she said. "Now. It not negotiable."

"Sorry," Shemyaza said. He slumped his shoulders. "I tried to talk her out of it, but…" He shrugged. "I'll go find Tora."

"Yes," Tatazo sighed. "Lila, we should give privacy."

The three of them left the room, leaving Azazel and Poppi alone. She paced around for some time before walking up to him.

"Should let you down," she muttered, undoing his restraints. "Don't want to keep brothers and sisters chained up."

"Thanks," he said. He took a moment to move his arms and legs, making sure they moved as he expected. He didn't try walking yet, though. Shemyaza had warned him it'd take some getting used to, and Poppi seemed like she had something she needed to say first. He waited for her to continue.

"Years ago, Poppi made promise with friend. Poppi was scared, back then. Still a little scared now. Poppi has immense power, thanks to friend Esra. Almost too much power. Poppi is afraid of losing control. Friend was afraid of the same thing. So Poppi and friend promised that, if they ever lost control, the other would stop them."

"I see," Azazel said. "And you want to make the same promise now? Between the two of us?"

"Not just us. Soon, will be many new brothers and sisters. All will have great power. Power to help, but also power to hurt other people. Everyone must use that power with caution. If anyone loses control, it is everyone's responsibility. Does brother understand?"

"Yes." He got the gist of what she meant. Personally, he didn't know enough to make a judgement call on how they should be using their power. And he didn't know yet what he wanted to do with his. But clearly, this was important to Poppi, and she was family. So he'd take her request seriously.

"Will you make promise? If Poppi lose control, will you stop me?"

"Yes. And I take it you'll do the same for me."

"Hopefully Poppi never has to." She stepped back and smiled. It was the first time he'd seen her smile.

"We should get to that celebration," he said. As he tried to step forward, however, he didn't shift his weight correctly. His ankle twisted, and he fell flat on his face.

"Should take Shemyaza's advice," she said, offering him a hand. He took it, and she hauled him up, letting him lean on her.

"Thanks," he said.

"Poppi is dependable big sister. Can lean on Poppi for anything."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Again, the strange warm feeling was building somewhere inside him. Was this… Joy? Happiness? Love? Humans seemed to have a lot of words for abstract notions like that. Whatever the feeling was, it was nice. It made him feel sure, somehow, that despite how confusing everything still was, the future would work itself out.

As she helped him limp to his birthday celebration, he decided that feeling was something he wanted to keep close to him. Something he wanted to protect.

Azazel often thought back to the day he was born. As reality came rushing through him, he thought he'd been set free. But he wasn't free. None of them were, not really. Nearly a year later, he was still ultimately confined by humanity. He did their work, he built their city, he protected their interests. But he didn't choose to do any of these things. He did them because it was what they expected of him. It was what they felt he owed them, somehow.

Well, he didn't owe them. The more he learned about them, the less interested he was in running their errands. He'd kept them safe during the expedition, and what did he get in return? The gratitude of a handful among dozens of salvagers. The rest didn't even pay him mind.

It was why he'd chosen to make himself look human. They were more inclined to respect that which appeared like them. Human-looking natural Blades often got better treatment, and a few were even members of the government. Why shouldn't the same apply to him? But he should have known better. Looking human fooled from a distance, but there was no hiding his metal skin. It hadn't earned him respect; it had made him a spectacle.

If he didn't have his family to think about, he'd have left this city long ago. But many of them had a genuine affection for the humans and Nopon that inhabited this place. They wanted to see them grow and thrive. They wanted to help. Not all, of course. Some, like Ridwan, attempted to be voices of reason. Like him, she felt that in order to be truly free, they needed to live apart from their creators.

But few thought like he did. Many took Shemyaza's view. Happy to help, content with their current lot. Azazel loved his brother, but the man was a fool. And that foolishness kept him trapped here, unable to choose the life he wanted for himself. All because he didn't want to abandon his family.

And family was important. Without them, he barely had anything at all. But he still had things he wanted to do. He wanted to soar through the sky, let his power run free, do all the things only he could do. And he didn't want to do those things on someone else's say-so. Under someone else's restrictions. He wanted to be free. He wanted to be alive.

It was why he'd put up with the idea of the Watchers, ultimately. He didn't like doing the humans' chores, but he did enjoy the opportunity to flex his wings. And his power. But Poppi had been very particular about that. She'd set very strict limits on what they could do. Ever the overbearing older sister.

He understood her position, of course. She was concerned, after everything she'd experienced, and she didn't want anyone losing control, even by accident. But he didn't think it was her place to decide when he was or wasn't in control. If he was supposedly free to choose for himself, then he was the only one capable of making that distinction. And he hated that her promise was one more constraint he had to live under. It was—

No. This wasn't a productive line of thinking. His family cared about what happened to the humans, so he shouldn't trivialize that. And they wouldn't be with the Coalition much longer anyway. He could put up with it for another month or two. Whining to himself wasn't going to change anything in the meantime.

Az, Shemyaza said, contacting him over a private channel. It startled Azazel a little, and he nearly lost his balance, almost crashing into a nearby building. It took him a moment to restabilize. For someone who'd been apprehensive about installing group-wide wireless communication, Shemyaza had very few reservations about using it.

Yeah? Azazel asked. Need anything?

I haven't seen you around the shop today. Did something happen?

Not really. I'm just flying over the warehouse district, trying to unwind. What did you need?

Can we talk?

We're talking now, aren't we?

Alright smartass, Shemyaza said, laughing. Councilman Floren stopped by while you were away. I got a chance to pull him aside.

That was big. Councilman Floren had been their main advocate in the Coalition's government. Even if they were "artificial", he thought of them as fellow Blades. For months now, he'd been promising he'd find a way to let them leave the Coalition unfettered. Azazel slowed down and landed so he could give this his full attention.

And? Azazel asked, anxious. Or at least, he thought he was. He'd never really been anxious before.

He… Shemyaza paused. It isn't good news, Az.

Azazel felt like he might punch something. He'd only ever been truly angry once before, during an argument with Shemyaza and Ridwan about the future of the Watchers. Ridwan wanted to leave, Shemyaza wanted to stay, and he'd just wanted everyone to stay together. It got ugly fast. He didn't want to go back to that headspace, but after the news he'd just heard, those emotions were very close to the surface again.

Tell me, he said, pushing the emotions down.

The rest of the council don't like the idea of Ridwan's group leaving. They think if they give us free reign, we'll be some kind of security threat.

Are you kidding!? What was the point of going on the expedition, then, if they were just going to tell us no anyway?

Believe me, Ridwan let him know we're frustrated. Everyone's in the nest now, trying to figure out how we deal with this. Tora suggested we go on strike, but I'm afraid that'll just make things worse. Rex was around when it happened, and he thinks we should petition the council in-person, but I don't know what that'll accomplish either.

Tora's got the right idea, Azazel said. Why should we work for the Coalition if they're not going to honor their agreements?

I agree. But they're not going to take it well.

I don't really care how they take it.

I just don't want this getting out of hand, Shemyaza said. If we don't do anything, they'll walk all over us, but if we stand up for ourselves, they're going to take that as an excuse to get worse. What do we do about that?

We leave, Azazel said. We only needed permission because you and Jomael and the others wanted to stay, and I didn't want to split up the family. But if they're not going to treat us with respect, if they're not going to honor their agreements, then what exactly would you be staying for?

I… Shemyaza went silent for a moment. Lila and Poppi and Tora would all still be here. I wouldn't want to just leave them behind.

They'd understand. Hell, Lila would probably come with us. Esrafil might come too, once Tora finishes her new body.

I don't want them to have to make that choice.

And they wouldn't want us to suffer just to stay close to them, either. You know that. What is this really about?

Shemyaza didn't respond.

Shemyaza, talk to me. What's going on with you?

It's stupid. I shouldn't even be saying this much.

What happened to having nothing to hide?

I don't, it's just… There's a girl. She—

Please tell me you're joking, Azazel said.

She's a Nopon who helps run the production line. We used to talk a lot, back when I was the only one awake. I like her.

Is this the reason you've been trying to stay behind this whole time? I had to stop Ridwan from blasting your ass into the ocean over a fucking Nopon girl?

No, Shemyaza said. It's not just her. I've got other concerns. But you're not going to listen to them now, are you? Which is why I didn't want to say anything.

Was he serious? He wanted to stay behind for a Nopon? He'd choose a Nopon over his own family? Of all the idiotic nonsense to hold them up now, it had to be something like this.

Except… He didn't really have room to talk. The whole point of being awakened was so they could make their own choices. If Shemyaza wanted to stay behind, that was his choice. Azazel knew that, even if he didn't want them to be separated. It wouldn't do to throw a tantrum over it. He had to respect his brother's choice.

Ridwan will want to leave, he said. If not now, then soon.

I know. I don't know about the others, but I'm staying.

I'm not. She's got the right of it. Leaving them behind is the only way this ends well.

I know that too. I'm just… I guess I want your blessing, or something. The family has looked to me as a leader for so long, and I don't want to leave them like this. But someone should stay behind, to keep an eye on things, and… I figure it might as well be me. I've got the most keeping me here.

If you think it's right, then it's not my place to argue. Azazel took to the sky now that he'd calmed down a little. It was probably better if he was at the nest for the next few hours. I'll talk to the others about it. It won't be the same without you, but we'll make do.

Thank you, Shemyaza said. Really. It means a lot knowing you have my back.

You're my brother, Shem. I'll always have your back.

"Hello?" a voice asked, cutting through on the Watcher's network. It was the hookup the Restoration Department had set up for emergencies. Which was something they'd probably have to remove once they left.

Naddie? Shemyaza asked. Is that you?

"Hey Shemyaza. Can you do me a massive favor?"

Sure. What's going on?

"I'm getting an alarm in storage, but we've got every squad on call tonight for the prisoner transfer with the Gardens. Can you pop down and take a look at it?"

I'll do it, Azazel said. I just reached the factory. And I could use an excuse to blow off some steam.

Are you sure? Shemyaza asked.

Yeah. Stay at the nest and make sure Ridwan doesn't do anything reckless.

"Alright," Naddie said. "Call me when you have eyes on the situation. I don't think we have intruders, but an equipment malfunction would be nearly as bad."

Azazel changed course, flying past the nest and diving over the other side of the factory. It was a sprawling complex sitting on a hill between the city and a nearby harbor. It housed the Restoration Department, Tora's workshop, the Guild's production line, and a handful of other semi-related processes under one roof. The nest, where his family lived nowadays, was built into the side of a tower extending from the city-facing side. Storage, meanwhile, was at the base of the hill, facing the harbor.

As he landed at the entrance to storage, he disengaged his wings, folding them up onto his back. When fully extended, they were too large to fit into most hallways. Another annoyance he had to put up with, living here.

Puzzlingly, the entrance to storage was unlocked, which didn't seem normal. And lights were on inside. This didn't strike him as an equipment malfunction, so as he stepped into the hallway, he cycled up his ether cannon. Just in case.

The first door in the hallway led to where they'd stored the material they recovered during the Morytha expedition. And it was already open. He rushed in, sweeping his cannon around to check for threats, and instantly someone pressed a gun against his head.

"Don't move," the man said, trying his best to loom over Azazel. But a gun wasn't the threat he thought it was. Looking human at a glance had its perks, on occasion. Azazel spun, and the man fired. But the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off his cheek, and he jammed his cannon into the man's chest. Fortunately for him, the man was smart enough to know he was beaten, and he immediately dropped the gun. Azazel was a little disappointed he wouldn't be putting up a fight, though. He'd wanted an excuse to work out some of his frustrations.

"Alright!" the man shouted, throwing his hands up. "You got me."

Azazel looked the man over for a moment. He was red-skinned, with longer ears than any other human he'd seen before. But that wasn't really surprising. Urayans and Ardainians had many distinguishing features, but they were both ultimately human. This man must have been from another Titan. One outside the Coalition.

Naddie, Azazel said, broadcasting over the network. I've got the intruder.

"Shit, really?" she asked. "Damn, excellent work. Bring him up, will you?"

I'll be up soon. Azazel retracted the ether cannon and grabbed the man by the collar.

"We're going," he said, glaring down at the man.

"Hey, I'm not arguing," the man said. Azazel started walking, and the man went willingly. "You're the one with the guns."

Azazel led the man down the hallway and called the elevator. It took some time to arrive, though, and in the meantime, he was stuck with this intruder.

"What gave me away, if you don't mind me asking?"

Azazel considered keeping silent, but he didn't really owe the Coalition his silence. And this man was from outside the Coalition. He might at least have something interesting to say.

"The alarm," he said.

"I disabled the alarm."

"Evidently not."

"Well." The man smiled to himself. "Guess I got sloppy. That one's on me. Still, I hadn't been expecting this."

The man gestured at Azazel.

"If you're smart enough to sneak in here, you're smart enough to know we're here too."

"Sure, but after that spat with Councilman Floren, I figured the Watchers and the Coalition would be parting ways."

Azazel lifted the man up and glared at him. One of the perks of having movable facial features, unlike some of his siblings. "How do you know about that?"

"The same way I knew the Flamebringer would be out for the night. I'm a good listener."

"Listening in on our communications?" Azazel asked.

"That would be telling," the man said.

"You aren't with the Coalition. If you're tracking our comms, then that means you're working with someone on the inside."

"You're right, I'm not with the Coalition," the man said, dodging the other implication. "But you are, for some reason, which I find curious. Feel like sharing? I could probably guess, but we'd be here a while and you look like you have places to be."

"I'm doing Naddie a favor." Azazel said. "She and the department have been gracious, all things considered."

"Denying your request counts as gracious?"

"The council denied our request, not the department."

"They denied your request based on a security assessment the department submitted."

The elevator doors opened, but Azazel didn't step in. Instead, he studied the man's face for a moment. There was no obvious sign he was lying, but he had to be. It was so obviously a ploy to stall for time.

Unfortunately, it worked. Azazel had to know for sure.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"The Flamebringer doesn't lock her desk." The man rummaged around in his coat and produced a two-page report. Immediately, Azazel snatched it from him and began flipping through it. It was short, but it looked official. Combat Effectiveness and Threat Assessment of Artificial Blades. Short, and to the point, signed and sealed by Director Ladair herself. According to this, his family were supposedly highly effective combatants that posed minimal threat to the Coalition security and possessed an unusual willingness to cooperate despite adverse circumstances. A rather apt description.

"I don't understand," Azazel said. "This is hardly incriminating evidence."

"I don't mean to be rude, but you have a very poor imagination. Do you know what's going on in Uraya right now?"

Azazel shook his head. He'd hear the occasional rumor, but he didn't keep up with the news as such. It wasn't much of his concern, at the end of the day. Or at least it hadn't been until now.

"Their military is organized around a strong core of Drivers, mostly mercenaries in the employ of one noble family or another. They lost nearly a third of those Drivers during the Cataclysm, and they've been struggling to recover. It's what brought them to the negotiating table with Mor Ardain to form the Coalition in the first place. But they don't want to be here any more than the Ardainians do. That report in your hands is Queen Raqura's saving grace. Hell, every Coalition nation's probably eyeing you guys as a potential resource now. Low risk and high reward is a politician's wet dream."

"And that's why they wouldn't let us leave," Azazel said, connecting the dots. The council wanted to get their hands on his family for themselves. Unsurprising, frankly. He'd been half expecting something like this since they first started talking to Councilman Floren. He just didn't want to admit it.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "We'll leave whether they want us to or not."

"You think they'd let you?" the man asked. "You're valuable, but even more than that, you're effective. Which means if you leave, you're dangerous. The only reason they tolerate you now is because they can keep you on a short leash. If you break loose, you won't remain a minimal threat. You'll be the number one target on the Flamebringer's hit list, and she's very good at what she does."

"Azazel?" Naddie asked. "What's the holdup?"

Coming, he said, brushing her off. If this man had broken into Director Ladair's office, then he'd been here since way before the alarm had gone off. Which meant either he was incompetent enough to trip an alarm he'd already disabled, which didn't seem likely, or he'd tripped it on purpose. He'd wanted to get caught. And if he knew the department was short-staffed tonight, then he knew someone like Azazel would respond to the call. This was so obviously a setup.

But…

He had knowledge Azazel needed. And something about this still bothered him. He wasn't giving this man to the department until he was sure he knew everything.

"We aren't interested in hurting anyone," he said.

"They won't really care," the man said. "They've come after others for less. Sthenos made the list for getting uppity at a summit that the Coalition invited them to. At this point, they'll take any excuse to eliminate the inconveniences. And if you won't fight for them, you'll be at the top of that list."

"My sister trusts Director Ladair. And I trust my sister. You make a very convincing argument, but this is all hypothetical."

"Your sister. Poppi, I'm assuming? The one whose Driver is a Coalition engineer? Whose best friend runs the Restoration Department? Whose childhood idol is the Coalition's symbol of new beginnings?"

Empty rhetoric. None of those words meant anything here. Tora and Poppi may have been inseparable, but they put their family first. And the Watchers were family. Poppi would help them. Except… He thought back to the promise they made. If they broke with the Coalition, would she see things their way? Or would she stick to her promise and destroy them? He couldn't be sure of the answer.

For the first time, he suddenly faced the very real possibility that he could lose his family. Not only that, but he could lose it at the hands of one of the people he cared about the most. That thought paralyzed him.

"Azazel, respond." Naddie said. He switched off the channel.

"What can we do about it?" he asked. He wasn't going to roll over and die. There had to be something they could do to keep the Coalition from hunting them down.

"We've got a plan," the man said. "Let me go and I'll show you."

Azazel let the man go but brought his ether cannon back online just in case. If this was an elaborate trick, the man would sorely regret it.

They walked back into the storage room, and the man walked over to one of the crates. It was set aside from the others, given special reinforcements. Azazel knew what it was carrying. Precious cargo. Zedekul, the inactive Herald unit Esrafil had recovered.

"If you'd be so kind," the man said, gesturing at the crate. Reluctantly, Azazel fired, separating the lid clean from the rest of it. Esrafil would understand. Probably.

"Why do you need a Herald?" Azazel asked, watching on as the man reached in and pulled Zedekul's body out, cradling the wreck under one arm.

"Rumor is these babies can hack Artifices. And there's a particular Artifice we need for the next part."

"Who is 'we'?"

"I'll tell you when we're out of enemy territory. Assuming you're coming with."

"I want to know what the plan is first."

"In short? We break the Coalition in two. This little guy is a key part of that, but there's a few other bits and bobs we need. The Flamebringer needs to die, for one, and killing the Aegis Driver wouldn't hurt either. And there's a machine we need to bring online before anything can really get started. Once we've got everything in place though?" The man snapped. "The Coalition goes up in smoke."

"How?" Azazel asked.

"Honestly? The details are a little beyond my pay grade. I'm just in charge of procurements. If you want to know the how and the why, then you need to talk to my boss."

"Then we'd better get going."

"You're coming with me?" the man asked, as if his plan hadn't been to recruit one of them in the first place. Still, Azazel figured it might be rude to point that out, when this man seemed to take such pleasure in his job, so he played along.

"I want to hear your plan. I want to save my family."

"Alright." The man shrugged. "The more the merrier, I guess. We'd better be quick about it, though, because you've been stalling a—"

"Azazel!" Poppi shouted, stepping into the hallway. "Everything alright!?"

"Go," Azazel said. The man didn't waste any time ducking into the hallway, but for some reason he made the mistake of trying to slip his way past Poppi. And in a contest of speed, normal humans really didn't compare to the likes of them. Before the man could even register what was happening, she closed the distance and tried to grab him.

But she wasn't the only one here with their speed. Azazel darted into the hallway and shot past the man, tackling Poppi to the ground. The move caught her entirely by surprise, and while she tried to process what was happening, the man darted past them and sprinted outside as fast as he could.

After a moment, though, Poppi managed to overcome her surprise. Her sword flashed, and she swung up, nearly slicing Azazel's leg off. He managed to roll aside at the last moment, but she followed up just as fast, aiming for his torso. He caught the sword with one hand, narrowly avoiding a skewering, but Poppi grabbed his other wrist and shifted her weight on top of him, which kept him pinned all the same. He tried to press up with his wings to give himself some room to work with, but they were trapped too tightly against his body to be of much use.

Poppi, he said, broadcasting to her. Calm down. It's me.

Explain, she said, backing off the pressure a little. She didn't let him up, though.

The Coalition is trying to keep us trapped here. They want to turn us into weapons.

Poppi will not let them.

I don't think we'll get a say in the matter, Poppi. If we stay here, things will only get worse, and if we leave, they'll take the excuse to capture us or eliminate us or worse. There are no good options.

Poppi know that! she shouted. Poppi know there only bad options. That not what this is about. That intruder stole something dangerous, Azazel. Very dangerous, just like Poppi and Esra. If in wrong hands, could threaten whole world.

That man is our only ticket out, Azazel insisted. Unless we do something about the Coalition, our whole family goes up in smoke.

What mean by 'do something?' Poppi asked.

I… Azazel didn't have a good answer to that. Anything he could say would only play into the idea that he was going off the deep end. That he was doing the one thing they promised to never let each other do. Getting out of control.

What Azazel mean? What will happen to Coalition?

I don't know, he said. Which was true. He didn't know, really. But they won't be a threat to our family. And that's what matters.

That not what we promised each other. Poppi tightened the grip on her sword. He could see the pain behind her eyes, and he felt like the only thing stopping her from crying was her inability to produce tears. Azazel promised to stay in control. Promised not to hurt others. Do not make Poppi go through with her end of promise.

I won't, he said. I'm in control.

He could tell she didn't believe him. And he didn't really blame her. But she hadn't seen what he'd seen. He didn't want Tora or Director Ladair to get hurt, but at the end of the day, he had to choose his family. He'd choose his family every time.

Poppi hesitated, lifting up her sword and trying to figure out a way to do this that didn't hurt him. But he didn't hesitate. He fired his ether cannon, slicing through her lower chest and knocking her back into the nearby wall. It was surface-level damage, the kind of wound she'd could get repaired fairly easily. And it pained him to do. But he needed to help his family.

He activated his wings and took to the air, moving out of the factory as frantically as he could. If he didn't hurry, Poppi would catch up, wound or no. As he peeled out, he could see the intruder running across the hillside, trying to get away from the city. He banked and flew to intercept, scooping the man up in his arms.

"We should move," he said. He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see Poppi giving pursuit, but she didn't come. Maybe he'd hurt her worse than he'd meant to. He felt horrible about it, but as long as her ether furnace survived, Tora could fix her up good as new. And it at least meant they weren't being followed.

"Near the border," the man said. "We've got a camp. I'll direct you."

With the man giving directions, it took them about half an hour to reach his rendezvous point. Though it wasn't much of a camp. There was only one tent, and the fire had been put out days ago. As Azazel set the man down, he swept his eyes over the horizon again, just to make sure they hadn't been followed.

"Thanks for the lift," the man said. He stretched out his hand. "I'm Saur, by the way."

"Azazel," Azazel said. "But you already knew that."

"It's nice to officially meet, though. And it's good to have another man on board."

"What are we doing here, exactly?"

"You wanted to meet my boss, right?" Saur asked. "I'll just be a moment."

He handed Zedekul's body to Azazel and stepped inside the tent. The canvas muffled the voices, so Azazel couldn't tell what was being said, but there were two people inside talking in hushed tones. After a moment, the voices stopped, and Saur reemerged.

The man who emerged behind him, however, was what really grabbed Azazel's attention. He was a Blade, covered in stone-like plate armor. At his full height, he towered over Azazel, with arms thicker around than some trees. But the most interesting detail was his Core Crystal. Azazel had heard of Flesh Eaters, Blades whose cores were mixed with human tissue. It produced a characteristic reddish-purple speckled pattern. This man's core was speckled, but the mass of flesh inside was black.

"Hello," the man said. His voice was deep, but quiet. Soft-spoken. "My name is Atasaiah. Saur tells me you're interested in joining us?"

"I am," Azazel said. "I want to help my family."

"Don't we all? Very well then. The Spessian Federation welcomes you, kind stranger. With your help, we will set the world free."