Zeke and the mayor stared at each other for several seconds. The fighting was still going on outside, but for the moment it didn't seem to be getting any closer. While they waited, the mayor opened a pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a long drag.
"I don't know who you mean," he said.
"Maybe you'd rather I asked about this project of yours, then?" Zeke asked. "I'm sure the Coalition would be very interested to know what you've been doing here."
"Bastard," the commander muttered. She pulled herself up, and Pandoria stepped forward, aiming a finger at the woman. Sparks of electricity leapt from it.
"Any sudden moves, and I fire," she said.
"You want to know about the project?" the mayor asked. "Fine. Where should I start?"
"Cadovir!" the commander shouted.
"I'd rather leave this office alive," he said. "If Saur can't even guarantee me that much, then there's no point in keeping my mouth shut."
"You keep talking, and I'll kill you myself."
"Try me," Pandoria said. The mayor looked between them and waited for something to happen. But the commander stayed put, glaring at Pandoria.
"Well then," the mayor said. "Would you like the executive summary, or should we skip to the facility tour?"
"No one leaves this office," Zeke said. "Not until I say so. Now start talking. What is this project of yours?"
"For a Coalition agent, you're not very up to date."
"Never said I worked for the Coalition."
"Fair point." The mayor shrugged. "I inherited the project from my predecessor. And he from his, and so on and so forth. It's been a curse on my office for nearly thirty years, ever since the end of the Osirian War. Apparently President Kimar was the one who ordered it completed, back in the day, but no one knows for sure anymore."
"But what is it?" Zeke asked, more insistently. Even if this guy wasn't willing to talk about Atasaiah, this felt like something the rest of the world needed to hear. If he ever quit stalling.
"A bomb," the mayor said. "A way to turn a Titan into a large-scale explosive device. Big enough to wipe this city clean out of existence. The hope was we could use it to win back territory from Uraya and Mor Ardain, but even with everything we've thrown at it, we never got a working prototype finished before the Cataclysm hit."
Yeah, this was something everyone needed to hear. If they managed to finish this thing, it didn't matter how much military force the rest of the world brought to bear against them. They'd be able to crush the Coalition with a few decisive attacks. They needed to stop this. He needed to stop this.
"You fucking traitor," the commander spat.
"Is it finished?" Zeke asked.
"No," the mayor said. "Saur claims they're close, but I'm not so sure. I don't know all the details, my job is just to get the funds, but it doesn't add up. They've not done any tests in all the time I've been here. And the head scientist is a little…" He made a gesture with his hands that Zeke wasn't familiar with. Must've been a Spessian thing.
"Where is it?"
"The lab's under the tower. I can take you, if you want. It'd be better than waiting around for you or Saur to put a bullet in my head."
Saur. He'd used that name a few times. According to Orion, Saur was the guy who'd organized the attacks against the Gardens too. Which meant he would be the best person to ask for information about Atasaiah. If he was here, then Zeke needed to find him. But this "project" came first. They couldn't let a weapon like that just lie around.
Zeke glanced back at Pandoria just in time to see the commander draw a knife and lunge. The edge glowed, and Pandoria grabbed her wrist, keeping the knife from her throat. Not that it posed much danger to her, she was a Blade, but a wound from that thing wouldn't be pleasant. Zeke moved to help her, and immediately the mayor moved too.
He dove to the side, drawing a pistol and aiming for Zeke's head. Zeke managed to block the first few shots with his sword, but already the mayor was running, reaching for a box on the wall. Zeke lunged, trying to use the flat of his sword to knock the man back, but someone grabbed him from behind. It was the commander. The side of her face was burned, and she'd lost her knife, but somehow, she'd slipped past Pandoria.
Zeke fired the end of his sword out, imbedding it in the wall to keep the mayor away from the box, and used the sword's handle to strike at the commander. She caught the strike and wrenched it down, lunging up to punch him in the face with her other hand. But he was faster, and he caught her strike in turn. Then, with a heave, he whirled around and slammed her into the mayor as he tried to scramble around the sword.
The three of them fell on top of one another, and he felt something press against his leg. Before he could get out, the gun fired, and something tore through him. Less of a bullet and more of a slug of heated energy. The burning as it melted a hole through his leg was intense. The pistol must've been Core Chip powered.
He lost his grip momentarily as he scrambled back, using his good leg to kick the other two away. The commander followed him, and he struck her across the face with his sword handle. A shock of electricity rang out from it, knocking her to the ground, but the mayor was already on his feet again.
Given the choice of shooting Zeke or going for the alarm, he chose to shoot Zeke. But a shield came up between them before he could pull the trigger, and immediately Zeke tossed the handle back toward Pandoria. She caught it in a crouch with one hand, using the other to pull the knife from her neck. Then she rushed the mayor, hitting him with a blast of electricity that threw him back and crumpled him against the ground.
The commander tried to dart past Pandoria, but Zeke grabbed her ankle, dragging her back. When Pandoria stepped closer, however, the mayor's arm lurched up, firing two shots point-blank into Pandoria's stomach. She staggered back, dropping the knife to clutch her stomach reflexively, and the mayor tried to get to his feet.
Zeke tackled the man before he could take another step, slamming the flat of his palm against his jaw. They both fell again, and Zeke pulled his sword from the wall as he did. Wielding it like a club, he bashed the flat side against the mayor's nose, knocking his head against the ground. The commander kicked at Zeke's head, and he slammed the sword into her, too. Immediately, Pandoria slipped the handle back into place, firing a large burst of electricity through the weapon. The commander twitched momentarily, then fell still.
"Bugger me," Zeke muttered, pulling himself to his feet. He hadn't expected them to both be decked out in Core Chip weapons. That gun had burned a hole through his best pants, too, not to mention his leg.
He took a moment to tear the cloth free from the burn, then limped over to the commander to make sure she was still breathing. She'd taken a lot of punishment for a non-Driver.
"We should move," Pandoria said. "That was bound to attract attention."
"Can't stop now," Zeke grunted, slowly leaning on his wounded leg. Luckily, the heat from the energy projectile had already cauterized his wound, but it was going to be hard to fight like this. Wordlessly, Pandoria slipped under his arm and supported him. The two began hobbling toward the door.
"That weapon," Zeke continued. "The lab under the tower. We need to get there."
"In this condition?" Pandoria asked. "Behind enemy lines? I don't think so."
"Oh please. I've had worse. But we can't let them finish a weapon like that."
"We'll get the info back to Nia and she'll be able to do something." Pandoria led them out into the hallway. "Right now, my number one priority is keeping you—"
The wall next to them exploded, throwing them back into the room. The angel floated in after them, cannons primed and ready to fire. The air around them began to shimmer, however, and a wall of ice went up to cover them from the angel. He fired anyway, slowly burning through the ice, and Pandoria threw up a shield.
"We need another exit!" she shouted, passing the sword back to Zeke. He nodded and stepped away from her, swinging the sword at the opposite wall. With a burst of ether, he blew through it, giving them an escape route.
As he grabbed Pandoria, however, something moved in the corner of his vision. The commander got to her feet and found the mayor's gun. But she wasn't focused on them. She raised the gun and put two slugs in the mayor's head, blasting his skull wide open. Zeke had to stifle the urge to vomit as she looked up, a cold fury in her eyes. Before she could fire on them, however, he jumped through the hole, dragging Pandoria with him.
As they landed, Pandoria slipped back under his arm, and he leaned on her for support. It reminded him a little of the last time they'd been in Spessia. The two took off running, moving as fast as they could with his injury. Despite what Pandoria had said, they ran for the lift in the middle of the tower. Deep down, she probably also felt that they couldn't let this lie.
As they ran, however, the commander came tumbling out the window after them. With the knife in one hand and the gun in the other, she charged after them, firing blasts of ether over their heads. Instead of throwing up a shield, Pandoria sent out pulses of ether from her feet as they ran, forming waves of electricity that cascaded out behind them. They forced the woman to take cover, and Zeke and Pandoria kept running.
Before they could reach the lift, the angel caught up with them. He came flying around the side of the tower, and immediately Zeke fired the sword at him. He evaded, but Pandoria took the handle and flipped it around, firing a stream of electricity from the end. He couldn't evade that as easily, so he just took the hit. It slowed him down a little, but otherwise didn't have much effect.
"Keep running!" Zeke shouted, hooking one arm through Pandoria's. He jumped and rolled, pressing his back against hers with his feet dangling in midair. She hunched over and grabbed his other arm, using bursts of ether to maintain her speed while he handled the defense. It was a maneuver she'd come up with after their last misadventure in Spessia ended in him losing a lung. Mostly, they practiced it just in case she ever needed to drag his body around again, but it had also helped him get used to controlling ether in his early days as a Blade Eater.
As the angel descended, priming another laser blast, Zeke took the sword handle and held it with both hands, stretched longways across his chest. He forced as much ether as he could into it, then flicked one end out, hurling a lightning bolt at the angel. The man dodged, and Zeke swung the handle up, recalling the blade and striking the angel from behind. Briefly, one of his wings sputtered out, and he lost flight.
As the angle fell, spinning wildly, he tried to fire off a shot anyway. It went wide, striking a nearby rooftop, but a moment later Zeke realized they hadn't been the target. Something hit the snow in front of them, and Nal shimmered into reality. There was a large burn on her shoulder where the laser had hit home.
Pandoria veered close to Nal, and she rolled over, grabbing Zeke's passing foot. The added weight threatened to tip the whole precarious setup over, but Pandoria managed to shift her shoulders and keep running, closing in on the entrance to the massive cargo lift. Zeke put up a shield plate between them and the angel, moving it around as the Blade took to the sky again. He couldn't make full shields himself, his ether control wasn't good enough, but he could still provide some protection.
"He can see through my illusions!" Nal shouted, trying to keep her head above the cloud of dust she was kicking up as Pandoria dragged her along. Another laser flew at them, and Zeke frantically adjusted the shield plate to block it. The two collided, more or less annihilating each other, and another laser immediately followed behind it. Nal threw up her own shield, taking the hit for them, but she couldn't maintain her concentration for long. The moment it fell, another two lasers burst through.
Nal let go of Zeke's leg, again sending Pandoria skidding to the side. As she tumbled across the ground, she drew her guns and fired two bursts of ice. They crystalized into spikes midair and intercepted the lasers, but the angel was already firing more. And Nal had just left herself stranded and exposed.
Playing defense against this guy wasn't getting them anywhere. They needed to hit back. Zeke pulled his arms in, signaling for Pandoria to release him, and lurched forward. As he hit the ground, he swung the sword forward, unleashing a wave of electricity that cascaded toward the angel. He floated to the side, letting the ether fly past him, but Zeke immediately sent another his way. He kept throwing out waves of ether, and the angel kept dodging, but so long as Zeke kept up the pressure, the angel couldn't return fire.
But the commander could. Zeke saw her running for them out of the corner of his eye. She'd gone around the building Nal had been hiding on, but he couldn't turn his attention on her without letting the angel return fire himself. Worse still, he could only keep up this level of ether output for a few more swings. Any more and he risked overloading his or Pandoria's core.
Fortunately, Nal managed to get to her feet and fire a shot at the angel, clipping one of his wings. Ice expanded out rapidly from the impact, and he lost altitude just as quickly. As he hit the ground, Zeke whirled, throwing out a wave of electricity at the commander just as she began firing on him. The electricity forced her back around the corner of the building, but not before she managed to hit him in the shoulder.
Thankfully, the shot hit one of his shoulder pads, and he managed to tear the armor off and toss it aside before the ether burned through to the skin underneath. As he stumbled back, Nal clapped her hands together, throwing out a large wave of ice ether that very quickly solidified into a wall. They all got to running again, Nal and Zeke hobbling along with Pandoria's help.
As the three of them reached the lift, however, there was a loud crack, and the wall split in two. The angel tore his way through with long, thin claws extending from his fingers. He rushed forward, drawing a hand back to tear into Nal, and Zeke stepped between them, swinging his sword down at the man's head. The angel caught his strike and immediately lunged for his stomach, but Zeke lashed out with a burst of ether-enhanced speed and grabbed the man's wrist.
As they stood, straining against each other to gain the upper hand, Zeke finally had time to take a look at who he was fighting. Something about the Blade was familiar, and after several seconds of study, it clicked. The long claws, the laser-cannon arms, the wings of light. This was one of Torna's Artificial Blades—they were calling themselves the Watchers now, he remembered. Only he'd been modified extensively to look human.
Now that he knew, Zeke could see Tora's handiwork all over the man. In many ways he was like Poppi, with hair, eyes, and skin that all passed for the real thing. The biggest giveaway that he was still artificial was the lines tracing his body where the segments meshed. But otherwise, if Zeke ignored the ether furnace burning in his chest, he looked eerily human. He could probably even pass for a natural Blade to all but the very observant, just like Poppi could.
"You're a long way from home," Zeke said. "I didn't realize the Watchers were moonlighting as Spessian security."
"Shut up," the man said. He was angry.
"What, are you in trouble or something? Whatever it is, I can help."
"Can you get the Coalition to free my family?"
"What?" Zeke blurted out. The Watchers were being detained? That didn't seem like a good idea, though it wasn't entirely surprising, considering who was running things over there.
"Figures." The man shook his head. "If you really want to help, you'll come quietly."
"Can't do that," Zeke said. "I've got people back home depending on me."
"So do I."
A hole opened up in the angels' palm, and the laser cannon reemerged. For a moment, Zeke wondered why he'd refrained from using it for the last few seconds. His shots seemed like they came in bursts, so maybe it took time to charge up a volley. Or maybe he'd just been holding back on account of Zeke's relationship with Tora. Either way, he was firing now.
Zeke lurched back, pushing up the arm in his grip and sending a pulse of electricity along his sword to force the angel to let go. He didn't. Instead, he wrenched down, trying to drag his arm back in line with Zeke's head. Zeke kicked up a cloud of dust in response, immediately feeling silly for attempting to blind a machine sophisticated enough to see through Nal's illusions.
Only it worked, somehow. All the technology crammed into him, and he still had to let go of the sword to rub the dirt from his eyes. Immediately Zeke ducked under the laser arm and swung his sword, striking the man clean in the chest and knocking him back into the still-standing wall of ice.
"Zeke!" Pandoria shouted, waving at him from the lift. She and Nal had dealt with the guards on it, and now she was fiddling with a panel of wiring. Zeke hobbled back over to them, and she managed to get sparks of electricity moving through the system. A moment later, the doors to the lift began closing.
Before they could finish, someone rolled through the shrinking gap. It was the commander, again, immediately aiming her gun up at Zeke's head. But Nal appeared beside her before she could fire, pressing her own gun against the woman's temple. For several seconds, they just stared at each other.
"I'd advise you put the gun down," Nal said. "I'm real tired of havin' to deal with yer type."
"Fuck you," the commander said. She fired at Zeke, and Pandoria threw up a shield before the ether could hit them. Immediately, Nal flicked up her other gun and put a bullet through the commander's hand. With a stifled scream, she dropped the gun and curled up on the floor of the lift as it lurched down.
"Alright, what the hell happened?" Nal asked.
"You tell me," Zeke said. "Were all those explosions your doing?"
"Pretty boy could see through my ice. I had to get creative. What were you doin', shootin' up their command center?"
"They shot first," Pandoria said.
"We were gathering intelligence," Zeke said. "You remember that ace we suspected Spessia was keeping up their sleeve? Turns out it's a bomb, powerful enough to level a whole city in one stroke. They think they can use it to force the Coalition's surrender."
"And now we're heain' to deal with it," Nal realized. After a moment, she shrugged. "Sure, fine. Strayin' a little far from the initial goal, though."
"How about we don't talk about that in front of the Spessian commander," Pandoria said.
"What's it matter what we tell her?"
"We're not killers, Nal. We can't tell her anything they can use."
"Idiots," the commander muttered.
"I don't see why you're complaining," Zeke said. "You get to live. The least you could do is keep your mouth shut."
"Professional advice? Don't tell your prisoners you aren't going to hurt them. You can't guarantee compliance that way."
"Listen lady," Nal said. "They may not have a taste for killin', but I ain't so high and mighty. Do somethin' I don't like, and I'll put one in ya' faster'n you can blink."
"We're not killing her," Zeke said. "That's final."
"I don't need to kill her to keep her in line." Nal pressed the gun against the commander's leg. "Blowin' her kneecaps out oughtta do just as well."
"You don't scare me," the commander said, looking up to meet Nal's gaze. "You can act as tough as you like, you can swagger around with your big Cannibal attitude, but I know what you are. You're Gardens Blades. So committed to putting your violence behind you that you've swung way too far in the other direction. You wouldn't lay a finger on me if your life depended on it."
Without warning, Nal fired, sending a spike of ice ether straight through the commander's leg. She screamed, and Nal nudged the barrel of the gun underneath her chin, forcing her to maintain eye contact. Zeke stormed up and wrenched her back, placing himself between them, but Nal looked satisfied.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" he asked.
"I'm just provin' a point," Nal said. "I don't much care for yer principles. Y'all can be as friendly with her as ya' like, but if I think she needs any reminder of where she stands, I'll provide it."
"She's not a threat. Shooting her just to prove a point is only going to cause more headaches."
"Oh she's a threat, all right. First chance she got, she woulda shot ya' in the back. I know 'em when I see 'em."
Zeke stared at her, fuming, trying to think of some way to get through to her that this was not acceptable. They weren't going to kill or torture people, no matter who they were. But she didn't seem like budging on this point, and he didn't have the time or the patience to sit here and explain to her why this wasn't going to fly. Instead, he'd just have to keep an eye on her and make sure she couldn't do anything like this in the future.
"Pandoria, keep an eye on our prisoner," Zeke said. Nal snorted, choking down a laugh, but Zeke ignored her.
"Sure," Pandoria said. She took some time to look over the commander while Zeke wrapped his leg up. He managed to get himself more-or-less patched up by the time the lift reached its destination.
It was a large underground storage complex, by the looks of it, but most of it had been stripped bare. The empty storage containers lining the walls were the only hint at the room's past function. Most of the rest of the floorspace was devoted to several hulking Titans. A group of six-legged ones all kept in separate cages. Each wore a mechanical harness, and thick coils of either wire and tubing ran from each harness to a central machine.
It was shaped like a giant hexagonal prism, only someone had carved a series of concave indents into all the sides. Those indents were packed with coil after coil of wiring that wound up the prism to a small dome on top, where a nozzle had been affixed. That nozzle produced a constant, thin stream of ether that diffused into the surroundings. It wasn't perceptible to the human eye, but with his Blade-enhanced senses, he could just barely make it out.
All around the machine were various workstations, and as the lift descended, he could see a team of people moving between them, conducting their research. The team looked roughly half Nopon, half human. Spessians, mostly, though there was one Ardainian in the mix. Most of the current activity seemed to center around one Nopon. He was the oldest of the bunch, with a gray tuft of hair and fading golden-brown fur. He rooted around in the guts of the hexagonal machine, barking orders to what were assumably his subordinates. As the lift touched down, most of the rest of the chaos subsided, but he remained steadfast.
"Professor!" the commander shouted, catching the team's attention. "We have intruders!"
"Right you do!" Zeke proclaimed, stepping forward. He swung his sword, flinging a bolt of lightning harmlessly against the wall. "So I'd advise you all stay put!"
He stepped forward, and the group of researchers more or less stayed put. A few stepped back, trying to keep him at a distance, but a glare was enough to keep them from doing anything stupid. Still, the Nopon busy working on the machine kept at it, oblivious to his surroundings.
"Old man!" Zeke shouted, trying to get his attention. "I'm going to need you to step out of the machine!"
The man ignored him, and Zeke glanced at one of the other researchers. A positively terrified man in his early twenties.
"Can you get his attention?" Zeke asked. Frantically, the man nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he inched over and shook the Nopon hard on the shoulder. Or wing? Did Nopon have shoulders? Didn't matter now, but it was something to ask Tora about later.
"What?" the Nopon asked, leaning out of the machine. He glared, first at his assistant, then at Zeke, though he only had one eye to glare with. The other had been replaced with a red visor, and parts of his face around the prosthetic were covered in metal plating.
"Hello!" Zeke waved. "Is this the bomb project I was told about?"
"No," the Nopon said.
"No?"
"These idiots want bomb," the Nopon said, motioning up at the commander. "But schematics they provide are widely applicable. If process is done rapidly, could produce explosion, but done slowly? It produce useable energy, directly from Cloud Sea."
"Sounds a lot like a bomb," Zeke said.
"Once project is complete, there will be no need for bombs. Free energy will be widely available to all."
"At the expense of a few Titans," Zeke said, motioning toward the cages.
"Titans are unfortunate intermediate step. Hopefully, next stage of design will do away with and draw power from Cloud Sea, just as they do."
"Fancy." Zeke nodded, looking around. Clearly, this guy believed in the cause beyond its ability to provide weapons for Spessia. He was probably high-minded and principled, like a lot of academics. So long as he never thought about where the money was coming from, anyway. But this still had dangerous military applications, and Zeke couldn't let it sit in the hands of a nation that seemed hell-bent on applying them.
"Your bosses won't see it that way," Zeke said. "Like you said, they want a bomb. Whether this energy project of yours comes to pass or not, they'll still use whatever you give them to go to war with the Coalition. A lot of people are going to die."
"Humans wage war," the Nopon said. "This is way of things."
"Only if we let it be. I, for one, refuse to let people keep spilling innocent blood. Not when I can do something about it."
"You want to save lives?" The Nopon motioned back at the commander. "Fight her. I have work to finish."
"I can't let you do that." Zeke pointed his sword at the man. "Now move aside, please."
"This project is our best chance for clean, safe energy." The Nopon straightened up and crossed his arms. "Soosoo will not let you destroy it."
"That sounds nice, on the face of it, but I can't trust that Spessia won't abuse it."
"Like you're any better," the commander shouted. "If the Coalition had their hands on this, they wouldn't hesitate for a second to use it on us. This is a matter of survival, and I'm not letting my people die."
"No one should have access to something like this," Zeke said. "Just about the only person I'd trust to build it is my old pal Tora, and even he's a little too closely tied with the Coalition these days."
"Tora…" the Nopon Soosoo muttered. "Who is this Tora?"
"A friend of mine," Zeke said. He would humor the man if it meant getting him to step aside without resorting to violence. "He's a Nopon inventor, a lot like yourself I'd imagine. He would've gotten a real kick out of this place, actually. I don't know how much news you get out here, but you must've heard of the Artificial Blades, right? He helped design those."
"Impossible…" Soosoo's gaze softened. "Soosoo thought no one else survived attack…"
He lost his balance and fell against a nearby railing, barely keeping himself upright. Some of his assistants tried to help him stand, but he brushed them off.
"You alright?" Zeke asked.
"Tora was grandsonnypon," Soosoo said. "All this time, I…" He screwed his eye shut. Zeke couldn't tell very well from where he stood, but he was pretty sure the man was crying. He stepped back, giving him a moment to compose himself, and looked around at the other researchers.
"Schematics," he said, brandishing his sword at them. "Now."
One researcher, a Nopon, moved to one of the workstations.
"Don't even think about it!" the commander shouted. "If any of you so much as entertain the idea of helping the intruders, I'll kill you myself!"
"Do as he says," Soosoo said. He stood up and reached into the machine, moving parts around for a minute before coming pulling out a gray box with several wires poking out of it. Seemingly satisfied, he marched up to one of the workstations and retrieved the schematics himself.
"Professor!" the commander shouted. "What do you think you're doing!? We had a deal!"
"My family is alive." Soosoo walked up to Zeke and gave him a nod. "Work will be safer in their hands than yours."
"But professor!" one of the other researchers protested. He was the young Spessian Zeke had singled out earlier. "If you do this, you'll be throwing away years of hard work!"
"Family lives in Coalition," Soosoo said, looking to Zeke for confirmation. He nodded. "Soosoo cannot let Spessia hurt them."
"You goddamn traitor!" the commander howled. She tried to lunge at them, but Pandoria held her back. Nal struck her over the head as she thrashed about, and she collapsed to the ground.
"She's alive," Nal said, rolling her eyes as Pandoria glared at her.
"All that's left is taking care of this thing," Zeke said, looking up at the machine. "I assume I've got your permission, Professor?"
"By all means," Soosoo said. "Can always rebuild. Should go much more swiftly with help from family."
Good enough. He'd have to think up a way to keep the technology, or at least the idea of weaponizing it, out of the Coalition's hands. But for now, he'd managed to deprive Spessia of their ace. As he wound up his swing, however, the young Spessian researcher put himself between Zeke and the machine.
"Move," Zeke said.
"No," the man replied. He was sweating bullets, but he spread his arms out all the same, not giving Zeke any room to go around him. "I'm not letting you destroy my life's work. Our lives' work."
Zeke grabbed the man and shoved him aside. Normally he would have been gentler, but they didn't have time to play around down here. Pretty soon the angel was going to be on them. He felt a twinge of guilt as he plunged his sword into the guts of the machine, but whatever good they'd been doing here would have paled in comparison to the destruction this weapon would have caused. With a good swing, however, Zeke put an end to that. He tore out a chunk from the machine's side, and the thing sputtered briefly before dying entirely. He could feel the researchers collectively recoil in horror as their work went up in smoke.
Before he could drive his sword back in, however, a deep boom resounded through the complex. It had come from above the lift. Zeke glanced back at the hole in the ceiling just in time to see the angel come flying down, lasers on full blast. He, Pandoria, and Nal all simultaneously threw up shields as the angel descended, managing to block the lasers but leaving themselves sitting out in the open. The angel didn't hesitate to capitalize on that. He crashed through Nal's shield and pinned her to the ground, a laser pressed against her head.
As Zeke readied his sword, however, he noticed the angel had a passenger. A Spessian man in a dark suit. But he looked more like Guild muscle than someone working for the Spessian government, and he seemed entirely too calm, given the situation. As he stepped down from the angel's back, he pulled a cigarette from his suit and lit it.
"Ozychlyrus Brounev Tantal," the man said, stepping forward. "Of all the troublemakers the Coalition could have sent my way, you're the one I wanted to see the most."
"You know who I am," Zeke said. Somehow, that bothered him. Sure, he was famous to a degree, but the best part about being at his level of fame was being able to surprise unsuspecting chumps with the reveal. And this man had just stolen the chance for himself.
"Of course I know who you are. I've had my eye on you for months, now. I've got an offer for you that you'll really want to take."
He motioned back at Nal, and Azazel began charging up another laser blast.
"Hey!" Pandoria called out. She had her fingers pressed against the commander's neck. "Let her go!"
"I don't think so," the man said. "We both know you won't hurt her. Save yourself the trouble and let her go."
Pandoria looked back at Zeke, and he gave her his best "go with your gut" look. If this guy knew who they were, it was pretty pointless to try using a hostage. He was right that neither of them would really go through with it. With a sigh, she stepped back and released the commander.
"It's a little rude to skip straight to business," Zeke said. "You haven't even told me your name yet."
"Ah. Of course." The man bowed. "My name is Saur, and I'm a special operative for the Spessian Federation's Sovereignty Commission. And…" He paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his request. "We have a plan to save the world. But to do it, I'll need your help."
Nia sat in her office, tucked away in a small corner of the Caretakers' quarters. She rarely had cause to use it, and as such it was barely furnished. One threadbare desk and two chairs, for when she absolutely needed to meet with someone in private, but she didn't much care for it. She didn't need material things to convey her status or power, her reputation managed that for her just fine.
The Tantalese councilor—Astelle, as Nia recalled—sat across from Nia, fidgeting in place. She was a mousey woman, way too self-conscious to be an effective politician. But Nia respected her for that, so she did her best to appear as warm and welcoming as possible. She got the sense that her reputation among the Coalition's political class was the source of a lot of the woman's nerves.
"How was your journey?" Nia asked, trying to lighten the mood. "I know we're a long way from the capital, and I appreciate you taking the time to come visit."
"It was fine," the woman said, not making eye contact. "I've never ridden an unmodified Titan before."
"Azurda speaks very highly of you," Nia continued. That was true, though he spoke highly of most of his fellow councilors. In fact, it was rare of him not to speak highly of someone. "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I'm sorry they gave you the unenviable task of dealing with me."
"Oh, it's no trouble!" she said, quickly throwing up her hands. She looked like she was trying to apologize. "I volunteered to come, actually. I've always wanted to talk to you in person."
"You…" Nia didn't quite know how to respond. She had assumed this was going to be some kind of formal warning for refusing to commit troops to the upcoming invasion of Spessia. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"I'm… Kind of a fan."
Astelle averted her eyes, and her face turned a deep red. Nia was taken aback. She'd never had a fan before. She wasn't sure she wanted that kind of fame or attention, either, but at least she wasn't scaring the poor girl.
"A fan?"
"I spent a year working in Zeke's office, back when he was on the council. It seemed like the only thing he ever talked about was the time he spent with you all. And he talked about you, more than anyone else. He really talked you up. I didn't quite believe him until I saw you in person. But after what you did at the summit? Standing up to a room full of powerful people like the emperor?" Astelle shook her head. "I wish I had even a shred of your confidence."
"I'd call it stubbornness more than confidence," Nia said. "Someone has to keep Pyra's vision alive. If no one else is going to do it, then the responsibility falls to me. I can't afford not to stand up."
"What you did was still incredible. I mean…" Astelle fumbled for words for a moment. "Sorry, I'm rambling. You probably don't want to sit here and listen to me babble on."
"You're fine," Nia said. "You're offering me a much needed break from my schedule, anyway. Take all the time you need."
"Is it true you stopped a Judician Titan weapon?"
"Not on my own, and I mostly ran interference that time, but yeah. We managed to pin it down not far from here. Azurda could take us to visit later, if you'd like. I've been assured it's inert, these days."
"Astelle," KOS-MOS said, cutting her Driver off. She'd been standing in the corner of the room, stock still and eerily quiet up until now. Nia had almost forgotten she was there. "We should conduct our business first."
"Yeah," Astelle sighed. "You're right."
"Very well," Nia said. She straightened up and wiped the traces of a smile from her face. "What is it you wished to discuss?"
"The Chancellor asked me to come here," Astelle said. "We're trying to establish formal diplomatic relations with all the Coalition member states, but the Gardens have been quiet. Azurda only makes half the meetings, and when he's not around we never know what's going on over here. That concerns a lot of people back home. You'd think the Tantalese parliament, of all people, would understand when a place just wants to be left alone, but…" She shrugged.
"I understand," Nia said. "So you're looking to establish more regular contact?"
"Ideally, Tantal would like to set up an embassy here in the Gardens. We've prepared a space for you to set up your own embassy in Theosoir in exchange."
"I see…" Nia considered the proposition for a moment. This was probably bound to happen sooner or later. As much as they wanted to keep their distance, they were part of the Coalition. But if they granted one to Tantal, the other nations would want to follow suit. It would be putting a lot of their influence uncomfortably close at hand.
"Is there a problem?" Astelle asked.
"I can't give you an embassy right away," Nia said. "It'll take us time to prepare the necessary space, of course, but there's another pressing issue. I don't know how the Blades here will take increased Coalition presence in their daily lives."
"Oh." Astelle deflated a little. "I understand."
"That isn't a no, but I'll have to bring it to a vote. When big decisions like this come up, I find it best to involve as many people as possible. One of the reasons Blades feel safe here is because they feel they have a voice. Ultimately, the decision is up to them."
"What do you think they'll decide?" Astelle asked. "I can't exactly report a maybe back to the Chancellor."
"Personally, I'm not opposed to the idea," Nia said. "I know a lot of Blades who will be, though, so I honestly can't say. I'll put it to a vote tomorrow, so you should have an answer soon."
"A slow process," KOS-MOS noted.
"It's worked for us so far. I think the rest of the world could stand to slow down a little. It'd do everyone some good."
"I can stay the night," Astelle said. "Just between us, I'm really hoping you'll let us set up here, because I'm looking for a transfer. Being stationed here seems nice, and I'm not cut out for sitting on the Coalition council. Too much bickering."
"I think you might just be in the wrong line of work," Nia noted.
"I know." Astelle sighed, deflating in the chair. "But I'll take anything over listening to Robalt and Moui go at each other for the hundredth time this week."
"I know how you feel. Truth be told, I don't know how much easier you're going to find it here. But we're trying, and I like to think that counts for something."
"I'll take my chances," Astelle said. "Assuming you'll let me."
"We'll know one way or the other tomorrow," Nia said. She stood up. "Now, I've got a few minutes free in my schedule today. Would you like to see that Titan weapon?"
"Yes," Astelle said, her eyes lighting up. As Nia headed for the door, however, KOS-MOS put a hand out to stop her.
"There is trouble," she said. "Others with hostile intent. Did you plan this?"
"I'm sorry?" Nia asked. A moment later, her earpiece crackled to life.
"Nia," Patroka said. "You've got incoming."
"Corvin?" Nia asked, stepping away from KOS-MOS.
"Unfortunately. He's got kind of a large crowd with him, and… Ah shit."
"What's going on?" Nia asked.
"Tenax is here."
Which could only mean one thing. Corvin was calling another hearing. And he'd gone behind her back to contact Tenax himself. But… What else did he want? He'd pressed her from every angle he could think of, and she'd done her best to accommodate him. He'd been quiet for more than a week now, so what other issue could he have found to press in that time?
"I think these people are here for me," she said, stepping past KOS-MOS and opening the door. As she did, she saw him storming his way down the hall, his followers in tow. She'd never seen him angry before, but he looked angry now. Genuinely angry.
"Nia!" he shouted, not bothering to use her title. That annoyed her. They weren't friends, so he could at least show some basic courtesy. But she let it slide.
"What can I help you with?" she asked, resisting the urge to cross her arms and look confrontational.
"What can—" He stammered, gesturing wildly. "What in the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Pardon?"
"You put your own Blade in the infirmary, and you're just standing around like everything's normal!? From what I heard, you nearly killed him!"
Nia had to fight the urge to punch him with every fiber of her being. But despite all her effort, she still found herself manifesting her sword. He stepped back, eyes fixed on it warily, and she couldn't be bothered to put it away. There was a strict no-weapons policy, unless absolutely necessary, but right now she didn't care.
"I put up with a lot of shite from you," she said, measuring her words carefully. "But even I have my limits. I would appreciate it if you learned the context before running your mouth next time."
"You don't intimidate me," Corvin said, clearly lying. "How can we trust you to look after the people here when you can't even look after your own Blade?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," she said. Slowly, she hung the sword at her waist. "He asked for my help, and he knew the risks. I never meant to hurt him, but it was out of my control."
That last part was a lie. It had been entirely within her control. She'd been too quick to act, and it had nearly cost Dromarch his life. She was angry with herself for even attempting the surgery. But she wasn't about to tell Corvin that.
"We'll let the people be the judge of that," he said. "I'm officially calling a hearing on the grounds that you are not fit to serve as Head Caretaker."
"I know," Nia said. "Tenax is already here."
"Then I'll see you at the amphitheater," he said, not bothering to keep the disdain out of his voice. To his credit, he was an effective actor. His followers obviously bought it because they seemed just as furious as he was. But this had cemented it for her. He was trying to depose her, so of course he was their Spessian spy. But that he was using Dromarch, of all people, to do it? That was low, even for him.
As he left, however, a couple of the people with him stuck around. Agate, Dahlia, and most of the rest of the crew in charge of healing Temperantia. That stung, to see good people like Agate throwing their lot in with him. She wanted to ask why, but the look in Agate's eyes was… There was a fury there that Nia didn't recognize. What had she done to upset Agate to this degree?
"Anything to say?" Nia asked. "Or are you just here to glare at me?"
"I don't know what I expected," Agate said. "But I'd hoped you'd at least take this seriously."
"I am, believe me."
"I don't believe you. Not anymore." She sighed. "I warned you this could happen. The longer you cling to power, the worse this will get. No matter what, this doesn't end well. You know that, right?"
"What would you have me do, exactly?"
"Step down, I suppose." Agate shrugged. "Beyond that? I guess we're about to find out."
With that, Agate's group turned to leave, following Corvin.
"Is everything alright?" Astelle asked, poking her head out of the office as Corvin left.
"No," Nia said. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Like I said, we've been having struggles of our own. Hopefully this won't take long."
She followed Corvin and Agate to the amphitheater, where a crowd had already begun to gather. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about Dromarch in front of an audience. She didn't even want to think about what she'd done. But she couldn't let him do this. She had a responsibility to the Gardens, and if that meant telling an amphitheater of people how she nearly killed her best friend, then that was something she'd have to do.
"Nia," Mikhail said, catching up with her outside the amphitheater. "Tell me this isn't happening."
"I wish I could," she said.
"Well, don't worry." He smiled at her. "We've all got your back."
"Thanks," she said, stepping past him. But the one person she could really use at her back right now was Zeke, and he was still in Spessia. He was good at this political stuff, and the rest of them weren't. Mikhail meant well, but he couldn't get her out of this. No one here could. She was effectively on her own.
As she entered the amphitheater, the audience was dead quiet. Tenax, Corvin, and Agate were already on the stage, waiting for her, and she stepped up to join them. Tenax let out a sigh and turned toward the crowd.
"My name is Tenax," she said. "Daughter of Estham. I have little interest in the goings on of these Gardens, but I have been asked to adjudicate this hearing as a neutral party."
She opened with the same spiel every time, and Nia could hear the fatigue in her voice. Hearings were becoming a much more frequent affair, to the point where she feared they would push Tenax past her willingness to engage with them. They might already have.
"We'll begin with a brief summary of the events that necessitated this hearing. Corvin, the man bringing the charges, will now speak."
"Thank you," Corvin said, stepping forward. She thought he'd be relishing the opportunity to finally do this, but he still looked furious. "It has been brought to my attention that, during what should have been a simple surgical procedure, the Head Caretaker severely wounded and nearly killed her Blade, Dromarch. He bears severe injuries on his Core Crystal and may never recover. In my view, this is an unacceptable breach of the trust we place in our Caretakers."
"You have a proposal in mind," Tenax said.
"Yes, I do. I believe the Head Caretaker is a danger to her charges, and as such should not be allowed to continue in her role."
There was a murmuring that spread through the audience as he finished. Nia looked out across them and saw a lot of hostile gazes staring back.
"Head Caretaker?" Tenax asked. "What have you to say on the matter?"
"Dromarch was injured," Nia said. "During the Cataclysm, his Core Crystal suffered extensive damage. He asked for me to heal him, but…" She steeled herself. "During our latest surgery, I made a mistake, and as a result, his injuries worsened. But these were exceptional circumstances, and as a precaution I have already stepped back from my role as a healer. My duties as Head Caretaker have no bearing here."
"A hollow excuse," Corvin said. "Dromarch was your Blade, and you nearly killed him. You are a direct Caretaker to many Blades here, either by resonance or adoption. How can they have faith in the Caretakers if you're capable of inflicting harm like that without repercussions?"
"It was an accident," Nia said. "No one is perfect, but I am taking measures to ensure it never happens again."
"An accident?" Agate asked. "That doesn't make things better. If this really was an accident, then it calls into question more than just your latest actions. I'm not the only one who's noticed your increasing absences, your short temper, and your unwillingness to compromise. You have grown increasingly stubborn and impulsive over the last several months. We can't entrust our lives to someone like that."
"That's not fair," Mikhail said. "Nia works harder than anyone else to keep this place running. Without her, the Gardens wouldn't even exist at all."
"I understand she has made sacrifices, but the results are clear. She is not fit to be Head Caretaker."
"The burden of her position has proven itself too heavy to bear," Corvin said, taking the reins back. Then he looked at Nia. There was no joy in his expression. "You must step down."
"Have you seen Elysium?" she asked. The question caught him off guard.
"I don't follow," he said.
"The old Elysium, I mean. Atop the world tree. I'd spent years looking to it as a beacon of hope. I thought that if we managed to reach it, then we'd be able to solve all our problems. But I saw it first-hand, during the Cataclysm, and it was nothing like I had imagined. That Elysium was barren and empty. I know better than anyone how heavy my responsibilities are because I know there is no magical solution. The Gardens are our only chance to make a better future for ourselves. And so long as I draw breath, I will do whatever it takes to keep this place safe."
Corvin was quiet for a long time. Everyone was. But eventually he managed a response. "If you really care about the Gardens, then you'll do the right thing. Until you can be trusted to uphold your responsibilities, you need to step down."
Nia looked out over the audience. Nearly the whole population of the Gardens was present, and there were a lot of mixed emotions in the crowd. Even Corvin's supporters seemed to have been given pause. She just hoped it would be enough.
"I will stand by any decision you make," she said, addressing the crowd. "If I've lost your trust, then I'll step down as Head Caretaker."
"Are you sure about this?" Mikhail asked, whispering in her ear. She didn't reply. Truth be told, she was far from sure. But when she founded this place, she wanted everyone in a position of authority to be held to account. She needed to respect that.
"All those in favor of the Head Caretaker relinquishing her position?" Tenax asked.
Slowly, members of the crowd began to stand. Too many. Her heart fell. She'd poured everything into this place, and one mistake—one stupid fucking mistake—had torn a rift between them.
"Very well," Tenax said. "As mediator of this hearing, I recommend that Head Caretaker Nia step down from her position."
"There is another matter," Corvin said. "Who will replace her as Head Caretaker?"
There was a silence that followed. He didn't say it, but she could feel his desire to nominate himself.
Unfortunately, he didn't have to. One of his supporters did, and there was a swell as other members of the crowd agreed. Some others threw out Mikhail's name too, and that gained support just as quickly, but there didn't seem to be a clear favorite. After a moment, however, he did something she didn't expect.
"I believe Mikhail should lead," Corvin said. "He supported the Gardens for years before I arrived. I can think of no one better. But to ensure that the people's interests are represented, I would be willing to accept a position as an honorary Caretaker. To look after the Blades of the former Head Caretaker and help conduct her duties until another Caretaker can be brought on."
"A sensible course of action," Tenax said. "Are there any opposed?"
Kora stood, glaring at Corvin. Next to her, Vess and Electra also stood.
"You're the one bringing charges," she said. "It's not right that you should benefit. That's a clear conflict of interests."
"I have no desire to serve as a Caretaker full time," he said. "And my position would grant me no authority over the people here in any case. I simply wish to do the best I can to represent the interests of the people. If so many wanted me to succeed the Head Caretaker, then I should at least offer up a sensible compromise."
"You don't fool me for a second," she said. "You're the one who pushed to have my Driver released, and less than a week later he turned around and attacked us. You don't represent a damn thing about me."
"I apologize for whatever harm my actions may have caused you. Had I known how dangerous he was at the time, I never would have entertained the idea."
"Hypocrite," Kora spat. "You drag Nia up there and castigate her for making one mistake, but you won't admit to your own?"
"Whether I deserve it or not, the people trust me. Like the Head Caretaker, I just want what is best for the Gardens. Let's let them have the final say."
"All in favor of Corvin's proposal?" Tenax asked. "To have Mikhail succeed Nia as Head Caretaker, and Corvin assume the responsibilities of an honorary Caretaker in his place?"
Again, Corvin's supporters stood. Less than last time, but still enough. A slim majority favored the motion.
"Very well," Tenax said. "As mediator of this hearing, I recommend this proposal. Unless anyone else wishes to speak, I will call this hearing to a close."
Nia stepped forward and drew her sword. For a moment, Corvin looked ready to defend himself, and the crowd tensed up. But she didn't attack him. She simply drove it into the ground.
"When I became Head Caretaker, I swore that I would always serve the interests of the people," she said. "That my blade would always be used in service of the Gardens. If this is the will of the people, then I will follow through. I am stepping down from my position as Head Caretaker and passing the responsibilities to Mikhail."
She stepped back, and the tension in the crowd lessened significantly. Many didn't seem happy, but after it was clear nothing else was going to happen, the crowd began to disperse.
"I dread doing this, Nia," Corvin said, turning to her. "But it had to be done."
"Do you care about this place?" Nia asked. She looked him dead in the eyes.
"Of course," he said. "This is my home."
She didn't believe him for a second.
She stepped up and offered him a hand, and as he shook it, she pulled him in close.
"I meant what I said. No matter what happens, I'm going to keep a close eye on you. And if you do anything to endanger the people here, I will end you without hesitation. Do we understand each other?"
"Perfectly," he said. He couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice. She knew what he really was, and he knew it too. The second he stepped out of line, she was going to make him regret using Dromarch as leverage.
He stepped away, and she stood there, staring at the emptying stands, very likely for the last time. She had poured everything into this place for years, and she had hoped they would understand. She wanted to say they didn't, but maybe she was the one who didn't understand. Agate was one of the first Blades they had brought on, and even she'd called for Nia's resignation. In a way, this felt like what she deserved. It was a wake-up call. She'd failed this place, and she'd failed Dromarch. She needed to do better.
"We'll figure this out," Mikhail said. "Don't worry."
"I'll be fine," Nia said. "You're the one we should be worrying about. There's a lot I need to catch you up on before I step back from the role."
"You're really going along with this?"
"I don't have a choice."
She headed for the exit, and Mikhail followed after her. She needed to do better. Too many issues had been pulling at her attention, and she'd shoved them all aside for her own selfish reasons. That stopped now. She wasn't Head Caretaker anymore, but she could still do something. From this point on, personal feelings didn't factor into the equation. What she wanted didn't matter. Spessia had all but declared war, now, and she was going to keep the Gardens safe. No matter what.
Saur let the statement hang, and the silence that followed was palpable. Save the world? It sounded delusional. The world didn't need saving. Not in the way that a handful of plucky heroes with good intentions and practiced sword arms could manage, anyway. The problems that faced it now were larger than any person or group of people could tackle on their own, and the only threat that even approached the level of the Cataclysm was the bomb Zeke had just put paid to, which had been this man's doing in the first place.
"You really expect me to buy that crap?" Zeke asked. "After everything you've pulled? You sent Shieldwall to blow us up, then when that failed you sent Orion's gang to finish the job, and now that you've screwed up twice, you want my help?"
"They told you about me?" Saur asked. "Disappointing, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. None of them were very professional. Was it Orion or Vaerin?"
"Why don't you ask them yourself? I'm sure I could arrange a meeting, face to face."
"Funny," Saur said. There wasn't a trace of humor in his voice. "It doesn't matter much either way. At least this simplifies things. Did they tell you what the plan was for after we took out the Gardens?"
"War," Zeke said. "You use us to drive the Coalition into disarray, then swoop in with your fancy new weapon and clean up."
"That is not a weapon," Saur said, pointing back at the machine. "Before you tore it to shreds, that was our ticket to salvation."
"No point in denying it. The mayor told us everything about your 'project' already, before the commander put a bullet in his head."
"For shame," Saur said, glancing over at the commander. "I liked Cadovir. Sensible man, all things considered. Good taste in cigarettes, too. And we're running desperately low on people with either."
"He was a traitor," the commander said. "I dealt with him accordingly."
"My boss isn't going to be happy about that. Oh well." Saur shrugged. "In any case, Cadovir told you wrong, but that isn't really his fault. Originally this was supposed to be a weapon. We stole the designs during the Osirian War, but after the Cataclysm we realized what it could really do. It was a way to preserve our way of life."
"That's a nice way of sugar-coating it, but it's still a bomb," Zeke noted.
"I'm not talking metaphorically. All nations in Alrest relied on two things to perpetuate their existence. Titans gave us the ground beneath our feet, and Blades gave us the means with which to defend our borders. That cycle sustained the world as we knew it. And it was a cycle powered by ether. Titans converted the Cloud Sea into ether to survive, and the ether that leaked into the atmosphere served to fuel the Blades. But now? The Cloud Sea is drying up. Eventually, it'll be gone entirely, and once it vanishes, the world's ether will soon follow."
That sounded apocalyptic. And more than a little alarmist. If the ether was going away, someone would have noticed by now. But… Everything he said made sense. Without the World Tree making more, the Cloud Sea was going to dry up eventually. Zeke hadn't thought about what would happen after that.
"So what?" Zeke asked.
"You're a smart man. You know what happens to a Blade that's been deprived of ether for too long. How long do you think the Blades will last once the ether's gone? What about the Flesh Eaters? Or you, for that matter? If that core in your chest stops humming, do you fancy your chances at survival? Because I don't. And without ether, I don't fancy humanity's chances either. No ether means no Core Chips, no Blades, no power, no armies. Society as we know it will collapse."
"But you think you can fix it," Zeke said. There had been a stream of ether coming out of the machine earlier. Faint, but unmistakably present. "You're going to turn Titans into your new ether supply."
"You're catching on." Saur smiled a little. "That's exactly what we're going to do. It's not a perfect solution, but it'll buy us precious time to figure out a better alternative."
"Too bad I just broke your machine," Zeke said.
"Machines can be fixed. All we need from you is your eye."
"My eye?" Zeke asked. Oh. He meant the Eye of Shining Justice. "Not happening."
"The conversion process is dreadfully inefficient. As it stands, we wouldn't get nearly enough ether, even if we converted every Titan in Elysium. But with that Artifice in your head, we can increase the efficiency by orders of magnitude. If you agree to help us, I'll agree to let your friends walk away unharmed."
"No," Zeke said. This story didn't add up. His Artifice couldn't control ether, it controlled the Cloud Sea. That alone was reason to reject this whole premise. And even if Saur was telling the truth, somehow, he still didn't trust this technology in Spessia's hands.
"No?" Saur asked. "You do realize if you don't help us, everyone in the Gardens is going to die."
"If you really needed my Eye, you wouldn't have tried to blow me up. You spin a complicated tale, but I'm not an idiot. I'm not giving you a thing."
"That's a shame." Saur dropped his cigarette and stamped out the remains. "For what it's worth, I am telling you the truth. And if I had the time to explain the details to you, and you had the patience to listen, I think you'd be able to see that. But if you won't listen to reason, then you're not leaving me with much choice."
Saur stepped aside, giving the angel a clear shot at Zeke.
"Take him," he said. The angel shot forward, launching off Nal and tackling Zeke. As they fell, the angel grabbed his head, fingers trying to scrabble into his Eyesocket. Zeke wedged his sword against the angel's body and fired, trying to launch him away. But the angel simply twisted, swinging himself up as the blade scraped past him. Floating above Zeke, the angel forced his head down, slamming it into the ground.
As the pain coursed through him, Zeke activated the Eye, pulling the layers of stone from his cloak and forming them into a series of spikes that shot up from all around his body. If they already knew about his Artifice, then he didn't have any reason to hold back.
The spikes struck the angel, forcing him back, and immediately Pandoria landed behind him. She grabbed him from behind and slammed a fist full of ether into his ether furnace. Electricity coursed through him, and for a moment he could barely even twitch in place as his systems recovered. Pandoria let go, and Zeke jammed the handle into his gut. With a blast of electricity, he sent the angel flying across the lab.
"Run!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet. The two of them ran for the lift, with Soosoo close behind. Nal was still there, crouched on one knee with her guns trained on the commander and Saur. They each had a gun trained on her in turn, each side waiting for the other to make the first move. As Zeke and Pandoria climbed up to the lift, the commander's attention shifted for a moment, and Nal fired.
Saur threw himself to the side, dodging the blast of ether by a hair, but the commander wasn't paying close enough attention. Nal's bullet exploded just before hitting her, forming a misshapen lump of ice that struck the commander in the jaw. She slumped back against the lift's railing, and as he passed her, Zeke kicked her gun over the side.
"Take us up!" he shouted, planting his feet in the middle of the lift and whirling around to recall his sword. Pandoria ran past him, getting started on the lift's wiring again while he kept an eye out for the angel. He flew up from behind the Titan cages a few seconds later, firing lasers at Zeke and Nal both.
Zeke threw up a shield plate, blocking the laser, and immediately he felt something strike him in the neck. He reached up to feel a small dart imbedded in his skin. Saur advanced on him, moving swiftly and firing another dart at Zeke while Nal was busy defending. He just barely managed to block it, but his movements were slowing down. Whatever was in that dart was already starting to affect him.
His vision swam, and he collapsed to his knees. With the last of his strength, he used the Eye to form a shell of stone around his body. If Saur wanted to get the Eye, he'd have to work for it. With that done, Zeke shifted into high gear, taking advantage of all the clarity he could muster. Then he pulled the handle from his sword and slammed it into his gut, channeling all his and Pandoria's excess ether through it. It burned, but he could feel his senses sharpen further.
Shifting gears like this not only heightened his reaction time, but it increased the speed of all his biological processes, including his metabolism. It was probably going to age him a little, and he'd be flirting with starvation, but it was the quickest way to burn the toxin from his system. After what felt like somewhere between fifteen seconds and an eternity, he could feel his body begin to normalize, and he stopped the ether flow.
As he returned to normal, he dropped the shell and rolled, getting clear just in case there was anything nasty waiting for him on the outside. Saur was nowhere in sight, fortunately, but neither was Nal. The angel stood where she'd been, his body covered in ice. As he whirled a laser cannon around at Zeke, four copies of Nal appeared from thin air, all striking the angel at once. He stumbled back, trying to fire a laser through one of them, but before he could they were all gone again.
Zeke could feel the ice building around him, the heat slowly leaving his body. And as Nal appeared again, he realized she'd covered herself in ice so pure it looked like glass. Her guns were lying on the ground nearby, and instead she used her fists to keep pummeling the angel, appearing and disappearing with different numbers of illusory clones each time.
There was a loud crack as the angel finally managed to hit Nal for real, striking her across the jaw with a metal fist. She tumbled across the platform and disappeared, and immediately Zeke lurched up to take her place. He couldn't run, on account of his still-injured leg, but he threw a blast of lightning out of the end of the handle as he hobbled forward.
The angel took the hit in stride and raised his cannon, firing a laser at Zeke. With the sword's blade in his other hand, he swung the two pieces of the weapon together, slotting them into place and meeting the laser blast with the flat of his sword. He trudged forward as the angel concentrated more laser fire on him, but the sword began to burn through before he could reach him.
Nevertheless, he kept moving, layering a shield plate against the sword and pressing on. As the laser cut through the other side of his sword and struck the shield plate, he finally managed to close the distance. Frantically he ducked and swung, cleaving through the angel's cannons with one red-hot strike. The angel screamed, clutching his arms in close to his chest, and immediately Nal appeared beside him.
She grabbed one of his wings, and ice spread out from her hand, encasing the appendage. Then, with one clench, she shattered the wing, and his scream turned from pain to anger. He spun, retaining enough control over his mangled hands to grip her throat and squeeze. As they hit the ground, he lifted her up and slammed her down, over and over again. If he was human, he'd have screamed himself hoarse.
Zeke tried to close the distance, but the angel swung at him wildly, nearly raking the white-hot claws across his face. As the angel changed focus to him, he scrambled back and dove for Nal's guns. He'd never used a gun before, though, so instead he just kicked them back to the one person on their side who had. They slid past Nal, and she managed to grab one, pressing it against the back of the angel's head as he lunged for Zeke.
The angel spun, ducking out of range of the shot, but she didn't fire. Instead, she swung her fist up, catching him in the chest. As her punch landed, all the ice ether around her rushed in, forming a spike. It shot out from her arm and through the angel, driving him off the lift. As he hit the ground, the lift lurched up, beginning its slow climb for the top of the cliff.
Zeke felt a twinge of guilt as his gaze swept over Soosoo. Tora wasn't going to be happy they'd had to beat up one of his… Children wasn't the right word, but he was hard-pressed to come up with a better one. That train of thought stalled, however, as he saw Saur pull himself over the side of the lift. Zeke and Pandoria both rushed him, but they were too slow. He stood and pressed the commander's gun against Soosoo's head, and immediately everyone froze.
"You're even more dangerous than Navaris claimed," he said. "I guess the Oracle coming to your rescue made you seem like less of a threat, in comparison. But you've still got one big weakness. Come quietly, or I'll scatter his brains across this lift."
Zeke couldn't give them the Eye, that much was certain. But he couldn't let someone die either. If giving himself up would keep Soosoo safe, then he'd just have to figure the rest out later. He had to trust that he was strong enough to defend himself like he defended everyone else. And if he wasn't, then at least getting hurt to keep someone else safe was preferable to the reverse.
"Alright," he said, stepping forward slowly. "You can take me, but you have to let the three of them go. Understood?"
"Sorry," Saur said. "That deal came and went. Now, I want all three of you on your knees, or he dies."
Zeke and Pandoria knelt, but the look on Saur's face said Nal didn't. Sure enough, Zeke glanced back to see her training her gun on him.
"Go ahead," she said. "See if I care."
"Stop the lift," Saur said. Nal muttered something under her breath as Pandoria reached up and stopped the lift with a pulse of ether.
"Just do as he says," Zeke said, whispering to Nal. "We'll figure something else out later."
"I am not goin' back in a cage," Nal said. "I'm sorry, Zeke, but if push comes to shove, I'm gonna look after me."
"Duthract has been looking for you, you know," Saur said, looking at Nal. "You're like a folk hero to them. After over a century of rule from Mor Ardain, you were the first person in the colony to stand up and fight back. A lot of people credit you with sparking the People's Liberation Movement."
"That's a crock of shit," Nal said. "I ain't no revolutionary. I was just tryin' to survive."
"Aren't you tired of just surviving, though? You didn't join Brionac to survive, you fought with them because you believed in the cause. Or a version of the cause, at least. You wanted to see Duthract free from war and oppression, just like the revolutionaries you're looking down on. Tell me I'm wrong."
Nal kept silent, and a faint smile crept onto Saur's lips.
"You could have something to believe in again," he said. "Leave, head for Duthract, and they'll welcome you with open arms. You wouldn't have to keep merely surviving. You could finally start living for something."
"I already am," Nal said. Immediately, Saur turned, whipping the gun around to the space next to him. But he guessed wrong. Nal appeared next to Soosoo, gun pressed against Saur's head, and slowly, he put his hands up.
"Well played," he said. He was still smiling a little, though, and as Nal took the gun from him, something struck the lift from below. She lost her balance momentarily, and he swept a leg out, knocking her to the ground. Then he grabbed Soosoo by the hair and leapt, standing on the lift's railing.
"It's a shame things couldn't work out," he said, holding Soosoo over the drop back to the lab. He locked eyes with Zeke. "But I want you to believe me when I say I was telling the truth. So here's a little parting gift, from me to you. My boss, Atasaiah? You're not going to find him. When the time comes, though, you can be sure he's going to find you."
Saur let go of Soosoo and jumped back. Immediately Zeke lunged, reaching out to grab Soosoo as he fell, and Nal did as well. They each grabbed one of his outstretched wings, catching him at the last second and letting Saur fall. But he didn't look concerned, and a moment later, the angel shot out from beneath the lift and caught him. Nal fired down at them, but the angel put up an ether shield, and the two quickly moved behind cover.
"Restart the lift," Zeke said as Pandoria got to her feet. She got it moving again, and the four of them practically collapsed.
"He took control core," Soosoo said. Zeke raised an eyebrow, and the man sighed. "The box-thing."
"Oh," Zeke said. "I take it that's bad."
"With control core, they will rebuild prototype much faster."
"How long?"
"Matter of months, at most. Soosoo suspect they will mobilize weapon afterward, now that it no longer secret."
"Then we're on the clock," Zeke said. He glanced up at Nal. "Thanks, by the way. For holding back. I know it would have been easy to kill them all and be done with this whole thing."
"Would've been cleaner, too," she said. "But yer welcome. I figure as long as I'm with y'all, I might as well play by yer rules."
"Alright, I know I said this last time," Pandoria said. "But let's never come back to Spessia ever again."
"Agreed," Zeke said, chuckling to himself. As the lift climbed, passing the mangled town gates and eventually reaching the outpost at the top of the cliff, Zeke had time to think. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to feel proud. There was a lot he still needed to work on. He was still putting himself in undue danger, for example. But even if it had been a little reckless, they'd managed to throw a wrench in Spessia's plans. For the first time since they'd defeated Aion, he'd managed to live up to the promise he'd made to himself all those years ago. He felt like he could save the world.