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"

11. Elysian Garden, Part 3

The spines and plates on Temperantia's back formed an almost crescent-shaped indent that the Gardens were nestled in. The only entrance was a small gap between two of the lower plates, inside of which sat the central courtyard and the Caretakers' quarters. New arrivals, a few Drivers, and their more eager Titan residents like Azurda lived there as well. But beyond the initial complex, the Gardens sprawled with little rhyme or reason.

Buildings were erected based largely on need. New housing went up as more people arrived, but most of the buildings were dedicated either to running the complex or furthering the restoration effort. Power stations, medical facilities, greenhouses, water purification, soil treatment, animal husbandry. Each had one or more dedicated specialists keeping everything running, and the rest of the Blades pitched in where they could. It was a community unlike any Zeke had ever seen.

Nestled in one corner, shaded by a large plate jutting out above it, was a public park. According to Mikhail, it had been the first big public works project they'd done, shortly after the first crop of new arrivals turned up. The place had trees, hiking trails, sports fields, the whole kit and kaboodle. It saw less use now that some life was returning to the rest of Temperantia, but it had everything they needed for training.

"Pull!" he shouted, throwing his hand down. Agate swung her axe, striking a series of crystals she'd set on a table and sending them flying out from the stands. Electra scrambled, trying to keep pace with the targets and strike them with lightning before they hit the ground. She did well, right up until one of her bolts misfired. It exploded in her face with a bang, and she hit the ground a moment before the two remaining crystals did.

Zeke almost ran out to check on her, but before he could, she was back on her feet again. To her credit, the kid was tough.

"Shoot!" she shouted, kicking one of the crystals. "I should've had that!"

"You got four!" Pandoria shouted back, swinging down from the fence. "That's already an improvement from your performance this morning!"

"Are we going again?" Agate asked. Zeke glanced at Electra and shook his head. The girl was right. Her control had improved dramatically, but if her concentration was slipping enough to let a misfire happen, then she was tapped out for the day.

"Thanks for doing this," he said, grabbing the table and flipping it up on one end. It only took him a moment to fold the legs in and heft it up under one arm. "It helps her to know other people care."

"Anything to help a fellow Blade," Agate said, putting her axe away. "And besides, Temperantia's in good health today. I didn't have much else to do."

"The big one not acting up today?"

"Eh." Agate waved her hand dismissively. "There isn't much more we can do about the Aegishammer now but wait. The wound's too old and too deep. Nia still thinks we can fix it, but I'm not optimistic."

"You'd be surprised at how well Nia can patch something up."

"When she's around, sure, she's a big help." Agate shrugged. "But she hasn't given the restoration efforts much time lately."

"She's got a lot on her plate. I can raise the issue with her, though, if you want."

"If you could convince her to spend more time helping us, that'd be fantastic. I know it'll mean the world to the rest of the team. Dahlia especially. But honestly, I'm not sure what she can do about the Aegishammer. The crater goes way beyond simple Titan scar tissue. It's… Well, it's basically glass. Azurda told me one of the Dark Aegis's most powerful retainers was slain there."

"Rhea," Zeke said. "I've heard the stories."

"We'd need to deconstruct it by hand, and that'd take months. Maybe years, depending on how tough it is to break up. And the stress wouldn't be good for Temperantia's health. The best we can do is keep the toxins out and keep it from getting worse."

"Don't sell yourself short," Zeke said. "You're a genius when it comes to Titans. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a solution."

"I wish I had some of that boundless optimism of yours," she sighed. "But thanks for the compliment. I'll do my best."

"It's what I'm good at." Zeke shrugged. He stretched out his hand, and Agate shook it. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get this back in the shed."

It took Zeke a moment to rack the table back up in the storage shed. It was a prefabricated model from Tantal that stuck out like a sore thumb amidst all the hand-constructed buildings in the rest of the community. But as good as Strix was, he couldn't make everything from scratch, and it had been easier to buy the shed and tables together than come up with their own solution. After things were properly put away, he headed for the field.

"Sensei!" Electra shouted, jumping up from where she'd been sitting next to Pandoria. "What gives!? I haven't managed to hit all six yet!"

"Precisely," Zeke said. "Your performance slipped on that last volley, so we're stopping for today."

"But—"

"You wouldn't have done better. You were already forgetting your breathing."

"I…" Electra stammered and looked around, as if she could find an excuse somewhere in the outfield to justify her performance.

"There's no shame in knowing your limits," Pandoria said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Indeed," Zeke huffed. "For that is the first step to overcoming them."

"I know my limits," Electra insisted. "It's the overcoming part I need to get around to."

"I admire that you push yourself so hard, Electra, but we have rules." Zeke put on his stern face. He hated doing it, but he didn't think she'd get the message any other way. "Electricity is dangerous, and if you don't stay focused, it'll get away from you. Your number one job as an electric Blade is to keep your power focused and contained. You forgot that rule today, you lost focus, and your last attack backfired."

"I know," she mumbled. "It's just frustrating. I should be better than this."

"You are," Pandoria said. "And tomorrow, you're going to prove it. We'll get back out here and you'll hit every volley and then some, alright?"

"Yeah."

Zeke felt bad. He'd taken the wind from her sails with the lecture, but he needed to drill the principles into her head until she didn't let herself slip up anymore. It was the only way she was going to learn. Still, he might have been a bit harsh.

"Your loss of control aside," he said, "You outperformed yourself today. What do you say we head back and grab some food, as a reward for all your hard work?"

"Really?" Electra asked, her eyes lighting up.

"So long as you promise not to let your focus slip like that tomorrow."

"I promise! And I'll blow your socks off too tomorrow, Sensei! Just you wait!"

"That's the spirit!" Zeke laughed. "Let's get going!"

Together, the three of them headed back into town. Despite how needs-oriented most of the construction had been, less critical buildings had started to go up recently. A few restaurants, two tailors, and even a theater, among other things. They were there to provide some of the comforts of modern living that the community had been missing, but they also served to give people with less vital skills something to do with their time. Everything the community produced was free, for the most part, but access was limited on a per-person basis to keep them evenly distributed. It wasn't perfect, but it did mean that, on special occasions, Zeke could take Electra to her favorite barbeque place for the best ribs in Elysium.

"So, Sensei!" Electra shouted, running circles around him and Pandoria as they walked. "How long do you think it'll be before I'm a full member of the Order?"

"That's tough to say…" He mulled it over for a bit. "Pandoria, do you remember how long it took you?"

"Just over two months," she said. "But I was fast, all things considered. With your progress, Electra, I feel confident you'll be inducted by this time next year."

"Next year!?" Electra grounded to a halt. "There's no way I'm going that slow!"

"Well then." Pandoria smirked. "You're welcome to prove me wrong on the field tomorrow."

"You bet!" Electra began to run again, but Pandoria put a hand on her shoulder and, begrudgingly, Electra slowed to a walk. "So… Who else is in the Order?"

"Classified," Zeke said. "We swore each other to secrecy years ago. Can't talk too much about ourselves, or our enemies might catch wind of us."

"Enemies? We have enemies, Sensei?"

"Well, we used to, anyway. The Order's members gathered to fight those who would endanger the safety of Blades everywhere. People like Orion the Hunter."

"I've never heard of him."

"Precisely," Zeke said, tapping his nose. "And you have the Order to thank for that. We've been scattered since the Cataclysm, but I know the others are still out there, fighting the good fight."

"Amazing…" Electra muttered. "Once I'm a fully fledged member, we should go find the others!"

"That's not a bad idea," Pandoria said. "I can think of one or two we could find pretty easily. And I think one's already here."

"Really?" Zeke asked. "Who?"

"The Gourmet," Pandoria said, giving out the codename. The Gourmet was Vess. Zeke knew about that one, at least. He hadn't seen her around the Gardens yet, but Dahlia had, and apparently Pandy had too. He took their word for it, because he wasn't eager to see that woman again just yet.

"You guys have codenames too?" Electra asked. "What're yours?"

"I'm the Zekeinator!" Zeke announced. "Obviously!"

"They called me Eureka," Pandoria said, twirling her tail around. "On account of the lightbulbs. Well, that and I was the only one who bothered to think more than five minutes ahead."

"Guilty as charged," Zeke said, laughing. "But that's enough of the questions." He could see the barbeque place now. "Let's eat."

It took them a moment to place their orders and find seats on the patio. As they waited, someone tapped Zeke on the shoulder, and he leaned back to see Qadar staring down at him.

"Hello," he said.

"Good afternoon," she replied. "I will have thought I could find you here."

"Did I miss another meeting?"

"Not yet, no. Nia will have needed your help."

"She will?" Zeke sat up, forcing Qadar to step aside. "What's going on? Or… Will go on?"

"There will have been a hearing in the amphitheater for the Driver you captured. Be sure to attend."

"Right." Zeke stood up. "I guess I should get going. Electra, you can…" He trailed off. Electra and Pandoria were whispering to each other, and that didn't bode well.

"Something to tell me?" he asked.

"Nothing," Pandoria said. "You heading somewhere?"

"Nia needs me to attend a hearing. You two can split my ribs."

"Good luck Sensei!" Electra shouted, flashing him a thumbs up. "I'm rooting for you!"

"Right…" He narrowed his eyes. Pandoria was obviously putting ideas in her head. He just didn't know what about, precisely. He'd find out later.

"I'll watch her," Pandoria said. "You go do your thing."

"Thanks." Zeke waved the two off and headed for the amphitheater. Qadar led the way, though, since he was still getting used to where everything was.

The amphitheater was one of the centers of public life in the Gardens. It was built out from where the upper and lower plates met at the back of the Gardens, and it was the only place big enough to fit everyone comfortably. Well, everyone discounting the Titans, anyway. Only about half of them could fit inside, thanks to their size. Strix had a solution in the works, apparently, but it wasn't finished yet.

A crowd of Blades had already filled several rows by the time he arrived. Nia was standing on the stage, off to one side, with a pair of Blades Zeke hadn't met before standing behind her, and Strix was on the other side of the stage with the Driver they'd captured a couple of weeks ago. Something was going down.

Nia noticed Zeke arrive and smiled at him. Qadar put a hand on his shoulder and nudged him toward her, so he begrudgingly trudged down the stairs and jogged over. He hated being in front of crowds, but Nia didn't look extremely confident either. He could fake it, for her sake at least.

"Thanks for making it," she whispered. "I wasn't sure how to handle this myself."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Remember when I told everyone we'd captured a Driver at the border?"

"That was weeks ago."

"Apparently, some people feel we don't have the right to imprison him. And I don't entirely disagree. So we're holding a hearing, publicly, where I can defend my decision."

"Why do you have to defend anything? I thought you were in charge?"

"I'm not 'in charge' of anything, really. None of the Caretakers are." She sighed and paused for a moment. "The people here give us authority over certain things, like how the community interacts with the outside world, but if they don't like a decision we make, they're free to challenge it."

"Alright…" Zeke glanced around. Most of the Blades in the stands didn't look like they had strong opinions, but he could spot a few that seemed genuinely angry. "We've got to convince them we did the right thing, then?"

"Something like that. We're starting as soon as the mediator arrives."

"Mediator?"

"There's a Titan Azurda knows who lives closer to Temperantia's head. She's got very little interest in what goes on in the Gardens, which makes her the best person we have on hand to judge situations like this objectively."

"Why are you the one on trial here, exactly? Strix is the one who decided to drag him to the dungeons."

"I'm the Head Caretaker. I'm responsible for every decision made under my watch. I let Strix arrest him, so I'm the one defending the action."

"Seems a little unfair," Zeke noted.

"Maybe. But if I'm going to be a leader, I need to act like it. And that means taking responsibility."

"Well, I've got your back."

"Thanks, Zeke."

He glanced back at the Blades standing nearby. He hadn't paid much attention before, but he felt like he knew one of them. She didn't seem to recognize him, though. Was it just a coincidence, or was she a Blade he'd known under a previous—

Kora. She looked like if someone had exaggerated all of Kora's features to the point of absurdity. The horns were too large, the ears too long, the eyes too bright, the outfit too garish.

They'd buried her with her Driver in Spessia, so someone must've dug her up. He really hoped she wasn't up here because she was one of this asshole's Blades, but there wasn't another reason he could think of.

If this asshole had dug up Elnis's grave, then… The only reason he didn't cross the stage and break the man's legs was because he didn't want to make Nia look bad.

Thankfully, he didn't have to hold back long. After a minute, a shadow fell over the amphitheater as a pair of Titans passed in front of the sun. Azurda peeled off and landed in the Titan seating section that wrapped around the normal stands. The other one, however, landed in the middle of the stage between the two groups.

She was long, like a great serpent covered in feathers. Two pairs of wings sprouted from her back, one near her head and one closer to the tail. She coiled up as she touched down, lowering her bird-shaped head so it was level with the other participants. As she surveyed the crowd, the roar of conversation from the stands died down, and she took that as her cue to begin.

"My name is Tenax," she announced. "Daughter of Estham. I have little interest in the goings on of these Gardens, but I have been asked to adjudicate this hearing as a neutral party. We'll begin with a brief summary of the events that necessitated this hearing. Strix of the Caretakers will now speak."

"Thank you," Strix said, stepping forward. "Azurda and I were on patrol near the Urayan border when we encountered a group of mercenaries. Their client was this man."

He motioned back at the Driver. The man had been too covered in muck last time for Zeke to really notice, but he was Urayan, with slicked-back blue hair and a series of rocks jutting out from his lower jaw.

"This is Durro, a former mercenary who hired some of his peers to help, in his words, 'reclaim his property' from the Gardens. Two of his Blades moved in with us earlier that day, and he wanted them back. When I asked the mercenaries what their business was, they fired on us, so I called in backup. Two Caretakers and two Blades arrived to assist me. One was Head Caretaker Nia, who gave the go ahead to arrest the attackers. After we learned the nature of their job, she decided to release the mercenaries but keep Durro in custody. I've kept him in a provisional cell ever since."

"Thank you, Strix," Tenax said. He bowed and stepped back, standing behind Durro. "Does anyone wish to raise any objections before we continue?"

One woman stood up from the crowd. A human, not a Blade. One of the few Drivers living in the Gardens. Her Blade was a hulking man, easily twice her height, but he seemed to shrink away from the attention as every eye in the amphitheater turned on them.

"Am I allowed to speak?" she asked.

"All are welcome to speak their minds here," Tenax said.

"Well… My name is Vantya. I know I'm a human, and I know I'm new here, but Krogane and I spent a lot of time in Uraya working for different mercenary outfits. The people he hired aren't going to leave well enough alone. It's a matter of pride. Sooner or later, they're going to come back for him."

"Thank you," Nia said. "And I share your concerns. But we resolved the issue with Queen Raqura herself some days ago. Any mercenaries who attempt to enter the Gardens for violent ends will lose their right to ply their trade in all Coalition nations. For the time being, at least, it should keep them from returning."

"I'd keep your eyes out anyway," Vantya said. "Mercs with nothing to lose are highly unpredictable."

"Your comments have been noted," Tenax said. "Before we proceed, were there any others who wished to speak?"

"Yeah," a Blade said, standing up. He was one of Bradly's Blades, the short blonde-haired kid with the two swords. Corvin. It took Zeke a moment to put name to face. They were letting him and a few of Bradly's other Blades roam free, for now, but Strix was keeping a close eye on them.

"The Gardens were founded on freedom," he said. "Freedom for human, Nopon, Blade, and Titan alike. To deny Durro his freedom would be a violation of that foundation."

"Normally I'd agree," Zeke said. "But he had a clear disregard for the personhood of his own Blades. Letting him roam free puts others in danger."

"Even if he is a bigot, I can't conscience locking him in a cage. Exile him, don't let him come back, do whatever you need to do to keep the Blades here insulated from him. But we can't stoop to his level."

"We've done it before," Zeke said. "He was locked up next to your own Driver, and no one's objected to that."

"That matter was settled," Tenax said. "If memory serves, I was called in to adjudicate a hearing on it last month. Do you think it has bearing in this case?"

"No," Corvin said. "Bradly's a dangerous psychopath. If we let him out, he'd be killing Drivers again within a week. We all know he needs to stay locked up because the alternative is more people die. Can we say the same about Durro, here?"

Zeke didn't have an immediate response, and neither did Nia. The truth was, he didn't know if Durro was the kind of man who'd kill on a whim. But that felt like a poor place to draw the line. He was, undoubtedly, a bigot, and Zeke's gut told him he was an active danger to any Blade he might awaken in the future. But his gut wasn't going to sway this crowd.

Several others seemed to be nodding along with Corvin. Why was he, of all people, leading this crusade? Was he trying to use it as a wedge to sway public opinion and spring Bradly free? Or did he just not like the idea of locking anyone else up? Either way, it was annoying. His relationship with Bradly gave him a kind of authority on the matter.

"These are very salient points," Tenax said. "I feel we should hear from his Blades, if they are willing, in order to gain some perspective."

"Hear from my Blades?" Durro asked. "Do I not get to say anything?"

"You will have your opportunity to speak after your Blades, not before."

He started to object, but Tenax raised her wings and stared at him. After he was sufficiently quiet, she lowered them and motioned at the Blades standing nearby. Kora stepped forward, and Zeke made a mental note to break Durro's nose.

"I'll speak," she said. "But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say."

"Say whatever you think needs to be said."

"Well… I can't speak for Nim, but I never felt good about doing mercenary work. Day in and day out, watching good people suffer so the nobles could stay in charge. But I did it because Durro was my Driver and I was his Blade and I just figured that's the way things were supposed to work. But after the Cataclysm, I realized I didn't want any part of it anymore. What we were doing was wrong, and I told Durro as much. That's when he got controlling. Maybe he'd always been, I'm not sure, but after that he started ordering us around more and more. Keeping us on shorter leashes. He was scared, and he was desperate, but… He locked us in cages to keep us from leaving. That should give you a pretty good idea of what we went through. We came here because this was the only place we could get away from him. I'm not really surprised he doesn't understand that."

"Do you think he should be locked up?" Corvin asked.

"That's not really my place to say."

"Thank you," Tenax said.

"Do I get to speak now?" Durro asked.

"Is there anything you wish to say?"

"Yeah. I'm just here to get my Blades back. I only attacked because you people were keeping them from me."

"Get your Blades back?" Zeke asked. "They aren't things, they're people, and they can make their own damn decisions."

"I'm the Driver!" he insisted. "I'm the one who makes the decisions, and I say they've been in this madhouse long enough! Now let me go!"

"Suddenly not so big on cages, are you?"

"I was within my rights! Those two belong to me, and you have no right to keep them here!"

"This isn't constructive," Nia said. "He's made his position abundantly clear. Can we move on?"

"No, fuck you! You value freedom so much, you're going to hear what I have to say! This is barbaric treatment, and I won't stand for it! If you all know what's good for you, you'll let me go this instant! I'll—"

"Quiet," Tenax said, leaning down toward him. "Do not mistake the freedom to speak your mind with our obligation to listen. If you wish to continue your tirade, you may do so where it does not disrupt the proceedings of this hearing."

"Fuck your hearing! This whole thing is a farce!"

"I'm going to gag him," Strix announced. "Anyone got a problem with that?"

He waited while Durro continued to shout, but no one stood up to object. He waited another moment, just to be sure, then stepped forward and clapped a hand over Durro's mouth. Black sludge poured out from his palm and coiled around the man's head, congealing into a stone gag.

"Is this how we deal with dissenters, now?" Corvin asked.

"You could have objected," Strix said.

"Dissenter?" Zeke asked. "According to this absolute waste of a man, Blades are property, not people. His way of thinking is a threat to this entire community. It's the same exact mindset Amalthus had."

"That's a little bit dramatic," Corvin said. "Not every bigot is just waiting to cause another Cataclysm."

"Just because the threat is smaller-scale doesn't mean we should ignore it."

"We can't put him in prison for doing nothing."

"He didn't do nothing!" Zeke insisted. "He attacked the Gardens!"

"And yet no one was hurt. So far, the only thing he's harmed is his own pride. I won't allow us to lock him away for so little."

"How many others feel the same?" Tenax asked. Slowly, a handful of Blades stood. Curiously, Zeke could see another one of Bradly's Blades in the audience. Vale. She wasn't joining Corvin's crusade, though from what Nia had told him, none of Bradly's Blades got along very well, so maybe that wasn't so surprising.

Still, the longer the moment dragged on, the more Blades took his side. Nearly a third of the audience, maybe more, and many others looked apprehensive. Like they wanted to stand but didn't want to go against Nia.

"What do you propose, then?" Tenax asked. "As an alternative to imprisonment?"

"Let him go," Corvin said. "And don't let him back in. If he wants to peddle his hate, he can do it somewhere else."

The Blades that stood with him began to nod or voice their agreement. After a moment, Nia put up a hand.

"Alright!" she shouted, making herself heard over the crowd. "The Caretakers are an extension of this community. If you feel Durro should be released, then he will be."

"Does anyone object to this course of action?" Tenax asked.

Zeke very nearly said something, but the look in Nia's eyes made him hesitate. The only thing she wanted was to keep the peace in the Gardens. He didn't think letting Durro go was a very good idea, but keeping him in prison now would only create more rifts in the community, and that would come down on her head. For her sake, he kept quiet. No one in the audience said anything either.

"Very well," Tenax said. "As mediator of this hearing, I recommend Durro be released, on condition that he is not to return to the Gardens again. Unless anyone else wishes to speak, I will call this hearing to a close."

No one spoke up, and after a moment, the audience began to filter out of the amphitheater. Once enough people had left, Strix undid Durro's gag. Zeke thought the man might start shouting again, but he kept quiet as Strix led him back to the gates. Nia stayed put, though, and Zeke hung back to speak to her. She seemed like she could use a sympathetic ear.

"Head Caretaker," Corvin said, walking up to the stage. "Thank you for seeing reason. I hope you understand I didn't enjoy doing any of that. But it had to be done."

"I understand," Nia said. "I'm just glad the system seems to be working as intended. If the community didn't have a say in our decisions, then the Gardens wouldn't really exist at all."

"Very true. Though… This incident does give me pause."

"Excuse me?" Zeke asked.

"I only hope the Caretakers learn from what happened here today. It would be a shame if we could not trust the people who we hand our authority to."

"Of course," Nia said. "That would be terrible. I'm going to do everything I can to ensure it never happens."

"Good…" Corvin looked around for a moment. "You know, I was down on this place at first, but I think I might actually enjoy it here. It seems promising. Have a nice day." He waved goodbye and began to leave with the rest of the crowd.

"That doesn't bode well," Zeke said.

"How so?" Nia asked.

"He's planning something. My best guess is he's going to attempt to dislodge the Caretakers sooner or later, try to set himself up as the head honcho."

"That wouldn't surprise me. It's not really something to worry about, though."

"If you say so."

"Thanks for coming, by the way. I hate doing stuff like this on my own."

"It was nothing." Zeke shrugged. "But I figured Dromarch would be here. Is he having an appointment?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask you to attend, but I didn't want to interrupt Electra's training."

"We actually finished early today," he said. "Qadar swung by to let me know this was happening."

"Qadar's out and about?"

"She's the one who brought me here. Apparently, it was important I be here for this."

"Of course," Nia sighed. She glanced around. "She didn't stick around for the show, though."

"She doesn't come to most meetings," Zeke said. "I'm not really surprised she missed a hearing."

"You aren't one to talk there, Shellhead."

"Don't you start! I missed one meeting, it's not like I skipped town for a month!"

"Cole can't walk without assistance, and he still manages to make them all on time."

"Yeah, well the old man's stubborn. And he doesn't have a pupil to look after."

"So you're blaming your student now, eh? I see how it is."

"It's not—"

The amphitheater began to shake, cutting Zeke off. For a moment, he lost his footing, and Nia caught him as he stumbled. He decided to play it up a little, swooning and collapsing into her arms. She rolled her eyes and held the pose with him, but the moment the shaking stopped, she dropped him.

"Hey!" he protested. "Is that any way to treat a delicate flower?"

"When I find one, I'll let you know," she said. "Now on your feet. Something's happening."

"Right." Zeke hopped up and took stock of his surroundings. The amphitheater seemed mostly intact. The shaking must've been the Titan itself moving around. That didn't happen a lot these days.

"Nia!" Kora shouted, running back into the amphitheater. "Help!"

"What's going on?" Nia asked. The two of them rushed to meet Kora by the entrance. "Is everyone alright?"

"People are little confused, maybe, but no one's hurt. The issue is Nim. She collapsed when the quake started, and I don't know what to do. I haven't seen her like this since the Cataclysm."

"Show me."

The two headed outside where a crowd had gathered. Nim was in the middle, trying to make herself a small as possible. Two small creatures, resembling bird-fox hybrids that had been set on fire, were circling around her, keeping the onlookers at bay. They retreated into her cloak as Kora approached.

"It hurts," Nim moaned. "Make it stop."

"Don't worry," Nia said. "It's going to be fine." She manifested a cloak of water and spread it out over Nim, coating her in regenerative ether. After a moment, however, she pulled it back.

"What's wrong with her?" Zeke asked.

"Nothing, as far as I can tell."

"It hurts!" Nim shouted.

"You said she's been like this before?" Nia asked, turning to Kora.

"During the Cataclysm," Kora said. "We were in Uraya, and she wouldn't stop screaming about the pain in her back. Nothing was wrong with her, but she just kept going on and on. It took nearly a week to get her back to normal."

"Something's obviously wrong," Zeke said. "Is it psychological?"

"No," Nia said. "This isn't a coincidence. And her resonance is unstable too. It's almost like…" She trailed off, retreating into her thoughts for a moment. "She's resonating with something other than her Driver."

"Temperantia," Qadar said, stepping out from the crowd. Zeke nearly jumped out of his skin as she appeared. "She is linked with it, as she was with Uraya."

"Like how Pandy talks to Genbu?" Zeke offered.

"No," Nia said. "This is something different. Uraya suffered severe damage to its back during the Cataclysm. It was almost sunk. I think what's happening is she's experiencing the Titan's pain, somehow."

"She always did get along better with animals," Kora said. "Not that Titans are animals or anything, just that—"

"Yeah," Nia said. "I get you."

"So does this mean Temperantia's in pain?" Zeke asked.

"Temperantia is always in pain," Qadar said. "This is much more severe. Intense enough to force resonance with a compatible Blade. Our continent is in mortal danger."

"The rumbling."

"Something's happened to the Titan," Nia said. She bent down next to Nim. "Can you tell me where it hurts, exactly?"

"My stomach," Nim groaned. "It's like someone started twisting my insides around with a knife."

"Does that mean Temperantia's being hurt the same way?" Kora asked.

"The cause is deep within the Titan," Qadar said. "We must move quickly."

"Is this more future-sight stuff?" Zeke asked.

"I will have done this several times before. Whatever causes Temperantia pain will eventually destroy this continent and us with it."

"We'll need to find a way inside the Titan then."

"I will have already located our optimal route. A ruined facility just below Temperantia's left wing."

"The Ardainian excavation site," Nia said. "I knew we should have cleared it out earlier. We can access the Titan's interior from there?"

"We cannot. But there is someone who can."

Qadar stepped aside and pulled a man forward. He was Sthenosi, with thin gray fur covering most of his body and a mop of unkempt hair over his eyes. His face was mostly human, but he had a volff-like snout and ears. He dressed like a five-hundred-year-old peasant, and it looked like he bathed about as regularly, judging by how mangey his fur was. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ground as she practically dragged him by the hand into the crowd. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"Kalarau," Nia said. "It's nice to see you out of your room for a change."

"Qadar said it was important," he muttered. "You need access to the Judician facility?"

"Yes."

"Alright." He sighed and pushed the hair out of his eyes. Now that Zeke could get a proper look at his face, the man looked incredibly old. The wrinkles around his eyes were the only visible sign, but he looked tired in the same way Zeke's dad was tired. It was a weary exhaustion that came from spending too much time in a situation with no way out.

"I'll get you inside," he said. "But I'm not going in myself. That place is a fucking deathtrap."

"Good enough," Nia said. She glanced back at Zeke. "Are you in?"

"Do you even need to ask?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go save Temperantia."

---

Getting to Mor Ardain's old excavation site took them near the Titan Weapon. It had collapsed under its own weight over the last few years, but against all odds it was still intact. Adenine's first job had been inspecting the wreckage, and she deemed it safe enough to leave lying around, but Nia still got anxious just looking at the thing. One of the many, many things she'd need to deal with sooner or later.

Still, they had more pressing issues at the moment, so Azurda flew past it and down into the excavation site. It was essentially a gigantic pit dug into the surrounding Titan flesh, and the equipment from the excavation was still lying exposed and disused. There was metal wreckage strewn everywhere, though. Probably from something the Titan weapon had destroyed during its rampage. It limited Azurda's options, and he was forced to land close to the breach in the wall where the Titan weapon had broken through to the canyon beyond.

Temperantia was still crying out in pain as they disembarked, but it was quieter. Nia secretly hoped that meant the pain had lessened, but the more likely explanation was that it was getting weaker, and they were working with a very nasty timer.

"This is where they dug up the Devastator?" Kalarau asked, walking out toward the ruins. He'd almost entirely changed demeanor since they'd left the Gardens. Usually, he was a recluse. Since Qadar had brough him on board, he'd come to two meetings, and only to give his opinion on Sthenos's latest actions. When they didn't need his input, he barely even left his room. But now he was walking with a kind of fervent energy.

"Devastator?" Nia asked.

"Titan weapon, big thorax, entirely too much firepower."

"Yeah, this is where Mor Ardain found it."

"Mor Ardain," he muttered, shaking his head. "Unbelievable. And I guess Mor Ardain were the ones that parked it in the middle of a canyon too?"

"Technically we did that," Zeke said.

"You guys stopped a Devastator?" Kalarau asked. He muttered something under his breath and shook his head again. "Fuckin' Ascendeds."

"What?" Nia asked.

"Right. What's the term these days? Half-Blades? Flesh-carvers?"

"Flesh Eaters?" Zeke offered.

"That's the one. You're all on another level, so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised."

"I'm not a Flesh Eater," Zeke offered.

"Huh. Well, then I guess you understand where I'm coming from."

"Kalarau," Nia said. "Can we focus? The continent is dying."

"Right." He nodded and began wading through the ruins. "If this is the Devastator's chambers, then hangar access should be this way. You can get inside from there."

"You know your way around," Zeke noted. "You've been here before."

"I'd…" Kalarau sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same."

"I didn't mean to pry. But if we're going to work together, we should get to know each other a little."

"We don't work together," Kalarau said. He trudged up to one of the site's nearly vertical walls and started tapping on it, listening for some kind of response.

"Then why join the Caretakers in the first place?"

"Zeke," Nia muttered. "Maybe just let him work, alright? You can interrogate him later."

"You aren't the least bit curious why he knows his way around a Judician excavation site?" Zeke asked.

"It's his business, not ours. Aren't you the one trying to keep everyone else from prying into your past?"

"Hey, I'm very open about my past! I just don't really trust Pandoria to tell it, is all."

"You don't trust her not to embellish, more like."

"What's a good story without a little embellishment? She always leaves out the parts that make me look good. With her, it's always 'world's worst luck' or 'we barely survived' or some such nonsense. Honestly, she needs to pick one. If my luck's so bad, how do I always manage to come out alive?"

"Found it," Kalarau announced. He stepped back a little and manifested a simple wooden bow. There were none of the embellishments that usually came with a Blade weapon. It looked freshly made, too, like he'd carved it from a tree earlier that day. As he drew the string back, his fingers came to rest against his chest, and a light poured out from him, solidifying into an arrow of pure ether. He let it loose, and it struck the wall, turning much of the surrounding rock into dust. The hole led to a tunnel that snaked deeper into the Titan's interior.

"This is as far as I take you," he said. "Temperantia's core is located near its intestines. I'd bet anything the problem's there. If you want, I can give you directions."

"Directions would be useful," Zeke said. "Considering the circumstances."

"The tunnels have degraded significantly," Qadar said. "Directions will have been useless. You will have needed to guide us in person."

"You can't just…" Kalarau sighed. He and Qadar stared at each other for a moment. "Every fucking time. Alright, fine. I'll take you. Just stick close, alright?"

He hesitated for entirely too long before ducking through the hole. He already didn't seem like the most reliable individual, and this place had him on edge. Not a great combination. Nia would've felt better going in with just Zeke, but a guide was a guide.

The hallway beyond the hole was in surprisingly good shape, considering how long it had been sealed up. It was too perfectly shaped to be natural, but it hadn't been carved senselessly. Ether veins ran along the walls, providing a small amount of light, and support casings ensured it didn't collapse on their heads. The supports were aging, though, and Nia could see signs of ether leakage. Leaving these unmaintained hadn't been good for the Titan's long-term health.

"How long have we got?" Zeke asked.

"It is unclear," Qadar said. "Apparently, I did not deem that information necessary to send."

"Moving a little slow, then, aren't we?"

"If we needed to go faster, I would have said so."

"Wait, so…" Zeke thought for a moment. "You've done this more than once, and so far it hasn't panned out?"

"Apparently so, yes."

"Brilliant." He frowned. "Hey Kalarau, any chance we can speed things up a little?"

"This place is falling apart," he said. "I'm going as fast as I can."

"For the record," Zeke said, looking pointedly at Qadar. "If we don't make it in time, make sure to blame him."

"Hey!" Kalarau called back. "I didn't ask to be here! If you think you can do this yourself, then—"

He stopped dead in his tracks as they reached an intersection. Nia figured he was just trying to remember where to go, but then he knelt down.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"The marks," he said, pointing to a series of scuff marks on the ground. "Those look new. And they point toward the core."

They just looked like normal wear and tear, at first, but once he pointed them out, they did seem a little out of place.

"Someone's been through here recently," Nia said. He nodded. "Was it the excavation crew?"

"Ether residue is too fresh. This was recent."

"Residue?" Zeke asked.

"Even the smallest scratch on a living being emits a little bit of ether. Usually it's too negligible for Blades to notice, but I've got a sensitive core."

"And this stuff is fresh?" Zeke asked.

"A few hours old, at most."

"Great." He sighed and turned to Qadar. "Any idea what we're about to walk into?"

"None," she said. "This is new information."

"We should move slowly, then," Kalarau said. "We've got no idea what we're about to walk into."

"No," Nia said. "The Titan is dying, and we've got intruders. That isn't a coincidence. We need to get to the core now."

"The one day I don't bother fetching Pandoria," Zeke sighed. He flicked his eyepatch up to activate the Eye, and after a moment, the stone lining of his jacket leapt into his hand, forming a makeshift sword.

"Stay behind me," Nia said, putting a hand on Kalarau's shoulder. He seemed eager to move back, putting himself between Zeke and Qadar.

Nia manifested her sword and started following the tracks, with everybody else falling in behind her. She would have let Zeke take the lead, but he didn't have his usual arsenal on hand, and there wasn't much of the Cloud Sea left for him to take advantage of with his Eye.

It didn't take long for them to run into a tunnel collapse. If it had been debris of some kind blocking the way, Nia would have been able to handle it. But the support structures in the tunnel had given way, and the ceiling in front of them sagged almost to the floor.

"Bugger me," Zeke said. "So this is what you meant by 'degraded', eh?"

"Apparently," Qadar said.

"This wasn't natural," Nia said, running her hand along one of the broken support struts jutting out from the collapse. It had been cut clean through. "Someone ripped these down."

"I can get us around," Kalarau offered. "But it'll take some time."

"Time we don't have."

Nia placed her hand against the collapsed ceiling and began to generate water, pushing it through the exposed Titan flesh. If only there was something she could restore to raise the ceiling… Yes, there was. This part of Temperantia was losing strength with age, and the whole complex was about ready to collapse just like this. Restoring the aging musculature would, in theory, fix the problem, but she didn't have nearly enough ether to cover the whole collapse.

"Can you fix it?" Kalarau asked.

"It'd take hours. I'm not working with a lot of ether, here."

"Not a problem."

Kalarau put his hands together and began to glow, generating wave after wave of light ether. As they washed over Nia, however, they reformed into basic atmospheric ether. And lots of it. She could feel it course through her, giving her more than enough power to fix the roof.

"Zeke," she said. "I'm going to need something to lift this up."

"Got it," he said. He flicked his wrist, and the sword broke down, reforming into a pair of supports that pushed against the ceiling. They held the first section in place while Nia reattached the muscles, fixing it in place at least for the time being. Going section by section wasn't going to cut it, but the process would work. Time to scale up.

"Can you force it down the hallway?" she asked, spreading her ether out along the rest of the collapsed section. Zeke nodded and thrust his fists forward, and the makeshift supports he'd made shot down the hallway, pressing the ceiling up as they went. As the ceiling made contact with her ether, she reattached it and restored the muscles, holding it in place. It only took a few moments to restore the entire hallway.

"That was…" Nia looked back at Kalarau. She hadn't felt that energized in… Probably ever. "You can amplify ether?"

"Sort of," he said. His hands were shaking, and he looked exhausted. Like he'd just ran to the Gardens and back. He lowered his hands and leaned back on the wall.

"And you're not a Flesh Eater?" Zeke asked. "That's just a thing you do normally?"

"What about you? That doesn't seem like normal ether manipulation to me."

"It isn't," Zeke said, looking smug. "It's the Eye of Shining Justice. An ancient weapon passed down—"

"Guys," Nia said, moving down the hallway. Kalarau sighed and limped forward. Qadar put an arm around him, helping him stand, and Zeke brought up the rear.

"We can talk and move," he said. He snapped his fingers, returning the stone to a sword in his hands. "It's not every day you meet someone with an Artifice in their head."

"Artifice?" Kalarau asked. "What's that?"

"Have you been living under a rock or something?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Artifices carried out the Cataclysm," Nia said. "And you probably shouldn't be telling people what the Eye is. Most people would kill to get their hands on it if they knew it still worked."

"Is it that special?" Zeke asked. "I figure if it still works, then some of the others must still be working too."

"According to Tora, all the others are inoperable."

"Huh." Zeke shrugged. "Weird."

"Wait," Kalarau said. "Are you even a Blade? Ether resonance around you is a little… strange."

"Blade Eater, actually," Zeke said, pulling his jacket aside. "This used to belong to my Blade, Pandoria. Other than that, though, I'm as human as they come."

"You're kidding…" Kalarau stopped and stared at Zeke for a moment.

"Are you…" Zeke narrowed his eyes. Kalarau limped over to Zeke and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Your Blade," he said. "They're still alive?"

"Last I checked, yeah."

"Good. You keep them that way, do you hear?"

"I hadn't planned on getting her killed, if that's what you're implying."

"Promise me," Kalarau said. He was shaking, now, and he started shouting. "Promise me you'll keep her safe!"

"Will you calm down?" Zeke asked, batting his hands aside. "Pandoria can handle herself. If anything, I'm the one liable to kick the bucket."

"Sorry," he muttered, stepping back. "I just…" He trailed off, and after a moment he glanced down the hallway. "Someone's coming."

"Good," Zeke said, stepping forward. "I'd like to see who we're up against."

Nia moved forward too, keeping just a step ahead of Zeke. Back in the day, Rex was usually the one leading the charge. Now, she felt like that was her responsibility. After a moment, she spotted a handful of figures blocking the hallway.

There were six of them, cloaked head to toe in black armor. They didn't share a common nationality either. Half were Gormotti or Sthenosi, judging from the ears, but Nia couldn't identify the others. They all stood at the ready, holding rifles that glowed like Blade weapons.

As they saw Nia approaching, they raised their guns and opened fire, launching a volley of ether blasts down the hallway. She crouched, throwing up an ether shield and pouring water out from her sleeves. The first volley nearly broke her shield, though, and there was another on the way.

"Shield," she grunted, stepping forward. Qadar put up a shield around them just before Nia's failed, trapping some of the water outside. Nia pushed that water forward, forming a series of blasts that knocked the attackers off balance.

As Qadar dropped her shield, Nia concentrated the rest of the water behind herself, forming a wave. As it threw her forward, she brought her sword around, cleaving through the gun of the one man still standing. As he fumbled for his knife, she struck him in the gut, and he collapsed.

The others staggered to their feet, and Nia threw out another wave of water. She used it to push herself against the ceiling before splitting the column into a series of tendrils. Each struck a different opponent, pushing them off balance and giving her an opening. As she fell, she cut through another rifle and kicked its owner in the chest. He stumbled back, and Qadar struck him with a blast of fire.

Zeke jumped over the man as he collapsed, joining the fray. Even if he didn't have all his firepower at his disposal, Nia still trusted him to have her back. She turned, letting him handle the ones behind her, and concentrated her water on the ones she could see. The two in front of her fired through the wave, nearly striking her, but she managed to throw out a shield before they did. As the wave crashed into the pair, she rushed forward, spinning her sword to destroy both guns in one swipe.

Before she could turn back around, however, she felt something press against her back. It was a soldier holding one of the broken rifles. He wasn't aiming for her core, but if the thing ruptured, that might not matter. She'd probably be fine, but she didn't want to take the chance.

"Witch!" the soldier spat. "You're going to pay for that."

Nia whipped a tendril of water up at him, but he moved faster. As he pulled the trigger, Zeke whirled around and drove his sword through the side of the barrel, pinning it against the wall. It misfired, taking a chunk out of the soldier's arm, but Nia escaped unscathed. She subsumed him in a wave of water to stem the bleeding while Zeke swung back around to knock another attacker to the ground.

"Stop," she said, glaring at one of the men as he stood back up and drew a glowing knife.

"Let him go," he growled, motioning toward his partner.

"I'm healing him," she said.

"We don't want your fucking healing, witch."

"Not my problem. You can drop the knife, or he can make you drop it." She motioned at Zeke, who was busy kneeing someone else in the face.

"Doesn't matter."

The man lunged, and Nia stepped back, knocking his feet out from under him with the back of her blade. As he stumbled forward, he careened right into a clothesline from Zeke that sent him sprawling. He dropped the knife after that.

"Anyone else?" Nia asked. Of the ones who were still conscious, none of them stood. She nodded and withdrew her water, having sewn the one man's wound closed. Zeke, meanwhile, dissolved his sword and began stripping the men of their weapons.

"Core Chip rifles," she said, glancing at the hole in the wall. She took a moment to patch it up. "Just like the mercs who attacked last time."

"There aren't mercs," Zeke said, glaring as he dragged them all together. "These are human supremacists."

"We're realists," one of the men said. "Blades threaten our way of life. This whole country is a plague on mankind."

"You can cut the crap," Nia said. "No one here is going to buy it."

"Did I hear right?" Kalarau asked. "Human supremacists? That's still a thing?"

"The movement's had a recent revival," Zeke said. "There's a bunch of these creeps, but the biggest group calls itself Shieldwall. I'd wager that's who sent our new friends."

"So you're Shieldwall," Nia said, glaring at the soldiers herself. More than a few Blades had come to the Gardens trying to get away from groups like them. Supposedly, Mòrag and her men had smashed most of their cells months ago, yet here they were. Part of her just wanted to kill them all and be done with it. Ten years ago, she would have.

"So what do we do with them?" Zeke asked.

"If you want to stop us," one of the men spat, "You're going to have to kill us. We won't be silenced by—"

Zeke kneed him in the stomach, shutting him up.

"I have restraints," Qadar said. She produced a long chain from her wing-cloak and passed it to Zeke.

"I thought you didn't know who was going to attack us," he said.

"I didn't. This was a simple coincidence."

"Sure." He tapped the side of his nose. Qadar didn't seem to get what he was implying, though. After a moment of enduring her blank stare, he gave up and started tying the attackers up. When he was done, he anchored the chain to one of the broken ceiling supports and bent it into a loop to make sure they couldn't escape. They all fought back, but one man struggled particularly hard.

"You can't do this!" he shouted. "If you trap us here, we'll die!"

"Shut up!" another one of the men shouted. "We all knew the risks."

"No one's dying today," Nia said. "Not you, not us, and not this Titan either."

The man grinned up at her. She realized he was the one who'd blown his own arm off trying to kill her. Even in this position, he looked entirely too smug. It bothered her.

"Let's go," Zeke said. "We've wasted enough time on these losers as is."

"You monsters have no idea what's coming," the man said as they walked away. "Do you hear me? You've trampled on normal people for too long, it's time you got what's coming to you!"

He continued to shout after them as they walked down the hallway, but Nia tuned him out. Nothing he said was worth listening to. As they moved, she also picked up the pace, still following the drag marks on the floor.

"Are we on track?" she asked, glancing back to make sure the others were keeping up.

"We should be," Kalarau said. He was still leaning on Qadar for support. "The core isn't much further."

As they reached the end of the section Nia had repaired, they came across another intersection. The marks led left, and Nia looked back to Kalarau for confirmation. He nodded.

"And don't think I've forgotten about any of that crap back there," Zeke said. "You've still got a lot of explaining to do."

"I…" Kalarau sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just a little overwhelming. I haven't met anyone like me in a long time. For a while, I thought I was the only one."

"Wait…" Zeke stared at Kalarau for a second, putting the pieces together. "You're a Blade Eater too?"

"We weren't called that back then, but yeah."

"You're serious!?" Zeke shouted. His eyes were wider than Nia had ever seen them. "I'm not the only one!?"

"Mikhail's a Blade Eater," Nia said.

"He doesn't count," Zeke said, turning around.

"What? How's that make any sense."

"Because Mikhail's insufferably annoying and he never wants to talk about it." He whirled back around to Kalarau. "I can't believe we've been living under the same roof for a month and no one told me any of this. When we get back, you and me have a lot to talk about."

"I'll pass," Kalarau said. "It's not like I'd have much to tell you anyway. I'm a fossil, by your standards. I was the last one Judicium made before Torna leveled the capital."

"You're Judician?" Zeke asked. He whistled to himself. "Blimey. I never figured they had the tech to pull that off. Amalthus always made the procedure seem recent. Does that make you kinda like me and Pandoria's old man in a way?"

"No." Kalarau laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I destroyed everything related to the project to keep it out of the Praetorium's hands. They must've discovered how to make you from scratch."

"That's a shame. Still, I'm sure there's something you could teach us."

"I said I'll pass," Kalarau said, more insistent than last time. "I stay out of sight for a reason. My time in the sun ended a long time ago. I don't belong here." He looked over at Qadar. "Neither of us do."

"You two know each other?" Zeke asked. Neither of them immediately volunteered an answer.

"Zeke," Nia said. "Can we focus?"

"We've still got some time. I'm just curious is all."

"Be curious later. We're going to—" She stopped, feeling a faint resonance inside the walls around them. Kalarau seemed to notice too.

"Down!" he shouted, throwing himself to the ground. He threw up a shield around himself and Qadar just as a light flashed further down the hallway. A rocket shot toward them, and Nia put up a shield to block it. But the explosion wasn't meant for them. As it detonated against her shield, it tore through the walls, and Nia realized a moment too late what the resonance she'd sensed was.

Core Chip based explosives, driven into the hallway walls. Probably as a backup in case anyone broke through the first line of defenders. The walls around them began to explode, and Nia produced as much water as she could. She strained herself to her limit trying to shield Zeke from the blast before it killed him. Protecting him was the only thing on her mind. She couldn't let him die. She wouldn't let him die. He was too important to her.

A moment later, the explosion reached her, nearly knocking her unconscious. But even as the floor below them collapsed, she didn't drop her shield. No matter what, she was going to keep him safe.

---

Zeke was thrown off his feet as the explosion rocked the hallway, but Nia's water shield managed to keep him safe. Then the floor collapsed, and his heart dropped into his stomach. He wasn't good with heights at the best of times, and being in freefall took things to a new extreme. He managed to avoid panicking by thinking of Nia. That idiot let herself take the full force of the explosion to keep him safe. It would probably be up to him to return the favor.

As he hit the ground, the shield around him popped, and he had to roll forward to keep from shattering his knee. He finally came to a stop at the base of the pile of debris that used to be the floor, and immediately, he snapped his head around, trying to find Nia. Her body lay nearby, sprawled face-down on the ground.

Another chunk broke off from the ceiling above them, and he threw himself over her, shielding her body from the stray debris. A few chunks pelted his back, but he held out. She'd just been through a lot worse, so he could certainly tough this out.

Just as things stopped falling from the ceiling, there was a flash of light, and jets of flame filled the hallway above. Qadar flew through them with her wings on full display, carrying Kalarau in her arms as she rushed their attackers. He could hear more explosions cascade through the facility, but they were further away. After a moment, things went quiet.

"Mrgh…" Nia groaned, slowly turning over. Her dress was in tatters, and her legs looked broken, but at least she was alive. He had to keep himself from bursting into tears as she returned to consciousness.

"Shellhead?" she asked, eyes only half-open. "What are you doing here so early?"

"We fell," Zeke said, leaning back to give her a view of the ceiling.

"Oh." She stared up for a minute. "Right."

"You alright?" he asked. "Anything hurt?"

"I'm fine, just give me a second."

She tried to sit up but fell over nearly instantly. He managed to catch her before she hit the ground, at least.

"Clearly not."

"Can't think straight," she muttered. "It's too early for this."

"It's already past lunchtime, Lazy Ears." He stood and helped her to her feet, and she didn't fall down again. Now that she was conscious, her body seemed to be healing itself. Hopefully she'd be in fighting shape soon. "We've got a job to do."

"That's a new one," she said. "Come up with that just…" She trailed off, and after a moment, her legs gave out. Zeke caught her again. She wasn't unconscious, but her eyes were having trouble focusing.

"Shit," he muttered. "You're concussed."

"I am? That can't be. I'm a healer, remember?"

"You just ate enough explosives to take down a small Titan. Even you have your limits, apparently."

"Like hell." Nia tried to struggle out of Zeke's arms, but he held firm. "I can fix this no problem."

She threw her hands up, pouring streams of water out of her sleeves. They arced through the air and splashed down nearby, forming two puddles. She began waving her arms around frantically, but nothing happened.

"You need rest," Zeke said. "It'll take time to find us a way out, but I think—"

"No," Nia said. "We've got a job to do, and we can't afford not to do it."

Zeke stared at her, not quite sure what to do. Even when she couldn't think straight, she could still keep her mind on the mission. Like a woman possessed, almost. He had to admire it, even if it seemed a little suicidal. And, as terrifying a prospect as it was, she was right. They had a job to do.

"Alright, give me a second." Zeke set her down, away from the giant hole in the ceiling, and called on all the cloud he could still get a hold of. If he was going to leave her here, he'd at least give her some measure of protection. The moment he tried to step back, though, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to the ground.

"Take me," she said, staring at him.

"What?"

"You think I'm letting you go into a fight alone? No. Take me, I'll back you up."

"You can barely string a sentence together. I'm not dragging you onto the battlefield."

"I'll manage. This is an order, Zeke." She poked him in the chest. "Do not leave me here."

If he didn't know her better, he'd think she was scared of being left behind. More likely, she just didn't want him to screw up without her around to fix things. Not that there was any danger of that, but… It would be easier to keep an eye on her if she came with. Leaving her here couldn't guarantee that she'd be safe, after all.

"Fine," he sighed.

He grabbed Nia and stood up, trying to keep her head stable. Gently, he moved her onto his back, carrying her piggyback style, with her chin pressed against his shoulder. For good measure, he formed the clouds into a shield behind them.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

"You're no Dromarch," she said. "But it'll do."

Right, then. That just left finding the core. Fortunately, Zeke had been paying attention. He couldn't sense ether like Kalarau could, or even just like a normal Blade could. At best, he got vague impressions of where things were. But he knew basic biology. Titans pulled in the Cloud Sea and separated it into ether in their cores. That got circulated out to the rest of the Titan through the ether veins. The trouble was telling which direction the ether was flowing in. Not an easy task when he could barely feel the stuff move. There was something he could get a good sense of, though. The Cloud Sea.

Apparently, some of it was still mixed into the water around Elysium, keeping the Titans alive. And the Cloud Sea intake ducts ran parallel to the ether veins. If he focused hard enough, the Eye could pick up traces of its motion through the walls. All moving in one direction. If that wasn't where the core was, he'd eat one of his belts.

"Onward," Nia muttered as he started walking. "My trusty prince."

For a second, Zeke wasn't really sure how to respond. Nia's focus had slipped a little, now that they were moving. If he had more time, he would have considered going back and knocking out a makeshift shelter for her to wait in while he went to find the core, but every second he waited was a second Temperantia didn't have. Instead, he just had to roll with it and try to keep her from getting worse.

"Don't you start too," he said. "It's bad enough Pandoria still calls me that."

"You don't like it? Weird. Pandoria says it a lot. I always thought it was endearing."

"It's not that, it's just… Pandoria started calling me 'my prince' after I got banished. It started tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at me for getting my old man pissed and all that. After I became a Blade Eater, though, she got more attached to it. Which is fine, I guess, but… After I learned my old man had been lying to me my whole life, something about the royal title just felt wrong. Tainted, a little bit. It's why I pushed as hard as I did for my dad to step down after the Cataclysm. The royal family failed Tantal. And it stings to have that constant reminder that I was party to that. I'm tired of being known as the failson of a dynasty that held its own people hostage for five hundred years."

"You're so dramatic, you know that?"

"Can't really help it, I'm afraid. It's—"

Zeke stopped himself. That wasn't a conversation he wanted to have here, now, with everything that was going on. He'd already said too much as it was.

"Zeke?"

"It's something I've been doing for too long," he said. That was true, technically, but it wasn't what he'd been about to say. "I wouldn't know how to stop."

"I'm not telling you to be somebody else. I'm just saying you're overthinking it. Pandoria cares about you, she doesn't mean anything else by it. I know I didn't."

"I know," Zeke said. "It's why I've never told her to stop. It rubs me the wrong way, sure, but it's nothing to get broken up over. I didn't mean to dump all that on you."

"I'm glad, actually. It feels like I barely know the real you, half the time. It's good to get a look behind the curtain, even if I'm…" She gestured vaguely at her head.

"It's not like I'm hiding anything. It's just not that important."

"If it's bothering you, it's important to me."

"That's…" Zeke didn't really know how to respond. This concussion was making her a nightmare to parse. "Thanks, I guess. You don't need to worry, though. I'm fine."

"If you're going to insist on worrying about me, Shellhead, then you don't get to complain when I return the favor."

"Fair enough," he sighed. "Though you need to worry about yourself, too. You didn't need to take so much heat back there."

"It was you or me," Nia said. "I'm a Blade, I'll bounce back. You won't."

"Not technically true," Zeke said. "I've got a Core Crystal too, remember? I'm more resilient than most. I would've survived. Probably."

"Nope."

"What do you mean 'nope'?"

"Couldn't take the risk. Couldn't let you get hurt."

"That's a little reckless, even for you. I'd expect that kind of thing from Mòrag, maybe. Not you. I always figured you had a little more regard for your own life."

"Well you figured wrong," Nia said. "I let it happen to Dromarch. I'm not going to let it happen to anyone else. Even if I have to take a few hits."

"I get that, but… You can't get yourself hurt like that. Eventually, it's going to come back to bite you."

"What would you have done, then? If the roles were reversed?"

"I…" Zeke didn't have a good answer. Truthfully, if he were in her shoes, he'd have done the same thing. No question. It would have put Pandy in danger, but her sense of self-preservation was even worse than his. If he'd brought her along, she would have probably shielded the both of them. She was going to be pissed he didn't bring her along, once this was all over.

"You got me," Zeke said. "I'd have done the same. I guess I don't have much room to talk, huh?"

"I knew you cared," Nia said, poking him in the cheek. Just when he thought she was getting more lucid, too.

"Of course I care. You're one of the only real friends I've got."

"Aw, poor Zeke. Didn't get along with your school mates?"

"As it happens, I had lots of friends in school. One of the perks of being the prince. But I uprooted my whole life to come out here and help you out. That isn't something I'd for any old school mate."

"It's nice to know someone cares about me, at least."

"I'm not the only one, you know. You've got lots of people who care about you. Every Blade in the Gardens would be devastated if you died."

"I know," she said. She almost sounded disappointed. "But that's not what I meant."

"I don't follow."

"Forget it."

He almost kept pushing, but he was dancing close enough to the Dromarch issue as it was, and that wasn't a topic he felt comfortable broaching. He just had to resign himself to the fact that Nia didn't seem to care much about dying. Which was something they unfortunately had in common.

As he kept walking, eventually the passage began to grow brighter. The ether veins had been providing a meager amount of light, but now there was a lot more coming from further down the hallway. At least that meant progress. Probably.

At the end of the hallway there was a massive open space shaped like a half-dome. A dozen or more different hallways dead-ended here, with the ether veins in their walls spreading out across the floor and ceiling of the new chamber. They all met up in the middle of the room, where they all fed into a large glowing mass. That must've been the Titan's core.

Zeke could see figures milling around at the base of the core, tinkering with a giant metal construction. Lights of all different colors lit up along the thing's length in spurts. Unless some other group of jackasses had wandered into Temperantia's guts, these guys were Shieldwall. Which meant the hard part was over. Now he just had to knock some heads.

"We've stopped," Nia said. "Are we there yet?"

"Yeah," Zeke said. He dissolved the shield and lowered Nia to the ground. "Stay here, I'll clean up the trash."

"I said I'm backing you up." Nia tried to get up, but she had to lean against the wall to keep herself from falling over. It was an improvement, at least, but not by much.

"Then back me up once you can fight." Zeke reformed his sword. "Until then, stay out of sight."

Before she could argue, Zeke stepped forward, trusting that even in her current state she wouldn't be stupid enough to follow him. Thankfully, she wasn't. She sank back to the ground, keeping out of sight as Zeke strode toward the Shieldwall grunts. As he moved, he used lightning to ramp up his speed. It was harder to do without Pandoria to help control the finer points, but right now he didn't need fine control. He just needed to haul ass.

The Shieldwall grunts barely had time to react as he tore through the middle of their camp, lightning sparking off the end of his sword. He didn't want to kill anyone, which made the fight considerably more difficult, but he'd managed groups like this before. As he passed by soldiers, he destroyed weapons and struck limbs. The sword didn't have any edge to it, but at this speed that didn't really matter. They wouldn't stay in the fight.

As he dealt with the last soldier in his immediate vicinity, though, the ground beneath his feet exploded. Instinctively, his Core Crystal switched gears, accelerating his reaction time to near zero. It was painful to use, but he didn't have backup, and he couldn't afford to be sloppy. He used the Eye to dissolve his sword into a shield, blocking most of the shockwave. It still threw him back, but he managed to swing his feet around and right himself as he landed.

"Well!" a man shouted from across the camp. "I guess they don't call you Thunderbolt Zeke for nothing!"

Zeke split the shield in half to get a look at the man. He was large, in his late thirties or early forties, and the only one in the crowd not wearing a helmet or a mask of some kind. He was an Urayan, and judging by his accent, a noble. Except Zeke knew most of the nobility, and those he didn't know he'd at least seen around. But he'd never seen this guy's face before, which meant he was either a fake or in exile. From what he knew of Queen Raqura, the latter was probably more likely.

"You made it here quicker than I thought," the noble said. He tossed the metal tube he'd been holding to the ground and took another one from a lacky standing next to him. Green lines glowed all along its length. Single use rocket casings, probably Core Chip powered. These guys were packing serious heat.

Before the man could say another word, Zeke shot forward, dragging the clouds behind him into a spear. When it formed in his hands, he threw it straight down the barrel of the rocket gun, rendering it useless. Then he punched the noble in the jaw with the follow through, knocking him back into a nearby cart carrying what looked like stacks of ammo.

"Shut up," Zeke said, drawing the cloud back up into a sword. He pressed the tip against the man's throat and looked around, daring the others to make a move. It was a bluff, but they didn't know that. He just needed a moment to take stock of the situation.

As he counted the remaining Shieldwall mooks, however, something struck him from behind. It burned, searing through his jacket and skin. Immediately, he swung the clouds around and knocked it off, flinging it onto the ground nearby. A slug of heated metal, by the looks of it. Core Chip ammo.

He stepped behind the metal contraption, getting out of the line of fire of whoever had shot him, but that gave the noble the chance to scurry away. He wasn't quick, but Zeke couldn't chase after him until he knew where the shooter was. The other Shieldwall soldiers started moving too, trying to get an angle on him, but he threw up a shield of clouds around himself.

It blocked the oncoming shots, and he could feel it straining to hold together. Part of that strain was persistent, though. Like someone was pressing up against the shield. Or climbing it. Immediately, he jumped, reaching up to grab the person as they emerged over the top of the wall. Only his hand grabbed what seemed like a solid block of air.

After a moment, though, the air began to shimmer, revealing a core chip rifle. Clever bastards. He pulled down on the rifle, but the soldier let him have it, electing instead to slide back down the shield. Presumably to reactivate whatever cloaking he was using and come after Zeke from a different angle.

Instead of simply let that happen, Zeke pushed the shield forward, wrapping it around his attacker. He twisted the resulting cocoon on its side and forced it forward, running behind it to use it as cover from the oncoming blasts. As he passed the closest soldiers, he lashed out, using the rifle as a very crude focus to fire blasts of lightning at the enemy.

The moment the cocoon slammed into another solid object, though, he dissolved it, swinging the rifle blindly at where the person inside should have been. Predictably, he couldn't see anything, but he knew better than to trust his sight here. Sure enough, the rifle struck home, and the air shimmered, revealing the man who had most likely shot him.

He grabbed the man by the face and slammed him into the cart, disorienting him. With one boosted swing of the rifle, he shattered the man's arm at the elbow, and with another he broke the man's leg. That guy wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

But as he stepped back, looking for more soldiers to knock down, he heard laughter. Eerily familiar laughter. Crone laughter. Attached to the man's hip was the severed head of the Crone they'd fought at the summit, staring up at Zeke and cackling. Before he could strike it, the Crone screamed, and his head swam. He collapsed to his knees, without even the presence of mind to do something with the scattered clouds around him. As the scream abated, he felt something press against the back of his head.

"Drop it," the noble said. Reluctantly, Zeke dropped the gun. One of the mooks scurried forward and knocked it aside, putting it just out of reach.

"What's the big guy for?" Zeke asked, motioning back at the giant machine. It looked too big to carry through the hallways. They must've brought it through in pieces and started assembling it in here. By the looks of things, they were just about done.

"It's going to rid the world of your filth," the noble said. "Give men a chance to be free."

"Spare me the crap, alright?"

"We will not be replaced!" the noble shouted. He didn't seem to have even registered Zeke's words. "The purge will start here! With you, you monster!"

Zeke threw his core into overdrive again, but he wasn't sure what he could do. At this range, he wouldn't move fast enough to get the gun away from the noble and get a shield up before they filled him with holes. He'd need to hit every soldier around him at once.

Fortunately, they were standing on top of a limitless supply of Cloud Sea.

He reached out with the Eye, exerting control over the flow in as many ducts as possible, and dragged as much cloud through Temperantia's skin as he could manage. One pillar of quickly solidifying cloud for every soldier, including the noble. The whole room shook, presumably as the Titan cried out in pain again, but Zeke didn't have much choice right now. They had a Crone on their side, somehow, which gave him very few options.

Before the Crone could scream again, he directed the steams of cloud forward, striking it with everything he had. He solidified the clouds around it, forming a mass of stone taller than he was to encase the thing on the ground until they could destroy it for good. He hoped that would stop it from unleashing any more attacks, at least.

As the soldiers recovered from his assault, and he prepared to send the clouds back in their directions, fire began to stream overhead. After a moment, Qadar emerged from the torrent, six wings of flame spreading out from her back. She carried Kalarau in her arms, and he had his bow. Together, the two unleashed a hail of light and fire, demolishing the soldiers around Zeke.

As she flew overhead, she dropped Kalarau off on top of the machine, and his core began glowing, drawing ether up from the device into his chest. Circling back around, she dropped onto the battlefield, wings spreading out to wash fire over the soldiers that were still standing.

"Plug it," Qadar said, motioning at the hole Zeke had torn in the ether ducts. Right. It probably wasn't a good idea to take too much from the Titan. As quick as he could, he used the clouds to seal the wound, and after a little coaxing, the Cloud Sea began to flow through the ducts normally again. He'd probably have to get Nia to make a more permanent patch, but it would do for now.

Zeke swept his remaining clouds out through the camp in liquid form, putting out fires to keep the soldiers alive. He didn't know exactly what kind of fighter Qadar was, but he wasn't about to let her murder a hundred people. Even if they were scumbags.

"They're alive," Qadar said, striding past him to unleash a column of flame at another group of soldiers.

"They'd better be," he said. He started looking for other extant threats, but suddenly he felt the head straining against its prison. He tried to crush the clouds inward to squash it, but it was faster. A blast of ether ripped through the side of the mass, tearing a hole that it emerged from, floating on what looked like a cloud of black gas.

"Qadar!" Zeke shouted, swinging the clouds around to try to strike the thing to the ground. It shot another blast at him, though, forcing him to scramble to the side. It cackled as it moved, sweeping a beam of ether at him. Zeke tried to strike it down, but his head swam again, and he lost concentration. The clouds around him began to decohere, and he fell to his knees.

Before the beam could slice him in half, though, a blast of water struck the Crone from the side. Nia surged forward, supporting herself on a giant wave and crashing down on top of the thing. She swung her sword through its eye, pinning it to the ground, and began pouring water through the wound. The Crone's laughter changed to howling, sending waves of ether washing over Nia, but she didn't let up. The Crone ended up breaking before she did, and the head exploded.

"You're back," Zeke said, dragging himself to his feet. "That was a lot quicker than I expected."

"I'm not," she said, collapsing to her knees. "But I wasn't about to let you die."

"Touching," the noble said, knocking Nia to the ground with a rifle while her back was turned. He'd gotten to his feet while Zeke had been incapacitated. "But neither of you are walking out of—"

Zeke struck him in the face with a blast of solid clouds, knocking a few of the man's teeth out. He hadn't killed him, probably, but he hadn't really been paying attention to how much power he gave the blast. His priority had been Nia, after all.

"Done!" Kalarau announced, sliding down the metal contraption. The lights on the side were dim, now.

"Good," Qadar said. "Call Strix. He will have been able to clean this up."

As Qadar and Kalarau went around, checking that Shieldwall was done putting up a fight, Zeke scrambled over to Nia. She was still conscious, and thankfully, she seemed unhurt.

"We did it," she muttered.

"Yeah," Zeke said. "Whatever it was. You alright?"

"I'll live. How about you?"

"Pretty good, actually. All things considered."

"Good," Nia muttered. "I think I'm going to lie here for a minute. Go help Qadar, yeah?"

"Right."

Zeke checked to make sure the noble was unconscious, and then went over to talk with Qadar. She was standing in the midst of all the unconscious or otherwise incapacitated soldiers, craning her head around to look for movement.

"Everything good here?"

"It should be. Or will have been, I suppose."

"You sneaky…" Zeke shook his head. "You knew exactly what we were walking into, didn't you?"

"I…" She frowned. "Yes. I knew Shieldwall was here. They planned to catalyze a great mass of Core Chips and vaporize the Titan's core. We needed Kalarau to drain it."

"And you didn't think any of this was prudent information before?"

"He doesn't fight. Not anymore. It will have taken a great deal of coaxing to get him to agree to the plan upfront, and that will have cost us precious time. Instead, I opted for a better solution."

"You could have at least let us know about the bombs in the walls."

"That was…" Qadar smiled, for the first time Zeke had ever seen. "Necessary, in its own way. You'll understand what I mean in time."

"That's just cheap, you know that? Cheap and cliched."

"If you say." Qadar shrugged.

"Whatever. Anything else we need to take care of?"

"Until Strix arrives? Nothing pressing."

"Then I'm going to be over there," Zeke said, motioning back at Nia. "Holler if you need me."

He sat back down next to Nia and let out a long sigh. He could just about understand what Qadar had meant, but the fact that she was so casual about it was… Offputting. It was going to be a royal pain if she pulled crap like this on a regular basis. But if things ever got to that point, then probably they had bigger problems to worry about than Qadar being coy.

"Hey Nia, I—" Zeke glanced down and stopped, noticing that she'd fallen asleep. Somehow. In the middle of all this. She'd more than earned the rest, though, after everything. She deserved to have a break.

Instead of waking her, Zeke leaned back against the cart and just… Sat there, waiting. It was kind of nice. Sitting next to Nia, watching her sleep. After the day he'd had, he deserved a little rest too. They all did.