Within only a few minutes of the revelation that there was a tracking Blade involved in the affair, the entire group had vacated the inn.
After earlier, where the kidnappers had demonstrated that they were perfectly happy to use force to retrieve Taion, they had understood that staying any longer carried the risk of another fight breaking out inside the inn, and none of them were interested in putting the other patrons at risk like that.
Fortunately, none of the party had needed much time to pack their gear before leaving. Rex and Nia's bags were both sparse, and the girl in particular preferred to always have her bag ready to bolt at a moment's notice, something that made sense considering her previous experiences.
Surprisingly, even Tora was packed up and ready to leave, despite having the lion's share of the group's personal equipment. According to Poppi, this was more the result of their room not having enough space for the nopon to properly unpack than any prior planning on his part, but in this case it happened to be to their benefit.
The party left through the front door, trying their best to act casually, while the vigilante left through… however she had gotten into Rex's room in the first place, with the child in tow.
Perun had pre-arranged a place for them to meet, a side street near one of the stairways leading down to the next tier of the city. It wasn't an ideal location—even at this late an hour, there was plenty of foot traffic running through the upper parts of the city—but it would allow them to quickly make their way further from the academy, and with it, hopefully a place they could hold out at for the time being.
As they left the inn, making their way down the street towards the meeting place, Rex could see that Nia was nervously eyeing their surroundings. The discovery that a Blade known to be affiliated with the Indoline Praetorium may be involved—one of their tracking Blades no less—had set the girl's paranoia off, and honestly, Rex couldn't blame her.
It was a rather substantial complication. The Praetorium was one of the most influential political entities in Alrest; if they were involved, then it was possible that the kidnappers would have far more resources available to them than they had previously anticipated. And the presence of a tracking Blade meant they wouldn't be able to hide.
Well, they couldn't hide, at least. Perun claimed that she could conceal herself from their detection, but that did nothing to help the rest of them for the moment.
That led to yet another problem. While Perun seemed reasonably confident that she would be able to do something to make Taion at least temporarily untraceable, unless she could do the same for both himself and Nia, then it wouldn't matter—the tracking Blade would still be able to locate the group unless they split off from the vigilante and her temporary ward.
Depending on exactly what Perun intended to do, it may be possible to extend that same concealment to the two of them, but in order to do so, there was a strong chance that they would need to reveal their natures to her. And while Rex was, if not comfortable with the idea, at least willing to consider it, he strongly suspected that Nia would be another story entirely.
Perhaps whatever the vigilante planned to do would be something they could replicate just by watching? It wasn't super likely, but it wasn't impossible either. At the very least, maybe they could get away with just Rex revealing himself, learn what to do from Perun, and pass it along to Nia?
Until they knew exactly what Perun had planned, it wasn't really possible to figure out how they would approach the matter. He and Nia hadn't even gotten the opportunity to discuss it yet.
His thoughts kept him occupied for the entire trip to the meeting point. Before he knew it, they turned the last corner and saw the alley she had designated on the far side of the street.
They quickly made their way across the street, weaving through the fairly sparse crowd. It made it easy to see why she had suggested this location; the foot traffic was much lighter than the main staircase would have been, reducing the risk of them being seen.
Admittedly, with a tracking Blade involved, that probably wasn't as useful as it might otherwise have been, but smaller crowds also made it easier to spot approaching threats.
Slipping into the alley, they spotted the vigilante waiting a little further inside. She was leaning against a building, out of sight from the street, but still able to watch the approaches to her hiding spot. Beside her, the Osirian boy, Taion, was holding her hand. He was still wearing the oversized, oil-stained shirt Tora had lent him, but Perun seemed to have tied off one of the corners so that it wasn't sliding off of his skinny frame.
"Was there any sign of trouble?" Perun asked as they approached, pushing herself upright.
Rex shook his head. "Nothing that we saw." He responded.
The woman nodded in understanding. "Good, perhaps that means we are keeping ahead of them."
"Is there really any 'keeping ahead of them' if they can see our every movement?" Nia asked, jaw tight as she cast a furtive glance behind her.
"Yes." Perun stated, gently tugging Taion's arm to urge him to follow her. "Although they can follow our movements, that only tells them where we are now, not where we will be. That means that in order to catch us, they must either anticipate where we plan to go or attempt to catch up to us."
"…And both options require them to organize and direct forces to stop us." Azurda surmised. "So if we continue to move, it will make it more difficult for them to catch up."
She nodded. "To a degree, at least; we cannot be sure what methods they are using to communicate with any potential combatants working with them, and the nature of Tadbir affords us limited options for movement." Perun noted. "But yes, you are otherwise correct."
Perun leaned out of the alley, checking for danger with her own senses, before leaning back. "Come, let us move quickly."
They followed after her, merging into the sparse crowds on the street. It was not particularly subtle—Perun's appearance was rather eye-catching, to say nothing of Dromarch's size—so despite their attempts to act casual, the hushed murmuring around them made it clear that they were standing out quite drastically.
Unfortunately, there weren't many ways to move between tiers of the city. Once they were at the next level it would be possible to take to the roofs, but for now, they needed to put up with the attention.
Rex tuned the murmuring out, instead looking over at the vigilante. "Do you have a place in mind to… you know?" He gestured at the boy walking beside them.
The vigilante frowned. "I do not." She admitted. "I have investigated several locations over the past few days that could theoretically be used for our purposes if need be, but…" She trailed off, glancing at the crowd around them. "Perhaps we should defer our discussion for the time being.
He nodded, sweeping his own eyes over the crowd. "Yeah, that's probably for the best." He agreed. There were too many people close enough to hear them. He didn't think any of them were enemies, but with how little they knew about the kidnappers, he couldn't trust his judgment to be accurate.
Still, they needed a location that was isolated enough that there wouldn't be any bystanders caught in a fight should one break out and defensible enough to hold out while Perun did her whatever-it-was to conceal Taion? Didn't he already know somewhere that fit the criteria?
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they separated from the crowd and slipped down a side street. Compared to the tier above, this street was nearly empty, almost alarmingly so considering it had branched directly off of one of the main streets.
Nia's tension seemed to visibly abate as they left the crowd, no longer forced to constantly watch for potential danger. "So. Where to next?" She asked, idly scratching one of Dromarch's ears.
"That is up for debate." Perun replied, her eyes tracking across the eaves of the buildings beside them. "As I told your friend, I haven't quite determined the best place to take refuge for the moment."
"What about Goethe Rock?" Rex spoke up, suggesting the idea he had on his mind.
Perun furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I am unfamiliar with that particular locale."
"It's the island in the middle of the harbor, at the end of the Titan's snout." Nia clarified for Rex. "It's uninhabited, so it's where Drivers go to practice. We've been there a few times." She grimaced. "Although our venture there earlier today was a bit of a bust."
The vigilante nodded. "That's where the lighthouse is situated, yes?" She asked.
"Yeah." Rex confirmed. "It should be perfect for our needs. You need a boat to get there, so we'll be able to see anyone coming, and at this time of day, the only people there should be the lighthouse crew. As long as we stay away from the lighthouse itself, there shouldn't be any danger of dragging them into any fight."
"Hmm.." She pondered. "I'll admit, the isolation would be beneficial, but at the same time, requiring a boat to access would be just as much a hindrance as a help."
"There is always that." Azurda agreed, crossing his arms. "Unfortunately, on a Titan with as little space as Tadbir, the options for locations that fit our requirements are limited. While there are no doubt other places we could sequester ourselves, I do not believe any of them would be sufficiently abandoned as to completely negate the chances of bystanders being caught in a potential fight."
Nia sighed. "Gotta figure out if the pros outweigh the cons, huh?" She muttered.
"Something like that." Azurda replied.
Perun didn't seem particularly thrilled by the idea, but as she looked down at the child holding her hand, she seemed to come to a decision. "…I suppose it will have to suffice." She conceded.
The group walked in silence for a moment as they approached the halfway point of the street. The buildings here were lower than the ones closer to the staircase. Not by much, only being a mere story shorter, yet that was probably enough for them to jump up to.
It was Tora who broke the silence, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as they walked. "Tora wonder when friend let mercenary friends know have lead." He asked.
Azurda chuckled at the comment. "A 'lead', you say?" He commented, glancing down at the child holding Perun's hand. "I suppose that's one way to put it."
"We will be required to pass the inn that they intended to stay at." Dromarch pointed out. "I see no reason why we cannot make a diversion to update them on how events have transpired."
"Having two more fighters would definitely help even the odds, should the kidnappers throw another group of Drivers at us, too." Nia said. "Not to mention their outfit is apparently sending some more guys to back them up."
Rex nodded. "We should definitely swing by and pick them up." He agreed. The boy turned to look at Perun. "What do you think?"
The vigilante wore a considerate look. "I was planning on bringing them in on the matter once we have resolved the tracking issue, but I did not know exactly where they were staying." She explained. "If you already know where they are, I have no problem with alerting them now."
"Sounds like that's settled, then." Nia concluded, looking up at the lower building in front of them. With a smooth motion, the girl crouched, ether flooding her body, before springing up and leaping to the roof.
"Come on." She waved, looking around. "We're still a good distance from their inn!"
Perun leaned down, scooping Taion up into her arms. "Don't worry." She reassured the boy. "It's just like how we got into Rex's room earlier."
The rest of the party jumped up as well, leaving the streets of the city behind as they traversed the skyline towards the stairway to the next tier down.
Ciaran was in the middle of updating his mission report when a knock came at the door.
The Nothian mercenary perked up at the sound, having been on the verge of dozing off after having to figure out a polite way to phrase 'We haven't found a damn thing' a dozen times.
"Lyta, could you get the door?" He called over his shoulder, glancing at his Blade. She was leaning against the wall by her bed, reading one of those pulp detective novels that Yew imported from Mor Ardain.
Sighing, the armored Blade snapped the book closed and came to her feet. "Were you expecting someone?" She asked, wandering over to the door. "I didn't think our backup was supposed to be getting here so quickly."
"They're not." He confirmed, turning around in his chair. Who could be at the door? They hadn't done anything in particular to garner any attention, just interview people that could possibly have a lead. Even the few times he had approached the local guards about the topic hadn't been particularly noteworthy.
Really, there shouldn't be a reason for anyone to be at the door, especially at this time of night, when even the staff of the inn shouldn't have a reason to approach them. Well, unless they were relaying a message or something. Actually, that was probably the most likely case.
Well, hopefully whatever it was would be more interesting than his report. He was willing to accept pretty much anything on the other side of the door, so long as it provided a distraction!
Lyta cracked the door open, trying to peer through the gap. It didn't quite work as she probably intended, her helmet making it a little difficult to maneuver her head into position, but on the off chance it was someone wishing them ill on the other side, it would delay them from entry.
Not that he was particularly worried about that, of course, but it was better to be safe than sorry. With how many unknowns they were dealing with on this mission, he wasn't going to risk disappointing the boss by making such a simple screwup.
"Hello?" She asked, peeking through the crack in the door.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, miss." A feminine voice responded from the far side. It sounded familiar to him… one of the inn's staff, he thought? "But there are some guests in the lobby that have a message for you."
Ciaran stood up. Guests? Message? Who could that…
He came over to the door. Lyta, seeing him approaching, pulled the door the rest of the way open. "Guests?" He asked.
The staff member nodded. "Yes. A group of Drivers." She clarified.
"It, um… the Drivers—they wouldn't happen to be a salvager kid, a Gormotti girl, and a nopon, would they?" He asked. Those three were the only Drivers on the Titan he could think of who would be coming to visit with a message, after all.
Well, unless the kidnappers were trying to send him a message to quit investigating, but he doubted it. With how well they had kept beneath attention thus far, such a visible move would be entirely unnecessary.
"Yes!" The woman replied, relieved that he was familiar with them. "They requested you come down to speak with them immediately."
Ciaran couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. If those guys were here, the must have information for him! "Thank you. Tell them we'll be down in a minute."
The woman bowed and departed as the Nothian mercenary closed the door, a smile on his face.
"Finally!" He exclaimed, rushing back over to the desk. He didn't need to work on this stupid report anymore! There might actually be something he could do besides interviewing the same handful of dockworkers about whether or not they had seen anything suspicious since the last time he asked!
"Ciaran," Lyta warned, crossing her arms. There was a note of disapproval in her voice. "Perhaps it is a little too early to be celebrating?"
"Why do you think that?" He asked, quickly throwing his pack together. Those guys might not need him to head off anywhere, but it was better to be prepared. What did he need, anyway? His investigation supplies, definitely; maybe a medical kit too? The Gormotti girl was a healer, if he remembered correctly, but best to keep a few potions on him just in case. "We might finally have a lead!"
She tilted her head in a way that, after years of serving as her Driver, let him know that she was raising an eyebrow at him under her helmet. "That is what concerns me." She said. "They are approaching us late in the evening, asking to talk to us urgently. To me, that sounds like whatever they've found is trouble."
The Nothian mercenary paused in the middle of filling his bag. He had to admit that, when put that way, it did sound pretty bad. They must have stumbled upon something bigger than just a rumor.
He eyed the bag carrying the transmitter for his portable communications terminal. He had planned on leaving it here rather than risking the delicate equipment being damaged in a fight, but…
Without thinking further, the boy grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. Damn the risk; he had a gut feeling he might not get the chance to swing back here if he needed it.
Lyta nodded in approval at the choice. "Let's head down and see what they want." She said.
Their room was only on the second floor of the inn, so it only took a moment for them to make their way down to the lobby. As expected, awaiting them was a familiar trio of Drivers and their Blades, the same ones they had met back on the Voltis Trade Guild.
Unlike then, however, they seemed to be in much more sullen spirits. The salvager boy, Rex, was having a quiet conversation with the little Blade that rode around in his helmet, while the girl, Nia, was glancing around warily, idly scratching the head of her own tiger-like beast Blade.
Only the nopon, Tora, seemed to be in higher spirits. He was jotting away at a notepad, his mechanical Blade pointing something out as she leaned over his shoulder. Despite that, he still had noticeably less energy than the previous times they had met.
It looked like Lyta was correct this time around. Whatever they had found, it couldn't be good.
"Hey!" He called out, waving at the party. "What's up?"
At the sound of his voice, Rex turned away from his Blade to look at him. "Ciaran! Lyta!" He said, a look of relief crossing his expression. "We've got some information for you."
"We figured as much." Lyta responded, her armor creaking as she crossed her arms. "Is this something that can be discussed here, or…?"
Beside the salvager, Nia leaned her head back slightly, gesturing toward the door. "It's really more something that would be better seen." She explained. Her eyes briefly traced over Ciaran's shoulders, assessing the bags he was carrying. "I was gonna say you might want to bring some stuff with you, but that doesn't look like it will be a problem."
"It shouldn't be." The Nothian boy denied, hiking one of the bags that was slipping higher on his arm. "Is it far?"
Rex's expression tightened slightly. "Not really?" He said, scratching the back of his neck. "But it will take a little explaining before…" He trailed off before revising, "You know what? Nia's right; it's better to show you. Let's just go."
The mercenaries exchanged a concerned glance but followed behind the group nonetheless. Ciaran mulled in silence as they left the inn, wondering what it was they had found. He didn't doubt it was something substantial at this point, just from how cagey they were being about it, but at the same time, they were acting like somebody was going to jump them at any moment.
Crossing the street, Rex's party led them into a narrow alleyway. Something about the situation made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Without even thinking, his hand slowly drifted towards where Lyta's Blade weapon was holstered on his back.
A few paces in, just around a nook in the alley that hid the street from view, Rex came to a stop. The tension seemed to leave him as he looked around before calling out, "Okay, all clear."
There was a rush of air behind him, followed by the clatter of heels on stone, as a figure dropped from the roof above. The Nothian boy spun around, Lyta's Guardian Lance in his hand and ready to activate almost before he had registered the sound.
"Wait a minute!" Rex shouted, holding out a hand in warning. "She's not going to hurt you!"
He registered what the younger Driver was saying enough to hold back, although in the corner of his eye he saw that Lyta was in position to throw up a barrier at a moment's notice.
It was clear that it would be unnecessary, though, as he recognized the woman who had landed behind him. It was Tokiha, the vigilante he had briefly encountered on Voltis.
What was she…? No, that was a stupid question. She was the one who had essentially delivered the only tangible clue regarding this mess into his hands before. Of course she was involved here.
No, the real question was how she had gotten in contact with Rex and Nia's group, and more importantly, why. He and Lyta had asked for them to keep an eye out… had they found something and run into her at the same time? Or had she specifically sought them out, possibly out of a need for extra manpower?
"My apologies for startling you." The vigilante said, inclining her head. "Under more ideal circumstances, I would have preferred to approach you more openly, but I am afraid we are operating under limited time."
Ciaran lowered the weapon, sliding out of his ready stance. "I-I'm sorry, I…" The behavior of the others had made him more jumpy than he cared to admit. "But… what do you mean? What circumstances? Why is the time limited?"
Beside him, Lyta gasped softly. "Ciaran." She said. "Her arm, look."
He blinked at the comment. What did she mean? He had been paying more attention to her face than to her…
Then he saw it. How he had missed it, he wasn't quite sure, but in the woman's arms, clinging to her for support, was a young boy, probably no older than seven or eight.
"W-wait, is that…?" He muttered, his mind running a thousand miles a minute. Was that… one of the missing children? He couldn't tell for sure. He had seen a number of the missing person's posters for them, but there were so many that it was hard to remember.
The boy looked to be Osirian, though, and he knew that some of the reports had originated from that Titan. He definitely appeared to be in the right age group too, albeit at the lower end of it. And considering how dirty he looked, he could believe that the boy was one of the victims.
But if he was one of the missing children, how was he here? Had Tokiha, or Rex and Nia's group broken him out? Or had he escaped and been found by them? It had to be the latter, right? Otherwise, he couldn't image they wouldn't have apprehended the kidnappers when they had the chance, or at least broken more of the children out.
In response to his question, the vigilante nodded. "He is." She replied tersely. "We believe he may be able to lead us back to the rest in time, but at the moment we suspect the kidnappers are tracking our movements."
"Hence the 'short time.'" Lyta mused. "I assume you are going to require our assistance?"
Tokiha nodded. "Yes, I am." She confirmed. "But first, we need to-"
"Shh!" Nia interrupted, a frown on her face as her ears twitched. "I hear something."
Beside her, Rex looked around warily, reaching back for his weapon. "Movement?" He asked, quietly enough to not disrupt the girl from listening.
"Yeah." She replied. "The adjourning alley, about a hundred peds away." Her ears flattened against her head. "At least a dozen, maybe more, and they're headed this way."
The vigilante looked upward. "Roofs, now." She commanded. "We need to get moving before they're within range."
Without hesitation, Rex, Nia, and the girl's Blade leapt up to the nearby rooftop. The nopon, Tora, was hauled up by his Blade, apparently the strength-enhancing effects of Blade affinity not enough to compensate for his tiny legs.
"H-hang on…!" Ciaran sputtered, looking around. What was… the kidnappers were here already?!" I-I still don't quite understand…!"
Tokiha shot him an apologetic look. "We'll explain on the way." She said, before bending her knees and following the others up.
"I-I… but…!" Everything was happening faster than he could handle. It hadn't even been more than a minute or two since he entered the alley, and they were apparently already being chased?!
"We need to follow them, Ciaran." Lyta sighed, squeezing his shoulder.
"R-right." He muttered, shaking his head. This… he would have time to fully process this later. For now, he had a job to do, and he couldn't afford to falter just because everything was happening so quickly!
He crouched down, Lyta's ether filling his muscles as she opened their affinity link, and leapt up to the roof, just behind the others.
"We've lost contact with them." The mercenary reported dourly, his face barely visible through the distortion of the low-quality communication terminal he was using. "We caught up with them in an alley across the street from the Colegar Inn, but they managed to slip by while we were preparing our ambush."
"I am well aware of that." Lynette replied, her tone a cool neutral. "We were observing the group while you were preparing."
The man on the other side of the communicator frowned. Or at least, Doctor Castrofari thought he did. It was hard to tell with the poor quality of the visual feed. "Hmph." The mercenary snorted. "I don't suppose you managed to catch how they found us?"
"I believe the Gormotti Driver heard your group." She explained in a slightly patronizing tone.
"But that shouldn't have been…!" He began to retort before reigning himself in. Good, he realized that he was already on thin ice following his earlier failure. "I mean, we took precautions specifically to avoid that."
"Apparently not enough." The Indoline woman replied. "In the future, assume that she possesses keener hearing than is typical even of a normal Gormotti."
He nodded, the image on the screen flickering slightly. "That'll make things more difficult, but we'll manage." He replied tersely. "Do you know where they're headed now?"
Lynette glanced away from the terminal, frowning as she stared into the cloud of incense smoke that Delphus was producing. It was still producing a vision of the group escorting the child, now with even more members.
Contrary to earlier attempts at observing their escapee, the detail of this particular vision was far more sparse. Part of it was the dark, which the fire Blade's powers rendered as a void in the smoke with only the smallest wisps to represent dimly lit surfaces, but even the focus of the vision was surprisingly indistinct.
Especially the woman holding subject 84. While she had been mostly visible when they had been observing the battle earlier, it seemed that the closer the vigilante Blade was to the boy, the more trouble Delphus had displaying the scene.
It was almost as if…
"They have taken to the rooftops." Lynette reported to the mercenary. "Based on their current path, I suspect they are headed to the bottom tier, possibly the port itself."
She paused for a moment before adding. "Be advised, they have recruited another Driver and Blade. Identity and capabilities are unknown at this time."
"Of course they have." The mercenary responded, grumbling under his breath. The screen distorted as he shook his head before speaking up. "Understood, we'll see if we can't catch up with them before they scrounge up any more help."
"That would be ideal." Lynette agreed. "We will keep an eye on them and inform you if they make any further deviations from their anticipated path."
With that, she switched the terminal off, not even bothering to receive a confirmation from the mercenary.
He couldn't help but chuckle. The Indoline woman normally preferred to behave far more affably, even towards those who annoyed her. After months of dealing with her false cheer, seeing the woman's mask truly shattered was almost cathartic.
A shame it couldn't have happened under better circumstances.
The interview with Subject 91 had been the final straw, it would seem. After over an hour of trying to coax information out of the teenage girl about their escapee, the doctor had been proven correct that it was a waste of time. With 84 still out of their reach and her 'valuable source of intelligence' having been a dud, the woman had dispensed with the pretenses of being a warm, matronly woman and become as cold and stern as any Indoline official he had ever met.
She let out a long, drawn-out sigh of frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Tell me, dear Doctor." She asked, the tension obvious in her voice. "What do you believe the chances of them succeeding are?"
Castrofari shrugged, not even bothering to give the woman more than a glance. "In all honesty? Low." He admitted. "Against Tokiha on her own, I would have given them reasonable odds, especially if they managed to push her into a position where she needed to defend the test subject again."
Not perfect odds—the vigilante's reputation was well-earned—but this time she would have been facing off against three times the number of Drivers as before. Under similar circumstances to the earlier fight, it would have been reasonable to assume they could overcome her.
"But with her little assistants, that may not be the case, especially if she continues to recruit more help." It was bad enough that the three Drivers who had jumped in earlier were sticking with her. Based on the rumors of how the Ardainian vigilantes behaved, he had expected her to make a quick exit once she had thanked them for their assistance. But instead, she had apparently brought them along to assist her.
Or perhaps they had insisted on sticking around? It was hard to tell—Delphus' visions were purely visual, so he wasn't able to accurately determine who had convinced whom. Really, it didn't matter at this point.
The fact that they had then picked up yet another Driver team was concerning, though. It implied that the group, at least in part, had both correctly deduced that they would require more manpower to fend off subsequent attempts to retrieve subject 84 and, more importantly, that they had the local contacts to recruit them quickly.
It was impossible to judge the quality of their new additions, seeing as they were complete unknowns, but he had to assume that they were at least as capable as the others. Considering the relatively poor showing that the initial batch of mercenaries displayed, despite being outnumbered two-to-one, he would rate their chances of success as roughly even.
If they found even more assistance or a place to hold up that allowed them to negate the mercenaries' numerical advantage, then their chances of success would naturally increase further.
"…But, while I would prefer they succeeded, that is ultimately a secondary objective." The doctor noted, leaning both hands against the table as he watched. There was another distortion as the vigilante pulled Subject 84 closer. His eyes narrowed at the sight. What was going on?
"Of course." Lynette nodded. "The real importance is keeping them occupied until Jakup's men arrive."
"Yes." He confirmed. "I have been informed that the transport will be arriving in the morning." The Lindwurm officer hadn't given a specific time, no doubt to make it more difficult to locate the ship should someone be listening in on the conversation, but he didn't anticipate that it would be any later than first light.
Unfortunately, that still meant that the mercenaries would need to keep Tokiha and her hangers-on occupied for close to half a day at the longest, but that was probably doable.
At least as long as they didn't cause too much of a ruckus, that is. He had told Lynette to warn the mercenaries that they should avoid involving the guards as much as possible, if for no other reason than to reduce the number of opponents they would need to face. Considering how many Drivers were involved at this point, there was no way that the Headmaster wouldn't get involved should the guards be alerted.
Once again, the vision flickered, the detail briefly fading from the shaped smoke. Beside him, Lynette gave a concerned sound.
"Delphus, dear." The Indoline woman asked. "Are you having difficulty maintaining focus on the child?"
The Blade took a moment to respond, seeming to focus on the vision he was maintaining. "There is… disturbance." He admitted. "I am… compensating… for it, but… it is… difficult."
"A disturbance?" Castrofari wondered, focusing on the scene. The vision came into greater focus for a moment before fading again, once again in time with the vigilante holding Subject 84 closer. "It seems almost as if… but how could…?"
Tokiha, the vigilante… was she doing something to make it more difficult for Delphus to track the test subject? He couldn't possibly imagine how that would be the case, but at the same time, it seemed like too much of a coincidence that the disturbances grew worse with proximity to her.
"Focus on the woman for a moment." He ordered, his eyes narrowing as he watched. It was a fairly simple hypothesis to test: if there was no change, she was probably not the cause. It would leave them without a reasonable explanation, but it was always possible that the answer was some atmospheric ether phenomenon disrupting his powers. The timing would be inconvenient, but hardly unheard of.
But if he couldn't…
Delphus turned his head to face his Driver, as if asking for permission. Lynette merely inclined her head. "Do it." She confirmed.
He began to whisper under his breath as the smoke shifted, changing the perspective of the scene. The buildings on the side warped as the smoke representing them prepared to become a different structure, while the humanoid forms dispersed, swirling into the form of…
…Absolutely nothing. As if some cosmic string holding them into shape was cut, the cloud of smoke lost its shape and collapsed in an instant, as if the Blade had given up using them.
"…Curious." The Blade stated, his head tilted as if he were staring down. "That woman… I cannot… track her".
Lynette stared at him. "Is that even possible?" She asked. "Disrupting an ether trace such as yours requires precisely modulated ether suppression technology. That vigilante should not be capable of preventing you from observing her."
She scowled, glaring at the table. "Focus on Subject 84 again." She commanded. "This time, use a further view out. I want to see what the ether flows are like."
The Blade nodded slowly, pulling another handful of ash from his incense burner. Whispering into it, he scattered the ashes once again, which swirled into a new scene.
Unlike before, the vision was far more abstract. It displayed most of the second tier of the city, the streets rendered in hazy black smoke. Flickering red wisps maneuvered between the buildings, broken up by the occasional brighter blue.
Doctor Castrofari scanned the scene, looking for their targets. It didn't take long to find them—even as abstracted as this was, it was easy to pick out the group traversing the roofs rather than the streets. He quickly counted the cluster of wisps, checking to see if she was among them. Two blue, two red, three mixed, one gold, one orange…
Wait, what?
He did a double-take, looking over the wisps again. Those… those couldn't be correct, could they? Red, blue, and mixed he could understand, but there shouldn't be that many of the mixed, and the other two colors… Was the scale causing them to mix in an unintended way?
"Those are not colors I am familiar with." Lynette stated, unknowingly echoing his thoughts. "Delphus, what is the meaning of this?"
"I am… unsure." The Blade admitted. "The colors… they should not… deviate so much."
"Give us a closer view." Castrofari ordered. "Continue displaying the ether signals, though; I want to see how they map to those children."
Without another word, the view shifted, the smoke reforming from entire blocks into discrete buildings. The thin, colored wisps of Tokiha's tagalongs ballooned in size until they looked more like colored flames than strands of smoke.
Importantly, the view was now less abstract, allowing them to see who was associated with which color.
Several of the figures were exactly what he expected them to be. Subject 84, as a Blade Eater, was an intermingling of blue and red, while the Driver and Blade that had just joined the group were the respective red and blue that he would expect. Even the large beast Blade, bounding alongside his Driver, was blue, and the nopon trailing behind red.
Beyond that, however, things were unexpected. While the colors of the smoke that composed the rendition of their escaped test subject were correct, they were also hazy and muted. The damnable woman carrying him was even worse, as despite being able to see her in the vision itself, the representation of her ether signal was a swirling mass of uncolored smoke, as if a coherent reading was impossible.
And the others…
The two other Drivers were mixed colors, most likely Flesh Eaters, he assumed. Troublesome, but that could be dealt with. The Blade in the boy's helmet was anything but, glowing a gold which indicated he was… wasn't that the color for Titans? And the final Blade, the one that looked more like a robot than anything else, was somehow orange!
"What do these colors mean?" He asked, pointing at the gold and orange wisps. "Gold means that it is a Titan, correct?"
"Yes… a Titan." The Blade agreed, scratching his chin with a long, corpselike finger. "I have… never seen… a Titan larva before."
Huh. So there were new Titans coming into being. Good to know.
"As for… the orange…" Delphus trailed off, closing his eyes. "I do… not know. It is… new."
Lynette growled. "We are aware it is something new." Any semblance of patience seemed to have drained from the woman. "We need to know what it is!"
The Blade was silent for a moment. "It is… not tatural." He stated. "The ether… it is… too steady… too precise. Like the furnace… of a piece… of machinery."
"Hmmm…" Castrofari mulled. "It looks robotic, too. An attempt to create a mechanical replica of a Blade, perhaps?"
"Is that even possible?" Lynette glanced over at him. "I have heard that there have been great strides in researching the functions of Blades, but I had been under the impression that Indol was the foremost expert."
Castrofari nodded slowly. "Perhaps they are, but…" A memory immediately popped into his head, from his days as a student. His lip curled in distaste at the recollection. "'Mechanical inducement of the affinity bond effect,' by… some nopon, I don't remember his name. Published in the Quarterly Imperial Science Monitor, issue #547, second quarter of 4041."
The Indoline woman mused thoughtfully. "Oh yes, I believe I remember that one." She said. Her eyebrows raised as she looked at the doctor. "I will admit, I'm surprised you are familiar with it. I would have thought the work of those creatures to be beneath you."
He sneered at the woman. "Oh, I read it alright—it had a rather profound effect on my career path. I could barely believe a nopon, of all things, could have been the author of research that brilliant! I spent years cutting up Flesh Eaters afterword, trying to come up with something that could top it!"
Glancing back at the vision, he narrowed his eyes. "And now, it would appear I have been spited again. A machine imitating a Blade, driven by another nopon… helping to ruin my Magnum Opus!"
"Perhaps you will be fortunate, and the mercenaries will destroy it." Lynette waved his fury off. "We have bigger issues, anyway." She stared at the two mixed-color representations amidst the enemy Drivers. "These two—what can you tell us of them?"
Delphus cracked his neck. "They are… similar." He stated. "The girl… is a Flesh Eater… of high quality." He noted. "But the boy…" a tingle of anticipation leaked into his raspy voice. "The boy… he is a Blade Eater."
Castrofari drew in a sharp breath, his fury forgotten. "A Blade Eater?" He muttered, his eyes locking on the wisp. He watched as the colors slowly shifted between a strong red and a high contrast… green? That wasn't right. It should be blue! "One of Indol's?"
"I do not think so." Lynette replied, a worried look on her face. "I presided over several Core Crystal implant procedures over the last half-century, and read the dossiers of the ones I did not. He does not match the appearance of any of them."
"His return… it is strong. Whole. The boy… does not have… a mere part of a Core Crystal... such as the Praetorium… would transfer."
That could only mean one thing. "Somebody else has produced a successful Blade Eater, then." The doctor clenched his fists, shuddering as he considered the possibility. Blade Eaters were his work! His! Nobody else had seen the potential! Nobody else had possessed the vision! Not even that pompous blue mongrel running Indol, the one who had laid the groundwork only to toss it aside!
But now, just as he had perfected the process, somebody else had the gall to try to upstage him?! That couldn't stand.
All other concerns fell to the wayside in the face of the doctor's rage. The risks of catching the attention of the headmaster, the danger posed by Tokiha being able to evade Delphus' tracking…
Even why Rex's ether return was half-green.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to look at Lynette. "Tell the mercenaries to bring that one to me!" He snarled, smashing a fist against the table. "Someone is trying to preempt our work, and I will find out who!"
Getting across to Goethe Rock proved to be troublesome at this time of night.
The previous times they had traveled there, even when they had done it earlier that very same day, they had merely needed to take the preexisting ferry service across the bay. It was cheap and simple.
Now, so late in the day, there was no ferry. The service had ended hours ago. From a business perspective, it made perfect sense—there was no lighting or structures on the island outside of the lighthouse complex, so why would anyone want to go there during the night? But at the moment, it was rather troublesome.
As such, they wasted several precious minutes trying to decide how they would manage the crossing. Although the dinghy was still physically present, the idea of taking it never crossed anyone's mind.
...Well, it crossed Nia's mind, but the moment she began to broach the topic, she was immediately shut down by a stern look from Perun. Even as serious as the situation was, the vigilante was serious when she said that she didn't want to see innocent bystanders harmed in any way, which apparently included financially.
Eventually, the woman grew impatient with the back-and-forth of trying to figure out a way across and opted to conjure a large ice raft for them to use. It was difficult; the low water content of the Cloud Sea meant she was required to construct it mostly out of elemental ether, but that just made the ice more resistant to melting in the cloud-matter of the sea.
She even had the forethought of shaping a place on the back where Poppi could sit, facing behind them, and use her thrusters to propel them across the bay.
The resulting trip was substantially faster than their previous ones, but far more harrowing for a number of reasons. Hurtling across the surface for the sea at high speed in near-perfect darkness was not exactly what any of the group would describe as enjoyable.
However, it served its purpose well, and within a few minutes, the ice raft was wedged on the shore of Goethe Rock.
Once ashore, the group made their way around the darkened path, making sure to steer as clear of the lighthouse itself as was feasible. In order to ensure they did not have a repeat of Zeke's anticlimactic exit from their impromptu battle, Rex led the way, Aegis Sword held aloft to provide sufficient light for the group to navigate.
Now that they were here, the boy was beginning to hold some reservations about the idea. Back when they were in the city, the Rock had seemed like the perfect place to lay low while Perun did her thing, but he hadn't realized at the time exactly how much of a problem the lack of light was going to pose.
Part of the reason he had suggested the island in the first place was that, by virtue of being separated from the rest of the Titan by the sea, it would be impossible for any pursuers to sneak up on them. However, in the dark of the night, it wouldn't actually be possible for them to see anyone crossing the bay.
And the lack of population meant that, while they wouldn't be putting anyone else at risk should a fight break out, there also weren't any buildings they could shelter in. As far as he was aware, the only structures were the lighthouse complex and the dock at the near end of the jetty, and neither of those were acceptable options for them at the moment.
There wasn't even enough foliage on the island to start a fire! The only coverage it had was a thin layer of lichen and moss clinging to the side of the rock.
But it wasn't as if they really had any other options at this point. Now that they had made the crossing, they were more or less committed to the island for the time being. They would just have to make due.
Upon arriving at the cleared shelf normally set aside for Drivers to train, the tension in the group seemed to lower. Perun glanced around, a frown on her face, as she examined the area illuminated by the light of Rex's sword.
"This isn't the most ideal position." She observed. "But it will work for now."
Ciaran dropped one of his bags to the ground and began rummaging through it. "I-I've got some chemical lights." He said, pulling out a pack of thin glass tubes filled with a colorless liquid. "They're not super bright, but they should be able to give us enough to see."
"Perhaps we can assist as well." Azurda spoke up, nudging Rex's shoulder. Oh, right. He was a light Blade now; he could probably illuminate the area without using his sword.
He nodded. "Yeah, give us a minute to work out the best places for them." Rex offered, already looking for a good place to do it without being seen by either the Nothian and his Blade or the vigilante and her temporary ward.
"That'll help a lot." Ciaran replied, cracking a tab on the top of one of the glass tubes. There was a splashing sound as a second vial of liquid, nested within the tube, shattered and dispensed its contents into the greater volume of fluid. The boy gave the tube a vigorous shake as the two chemicals mixed, the reaction emitting a soft, blue-green light on the ground around them. "I'll start placing these around the perimeter of the clearing. That way, we'll still be able to see should your Blade become too distracted to keep his lights active."
Rex chuckled weakly. "Y-yeah, right…" He replied, watching as the older boy wandered away. He gave a quick glance around, checking to make sure nobody else was watching. Lyta had followed her Driver off to the perimeter, while Perun was leading Taion off to another side of the clearing, most likely to begin whatever she needed to do.
It did not escape his notice that Nia was slowly wandering over to them, trying to act like she wasn't desperate to figure out how the woman planned to do what she claimed.
Closing his eyes, Rex focused on the ether flowing out of the Aegis Core Crystal. Around him, six points of light burst into existence, shining a brilliant gold as they illuminated the area around them. He quickly directed them toward the perimeter, spreading the spheres out to allow for maximum coverage of the clearing.
Beside him, Tora let out a soft gasp of awe at the sight. "Uah… Tora always impressed when see what Blades can do…"
Rex glanced down at the nopon. "Didn't you say Poppi's element could be switched out?" He asked. "That means she could do it too, doesn't it?"
The nopon nodded. "Poppi able do better if have light core." Tora confirmed without even the slightest bit of hesitation. "But seeing still make Tora feel like tiny littlepon that see Blade for first time."
"You really love Blades, don't you?" Rex muttered, still staring at the nopon. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Tora had possessed Driver aptitude. Would the nopon have thrown himself fully into training, as he had once they had left Gormott, or would he have still continued to work on Poppi with a Blade by his side as an assistant?
"Masterpon." Poppi spoke up, glancing off toward the lighthouse. "Poppi want circle around island to watch for baddiepons."
"Will you be able to see them?" Rex asked, turning his attention to the artificial Blade. "It's pretty dark out there."
She nodded, pointing at her eyes. "Poppi equipped to see in dark." The mechanical girl explained. "Can see heat emitted by baddiepons as across bay. Will stand out against clouds."
"Tora agree." The nopon said, crossing his wings in front of himself confidently. "Poppi make sure not sneaky-sneak by while getting ready." He gave a look over at the Garfont mercenary, who was still placing chemical lights around the clearing. "When Ciaran done, will help set up communication terminal. Might be able to call backup for friends."
Rex gave the nopon a quizzical look. "Communication terminal?" He asked. "How do you know he has one?"
"Was carrying second bag." Tora stated, pointing at the one the Nothian boy had discarded. "Said had been in contact with friends, and bag has transmitter antenna sticking out of flap. Not many options of what could be."
He wasn't entirely convinced the mercenary would even need the help, but he also trusted Tora to know what was best with anything engineering-related. Besides, he remembered that Lyta had mentioned they had called for backup on their way to the Titan. If Tora's help could get them there faster, he wasn't going to second-guess the nopon.
"Sounds like a plan." He said, glancing over at Perun. "I'm going to see if I can help over there. Because, well, you know…" Rex said, tapping the armored vest of his diving suit for emphasis.
The nopon nodded in agreement. "Tora understand." He said. "Rex-Rex also need learn trick."
With that, they split up again, the nopon waddling off to engage with Ciaran, while Rex slowly approached Perun and Taion. The woman as kneeling on the ground, her brow furrowed as she focused on the boy in front of her. Taion, for his part, was standing nervously in front of her, tugging idly at the shoulder of the shirt Tora had lent him.
"...Do you feel that?" The vigilante asked as a pulse of ether rippled in the air around her. It felt… strange, distorted, almost like it was twisting in on itself.
"Y-yeah." The boy said, glancing around him. "It felt strange… I dunno how to describe it, but it was… different than the ones when you were fighting earlier."
Perun nodded slowly, pleased that he was able to determine that much. "If I were to do that again, do you believe you would be able to sustain it by yourself?"
He shook his head, eyes wide. "I-I've… no! I don't know anything about ether!" The boy insisted. "I don't have a clue about how to do stuff like that!"
The vigilante gave him a confused look. "Does it not come naturally?" She asked. "For Blades, at least, we are born with the knowledge of how to use our abilities. I am surprised the same did not occur when you gained your Core Crystal."
"No." Rex replied, walking up to them. "That kind of information isn't given to Blade Eaters." He barely finished the sentence before quickly amending, "A-as far as I've heard, at least."
"I see." She said neutrally, considering the implications of the information. "That will make this more difficult than I had originally anticipated."
"How much of a problem are we talking?" Nia asked, stalking up to the group now that Rex had approached the older Flesh Eater.
Perun frowned. "It will not render our reason for coming here entirely useless, but it will severely limit our options." She glanced down at the child. "I did not expect that he would be able to learn the technique in the time we have available—it took even me weeks to gain a proper command over it—but I had hoped that he would be able to at least sustain a shroud that I created until we had managed to deal with the kidnappers." The woman sighed. "Unfortunately, that would require him to possess at least rudimentary ether manipulation skills."
"Sorry." Taion said in a small voice, looking down at the floor.
"Hey, it's not your fault." Rex said, placing a hand on the child's shoulder. "It took me years to get ether manipulation down, and I was younger than you when I started!"
Nia chewed her lip. "What can we do, then?" She asked. "If he can't keep it up on his own, do we have any other options?"
The woman nodded. "Yes. I can sustain a shroud large enough to cover him, but it will require that he remain close."
"Doesn't seem like that's a good long-term option, though." Nia pointed out. "It will keep the attention off of him for now, but what about once we head off for this dungeon the rest of the kids are being kept in? We're not gonna bring him along, are we?"
Perun sighed. "That is yet another issue." She admitted. "I cannot think of a good place to conceal him while we deal with the kidnappers."
"Well, Ciaran's apparently calling for backup." Rex said. "Maybe whoever shows up can keep him safe in the meantime?"
"Maybe." The woman allowed, glancing over at the mercenary. He was unpacking the bag that Tora had pointed out, the nopon assisting as he pulled a long, rigid wire that Rex assumed was the antenna out. "If they are Drivers, then their Blades should be able to sustain the shroud over him, but we cannot guarantee that will be the case."
Silence fell between them for a moment. Nia looked like she wanted to say something, holding her hand up and opening her mouth slightly before pausing, seeming to reconsider, and closing her mouth again. It didn't take a genius to know what it was she wanted to ask.
"...On the topic of tracking," Rex began, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Would it be a good idea to try and hide our Blades from tracking too?"
The vigilante glanced over at him. "...Perhaps, but I do not think it will be necessary." She stated.
"How do you figure?" Nia asked, planting a hand on her hip. "If they're tracking Blades, even if you block the kid from being tracked, all the kidnapper's will have to do is start looking for Dromarch and Lyta. Seems like a pretty big hole in the plan to me."
Perun nodded. "That is a possibility." She admitted. "I am not sure whether the Blade has the ability to single out individual Blades that lack a unique signal, such as a Flesh Eater, but I will admit that the possibility exists."
Nia let out a small sigh of relief. "So, you'll teach us… er, our Blades, how to hide from it?"
"That… is not quite what I meant." The woman clarified. "I can send out another shroud for your Blades to maintain, but we do not have the time to teach them, and as standard Blades, I cannot see a reason why the technique would be useful."
Rex and Nia exchanged a quick glance. They both understood that the technique was probably critically important. Even outside of the benefit of being able to conceal themselves without the ice Blade needing to shape the ether first while they were here, it would afford them substantial protection from Indol. Nia's feelings on that were already clear, and considering that none of them knew how the Praetorium would react to Rex's status, it was definitely a smart idea for him to remain beneath their notice as well.
"Well, the thing is…" Rex muttered, trying to figure out the best way to approach the topic. After the events of Gormott, he was a little leery about anyone finding out about his Blade Eater status, much less which Blade he had 'eaten', but considering the circumstances, maybe he could trust her with it? They had already learned two major secrets about the woman, so it would be fair, and it wasn't like he needed to mention the Aegis part...
"...What if one of us did stand out?" He finished evasively.
Perun stared at him, her eyes boring into the boy, before briefly flicking over to Nia. She let out a long, drawn out-sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, before speaking up.
"Which one of you is it?" She asked.
"Huh?" Nia asked, taken off-guard by the question.
The vigilante gave the pair an unamused look. "I was not intending to broach the topic, but based entirely on your reactions since discovering the natures of myself and the boy, I cannot help but think that one of you is either a Flesh or Blade Eater." She said. "Most likely the latter, in my opinion. You possess far too much intimate knowledge regarding a subject that, even in your own words, is all but unknown for me to believe otherwise."
Rex winced at the accusation but didn't deny it. "It was that easy, huh?" It was silly to think that a woman who had spent over a decade hunting down a criminal organization wouldn't be able to pick up on the clues. But… at least it made things easier? Now he was only confirming a suspicion rather than revealing his secret to someone totally in the dark. That had to count for something, right?
"Yes." The woman reiterated. "Now, which of you, and what, so we can begin as quickly as possible?"
Hesitantly, Rex began to open his mouth. "Um, well…" He began. "The thing about it is-"
"Both of us." Nia interrupted him, staring at the floor. Her ears were flat against her head as she cupped her hands over her concealed Core Crystal. "Blade for him, Flesh for me."
Rex turned to look at her, his head swiveling so fast that he could feel the strain even with the baseline enhancement his status provided. "Nia…?" He murmured in surprise.
"M-my Lady…?" Dromarch was taken aback just as much as he was, if not more. Out of everyone here, the tiger was the most aware of just how zealously the girl protected her secret, even to the degree that she still refused to tell the singular member of their party that hadn't figured it out on his own.
For her to reveal it to a comparative stranger, even another Flesh Eater, told Rex just how valuable she considered the technique to be.
"I-I don't like talking about it…" She said, behaving far more meekly than Rex had ever seen before. "...But, I don't… I don't want to be chased..." The girl paused for a moment. "No, hunted by Indol anymore."
Perun closed her eyes, inclining her head slightly as if recalling a memory. "I understand." The woman said softly, a small smile on her face. "I will be more than happy to teach the both of you."
The moment she said that, Nia nearly collapsed in relief as the tension inside her vanished. Dromarch was there in an instant, offering a shoulder to his Driver.
"However, I will not be showing you at the moment." The woman continued.
Rex looked at her in surprise. "Wait, why?" He asked.
"Were you not listening to her earlier, my boy?" Azurda chimed in with a snort. "It will take weeks to learn. Now is not the time to spend learning such things. You would be much better served preparing for the imminent combat."
The vigilante nodded in agreement. "Your companion is correct." She confirmed. "I will create another shroud once your nopon friend's Blade has returned, but that will be all that I can offer for now." Her expression softened slightly. "However, once the children have been freed and their captors taken into custody, I would be more than happy to teach you. Is that acceptable?"
Rex glanced over at Nia, who was still leaning against Dromarch's flank. "...It is for me, but…"
Nia sighed, a conflicted look on her face. "...I'll admit, I'd really like to start learning now." The girl stated. "But I understand. We have more important things to worry about at the moment."
"Exactly." Azurda agreed. "In that case, we should figure out how long we plan on what we're doing next.
Author's Notes
There's not a lot to say about this chapter. I needed to move the last pieces into place for the end of the arc, but that ended up taking the entire chapter.