"Master Tora, run!" Dromarch yelled to the Nopon as he landed, knocking both Praxis and Theory to the ground.

Tora didn't need to be told twice, getting clear of the tangled pile of Blades. He ran toward the back of the dining area, desperately reaching for the hidden switch that would open the escape corridor.

"Now you've done it!" Praxis snarled, pushing against the weight of the tiger Blade atop her with her Lance. "Theory, ice the Nopon!"

"Understood." The other girl called, rolling to her feet. A wave of cold air rolled off of her as elemental ether gathered, before bursting forth in a wave of ice.

Perhaps it was because her off-the-hip shot was off-target, or maybe Tora had felt the chill heralding the attack, but at the last moment, the Nopon leapt out of the line of fire. His dodge prevented him from being frozen solid, but the ice still continued on, freezing over the section of the wall concealing the hidden door.

He pushed himself to his feet, staring at the iced-over wall in dismay. Behind him, he could hear Theory approaching, no doubt prepared to freeze him into a Noponcicle. That was a fate he would rather avoid, if he said so himself.

Wheeling around to face the Blade, Tora pulled a wrench out of his overalls. He had no illusions about how useful the tool would be against a Blade, but it gave him at least some measure of comfort.

Theory, despite her stoic demeanor, seemed almost amused by him, quivering in fear even with the wrench held like a club. She raised a hand, ice ether glittering around it, and pointed it at the Nopon.

"Stay still." She commanded, taking a threatening step toward him. "We would rather keep you alive until we have learned wha-"

A bolt of compressed water struck her in the back, gouging a deep furrow through her shoulder. She stumbled forward, the power she had been gathering dissipating with her concentration broken, even as the wound closed in a flash of light.

Tora took the opportunity, running under the stumbling Blade and racing for the front door. He didn't look back, knowing that Theory would be right behind him.

Praxis, seeing the Nopon bolting while her sister Blade was distracted, gave a mighty heave against Dromarch in an attempt to push him off. She wasn't having an easy time of it; the tiger was taking full advantage of his mass to keep her pinned to the floor.

Fortunately for her, they had the other water Blade outnumbered. The tiger's attempt to push back against her was stymied by an attack from Theory. Unable to project a barrier while tangling with Praxis, he was forced to take the slash from her Katana across his flank.

He endured the injury, which quickly closed, but it had given the Blade he was pinning to the ground the leverage she had been trying to grasp. With a mighty heave, she pushed him off and leapt to her feet.

Dromarch rolled to his feet as well, coming to a stop in a defensive posture in front of Tora. His opponents took stances of their own, weapons ready to strike.

"You might as well just give up." Praxis commented, twirling her Lance idly. "It'll be a lot less painful that way." Seeing Tora slowly edging toward the door behind the tiger, she grinned. "Not that I mind it that way, of course~."

"Praxis." Theory rebuked. "We shouldn't linger. The longer we stay, the greater the chance of the others arriving."

Her sister Blade rolled her eyes. "Fine, you spoilsport." She huffed, aiming her lance at the tiger. "Just keep the Nopon from escaping." She tensed in preparation to lunge, before adding, "and don't ice over the door! We need to be able to leave, too!"

Praxis charged forward, thrusting her lance toward the tiger. She was expecting him to block with a barrier, so it came as a surprise when her weapon was instead batted aside by a floating Twin Ring.

Even more surprising was the pulse of water that the Ring blasted in her face as she attempted to bring her weapon back under control. The jet of water didn't do a lot of damage to her; her elemental manipulation allowing her to mitigate some of the force, but it still knocked her back enough for the Tiger to lunge at Theory.

The ice Blade ducked, more out of a momentary panic at the sight of a tiger pouncing at her than a trained reaction. Yet, it proved to be fortunate, as Dromarch sailed over her and back into the dining area.

She drew ether into her sword even as she turned to face the tiger. He had landed on the prior ice wave she had released and was scrambling to gain purchase on the slick surface.

In the other Blade's eyes, she could see a glimmer of panic as he saw her prepare her attack. His Twin Rings floated beside him, glowing with water ether as they spun to fire on her.

But she was already prepared. She drew her Chroma Katana from its sheath, releasing a focused blast of ice at the tiger. His own weapons fired a burst of water in an attempt to counter, but it was far too late. The dual jets passed alongside her attack, terminating just a ped from her face as her barrier happily absorbed the attack.

Dromarch wasn't nearly as fortunate. He shoved himself away from the wall at the last moment in a desperate attempt to get clear of the attack, yet all that he gained for the effort was for him to be frozen in mid-air. The ice shook as the tiger attempted to free himself, yet with only part of his head exposed, there was little he could do.

Back in the front of the house, Tora had attempted to flee from the building. Praxis, seeing that her sister Blade was occupied, had dissuaded him by spearing the door shut with a throw of her lance.

Tora yelped in alarm, scrabbling away from the door. He gave a desperate look around for something to help him, but could see that his options were limited. With both of his exits blocked, he could either risk breaking through the window below the loft or try to put up a fight.

As the water Blade sauntered forward, pulling her lance out of the doorframe as she passed, the Nopon darted into his lab. He grabbed his Drill Shield prototype off the workbench next to Poppi and held it in front of himself defensively.

"S-stay back!" He called, deploying the shield's drill. Tora wasn't under any illusions that it would actually deter the Blade, but he could always hope!

"How cute!" Praxis crooned menacingly, lance aimed at the shield. "He thinks he can actually stop us!" Courage bolstered by his weapon, the Nopon gave her a determined glare and held his ground. Praxis snorted in amusement at the look.

She rushed forward, thrusting the lance at Tora. The ether-infused weapon bit into the face of the shield with little resistance, the tines sinking deep into its surface. For a moment, the Blade was concerned that she may have gone too far and impaled the Nopon.

Praxis yanked her weapon to the side, pulling the shield it was impaled in along with it. "Got you now, you little…?" The Blade trailed off, her victorious cry replaced by confusion as she stared at Tora.

Or more accurately, down the barrel of the mechabiter he was holding.

At such close range, Praxis didn't have the time to project her barrier before the boom biter hit her in the face, the resulting explosion nearly throwing her out of the building. Tora didn't fare much better, as he was knocked back into the workbench behind him before bouncing off onto the floor of the lab.

He gingerly pushed himself to his feet, his wings throbbing in pain from shielding his face from the blast. The Nopon didn't bother to look around to check the status of the enemy Blades, instead bolting for the door the moment he could stand.

Leaving Dromarch behind chafed at him; the polite tiger had put his body on the line to give Tora the chance to flee. Yet he knew that without Rex and Nia present, he could do little more than squander away the opportunity Dromarch had bought him if he remained.

Running through the thick cloud of smoke his attack had generated, Tora was certain that he could make it! All he needed to do was get across the bridge into the Underhang before Praxis healed enough to stand, and he was home fr-!

A slim, feminine hand shot through the smoke and grabbed him by the fluff. Tora squirmed against her, trying desperately to free himself, but as the smoke cleared, it was obvious that he had missed his chance.

Praxis was standing in front of him, murder in her eyes as she watched him struggle in vain. Behind him, he could feel the cold presence of Theory, and not just because she was holding him either; the chill feeling of ice ether rolled off of her, itself a threat of what would happen if he attempted to make an escape.

"What should we do with him?" Theory asked, annoyance slipping into her voice.

"I really just want to gut him, to be honest." Praxis replied, dragging the tip of her lance against his face just strongly enough to draw blood. "But, I have a better idea."

Looking over into the lab, she pointed at a pile of extra cabling. "Tie him up, we're taking him with us. If he and those brats are so buddy-buddy, I bet they'll come running right after him."

She leaned down, snatching up the discarded Core Crystal that had fallen from Rex's bag. "And when they do, we'll be one step closer to capturing the Aegis."


"…And then they departed with master Tora. They did not even seem to acknowledge my presence once I had been immobilized." Dromarch concluded sullenly.

It had taken well over an hour, but with more than a little difficulty, Rex and Nia eventually managed to free Dromarch from his icy prison.

Their progress was helped along by Azurda, who, after a few minutes of pounding fruitlessly on the obstructed hidden door, had taken a chance by flying around and entering Tora's house from the main entrance. As it turned out, reverting to a larval form had not robbed the draconic Titan of his ability to breathe fire, allowing him to lend support to the task.

As they worked, Dromarch explained what had happened, from Praxis and Theory's interrogation of Tora, to their discovery of Rex's bag, and finally the fight that had broken out when Dromarch's hiding place was discovered.

"This is my fault." Rex clenched his fists, still red from being pressed against the ice for so long. "If I had just made sure to stow away my bag…!"

"You hardly bear the blame alone, master Rex." Dromarch noted, his head hung low. "Had I remained in the hidden corridor with Azurda instead of keeping master Tora company, it is possible he could have explained the bag away."

"Or he could have been taken regardless." Azurda commented, clearly unimpressed by the tiger's self-flagellation. "It doesn't change the fact that he was taken."

Nia wasn't impressed either. "Save the moping for later." She chastised, pulling out a map of Torigoth and its environs. "Instead of wasting your time playing the blame game, why don't you put that energy into planning how we're gonna rescue the fuzzball."

"My Lady…" Dromarch said, giving the girl a surprised look. "You're really going to…?"

She gave the tiger a glare. "What kind of person do you think I am?" She scoffed. "Tora stuck his neck out for us and got his wings smacked for the trouble! Of course we're going to rescue him!"

Rex nodded enthusiastically at the prospect. "She's right. We're rescuing him, no question about it." He took a look at the map the Gormotti girl had placed on the table, giving it a quick assessment.

He could work out where in Torigoth they were fairly easily after having actually traveled around the harbor area in the daylight. From there, he could place some of the other details. Directly spineward of the city was Coolley Lake, a smattering of exposed Grandarbor roots forming a small chain of islands across it.

In the headward direction of the city was the Ardainian relay base, set atop a hill that commanded a view over the surrounding terrain, mostly the rich farmland that stretched from the shore of the lake to Gormott's coast.

Meanwhile, tailward of the city were the mostly untamed plains, which were largely excluded from the map beyond a handful of Armu ranches close to the city. Rex frowned as he looked over the map, reading the labels on it.

"The note said 'Zeno's Deadbole', right?" He asked, his finger tracing between the various landmarks. "I don't see that labeled here, though."

Nia pointed at an island in the middle of Coolley Lake. "That's because it isn't." She replied. "It's the name of a landmark here, on Kuchik Island. The root at the center is a hollow swimming hole. No idea how it got the name, though."

She pursed her lips as she looked at the map. "I have to admit, it's a pretty good choice. The Deadbole's a good vantage point over the lake, so if they want you to go alone, I dunno how Dromarch and I'll be able to sneak up to join you without alerting them."

"You said the root's hollow, right?" Rex asked, looking at the path the root took through the lake. "How hollow is it? Would it be possible to swim through it into the interior?"

"That would be inadvisable, master Rex." Dromarch commented. "While I would be able to use my power to assist in traversing such a path, without knowing where or if the hollow section of the root is exposed to the lake, accessing the interior is unlikely at best."

Rex frowned at the comment. "There's got to be some way of doing it…" He muttered, looking over the map again. This sort of planning was not his area of expertise, not by a long shot. He had needed to plan time-sensitive salvaging dives before, but generally those didn't result in the treasure being executed if his planning was wrong.

"Perhaps you are looking at it the wrong way." Azurda offered, jumping off of his shoulder and onto the table.

"How do you figure?" Rex asked, confused. There was no way he was actually going on his own; he certainly didn't trust the thieves to not just jump him and keep Tora anyway, and he had no doubt that Nia mirrored the sentiment.

"You're too focused on how Nia and Dromarch will get there with the Thieves already waiting." He explained. "But, what if our friends were to arrive at the location before them and lie in wait?"

Nia furrowed her brow at the thought. "Will that work, though?" She asked. "If they're specifying the meeting place, I would think that they're either already there, or have someone watching just in case we did exactly that."

"I do not believe they have had the opportunity, my Lady." Dromarch cut in. "When they first approached master Tora, they did not appear interested in abducting him. It was only after the fight that they decided to take him."

"…And if it wasn't planned in advance, they won't have had the chance to stake the meeting point out!" Rex caught what the tiger was implying. "But they must be confident that they can get there quickly, or else they wouldn't have chosen it."

"It's possible that the Deadbole is close to their hideout, you know." Nia spoke up after a moment of silence. "If they're willing to set an off-the-cuff meeting there, they have to be confident that they could reach it before we can."

Azurda nodded slowly. "I can't fault that logic, I'm afraid." The Titan reluctantly acknowledged. "Unfortunately, that may just be a risk we'll have to accept."

Rain began to pound against the siding of the building as the others in the room considered his words. Regardless of how they proceeded from this point, there was going to be risk. The problem was that if they weren't careful, that risk could end up killing the Nopon who had given them shelter.

"Even if we are able to successfully infiltrate the meeting place, will the three of us be sufficient to rescue master Tora?" Dromarch asked after a short deliberation. "While we were more than able to handle Praxis and Theory on their own, it is possible that one or both of them may be accompanied by a Driver."

"Or another Blade." Nia added. "Back during the fight, they were rescued by another Blade, the one that lobbed that ether attack into the Ardainians. I'd put good money on it being another member of their group."

"Good point." Rex acknowledged. He had forgotten about that, considering how hectic things had become not long after. "I mean, I guess it could have been someone not affiliated with them, but unless Torigoth has a second Tora lying around…"

Nia snorted at the thought. "No, I think he's pretty one-of-a-kind in that regard." Her expression hardened. "So, worst-case scenario is that we're dealing with three Driver teams at a minimum. I can't say I like those odds. I'm good, and you're not the worst-"

"Thanks." The boy retorted sarcastically.

"-But that means each of us, including Dromarch, will have to be able to take a Driver team by ourselves. I don't think we can manage that."

Rex chewed his lip as he considered the situation. He had to agree with the girl; taking on a Driver and Blade by himself was probably not something he could manage at the moment. "What do you think the chances are that'll be the case?"

The girl shrugged in reply. "No way to know. All three of the Blades could share a Driver, they could have separate Drivers and all six are waiting for us, or it could be something in between. But until we actually get stuck in, we might as well assume the worst."

"What a terribly dour outlook on life, young lady." Azurda said, earning a stuck-out tongue from Nia for the effort.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to resonate with that Core Crystal we got from the Igna Driver, would you?" She asked, only to shake her head. "Wait, no… that's right, they took it, didn't they?"

Dromarch frowned as he pondered the situation. "This certainly is a conundrum." He stated, looking over the map again. "A meeting point we cannot easily infiltrate, containing an unknown number of foes… It is a shame we do not have any allies we can call upon."

The table shook as a crack of thunder echoed over the city, the accompanying lightning bolt illuminating the inside of the building. Unbidden, Rex's eyes slowly drifted over to Tora's lab.

"What if…" He said slowly, as if testing the idea for himself. "What if we did?"

Nia looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" She asked. As far as she was aware, Rex had never been to Gormott before. How would he have any potential allies? Was it another Guild salvager perk?

She saw that the boy was looking away from them and followed his gaze. Her own eyes soon landed on exactly what he was looking at.

"Oh no. No!" She replied, crossing her arms. "If you're thinking what I think you are, we are not doing this!"

"Do you have a better idea?" The boy retorted. "No matter how you look at it, we're going to have at least even numbers with the thieves. If we wake Poppi up, then that's one more on our side!"

"And how exactly do you plan on 'waking her up?'" Nia countered. "Unless that Core Crystal of yours also comes with magical Aegis engineering powers now, none of us actually know how to start her up!"

A smug grin worked its way onto Rex's face. "Tora was more than happy to demonstrate how it works when I was helping him yesterday." He replied. "I think he was half-hoping that there would suddenly be enough power. At this point, it's almost literally just a case of throwing a switch at the right time."

"My Lady," Dromarch spoke up, "while I too have concerns about the viability of this plan, you must realize that if it succeeds, it will provide us the greatest chance of success."

"I don't think we have much of an alternative, I'm afraid." Azurda agreed, crossing his arms.

Seeing that she had been thoroughly outvoted, Nia hung her head. "Fine." She relented. "Let's wake Poppi up." Giving the boy a glare, she added, "But you'd better get it right! The last thing we need is to ruin his hard work after getting him abducted!"

Rex gave her a confident grin in return. It did nothing to give her any more faith in the plan.


Praxis' Driver looked down at the pair of Blades, plus the Nopon hostage they were holding, standing in front of him.

"You understand," he drawled, giving the pair an unimpressed look, "that when I told the two of you to 'use your best discretion', this wasn't exactly what I meant, yes?"

His Blade averted her gaze, although the embarrassed grin on her face told the man just how little she regretted her behavior. He gave a long-suffered sigh at her behavior. She had already explained what had happened at the Nopon's house, and her reasoning was sound, but it did make a mess of his plans.

"I suppose I can't fault you for taking advantage of the opportunity." He allowed, examining the bound Nopon. "However, I wish you had designated a closer meeting place. Lascham Island would have been a better choice, considering the circumstances."

Praxis looked up, giving her Driver a surprised look. "Why Lascham?" She asked. "That's almost on top of us! I picked the Deadbole because it's far enough away that it won't lead the Ardainians to us if those brats are followed."

Her Driver shrugged. "It wouldn't have mattered if they were; we're abandoning this hideout." He replied. "We've gotten everything we can reasonably expect out of Gormott for the time being. Once we have secured the special requests, we'll be joining back up with Waldemar's group."

She nodded in understanding. Leaving made sense; there weren't that many Core Crystals in Gormott to begin with, and with the amount of attention that was on the province thanks to both their actions and the Aegis, the risk was increasing for a quickly diminishing return.

"We'll make it work." Her Driver assured, seeing that she understood the situation. Looking over to the corner behind Praxis and Theory, the man spoke up. "Sheba, I want you to return to Torigoth and keep an eye on their movements."

The blond Blade sighed theatrically, leaning over the lip of her conjured bath tub. "Oh, we suppose we can fulfill that request." She replied. "Loathe as we are to follow the instructions of a peon such as yourself."

He rolled his eyes at her behavior but ignored the insult. "If they're still at the Nopon's home, follow them when they leave. I want to know how that other Driver's going to sneak her way into the meeting so we don't have any surprises."

"You think they'll risk it?" Theory asked, tilting her head slightly. "We did threaten to kill the Nopon if they tried."

"Of course they will." The Gormotti man answered in an amused tone. "Why wouldn't they? It's obvious what will happen if the brat comes alone, after all; taking the risk is the winning strategy."

Looking over at Sheba, he continued. "See if you can spot where the girl ends up hiding. If it's a place we can quickly take her out of the fight, so much the better."

"With luck, she will choose the spring inside the Deadbole." Theory said. "I would be able to ice it over with minimal effort."

"Do not be too hasty in trapping the girl, our sweet." Sheba cut in. "Just entrapping that ghastly beast Blade will be sufficient."

Praxis shot her a glare. "And why exactly would that be, Sheba?" She asked, her tone heated. "Please, explain why leaving the girl free would be more advantageous than trapping both of them?"

The blonde gave her a haughty grin in return. "Why, because a Driver without a Blade is hardly a threat." She replied, leaning closer to the other water Blade. "Indeed, we could handle it ourselves while the three of you apprehend the Aegis's Driver."

Her grin widened as her tone became more seductive. "Besides, we have wanted to discover what secrets lay beneath those frumpy garments of hers." She purred. "Perhaps there may even be a place for her within our harem, depending on how events transpire."

"I'll tell you what." The Driver spoke up, interrupting the argument between his two Blades. "We're not taking the girl with us, but if you do your job, and she survives the battle, I'll leave her in your care until we leave Gormott." He gave the blonde a level look. "Is that fair?"

"We suppose." Sheba replied, turning around to leave. "It will rob us of the chance to make her truly bloom under our tender ministrations, but needs must." She flicked a curl over her shoulder as she rode her ether construct out of the room. "Should we arrive and they have already departed from this… creature's abode," She shot a look of disgust at the bound Nopon as she passed him. "Do you wish us to return?"

Her Driver shook his head. "That will be unnecessary." He replied. "Head to the meeting place in that case. If you're lucky, you might catch them on their way there, but the priority will be reaching the meeting place before them."

Sheba departed without a word, her teammates watching her leave with a look of relief. Even Theory, the more stoic of the two, let out an exhausted sigh as the blonde left her hearing range.

"What now?" The ice Blade asked, looking up at the Gormotti man. "Are we to leave for the meeting place?"

The man shook his head. "Not yet. Get the Nopon into a cell and start preparing the ship for departure. I want to be able to leave at a moment's notice." He stood up, turning toward a door on the far end of the room. "I need to contact our real employer. With luck, we might be able to get our hands on both of the special requests at the same time."

Praxis perked up at the comment. "We're not going to steal it?" She asked, confused. "I thought you were certain he wasn't going to part with the Core willingly."

"That was before all this Aegis business started." He replied. "With how much money the good Consul has been throwing around trying to capture her, I suspect he has something riding on his success. Perhaps he will be willing to barter."

His Blade nodded in understanding before dragging the hostage off to the cells, Waldemar's Blade following closely behind. Seeing them leave, he walked through the door into the communications room.

Sitting down at a small table holding the hideout's communication terminal, the Gormotti man fiddled with a dial on the side of the device, entering a short sequence to connect him to his unknowing employer. The screen lit up, displaying a haze of static that quickly resolved into the face of a flamboyant Ardainian man.

"Who is this!?" The man inquired, glaring into the terminal on his end. "How did you get this number!?"

"Consul Dughall, a pleasure." The Gormotti man replied courteously, ignoring the man's demands. "How does the day find you?"

His polite greeting, if anything, only served to incite the man even more. "Who are you!? Answer me!"

"My apologies, my good sir." The man said, struggling to keep a grin off of his face. "I am merely one of the contractors you have hired for the… acquisition job, offering you an update on our progress."

"One of the…!?" The Consul paled at the realization, leaning back from his terminal with a hand held over his mouth. "B-but how did you…? Why are you contacting me and not your intermediary!?"

"Intermediaries can be so bothersome; do you not agree?" The man soothed. "I believe that someone of your station should not have to suffer such delays, especially when we are so close to capturing the target."

Dughall's eyes widened. "The Aegis!? You have her location!?" All reluctance about speaking with the man was wiped away in an instant.

The Gormotti man chuckled. "In a manner of speaking, Consul." He replied. "As I am sure you are aware, the Special Inquisitor encountered the Aegis' Driver in Torigoth two days ago."

"Yes, I am." Dughall huffed in annoyance. "That damned woman… just the thought of the Aegis roaming Gormott had her place the entire Titan on high alert!" He said, as if he hadn't closed the ports before she had even arrived.

"Well, you will be pleased to know that my associates and I have located this Driver, and have set a trap for him. Within a few hours, he will be in our hands."

"Just the Driver!?" The Consul slammed the table on his side of the line. "How will capturing the Driver help!? As her Grace has made painfully aware, the Aegis is not traveling with him!"

The Gormotti man merely smiled at his outburst. "My dear Consul, have you forgotten? Powerful or not, the Aegis is but a Blade at the end of the day. So long as a Driver and Blade are in resonance, they can located each other, and as long as they can locate each other, we can force him to lead us to her."

"Yes… I suppose I can see the logic there." The Consul admitted slowly. "And you have a plan to apprehend the Aegis once her Driver has lead you to her hiding place?"

Leaning back in his chair, the Gormotti Driver gave the man on the other end of the line a serene smile. "Of course. Once we have made visual contact with the Aegis, all that will be required to subdue her is to execute her Driver. With him dead, the Aegis will return to her Core Crystal, leaving it free for us to retrieve."

Dughall smiled in return, no doubt pleased by how easy the man made it sound. "I believe I like the sound of that. A few hours, you say?"

"To secure the Driver. Exactly how long it takes for us to obtain the Aegis herself depends entirely on where she is hiding and how much... encouragement her Driver requires to lead us to her, but I don't anticipate it taking more than a week at most."

"I see." The Consul replied, looking far more relaxed than he had at the beginning of the conversation. "Well, I will be sure to forward the payment through your intermediary…?" He led, not actually knowing which one the man was using.

"Turuni, the Nopon information broker." The Gormotti man replied. "And as for rewards, that involves the second reason I contacted you, my good Consul."

Immediately, Dughall's expression hardened. "If you are implying that the generous payment I am offering is insufficient, then I am afraid that I can offer no additional incentives."

The man laughed at his reaction. "I am implying nothing of the sort. In fact, I was merely curious if, rather than a monetary reward, you would be interested in exchanging an object instead."

"A trade?" The Consul questioned cautiously. No doubt he was curious about exactly what sort of item would be worth turning down the not-inconsiderable payment he had offered for the job. "Exactly what item is it that you are after?"

Bridging his fingers, the Gormotti man explained. "You must understand, I specialize in obtaining certain goods for clients. One such client has requested that I acquire a very particular Core Crystal… I assume you know the one I speak of?"

Dughall went still. "T-that…" He whispered, an almost reverent look in his widening eyes. "H-how do you…!?"

The Gormotti man gave a small shrug. "I have my sources." He replied, as if that explained everything. "Regardless, if you are willing, I would request that Core in favor of the payment. Core Crystal for Core Crystal—a fair trade, would you not agree?"

Apparently, he did not. "Absurd!" The Consul replied fearfully. "That Core Crystal has been in my family for generations!" He crossed his arms, turning away from the terminal. "Besides, it doesn't respond to any attempts to resonate anymore! It's no more useful than a paperweight!"

"Then surely there is no harm in parting with it?" The man replied diplomatically. "My client merely desires the Core. Whether or not it is functional is ultimately irrelevant."

Dughall stared into the communicator, silent for a moment as he pondered. Seeing his lingering hesitation, the Gormotti offered a final bit of motivation. "Besides, if I was able to discover the state of the Core, others could as well. I am sure you are aware that the Praetorium is always looking to confiscate aberrant Core Crystals… I dare say, should they discover you possess it, you will be fortunate if all they do is seize it without offering compensation."

He watched as the Consul backed away from the terminal in fear. "Y-you wouldn't dare!"

"Of course I wouldn't, Consul." He replied with a placid smile. "But those blue-skinned degenerates are tricky. You never know what they'll do next. I am merely offering you a means of ridding yourself of a potentially troublesome item while also saving yourself the reward money for capturing the Aegis. Surely, a businessman as skilled as yourself can see the value of my offer?"

"Yes…" The Consul agreed, seeming to warm up to the idea. "I suppose I can. Very well. If you can obtain the Aegis, the Core Crystal is yours."

He gave the Consul an exaggerated bow. "Thank you, Consul Dughall." He said. "I will leave you to your business."

The communication terminal went dark as the Consul disconnected, leaving the room silent. It only remained that way for a brief moment, before the Gormotti man began to laugh.

"What a fool." He mused as he stood up. "Dughall has no idea what he's been sitting on, does he?"

He had heard the rumors that Dughall was an easy mark, but he hadn't expected it to be nearly that easy. All it had taken was a few placating words to have the man dancing to his tune.

"Ah, if only all of the Ardainian's Consuls were so easily strung along…" He muttered wistfully as he left the communications room. Unfortunately, he had a lot of work to do before they left for the meeting with the Aegis' Driver. Best to have everything ready for the final act.


Leaning against the wall outside of the Consul's temporary office, Brighid shook her head at just how easily the man had been manipulated. Truly, when they finally replaced Dughall, it was important that she and Morag be allowed to personally vet the candidates; leaving the territories of the Empire under the control of such buffoonish political appointees was foolish, especially one as critical as Gormott.

Still, it was good information. They had already confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt that the Consul was the source of the bounty on the Aegis' Driver, but overhearing an update on the status of the search was a windfall. And that communication…

Well, she should probably skip down to the relay base and see if the signal corps had traced it, as they had been requested to do for all of the Consul's communications. Perhaps she and her Driver could pay the man on the other side a little visit.

After taking a moment to ensure the Consul was making no further calls, she slipped away from the window, being sure to keep under the eaves and away from the rain. It seemed like this was going to be a busy evening.


"This is a little harder than I thought." Rex admitted, checking the connection of the power cables to Poppi's body. Although Tora had been literal when he said that all that was left was to apply a power charge to the artificial Blade, several of the cables required to actually do that had been knocked loose during his final stand against Praxis.

Fortunately, despite his other eccentricities, Tora had proven to be a serious enough engineer to create a detailed service manual for the Poppi, should she require maintenance. That included a diagram of the setup required to cold boot her ether furnace, should it be required.

"What did I tell you?" Nia snarked, leaning against a table to the side. Technically, she was supposed to be checking the status of Poppi's Drill Shield, but her lack of technical skill meant that she had only been able to perform a cursory equipment check before having to stand back and let Rex work.

Occasionally repairing the worn salvaging crane that had once been bolted to Azurda's back may not have given the boy a large amount of mechanical expertise, but it was substantially more than what Nia had.

Rex scanned over the diagram, checking his work against it. He was certain he had replaced all of the cables that had been knocked loose by Tora's boom biter, but the manual was very specific that he make absolutely sure they were snugly plugged into their ports.

Satisfied that he had everything correct, the boy stood up and admired his work. "Alright, I think that should be good!" He declared, hands against his hips.

"Oh ho, you seem awfully proud of yourself for plugging in a few wires, Rex." Azurda chuckled.

Rex shot him a glare. "If you think it's so easy, maybe you can do the setup next time."

"If you two are done, can we get a move on?" Nia cut in, an annoyed look on her face. "We're not exactly flush for time right now."

"Fine, fine!" Rex waved her off, walking over to the control console. "Are the personality settings good to go?" He asked, flipping through the manual. "It doesn't look like Tora wrote down what they mean."

Dromarch poked his nose at the dial in the center. "Master Tora claimed they were ready, but I lack the means or knowledge to verify this." He stated. "Do be mindful not to change them; according to master Tora, his father and grandfather's settings are still present, and they are not recommended to be used."

Rex peered over the dial, which had more than a dozen positions labeled on it. Some were rather creative Noponisms, such as 'Blushy-Crushy', 'Icy-Nicey', and 'Stabby-Grabby'. Others were labeled with more bizarre terms and phrases that gave him even less information; he had no idea what the position named 'Poppi Obey Powered Panzer Inferno' was supposed to do, but he had no interest in testing it out.

Concerningly, four of the positions on the right side of the dial had been scribbled over in black ink and hastily relabeled with a large, underscored 'NO'. He assumed those were probably the settings that the tiger was warning him about.

At the moment, the dial was turned to the position labeled 'Maximum Maidiness'. Somehow, he didn't think that was a setting that anyone present was particularly interested in dealing with right now.

"…I'm sure it will be fine." He replied with a notable absence of confidence as he turned the dial to the position labeled 'baseline'. "Let's just see what we have to do next…"

He flipped through the manual until he found the relevant page again, carefully reading the instructions. "Let's see… 'To enable cold boot protocol, begin by engaging fuses number one, three, and fifteen…'" He muttered, comparing the diagram to the actual console he was working with.

"Oh boy…" Nia muttered, watching him work. She wasn't trying to be a downer, but watching her companion struggling his way through the checklist did not inspire confidence in their chances of success.

After a few minutes of work, he finally reached the last step of the sequence. He flicked a switch on the side of the console and saw that a light on the face labeled 'standby' lit up. Double checking the manual, he was please to see that the light indicated the sequence has been completed properly.

"All right!" He cheered, putting the manual aside. "We are officially good to go!" The boy turned around, giving his companions a grin. "Everyone ready for-"

"Architect's sake, just throw the damn switch already!" Nia interrupted him, throwing her arms up.

Rex pouted at her but still turned back to the console. "Spoilsport." He muttered, placing his hand on the knife switch that stood in pride of place on the console.

He nervously drummed his fingers on the wooden handle of the switch, giving a quick look over the face of the console. It looked like everything was in place; he had followed the instructions to the best of his abilities. But if he had gotten something wrong, he couldn't be sure they would have a second chance.

"Nothing else for it." He said to himself, tightening his grip on the switch. At the end of the day, the only way he would know if he had done something wrong was by just going for it.

Without any fanfare, he threw the switch forward, hoping that he had gotten everything right.

Above them, a crack of thunder echoed as a bolt of lightning stuck the lightning rod atop the windmill. There was a brilliant flash as the electrical banks along the walls of the lab were filled by the strike, only to immediately discharge into the sleeping artificial Blade.

Everyone in the room averted their eyes from the light as it coursed through the robot girl. The lighting in the house flickered dangerously as excess electricity spilled over into the building's grid, threatening to trip the breakers, but against all odds, they remained on.

In an instant, it was over. A thick cloud of smoke wafted away from the work area, its acrid scent leaving Rex concerned that something had gone wrong. Had he misconfigured the cables? Had he just ruined Tora's greatest project?

The smoke cleared quickly, giving the group a clear view of the little artificial Blade. She… seemed unchanged, still hanging loosely from the support wires in her maintenance frame.

No, that wasn't quite right. The orange gem on her chest, a status indicator for her ether furnace styled to look like a Core Crystal according to the manual, was faintly glowing. As he watched, the glow quickly brightened until, with a soft hum, the orange light spread out across the ether lines tracing her frame.

With a stilted, mechanical motion, Poppi slowly stood up straight, her eyes opening as she took in the room for the first time.

"Greetings, Masterpon." She said in a soft, childlike voice.

The assembled party looking on gave an awed gasp at the sight of the artificial Blade awakening. Nia, who had been the most skeptical of the group, gave Rex a pat on the shoulder. "I guess you do know what you're doing some of the time." She said, giving the boy a grin.

Brushing her hand off, Rex slowly walked up to Poppi. The artificial Blade was looking around the room in confusion, a slight frown on her face, but turned to face him as he approached.

He knelt down slightly, just enough to match the mechanical girl in height. "Hi there." He greeted gently. "My name is Rex. Tora said your name is Poppi, right?"

Poppi looked him in the eyes. "Poppi's name is Poppi." She confirmed before looking around again. "Poppi not see Masterpon Tora." She commented. The robot girl looked up at him, almost seeming… hurt? "Not detecting Masterpon within range of sensors. Where is Masterpon Tora, friend Rex?"

Rex's face fell at her question. "That's… why we woke you up." He admitted, looking over his shoulder at the others. "Tora was kidnapped by some bad people, and we don't have enough people to rescue him. We were hoping that you could help us?"

She tilted her head. "Friends plan to rescue Masterpon?" She asked, giving him a surprisingly intense stare.

"We do." He confirmed, meeting her gaze. It was a bit disconcerting, lacking the regular eye movements that a human's would possess, but instead he could see subtle adjustments to the aperture of her irises that he assumed filled a similar role.

The mechanical girl abruptly broke her gaze and took a single, almost hesitant step out of her maintenance frame, seemingly testing her own locomotive ability. Rex stood back up, giving the girl room to move.

Rex led the girl over to the rest of the party. "These are my friends." He introduced, pointing toward the Gormotti girl. "The girl holding your Drill Shield is Nia; the tiger is Dromarch, Nia's Blade." Indicating to the miniature Titan on the table next to them, he continued. "That's Gramps, he-"

"Friend Rex, is normal for Titan to be grampypon of human?" Poppi asked, tilting her entire body to the side. "Poppi database suggest Titans not able to produce humans."

Azurda chuckled at her question. "I'm not his actual grandfather, young lady." He corrected her. "I must admit, I'm surprised you were able to identify me. Most people in this era assume that I am a Blade."

"Friend Azurda ether emissions within parameters designated 'Small Titan.'" She replied. "Completely different from emissions of friend Dromarch." She paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side, before giving a long look at Rex and Nia.

After a moment, a frown appeared on her face. "Poppi not understand." She said, looking between the two and Dromarch. "Friend Rex and Nia thermal profiles match dataset Masterpon provide of human, but ether emissions within upper range of dataset for Blade. Poppi not know how to categorize friends."

Beside him, Rex could see Nia's ears immediately flatten against her head in agitation as the artificial Blade spoke. His own smile tightened at the question, but he at least managed a response. "T-that's a little…" He said, scratching his arm. "That's not something we're really comfortable talking about. Just mark us down as 'human' for now."

The robot girl blinked in confusion but stood up straight regardless. "Poppi acknowledge." She replied. "Categorizing friend Rex and friend Nia as 'human-asterix'. Will review data at later date."

"…You know what? That's good enough for now." Rex allowed, giving Nia a concerned look. The girl was still visibly uncomfortable, but Dromarch had padded up to her and nuzzled her hand comfortingly. He figured the tiger was probably better equipped to calm her than he was at the moment.

He led the artificial Blade out of the lab and into the dining area, which was still filled by a sizable amount of half-melted ice. Walking over the uncovered portion of the table, he pointed at the map they had been using to plan the rescue. "So, we should probably get you up to speed." He noted, before beginning.

There wasn't all that much to actually explain. He gave a brief description of the two Core Crystal thieves and the two encounters with them, plus the note that had been left behind during the abduction. While he was explaining their thoughts about the meeting, Poppi interrupted him with a question.

"What direction Zeno's Deadbole?" She asked, tilting the map side-to-side.

"It's spineward." Azurda replied, poking his head out of Rex's helmet. Both Rex and Nia had long since changed out of their disguises in favor of their normal clothing, and the Titan had happily reclaimed his new perch. "Why do you ask?"

Poppi shook her head. "Poppi not ask direction relative to Titan." She corrected, putting the map back down. "Need know compass direction."

"Oh! That's…" Rex said, fishing around in his bag for a moment before pulling out his dive compass. He placed it on the table next to the map, before rotating the map to match the direction of the compass. "Umm, about 82 degrees west, from the look of it."

The artificial Blade looked straight ahead before rotating to face directly toward the compass direction Rex had given. She frowned as she did before rotating again, this time almost 90 degrees to the left.

"Masterpon Tora's directional vector does not match." She stated, looking toward the wall facing the center of Torigoth. "Poppi artificial resonant link indicate Masterpon is 357 degrees North."

"What do you mean?" Nia asked, narrowing her eyes. She walked up to the map, tracing her finger across it in the direction the artificial Blade was facing. "That puts him somewhere in the direction of the Garanti Plains."

Poppi spun around and marched over to the map. Pulling a pen out from… well, Rex had no idea where she had gotten it, she drew a pair of lines on the map fanning out from Tora's house that bracketed the right flankward coast of Gormott.

"Poppi feel Masterpon within this vector." She explained before drawing a perfect circle that encompassed most of Torigoth and its environs. "This range of Poppi local sensors. Masterpon not within circle." She added.

"That's still a large area to search, young lady." Azurda mused, looking at the area she had indicated. Even discounting the section she had already said Tora wasn't in, that was still an appreciable portion of Gormott's right coast. "How certain are you that he is located in that direction?"

"As Poppi say, is direction artificial resonant link is connecting." She explained. "Poppi is in resonance with Masterpon; can always feel direction Masterpon is from Poppi."

Nia's eyes widened in understanding. "The affinity link demonstration from yesterday!" She cried. "Of course you can find him!"

Beside her, Dromarch added his own thoughts. "Azurda is correct, however. That is still a large search area. We will not be able to explore it before we are meant to meet with the thieves."

"But if Poppi can detect him within a certain distance," Rex noted, pointing at the circle on the map, "Don't we just need to follow the center of the search area until he's within range?"

The group turned to face Poppi, who gave a confirmation. "Poppi's search radius larger than vector for most of distance." She explained. "Additionally, Poppi will be able to update direction as Poppi gets closer to Masterpon."

"If they begin moving toward the meeting place before we locate master Tora, will that not put us at a disadvantage?" Dromarch asked.

His Driver shook her head. "That might actually work out better for us." Nia replied. "If we're out of range, Poppi'll be able to feel the direction of their affinity link change, and then we just need to bolt to the road and try to cut them off. It'll be rough, but it'll still give us a better chance than trying to sneak into the meeting."

"Agreed." Rex said, crossing his arms. "I say we try it this way. Anyone disagree?" He asked, looking over the group.

Nia was in agreement with him and merely shook her head. Dromarch, while still not entirely on board, reluctantly sided with his Driver. Only Azurda remained silent, giving the others a considerate look.

"Gramps?" Rex asked, prodding the tiny Titan.

"This could be a dangerous undertaking," he said, his voice grave, "and not just for you. If you are unsuccessful, there is a very real chance that Tora will die." Azurda fluttered out of Rex's helmet, coming face-to-face with the boy. "Knowing that, are you still willing to take the risk?"

Rex looked the Titan in the eye, his face set in determination. "I am." He replied. "Nia's right; we'll have a much better chance trying to take them off-guard instead of playing by their rules. It may be dangerous, but no less so than our other options."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." The Titan nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, I agree; this seems like the best course of action."

With no objections, Rex turned to the door. Beside him, he could see Nia giving her gear a final check, while Poppi affixing her Drill Shield to her back.

"All right then." He said. "Let's go rescue Tora."


Author's Notes

Of course Tora made a service manual for Poppi, why wouldn't he? You don't leave the maintenance procedures for something that complex to fallible squishy meat-based data storage! That being said, just because he created the manual, doesn't mean he made it readable by a layman; he is an engineer, after all.