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"

8. Elysian Garden, Part 2

Elysium was a massive landmass, much larger than any of Alrest's Titans had been at the time of the Cataclysm. It was so large Nia couldn't see the edge of it even from this high up. It seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, only the slight curve of its coastline even hinting that it might have an end. As a show of neutrality, the Coalition was building its new capital on that endless new land, rather than on any member's Titan. Right at the edge of the wildlands, the untamed jungle that claimed Elysium's interior.

As they flew in on Azurda's back, the city beneath them was a flurry of activity. Half of the workers on the various construction efforts around the city were Blade Bots, working alongside humans and Nopon to erect all manner of buildings, from homes to restaurants to factories. In the middle of the city, cradled in the nexus point for all that activity, was their destination. The seat of the Coalition government. The council's chambers were in the middle of the complex, while the various embassies branched out radially from them, forming a large ring. Azurda ignored the Gardens' section, since it was never permanently staffed, and touched down directly in front of the council's chambers. Nia, Zeke, Dromarch, and Pandoria all climbed off.

"Thanks for the ride," Nia said, patting Azurda on the leg.

"If I didn't know better," Zeke said, "I'd say you enjoy ferrying people around."

"It keeps me in shape," Azurda replied. "Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to being this big. They've got a special entrance for me, but it's somewhat cumbersome. I'll see you four inside."

As he took off, the four of them began walking toward the council's chambers. A battalion of soldiers were keeping watch, and Nia could see a few of the Drivers under Mòrag's command patrolling the grounds. The man waiting for them at the entrance didn't look like security, though. He wore a scale-patterned robe customary for Urayan nobility, and he didn't have a Blade with him. Zeke's face went pale as he noticed the man.

"Well," he said, coughing. "I should probably go check in on my replacement, see how she's handling things. I'll meet you all inside."

"Zeke," Nia said, glaring at him with her arms crossed. "What's this about?"

"Nothing! I was just thinking it'd be a nice courtesy, y'know?"

"Pandoria?"

"He's embarrassed," she said. "Prince—"

Zeke threw his arms up frantically and almost reached out to clap a hand over Pandoria's mouth. He caught himself, though, and after a moment he slumped over and let his hands drop to his sides.

"Prince Baeldurk is my ex," he muttered, nodding over to the man standing outside the doors.

Nia didn't really know what to do with that information. Zeke's ex? As in his ex-boyfriend? Ex-lover? Ex-husband?

Probably not that last one. Still, it was strange to hear regardless. She didn't think he'd be interested in someone like the Urayan Prince. The man was tall, thin, and haughty, with short hair cropped up to a point and more makeup on than Sheba usually wore. Was that really what he was into? It seemed almost… Disappointing, somehow.

"Oh, come on," Nia said, realizing she'd been silent for a while. "So he's your ex. Big deal. We're about to have a meeting to determine the future of Elysium, and you're here worrying about running into an old flame?"

"Old flame is pushing it," Zeke said. "We dated for a couple of months while I was hiding from my dad. Things went fine until…" He paused. "I'd rather not talk about it. We didn't part amicably, I'll say that."

"Tough. I need backup in there, and you are not leaving me out to dry. Come on."

She grabbed his hand and began dragging him toward the door, Pandoria helping to push from behind. He tried to fight them, which drew the prince's attention, and the moment he noticed the prince was watching him flail around, Zeke stopped resisting and came quietly.

"Your Highness," Nia said, bowing. Zeke mumbled something indistinct and bowed as well.

"Prince Ozychlyrus," Prince Baeldurk said. "Or, well I guess I shouldn't call you that anymore. You're no longer a prince, after all."

"It's Zeke," he said, somewhat more confidently. "I told you never to call me by my full name."

"You also told me I was the only one you had eyes for. And yet here you are, traipsing around with this…" He narrowed his eyes at Nia. "Whoever she is. Your taste in women seems to have only worsened since we last met."

Alright. Nia had thought that, as Zeke's ex, they'd get along swimmingly. One more person to join the "make fun of Zeke" gang. But she'd just met this guy, and already he'd managed to get on her bad side. Her first instinct was to slap him around a little to teach him some respect, but after a moment, she got a better idea.

"My name is Nia," she said. "Head Caretaker of the Gardens. You might know me better as the Banshee Queen, perhaps?"

Some of the color drained from his face as she said that. Good. The, to further the damage, she hooked her arm through Zeke's, clinging onto it like they were lovers. He glanced down at her, confused for a moment, but she glanced up at him, trying to wordlessly communicate her idea, and he seemed to understand. It was working, too. The prince was clearly bothered. Jealous, even. Served him right.

"How do you know Zeke?" she asked, startling the prince slightly. "He never talks about his past."

"We were… familiar," the prince said, narrowing his eyes at Zeke. "He stayed in Uraya for some months after his exile from Tantal. My mother thought of using him as a political pawn against King Eulogimenos. He proved to be a severe disappointment in that regard."

"My dad kicked me out," Zeke said. "I really don't know what the Queen expected."

"She expected you to act in a manner becoming your station. A word of advice, Banshee Queen. He may say all manner of things, but he will leave you the moment it becomes convenient."

"Thanks for the warning," Nia said. She lanced her fingers through Zeke's and smiled. "But I've managed to hold him down so far."

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a good long while," Zeke said.

"Excellent," the prince said, mustering up as much venom as he could. "I wish you both the best."

"Oh, she is."

Nia's heart raced a little with that compliment. She hadn't been expecting him to take it quite that far. Still, he was committed to the part, and she wasn't going to leave him out to dry. She managed to give the prince a knowing wink, and his face curled up in a grimace.

"Are you waiting for someone?" she asked.

"Mother has yet to arrive," the prince said. "It would be unbecoming for me to enter ahead of Her Highness."

"In this heat?" Zeke asked. "That sounds horrible."

"Well, dear," Nia said, tugging Zeke along. "I know you'd like to stay and catch up, but we really should be heading inside." She smiled at the prince. "Give the Queen our best, will you?"

"I will," the prince said through grit teeth. Nia and Zeke both bowed and headed inside. Zeke held the door open for Pandoria and Dromarch, maintaining a jovial smile.

The room they entered was full of people, mostly staff, heading every which way. They managed to keep their composure in front of the public and make it into another room. The moment they were out of sight, however, they burst out laughing.

"Nia," Zeke wheezed, leaning against the wall. "You're a genius!"

It took Nia a moment to get enough composure to respond. "It was a spur of the moment thing. Your ex is an ass."

"Tell me about it," he groaned. "He was so nice when we first met, too."

"Are you going to fill me in here? Seems like a pretty good story."

"It's a great one," Pandoria said. "When we first got to Uraya, my prince—"

"Thank you, Pandy," Zeke said. "But if someone's got to tell the story, it might as well be me." He took a moment to straighten up and compose himself. "Bael and I met after the Queen took me in. I made an ass of myself at the banquet that night, as I often do, but while the Queen was aghast, he thought it was funny. We got to talking after the party and really hit it off. In terms of what I'm attracted to in men, he ticked most of my boxes too. Funny, assertive, adventurous. Without even really talking about it, we started seeing each other. Then after a couple of months I caught him sleeping with one of the cooks."

"Wow," Nia said. "He made it sound like you were the one who slept around."

"Well, I… may have taken the whole incident as a personal challenge and seduced his sister."

"You what!?" Nia shouted. Zeke winced.

"I was just trying to get some payback! Tit for tat, you know? I didn't expect he'd send his mom's mercenaries to kill me."

"You're leaving out the best part!" Pandoria protested.

"We'll get to that later," Nia said, glancing around. The room was empty, but they still needed act a little more professional while they were here. "We're here on business, remember?"

"Right," Zeke said. "The summit. I'd forgotten about that."

"We should be going," Dromarch said, nudging the door open.

"Right," Nia said. "Come on, then. This can't be any harder than facing down your ex."

"For me, certainly, but I could feel you enjoying yourself back there. I don't think you're going to have quite so much fun with this."

"Well, that's why you're here."

"Excuse me," one of the staff members said. He was sharply dressed, holding a clipboard in one hand and tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. "Are you the Gardens delegation?"

"Most of it," Nia said. "Our council representative is a Titan, so he's taking the long way."

"Of course. If you'll follow me, I'll take you there now."

Rather than head for the council chambers, the attendant took them to a much larger room. It was shaped like an ellipse, with two podiums taking center stage in the middle. The floors sloped up and away from the chamber's floor, with seats forming rows that wrapped around the chamber. Likely, this would be where the Coalition parliament would meet for their sessions, whenever the council figured out how it was going to be structured.

Delegations from various nations were already present and sat in groups of seats around the chamber. Councilman Robalt sat in the middle of a gaggle of Ardainian senators between the podiums, and Niranira sat with a handful of Nopon to his right. On his left, Chairwoman Moui sat with a group of Gormotti Chieftains and former Republic representatives that Nia vaguely recognized. She hadn't spoken with the council's Chairwoman in over a decade, but they'd been acquainted before the invasion through her old Driver. Her "father", as it were. Nia hoped Moui didn't bear her any grudge for the destruction of White Chair.

To the left of the Gormott delegation was Tantal, and in true Tantalese fashion, they seemed to have sent the bare minimum number of delegates. Nia only recognized one of them, the former king's pale-faced assistant. He whispered into the ear of the woman in the middle, who must have been the newly elected Chancellor. Her dress was formal to a fault, far too layered for the heat this close to the wildlands, but it didn't seem like it was getting to her. The third delegate was a timid woman with glasses that sat behind the other two.

"That's my cousin," Zeke whispered, pointing at the woman with the glasses as they passed beneath the Tantalese delegation. "Astelle. She's KOS-MOS's Driver, believe it or not."

"I believe it," Nia said. Now that Zeke mentioned it, she could feel a slight resonance from the woman.

"I've no idea why Chancellor Diarkis chose to replace me with another member of the royal family. Or why she kept Fortis on board."

"Fortis and Astelle were useful around the palace," Pandoria said. "Neither were very public figures either. And, unlike you, they didn't get exiled twice."

"Twice?" Nia asked.

"Story for another time," Zeke said.

The staff member leading the way stopped at a group of seats next to the Tantalese delegation and motioned for them to seat themselves. It took Dromarch some effort to get around the desks in front of each seat, and he eventually settled on stretching out across two behind Nia. She sat in the middle, with Pandoria and Zeke on either side of her, and she glanced up to see Azurda's head dangling from a skylight in the ceiling.

Nia took a moment to evaluate the rest of the delegates. To her left were a group of six or so individuals wearing matching black suits and green armbands. Their faces were covered with masks, all stylized slightly differently, but their necks were exposed, and she could tell by their gills that they were from Duthract. Representatives of the People's Liberation Movement, most likely. The one standing at their head was an aging woman with yellow fins along her arms who held herself with the confidence of a soldier. The last time Nia had seen her was back during her days in the Gormotti rebellion, when they'd briefly considered joining the PLM against the empire. Back then, she was known as Rosa the Spartan. Now, she was Duthract's new Secretary General.

To their left was a mixed group of Nopon and humans. Their skin ranged from ashen to a reddish-brown color, and their ears jutted out in sharp points. Spessians. The Nopon must have been from the guilds that had allied with them. They'd been quiet since the Garfont Mercenaries caught their poachers. Nothing to indicate they were preparing for war, anyway. But she still didn't trust them. And she especially didn't trust the man leading the delegation: Navaris Coreial, Spessia's Minister Diplomatic. According to Zeke, he'd led their failed kidnapping attempt. She definitely needed to keep an eye on him.

Past the Spessians was a lone Sthenosi man with a permanent scowl. Small antlers grew from his forehead, and fur covered most of his body. According to Adenine they had some shared ancestry with the Gormotti, like the Spessians had with Judicium and Indol. They were supposedly one of the least densely populated Titans, but sending only a single delegate felt strange. Were they not interested? Or was something else going on?

Nia's thoughts were interrupted when a group of Indoline monks stepped into the room. All conversation around the room died as they were sat to the right of the Nopon Trade Guilds. It was strange enough to see members of the Praetorium still wearing Indoline uniforms. She thought the new Praetorium was trying to distance itself from imagery that could tie it back to Praetor Amalthus. Even stranger, however, was that their leader was a Blade.

She wore a Praetorium warrior-monk's clothing, but Nia could feel her resonance. And she could make out the glow of a Core Crystal beneath her clothing. It was circular, with a slice removed from the top where the folds of her garment parted to reveal the white armor of her normal body underneath. She didn't appear to have a Driver, and Nia didn't know what to make of it. The leader of the Praetorians was a Blade? Why? After everything Praetor Amalthus had done to their kind, why would a Blade still express loyalty to him? Even Adenine had sworn the man off, and he'd been her Driver. Nia decided she'd have a talk with this Blade later and sort this mess out.

The last group of delegates to arrive were the Urayans, led by Queen Raqura. They took their seat between Mor Ardain and the Nopon Guilds. Prince Baeldurk and Councilman Floren sat on either side of the Queen, and the other delegates fanned out behind her. They seemed to be a group of well-to-do nobles or mercenaries. Knowing Uraya, they were probably both. That Floren was still the kingdom's Coalition representative gave Nia hope they'd be civil during the summit. They shared a common interest as Blades, after all, and he'd expressed interest in the Gardens in the past. But the look on Queen Raqura's face didn't inspire confidence.

"Oh, hey," Zeke said. "Cordelia's here too."

"Who?" Nia asked.

"Princess Cordelia," Pandoria noted, pointing at the woman sitting behind Prince Baeldurk. "To this day, my prince's most famous one-night stand."

"More like infamous," Zeke said. "She's the one who got me kicked out of Fonsa Myma."

"From the story you told, it sounded more like your fault," Nia said.

"Yes, well. You know what I mean." He coughed and glanced around. "Are Leftheria not sending a delegation?"

Nia rolled her eyes. He wasn't subtle about changing the topic. She'd have to follow up with Pandoria later for more details, apparently. Still, it was an interesting question.

"Technically," Azurda said, stretching his head down and keeping his voice as low as possible, "The Praetorians are Leftheria's delegation."

"That's grim."

"It's not a great sign," Nia said. "But I'll reserve judgement on them until I hear what they have to say for themselves."

"You're not going to get a very coherent statement from them." Zeke pointed at the Blade leading them. "Their leader Jibril is a fanatic. She's led the Praetorium's military order, the Children of Humility, since long before I wound up there. I thought Amalthus was her Driver, but apparently not."

"That's a shame. I was hoping to speak with her, Blade to Blade."

"You can try." Zeke shrugged. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"More people," Pandoria said as the doors opened again. General Reez and Mòrag entered, Bladeless, and took up positions on either side of the room. Zeke waved at her, and she gave them a small nod. Some of Mòrag's men, a few mercenaries from Garfont, and a handful of what appeared to be Spessian infantry entered through the side entrances as well, fanning out along the back walls.

A moment later, Niall and Rex entered, seemingly still in conversation.

Nia had to check to make sure she hadn't been mistaken. Rex? What was he doing here? He skirted around the edge of the room and took a seat between Nia and the delegates from the Duthrish rebellion. Zeke waved at him too, and he waved back. He wasn't wearing the Aegis Core around his neck, but he was still recognizable enough that the tone of the room's conversation changed. The Praetorians especially seemed unhappy. Their leader stood as Niall stepped up to one of the podiums.

"Heretic!" she shouted. "Why have you sullied this meeting with his presence?" She pointed at Rex, who looked somewhat confused.

"Forgive me, Abbess," Niall said. "But I fail to understand your grievance."

"He is the Destroyer! The one who slew the Praetor and cut down the World Tree. His presence is an insult to all Praetorians who have kept their faith in these unholy times."

"I got volunteered," Rex said. "Your abbey doesn't control the whole Leftherian Ridge, so the rest of us need some representation. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only Leftherian most of you know."

"Silence your damnable tongue!"

"Technically," Zeke said, speaking up so the rest of the room could hear him. "The Aegis cut down the World Tree."

"Petty words from an apostate who consorts with Cannibals. Is it not true that the Destroyer was also responsible for killing both Aegises?"

"Where'd you get that idea?" Rex asked.

"You wear her corpse as a trophy, murderer."

"I caution civility, Abbess," Niall said. "We are here to communicate, not to spark further conflict."

"There will be no communication with an unholy abomination."

"Clearly," Rex said. He stood up and walked to the nearest exit. "It looks like I'm just getting in the way, so I'll leave. Catch me up later, Niall."

"As you wish," Niall said. He waited for Jibril to take her seat and the murmur of conversation to die down before continuing. "Thank you all for coming. I know it was a long journey for many of you, but I'm grateful you all could make it to the first of what I hope will be a regular event. The world has changed a great deal in these past few years, but if we are not careful, we will find ourselves repeating past mistakes. I believe your attendance here is a powerful indicator that you don't wish for that any more than I do."

"Assuming we can all agree on what those mistakes were," Rosa said, drawing a lot of eyes to the Duthrish delegation.

"I believe we will. After all, we all share a common goal."

"Preventing war, I take it," Queen Raqura said. "A lofty goal, Emperor Niall, but I am not confident everyone present shares it."

"That bold accusation," Niranira said. "Or would be, were it more specific."

"It's no secret the Gardens have become the new center of Blade activity," Queen Raqura continued. "With Indol gone, many assumed Core Crystals would see wider distribution, but the Gardens and their Caretakers have seen fit to horde Blades for themselves."

"Blades aren't things to be hoarded," Zeke said.

"Definitionally, they are weapons."

"They have weapons. They are people."

"Their personhood is of little consequence, unfortunately. The Gardens have amassed military power that far surpasses any other nation. Surely I am not the only one concerned at such an uneven distribution of power."

"The Blades under our care are not warriors," Nia said. "They simply wish to live their lives in peace."

"Yet you attack my borders and imprison my citizens."

The room's tone shifted at that. The other Coalition delegates seemed alarmed, but the news didn't shock the Spessian representatives much. Nia groaned, sinking down in her chair slightly. This was what she'd been afraid of.

"We didn't attack your borders," she said. "A group of Urayan mercenaries attacked ours. We responded appropriately and within the confines of the Elysian Treaty."

"An Urayan citizen came to your country to reclaim his Blades, and you imprisoned him. I fail to see how this is not aggression on your part."

"We will release him when we he no longer poses a threat to his Blades. As it stands, however, he attempted to kidnap two of our citizens by force. We had to take measures."

"He has a right to those Blades. Uraya has a right to those Blades."

"Uraya has no such right," Chairwoman Moui said. "No nation does."

"Then will we continue to let the Gardens amass Blades until we have none left? We cannot let so much power be concentrated in the hands of so few. The Gardens' Blades should be distributed evenly among the Coalition nations to ensure one cannot dominate the others."

"You have no right," Nia said.

"You claim you wish to distribute power evenly," Rosa said. "Yet your only wish is to control Blades. And to ensure that power remains with your Coalition."

"These Blades are Coalition assets," the Queen said. "If Duthract were to join the Coalition, you would naturally receive an equal share to accompany your seat on the council."

"They aren't assets," Zeke said. "They're people. How would you like it if I proposed we forcibly resettle all of your citizens in other nations?"

"That is hardly a comparable proposal. Urayan citizens aren't an endemic threat to Coalition security."

"The Gardens are a Coalition member state," Chairwoman Moui said. "Considering a team of Urayan mercenaries assaulted their borders two days ago, I'd say Urayan citizens are more of a threat to Coalition security than Blades who want to be left alone."

"We're not resettling Blades," Nia said. "That's preposterous. Blades come to the Gardens for their own security. For peace of mind. I won't violate that."

"That doesn't change the amount of power you hold," the Tantalese Chancellor said. "I am loath to side with a monarch, but we have no assurance you won't leverage that power in the future."

"We don't even have a standing army. The whole complex is maintained by a handful of dedicated volunteers, but beyond that there is no formal organization. No structure. It's a place where Blades are free to do as they wish. Asking them to fight on our behalf would be a violation of everything the Gardens stand for. Everything I stand for."

"I hope you understand I will need more than your word."

"That's…" Nia floundered for a moment. She didn't know how to respond.

"What assurance do we have that Tantal won't attack us?" Zeke asked. "Or Uraya?"

"We are Coalition member states," Queen Raqura said. "We would not attack our allies unprovoked."

"And that doesn't apply to us?"

Neither Queen Raqura nor the Tantalese Chancellor had a response. Zeke smirked and flashed Nia a thumbs up. She'd forgotten that he was used to this kind of environment. Her old Driver had been a politician, but she'd always hated it. She still hated it. It was nice to have someone by her side who could navigate these waters.

"We won't be resettling the Gardens' citizens," Chairwoman Moui said. "If anyone wants to keep pressing the issue and get told no in a more formal context, they are welcome to do so through the proper representatives at a council meeting. Not here."

"Is there any more laundry the Coalition wishes to air?" one of the other Duthrish representatives asked. Nia couldn't tell which one, though. The masks made it hard to gauge who was speaking.

"Nothing comes to mind," Councilman Robalt said.

"The purpose of this summit was to ease tensions," Niall said. "The Coalition has its growing pains, but those problems pose very little threat to the peace we've established over the last few years. Our relations with outside parties, however, are of greater concern. Would any of the non-Coalition representatives wish to speak?"

"You claim you are concerned about outside parties," Minister Coreial said. "But your Coalition has already begun carving the world up into fiefdoms, heedless of the needs of the rest of us. Your council should already be aware of the Spessian Federation's stance on this imperialist expansion."

"Maybe you'd like to explain why you poached our Titans, then?" Zeke asked.

"As we explained to the Coalition at the time, those were deserters working under a known anti-Ardainian terrorist. We don't know their motives, but they were not acting on behalf of the Federation or its interests."

"Right." Zeke nodded. "But our people haven't walked into your territory to kidnap anyone. So maybe you'll forgive me if I seem a little confused when you start throwing around words like imperialist."

Neither of them brought up that Zeke had gone to Spessia only a few days ago in order to keep this guy from making moves against the Gardens. Or that he'd tried to kidnap Zeke as part of some convoluted political scheme. It made sense, though. Neither of them stood to gain from exposing that particular series of blunders.

"You have claimed far more land than any other nation and kept strict control of your borders," the Minister said. "What can we call this if not imperialist?"

"We closed the borders after your deserters attacked Coalition citizens," Chairwoman Moui said. "If you want someone to blame, blame them. We're only trying to protect our people."

"We tolerated your border before," Rosa said. "But it has encroached on our sovereign territory and denied the people their right to that land."

"Do you have a solution?" Councilman Robalt asked. "We need that land as much as you do, and we can't risk more terrorist actions within our borders."

"You could pull your borders back. That would solve the problem."

"Mor Ardain's Titan is dead. The other nations still have living Titans, they still have their old lands, but we've been forced to resettle our whole population. None of this, mind you, mentions our energy needs. We've just about run through our collective supply of Core Chips, and without a reliable alternative, our energy grid is unstable. Wind and solar power are slowly filling in the gaps, but they require vast amounts of land to scale. We could have avoided much of this issue had Duthract simply agreed to join the Coalition."

"Your expansion is driven by your greed, not your needs. Your desire for capital, and your inability to oppose those who horde it. We will not let Duthract's resources be exploited by that greed a second time."

"Duthract and Krustalos are the world's last viable sources of Core Chips. If you want to keep them all to yourselves, so be it, but you lose the right to complain when we're forced to turn to less ideal solutions."

"Your way of life was unsustainable before the Cataclysm. It was only propped up by constant warfare and slaughter. How long will it be, I wonder, before Mor Ardain convinces the Coalition to back an invasion?"

"Gormott will not sanction any invasions," Chairwoman Moui said.

"For now, perhaps. But in twenty years, when the scars of Mor Ardain's occupation have faded and your rampant consumption destroys the lands you currently occupy? We do not trust that the Republic of Gormott will remain so committed to peace."

"We aren't going to make much progress without some measure of trust."

"Capital cannot be negotiated with. Our purpose here is not to work with the Coalition. We seek concessions. Material assurance of Duthract's continued independence."

"I don't know what we can give you that we haven't already," Councilor Robalt said. "We've respected your borders, withdrawn our troops, and recognized your new autonomy. What more do you want?"

"Withdraw. Forsake your claims on the land that encroach on Duthract's sovereign borders. Then we will recognize your efforts as genuine."

"No," Chancellor Diarkis said.

"As was expected."

"The other nations are surrounded by vast amounts of uninhabited land, but Tantal, Uraya, and Mor Ardain all landed practically on top of one another. We had to expand out to avoid infighting. Mor Ardain needed land for its population, Tantal needed land for our farms, the Gardens needed to be isolated to accomplish their goal, and on and on it goes. We need that land. I hate to encroach on territory near your Titan, but unless you want us to annex Leftheria, we don't have a choice."

"We could dissolve our borders," Nia suggested. "Abandon the idea of Coalition member states altogether and simply have one, united nation."

"It's a nice idea," Councilor Robalt said. "But Uraya and Mor Ardain spent two centuries at each other's throats. That hatred won't disappear overnight."

"I don't think you're giving your citizens enough credit."

"I'm just saying it's a longer-term prospect. Not something relevant to the current issues."

"The borders don't matter," the Sthenosi representative said. "The land itself matters more than anything. Your Coalition's actions are not sustainable. Your expansion is not sustainable. Even if you conquer the rest of the nations, it will be only a few short generations before the resources run dry again. If this is not averted, Sthenos will take steps to protect itself."

"How do you expect us to survive without expanding?" Councilor Robalt asked. "Do you expect us to just pack up and climb back onto our Titans? You'd be asking Mor Ardain to cull its own population to meet your goals."

"Take whatever actions you deem necessary, but if you do nothing, there will be consequences."

"Are you threatening us? I should warn you, if you go to war with the Coalition, you'll lose."

"Sthenos is acquainted with loss. It is what gives our people strength. Can you say the same? Your armies are full of flimsy men that rely on Drivers and Blades to fight their battles for them. We Sthenosi are accustomed to dealing with Blades."

"Surely compromise can be reached," Niall said.

"There is no compromise with imperialists," Rosa said.

"Do you intend to ally with Sthenos in this matter?"

"We share common interests. Nothing more."

"We aren't imperialists, Rosa," Nia insisted. "You should know me better than that."

"I recognize very little of what you have become, Butcher," Rosa said. "Once, you were a pillar of revolution against our common oppressors. It is painful to see you reduced to their lapdog."

"I am no one's dog," Nia said.

"Yet you leap to your masters' defense all the same. This meeting was called and coerced through imperial power."

"None of us were coerced into attending. The Coalition has its problems, sure, but we can work to overcome them. If we start trying to kill each other now, we'll undo years of progress."

"Duthract's only progress has been against imperial interests. So long as your Coalition harbors imperialists and capitalists within its ranks, the Concordant Republic of Duthract will consider it a threat to the march of the revolution. War is the next logical step. If you wish to avoid such an outcome, then you must grant the concessions we have outlined."

"We aren't your enemies. In fact, many of the Blades I look after share your values. They want a world without nations or borders, where all people can be free. But bloodshed won't get us there, it'll only make things worse. The Cataclysm, as horrible as it was, gave us—"

"As beautiful as it was," Jibril said. Nia's words died in her throat, and she turned to stare at the Praetorians. She wasn't sure how to respond. She knew they were still loyal to Amalthus, but was it really possible they'd defend the Cataclysm?

"Four million people died," Zeke said.

"Four million souls sent to join the Architect beyond death. In the true Elysium. I would not expect an apostate to understand."

Alright. Nia could put up with a lot, but this particular brand of Praetorium fanaticism seemed hell-bent on spitting in the face of everything she was trying to accomplish. Everything she had already accomplished. She wasn't going to let them continue.

"I used to believe in Elysium too," Nia said, standing up. "Despite everything your Praetorium did to me, I still believed. But I was there when the Aegis Driver opened its gates. Elysium was empty. Nothing but dust and forgotten memories, and the Architect wasn't much better. An old man, clinging to the past, unwilling to move beyond his failures. If you're still looking to them to save you, then so be it, but don't drag the rest of us down with you."

"Blasphemer!" Jibril shrieked, leaping to her feet. In an instant, she manifested a pair of fans and leveled them at Nia. "I will cut that unholy tongue from your head!"

"Better people than you have tried," Zeke said. "Better people than you have failed."

"Abbess," Niall said, stepping in front of Jibril. "We had an agreement. You swore to me you would remain civil during the proceedings."

"Mortal agreements mean little in the face of such insult to the Architect's name," she hissed. "Move aside, or I will consider you an enemy of the Architect as well."

A burst of flame shot across the room, slamming into Jibril. In an instant, Mòrag was standing over her, one sword pressed against her Core Crystal, the other keeping the crowd of monks back.

"I would not advise such a thing," Mòrag growled. Jibril glared at her, but for the moment remained still.

"There's no need for violence," Niall said. "We can resolve this peacefully."

"Praetorium dogs will not listen to reason," the Sthenosi representative said. "Kill her and be done with it."

"Only if she makes me," Mòrag said.

"Then let me do it. Allow me to take the lives of these Praetorians, and the chieftains' stance will undoubtedly soften. Give us this, and perhaps compromise could be reached."

For several long moments, no one spoke. Councilor Robalt stood up and walked over to the Gormotti delegation, speaking with the Chairwoman in frantic whispers. After a moment, Chancellor Diarkis joined them. That didn't feel right to Nia. Jibril may have tried to kill her, but retaliating to placate another nation's bloodlust was wrong. They were supposed to be better than that.

"No," Nia said, crossing the room to where Mòrag was holding Jibril. "The Praetorium controlled Alrest for five hundred years. They pitted nations against each other, stoked conflict across the world, and kept Blades in bondage to satisfy the need for weapons. They decided who lived, who died, who could be free, and who was enslaved. I won't allow the Coalition to do the same." She looked back at the non-Coalition delegates. "You all despised the Praetorium, probably a lot more than I did. But we don't gain anything by stooping to their level. We can't become them. I implore you to reconsider your offers and cooperate with us in these matters. Because as long as you continue to seek conflict, to squander our second chance, you'll be carrying on the Praetorium's legacy better than any of these misguided people ever could."

The Sthenosi man looked about ready to explode at her, but none of the delegates spoke. Just as well. She'd said what she needed to say. If they weren't going to listen to her, there wasn't anything else she could do. She left the room before she got to see how things played out. She'd had about as much of that nonsense as she could take.

---

It took a while for the Praetorians to settle down, but eventually they relented. Niall had to convince the Sthenosi delegate to stop calling for blood, however, and that seemed to be taking even longer. While the other delegates waited for the summit to resume, Azurda leaned his head down next to Zeke.

"You should go," he said, his voice as quiet as possible.

"I promised Nia I'd see this summit through," Zeke replied. "She needs someone by her side with enough political acumen not to do exactly what she just did."

"I thought it was a rather touching speech, all things considered."

"It was good oration, sure, but it didn't make us any friends. Except maybe with Chairwoman Moui, but we were already in her good books. The Sthenosi delegate's going to be seeing red for a week after that, and the Duthrish won't take kindly to anyone accusing them of betraying their revolution."

"A rather astute analysis."

"I've been around. She picked a hell of a time to walk off, too. Spessia are standing with members from four Nopon Trade Guilds, meaning we've had another break ranks. The Nardron Guild, by the looks of it. If they don't pull something today, it'll be a small miracle."

"I've been around too," Azurda said, laughing. "I've seen kingdoms rise and fall more than once in my time. I think I can keep pace with some Spessians for a few hours."

"But—"

"You came here to support my lady, correct?" Domarch asked. "Then go support her. Azurda and I will more than suffice here."

"I…" Zeke sighed. He couldn't really argue. Instead, he took the opportunity to leave while the room was still focused on Niall attempting to ease tensions. With a wave to Mòrag and a salute for Dromarch and Azurda, he slipped out the back.

"Where are we going?" Pandoria asked, closing the door behind them.

"We find Nia," he said. "She can't have gone far. I don't imagine she'll be in a very good mood, but that's what we're here for."

"Right."

Ironically, as they walked through the halls, Zeke noticed the sound of her laughing. Not the mood he'd been expecting. If she was doing fine, then he didn't have much reason to ditch the summit. Still, he didn't want to deal with the craven animals in that room any more than she did, he was just better at it. He followed the sound until they reached a nearby empty room.

Nia was sitting inside, across a table from Rex. Zeke nearly ran to wrap the man in a hug, but something stopped him. He hadn't heard Nia laugh this loud in a long time. The drinking contest, the chase through Temperantia, pretending to be a couple to piss of Prince Baeldurk… Every time they'd done something to unwind, her enjoyment felt forced. Like she was only doing it for his sake. Here, though, she was laughing without a care in the world. She sounded like her old self again. For a long, dreadful moment, Zeke felt intense anger. He was furious at Rex for getting that kind of a reaction out of her so casually when he'd been trying for days to get her to let her hair down.

A moment later, he felt like an idiot. Why would he be mad at Rex? The man was pretty much his best friend, and it was good that Nia wasn't tearing the walls up. It didn't matter that he hadn't been the one to do it. Right? He had his pride as the Zekeinator, but that pride wasn't more important than his friendship with Rex. Something was clearly up.

"Pandy," Zeke whispered, ducking into the hallway in a flash. "Code green."

"Which one was green again?" Pandoria asked.

"I told you to memorize the codes!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low.

"We left the last copy in Indol, it's not like I can go get another!"

"Fine," he muttered. "Green means we have a potential Crone on the scene."

"A Crone, eh? Been a while since we've seen something that insidious. Maybe the Sthenosi delegate brought one with him. What's tipped you off?"

"Invasive thought. For a moment there, it felt like I might hurt Rex."

"They can't make thoughts come from nowhere. I need more specifics."

"I felt angry. I bust my ass for a week trying to get Nia to lighten up, and he manages it in less than ten minutes. It's almost insulting, frankly."

"I see," Pandoria nodded. "I can shock you if you think you're compromised, but I'm not sure we're dealing with a Crone."

"What else would it be?"

"Initial impressions? You're jealous."

"Jealous? Of Rex?" It took all his effort not to laugh at that. "You've got to be kidding. The kid's got style, but it's not my style."

"And yet it bothered you that he's on better terms with Nia."

"Nia and I are great friends," Zeke scoffed. "Why else would she have brought me?"

"You invited yourself," Pandoria pointed out.

"That's not the point," Zeke said. "I'm not the jealous type. This is very atypical behavior for me."

"Sure."

"Laugh all you want, but if there's a Crone on the loose, then—"

"Are you two going to stand out here all day?" Rex asked, poking his head through the door. "Or are you coming in?"

"We just wanted to let you two lovebirds have some space," Zeke said. He didn't betray any hint of the possible situation they were in. No sense in getting everyone in a panic before Pandy could find the thing.

"Piss off!" Nia shouted. "And get your ass in here!"

"Do it," Zeke muttered. Pandoria sighed.

She slapped him on the chest the moment Rex pulled his head back inside, sending the most powerful current that she could manage through his body. His muscles convulsed, briefly, but the Core Crystal in his chest kept his heart from giving out. If there was a Crone on the loose, the jolt should have scrambled whatever she might have done to his brain. Luckily, Blades weren't susceptible to their mental tricks in the same way, so Pandy didn't need to shock herself. And it had only been one passing thought. For the moment, he'd leave things to her. He still had to check in on Nia, after all.

"Lovebirds," Nia scoffed as Zeke entered the room. "I swear. He's my Driver, you titanic moron. That's just gross, not to mention immature."

"I'm glad to see you're back to your old self," Zeke said, sitting down next to her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You've been so serious lately. It's been freaking me out a little. I'd almost think a Crone had gotten to you."

"Running a Blade refuge tends to have that effect."

"What the hell's a Crone?" Rex asked.

"Well…" Pandoria said, looking between Zeke and Nia. She tapped the side of her nose once and winked at him. He hated when she got like this. She probably wouldn't let this jealously nonsense go for weeks. "I'll go take care of that other issue. You three have fun, now."

"See you," Rex said, sitting back down.

"What was that about?" Nia asked.

"There a chance a Crone is on the premises," Zeke said. "Pandy's going to flush it out."

"Fine, don't tell me."

"What's a Crone?" Rex asked again.

"A Sthenosi mystic," Zeke said. "They're human, but they've perfected the art of unaided ether manipulation. They're so good they can even manipulate your thoughts, to a degree."

"Right…" Nia nodded. "Of course."

"Never take a Crone lightly," Zeke said, frowning.

"You're serious."

"I'm always serious."

"Perfect," Rex said. "I come all the way out here, the Praetorians scream at me until I leave, and now someone might be poking around in my head? I figured I'd be done with people invading my thoughts after Pyra blew up the Architect."

"Pandy'll let us know when it's safe to move again. We can't fight one until we know where it is."

"Doesn't she need backup?"

"Crones can't control Blades. The cores are too complex. Pandy's pretty much immune to whatever they might throw at her, short of manifesting their own ether attacks. And she can deal with those too. If we try to back her up, we'd just be getting in her way. Once the barrier's been erected, the Crone will manifest, and we'll be able to kill it."

"You know what?" Nia said. "You do you. Let us know if you need any help."

"Oh come on," Rex said. "You're not excited to exchange blows with a Sthenosi Crone?"

"Assuming there is one? No."

"Would Zeke lie?" Rex asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"I can see you, y'know," Zeke said.

"Sorry." Rex put his hands up in defeat. "I've missed you guys, really. We should meet up more often, once things have calmed down a bit."

"I still can't believe any of that happened," Nia said. "I mean, the Duthrish are seriously considering going to war. They witnessed the Cataclysm's devastation firsthand. Why can't they see a war would be just more of the same?"

"Not everyone saw what we saw," Zeke said. "For most people, the Cataclysm was a tragedy, but that's all it was. Humans are quick to move past tragedy."

"One man decided he knew better than the rest of us and was willing to kill to defend that belief. Millions died because of his blind hate. They should be able to see that's a dangerous path to start down."

"They will," Rex said. "I think most people already have. Mor Ardain and Uraya have a truce now. Gormott is free. The Gardens exist. The world's changed a great deal. It's still changing."

"Well, the more things change…" Zeke sighed. "I don't think everyone's going to let go of the past so easily. War's been a part of how society functioned for thousands of years. Since before Judicium first started colonizing other Titans, even. It'll be hard for some to let go of."

"Don't be such a pessimist."

"Realist," Zeke corrected him. Nia snorted, and he did his best to ignore her.

"I've had enough politics for one day," Rex groaned. "Let's talk about something else."

"I could regale you with the tales of my exploits thus far at the Gardens. The people have really taken a shine to me."

"Strix thinks you're a moron," Nia said.

"I'm not concerned about what mister 'liquid shadow' thinks about me. The rest of them love me. I've even begun teaching a student."

"A student?" Rex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's helping one of our newest Blades get her ether under control," Nia said. "He's doing better than I thought he would, honestly."

"See?" Zeke asked. "I keep telling you to stop doubting me."

"Her Core Crystal was damaged sometime in the past," Nia continued. "According to Adenine, a good chunk of it was destroyed in the same way Dromarch's core was. But somehow, she recovered. I'd like to figure out how."

"Planning on using Electra in your freaky science experiments?" Zeke asked, grinning. "She might be your Blade, but she's also my student, so I'll warn you now that if you want to dissect her, you'll need to go through me first."

"I'm not going to dissect her," Nia replied. She didn't look amused. "Honestly, do you ever turn off?"

"Don't get your jumper in a twist," Zeke said, putting his hands up. "It was just a joke."

"Dromarch," Rex said, staring at Zeke pointedly. Right. Nia still wanted to restore his old memories. Suddenly, Zeke felt like the world's biggest idiot. More so than usual, anyway.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry," Nia said. "You'd need to do a lot worse to get on my bad side."

"You sure? So if, for instance, I started bragging about our drinking contest? That wouldn't bother you?"

"What do you get to brag about? You lost, remember?"

"As I recall, you claimed it was a tie."

"That was to spare your feelings."

"A likely story," Zeke smirked. "You just don't want to admit you couldn't take down the Zekeinator."

"We could always have a rematch, you know."

"Since when do you drink?" Rex asked.

"Since last week," Nia said. "Zeke was talking big, so I figured someone had to put him in his place."

"Which you failed to do," Zeke said. "Publicly and spectacularly, might I add."

"You are so dead when we get home," Nia said, a grin spreading across her face.

"You know, I was worried," Rex said. "I thought for sure you two would have killed each other by now."

"It's all good fun," Zeke huffed. "Nia would've probably gone insane by now if I wasn't around to keep her grounded."

"I was doing just fine before you joined," Nia said.

"Those bags under your eyes every morning constitute doing 'just fine', do they?"

Suddenly, Nia stopped smiling. She fell quiet and looked away, and for a long moment no one spoke. Rex was stifling a laugh, but Zeke just felt a pit in his stomach. Why had he said that? Even Nia had to care about her appearance at least a little. He was trying to say he was worried about her, but it obviously had come across poorly.

"Nia, I didn't mean to…" He couldn't find the words. "Sorry."

"I didn't think they were noticeable," she said, still looking away. "I'm sure I erased them every morning."

"Well, not every morning," Zeke said. "You didn't do anything about them after that night we spent in the infirmary."

Nia's face reddened at the mention of that, which confused Zeke. Nothing had really happened that night. Was Nia that embarrassed about being called out?

"I didn't want anyone to worry," she said, her voice small.

"Because that worked out so well for you in the Spirit Crucible," Rex said. She glared at him.

"You can rely on us, you know," Zeke said. "Well, me more than Rex, but that isn't really his fault."

"I have enough people relying on me anyway," Rex said. "Adding any more would be too exhausting. By all means, you take this one."

"I'm fine," Nia insisted. "Just a little tired. Running the Gardens is hard work."

"It sure seems like it."

"If you want me to worry less," Zeke said, "Get more sleep. Pandoria's worried too. Everyone is, to some degree. Mikhail won't say it, but I think the reason he works so hard is to try to take some of the pressure off you."

"I'm flattered," Nia said. "Really. But I'm fine. There are more important things to worry about than my sleep schedule."

"You're our friend. How are we supposed to not worry?"

"If you trusted me to hold off Aion, you can trust that I'm telling the truth."

"Fine, you're right." Zeke conceded defeat. "But if you ever need anything, you know I'm here to help."

"It might take me some time to show up," Rex said. "But I've got your back too."

"Reassuring," Nia said. "Except that's already your job, Zeke."

"Then I'll be sure to work extra hard," he said.

"You?" Rex asked. "Working? Color me surprised."

"And what is that supposed to mean? I worked for the Praetorium for years before I met you, and I busted my ass tracking you halfway across Alrest. I'm even the one who came up with the brilliant plan to kill Aion!"

"Which didn't work," Nia pointed out.

"It would have totally worked! Rex just finished his fight first."

"From what Pandoria's told me," Rex said, "Most of your duties as Special Envoy amounted to sitting around and having fireside chats with the Praetor. I wouldn't call that much of a work ethic."

"That woman," Zeke groaned. "Is she determined to ruin me? I'll have you know we did loads more than that. We fought terrorists and Blade poachers and all other manner of awful groups."

"I think she's just excited to have other people to talk to," Nia said. "Bumming around with you for the better part of a decade gave her way too many stories and not enough people to tell them to."

"And yet she never tells the really good ones. Like the time we single-handedly defeated the Crone of Aingrom."

"Isn't Aingrom in Sthenos?" Rex asked.

"Yes," Zeke replied. "Heart of the Sthenosi swampland. Pandy and I spent some time there a few years back."

"How do you even know that?" Nia asked, staring at Rex.

"I lived in Argentum for a long time," he said. "I used to pay the merchants for lessons when I had enough pocket change. Helped me stay educated, considering I stopped going to school when I was twelve."

"Sounds delightful," Zeke said. "My father kept me in a boarding school until I was sixteen. I would've killed to give that place the slip four years early."

"It's not as glamorous as it seems. Corinne's been trying to get me to go back, now that I'm home, but I don't know how I feel about going to class with a bunch of twelve-year-olds."

"I'd pay to see that. You, crammed into a tiny desk, surrounded by children."

"Sounds awful," Nia said.

"Did you ever go to school?" Zeke asked. "I know you lived the high life like me, but—"

"My Driver gave all his attention to his daughter. My 'sister'. He got a private tutor for her, and I sat in sometimes, but I was never really noticed around the house. So long as I kept quiet anyway."

"Sounds awful."

"Nia was nice to me though."

"Wait, hold up," Zeke said. "Nia? Aren't you Nia?"

"Did you…" Nia looked at Zeke incredulously. "You know I'm the Banshee Queen, right? Clíodhna the Banshee Queen?"

"That's your actual name!? I figured it was just a title or something!"

"It was my name, before I became a Flesh Eater. After eating Nia, though, I felt responsible for carrying her with me. Hence, my new name."

"Wow…" Zeke stared at her for a moment. She ate her sister? Zeke knew something had gone down, but she'd only ever shared all the details with Rex before. And he hadn't wanted to bother her about it if she wasn't comfortable sharing, even if he was curious.

"You don't need to keep holding onto your past," Rex said.

"I know," Nia said. "But the name's grown on me, now. And it's what you guys know me by. I'd hate to change it now, after everything we went through."

"Well, I like Nia better anyway," Zeke said. "Feels a lot less stuffy."

"I like it too," Nia said. "I've been—"

Suddenly, she stopped, snapping her head around to stare at the door. It was sudden enough that it startled Rex. Zeke was caught off guard as well, but he didn't let that show. He glanced at the door, then back at Nia. He tried to ask what was wrong, but she put a hand up, cutting him off before he could even form the words.

"These Crones," she said, keeping her voice low. "Does the ether behave weirdly around them?"

"As far as I know," Zeke said. "I've only met two, so I can't speak for all of them, but—"

Nia lashed out, striking the door with a tendril of water, and there was a shriek from the other side as it flew off its hinges. A loud, shrill noise that Zeke recognized all too well. The scream of a Crone.

Immediately, he drew his sword and leapt through the door, swinging in the direction he'd heard the sound come from. He had a rudimentary grasp of ether flow, and now that he was closer, he could tell something strange was occurring in that direction. They could trick his eyes, which is why they normally needed an ether barrier to fight one, but apparently they couldn't trick his Core Crystal.

He swung his sword down, trying to cleave through the ether distortion. Something caught his sword as he swung it, however, and he could make out the old, withered fingers of the Crone grasping the edge of his weapon. It hadn't blocked with ether, which meant they could hit it. Theoretically.

As the Crone tried to move back, Rex drove Nia's sword at it. It blocked the strike with another limb, but water rushed around the blade, throwing the Crone back. There was a shrill cackling sound as it got to its feet, the illusion of invisibility slipping momentarily, and Zeke could see it standing in the hallway in all its grotesque glory.

Looking at it now, he hesitated to call it human. It looked almost like a withered old woman, but the proportions were all wrong. The limbs were too long, the torso too compact, the head simultaneously too thin in some places and too wide in others. Moss hung off the thing, covering most of its body, but its face was left exposed, and its crooked smile nearly turned his limbs to ice. These things scared him more than Aion had.

"I take it this is a Crone," Rex said, shifting the sword to his other hand and drawing a scythe from his belt.

"I don't know it's region, but yes. This is a Crone."

"It?"

"Crones consider themselves part of the landscape of whichever region of Sthenos they originate from. Supposedly, they're so in tune with nature and the ether they lose most of what makes them human."

"Great," Nia said, stepping into the hallway. Zeke felt immediate relief that he had some backup. Even more relieved that it was Nia and Rex, two of the most capable fighters he knew. "Of all the wild claims you make, this had to be the one that turns out to be true?"

"Everything I say is the truth!" Zeke protested. "More or less, anyway."

"Heads up!" Rex shouted, drawing their attention. The Crone started moving, practically falling toward them as its invisibility returned. The effect wasn't perfect, however, as Zeke could still make out a faint shimmer where its illusion didn't agree with reality. He turned his sword and planted it in the ground just before a blast of ether rolled over them. The flat of his weapon blocked the worst of it.

After the blast subsided, Rex stepped out from behind the sword and whistled. He lunged, driving the sword toward where the Crone had been, and something deflected it. Nia flooded the hallway with water a moment later, knocking the Crone off her feet.

Zeke rushed forward again, swinging up to strike the Crone from underneath as it fell, and it managed to twist away and avoid his attack at the last second. Moments later, Rex drove the sword at it from the other side, trapping it between two weapons. For a moment, Zeke thought they had it, but before they could land a hit, the monster drove them back with a pulse of ether and slithered away.

Rex kept his eye on the ripples it made in the water, while Zeke tracked its distortion in the surrounding ether.

Nia raised a pair of tendrils from the water, trying to wrap them around the Crone, but it managed to slip free before she could get a grip. That did give Zeke an opening, though, and he fired his blade at it while it repositioned, striking it somewhere around its torso. Electricity crackled along the sword, running through the Crone before jumping out the far side. It seemed relatively unharmed, but he knew it had sustained some internal damage.

As it slithered away again, wind ripped through the hallway, throwing the Crone against the wall. Roc was close behind, wings scraping the walls as he blasted toward them. Rex tossed him one of the scythes, and he tried to drive it into the Crone. Unfortunately, it slipped past him, running a hand along his leg and tearing it open with a blast of ether.

Nia stepped forward, slipping around Zeke and wrapping Roc in a set of tendrils. She closed the wound almost immediately, and Roc managed to scramble back before the Crone could touch him again.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, flapping his wings to maintain a safe distance. They now had the Crone effectively boxed from three sides. "The ether flow around it's gone six different kinds of screwy."

"Sthenosi Crone," Zeke said. "It can freely manipulate ether particles, so be careful."

"This should be fun," Rex said, tossing Roc the other scythe and getting a better grip on his sword. "We've not had a chance to go all out in a while."

"Speak for yourself," Nia said. "Zeke and I had to deal with an attack just a few days ago."

"They barely even registered," Zeke said. "At least not compared to this thing."

"Can we focus?" Roc asked. "You three will have plenty of time to pal around later."

"Right," Nia said. "Zeke, you—"

A jolt of electricity shot out from the Crone, traveling across the water in an instant. Nia barely managed to react in time, splitting the water and keeping the electricity from striking Rex. It changed course in a flash, however, and leapt straight for her. She didn't have time to act, but Zeke did. He pushed her aside and took the full blast to his chest.

He laughed as the electricity danced across his skin. It didn't pose any more danger to him than Pandy's shocks did. The same couldn't be said for the Crone, however. He aimed the handle of his sword at the creature and responded with some electricity of his own. It expelled a large wave of raw ether to keep the blast from striking home, and Roc forced another pulse of wind down the hallway in an attempt to disperse the ether before it could repurpose it. They weren't really doing much damage, but so long as they could keep it occupied like this, it wouldn't be able to do anything truly threatening.

Zeke and Rex charged it simultaneously as the wind died down. Rex came at it from above, while Zeke slipped the handle back into the blade of his sword and swung from below. The Crone caught both weapons, and immediately Roc drove a scythe into its back. He managed to break its skin, but in response, ether began pouring out of the wound. The Crone's grip on their weapons tightened, and it began to cackle.

"Back!" Rex shouted, jumping back. Despite the warning, Zeke held his ground. He wasn't backing down from one of these things again.

The Crone tried raking its claw across Zeke's face, and he pivoted his sword, blocking the attack with the flat of the blade. The claw tore through his weapon, and he ducked, sweeping the Crone's legs out from under it. As it fell on top of him, he stood, hurling it up into the ceiling using his sword. The moment it touched the ceiling, the ether around it detonated, knocking Zeke to the ground.

The Crone scrambled through the hole it had just made, and Roc flew after it. Rex jumped up, grabbing one of Roc's feet as he flew past, but the rest of them couldn't follow as readily. Nia took a moment to clear the rubble around Zeke and offered him a hand.

"You good?" she asked.

"Always," he replied, taking her hand and pulling himself to his feet. He felt fine, more or less, but his sword wasn't in such great shape. The Crone had torn out a chunk from the middle, and the rest was splayed out to either side.

"I'll make it work," he said, shrugging. Nia rolled her eyes and wrapped a tendril around his chest. Almost effortlessly, she tossed him through the hole, and he grabbed part of the rubble to change directions and slide across the roof. Rex and Roc were taking turns swiping at the Crone further ahead, trying and failing to prevent it from fleeing. Zeke sprang up, transitioning from a slide to a run, and barreled toward them.

He swung his sword, slamming the broken section into the Crone like a hammer and knocking it clean across the roof. Roc used a blast of wind to knock it back to Rex before it could get its bearings again, but it coiled around and batted his sword aside before he could land a hit. Immediately it reached for his face, but Zeke knocked its arm up, just barely keeping it from getting a claw on him. Rex didn't even flinch, instead using the opening to drive his sword through its stomach. The Crone crumpled, and Roc descended to restrict its hands.

"Wait!" Zeke shouted. Roc stopped just short of touching it, and an instant later a wave of ether rippled out from it, knocking the three of them back. The Crone lurched to its feet, and in the blink of an eye, it stood over Zeke. He tried to swat it aside with his sword, but it knocked the weapon from his hand. Then it reached down and grabbed him by the neck, hoisting him up.

"Aingrom warned me about you," it hissed, looking him over. Its voice sounded like a swarm of insects all buzzing over each other. "The one who learned our tricks and lived. You weren't so hard to deal with."

"Funny," Zeke grunted. "The Crone of Aingrom said the same thing."

He kicked it in the chest and flicked his eyepatch up, exposing his Eye of Shining Justice. It sputtered to life in an instant, and he could feel it connect to the solidified cloud he kept in the lining of his jacket. Instantly it swept out, responding to his thoughts and forming a thin blade that sliced through the Crone's arms. They dangled useless by its side, and it tried to bite at him instead, but he immediately reconfigured the clouds for defense. Spikes erupted between him and it, stopping it just shy of biting his nose off. And before it could scramble over them, a bolt of lightning struck it from behind.

"Coming through!" Pandoria shouted, running along the roof while carrying Mòrag and Brighid on her back. As she closed the distance, she jumped, hurling her passengers forward like stones across a pond. They each wielded one of Brighid's swords, and they spun around each other as they descended, throwing out gouts of flame. The fire cut off its avenues of escape, and Zeke immediately brought the clouds up to trap its arms. As the pair reached it, the creature couldn't do anything but howl.

The pair separated slightly as they landed, enacting a move Zeke had never seen before but nevertheless seemed impeccably practiced. Brighid carved through its back, from shoulder to waist, and Mòrag cut its head clean off with one swing.

In response, the Crone's body began bubbling, and a moment later, it erupted in a massive explosion of ether. The blast was powerful enough to throw Mòrag and Brighid off the roof, but Nia managed to catch them with a mass of water. Somehow, even after detonating violently, the creature's body was still relatively intact.

"What was that for?" Zeke asked, motioning at the Crone's corpse.

"You're welcome," Mòrag said, stepping back onto the roof.

"Would it kill you to show a little gratitude?" Brighid asked. "We came as quick as we could."

"Yeah, and you pasted the damn thing all over the roof!" Zeke exclaimed. "Icould have done that when this all started, but I figured we might as well get some information from it first. Fat chance of that now, though."

"You're using the Eye," Mòrag noted. "I don't think this was an enemy we were ever going to handle cleanly."

"Ignore him," Rex said, getting to his feet with help from Roc. "We were struggling to put a dent in that thing."

"Are you that out of practice? For shame, Rex. I expect better from the Aegis's Driver."

"I keep in shape." Rex turned the Crone's body over with his foot and motioned to its burned stump of a neck. "But I don't have a fire Blade anymore, and I think that was the clincher. It had very Blade-like regeneration, but I don't think it can heal burns."

"What is this… thing?" Brighid asked.

"A Sthenosi Crone," Zeke said, tossing the sword to Pandoria as she caught up.

"How did you manage to mess her up this bad?" she muttered, running her hand along it.

"Sthenos sent this thing?" Mòrag asked.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Nia said. "It might have just tagged along for the ride. It didn't seem like the most reasonable thing to begin with."

"Crones are extensions of Sthenos," Pandoria said. "Quite literally, in fact. They're human hosts that integrate with the Titan's ether stream. Whatever it was doing here, it was acting on the Titan's behalf."

"Troublesome," Mòrag muttered. "We should make sure the Sthenosi delegate hasn't fled."

"I can take care of that," Brighid said. "You shouldn't put too much stress on your arm."

"I'm fine."

"Of course," Brighid said. "But only one of us needs to go. You should stay."

"I suppose," Mòrag sighed.

"I'll fly you," Roc offered. "It'll be faster that way."

"Thank you," Brighig said. She offered her arm, and he picked her up, taking her back to the summit chamber.

"Still can't slow down?" Nia asked.

"I'm trying," Mòrag said. "Or I had been, before Niall dragged me into this mess."

"You could always say no," Rex said.

"And miss all the goings on? I don't think so. Even if Niall didn't need me here, there's too much happening for me to simply sit still."

"Right," Zeke nodded. "Sure. I believe you."

Idly, Pandoria smacked him on the back of the head.

"What was that for!?" he shouted.

"Breaking my sword," she replied, still breaking it down to repair the broken sections.

"I realize I am not often honest with myself," Mòrag said. "But this summit does concern me. Too much hostility and power concentrated in one place. It makes me think of the summit Amalthus called after we destroyed that Titan weapon in Temperantia."

"I agree," Nia said. "The whole thing reeks. I know Niall's trying his best, but after everything I saw in there, I can't help but feel this'll do more harm than good."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Your speech helped, I think. Duthract have agreed to a treaty. The Coalition will be clearly outlining our borders, and in exchange we're getting a shipment of Core Chips. Duthract wants to send in inspectors to make sure we're using them 'appropriately', but it's progress."

"You hear that?" Zeke asked, clapping Nia on the shoulder. "Maybe you are cut out for this after all."

She glared at him, and swiftly he retracted his hand. After a moment, she broke out laughing, and it was his turn to glare at her.

"It's good to see you two doing well," Mòrag said. "If we're going to continue, though, I'd rather not do it next to this thing."

"Yeah, we should probably tell someone about this," Rex said.

"I can have my men clean it up."

"Is the summit still going on?" Nia asked.

"Dromarch and Azurda have that handled," Zeke said.

"I still feel like I should be there."

"They're in a recess anyway," Mòrag said. "Tensions between Sthenos and the Praetorians were getting too heated, so they're reconvening tomorrow."

"So we've got the rest of the day off?" Zeke asked. "Sweet!"

"Like you weren't planning on ditching anyway," Nia said.

"Hey, I'm your backup today. I go where you go, even if that means back to that cesspit."

"If we're taking the day off, then might I suggest we visit a local café?" Mòrag asked. "I've been frequenting it lately, and I've become rather fond of it. I'd love to catch up over some tea."

"Sounds lovely," Rex said. "I'll have to let Roc know where we're headed, though. He gets antsy when I'm off by myself for too long."

"He should join us," Nia said. "Brighid too. I wouldn't want to leave anyone out."

The three of them started to climb back down the hole in the roof, but Pandoria grabbed Zeke's arm before he could follow.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"That Crone…" She glanced back at it. "The ether flow around that thing was ridiculous. Way different than the Crone of Aingrom."

"Crones are weird. What's your point?"

"I'm just saying, I think I would have noticed that thing if we'd run into it earlier. I'm fairly sure it didn't have a chance to influence you any."

"Nonsense," Zeke said. "How do you explain my sudden desire to harm Rex, then?"

She stared at him and raised a single eyebrow. Internally, he groaned. She wasn't going to let this 'jealousy' business go, apparently.

"Don't you start," he said. "Zeke von Genbu doesn't get jealous."

"Right," Pandoria said, nodding. She handed him the sword. "And, completely unrelated to that, every second we spend here is another second Rex and Nia are together, probably laughing their heads off.

The image that conjured in Zeke's mind infuriated him, mostly because he knew Pandoria was only doing it to mess with him. But he wasn't about to be out done, even by the Aegis's Driver. With a hearty shout, he jumped down the hole and raced to catch up with the others as they went to get tea.

---

"Table for…" Mòrag glanced back at the group and counted. "Seven, maybe eight? Dromarch, do you need a seat, or—"

"I wouldn't be able to use one," he replied. "But I'd like a space at the table."

"Table for eight, seven chairs," Mòrag said, turning back to the waiter. "Sorry for the trouble."

"No trouble at all, ma'am," the waiter said. "We'll have that table ready in just a moment."

"Nice place," Zeke said, craning his head to look around the café. "Didn't know you were into places this classy."

"This may shock you, but the rest of us have interests that lie beyond your gauche nonsense."

"Hurtful."

"The decoration is rather upscale, though," Rex observed. "Is it going to be expensive?"

"You can take the boy out of Argentum…" Nia sighed.

"Hey, we don't use Coalition dollars in Fonsett. I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment."

"We are too," Zeke said, glancing at Nia. "The Gardens don't use currency at all."

"People aren't taking Ardainian gold anymore?" Nia asked.

"Some places will take it in a pinch, but everyone's trying to move away from old currency. Too many bad associations. It can't help that most of it's stamped with the Praetorium wings on one side."

"Huh…" Nia thought for a moment. "I guess that makes the four of us flat broke, then."

"I'll cover the bill," Mòrag said. "It was my idea, after all."

"A dangerous proposition," Pandoria noted.

"Mòrag's paying?" Zeke asked. His mouth twisted into a vulpine grin. "Pandy, we're eating like royalty today."

"Oh no…" Brighid sighed.

"Just be glad Tora isn't with us," Rex said. "He'd eat you out of house and home."

"Tora wasn't that bad," Roc insisted.

"I saw him eat a whole armu once," Nia said. "Took him six hours, but he was dedicated."

"Well, I'm glad I missed that."

"When was that?" Dromarch asked. "I feel like I should remember something like that."

"Just after Jin took Pyra," Nia said. "He ordered everything on the inn's menu to cope with the stress."

"Hm." Dromarch frowned. "I don't recall, unfortunately."

"You're not missing much," Zeke said, leaning against a nearby railing. "Honestly, that was two days of pure torture, waiting for Rex to wake up."

"I just hate still having gaps."

"We'll have another session when we get back," Nia said, stroking his fur.

"I'd suggest keeping a journal," Brighid said. "They certainly come in handy in situations like this."

"A fine idea," Dromarch said. "Though I may have to have it dictated."

"I'd like every Blade to have a journal, ideally," Nia said. "Something to keep our memories in."

"Most of those won't last long," Roc said. "Blades too often lead chaotic lives."

"We just need something more permanent, then. Like a vault for memories. I'm hoping to get something similar up and running in the Gardens eventually."

"Ambitious," Mòrag noted. "Though I can't say I'm surprised. It's good that you've gotten the Gardens up and running in such a short span of time."

"It hasn't been easy. But I think it's been worth it."

"At least until you collapse from exhaustion," Zeke said.

"Are we really back on this?"

"Collapse from exhaustion?" Brighid asked. She laughed. "In my long history as a Blade, Nia is one of three that have managed to defeat me in battle. At White Chair, we fought for two days until my Driver's heart gave out. I don't think she knows how to get tired."

"Thank you," Nia said. "What does it take to get that kind of confidence from the rest of you?"

"Alright," Zeke said, throwing his hands up. "I was just joking."

"You're always joking," Mòrag said. Zeke frowned at her, and Nia had to suppress the urge to laugh. She'd seen his 'frustrated' face so many times, but it never failed to put her in a good mood. At this point, it was an involuntary reaction.

She felt happy that the others cared, but she hated worrying people. And she could take care of herself just fine. If the choice was between Zeke's needless worry or Brighid's startling confidence, she'd rather people give her the latter. She couldn't afford days off either way, so why should everyone waste time telling her to?

"Excuse me," the waiter said, leaning out the door. "Miss Ladair? Your table is ready."

"Excellent," Mòrag said, striding inside. She hung her hat on a rack by the door and followed the waiter to a large table in the corner.

"Are we allowed inside with these?" Rex asked, holding up his scythes.

"You're Drivers," the waiter said, laying out menus for everyone. "And you're friends of Miss Ladair. I trust you won't have cause to use them."

"You're a regular?" Zeke asked, ribbing Mòrag. "The ruthless Flamebringer takes time out of her schedule for tea?"

"Twice a week," she replied, sitting down. She didn't bother opening the menu. "I'll have my usual."

"Yes ma'am," the waiter said. "Will the rest of you need a moment?"

"Yeah," Zeke said, sitting down next to Mòrag. Nia sat on his other side. "It'll take me a minute to find the most expensive stuff."

"And now suddenly I regret my offer," Mòrag said. "How surprising."

"Hey!" Pandoria shouted, glaring at Zeke. "Where am I sitting?"

"Oh, I…" Zeke looked around. "I guess I'd just assumed you'd take Nia's."

"I can move," Nia said, standing up.

"No, it's fine," Mòrag said. "I don't think I want to be sitting next to him anyway."

"Hey!" Zeke shouted. "I'll have you know I'm a right gentleman."

"Then I'm sure you won't take advantage of my generosity," Mòrag said, smirking. Zeke opened his mouth to say something but didn't have a reply.

People shuffled around, Pandoria took Mòrag's seat, and Dromarch settled next to Nia. She glanced around and realized that all the Blades had chosen to sit next to their Drivers. Was that a coincidence, or just another way that Blades seemed to behave around their Drivers?

It made Nia wonder how much of any Blade's decisions were influenced by their Drivers. Did Dromarch only want to recover his memories because she wanted him to? Was it possible for a Driver to involuntarily influence their Blade on that level? If it was, did worrying about it even make sense?

"Nia?" Zeke asked, glancing up at her from his menu. "Are you ordering anything?"

"Yeah." She picked up her menu and began to thumb through it. Truth be told, she wasn't very hungry, but it was a good excuse to spend time with her friends. One menu item did catch her eye, though. Paratha. She used to eat mountains of the stuff with her old Driver, and it had ages since she'd last had any.

"I see a distinct lack of fish," Dromarch noted, nosing through his own menu. "I wonder if they have any other meat dishes available."

"It's a café," Zeke said. "Odds are against you there."

"Nice pastry selection, though," Roc commented. "I'll need to tell Gorg about this place."

"You keep in contact?" Brighid asked.

"I try. Even if I only knew them for a short time, all of the Garfont Mercenaries still think of me as their leader's Blade. I'm sure they'd love to have us join up, Rex."

"If only," Rex groaned. "Corinne would skin me alive if I took up Driver work again. I'm not sure what she wants from me, though. I don't have many other options."

"Looking for work?" Pandoria asked.

"The Cataclysm left a lot of wreckage around the Leftherian Ridge, but I've picked most of it clean at this point. Unless I want to take up farming, I need to start looking further afield."

"You could always join Tora's workshop," Brighid offered. "I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to bring you on board."

"I can't leave Fonsett, Auntie Corinne'd have a heart attack. Trips like this are cutting it close as is."

"That's a shame. The work they've been doing on the next generation of Artificial Blades has been fascinating."

"Well…" Rex thought for a moment. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to run it by her."

"She'll say no," Roc said. "She always does."

"I won't know until I try."

"You could always sneak away from home again," Zeke offered. "It seemed to work for you last time."

"Corinne would shoot me before I made it two steps out the door."

"Shoot you?" Nia asked. "She's the sweetest woman I've ever met. Since when does she own a gun?"

"One hunting shotgun," Roc said, listing the weapons off. "Two ranier model revolvers. One very old bolt-action carbine. A standard issue Ardainian steam rifle. And—this one still gets me—a Duthrish PK93 kitted out with a kickstand and a thousand ped telescopic sight."

"Fonsett's pretty far away from civilization," Zeke said. "I'm not really surprised. You probably get all kinds of animals that need chasing off."

"She owns a steam rifle?" Mòrag asked. "Those are only issued to Ardainian infantry."

"It's the sniper rifle that really throws me," Roc continued. "It's practically a work of art. Perfect condition, too. How did a woman like her get her hands on a gun like that?"

"Your aunt was in the military?" Zeke asked. "And you never told me?"

"You're overthinking it," Rex said. "She probably got it all from Frantias. He's sorta the local junk dealer."

"I don't know," Pandoria said. "That many guns? She's got to have some kind of history."

"Well, hell if I know what it is. She doesn't talk about herself much, and I'm not about to pry."

"Excuse me," the waiter said. "Are you all ready to order?"

"Gormotti Honeytea," Brighid said. "And some Thawing Mille-Feuille."

"I'll have the Honeytea as well," Nia said. "And some Cream Orange Paratha. Are you getting anything Dromarch?"

"Come back to me," he said, still flipping through the menu.

"What's a Love Source?" Zeke asked, glancing up from the menu.

"It's a popular item among couples," the waiter said. "Drinking one with the person you love is said to guarantee a lifetime of happiness."

"It's expensive. I'll take it." Zeke handed over his menu. "And some Snow Dumplings."

"Who are you going to share it with?" Pandoria asked.

"Myself, obviously. If I'm paying for the whole beverage, I'm drinking the whole beverage."

"You're not paying for anything," Mòrag noted.

"Would you like to share, then?"

"Not on your life."

"That's what I thought."

"Ma'am?" the waiter asked, looking at Pandoria. "Your order?"

"Frozen Odifa for me," she said. "And some Snowflake Sherbet."

"Cherry Cheese Mousse," Roc said. "And nothing to drink for me."

"I'll just have some coffee," Rex said.

"What about you, sir?" the waiter asked, glancing down at Dromarch.

"I'll…" Dromarch furrowed his brow. Nia could see his hair standing on end. Something had agitated him. "I'll be fine."

"Of course." The waiter bent down and collected his menu. "Your orders will be right out."

"Thank you," Nia said, giving him a small wave as he walked off.

"Just coffee?" Zeke asked, staring at Rex. "Come on! Live a little! We've got to put Mòrag's paycheck to use somehow."

"Zeke, you used to write the Coalition's budget," Mòrag said. "You know how little they pay me."

"Yeah, but you own like two outfits, max, and maybe a set of weights. You've probably got cash bursting out your ears."

"It's better than buying crap you don't need," Rex said. "I'm not even hungry, why would I order any food?"

"To give it to me, obviously. Mòrag would've killed me if I'd ordered everything I wanted to get."

"Maybe next time you should order something you want to eat instead of tormenting Mòrag's wallet."

"You know…" Mòrag mused. "I could still make him pay for it."

"You wouldn't dare," Zeke said.

"Try me." She smirked, leaning back in her chair. Zeke returned the expression, and Nia could tell he was preparing another comeback. She felt a little jealous at that. It seemed like he spent half his time apologizing, lately, when all Nia wanted was for things to be like they used to. But the second Mòrag shows up, he's all cheeky grins and quippy lines. Maybe she had been working herself too hard. As nice as it was to know he was worried, she preferred him like this.

"Don't push it," Nia warned. "We're broke as is, remember? Or do you want to be washing dishes for the next week?"

"That'd be a sight to see," Mòrag said. "Thunderbolt Zeke washing dishes in a café."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Pandoria said.

"Is this a story we're allowed to hear?" Nia asked, looking at Zeke.

"Go for it," he sighed. "It's not like I can keep her from talking either way."

"Excellent." Pandoria clapped her hands together. "Back in the early days of my prince's exile, we were constantly harassed by Drivers looking to pick a fight. My brilliant plan to avoid them was to hide out in Osiria, since Nopon tend not to become Drivers. Right after we landed, though, a Nopon merchant scammed us out of most of our money. We spent a month flat broke, wandering from place to place, until my prince nearly collapsed in front of a diner."

"You seem to do that a lot," Rex noted.

"Spessia doesn't count," Zeke insisted. "No one told me about the fungal spores."

"The owner took pity on us and gave us some food," Pandoria continued. "But we only found out after we'd finished eating that he was a member of Larus Trade Guild, and he expected compensation. We had to work for over a week to pay off everything we owed."

"Sounds like the Guild," Nia said.

"He wasn't a bad fellow," Zeke said. "We stuck with him until the heat around me died down. Learned a lot about running a restaurant too."

"Does that mean you can cook?" Nia asked.

"Eh. I'm no Pyra, but I get by. How do you think Pandy and I survived so long on our own?"

"Sheer dumb luck?" Brighid offered.

"A lot happened to us before we met the Praetor," Pandoria said. "I wouldn't call any of it lucky. Not a lot went in our favor."

"And yet, we made it," Zeke said.

"Barely."

"Yes, granted, but look at it like this: Now, we're both immortal."

"Alright, that's a stretch," Rex said. "Even by your standards."

"Mikhail's been alive since the Aegis War. Why wouldn't the same thing apply to me and Pandy?"

"I… Hm. I never really thought about that before."

"It's one of the reasons I wanted him to come to the Gardens," Nia said. "Someone's going to need to keep the place running after I go."

"None of that," Zeke said. "Talking about work defeats the point of slacking off."

"Planning for your own death already?" Mòrag asked.

"Just in case," Nia said. "If Jin died, so can I."

"Oh please," Zeke sighed. "You're the Banshee Queen." He wiggled his fingers for full effect. "Even Aion couldn't put a scratch on you. What chance does old age have?"

"Let's talk about something else," Dromarch said. "I do not enjoy discussing my lady's passing."

"Is Tora in town?" Rex asked. "I wanted to swing by and catch up before I left."

"He's locked up in his workshop," Brighid said. "Niranira's leaning on him to have everything ready for the expedition."

"Expedition to where?" Zeke asked.

"We shouldn't say, really. The department and the Guild have been keeping it under wraps for a while now."

"Oh come on. We're all friends here, right?"

"I guess…" Brighid glanced around, making sure no one was listening. "Niranira wants to send salvagers to Morytha to see what they can dig up."

"Oh." Rex leaned forward. "Tora mentioned something like that last time, but he never gave me the specifics. How much are they paying?"

"It's still in the planning stage," Mòrag said. "A few people, myself included, think it's a dangerous idea. Even if we ignore the monsters, none of that area is structurally sound. Tora's developing some gear that should make the journey safer, but it's still incomplete."

"I've been wanting to go back to Morytha for a while now. Sounds like the perfect opportunity."

"You actually want to go back?" Nia asked. "To that hellhole? Are you crazy?"

"The place is fascinating. Think of what we could do if we could replicate even a tenth of their technology."

"There's no point bringing anything back if you get killed doing it."

"Roc's got my back. What is there to worry about?"

"Other than nearly immortal monstrosities the size of a small Titan?"

"We survived once," Roc said. "I think, with a little planning, it shouldn't be too dangerous. It'll be easier than fighting Malos, at least."

"Truth be told, they could use you," Mòrag said. "We've been having trouble finding Drivers for the security team. There's too much going on at home to send any of my men along."

"I guess I'll take what I can get, at this point," Rex said.

"What about Corinne?" Pandoria asked.

"Oh. Right." Rex frowned. "I'll figure that out."

The waiter returned, setting out some of the orders. The tea arrived first, but after a few minutes, everyone had their food too.

"Dumplings!" Zeke exclaimed. "Let's see if these things are worth the money."

He scarfed down four in short order, and Nia panicked. She'd meant to ask to try some, but he was already on the last one.

"Zeke," she said, a little more insistent than she'd meant to. He stopped.

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright?"

"Can I try one?"

"Oh." He looked between her and the dumpling. "Eh, what the hell? It's not like I paid for it."

He offered it out to her, and she tried to grab it, but he pulled it back before she could. A smile crept across his face.

"No no," he said. "I'll feed it to you."

Nia didn't know how to respond. Zeke was usually weird, but this felt weirder than usual. What was up with him?

For several seconds, everyone around the table just stared at him. Except Pandoria, who was trying to keep herself from giggling. Rex audibly slurped his coffee while they waited for his explanation.

"What?" Zeke asked. "I've only got the one pair of chopsticks, you know."

"That is…" Mòrag pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know what to say, really."

"Fine," Nia said. Two could play at that game. "Hit me."

They stared at each other, and Nia slowly opened her mouth. When he didn't do anything, she leaned forward to grab it with her teeth, and he dropped the dumpling on her plate.

"I swear…" he muttered, shaking his head. "You win. I can't go through with it with you staring at me like that."

"Thank you," Nia said, skewering the dumpling on her fork. It was a good dumpling, but she felt a little disappointed. She wanted to see him actually do it.

"Nerves of steel, this one," Zeke said, pointing his chopsticks at her. "Barely even flinched. I'm starting to think she's getting used to me."

"And here I thought Pandoria was the only one who knew how to handle you," Brighid said.

"It's a fine art," Pandoria managed, having calmed down from her laughing fit. "It takes many years of patience and dedication to master. But I think Nia's got the basics down."

"He's only got a few tricks," Nia said. "Once you get to know them, it's a lot easier to tell what he's going to do."

"I guess I need to start breaking out the advanced moves," Zeke said. He started rolling up one of his sleeves.

"Spare me," Mòrag groaned. "Please."

Just then, the door opened, and Aegaeon rushed in. He looked slightly out of breath.

"Mòrag!" he exclaimed. "There you are!"

"Aegaeon?" She put her tea down. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just check your beacon."

Mòrag fished around in her pocket for a small metal device. She flicked a switch on it, and it started buzzing. After a moment, it calmed down, but she was frowning.

"Brighid," she said. "Something's come up."

"No rest for the wicked," Brighid sighed. She downed the rest of her tea and handed her food to Roc. Mòrag pulled out her wallet and tossed it to Rex before they left.

"Don't lose it," she said. "Sorry I can't stay longer."

"Duty calls," he said. "I understand."

She nodded, and the three of them left the café without another word.

"Unfortunate," Dromarch said, watching them leave. "I was hoping we'd have more time to catch up."

"Well, we're here for at least another day," Nia said. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time."

"Great," Rex said, sinking back into his chair. "Do you think Niall will want me to attend tomorrow?"

"Depends on how things shake out with the Praetorians, I think," Zeke said. "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"I just feel like I barely know them," Dromarch said. "There are some vague impressions, and a few clear memories, but I get the sense we didn't speak much even before I lost my memory."

"You were both very focused," Nia said. "I got the sense you understood one another, but you're right that you didn't speak much. She and Brighid took a while to really open up, and Aegaeon hardly spoke at all. Even if your memory came back, I'm not sure how much it would help."

"It just means you've got to make new memories," Roc said. "With Aion destroyed and Amalthus dead, there isn't any rush to get things done anymore. Not like there used to be, anyway."

"I just hate being unable to contribute to the conversation," Dromarch said. "Every time you all meet up, it's like I only understand half of what's being said."

"You big lug," Pandoria said. She stood up and walked over to Dromarch, wrapping him in a hug. "If you're ever feeling lost, just ask me, okay? I'm an expert storyteller."

"Thank you, but it is nothing to trouble yourself over. I just wish to understand my lady's friends better."

"We're your friends too, idiot."

"I…" Dromarch stopped. "Thank you."

He lowered his head into Pandoria's lap, and she stroked his fur. Nia would have done it, but comfort from her wouldn't mean much to him. He was still attached to her so strongly, even after basically dying to protect her. He wanted so badly not to be a burden that if she expressed any worry, it'd only make things worse. Her other option was to suggest the surgery, but right now it was still in the theoretical stage. There was too much potential risk, and she didn't want to make things worse.

While she stewed, someone else came into the café, and Zeke tensed up. Very suddenly, he grabbed Nia's hand, startling her. A glance over her shoulder, however, told her what was going on. Prince Baeldurk had taken a seat nearby and was glaring daggers at Zeke. Time to resume the show.

"Something you two want to tell me?" Rex asked.

"I'll explain later," Nia said. Rex shrugged and took another sip of his coffee as he and Roc busied themselves with the food Brighid had given them.

Nia moved her chair closer to Zeke's, and he grabbed his drink. The love source. It had come in a tall novelty glass with a heart-shaped base, and the edge of the glass was lined with fluffy pink foam. The presentation was over the top, bordering on sappy, but it did make it obvious the drink was for couples. Zeke placed two straws in it, trying not to look at the prince, and angled one toward Nia.

"To our eternal love," Zeke said, flashing her a smile. She fought down the urge to roll her eyes and returned the smile, staring into his eye. She took a sip from one straw while Zeke drank from the other. It was overly sweet, but she didn't stop. They kept drinking and making eyes at one another until the whole thing was gone. By the time they finished, Prince Baeldurk had left in a huff.

"Impressive," Rex nodded. "You nearly made me walk out uncomfortable."

"Jealous, are we?" Zeke asked. Pandoria snorted.

"Pot, meet kettle," she said, leaning back to smirk at him. He did his best to ignore her.

"I'm just saying," Rex continued. "It's a bit much. At least try not to look like such a newly minted couple."

"The point was to be over the top," Zeke said. "Can't make my ex jealous otherwise."

"We might have dragged it out a tad long, though," Nia said. "That was way too much sugar for one drink."

"Oh." Rex furrowed his brow and looked between the two of them. "So you… Aren't dating?"

"Did we look that convincing?" Zeke asked. He poked Nia in the shoulder. "We're getting pretty good at this."

"Yeah," she muttered.

Why had Rex thought that? He had to know them better than to think they'd be an actual couple. Right? As she looked at Zeke, though, she thought back to lying in the infirmary bed, him idly scratching her ears. It had been… Weirdly nice to have someone that close, even unintentionally. And she could certainly do worse than—

No. Zeke was a friend. This was just some idle thought Rex had put in her head.

"Well," Rex said, standing up. "It looks like we're about done. I'll pay, then over to Tora's?"

"Sounds like a plan," Zeke said.

Dromarch stood and stretched for a moment before heading for the door.

"I'll wait outside," he said. Nia watched him leave, and she didn't know what to do. What could she do for him that wouldn't make things worse?

"Talk to him," Zeke said.

"I don't think that'll help," she said.

"It will. I think you're the person he wants to talk to the most. He's not comfortable opening up to any of us."

"I don't want to put pressure on him."

"Walking on eggshells about it isn't going to help. If you talk to him, at least you'll know what's wrong."

"Yeah," Nia sighed. "Maybe. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

"Go talk to him," Pandoria said. "We'll wait up."

"Thanks."

Nia stood and followed Dromarch outside. He was standing near the entrance, trying to stay out of people's way as they moved through the street. He raised his head as she plopped down next to him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"You tell me. You've been acting weird all day."

"Apologies, my lady, I just…" He didn't finish.

"It's nothing to apologize for. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I barely know the others. I remember Rex the clearest, I think, but even that recollection is fuzzy. It feels like a part of myself is missing. And every time I see them, that part hurts."

"I think I understand."

"If it were just that, I think I could cope. But I… I don't even know who I am. My opinions, my skills, my passions, I don't know any of it. I've got this massive hole in my head and I can't close it no matter how hard I try. I didn't even know what to order in the café because I don't know what kind of food I like."

"Dromarch…"

"I didn't want to bother you with any of this, but I… I don't know how long I can function. How am I supposed to protect you if I'm only half a person?"

"You're not half a person." Nia drew him into a hug. "No matter how much you remember, you'll always be my Dromarch, alright?"

"It's kind of you to say that. I wish I could believe you."

"Well, if it's bothering you so much, then let's do something about it."

"What can we do?"

"There's something Adenine and I haven't tried. Direct surgery on your Core Crystal. It'd be risky, but if we pull it off, it should restore a good chunk of your memory."

"I wouldn't want to impose on you like that, my lady."

"None of that. You're my oldest friend, Dromarch. The only family I have left. I'm going to take care of you, no matter what. Just say the word."

"I…" He paused, tears welling up in his eyes. But he didn't let himself cry. He never did. "Will need some time to think. But thank you. Truly. It means more than you know."

"I love you too." She stood up. "Now, are you feeling up for a visit to Tora's?"

"It couldn't hurt, I suppose."

As the two waited for the others to come outside, Nia felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She'd been worrying about Dromarch for a while now, with no clear path forward, but that was gone now. It was a long shot, and it would take a lot of work to get right, but she had a chance to fix him. She wasn't going to let it go to waste.