"So she's like, emotionally repressed or something?" Neil asks.
"That's right." Emile nods.
Neil tilts his head to the side. "But she doesn't want to be?"
"Bingo!" Novem praises.
Akane briefly considers lighting the forest they're walking through on fire before deciding that would be more trauma than it's worth and she would likely get thrown in the same prison as Klaw.
They arrived at their destination, Veneto, not long ago and now they're heading into the forest again (again on Akane's part, at least) in search of the cave they've been assigned to investigate.
To occupy the silence, Emile decided to fill Neil in on all the 'important' Phoenix Fire lore.
"And what about you?" Neil asks.
"Oh, I have amnesia." Emile states simply.
Neil blinks. "Woah. Okay. What about Mana?"
"She has amnesia too."
"O-Okay…and Veiss?"
"...You'll never believe this."
Episode 42: Fregona Cave
As the trio close in on the cave, signs of human activity start to appear along their path: obvious foot prints, discarded bits of food, burnt out campfires…
"Jeez," Emile sniffs. "People really don't pick up after themselves these days…" he says distastefully and shakes his head. "Just what exactly are we supposed to be doing again?" Emile asks.
"Campers have been reporting suspicious activity in the area." Akane reminds him. "Our job is to figure out what it is and take care of it if it's a problem." she says and the three of them pause in their walk when they reach the mouth of the cave.
The cave is built into the wall of a large stone cliff. The entrance is about the size of a small building, the well-worn path leading straight into it.
Neil looks around. "So…what do we do now?" he asks.
Akane examines her nails disinterestedly. "I don't know. What do we do now?" she asks, giving him a look.
Emile pulls Novem out of his kimono as the two-tailed creature struggles to wiggle free. "You wanted an adventure, you're in charge." he says. "Lead the way."
Neil gapes for a second before grinning. "A-Alright! Uh…" he looks around. "There's nothing around the sides of the cave, it's all just a trail leading inside, so…" Neil looks at Emile and Akane for approval. "Let's head inside?"
Novem yawns and stretches his limbs out. "I'll be your nose." he says as he climbs up Neil's body and settles on his shoulder. "Let's go."
Emile crosses his arms. "What's with you and your selective super smelling lately?"
"Trust the nose, Emile."
"Trust that I'll leave you at the guild next time."
Akane rolls her eyes and looks at Neil. "Lead the way in. They'll be at this for a while."
Neil nods, grimacing as Novem yaps at Emile right next to his ear.
"Is it going to be dangerous?" Neil asks, turning to Akane and tuning out Novem screaming in his ear.
Akane shrugs. "I've never been inside Fregona Cave." she says. "But it shouldn't be anything too bad - I was in the area recently and nothing seemed off."
Neil pouts. "Aw."
Akane's eye twitches. "Do you…want it to be dangerous?" she asks.
Neil's eyes sparkle with a lust for adventure, "Yeah! That'll show my parents and those guys back at Aberrant Hydra that I don't need 'em!"
"But you asked us to come with you…?" Akane mumbles, confused.
The front of the cave is relatively dry but the further inside the group of four gets, the more the condensation from the stalactites on the ceiling starts dripping down on them. The signs of human activity decrease the farther they get into the cave. Eventually, there's no sign at all. It's almost as if something made them turn back.
Soon enough the group reaches a split path. One path stays on the same level while the other forms a downward slope descending into the cave.
"What's the plan, Neil?" Akane asks.
Neil blinks, looking between the two paths unsurely. "Uh…"
Novem ceases his arguing for a second and sniffs the air. "Mmmph…the lower path smells humid and the upper path smells…like ozone?" he guesses and sniffs again. "Yeah, that's ozone." Novem nods.
Akane frowns. "Electricity in a cave…" she says lowly, thinking. "Breathing in too much ozone is going to be harmful to your body."
"Harmful to the body?" Neil repeats questioningly and glances at Novem. "You have the smallest body here." he points out and thinks for a moment. "...Akane and I will take the ozone path and Novem and Emile will take the humid path." Neil decides and looks at the older Mages for approval again.
Akane and Emile exchange a look and shrug. "Sounds good to me." Emile says as Novem hops from Neil's shoulder to his.
Akane nods. "Let's go. Hopefully the ends of the path reconnect." she says and narrows her eyes at Emile and Novem. "If you die, I'll kill you."
Emile grins. "Yeah, yeah, we'll be careful." he says and starts walking down the humid lower path.
Akane huffs and she and Neil head along the path thick with ozone.
Upper Path
After several minutes of begging and whining, Akane begrudgingly holds a small ball of fire in her hand to light hers and Neil's way.
"It's your own magic, I don't know what you're so angry over." Neil says.
Akane tightens her jaw and doesn't answer.
The two of them continue walking, the smell of ozone getting stronger and the distinct sound of crackling electricity starting to form. It's a straight and narrow path-
"Oh, look, an open area." Neil remarks.
It was a straight and narrow path. The end of the path opens up to a fairly large circular cavern with…
"Is that a woman?" Neil wonders.
Akane's eyes widen. "No…"
Directly in the center of the cavern is something curled up in a nest of twigs and debris that's most definitely not just a woman: it's a humanoid avian creature with yellow feathered winged arms, long pointy ears, and clawed talons for feet.
"That's a fucking harpy!" Akane hisses under her breath.
The air around the harpy is visibly crackling with electricity and there's a visible thick layer of ozone surrounding her and her nest. She appears to be fast asleep but she keeps twitching as if in pain or plagued by nightmares.
Neil shrinks back slightly and gulps nervously. "Are they dangerous?" he asks.
Akane frowns. "Usually, yes, but I've never seen a yellow-feathered harpy before. I don't know what it's doing in a cave." she says.
"Do different colored ones have different, like, behaviors and stuff?" Neil asks, fiddling with the ring of Celestial Spirit keys dangling from one of his belt loops.
"Generally, yes." Akane nods. "It's all dependant on the personality of the harpy themself, but for example, red harpies-"
The two of them freeze when the smell of ozone suddenly gets significantly stronger. Akane and Neil slowly turn their heads to find the now conscious harpy floating in front of them, flapping her wings. "Yawn…can I help y-?"
"OPEN, GATE OF THE WHITE SWAN, CYGNUS!"
Lower Path
Novem and Emile groan as they trudge through the humid part of the cave.
"This is the worst." Novem whines. "I wasn't built for this kind of weather, Emile!"
Emile grumbles as he takes Novem off his shoulder and places him on his head. "Me neither, buddy." he sighs as he unties the front of his kimono and slips the sleeves off, tying them around his waist. "Better this than getting poisoned by ozone or whatever…" Emile says and wipes the sweat off his brow. "...I hope they don't stay up there too long." he says and continues walking, using his Elysian Magic to light his path.
Upper Path
The harpy and Cygnus stare at each other awkwardly when neither of their attacks do anything.
Cygnus is a female Celestial Spirit with fair skin and long wavy blonde hair. She has two white feather accessories in her hair and wears a white and silver tunic with matching armored boots.
"Ah, Neil," Cygnus says, turning to smile awkwardly at her keeper. "I don't think I'll be of much help here." she says, her hand crackling with electricity.
Akane facepalms. "Why you thought to summon a Celestial Spirit with electric powers to fight against an electric harpy…" she trails off and sighs.
Neil flusters in embarrassment as the women look at him disappointedly. "I-I-I-" he stammers. "Y-You can still hit her, can't you?!" Neil asks. "Melee fighting with no magic!"
"Melee fighting with no magic. You've got it!" Cygnus says cheerfully and takes on a fighting stance, the crackling around her hands dissipating.
"Hey hey hey hey hey," Akane quickly grabs Cygnus' arm before she can swing at the harpy. "I don't think she's going to do anything, look at her!" she gestures at the exhausted looking creature. "Let's try and talk to her first, okay?" Akane says, looking between Neil and the Celestial Spirit.
"I-I-" Neil blinks. He shakes his head and pats his cheeks, snapping himself out of his fear induced craze. "Right. Right, sorry. Yeah." he says and nods at Cygnus. "At ease, Cygnus. Stand by."
Cygnus smiles and relaxes her stance nonchalantly. "Standing by." she nods.
The three of them gaze down at the harpy pushing herself onto knees so she can crouch. "Jeez…" the harpy murmurs and looks at the trio with electric yellow eyes. "Who are you? Why are you here?" she asks and shakes off her feathered arms. "And…why are you attacking me?"
Neil points an accusatory finger at her. "W-Well why are you sleeping in a cloud of ozone?!" he demands. "You're a harpy, aren't you? Harpies don't sleep in caves…" Neil glances behind him at Akane, the older mage observing the harpy carefully. "...right?"
("Ozone…" Cygnus murmurs, looking around the cave with a frown. She glances at Neil and Akane worriedly.)
"Right." Akane says. "I've never seen a yellow harpy before. What are you doing here?" she asks.
The harpy contemplates the question for a second as she stands up on her talons. "...Harpus." she says eventually. "My name is Harpus. That is…that is all I want to say." Harpus introduces herself.
Neil snickers. "Harpus the Harpy…heh."
Akane frowns. "Well that's not all we have to say." she says. "We're here because campers have been reporting suspicious activity in the area. We were hired to figure out what it is and take care of it if we find out it's a problem." Akane explains and looks the harpy up and down. "Is it a problem?"
Harpus' ears shrink back. "Suspicious activity…" she repeats with a frown. "I haven't seen any humans recently. I'm…I'm I just-" her ears turn up suddenly and she perks up. "Something's coming."
Neil frowns. "Huh?"
Harpus shakes her head. "Time's up for the question-and-answer session - we've got company!"
Neil, Akane, and Cygnus follow Harpus' line of sight to find a dazed looking creature stumbling into the cavern. It appears to be a large, anthropomorphic monster that resembles a large primate.
Neil's eyes widen comically. "What the hell is that?!" he cries out in surprise.
"A Gorian," Akane grits her teeth. "It must've wandered in from outside." she says.
The Gorian has green fur and bright purple skin. Its eyes lack pupils and instead glow white. The lower half of its body is a darker shade of green and the decorative pattern on its arms consists of five pink hearts.
"A what?"
"A Forest Vulcan. Have you seriously not seen any sort of monster befo - fuck!" Akane swears when the Gorian takes an uncoordinated swing at her. She barely manages to dodge as it stumbles mid-swing and nearly falls on top of her.
Neil cries as he jumps back. "What's wrong with it?!" he asks.
Akane glances at an anxious Harpus flying above the Gorian. "The ozone must be affecting it. Who knows how long it's been here breathing it in." she says and frowns thoughtfully. "Who knows what else is in here…"
The Gorian struggles to push itself back onto its feet.
"Is regular ozone different from magical ozone?" Neil wonders.
"The ozone…" Akane murmurs. "'Suspicious activity'..." she looks back at Harpus. "Are you sick or something? There wasn't a problem with the ozone the last time I was in the area." she says, thinking back to when they clashed with Revenant Beasts and Heaven's Light.
Harpus flaps her wings faster, irritated. "Is this really the time for questions…? It's getting back up, take care of it!"
Akane rolls her eyes and turns back to Neil and Cygnus. "Gorians have no resistance to electricity. Can you take care of it?" she asks.
Neil fans himself with his shirt as he keeps his eyes on the Gorian. "I-I think so. That's within Cygnus' capabilities…I think." he says and turns to the Celestial Spirit. "Can you knock it unconscious, Cygnus?"
Cygnus glances at her hands with a frown before nodding eventually. "I can knock it unconscious. After that I think I should go, though." she says as the Gorian finally pushes itself back onto its feet.
"Huh? Why?" Neil asks, confused.
Cygnus gestures around the area. "I'll only do more harm to you and your friend if I contribute to the ozone in the area," she says. "It does no harm to me but you can't keep breathing this in."
Neil nods, exchanging a look with Akane. "R-Right." he says and points at the Gorian. "Knock him unconscious, Cygnus!" and then, "…Er, without your magic."
Cygnus instantly starts moving. She jumps up to the Gorian's massive height and delivers a strong, swift kick to its neck. The Gorian groans painfully upon impact and drops to the ground, unmoving.
Neil and Akane stand over the still monster.
Neil pokes it with his foot.
It doesn't move.
"Uh-oh." Neil says.
Akane kneels down and puts her hand on its neck, checking for a pulse. "...Nope, still alive." she says, standing back up. "Cool. That was easy."
Neil turns to Cygnus, smiling gratefully. "Thank you, Cygnus." he says. "You can go now."
Cygnus nods and looks at Neil sternly, almost like a mother. "I will. And I'll have Auriga keeping an eye out for you." she says and disappears in a flurry of celestial energy.
Harpus pants as she flies back down, perching on top of the defeated Vulcan. "Thank you…for not stabbing me in the back." she says. "Or telling your…friend to hit me." Harpus says, glancing at the unconscious Gorian. "She seems to be quite strong."
Neil wipes the sweat from his brow. "The feeling's mutual." he says. "So, even monsters have trust issues, huh?"
Harpus snorts, amused with Neil's use of the word 'monster'. "Pfft…although I don't know where you got that impression, this isn't a romantic place to try hitting on me…"
Neil's jaw drops and it's Akane's turn to snort. "I-I wasn't-!" he tries.
"Come to my nest if you wish to talk, just give me a moment to blow away the…'ozone', as you say. It is bad for you, isn't it?" Harpus asks and without waiting for an answer, flies ahead faster than the two Mages can walk.
Akane smirks. "I think she likes you."
Neil facepalms, blushing embarrassedly. "I'm a child."
"You're fifteen and she is most definitely a teenage harpy." Akane says as they carefully start to climb down to ground level.
Neil scoffs. "How do you know?!"
"Adult harpies have more feathers." Akane says simply. "C'mon." she says and starts following after Harpus.
Neil whines and jogs a bit to catch up with Akane. "Is this really okay?" he asks. "Leaving the Gorian alive and working with Harpus?"
"It's not unheard of." Akane says. "If they're not violent or hostile, there's no reason to kill them. The Gorian is being poisoned by the ozone so there's that, and Harpus seems friendly enough." she explains. "Have you figured out what the 'suspicious activity' we're searching for is?"
Neil takes a moment to think. "Um…it's…it's whatever's going on with Harpus, right? The ozone she's emitting is affecting other living beings in the area." he says.
"That's right. Now let's catch up with her."
When they reach Harpus' nest, she's blown the visible layer of ozone away with her wings and it's a little easier for Akane and Neil to breathe.
Harpus, rifling through her belongings, pauses to turn her head and glance at the pair. "You've arrived. Please take a seat." she says and turns back to the belongings scattered around her nest. "It's more comfortable than it looks, I promise."
Akane and Neil carefully climb inside of Harpus' nest and take a seat on the ground.
"Huh." Neil says, bouncing in place. "Whaddya know. It is comfy."
Harpus hums, amused. "Told you." she says and starts muttering to herself. "Lemme see what's left…" she says and starts tossing empty canisters outside of her nest. "Black tea is out... Sugar, out too... Alright, here's some milk—" Harpus sniffs it experimentally and cringes. "Ugh, it's turned sour. Gotta throw it away later." she says and pulls out a glass bottle full of a clear liquid, turning back to Neil and Akane. "Um, my apologies." she says as she approaches and sits across from them.
Akane frowns. "Is that alcohol?"
"Yes. It is…" Harpus turns the bottle around to read the label. "...Ember Fruit Wine."
Akane's eyes widen and she looks as if she's been slapped.
"Akane?" Neil questions with a concerned frown.
Akane's hand twitches. "I…nothing. I'm fine." she says unconvincingly as Harpus continues to present them with food and drink.
"There is plenty of wine, plus some hardtack and sour jam to go with it — enough for a tea party." Harpus says, pleased with herself.
Neil's jaw drops in surprise. "Whoa...! Do you really consider alcohol to be a standard tea party thing?"
Harpus tilts her head to the side as she passes them hardtack. "Yep, what's the problem with it?" she asks.
"It's a tea party." Neil says. "Do you know what tea is?" he asks sassily as Harpus hands them cups.
Akane retracts her hand when Harpus attempts to pour her some wine. "Uh... I'll pass." she says and glances at Neil before slapping the cup out of his hand. "And so will he." Akane says, making the teenager pout.
"What? Hehe, no one's gonna call you out on drinking here." Harpus drawls. "Suit yourself!" she says and starts drinking from the bottle.
Neil crosses his arms, remembering himself. "We're not here for your 'tea' party, Harpus." he says.
"I know, I know…" Harpus says, setting down the bottle of wine. "Don't get so serious." she says and goes silent for a moment, glancing between the two mages. "By the way, I've introduced myself, but I don't know your names yet."
Akane and Neil introduce themselves.
"Akane and…Neil." Harpus muses.
Neil flusters. "Why did she say my name like that?"
Harpus continues, "As for the problem with the…'ozone'…" she brushes some of the feathers on her stomach aside, revealing a nasty looking wound, the veins around the injury black and purple. "I was stabbed and poisoned some time ago. The current state of the cave is a result of my body reacting to and attempting to eradicate the poison." Harpus explains as she pushes the feathers back.
Akane frowns. "This is a rather extreme reaction."
"I also have a cold."
"Ah."
Harpus picks the bottle of wine back up and takes another sip from the bottle. "It is not a deadly poison so I will survive…it does hurt, though." she says and makes a point of taking a long drink of wine. She coughs and continues, "When the poison is gone from my system, the ozone will clear, and everything affected by the ozone will also heal. That should resolve the…'suspicious activity' in the area." Harpus explains.
Neil frowns thoughtfully.
The front of the cave is relatively dry but the further inside the group of four gets, the more the condensation from the stalactites on the ceiling starts dripping down on them. The signs of human activity decrease the farther they get into the cave. Eventually, there's no sign at all. It's almost as if something made them turn back.
"So the others turned back because they recognized that the ozone was harmful?" Neil wonders out loud.
Akane stares at the harpy suspiciously. "You said you were attacked?" she asks. "By who?"
Harpus looks down, a pained, sad look on her face.
Lower Path
"Oh! Emile!" Novem gasps. "Do you hear that?"
Emile gives him a look. "Obviously not, I'm human-"
"Allegedly."
"Shut up."
Novem hops off of Emile's head, landing in front of him and sniffing the air. "It sounds like rushing water. Can waterfalls exist in caves?" he asks.
Emile shrugs. "It's uncommon but it can happen. Let's keep going."
The pair of them continue walking and eventually, Emile starts to hear the sound of rushing water too. The path also begins to get bright enough for Emile to expel his Elysian Magic and use the natural light to find his way. Eventually, the humidity begins to fade and it's replaced with an off-putting smell…something akin to rotting meat.
The boys reach the light source illuminating their path and the waterfall they deduced was present. The waterfall has small patches of grass surrounding its plunge pool.
And in the middle of it…
Upper Path
"...I do not know." Harpus says eventually. "It was…evil." she shivers. "It all happened so fast. I was separated from my sister. She told me to flee when she saw I was injured and said to wait here - that she would hold off the thing that attacked us. She said she would find me. But she…" the harpy trails off.
Akane and Neil exchange an empathetic look. "She hasn't come back." Akane finishes.
Harpus shakes her head. "Could you help me look for her? If she is alive, bring her back to me. If she's not…please let me know." she says. "I'm sorry to lay this on you...but please consider my request."
Lower Path
"It's a harpy…" Emile frowns thoughtfully. "What's it doing in a cave?" he wonders out loud. He feels Novem nudge his leg and he looks down to see the creature holding a thin blood-stained book between his teeth. Emile bends down and takes it from him, "What's this…?" he mutters and starts flipping through the book.
"Read it out loud!" Novem says, glancing concernedly at the unmoving harpy.
Emile clears his throat and starts skimming through the book flipping through it for any interesting or useful information. "'Oh no! Harpus' human instrument is broken. I somehow damaged it when I was packing up to get moving again. Gotta get it repaired before she chews me out'...'We had to ditch some of our treasures to make travel easier. Harpus was not pleased but it's for the best. Once we find a new home, I'll go back and try to find them for her'..." Emile frowns again, glancing at the harpy. "This has to belong to the harpy," he muses. "Siblings? What happened to the other one?"
Novem sits himself between Emile's legs, his tails swinging anxiously and brushing against Emile's ankles. "What happened to that one?"
Emile grimaces when he reaches a section of the journal covered in blood, making the entries illegible. When he reaches the next legible entry, the handwriting is shaky. "'There is something evil in this cave. Harpus and I can't stay here. Come morning, we will depart and set out again'..." he reads. Emile sighs and closes the journal. "That 'evil' must have found them." he says and sets the journal down.
"The harpy doesn't seem to be bleeding, though." Novem notes, noticing the clear water around the harpy.
Emile kicks his shoes off and wades into the water to pull the unmoving harpy to dry ground. "Maybe she hit her head or something…or she was beaten badly." he says when he reaches the harpy and gets a clearer view of the dark bruises littering her body. "I've never seen a yellow harpy before…" he mutters as he pulls the creature to shore and turns her over onto her back.
Novem's ears shrink back. "Is she dead?" he asks bluntly.
Emile presses his fingers against the harpy's neck, checking for a pulse. "I-"
"GRAAAAAAAAAA!"
Emile and Novem whip around to see a giant, slobbering wolf-like creature with thick dark purple liquid dripping from its bared teeth. Its gray fur is matted with blood and its eyes are yellow, pupil-less orbs.
"I think we found what kind of 'evil' happened to the harpy." Emile says with a gulp. "Or, well, it found us." he says, taking a fighting stance.
Novem runs and cowers behind Emile. "No duh, Captain Obvious! Kill it!"
PF x SS x AH
A/N surprise bitch
(the bitch is me this time i didn't realize how long it's been since i updated mb)