Shadows of Alrest

by kiben007

It had taken unthinkable sacrifice, but with Malos dead and a new Elysium to call home, it seemed like the world had been given a second chance. But old habits die hard, and not everyone is willing to see the world change for the better. Even with the Aegis gone, the work of her companions is far from over. Sequel to my previous work, "Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Atonement"

20. Elysian Garden, Part 8

Three days. It had taken three days for Corvin to make his move.

They'd gotten supremely unlucky in that regard. Mikhail's condition had flared up a few hours ago, and now he was in the infirmary receiving emergency care from Adenine. This happened every once in a while, Nia knew he was in good hands, but what worried her was that Corvin seemed to think this gave him free reign over the Gardens. And he seemed hell-bent on doing as much damage as possible before Mikhail recovered.

Nia sat outside the new arrivals' hall, watching him approach. His supporters now looked like a small army, and they moved at his back as he approached. This wasn't even all of them. About half were unaccounted for. But she'd have to trust Strix and the others to deal with that. She stood, putting herself between them and the door. He did not look happy to see her.

"Nia," he said.

"Corvin," she replied. "Nice to see you, today. Your duties not keeping you too busy?"

"I need you to move. I've got business with Cole."

"I don't feel like moving," Nia said. Right now, she was just trying to buy Kora and Vess enough time to get everyone out safely, but she was also taking no small amount of satisfaction in being a pain in his ass for once.

"Step aside, Nia. Don't make me ask again."

"Make me," she said. The two of them stared at each other for a while, neither one moving. Eventually, he stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to shove her aside. She didn't budge, instead grabbing his arm and shoving him back. His army bristled behind him.

"Move," he said. "This is official business. You should know better than anyone not to obstruct that."

"Is it?" she asked. "I've not been gone so long that I've forgotten everything. Cole doesn't have anything on the schedule today."

"Things have changed since you stepped down," Corvin said. "There are urgent matters Cole and I need to discuss."

"Like what?" Nia asked.

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Technically, you do," Nia said. "I'm a citizen of the Gardens just like everyone else. I've a right to know what my Caretakers are doing."

"I'm doing what's best for the Gardens. Now move aside."

"Really?" Nia asked. "Kicking the humans out is what's best for the Gardens?"

Corvin paused, the fury written clear as day across his face. She honestly didn't know what he'd expected. Did he think she'd just roll over and let this happen?

"I don't know where you got that idea, but—"

"Save it," she said. Patroka had overheard him and his supporters plotting this move the moment Mikhail lost consciousness. Nia volunteered to stall him while Kora, Vess, and some of the others helped Cole evacuate everyone. Fortunately for them, becoming a Caretaker had put him under near-constant scrutiny, and he'd badly underestimated just how extensive that scrutiny was.

"Fine," Corvin said. "The humans need to go, is that what you want to hear? Now let me do what needs to be done."

"I don't think so," she said. "Mikhail hasn't authorized this."

"If he can't be around to make important decisions like this, then he shouldn't be the one in charge."

"That isn't up to you. If you want him to step down, then call a hearing on it. Let the people decide."

Nia smirked, watching Corvin squirm. They both knew that wouldn't be well received. Calling for the Head Caretaker's resignation twice in one week was a hard sell in the first place, but Mikhail was extremely popular among the residents. His status as a former member of Torna made him more popular than even Nia was. She may have saved the world, but he'd fought the Praetorium. He'd sank Indol. Many of the Blades here were free because of what he'd done. For them, kicking him out was unthinkable.

"The people don't know what's best for them," Corvin said. "With the world as uncertain as it is, we need strong leadership. It's become clear to me Mikhail can't provide that."

"That wasn't your tune a week ago," Nia replied. "Caretakers aren't leaders, Corvin. What happened to serving the will of the people?"

She had him caught by his own words, now. Either he had to back down or admit he was a hypocrite. She could tell he was weighing the options carefully as he fumed. But ultimately, he decided on the latter.

"They'll come around," he said. "Once they understand what it is I'm trying to do. Now move aside."

Nia looked back over his supporters. She'd been hoping at least some of them would realize what he was doing, but they all seemed steadfast in their support. Which was a shame. But ultimately, she'd planned for this outcome. They'd passed the point where reasoned arguments would solve this a long time ago. She should have recognized that sooner.

"No," she said, manifesting her sword and leveling it at him. "You are acting outside your duties as a Caretaker and exercising undue authority over the people you've sworn to look after. As a citizen of the Gardens, I am obligated to stop you from doing any more harm. By any means necessary."

"I'd like to see you try," he said, drawing his own swords. But before he could do anything else, she shot forward, slamming into him and sending out a wave of water that knocked the first row or two of his supporters off their feet. As they recovered, they drew their weapons too, so she responded in kind.

She formed copies of herself out of the ether around her, water bound into shapes by her will alone. Each manifested with a copy of her sword, and they stood beside her, one to match each member of Corvin's army. She'd borrowed this idea from the Spirit Crucible as a means of taking on many opponents at once. But it consumed a ridiculous amount of ether, so she'd been gathering up as much as she could over the last couple of days. Still, it wouldn't last long. If she didn't end this soon, she'd exhaust herself. So she didn't hold back.

As Corvin charged her, his followers did too, and she intercepted them with her clones. It was a cascade of information all at once, and she could barely hold the configuration together. It would've been much easier with Kalarau backing her up, but she hadn't been able to get a hold of him. And he was probably still angry with her for Dromarch. So she made due.

Her clones held his supporters at bay while she engaged him directly. He swung his swords, casting blades of light out at her, and she weaved through them. As he closed the distance, she struck his weapons aside with her own and kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back, and she delivered a blast of water to knock him back further.

Unfortunately, focusing on him made her formation falter, and she had to step back to keep the movements of the clones in sync. She could feel and direct the movements of each clone simultaneously, but the more ether she had to control, the less precise it became. If she lost focus for even a moment, her defense would crumble.

But Corvin wasn't about to sit back and let her take it easy. In an instant, he was up and charging for her again, producing more blades of light. She met the attacks with her sword, scattering his ether with her own, but as the light flowed around her, it obscured her vision. By the time it stopped, he was in the air, poised to drive his swords into her from above.

She produced a shield beneath him, and he stabbed through it, but she hadn't constructed it to defend so much as to grab his attention. Unconsciously, he lined up his attack with the shield, and at the last moment, she stepped to the side, slamming her sword into his stomach. With a twist of the blade, she was able to force him into the ground, and immediately she subsumed him in a wave of ether. He fought back, of course, so she put her foot on his chest, pressing him into the ground until cracks began to form and spread throughout the courtyard.

Another Blade shot a blast of fire at her, and she brought up a wall of water to block it. Then another ether blast came her way, wind this time, forcing her to step back. She shifted focus, and renewed strength surged into her clones. Individually, with all her focus, each was more than a match for its opponent. At least as long as she could keep the ether flow up. But already she could feel the strain in her core. This was tiring her out faster than she'd hoped.

One of Corvin's supporters fought past the clone keeping him at bay, and she lunged, driving her sword into his stomach. He collapsed, and she turned to swing at Corvin as he recovered. He blocked the strike and even managed to angle the hit to drive him closer to the door, immediately reaching to throw it open. But as he tried to step through, she shot forward, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back.

He managed to get a hit on her chest as she dragged him back out, but she didn't much care. Her ether crept up around her, repairing the damage almost immediately. She was more concerned about the people still in the new arrivals' hall. She could see Kora inside, helping Krogane and his Driver as they ushered the Blades out of their rooms. Astelle was with her too, still here waiting for an answer that wouldn't come any time soon.

Nia closed the door behind her and stepped back into the courtyard. More of Corvin's supporters had managed to overpower her clones while her attention had been split, and she surged ether back into them, trying to make up the difference. As she did, she grew light-headed, and Corvin took the opportunity to strike again.

He came at her low this time, and she used her ether to take his feet out from under him. As he fell, however, he managed to plant a foot and lunge out, swinging for her ankles. She lacked the ether to form a shield, so instead she stopped his blade with a kick, putting as much strength into the block as she could muster. It cut through her foot, but again, the wound was repaired almost instantly.

As he lay on the ground, she drove her sword through his lower back, piercing his stomach and pinning him to the ground. With her ether anchoring him in place, she turned her attention back to her clones, pushing his supporters back. He tried to blast at her with light, but she stepped past him, projecting a shield over him to keep him in place. While it held, she had free reign over the battlefield, and she used it. Her clones surged forward, driving his supporters back until they were all clustered on the far side of the courtyard.

As they grouped up, they all stopped fighting for the moment, granting her a much-needed break. She took the opportunity to catch her breath and pull in more ether from the atmosphere. It was growing thinner with how many Blades were fighting in such a small space, but there was still enough around to keep her conscious. On the plus side, they had to be feeling it too.

"This is a grotesque violation of everything we stand for," she said, stepping forward and addressing them directly. "Stand down now, and we might still be able to look past this."

"You can't tell us what to do," one of the Blades said. "You're not a Caretaker anymore."

"If the community wants to punish me for this when the dust settled, I can live with that. But I can't let you do this. It isn't right."

"Go to hell!" Corvin shouted. Somehow, he could still speak with a perforated stomach. "You claim you care so fucking much, but you're driving this whole place to ruin!"

"I'm tired of listening to you talk," she said. But she resisted the urge to manifest another sword and drive it through his neck. As satisfying as it would have been, she couldn't give in to her darker impulses. She had to avoid that kind of needless cruelty, no matter how easy it would have been.

But without resorting to that kind of violence, she didn't have an easy way to deal with Corvin's supporters. She could trap them all individually like she'd trapped him, but that would take time and effort she couldn't spend. Was it possible to knock them all unconscious at once? A large enough blast of ether would do the trick, but it would leave her drained and exposed. He still had other supporters running around, after all.

As she weighed her options, the entrance to the Caretakers' quarters exploded, and Strix came stumbling out. The bandages on his chest were torn, and a second set of arms protruded from his ribcage. They were skeletal and black, covered in the same tar-like substance that soaked through his bandages from time to time. Each hand bore a separate spear, and he swung them wildly, hooking Blades and driving them into the ground. But for each one he dealt with, more stepped forward to fill the gap.

"Nia!" he shouted, erecting a wall of stone in front of the entrance to keep his opponents at bay. "They've stolen Orion's ether netting!"

Shit. That didn't bode well. She'd been just about to ask Patroka to get someone to bring them to her. It was the only way she could see them subduing everyone cleanly.

"Adenine's down!" Strix continued. "Kalarau and Qadar are pinned by the amphitheater!"

"What about the citizens?" Nia asked.

"A few are fighting back! Not enough, though!"

None of this boded well. They needed to deal with things here immediately. Nia readied her clones to charge the group they had trapped, but before she could, Strix's wall exploded. He dove back into the fray, but a blast of darkness shot past him, piercing a hole through one of Nia's clones. It collapsed, and she didn't have the ether to stitch it back up. Instead, she moved her remaining ones in, trying to take down as many people as she could.

As the clones and Corvin's supporters tore into each other, she felt the shield around him fail. A Blade had slipped past Strix and managed to break it. She whirled around and slammed a wave of water into them, knocking them both to the ground, but before she could re-subdue him, more Blades surged past Strix. There were nearly thirty in the courtyard, now, and Nia and Strix were badly outnumbered.

Nia began spreading out her ether as much as possible, trying to ensnare everyone present and drag them to the ground. But she couldn't get a good grasp on everyone. Some of the Blades she'd taken down with her clones were starting to get up, now, and they were closing in on her. So instead, she switched focus to close quarters fighting.

She spun her sword, cleaving through the crowd with the intent to subdue. They were Blades too, so she couldn't do them any permanent damage so long as she avoided their cores, but it would take them time to recover from grievous wounds. It wasn't a good option, but it was the only one that seemed viable right now.

Fortunately, there were benefits to being a Flesh Eater. She had power far and above the average Blade, and she leveraged it here. As blasts and constructs of ether collided with her, she shrugged them off and used her regeneration to keep herself going. But she could feel the strain acutely, now. Her ears were ringing, and her vision wasn't keeping straight. Still, she kept fighting, carving her way to Strix. He was just barely holding his own, with a dozen or so Blades trying to drag him down, and she blasted them away.

Corvin charged her, and she brought her sword up to meet him. Before he could reach her, however, something hit the ground in the middle of the courtyard. It was Electra, hammer in hand and sparking with fury. She shot forward, driving her hammer into Corvin's gut faster than Nia could register. He flew, striking the side of the community hall, and she immediately struck someone else into the ground.

Having someone else on her side gave Nia the strength to keep pushing. She cleared away the people mobbing Strix and pushed into the hallway, forcing a wave of ether down it and throwing everyone back. Something struck her from behind, and she whirled around, slicing her sword through her attacker and kicking her to the ground.

As she continued, the ringing in her ears turned to a violent throb. Vess and Mabon had arrived too, thankfully, which helped to keep some of the pressure off. But there were still too many people to fight. Too many people that were getting back on their feet. It felt like almost all of Corvin's supporters were here, now. If she could just take them down here, then—

An ether net flew past her, catching Electra as she struck Azami to the ground. Nia shot forward, slicing the net off her immediately, but more flew at her. A group came into view brandishing ether net launchers, and people began trying to pin Strix down again. If they went down here, then Corvin would win. She couldn't allow that.

"Run!" she shouted, re-summoning the swords she'd manifested for her now-destroyed clones. She supported each on a tendril of water and surged toward the squad with the ether nets. As they fired, she cut through them, not letting a single projectile get past her. Her vision began to constrict, and she could feel blow after blow strike her in the back, but she didn't care. All she was focused on was keeping her people safe.

She finally reached the ether net group and began putting them down, slicing through limbs and driving swords through stomachs. When she finished, she looked back at the ruins of the courtyard. The fighting had torn up everything, and there were people scattered all around. Corvin was back on his feet, now, directing his forces to surround her. But Strix and the others had managed to escape, at least. She'd have to put her faith in them.

Corvin said something to her, but the throbbing in her ears was too loud to hear. She'd expended so much ether over the course of the last few minutes that she was barely able to stay on her feet, but she stepped forward anyway. As she did, she dissolved her extra weapons, compacting the ether into one large wave.

With a scream, she dove the wave into the oncoming crowd before jumping in herself, cutting through everyone in her way. Her gaze was fixed on Corvin, and he stared at her, unable to hide how scared he was. No matter what happened, she had to put him down. She'd sworn it to him, and to herself. But there were too many people between them. The more she advanced, the more attacks struck her. The more ether she had to spend to keep herself moving.

As she reached him, he put up a shield, but she cleaved straight through it. Her sword bit into his shoulder blade, and she forced him into the ground. She kept up the pressure, shattering the stone beneath him and burying him in the rubble. She slammed into him over and over again, putting everything she had into the strikes.

Eventually, a shadow passed over her, and something struck her back. She expected the attacks to continue, but they didn't. Everyone in the crowd stepped back, and Nia looked up to see Tenax looming over Corvin's mangled body. As he began pulling himself back together, she slowly shook her head.

"Look at what your actions have wrought," Tenax said, staring at Nia. Her voice sounded far away, but Nia could still hear the words, if only just. "I suppose it's safe to say your experiment here has failed. My siblings and I will be taking our leave."

Nia shook her head, trying and failing to form words. Her body was still on the verge of collapse, but having a little room to breathe was making things easier.

"You turned to violence so quickly. No matter how much you try, you can't escape your more human impulses."

"We're not above violence," Nia growled, her voice barely more than a whisper. "We need violence, sometimes, if we're going to protect what we care about."

"A very human response."

"You should know, Tenax. You've used violence the same as any of us. You fought during the Aegis War. Don't pretend you're any different from me."

"That was a war for our very existence, girl."

"So is this." Nia stood up to her full height. "I will not let the world's last, best hope fall to men like him."

She jabbed a finger at Corvin.

"Spare me," he spat. She wondered why he wasn't ordering his cronies to attack her. Probably he didn't want to risk it with Tenax in the crossfire.

"Selfish, greedy men," Nia continued. "Twisting everything for their own gain and destroying lives in the process. I've seen it happen too many times to let it happen here."

"It is inevitable," Tenax said.

Nia stepped forward and slammed her forehead into the ridge of Tenax's beak, glaring straight into her eyes. Nia was really tired of hearing crap like that.

"Maybe. Maybe it is inevitable. Maybe trying to be better is a doomed endeavor. But if that's true, it's only because people like you can sit by and watch it happen."

Tenax backed away, casting her eyes down.

"I have to look after my people," she said, unable or unwilling to meet Nia's gaze. "The longer they remain here, the more danger you put them in. Even if you succeed here, the humans will eventually overwhelm you. This cannot last. They need to see that."

"If I'm doomed to fail, then so are you. Running away won't save you."

"No, it won't," Tenax admitted. "But at least they'll live longer."

"I wouldn't call that living."

"No," Tenax said. She sighed. "I suppose you wouldn't. Goodbye, Head Caretaker."

"I'm not the Head Caretaker anymore, remember? I'm just someone trying to do what's right."

"It will not be enough."

"I don't care," Nia said. She stepped back and lifted her sword up, pointing it at Corvin. "I'll fight all the same."

"Then I wish you the best of luck. I pray you may find peace."

"Keep your prayers," Nia spat. "Either help me or get out of my way."

Tenax got out of her way, taking to the air and settling on the ridge above the Gardens. Nia could see the other Titans gathering there, watching. Waiting to see who'd come out on top, probably. Which left Nia with only one thing to do.

"Are you done?" Corvin asked.

"No. I'll be done when you stop this."

"You want to stop me? You're going to have to kill me."

That was the ultimatum she'd been dreading. In the end, Rex had dealt with Amalthus the same way. She hadn't delivered the final blow then, so she hadn't yet broken her promise never to take another life. But protecting the Gardens came before any personal beliefs she held.

"I know."

She shot forward, thrusting her sword out to split his core in two. Before the strike could land, however, several shields all went up around Corvin at once. He still had his supporters backing him up. But Nia wouldn't let that stop her. As she continued to march forward, Corvin began to retreat, running through the crowd to get away from her. She did the same, tearing past and through her attackers to chase him down.

As she moved, however, she was struck from all sides by attacks. It took an incredible amount of ether to heal herself and keep moving, and though she'd managed to recover some thanks to Tenax, it hadn't been enough. As she reached Corvin, driving her sword through his back and knocking him to the ground, her vision began to fade.

She'd forced herself far beyond what she should have been capable of putting out, and now she paid the price. More attacks struck her, forcing her to her knees, but she bit her tongue and kept up the assault. She was swinging wildly, carving chunks out of Corvin's body trying to get at his core. But he managed to wrench himself free before she could reach it, and the crowd closed in. At last, after she gave everything she could, she hit the ground. The last thing that floated through her mind was that she shouldn't have sent Zeke away. She wanted to see him one more time.

Then an attack struck her in the face, and the world went black.

---

Zeke could tell something was wrong before they even made it to the gates. For one thing, they were closed, which immediately struck him as suspicious. Strix only closed them when absolutely necessary. Had they suffered another attack? Things seemed too quiet for that, and he couldn't see any enemies around. Things seemed too quiet in general. Normally, the Gardens should have been humming with activity, but right now he couldn't see or hear a thing. Almost as if the whole place was holding its breath.

"They gates are closed," Pandoria noted as they approached. "You'd think Strix would have opened them by now."

"Strix!" Zeke shouted. "Open up, man!"

There was no response.

"He's probably out on patrol," Nal said.

"Are we really supposed to wait out here until he gets back?" Pandoria asked.

"He wouldn't go on patrol with the gates closed," Zeke said. "Something's wrong."

"Oh, come on," Nal said. "We've only been gone a couple'a weeks, and we spent the whole time in Spessia. If they'd decided to launch an attack, we'd know about it."

"Spessia didn't hit us with their army last time, either."

"Ya' think they hired more mercs to come after us?"

"I'm not saying that's what's happening, but this isn't normal. Pandy, you mind if I boost you up to have a look around?"

"Might as well," she said. He held the sword out toward her, and she stepped on. Zeke stepped back, spinning around several times to build up momentum and ether before putting all of it into a single swing. With a grunt, he managed to launch Pandoria over the top of the wall.

"How's she gonna get it open?" Nal asked. As if to answer her question, there was a loud impact from the other side of the door. Then another. And another. After a few more strikes, Pandoria managed to inch the gate open enough to peer through.

"Get in here," she said, checking over her shoulder. "You need to see this."

Zeke nodded and gripped the side of the gate. With the assistance of the Eye, he and Pandoria managed to pry the doors open enough to slip through. As he took in the state of the courtyard, however, he stopped in his tracks.

The whole place had been destroyed. Plants torn to shreds, stonework blown to rubble, almost like an army had descended on the place. The only thing that had survived the carnage was Jin's sword. It sat untouched in the middle of the devastation, an all-too familiar sight.

"Aight," Nal said, drawing her guns. "Yeah, somethin's goin' on."

"Move carefully," Zeke said, keeping his voice low. The door to the community hall had been obliterated, and he glanced through to see the walls and floor covered in blast marks. The ground was torn up as well, and there were shards of ice scattered about. Whoever attacked had brought Blades with them. And, in the distance, he could hear footsteps echoing from further inside. Whoever had done this might still be here.

"Openin' that gate made a lotta noise," Nal said. "Sounds like they're comin' right for us."

"Let them," Pandoria said. "We'll make them regret ever stepping past the gates."

"Fine by me. I'll keep an eye out."

Nal vanished into thin air, and Zeke readied his sword. But as the footsteps approached, he heard the telltale hiss of laser fire. Blades exchanging blasts of ether. He stepped into the hallway, looking for the source, and immediately a wall next to him exploded.

KOS-MOS jumped through, a cannon in each hand, firing blasts of light back at her pursuers. Blasts of dark ether struck all around her as she landed, and she threw up a shield just before a jet of water could spear through her stomach. Immediately she returned fire, shattering her own shield before taking off again.

Why was she here? More to the point, why was she fighting? Was she on their side, or was she the enemy? Were they under attack from the Coalition? Zeke couldn't believe it. Had refusing to send troops to Leftheria been all the excuse they needed to launch an assault? It couldn't be that petty. Or, at least Zeke hoped it wasn't. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

"KOS-MOS!" he shouted, grabbing her by the wrist before she could jump away. Immediately she whirled around, jamming a cannon in his face, and he threw his hands up. For good measure, he dropped his sword. A moment later, two Blades stepped through from the other side of the hole. One was Bradly's porcelain-doll-looking Blade, Azami, and the other was a… A woman in a floating bathtub? He barely had time to wonder about that before they raised cannons against him too.

"Prince Ozychlyrus," KOS-MOS said, looking back up at the other two. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Does someone want to tell me what's going on here?" he asked.

"This is curious," Azami said, looking through him more than at him. "The lost little prince has come crawling home. Very poor timing, too, I must say."

"I hate relying on such boorish individuals," the bathtub woman said. "But if you could give us a hand, Caretaker Zeke, it would be appreciated nonetheless."

"Give you a hand with what?" he asked.

"She attacked us," the woman said, motioning at KOS-MOS with her cannon.

"Incorrect," KOS-MOS replied. "These individuals are holding my Driver against her will. I will take the necessary actions to ensure her freedom."

"Astelle is here?" Zeke asked. KOS-MOS wouldn't have brought her Driver on an assault mission, so they must've been here for diplomacy. So why were two residents attacking her?

"Don't listen to her," the bathtub woman said. "Be a gentleman and lend a hand already, we have places to be."

"You three need to start making sense," Zeke said. "Are we under attack by the Coalition, or what? Who trashed the courtyard?"

"Discussion is pointless," KOS-MOS said. She fired a cannon at Azami, forcing the two women to move. As they returned fire, KOS-MOS took her cannon out of Zeke's face, and immediately he grabbed his sword.

This was all too complicated, so he struck KOS-MOS into the far wall, momentarily simplifying the situation. Before the other two could take advantage of that, Pandoria ran up from behind him and grabbed Sheba's cannon, preventing her from turning it on KOS-MOS. Zeke cut Azami's in half, much for the same reason. Behind him, KOS-MOS moved, and he whirled around, aiming the sword at her. She stopped, smart enough to know he could get off a lightning bolt just about as fast as she could get off a shot.

"Start making sense," he repeated, turning back to Azami. "Where are the other Caretakers?"

"Around, I'm sure," she said. "It's been absolute madness since the fighting started, so I couldn't say where they've all gone."

"What about Nia?"

"What about her? Last I checked, she isn't a Caretaker anymore."

"You don't want to tell me the truth? Fine." He looked over at Sheba. "Maybe you can tell me what's going on."

"I am telling the truth," Azami said. "Nia stepped down from her position three days ago. Now she's one of the rabble, just like the rest of us. And now that Mikhail's out of commission, the position of Head Caretaker's fallen to Corvin, so you'd better—"

Zeke swung, punching Azami in the jaw and knocking her flat on her back. Before he had time to think, he brought his sword around and placed it against her neck, pinning her to the ground.

"Where is Nia," he said, barely keeping himself from screaming.

"Get your hands off her!" Sheba shouted. She tried to wrench her cannon out of Pandoria's grip, but before she could, a jolt of electricity passed through her. She leapt back, and Pandoria swung the cannon around, striking her in the chest and knocking her out of the tub.

"Do not make me ask again," Zeke said, glaring at Azami. "Where is Nia?"

"Corvin's taken her to your dungeons," Azami said, a grin plastered across her face. "She put up a fight, but she couldn't take us all on at once. By now, she's probably—"

Zeke pressed the sword down, cutting through Azami's windpipe. It wasn't enough to take her head off entirely, but it was enough to shut her up. As Zeke stood, he turned his sword on Sheba, ready to do the same to her.

"Zeke!" Pandoria shouted, grabbing the sword by the blade and wrenching it out of his grip. "Get a hold of yourself!"

As she took his weapon, the action wrenched him back to reality. He hadn't realized he was capable of doing something like that. Even if it wasn't going to leave any permanent damage, it was still needlessly cruel. But when he thought about Nia being in danger, he hadn't been able to control himself.

"Prince," KOS-MOS said. "Has the situation been adequately clarified?"

"Yeah," he said, taking the sword back from Pandoria. He stepped past Sheba, kicking her tub to the side.

"Brute!" Sheba shouted. She manifested another cannon from her core and aimed it at him. Pandoria tried to grab it, but before either of them could blink, Zeke whirled around and cut the cannon in half. Then he pressed the sword against Sheba's chin and glared at her.

"Do not test me," he said. Normally, he'd be doing his best to act the part of the hero in situations like this. Someone had to, after all. But right now, he couldn't muster up the energy. The only thing he could think about was making sure Nia was alright. And if she wasn't, then he was going to tear apart everyone responsible.

"Zeke," Pandoria said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We should find the others. Figure out what to do."

"I know what to do," he said. "Nia's in the dungeons. I'm getting her out."

"You're in no shape to do anything of the sort. You need to calm down before you go rushing in like an idiot again. Or do you want this to be a repeat of your fight against Orion?"

Zeke wanted to counter, but he couldn't. She was right. It didn't make him any less furious, but she was right. He couldn't go in blind. They needed a plan. Step one would have to be figuring out who was still on their side.

"KOS-MOS?" he asked, glancing back at her. "Where's Astelle?"

"We joined with some others in a bid to escape," KOS-MOS said. "Insurrectionist forces cut us off and forced us back in toward this entrance. In the chaos, I became separated."

"Let's go find them, then," Zeke said. He activated the Eye again and called the cloud to him, shaping it into stone prisons for Azami and Sheba. Once they were trapped, he motioned for KOS-MOS to lead the way. She nodded and took off, racing down toward the town.

As they approached, Zeke picked up the sounds of more fighting. Someone had erected a thick wall of stone around the greenhouse district, containing what looked like a massacre. Blades lined the walls, all firing blasts of ether at whatever unlucky souls were trapped in the middle. KOS-MOS took to the air on small jets of ether and began firing lasers at the attackers, trying to draw their attention away from the target.

As he reached the wall, Zeke jumped, planting his feet on the wall and concentrating electricity in them to make them stick. It would only last a few seconds, but the wall was short enough that it didn't matter. He sprinted up and swung as he crested the top, knocking two Blades off. As the others turned their weapons on him, he managed to get a look at their target.

It looked like a warehouse for storing excess equipment and supplies, but there were easily a dozen shields erected around various parts, keeping it standing despite the assault. Obrona was also standing on the roof, her wings spread to draw in as much ether as she could. She was directing it down into the building, fueling the defense while simultaneously depriving their attackers of the power they needed to punch through. It was a clever setup, but with this many Blades on the offensive it wouldn't last forever.

He slammed his sword into the wall, throwing out a wave of electricity that rippled along it. Everyone around him lost their footing, and he immediately shot off in the opposite direction from KOS-MOS, knocking Blades down to relieve some of the pressure on the building. He didn't make it very far before spikes shot up from the wall to knock him down.

He spun around, slicing them off at the base, but more immediately shot up beneath his feet. He managed to launch himself off the wall before they could impale him, but unfortunately, he fell inside Obrona's ether field, and she wasn't paying attention to who her attackers were, at the moment. She was too busy trying to keep the people in the building supplied with ether. Which meant she drained him too, pulling all the ether from his core before he could shift himself into high gear. He was stranded without ether in the middle of a kill box, and the people lining the walls were already aiming their weapons at him.

Fortunately, Pandoria made it to the top of the wall just in time to put a shield around him. Most of the attacks bounced harmlessly off it, and as he got moving again, he could see Nal briefly appear next to Pandoria. Together, the two of them began tearing through the attackers, but they didn't make it very far before the same spikes that had attacked Zeke came for them too.

Whoever had erected this wall was still around, using it to keep them from breaking the formation. The fastest way to end this was to put whoever it was out of commission.

His target wasn't too hard to spot either. Everyone else on the wall was busy trying to keep up the pressure on Obrona, but her focus was on Pandoria, Nal, and KOS-MOS. And as she moved between groups of attackers, trying to stay out of KOS-MOS's line of fire, Zeke managed to get a good look at her face. It was Agate. Disappointing, really. He'd been on good terms with her before Corvin had pulled… Whatever this was. But he could tease out the why of her betrayal later. Right now, he just needed to stop her.

He rushed forward, immediately catching her attention, but by now it was too late. She sent out a volley of spikes, but he jumped over them with ease, concentrating as much ether in his hands and feet as possible to help him scramble up the wall. He at least had enough ether to manage that.

As he reached the top, he felt his weapon cross out of Obrona's range and whir back to life. Agate turned and ran, throwing spikes of ether behind her to keep him from approaching, but he was faster. He shifted into high gear and closed the distance in an instant, slamming the sword into her side.

She flew off the wall, slamming into a nearby building, and immediately chunks of it began to tear themselves off and fly at Zeke. He swung, cleaving through the first volley before throwing out a wave of solid cloud from his cloak. The clouds formed a series of spikes, knocking down a second volley of rubble. The dust from the collisions didn't settle, however. Instead, it rushed forward. He managed to cover his mouth and keep from inhaling any, but it still scraped away at him. A thousand tiny cuts.

It also impaired his vision, leaving him all but blind. Instead of backing up, however, he leapt, diving off the wall and toward Agate. As he cleared the cloud of dust, he got his eyes open just in time to see her swing an axe for his head. Rather than block the attack and leave himself exposed, he decided to gamble. He caught her attack with a single shield plate, then immediately boosted into high gear, swinging past her head and driving the sword into her shoulder.

Just before the attack connected, one of her crystalline shoulder pads expanded, catching his sword. She jumped back, raking her axe across the ground, and a mass of crystals began to sprout from the line she'd carved. It surged up at Zeke, and he tried to jump over, swinging his sword at Agate again. But a mass of crystal expanded from her hand and caught the weapon, and a moment later the crystal beneath him lurched up and grabbed his feet. He was trapped.

"I like to think I'm a good judge of character," Zeke said. "You seemed like a good sort. So I've been wracking my brain to figure out why you, of all people, would throw your lot in with Corvin."

"You still put your trust in Nia?" Agate asked.

"She's the best person I know."

"Then you're a pretty bad judge of character. Or maybe you just haven't been paying attention. But in case you haven't noticed, Nia's lost it. She's grown more erratic and hostile by the day. She won't do her part to heal Temperantia, and she nearly killed her own Blade."

All of that was news to Zeke. Half of it sounded so outlandish he couldn't help but laugh. It was so obviously rubbish, but for whatever reason, Agate seemed to buy it.

"Somehow that's funny to you?" she asked.

"Look around you," Zeke said. "She isn't the one attacking innocent people."

"They're sheltering a Coalition Driver. Nothing's innocent about that."

"We're enemies of the Coalition now, too? I must've missed the memo."

"Corvin says they're a threat to our safety. I'm inclined to agree. This whole Titan is a testament to what happens when you let humans run things."

Zeke spotted KOS-MOS circling around, laser raking into the side of the wall, and figured now was as good a time as any.

"Well, I tried," Zeke said. "KOS-MOS!"

She looked down at him and, without a shred of hesitation, fired straight through the crystal holding his sword in place. The moment it shattered, he pressed it forward, slamming the sword into Agate's neck and unleashing all the electricity he could muster. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the ground unconscious. A moment later, her constructs began to disintegrate, the ether no longer holding them up.

As the wall came down, the Blades on it fell into Obrona's range. The ones still standing couldn't attack, and they all tried to scramble back as quick as they could. Fortunately, Nal was quicker. She appeared in the middle of the crowd and grabbed two Blades by the shoulders. Ice spread out from her, encasing the Blades in place, and the moment it finished, it jumped, ensnaring more of the attackers.

The ice spread slowly at first, but when Obrona noticed what was happening, she shot forward, taking all the ether she'd been feeding to her defenders and pumping it into Nal instead. The ice surged forward, and in the blink of an eye it managed to ensnare almost everyone present. Only a few managed to get away, and it didn't take Zeke and Pandoria long to find them and put them out of commission.

As they regrouped with the others, unconscious captives in tow, the building's inhabitants started to come outside. The first person to see them was Kora. She broke into a run as they approached, tackling Pandoria with a hug. Vess, Electra, and Mabon weren't far behind her, leading a group of Blades and a handful of Drivers. Zeke could see Cole and Iona among them, along with Nim and Astelle. They all looked tired.

"I was starting to think I wouldn't see you again," Kora muttered, breaking her hug with Pandoria.

"I'm here," Pandoria said. They pressed their foreheads together, and Kora let out a laugh. Zeke left them to catch up and stepped forward, joining the group.

"Hey," Obrona said, giving Zeke a small wave. "Back from your trip?"

"Yeah," he said. "What happened here?"

"That rat Corvin pulled something," Mabon said. "There was some business about Nia killing Dromarch, and he held a vote to force her to step down."

"He framed Nia for killing Dromarch?"

"Not framed, and he isn't dead. Something about things going sideways during surgery. I didn't really catch all the details."

"Bastard," Zeke muttered. "Is this everyone we've got?"

"Strix headed for the amphitheater to regroup with some of the other Caretakers," Vess said. "He's got a couple others from our group with him. We were trying to get the newcomers out and see if we could find Azurda."

"He's missing?"

"He and all the other Titans disappeared in the chaos. We're not sure where they went."

"We should really keep moving," Mabon said. "We don't know how many more Corvin has after us."

"I'll need volunteers to stay," Zeke said. "According to a few of Corvin's lackeys, they've taken Nia down into the dungeons. I'm going to get her out."

"I wish I could help," Mabon said. "But someone's got to look after these people. And let's face it, in a fight like this I'd just slow you down."

"I'm coming with you, sensei," Electra said.

"No," Pandoria said. "We're not putting you in harm's way."

"I can help!" she insisted. Zeke was almost inclined to agree with her. If Corvin had enough people on his side to subdue Nia, then they needed all the firepower they could get. But his job as a sensei was to protect Electra, first and foremost. He couldn't go putting her on a battlefield.

"Stay with Mabon," he said.

"But—"

"Someone needs to keep the old man safe," he said. "And besides, we can't go putting all our eggs in one basket."

"You need me in there! I'm ready to pull my own weight!"

"And you will. Find Azurda and bring us some much-needed backup. We've all got better chances of making it through this if you help them."

Electra stared at him, pouting, but after a moment she relented.

"Fine," she said. "Just don't go getting yourself killed or something, alright?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said.

"I've got an idea of where to start looking," Cola said. He and Iona were already gathering with some of the others by the road to the courtyard. Mabon clapped Zeke on the shoulder, and he and Vess went to go join them. Reluctantly, Electra went with him.

Part of Zeke wanted to stop them, tell them to stick with him. At least that way he could look after them. Personally ensure everyone's safety. But realistically, he couldn't protect so many, even with backup. And he remembered what Cole had told him. At some point, he had to trust that other people wanted things to get better too.

"Stay safe," Zeke said.

"You too," Mabon replied. The group started toward the gates, leaving Zeke with a handful of fighters to work with. Pandoria, Kora, Nim, and Nal were all still here, so they at least had some firepower. And, surprisingly, Obrona had stuck around too.

"Sure you want to stick around?" Zeke asked. "We're probably in for a hell of a fight."

"I might not get another chance to fight with my Driver," she said. "Might as well take the opportunity while it lasts."

"You won't see me complaining," he said. That brought their total up to six people. Eight, if KOS-MOS and her Driver were willing to lend a hand. The two of them stood off to the side, talking in hushed tones. Zeke waited for a moment, but when they didn't finish, he walked up to them.

"Prince Ozychlyrus," KOS-MOS said, noting his approach.

"Don't call me that," he said. "You know I go by Zeke. And I'm not a prince anymore."

"My Driver insists on staying to help quell this insurrection," she said, ignoring him. "Do you require assistance in this matter?"

"You want to help?" Zeke asked, looking past KOS-MOS at Astelle. If she was going to blow him off, he could do the same.

"I have to tell Chancellor Diarkis about what happened here," she said. "For everyone's sake, I'd rather tell her you managed to win. So yeah, I'm staying to help."

"Sure," Zeke said. "Not saying no to more allies." He glanced back at Kora. "Mabon said Strix was at the amphitheater?"

"Last I saw him," she replied.

"Good. We'll need him to get Nia out."

"Can't we just go now?" Pandoria asked. "We've got more than enough capable fighters."

"Strix designed those dungeons, so I'd rather have him with us just in case Corvin has any surprises waiting."

"Alright." Pandoria nodded.

With an objective in mind and no time to lose, the eight of them ran straight for the amphitheater. Obrona and KOS-MOS flew overhead, keeping an eye out, but things were quiet on the journey over. Everyone who hadn't joined Corvin had probably either left in the chaos or decided to hole up somewhere to wait things out. Zeke personally hoped they were hiding out with Strix, rather than cowering in their rooms.

As they approached the amphitheater, however, the former seemed less likely. There were two humans standing guard outside, and after a moment, he realized one of them was Durro. They had to be working for Corvin, because he was the only asshole low enough to let scum like Durro out of the dungeons. At least if he was desperate enough to show his true colors like this, then he didn't have enough support to keep things under control on his own.

"Nal," Zeke said, motioning at them. She nodded and disappeared. A moment later, two small bursts of ice detonated next to each man, knocking them both back into the wall. Nal appeared and snapped her fingers, freezing them both to the wall.

The inside of the amphitheater was in ruins, like everywhere else they'd been today. Everything looked like it had been melted into sludge and mixed around, leaving strange ripples in the stone. Strix, Qadar, and Kalarau were all up on the stage, bound with ether nets, and Orion and his men stood guard over them.

There were a lot of Blades gathered in the stands, too, separated into two groups. The larger group looked like non-combatants. They huddled together and cast terrified glances at the stage, but otherwise didn't seem involved. The smaller group was about eight or so people, including Krogane and his Driver, on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Some of Orion's men were watching them, too. Those must've been the others who'd come here with Strix.

They needed to get everyone free without risking anyone getting killed. Unfortunately, there weren't any angles to approach from without being seen. The stage had a clear view of all the stands, and they'd need to leave the safety of the shadows if they wanted to free Strix.

"Nal," he said. "Can you get everyone onto the stage?"

"They're too spread out," she replied. "Distract them a little and I'll see what I can do."

"On it," he said. "Pandy, you're with me. Everyone else follow Nal and say as quiet as possible."

Instructions relayed, he stepped out from the hallway, Pandoria following right behind him. Orion's men noticed and raised their weapons, getting their boss's attention. He turned around, stepping away from Strix, and a grin crept onto his face.

"Zeke!" he shouted, spreading his arms. His men moved forward, forming a line at the edge of the stage. "They told me you were away on business! For a minute, I thought I wasn't going to get what I came for!"

"It takes a real creep to chase after the same woman for ten years," Pandoria said. "Especially after the number of times I've kicked your teeth in."

"Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. You're not the one I'm after today."

"Try calling me that again," she said, crossing her arms. "See what happens."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You make one wrong move, and my boys will break your three friends in a heartbeat."

"Is that why you've got everyone cowering up in the stands?" Zeke asked.

"Yup!" Orion shouted, motioning up at them. "We need them to stay put until the situation's settled, and none of them want to leave badly enough to risk one of their precious Caretakers."

"Is Corvin aware of this?" Pandoria asked. "By my count, if you kill them, then you'll be killing somewhere around twenty Blades that live here, too. He's really willing to go that far?"

"You think I work for the kid? Nah. We've got a mutual understanding, but I'm done working for other people."

"But he still let you out," Zeke said.

"Listen, I'd love to sit around and talk moral philosophy all damn day. Seems like you guys love that kinda shit here. But I've still got a job to do. So either you come quietly, or we'll kill your friends. What's it gonna be?"

"This is the kind of monster Corvin is willing to let loose," Zeke said, talking past Orion. He looked up into the stands. "I don't know how things got to this point, but I do know we can't let it happen again."

"Hey!" Orion shouted. "We're not done here."

"Men like Corvin use fear to divide us," Zeke continued, ignoring Orion. "I've seen it happen before, and I know some of you all have as well. We can't let it happen here, too. If we don't fight back, then we're letting down not only ourselves, but the community. Our community. We all deserve to live free from this kind of cruelty, which means we need to guard ourselves against people like Corvin. People like this man. And whenever they appear, we need to fight back with everything we have. Only by protecting each other can we protect ourselves."

Zeke waited, but nothing happened. Which, in a way, was good. He hoped these people wouldn't be on Corvin's side after this, but if they tried to fight back now, it'd end badly. Someone risking their own life was one thing, but risking the lives of others was an absolute last resort.

"Nice speech," Orion said. "Shame they won't be coming to save you."

"It did the job," Zeke said.

"What job?"

Zeke looked back up at Orion, and behind him, he saw Strix and the others disappear behind Nal's ether. He smiled to himself. Someone over there had a good sense of dramatic timing.

"Distracting you."

Zeke leapt, swinging his sword up at Orion. He shouted something unintelligible as his Blades brought up their weapons, and his men spun around to execute the hostages. They noticed the Caretakers were gone just in time to see Nal drop her illusion. A wave of ice washed over Orion's men, freezing them in place, and immediately Strix turned the entire stage to mud. Only Orion managed to stay on his feet, one of his Blades keeping their footing solid.

The men guarding Krogane moved to assist their boss, and immediately the giant man stood, knocking two of them over with one swing. The others with him got to their feet as well, some re-manifesting weapons while others just hit with their fists. Without their hostages, Orion's men were quickly overwhelmed.

Orion tried to fight back, but he was comically outnumbered. Nim grew a giant hand out of the ground, grabbing his two Blades and pulling them back. He spun around, trying to cleave through the stone fist, but immediately KOS-MOS dropped on him from above, pressing a large cannon against the back of his head.

"That was pathetic," Pandoria said. "Honestly, Orion, you should really consider another line of work. This whole Spessian mercenary business just isn't a good fit."

"I'll give you a good fit," he grunted, trying to struggle out from underneath KOS-MOS. Pandoria kicked him in the teeth, knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks for the assistance," Strix said, jumping off the stage. Two additional arms unfurled from his chest and began molding the earth to more effectively trap Orion's men.

"How did the three of you managed to get caught?" Zeke asked.

"These two idiots went down immediately," Strix said, motioning over at Qadar. "Got themselves caught with ether nets while out on an afternoon walk. I tried to break them out, but there's only so much I can do when there's, like, forty guys clawing at me."

Zeke glanced back at Qadar, and her expression was unreadable. From what he knew of her power, the likelihood of her being captured like this against her will was vanishingly small, assuming she'd gotten any messages. So either this was her first go around, or she'd gotten herself caught on purpose. He'd have to ask her which it was once they were out of this mess.

"All that's left is Nia," Nal said.

"Oh, that's nowhere close to all," Strix said. He paused for a moment. "We've got a group closing in as we speak, and there's some more residents trapped up by the fields. It seems Corvin's trying to keep everyone isolated from each other."

"Let 'em come," Kora said. "These guys went down too easy."

"I'm going for the dungeons," Zeke said. "Strix, you're with me."

"Sure," Strix said, shrugging.

"Everyone else, you're free to come with us or stay behind. We'll punch through whatever's coming our way, but I imagine there's going to be a lot of people left over to deal with."

"There's only twenty of us," Krogane said. "I don't think we can hold this place without you."

"What about you all?" Zeke asked, looking back up at the people still in the stands. "Are you going to sit there, or are you going to fight?"

They were silent for a moment, but eventually one Blade stood. It was Vale. He was a little surprised she hadn't taken a side one way or the other.

"You want us to fight?" she asked. "We came here to get away from fighting."

"I know. I don't want to force you into anything, but the reality is, Corvin's brought this fight to us. If we don't do something, he's going to tear down everything we've been trying to build. I'm going to go punch him in his stupid face and rescue Nia. What you do is up to you. But if we do nothing, then we'll be letting him win, and I can't live with that."

"Bad move mentioning Nia," Strix muttered. "I don't know if anyone told you, but that's a bit of a sore topic amongst the general public right now."

"I've got a little more faith in people than that," Zeke replied. He waited, staring at Vale while she made up her mind. After a moment, however, she stepped forward and manifested her spear. Slowly, other Blades stood and began to do the same.

"I'm with you," she said, stepping up behind Zeke.

"Alright, then," he said. "Let's go take our home back."

---

Nia was in a cell when she woke up, hands chained above her head. They'd hung her from one of the hooks Strix left around to intimidate people, like the restraints would do anything. They were dumber than she gave them credit for if they thought they could keep her locked up. Killing her would have been the smart thing. In a way, it might have been what she deserved. Retribution for what she'd done to Dromarch. But if she was still alive, then she had to keep fighting. There was a lot more at stake here than her own self-pity.

She took a moment to get her bearings. Corvin, or one of his goons, had left her in a cell down the hall from Bradly's. She could see directly into his cage, and he was grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, Corvin hadn't seen fit to free his Driver yet.

"Heya," he said, leaning back on his bed. "Man, you recover quick. I thought you were dead for sure, but then again Blades don't stick around after death, do they?"

"Shut up," she muttered, focusing back on her own situation. If she could break the cuffs, she'd be out of here in no time. But she could tell by the glow that the ether netting was active. Her Blade powers wouldn't be any use in here. Instead, she kicked out, hooking one foot through the bars and bracing herself against the far wall. Whatever idiot had put her in here should have chosen a larger cell. She managed to unhook her chains and lower herself to the ground with little difficulty.

"Wow." Bradly whistled. He clapped too, for full effect. "You are good, you know that? I guess you've gotta be to run a place like this. Keep all the other Blades in line."

"That's not how we do things here," she said. She started looking the bars over just in case there was any way to force her way out. No such luck, though.

"Could've fooled me. Azami always talks about you like you're the scariest bitch in Elysium. I've always thought the Flamebringer was the strongest there is, but maybe I should reevaluate my rankings?"

"Do us all a favor and stick yourself at the bottom, while you're at it."

"Harsh."

"I don't have time for this." She kicked the bars, but they didn't budge. Of course they didn't. Strix built this place to withstand more than that.

"You've got all the time in the world, now. You may have been a tough bitch on the outside, but now you're in the same hole as me. I'm curious how that happened, by the way."

"I don't care."

There didn't seem to be much in the cell she could use. And there wasn't anything within reach outside, either. If only she hadn't insisted on giving Mikhail her earpiece, she'd be able to contact Akhos and Patroka, get them to shut down the ether nets. Then again, they had to know she was in here. If they could have done something to help, they probably would have by now.

"I'm guessing someone finally had enough of the miss-high-and-mighty routine," Bradly continued. "Decided to take you down a peg or two. Who was it? The jobbers that brought you down here wouldn't tell me shit."

"That doesn't surprise me," she said. "Even your own Blades don't want anything to do with you."

"I've got Perceval," Bradly said, motioning to the cell next to him. Perceval muttered something at being acknowledged, but Nia couldn't hear him.

"Be nice," Bradly said, sitting up and glaring at the wall. "If we can't get along, then the next few years are going to be practically unbearable."

Nia tuned them out as they started arguing, instead reaching up to grab the hook she'd been hung from. The cot was bolted to the floor, and it would take too long to unmount, so this was the only thing she had on hand that she could use. With some effort, she managed to pull herself up to get a look at where it attached to the ceiling. It was on rails, for some reason, held in place with a pin. Later, she would have to ask Strix why in the world he'd put something like this in place, but right now she was thankful.

The pin slid out easily, and she dragged the hook over to the cell door. There was just enough length that she could work it around two of the bars and back in on itself, sliding the hook through one of the chain links. With the hook in place, she began to pull, hoping it would be enough force to bend them toward one another. Of course it wasn't. She needed more weight.

The only place she was getting that was the cot, so she got to work unbolting it from the floor. Fortunately, the metal frame was hastily manufactured, like a lot of things the Coalition had given them when they were first starting out. And thanks to her Gormotti claws, she only needed to cut through the thin metal pipes. Much easier than trying to work through plate metal and solid stone.

With a few quick slashes, she managed to get the cot off its mounts and lean it up against the chain. Slowly, she pressed her feet up against the bars and leaned her back against the cot, pushing down and back as hard as she could. Something about her new setup did the trick, and after a few minutes the two bars were forced together.

As she got working on the next set of bars, trying to make a hole big enough to fit through, the door opened. The lines didn't shut off, but she could feel the restriction weaken a little. Not enough to let her break out, but she managed to draw a tiny amount of ether into her core.

Before she could finish creating her escape route, however, the visitors arrived. Three residents, all armed with swords, escorting Corvin down into the dungeons. For a moment, she hoped they'd come to their senses and captured him, but that didn't seem to be the case. They fell behind him as he approached her cell.

"You are becoming a real pain in my ass," he said. "I leave you alone for an hour, and already you've managed to start breaking yourself out."

"I know!" Bradly shouted, chuckling to himself. "She's hardcore as fuck!"

"Zip it," one of Corvin's subordinates said, slamming the pommel of his sword against the bars.

"This isn't the part where you let your Driver out, is it?" Nia asked.

"No," Corvin said. "I don't need him."

"I'm hurt," Bradly said. "You managed to stage a coup, and you won't even spare a thought for your old Driver?"

"Shut him up," Corvin said. One of the men nodded and snapped his fingers, producing a wave of ice. Corvin was in the way, so she couldn't see it hit Bradly, but it seemed like it did the trick.

"That figures." Nia sighed and leaned her head back. "When you first started challenging the Caretakers, I thought it was some kind of ploy to get your Driver out. But that clearly isn't the case. Then, for a while, I thought you were our Spessian spy, but that doesn't really track either. If even your Driver didn't want to work with them, I doubt you'd touch that affiliation with a ten-foot pole. Plus, if you were with Spessia, I doubt you'd have tried so hard to have Shieldwall executed. I probably should have realized that sooner."

"You have a Spessian spy," Corvin said. Not a question, but the tone of the statement made it clear he hadn't known until then. There was always the chance he could be acting, but somehow, she didn't think he was.

"Which leaves me with one big question," Nia continued. "If you don't care about your Driver, and you're not with Spessia, then why go through all this?"

"Because I care about this place," he said.

"If you really cared, you wouldn't have put so many people at risk."

"As opposed to you, making us enemies left and right? Antagonizing the Praetorians, attacking a Sthenosi Crone, putting us in Spessia's crosshairs?"

"The Crone attacked us. Didn't have much choice."

"No, I suppose you didn't. But that doesn't change the facts. There are a lot of people out there who are after us because of you. You specifically."

"You really think I'm the one to blame for all this?" Nia motioned around.

"I don't just think so, I know so." Corvin leaned forward, pressing his hands against the bars. "You know Spessia tried to recruit us, and you know we turned them down. But I'm guessing my Driver never told you what the job was."

"No, he left that part out."

"They wanted us to kill you. Said you were the biggest thing standing in their way. You had connections to the most powerful Drivers in the world, and you were starting to gather powerful Flesh Eaters. They suspected it wouldn't be long before you pulled the Thunderbolt Prince closer into your orbit, too, and they were right on the money about that. They wanted you dead before you got your hands on him."

"What's Zeke got to do with any of this?"

"I have no idea. But someone in Spessia wants to get their hands on him very, very badly. And the longer he stays here, the longer you're protecting him, the more desperate their efforts are going to get. His being here puts everyone's lives at risk. I'm doing what I have to do to keep this place safe."

"Really?" Nia asked. "And you didn't think to come to me with this sooner? We could have figured out a solution that didn't involve a civil war."

"I tried that, remember? You brushed me off. Made it pretty clear that as long as you were in charge, Zeke wasn't going anywhere."

"You didn't tell me about Spessia's interest, Corvin. I think that changes a great deal."

"Would it have gotten you to cut Zeke loose?"

"No. But if I'd known they were after him, I might not have sent him there to investigate the man who tried to hire you. If you'd come to me with this sooner, worked with me instead of against me, we might have been able to stop Spessia from attacking in the first place."

"That's a pipe dream and you know it," Corvin said. "Coming to you with this would have guaranteed you never let go of Zeke. Eventually, Spessia would have come down on this place like a hammer, and your hope for a better future would have shattered like glass."

"Zeke's my friend. I'm not handing him over to Spessia."

"The fact that you'd hang this community's future on the safety of your fucking boyfriend is exactly why I had to do what I did."

"He's not my boyfriend," Nia said. A moment later, she wondered why that had been the point she pushed back on.

"Doesn't matter. Either way, you weren't going to back down. This was the only way to keep the Gardens safe."

"That's such shite," she said. "We've got the Coalition on our side. Dealing with Spessia should have been easy. You can think up whatever excuses you want, but you're still the one standing there, acting like you own the world. You only care about being in charge. Everything else was just a means to an end."

For several seconds, he didn't reply, but his face was contorted into a thin smile. She could tell he was barely keeping it together.

"I will not be lectured to by a failure," he said, fingers digging into the bars. "I'm going to keep this place safe, whether you like it or not."

"The other Caretakers won't like it either."

"I don't need them."

"Then how are you going to keep the Blades here awake?" she asked. "You're not a Flesh Eater. You can't awaken new Blades. The Gardens needs at least one of us to survive."

"You're right," he said. He stepped back. "I'm not a Flesh Eater. Not yet, anyway."

One of his subordinates handed him a key ring, and he unlocked Bradly's cell. The man had been frozen to the wall, leaving only part of his head and one arm exposed. Corvin approached him, drew his sword, and drove it through Bradly's arm. The man screamed, the sound muffled by the ice around his mouth, but Corvin kept working. With how poor the angle was, he had to saw the sword back and forth until the arm finally came off. Once it did, however, he raised it to his lips and bit down hard.

As far as Nia was aware, no one knew exactly why eating human flesh had this effect on Blades. She'd looked into it a little, over the years, but she hadn't found anything conclusive. No one in Torna knew the answer, either, not even Malos. Akhos had his theories, as he did about everything, but Nia didn't believe any of them. It was only after talking with the Architect that she felt like she might have at least part of the answer. Blades were originally meant as vessels for humans who'd wanted to live forever. It was no surprise that they would attempt to integrate any human flesh they ingested. But the Architect had also made it clear that their search for immortality had ended in failure. Looking at the process happen to someone else for the first time, it wasn't hard to imagine why.

Corvin's eyes looked like they were going to shoot out of his skull, and he screamed, doubling over in pain. Ripples shot through his body, and his skin split open, oozing blood. After a few seconds, he began convulsing.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

"He's dying!" Nia shouted, catching the attention of Corvin's subordinates. They glared at her, but at least she had their attention. "With the nets active, he can't properly draw in ether. If this goes on much longer, he's going to die."

"If we open that door, you'll be free," one of them said.

"I know you don't like me, but I'm a healer. This is what I do. If you don't open that door, he will die."

The men stared at each other, and for a moment Nia thought they might do it. But as one of them stepped back to reach for the controls, another put himself in the man's way. Idiots.

She was their enemy, but even an idiot should have been able to tell that something was wrong here. Her reaction hadn't been nearly this extreme, and neither had Jin's. The lack of ether was the most likely explanation, but whatever the cause, he was dying. And she wasn't about to let him die in front of her.

Well… She had been willing to kill him, earlier. But luckily, she'd failed, because she hadn't been thinking clearly. No matter what, she was not going to be a murderer again. And she wasn't going to watch someone die either, not while she could do something about it.

With the men distracted arguing amongst themselves, she pressed back on the cot again, wrenching one of the bars to the side just a little. It would have to do.

She scrambled down and squeezed through the hole, rolling into the hallway just as one of the men swung his sword at her. She flicked her cuffs up, letting him cleave through them, and immediately threw herself to the side before he sliced through her shoulder. The sword scraped along her arm, but in exchange, she grabbed his head. With one pulse of ether, the only attack she had in reserve, he was unconscious, and she wrenched the sword from his hands.

It wasn't what she was used to, but she could make do. As the other two came after her, she struck their weapons aside and knocked them to the ground. Before they could recover, she ran down the hall and wrenched the door open. She could feel ether trickling back into her control, but there was a second lever she had to disengage before the nets were offline. By the time she managed to pull that, the men were back on her.

As they tackled her to the ground, however, she felt her full control return. Immediately she forced out a wave of water, knocking the three down the hallway and quickly manifesting her sword. With no time to lose, she ran back into Bradly's cell and began spreading her ether out. Before she could start working, though, the image of Dromarch flashed through her mind again. Did she really want to risk making another mistake in a situation like this? Fixing Bradly was one thing, but Corvin? She didn't trust herself to do it.

As she stood there, debating what to do, he managed to stumble to his feet. The rush of ether must have stabilized the process, but she could see that the damage had already been done. The mass of flesh normally bound within the Core Crystal was spreading across most of his chest.

"You bitch!" he howled, drawing his sword. Fleshy material began spreading out from the weapon's core, too, overtaking the sword's edge.

"You did this to yourself," she said, stepping back and leveling the sword at him. "Stand down, and I can get you some help."

"Fuck you!" he shouted. "I'll kill you!"

He rushed forward, swinging his flesh-club at her. She blocked the strike, but the flesh on the weapon peeled off, trying to wrap its way around her sword. As it did, more flesh sprouted from the weapon core, this time flying out like a pair of spears to strike her in the chest. She put up a shield, blocking the attack, and drove a kick into Corvin's side. With one strike, she forced him out into the hallway, and with a wave of ether, she pushed him out of the dungeons.

It was a bad idea to fight in such an enclosed space, but Corvin didn't stop to let her change venues. As she came up the stairs after him, he leapt at her, the flesh on his chest forming into an appendage. She ducked as he swung it at her and used her sword to pin his own against the wall. He tried to swing his tendril back at her, but she slammed a fist into his chest, forcing out a high-pressure jet of water. It struck him back and through the roof, and immediately she leapt after him.

As she touched down on the roof, he grew two more appendages of flesh from his back, using them to suspend himself above the ground. He passed his sword to his tendril and manifested two more, the flesh around their cores wrapping around his arms. As the flesh set in place, it began to darken, taking on a texture reminiscent of the Guldo. Would he grow until his body was engulfed in those fleshy vines just like they were?

He lunged again, swinging his three swords at her, and she blocked the strikes with her own. Flesh tried to lash out around her, but she forced a wave of water out, knocking him back. As he stumbled, she speared her sword out, skewering him through the stomach. That didn't give him any pause, however. It only seemed to make him angrier.

He wrapped two new tendrils around her sword and pulled it out of her grasp. He sprouted new flesh every second, it seemed, now that he was taking in new ether. She manifested a new sword and swung it down on his head, hoping to at least put him out of commission for a moment, but he blocked the attack with one of his own. Then he swung out with the other two, forcing her to put up a shield, and immediately two tendrils slapped against it, expanding to try to encase her shield in flesh.

She filled the shield with water and pushed it out, shattering her own defenses and pushing back against Corvin's expanding flesh-pile of a body. She could still see his face, sticking out of the center of the monster as it began to take shape. Three arms and four legs, all crafted from black, vine-like flesh. His face was contorted into a grimace, but as he opened his mouth, no words came out. He'd probably lost his vocal cords somewhere in the mass.

As the thing around Corvin slowed its expansion, she got an idea. She'd only done this once before, but it was worth a try. Gathering up as much ether as possible, she slammed it into Corvin's chest, putting all her effort into regenerating his body. His flesh began growing again, expanding out uncontrollably. The attack hadn't worked against Malos because he could control his body better than she could. But Corvin wasn't an Aegis.

As he kept expanding, the roof collapsed beneath them. He tried to swing at her, but the massive arm moved slowly, and the sword had long since been lost somewhere in the folds of flesh. She easily dodged and kept up her assault, bombarding him with ether until he was too big to move. She kept going after that too, until his flesh finally began to break apart.

Expanding too fast to keep up with itself, his body exploded, sending excess chunks flooding through the Caretakers' quarters. Corvin's old body sat in the middle of the mess, thin ribbons of flesh still attached to his Core Crystal. But he was unconscious, at least, and he'd stopped growing. For now, it was over.

As she stepped outside, she could hear more fighting coming from the town proper. She rushed there, sword in hand, expecting the same onslaught of people she'd faced the last time. Instead, she found an army advancing up the streets, Zeke at the head, fighting back a small number of Blades that were retreating toward the courtyard. As they ran, they spotted Nia, immediately turning their weapons on her.

As she readied her sword, however, she felt something land behind her. She turned to see Azurda, wings stretched out to their full span and Electra clinging to his neck. Other Titans began to land nearby, taking up perches on the buildings and surrounding Corvin's supporters from all sides.

"I thought you'd left," Nia said.

"You've outdone practically everyone's expectations," Azurda said. "Tenax was sure you'd be dead by now. But I knew better."

"You have strength," another Titan said. "Strength beyond what we thought possible. If you truly wish for a better future, then you may just have the strength to see it through. So we will remain, for a time, to judge whether that strength can last. So long as you remain committed to this path, and so long as you possess the strength to bring your vision to pass, then we will continue to align ourselves with you. For now, at least, you will have our support."

"Thank you," she said, bowing deep. As she turned back to Corvin's supporters, the dozen or so people left in the street surrounded on all sides, she lowered her sword.

"It's over," she said. "We came here to get away from fighting. If you ever believed in that cause, then please. Lay down your weapons and end this madness."

Slowly, they all lowered their weapons, and Nia could feel the Gardens breathe a collective sigh of relief. It was over.

She nearly collapsed as Zeke's army moved in, taking Corvin's people into custody. She managed to stumble forward, however, meeting Zeke in the middle of the street. Despite everything, she was just glad he was safe. He was the only person she wanted to see right now. As she stepped toward him, she fell, and he caught her, wrapping her in a hug.

"I was just coming to get you," he said. "Figures you'd already managed to free yourself."

"Welcome home," she muttered. "Sorry about the mess."

"You've got nothing to apologize for."

"That isn't true," she said. "Did anyone tell you what happened to Dromarch?"

"You can't blame yourself for that, Nia. Everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure you did your best."

Nia had to stop herself from laughing. Most people's mistakes didn't result in them nearly killing their best friend. Whether or not she tried her best didn't change the outcome. And it didn't make her any less culpable.

"What about Spessia?" she asked, pushing herself out of his arms. As much as she wanted to just stay there, wrapped in his arms, she had a job to do.

"No rest for the weary," he said, sighing. "We got less than we'd hoped. Found Tora's grandad, though. Dropping him off at the Coalition's why it took me so long to get back."

"Nothing about Atasaiah?"

"Well, we can be reasonably sure he's real, at least. What I'm more worried about is something they told me. According to them, the ether's running out."

"The ether's what?"

"I'm not sure I buy what they were trying to sell me, but the guy I was talking to seemed pretty convinced it'd happen. They wanted me to help them stop it, somehow. Specifically, they wanted the Eye of Shining Justice, but the way he said it made it sound like we were a package deal."

That information hit Nia like a ton of bricks. She'd figured Corvin had been talking out of his ass, but Spessia did want Zeke for something. She doubted the ether was actually running out, but they needed Zeke's Artifice for whatever they were planning. They were after him, and like an idiot, she'd sent him straight to them. At least he'd managed to make it back in one piece.

"Zeke," she said. "I need to ask another favor."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Sure."

"We've got a mess on our hands."

"That's underselling it."

"The Coalition isn't going to be happy about this." She looked past Zeke at KOS-MOS and Astelle. "Tantal especially, considering their councilor was here when this happened. Tensions are probably going to run high for a little while."

"That's to be expected. They'll come around eventually, though."

"That's what I'd like your help with. Can you head back to Tantal with Astelle? Try to smooth things over on our behalf?"

"I just got back," he groaned.

"Take a few days, then. But… Please. You're the only person I know who I can trust this with."

"Alright," he said. "Whatever you need."

"Thanks," she said. She stood up and moved into the crowd, beginning the very long and tedious process of damage control. Part of that was getting Zeke somewhere that Spessia couldn't reach him, at least until things calmed down. And if Corvin wasn't their spy, then she still had some hunting to do.

But that wasn't the only reason she was sending Zeke to Tantal. Him being here was nice. It made her feel at ease, made this place feel like home. When they were together, she managed to forget about her troubles, for the most part. Her responsibilities. She could just be Nia again. Now that he was back, she wanted that more than ever. She wanted him more than ever. But the Gardens needed her to be a lot more than just Nia, and after what she'd done to Dromarch, after how badly she'd let this place down, part of her felt like she didn't deserve to be with someone like him. She didn't deserve that happiness.