"What's that for?" Electra asked, watching as Adenine laid out her tools.
"It's a resonance analyzer," Adenine said. "We're probing your Core Crystal."
"Cool!" Electra leaned back in the chair. After a moment, though, she leaned up again. "Why are we probing my Core Crystal?"
"Nia didn't tell you?"
"I was getting around to it," Nia said, raising her voice a little to be heard from the other side of the curtain. She was still getting her scrubs on. It wasn't really necessary for what they had in mind, but Adenine insisted on following proper procedures.
"I'm just happy to help," Electra said.
"Story time, then," Adenine said. "I saw you die, once, during the Aegis War."
"I fought in the Aegis War?"
"Just about every Blade did. It's not like there was any other choice. You were with the King of Uraya at the time."
"I was a royal Blade?"
"Let me finish, please," Adenine said. Electra shrank back into herself and mumbled an apology. "It was during the battle of Tantal. One of Malos's Artifices was trying to destroy the Titan from the inside. You and I were part of the team that went to stop it, and during the fight, it cut clean through your Core Crystal with a blast of energy. The King survived the fight, but you didn't."
"That… Doesn't really sound possible."
"No," Nia said, stepping into the operating theater. "It doesn't, does it? One of the basic rules is when your Core Crystal goes, you go too. Which makes me curious how you managed to come back."
"Maybe I'm just built different?" Electra asked. She sat up in the chair and flexed. She'd gotten a lot more confident in herself, now that Zeke had taken her under his wing.
"Maybe. But we'd like to know for sure. If we can find out how you came back, we'd be able to help a lot of other Blades with damaged cores."
"Sounds great! What do you need me to do?"
"Just lie back," Adenine said, centering the resonance analyzer over to the chair. As Electra leaned back, she placed it over her core.
"Adenine will stimulate your Core Crystal," Nia said. "We're going to look for anything that might show signs of damage. I'm her backup. If anything goes wrong, I'll put things back where they should be. Are you up for that?"
"Yeah," Electra said. She flashed Nia a thumbs up, which took Nia by surprise a little. The change was frankly startling. Maybe Zeke was rubbing off on her a little too much.
"Starting resonance," Adenine said. "Sit still, please."
Adenine ran her machine over Electra's core, keeping one eye on the placement and another on the outputs. Nia expected her to say something, but after over a minute, she was just furrowing her brow.
"Well?" Nia asked. "Anything?"
"Nothing," Adenine said. "There's no damage at all. The Core's functioning at peak performance."
"That's…" Nia thought for a moment. "And you're sure she had her core damaged in the past?"
"I saw it happen. Ask Azurda, he was there too."
"Maybe someone fixed it?"
"Like who? You?"
"Yeah, maybe. Maybe like me. What was I doing during the Aegis War?"
"Fighting," Adenine said. "Like the rest of us. That's not really the point, though. Fixing a core wasn't an option on the table, back then. The only reason we have a shot at it now is because you're a Flesh Eater with very few limits, and even then, repairing Core Crystals is dangerous."
"So wait," Electra said. "I'm not special?"
"Never said you were."
"It didn't just repair itself," Nia said. "If there's no sign of damage, then whatever fixed her in the past did a damn good job. Better than I can, apparently. We just need to figure out how it happened."
"Wait…" Adenine went quiet for a moment. "What if it did?"
"What?"
"Fix itself. What if the core did fix itself?"
"I don't follow."
"Can Core Crystals do that?" Electra asked.
"No," Adenine said. Though she sounded far from sure. "Maybe? There's a lot we don't know. I worked with Amalthus to understand their inner workings for years, and I barely scratched the surface. Making Blade Eaters was a matter of trial and error to cut the core right without something going horribly wrong. We never managed to tease out the exact function of most of the bulk crystal."
"You think maybe Core Crystals have a self-repair mechanism?" Nia asked. "Then what about Dromarch? Why hasn't he gotten better?"
"Dromarch was liquid for several minutes, Nia. I don't think there's any precedent for what happened to him."
"That's not really an answer."
"I'm thinking." She floated back over to her desk and began to write out some equations. It took her a moment, then she shook her head, scratched them out, and wrote them out again.
"I'm lost," Electra declared.
"Give her a minute," Nia said. The two of them watched Adenine as she worked, muttering to herself for what felt like an hour. By the time she leaned back, Nia was practically a bundle of nerves.
"Well?" Electra asked.
"If they self-repair," Adenine said. "And that's a big if, mind, it'd explain a lot. I've had trouble getting T-elos's core back to one hundred percent because sections keep dropping out on me. I'm now thinking maybe that's because her self-repair function is compromised from being stuck in Amalthus's vessel, and that's preventing certain sections from reactivating. Dromarch's probably dealing with something similar, given the whole 'reduced to sludge' situation. If we could identify the self-repair function and activate it, then I think the Core Crystal would do most of our work for us."
"That's a lot of ifs," Nia said. "But it sounds promising."
"It has to piggyback the Aegis's broadcast somehow," Adenine continued. "There's no way it'd be able to restore all the data otherwise. But the Aegis Core is still functioning, so that can't be the heart of the issue. Maybe…" She trailed off, muttering to herself as she turned back to her desk.
"I'm not sure what's going on," Electra said. "But it sounds cool."
"Time will tell," Nia said. "Adenine, do we still need Electra?"
"No," Adenine said, glancing back at them. "A functioning Core Crystal isn't going to help us identify the self-repair region. I'm going to need to put T-elos through another session. Dromarch too, probably."
"You can head out," Nia said. "She's going to be at this a while."
"Roger!" Electra sprang up from the chair. "I should go find Zeke-sensei anyway. I promised I wouldn't take too long."
"How are things going with training?"
"They were going great. But ever since Temperantia had that big freak-out, I haven't really seen Pandoria-sensei."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. When you see Zeke, tell him to pull his head out of his ass and apologize, yeah?"
"Apologize for what?" Electra asked. After a moment, she gasped, looking genuinely distressed. "Did you two have a fight?"
"No," Nia said. "Though I'd wager he and Pandoria probably did. She's a little particular about…" Nia stopped. "Never mind. Not my place to say."
"That's a relief. I'd hate to see you two arguing."
"That's…" Why would Electra care about that? It wasn't like she and Zeke had a habit of arguing. Friendly competition, a little banter, sure. But they weren't shouting at each other all the time. Before Nia could ask what she meant, however, the door flew open, and Zeke poked his head inside.
"Electra!" he shouted, startling everyone present. "There you are! You're late for training."
"Calm down," Nia said. "I told you this morning that Adenine and I were looking at her core. Even you can't have forgotten already."
"Oh…" Zeke's brow furrowed. "Right. I assume that's why you're wearing an apron?"
Nia looked down at herself. How had he managed to confuse a surgical gown for an apron?
"Are you doing alright?" she asked.
"Me? I'm fine." Zeke leaned against the door frame. "Never better."
"If you say so." Nia pulled the scrubs off and tossed them over the curtain. "I already told Electra she's free to leave. It was a short appointment today, all things considered."
"I'm not sure what happened," Electra said, beaming. "But I helped, I think."
"That's good," Zeke said. "I wanted to get some training in today, while we had the time. You up for it?"
"Always!"
"Good. Head to the pitch and start your warmups. I'll be down in a few."
"Good luck!" Electra said, beaming at Zeke. As she left the room, she flashed him a thumbs-up.
"You've really made an impression on that girl," Nia said. "She never used to be this upbeat before."
"I'm just helping her be more confident," Zeke said. "She did the rest. Though I wish I knew what she was talking about."
"Someone finally managed to talk circles around you? I'm impressed."
"Normally I can keep up, but these past few days she keeps wishing me luck, for some reason. And I'm not really sure what for."
"Maybe she's trying to cheer you up, give you a little encouragement."
"Cheer me up? That's ridiculous. Why would I need cheering up?"
"You're right," Nia said. She shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. Where's Pandoria, by the way? I haven't seen her in a couple days."
"Oh, you know," Zeke said. "Around."
"Well you should probably go find her, then. I don't think she'd want to miss training."
"Yeah, I'll just… Do that." Zeke sighed, deflating a little. "Sod it, no point in hiding it. Nia, I need your help."
"Oh?" Nia feigned surprise, raising an eyebrow. She figured he'd needed something when he decided to stick around. "Do tell."
"Pandy's mad at me. We had a big fight when we got back from the core, and she's locked herself in her room ever since. She won't come out, and she won't talk to me."
"Have you tried apologizing?"
"Yes. I've been apologizing for three days, but she won't have it. I'm at the end of my rope here."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
"Would you?" Zeke's face lit up, breaking into a grin. "You're a lifesaver, Nia."
"It is my job," she said. "Adenine, are you—"
"I'll handle things here myself," Adenine said, cutting her off. "If anything happens, you'll be the first to know."
"Good. I'll send Dromarch by as soon as I find him." She stepped out of the lab and closed the door behind her. "So, to Pandoria's?"
"Yeah," Zeke said. "We've got about half an hour before Electra's done with her warmups, so that should give us some time."
"Are you going to tell me what she's mad about, or am I going to have to guess?"
"Right! We made a promise a long time ago that we'd stick with each other no matter what, never leave each other's side, that sort of thing. I used to have a habit of getting myself into incredibly dangerous situations, and after I got this—" He tapped his chest, where his Core Crystal was. "—she got scared I'd be stupid enough to get myself killed one day. She doesn't like it when we separate, and she really doesn't like it when I get into fights without her there to look out for me."
"Why didn't you grab her before we went to the core?"
"Things seemed urgent, there wasn't time, and I didn't figure we'd be going head-to-head with a terrorist organization."
"I guess I've got no room to talk, there," Nia admitted. "I left Dromarch worried sick the entire time."
"We're just horrible Drivers, aren't we?" Zeke asked, shaking his head.
"Do not lump me in with you. At least I've never run the risk of Dromarch returning to his core."
"Well, except—" Zeke stopped for an instant, stumbling over his words. "—taking those hits trying to save my life back in the core. That was pretty reckless of you."
"I'll concede that one," she said. "That still leaves me at least one up on you, though."
She could guess what he'd wanted to say, before he caught himself. The fact remained that she'd gotten Dromarch killed during their fight with Aion.
"A lot more than one," Zeke said. He let out a dry laugh. "I used to be a pretty big idiot, back in the day."
"Used to be?"
"Oh, you know what I mean," he said, shoving her on the shoulder. "I've got a pattern of this kind of behavior, and I don't think Pandoria trusts me to keep my word anymore. Which… It hurts, but I understand. I just don't know what to do about it."
"I doubt it's that bad," Nia said. "You're her Driver, and she trusts you with her life. It takes a lot more than a few mistakes to break that kind of trust."
"I've made a lot more than a few, believe me."
"You're a good person, Zeke. You're being too hard on yourself."
"Maybe." He sighed. "It's just hard not to be, considering. Pandoria is one of the only people I can really rely on, you know? Life's a lot harder when you've got to face it by yourself."
Nia stopped and whirled around, staring at him.
"Don't do that," she said, hands on her hips in the best disappointed pose she could muster.
"Do what?"
"You aren't facing anything by yourself. We're here too, you know. You can rely on us. If no one else, you can at least rely on me, yeah?"
"I…" He stopped, blinking a few times. Nia thought he might cry, judging by his expression, but he held it together. "I know. But I'm supposed to be strong enough to handle this on my own."
"That's not strength, Zeke. That's cowardice with extra steps. I should know better than anyone."
"That's not—" He stopped himself and, after a moment, smacked himself on the cheeks. "You're right. I moved here to lend a hand, so I don't get to be surprised when that comes back around."
And just like that, he seemed back to normal. Whenever she got these glimpses of his more sensitive side, she couldn't be sure if the mask was slipping or if he was just messing with her. She wanted to believe she was starting to figure him out, though.
As they approached Pandoria's room, there was someone standing outside it. A woman with long, blonde hair and a pristine white dress. Her Core Crystal was diamond-shaped and hung from an intricate gold choker around her neck. She'd arrived about a year ago, but Nia couldn't immediately place her name.
"Vess?" Zeke asked, getting to it before she could. He moved past her and walked up to the woman.
"Hello," Vess said, smiling. Standing in front of the door, she had a very matronly appearance. "It's been a long time, Zeke."
"You know each other?" Nia asked.
"I know lots of people," Zeke said.
"We were traveling partners," Vess said. "My Driver and I were hunting a mercenary on Uraya's most wanted list, and for a while Zeke and Pandoria tagged along."
"Tagged along, she says," Zeke said. "We're the ones who kicked the most ass."
"You were very helpful in apprehending the man. You're lucky to have him on your side, Head Caretaker."
"Believe me, I know," Nia said. "I don't mean to be rude, but we were here to talk to Pandoria. Do you think you could—"
"Oh, right," Vess said. "I meant to tell you. She isn't here."
"What do you mean she isn't here?" Zeke asked.
"She came by my stall this morning and asked if I could pass on a message. She's gone out for a walk, and after she gets back, she wants to talk. She didn't give me details, but it sounds like you two aren't seeing eye to eye at the moment. I can only imagine what's happened if she's come to me of all people to confide in."
"She liked you the most," Zeke said. "It doesn't really surprise me. Do you know when she'll be back?"
"Sorry." Vess shook her head. "I've been waiting for her to come back for a while now, but I've not seen her since. I'm starting to get worried too. I left Mabon in charge of the stall, but you know how poor a cook that man is. I'll be lucky if he hasn't burned it down by now."
"Well, thanks anyway. I'm sorry to put you out like this."
"It's no trouble, really. I'm glad to help out my kids whenever I can, even if I rarely see anyone from the old days anymore."
"Your kids?" Nia asked. If Pandoria were here, she'd be telling the story already, but Zeke didn't seem eager.
"Don't get her started," he said. Vess didn't pay him mind.
"They were practically on the brink of starvation when we found them," she said. "I've been taking care of people most of my life, so I had them back in fighting shape in no time. After a while, as we started gathering more people, I grew rather attached to the whole group. We were like a big, mercenary family."
"You had a crew before us?" Nia asked. "How am I just hearing about this now?"
"We weren't really a crew," Zeke said. "Pandoria and I were looking to lay low, and Mabon and Vess seemed like good people, so we rolled with it. Once we learned about the job, we decided to see it through, and things kind of snowballed. We roped in a fair few people before we finally took the bastard down."
"I'm noticing that a lot of your stories start with you and Pandoria having to lay low somewhere," Nia said.
"We got up to a lot." Zeke shrugged. "Pandoria remembers the whole affair better than I do. You should get the story from her."
"You don't mind her telling this one?"
"Why would I?" Zeke asked. "We kicked ass. Before the Praetorium, it was the only thing we did that I could really be proud of."
"You joined the Praetorium?" Vess asked. "You never struck me as a very pious boy."
"I'm not." Zeke opened his coat, revealing the Core Crystal in his chest. "But I had to pay them back for this somehow, and at the time they seemed like a decent sort."
"Oh my," Vess muttered. "Is that Pandoria's?"
"Yup." Zeke straightened his jacket again. "I lost a lung in Spessia, and this was the only way they could save me."
"That is…" Vess shook her head slowly. "I can't say I've ever seen anything like it before. But it's good to know you're in good health, at least."
"We managed, somehow." Zeke leaned against the wall. "So I guess we just wait for Pandoria, then?"
"I need to get back to my stall," Vess said. "I wish I could stay, but I don't want Mabon giving the guests food poisoning."
"And you need to get to training," Nia said, grabbing Zeke's arm and pulling him off the wall.
"But—"
"I'll find Pandoria. But you made a promise to Electra, and you are not breaking it."
"Yeah." Zeke slouched. "You're right."
"Good. I've got a light workload today, so I'll ask Strix if—"
"Heads up," Strix said, his voice crackling over her earpiece. "We've got a Coalition convoy approaching the gates."
"What?" Nia asked. She took a moment to process that. Zeke must've gotten the news too, because he looked just as confused as she was. "Repeat."
"There's a Coalition convoy on approach," Strix said. "Ardainian outfit, six land-based Titans, moving fast. Their gear seems to check out, but there's a few compartments I can't see into."
"Ether shielding," Nia said. "Why would they be bringing ether shielding? Are they armed?"
"Seems that way. The leader's a Driver I don't recognize. What do we do about them?"
"Put up a barrier, get them to stop. See what they want. I'll be there as soon as I—"
"Head Caretaker!" someone bellowed from down the hallway. Nia turned to see Corvin marching toward her, Dromarch at his heels.
"Give me a second," she said, taking her hand away from her earpiece. Today wouldn't stop dredging up problems, it seemed.
"Alright…" Strix sighed. "But if this goes south, I'm taking them down."
"Apologies, my lady," Dromarch said as Corvin approached. "He was insistent on seeing you in person."
"It's fine," Nia said. "I'll handle it."
"What is this?" Corvin asked.
"What is what?" Nia asked. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.
"Agate tells me that accident a few days ago put Temperantia under great strain. But rather than explain what was happening, you disappeared with the other Caretakers to who knows where."
"There was a problem in Temperantia's core. We were pressed for time, but we fixed it."
"And this 'problem' involved dragging ninety-six human mercenaries to the dungeons, I assume?"
"Shieldwall," Zeke said. Nia figured he would have left, but she was glad he hadn't. Dealing with Corvin by herself was so exhausting.
"I understand that," Corvin said. "What I don't understand is why I'm being told you intend to keep them locked up."
"Mikhail didn't explain it?" Nia asked.
"He explained it. I just don't see the logic."
"They want us dead," Zeke said. "They were planning to blow up the whole Titan. What do you want us to do?"
"They don't have Blades, do they?"
"I'd be very surprised if they did, considering."
"Then why don't we just kill them?"
"Ha." Zeke crossed his arms. "No."
"Why are we protecting people who wanted us dead?" Corvin asked.
"Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't be stooping to their level?"
"That was different. Durro wasn't an active danger to the Gardens, but these people are."
"And we've got them locked up, where they can't harm anyone," Nia said. "Just like Bradly."
"And if Bradly wasn't my Driver, or anyone's Driver, then I'd say we should kill him too. He's fucking deranged. They all are."
"We're not murderers, Corvin. We don't get to decide who lives or who dies. We're keeping them from hurting anyone else, but that doesn't mean we get to kill them."
"Even if the world would be better without them in it?"
"What do you want?" Zeke asked. "Less than a week ago you were on our case about going too far, now you think we've not gone far enough? I don't buy it. What's the angle?"
"I want what's best for the Gardens," he said. "Believe it or not, this place has grown on me. I don't want to see it driven to ruin by poor leadership."
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. Call a hearing if you feel that strongly about it."
"I really hope it doesn't have to come to that," Corvin said, stepping back. "But you don't seem willing to change your minds, so we'll see."
Nia wanted to say something, but she didn't know how to argue with what he was saying. The fact that they even had dungeons at all didn't sit well with some of the community, and now Corvin was coming at them from both sides of the issue. It felt calculated, but the look in his eyes seemed genuine. There was every possibility he really did care about this place.
"Listen, Corvin," she said. "I'd love to talk about this some more, but something's come up at the gates that I need to deal with."
"Something wrong?" Corvin asked.
"Hopefully it's just a misunderstanding."
"That doesn't inspire confidence."
"No, I'm sure it doesn't. But don't worry, everything's under control."
The moment she said that, she could hear footsteps coming from further down the hallway. Everyone turned to see Qadar round the corner, four of her wings unfolded.
"We're under attack," she said, flying past them and heading for the gates. Nia was running before she could even really register the warning. Qadar was usually right about these things.
"Strix!" she shouted, hand pressed against her earpiece. "What's going on!?"
There was no response over the network, but there was a loud shaking as something near the gate exploded. Which was as good an answer as any. She glanced back to see the others, Corvin and Vess included, following her.
By the time they'd arrived at the gates, they were already blown open. Chunks had been scattered around the courtyard, and Ardainian soldiers were swarming in. Strix was trying to hold them off, but he was outnumbered two dozen to one, and they had Drivers. Gunfire and ether blasted him from every side, driving him into the ground.
"The Coalition?" Corvin asked. "I thought they were our allies!?"
"This isn't the Coalition," Zeke said. He was staring across the courtyard at the entrance to the common area. Two men stood at the doors, wearing Ardainian armor. Durro was one, and the other was an Urayan man in his late forties. He had two Blade weapons, an axe and a katana hanging from his belt. As he saw them, he smiled.
"Zeke von Genbu!" he shouted, stepping aside. Behind him, his two Blades had Pandoria tied up in ether netting and locked in a cage. "I told you I'd get what I want! And now I've got her!"
"Not on your fucking life," Zeke said. Faster than Nia could blink, he drew his sword and shot across the courtyard, colliding with the man head-on. Their weapons clashed, throwing off three different waves of ether that tore up the wall behind them.
As they clashed, Qadar began raining fire on the "Ardainian" troops, whipping her chain around to keep them from going after Zeke. Nia manifested her sword too, and Domarch passed her one of his rings for good measure. She slammed the two together, unleashing a wave of water that knocked most of the normal soldiers over. But a few among them were Drivers, and they stayed standing.
"I've got a lot of questions," Corvin said, drawing his swords. "But that can wait. I'll follow your lead, Head Caretaker."
"Force them back," Vess said. She manifested a large ball ringed with blue halos. "We need to help Zeke. He's not going to win that fight."
Nia got the feeling there was history, here, but she didn't ask what it was. That could come later. Right now, they needed to focus on the problem in front of them. Zeke needed help. And there were nearly a dozen Drivers between her and him. As they converged on her, she swept out another wave of water and charged. Whoever these bastards were, she was going to make them regret coming after her people.
Orion scrambled back as Zeke landed, driving his sword into the ground. Lightning spread out in all directions, and one of Orion's Blades stepped forward, throwing up a barrier of earth to block it. Instantly, Vess appeared above her, spiking her ball down toward the Blade before she could react. Unfortunately, the other one managed to get a shield up just before impact.
Orion planted his sword in the ground and swung it, throwing a massive wall of earth toward Zeke. Pandoria halted it with a shield, and Zeke drove his sword forward, splitting the wall in half. As it collapsed, he shot the blade of his weapon straight for Orion. His fire Blade had to put up a shield to keep him safe, and that left his earth Blade open. The shield around her dropped just as Vess landed, and she shot forward, kicking the ball into the earth Blade and blasting her into the sky.
As the earthen defenses around Orion collapsed, Zeke closed the distance. He recalled his sword blade and swung, colliding with Orion's axe. The man tried to swing his sword up to catch Zeke in the stomach, but Zeke was faster. He jumped, sliding his own sword forward against the axe and aiming for Orion's helmet. The man lurched aside and slid the axe forward to catch Zeke in the stomach. But Zeke put one foot on Orion's sword, pinning it to the ground, and used the other to slam down on the axe head, driving it into the dirt.
Before he could deliver the finishing blow, though, the ground around him began to move again. The earth Blade was back in range, so he jumped, moving back before the ground could catch him. As he did, though, he shot his blade forward, keeping up the pressure. Waves of earth lurched up, stopping it just short of hitting Orion, but immediately Pandoria slammed her fist into Zeke's back. Electricity arced from the sword's handle to the Blade and discharged near Orion. His Blade had to put up another shield to block the shot.
Zeke prepared for another attack, but fortunately, backup finally arrived. A crack sounded as Kora emerged from the forest behind Orion, slamming a fist into his shield. It shattered, and lightning shot out from her gauntlet, striking him in the back. As it shot through him, he spasmed, dropping his weapons and falling to his knees. Before Kora could cuff him, though, his other Blade blasted her with a wave of fire, forcing her back.
It gave Zeke an opening, at least. He swung the sword handle, and the blade moved in tandem, flying up and clocking the fire Blade on the chin. As she stumbled back, Vess struck her from behind with her ball, knocking the Blade into the dirt. The earth Blade tried to pick up the slack, but she couldn't track them all at once. Pandoria and Kora came at her from two sides, catching her with twin punches of raw electric power.
Slowly, Orion got back to his feet, but more people stepped out of the forest. Mabon and Elnis, the other two Drivers in their group, with Orion's "clients" at gunpoint. A pair of bottom-of-the-barrel nobles who'd wanted to buy a few Blades and turn their failing mercenary outfit around. Unfortunately for them, this was Orion's last sale as a Blade poacher.
"It's over," Mabon said. "Come quietly."
"Not on your fucking life," Orion spat. He lurched forward, grabbing his axe and swinging it for Mabon's head. But Zeke was faster. He rushed between them and elbowed the man in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. As he pushed Orion back, Vess caught his head, and she hit him with enough electricity to take him out of the fight for good.
"Is he—"
"He's alive," Vess said. She tossed him to Kora, but before she could cuff him, a wall of earth sprang up around him.
"Don't you dare!" his Blade shouted.
"Figures," Zeke said. "Gourmet, you get—"
Before he could give out the orders, there was a roar, and Herald came soaring out of the building they'd started the fight in. They landed, driving one of Orion's men into the ground, and a crackle of electricity danced across their jaws.
With Herald here, whatever hope these Blades had of winning the fight vanished into thin air. Slowly, they put their arms up, and Mabon stepped forward to cuff them.
"We did it," Elnis said. "We actually did it. I can't believe it."
"Of course we did," Zeke said. "We're the Order of Chaos. There's nothing we can't do."
"I still think the name is a bit much," Kora said. "But what the hell. We kicked ass, that's what counts."
"That's the spirit!" Pandoria said, throwing an arm around Kora.
"This calls for a celebration." Vess clapped her hands together. "I'll cook up something extra special tonight, to celebrate our victory."
"We ain't won yet," Mabon said. He dug Orion's unconscious body out of the dirt and cuffed him too. Just to be safe. "We've still got to get out of the country and find an Urayan drop off. Until then, we're eating and sleeping in shifts."
"Way to kill the mood," Zeke grumbled.
"Prince," Herald said, lumbering forward. They kneeled, bowing their head to Zeke.
"I told you to use my codename when we're on the job," Zeke said. "Right now, I'm the Zekeinator, got it?"
Herald didn't even seem to acknowledge him.
"We have apprehended the criminal. I have upheld my end of our bargain. I now request that you return with me to Tantal immediately. Your father—"
"Nope!" Zeke shouted, crossing his arms in an x. "No way. Tell my dad he can shove it. The world's in much worse shape than we could have imagined. I can't just leave things like this. Not when I have the power to do something about it."
"I am to return the Eye of Genbu, by the order of your father. You can either come with me willingly, or I can take it from you."
"Well, when you put it like that…" Zeke sighed. Then in the next breath, he took off running. Pandoria vaulted over Herald and ran after him, making for the forest at breakneck speed.
"Prince!" Herald shouted. They took to the sky, flying after them. "Come back here!"
"Zeke!" Vess shouted. "Need some backup!?"
"I'm fine!" he shouted back. He and Pandoria scrambled back, avoiding Herald as they crashed down toward them. "We should be back before dinner! Make sure to keep a plate or two warm for us!"
With a wave and a smile, and narrowly avoiding another pass by Herald, Zeke and Pandoria ran off into the forest.
Zeke screamed, slamming Orion into the far wall with his sword. The building contorted around them as the man's earth Blade went to work, but he didn't waver. Instead, he flicked his eyepatch up, activating the Eye. Tendrils of stone shot out from his cloak, whipping around to defend him from the spikes that shot up from the ground.
Orion slammed his axe's head into the ceiling, creating a wave of fire that rained down on Zeke, but he used two tendrils of cloud-stone to block it. Then he forced as much electricity as he could muster through the end of his sword. It arced up Orion's arm and down his leg, but didn't seem to affect him much.
"I've had eight long years to think about how to kill you," Orion said. "We came prepared."
"Shut up!" Zeke screamed. He kicked Orion in the stomach, knocking him through the wall, and swung. He knew full well that the strike would kill Orion, but right now, he didn't care. Unfortunately, the man brought his own sword up, blocking the strike just before it split his head open. Then he swung his axe around, aiming for Zeke's leg.
Zeke knocked it away with a tendril of stone and stepped back, firing his sword into the ceiling. Orion came at him with a follow-up swing, but abruptly, he closed the distance and drove the sword handle into the man's gut. He hoped unleashing a blast at point blank would get around whatever defenses Orion was using. But rather than knock him clear across the room, Zeke's bolt of lightning barely even made him flinch.
"Zeke!" Pandoria shouted, drawing his attention. He turned to see Orion's Blades haul her into the building and take off running. Immediately, Zeke knocked Orion aside and ran after them, recalling his sword back. The moment it arrived, he shifted up a gear, propelling himself down the hallway and slamming into the earth Blade before she could put up a defense. The other one tried to blast him with fire, but he ducked underneath and caught her in the armpit with a swing, knocking her clear through the ceiling.
As he reached for the cage, however, the ground turned to mud beneath him, and the earth Blade's hand reached out, pulling him down. He drove his tendrils in, trying to slice her apart, but she was faster in the ground. He had to grab her arm and pull her out to stop her, but as she came up, she brought a spike of earth with her, nearly driving it through his chest. Thankfully, his tendrils reacted fast enough to block it, and he had just enough leverage to swing her around into the cage with enough force to break through the side. Immediately, Pandoria struggled her way free, and with a great heave, he managed to pull himself out of the muck.
Before he could reach her, a giant hand of stone emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around her. Zeke lunged for the earth Blade again, but she slipped past him, sinking back into the ground and fleeing down the hallway again, with the giant stone hand trailing closely behind. Before Zeke could go after her, Orion caught up with him, throwing out a wave of fire the forced Zeke to duck. Right into the path of Orion's sword.
With moments to spare, Zeke managed to throw himself into high gear and jump clear of the swing. But rather than keep up the fight with Orion, he turned and went after the Blade again. She was fast underground, and she used the stone hand to tear up the hallways as she headed for the dungeons. But Zeke was faster, and despite all the obstacles, he caught up in no time. As he swung for the fist, however, a spike emerged from the wall, nearly catching him in the temple. His tendrils barely had time to block the attack, and he spun, sweeping his sword through the wall in the hopes he would hit the Blade.
She wasn't in the wall, though. Instead, she dropped on him from above, peeling out of the ceiling and coiling around him. The ground ripped up around them in strips, attaching to her body and encasing him in a prison of stone. Zeke's arm was pinned, but his tendrils could still move. So rather than struggle, he shifted them back to cloud and let them seep out of the cracks in the stone prison.
As the clouds settled in place, he shifted them back into stone, forming a dozen thin whips. They curled back around and wrapped around the Blade's head, dragging her to the surface. As she struggled, the tendrils slammed her head-first against the prison, freeing Zeke's sword arm. Immediately, he brought it around, using the sword to take chunks out of his prison while the tendrils continued to slam the Blade around. After a few well-placed swings, he was free.
By the time he'd cut himself out, however, Orion and his other Blade had arrived. Fire rolled around him, and he ducked behind one of the remaining spikes of stone. Then he swung his sword up and fired the blade from the end, scraping it against the ceiling and swinging it through the fire beyond the stone. As he brought it back down, it struck something, and the fire stopped. But before he could recall it, Orion lunged forward and drove his own sword through the weapon's side, pinning it to the ground.
With just his axe left, Orion lunged, swinging for Zeke's head. He stepped back, striking the axe aside with his handle and firing a blast of electricity at the fire Blade to keep her at bay. The moment he shifted his attention, however, the stone hand encasing Pandoria moved behind him, and he flicked a hand up, using the tendrils to throw the earth Blade through the ceiling and put her as far away from Pandoria as possible.
Once the Blade was dealt with, Zeke called his tendrils back, using them to dig into the side of the stone hand while he held Orion off. The man swung down again, sending another wave of fire cascading down atop Zeke's head. He lunged, dodging underneath the wave and striking Orion in the knee with the handle. As the man stumbled, he stood, cracking him on the chin and knocking him back. Then he lunged, driving the handle straight through the fire Blade's shield and blasting her back with a bolt of electricity.
Before he could return to Pandoria, however, the ground tore up around him again, nearly striking him in the head. He looked back, expecting to see the earth Blade coming for him, but she was still a ways off. Instead, he could see Nim perched atop the stone hand, huddled into herself slightly. Durro and Kora stood on either side. She was tensed up, but he had a massive grin on his face.
"I've been waiting for this," Durro said. "You two. Take him down."
"Sorry," Kora muttered, stepping forward and manifesting a large pair of metal claws with spiked knuckles. Even her weapon was more exaggerated, this time around. As she swung at him, he stepped back, using his sword's handle to knock her arm aside. But before he could force her back, she moved again, and her other claw slammed into the side of his head. Instinctually, he shifted into high gear again, pulling his head back before she could deliver the full force of the impact. But it still left a cut on his forehead.
As she stumbled forward, he swept his hand out, striking Kora in the stomach and knocking her back. But the ground around him sagged, forcing him to back up even further or risk being crushed. As Kora lunged again, he swept his tendrils up and around to drag Nim off her perch. She lifted up a shield of stone to block them, and Kora ducked before they could flex inward and pin her. The moment she was back on her feet, she swept a claw out at him again, but he jumped over it with ease.
As the claw passed underneath him, he drove his handle into it, drawing up some of its electric ether. Before she could discharge it at him, he grabbed one of the tendrils and pulled himself up, tossing the handle at Durro. It struck him in the chest, but Nim got a shield up around him before the blast could detonate. Still, as the handle struck the ceiling, Zeke used the opportunity to recall the blade again. It lurched, tearing itself up against the katana and wrenching it out of the ground.
Orion caught his sword as the blade flew past, trying to keep the two from reuniting, but instead the two weapons just slid apart. As Zeke's sword reformed, he jumped, lunging for his weapon. Durro grabbed it first, though, quickly bringing it down on Zeke's head. At the last second, Zeke managed to clap his hands on either side of the blade, stopping it just short of splitting his skull. Immediately he began pumping it full of electricity until it couldn't hold anymore. A stray bolt of lightning struck Durro in the chest, and he fell back, letting go of the weapon.
Before Zeke could follow up, though, more spikes of earth tore up from the ground, knocking him to the side. He spun as he flew, catching Kora in the side and driving her into a nearby wall. Orion swung the axe for his head, and he swatted it aside, kicking the man back into the ground. Before he could knock him out, however, Durro lunged, wearing a pair of metal gauntlets. He struck Zeke in the ribs, but before he could follow up, Zeke backhanded him in the face, knocking him back and, with any luck, breaking his nose.
The attack still winded him, though, and he took a moment to regain his breath. In that moment, Kora slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. Immediately, tendrils of stone began wrapping around his limbs, and he swung his own tendrils to counter. They cut through each other, leaving him relatively free to move. Before he could get up, however, something grabbed him from below.
Orion's earth Blade lurched up from beneath the floor, wrapping her arms around his head. His vision was filled with green light as she pulled the ether net tight around his head. Immediately, he lost his connection to his tendrils, and they collapsed into harmless cloud nearby.
He wasn't out of the fight yet, though. He lurched up, dragging the Blade out of the ground and tearing her off him. Then he spun, using his sword to keep everyone else at bay while he tossed the Blade at Durro. Kora didn't heed the warning, though, and he just barely missed her as she lunged for him. The attack forced him into high gear, and he ducked beneath her incoming swing, driving his own fist into her gut and slamming her into the wall.
Orion threw out more fire, and he blocked it with the flat of his sword. But that was just a distraction. A wave of earth flew at him, knocking him back, and as he collided with the stone hand, it moved. The fingers uncoiled from around Pandoria and shifted around, moving surprisingly fast for their size. Before he knew it, they'd pinned his arms and chest against the flat of the stone palm.
He tried to jump up and wrench himself free, but the ground around his feet turned to muck, and he sank in, trapping his legs too. Durro scrambled to wrench the sword out of his grip, and when he was done, tendrils of stone lurched up to encase Zeke's hands as well. He did his best to struggle, but he was trapped. No Eye, no weapon, no lightning.
Well, not quite no lightning. He began gathering ether in his Core Crystal, but it would take a moment to unleash.
"Hot damn!" Orion shouted, sauntering up to Zeke. "It's not so easy being on the receiving end of six attacks, now is it?"
"Fuck you," Zeke said. He could barely see straight. The only thing on his mind was putting this bastard in the ground and getting Pandoria back safe. He didn't have time for this bullshit right now.
"Temper temper." Orion leaned down, his face inches away from Zeke's. "If you behave yourself, I might just let like Eureka go."
He still remembered their code names. Asshole. Though, if anyone would, it'd be him. Most of the names originally started as Orion's labels for the Blades he was hunting. Back then, Zeke had taken a shine to them. After a while, they became a mark of pride. A way to taunt Orion for spending over a year trying and failing to capture Pandoria. He never thought the asshole would be back to finish the job.
"We should move," Durro said. "Rook said not to—"
Orion slammed his axe down, cutting Durro off.
"Right," Durro said. "Sorry."
"We don't have everything we need yet," Orion said, standing up and motioning at Zeke. His earth Blade stepped forward, and two tendrils of stone tore up from the ground in front of him. They hovered at Zeke's eye level, and for a moment he thought the man was going to blind him.
"I can't believe you kept that thing up your sleeve all that time," Orion muttered. "Well, not that it matters now. Take it."
The tendrils lunged, digging around the side of the Eye. It was excruciating, feeling them dig around in the flesh that was left back there. But he didn't scream. He just kept his one good eye trained on Orion and did his best not to lose focus.
That focus didn't last long, though. As the tendrils hooked into the Eye, they pulled, trying to drag it out of his skull. Only it was physically attached to his eye socket, and the tugging sensation was more painful than anything Zeke had experienced before. He grunted, biting down on his cheek to keep from screaming as the device finally tore free from his head.
Blood ran down his face as he slumped in his restraints. He could see a massive bright spot on his left side, where he'd gotten so used to being unable to see anything at all. Orion plucked the Eye out of the tendrils and turned it over in his hands.
"Is he still conscious?" Durro asked.
"He's a tough sone of a bitch," Orion said. "I've never even seen him bleed, before today."
"This guy can't be human."
"Technically, I'm not," Zeke said. He smirked, staring up at Orion with his working eye. "I'm a Blade Eater."
Orion didn't catch his meaning, but then again, Zeke didn't give him time to. He unleashed the ether stored in his Core Crystal in one large burst, sending out a cascade that blasted Orion back and struck Durro square in the chest with electricity. As they dropped to the ground, Zeke tried to pull himself free, but he felt a sword press against his neck before he could. He looked up to see Orion's earth Blade, sword poised to take his head off.
"You are just full of surprises," Orion said. "But you're in over your head, little prince. And now that I've got this, I can finally get rid of you for good."
Orion held out the Eye toward Zeke, but nothing happened. The Artifice's core was dark. After a moment, Orion looked down at it, disappointed.
"Darn. I was hoping it'd do something. You made controlling it seem so easy, I just figured… Ah well. I guess we're doing this the old fashion way."
He whistled, and his Blade raised her sword. As she swung, Zeke shifted to high gear, but all that did was give him a slow-motion view of Orion's smirking face as the sword descended. He struggled, desperately trying to tear himself free of the stone restraints, but they were too thick. He didn't have the strength.
Before the sword could strike him, though, there was a rush of wind, followed by an ear-splitting crack that knocked Orion off his feet. Zeke's perception returned to normal speed, and he saw the Blade collapse to the ground, sword shattered. Her arms were bent backward at the elbows, and she was unconscious. Standing at the far end of the hallway was Electra, hammer in hand, her halo of orbs crackling with electricity.
"Hands off my sensei!" she shouted, crouching down. Orion barely had time to get to his feet before she moved again, tearing down the hallway in an instant. The wind rushed through everything as her hammer collided with an ether shield around Orion, and there was another ear-splitting crack. The shield didn't stand a chance. She tore through it like paper and struck Orion in the back, driving him into the ground.
As she did, her halo spun, sending out a blast of electricity that struck Orion's fire Blade in the stomach. It arced out of her back, tearing a hole straight through her and hitting the ground nearby. She collapsed too, after that, leaving Durro standing alone against Electra.
"Kora!" he shouted, scrambling back. "Nim! Defend me!"
Kora rushed forward, swinging for Electra's head, but the girl moved around the strike with ease. She didn't even bother knocking Kora aside, and she barreled straight through the wall of stone Nim erected, spearing straight for Durro. She struck him with the hammer, flinging him into the ceiling, and as he fell, she swung again from above, knocking him into the ground.
Orion tried to get to his feet, and she knocked him back again. He coughed, spitting up a wad of blood, and tried to grope around for his axe. Before he could find it, she stepped on his hand, crushing it, and drove her hammer into his back again.
"Electra!" Zeke shouted. She didn't look like she could hear him. Electricity was crackling around her, and her face was twisted in rage. He tried to pull himself free and get to her, to stop her somehow, but he still couldn't move. As Electra continued to hammer at Orion, though, he felt his restraints give way. He looked up to see Nim retracting the earth around him.
"Stop her," she muttered. "You stand a better chance than us."
Zeke nodded and scrambled up, tackling Electra before she could beat the unconscious man's head in. He slammed her against the ground and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side so she couldn't keep up the fight.
"Electra!" he shouted, doing his best to keep his focus as her electricity danced across his skin. "Electra that's enough!"
"But—"
"Enough!" he shouted again. He pulled back and glared at her. "We've got rules, remember!? You can't break them here, even against scum like him! You're better than that!"
"Sensei…" Electra's expression softened, and after a moment she started crying. Zeke sat up and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry," she said between sobs. "I just thought—"
"Don't," he said. "Don't apologize. I get it."
"I was just trying to help and I moved without thinking and—"
"And you did good," he said. "Thank you, really. You probably just saved my life."
Zeke heard something move behind him, and he scrambled to get up, placing himself between Durro and Electra. But it wasn't Durro getting ready to attack. It was an old Ardainian man, with graying hair and a thoroughly wrinkled brow. Under all the years, however, Zeke still recognized Mabon, Vess's Driver. He had a gun pressed to Durro's head.
"I can't believe a brat like you dug up Elnis's grave," he said. "I've got half a mind to put a bullet in your head for that."
"Kora!" Durro shouted. He started to say something else, but Mabon pressed the gun against him harder.
"Tell them never to listen to a word you say," Mabon said. "Ever again."
"Fine," Durro mumbled. "You two don't have to listen to me anymore."
"Order it, asshole."
"That's an order! Alright!?"
"Good enough." Mabon put the gun away and stood up, letting Durro get to his knees. A moment later, Kora walked over and kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
"Fucker," she muttered. She looked up at Nim, and the two of them smiled at each other.
"Zekeinator," Mabon said, walking over. He reached up and ripped the net off Zeke's face. For a moment, the two just stared at each other. Zeke wondered how Mabon was going to berate him, but instead he just sighed.
"You look like shit," he said. Zeke laughed.
"I've had worse," Zeke said. There was movement from down the hallway, and he remembered that Pandoria was still trapped. He clapped the man on the shoulder and ran around to the other side of the stone hand. Pandoria was there, and Nim was helping her get her net off. The moment she got free, she ran to Zeke and wrapped him in a hug.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have let any of this happen."
"You're damn right it's your fault," she said. He'd hoped she wouldn't lead with that, but she wasn't exactly wrong. "But it's my fault too. I'm the idiot who went and got herself captured."
"That's not true," Zeke said. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't broken our promise."
"Probably not. But still, I can't keep clinging onto you forever. I've got to stand on my own. And at some point, I've got to let my prince go so he can become a king."
"What are you on about?" he asked. "I'm not even royalty anymore, remember?"
"You know what I mean."
"Sure," he said, sighing. He didn't really, but he didn't want to argue right now. "But I promise you, I won't do something that stupid ever again."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she said. Zeke wanted to say something back, but Electra slammed into them, wrapping them both in a hug.
"Sensei!" he shouted, on the verge of tears again. Pandoria stroked her hair and calmed her down. For a moment, the three of them stood there, happy to be alive.
"Zeke!" Nia shouted, rushing down the hallway. Vess and Dromarch were just behind her, but they all came to a stop as they realized that things had already been resolved. "You alright?"
"I'll live," Zeke said. He walked over to Orion and wrenched the Eye out of the man's hand. He turned it over in his hands for a moment before feeding the connection coil back into his eye socket. As it met his retina, it anchored back in, and the Eye whirred back to life. It took a moment for all the functions to come back online, but once they did, he recalled the clouds back into his cloak with little difficulty. Good to know it still worked.
"Good." Nia stepped forward and pressed her hand against his Eye, healing the wound behind it with a wave of ether. It was surprisingly cool to the touch. "Do not ever scare me like that again, do you understand?"
"Yeah," he said. "Promise."
Behind him, Pandoria coughed pointedly. But he wasn't just throwing out words. He'd meant what he'd said to them both. His recklessness had nearly got him and Pandoria killed, today. He needed to be more disciplined. It was a tall order, given how he'd lived up until now, but for their sake it felt like a promise he could keep.
Nia collapsed onto her bed, nearly falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Thankfully, no one was dead, but the raid had produced a seemingly endless series of headaches. People were already apprehensive about locking up a hundred or so terrorists in what amounted to Strix's basement, and now they were about to add another three dozen more. And one of them was someone they'd released just a few days ago. It didn't set a good precedent.
She didn't even want to have a prison in the first place, but they'd needed somewhere to keep Bradly as a favor to Mòrag, and now… It felt wrong, locking people up, but the reality was there were people out there who genuinely wanted the Gardens to fail. Letting them go wasn't an option, keeping them in prison wouldn't be tenable, and handing them off to the Coalition felt like just passing the buck. They needed a new approach, and she didn't have one.
"You seem tired, my lady," Dromarch said, laying down at the foot of her bed. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Just the usual worries," Nia said. "I don't know if I'm cut out to run this place."
"That's why you're the only one who can. Even since you put me back together, you've done nothing but help people. You're always putting others' needs before your own."
"I'm just trying not to disappoint Pyra and Mythra. They gave us all a second chance, so it's our responsibility to make something of it."
"That's exactly what I mean. You're an inspiration to everyone who lives here."
"I'm nothing special," Nia muttered. "I just got lucky. Anyone would have done the same in my position."
"If you say." Dromarch shrugged. "But I don't think just anyone would have put the work in to make this place what it is. In fact, you could stand to ease up a little, for your own sake."
"Don't you start too," she said. "Zeke's always telling me I'm working myself too hard. But I feel like I'm not working hard enough. I could be doing more."
"You are giving this place everything you have. But it isn't going to come crashing down the second you stop to rest."
"The last few days haven't really inspired confidence on that front."
"You have me, and you have the other Caretakers. You can let us take some of the load, my lady."
"I'll slow down when the world slows down. But I made a promise to everyone, and I'm going to keep it. At the very least, I have to see this through until you're—" She stopped herself from saying "fixed". It didn't sound like the right word to use.
"Until?"
"Until you're back to a hundred percent. I don't want to burden you while you're still recovering."
"It's better than doing nothing." Dromarch stood up and walked over to Nia, nuzzling her hand. "I only remember parts of our time together, but I remember you being more carefree. You used to laugh loud and reckless. Now I barely even see you smile."
"Every Blade here has put their lives in my hands. I can't afford to be reckless."
"Taking care of yourself isn't reckless, my lady. If anyone should know the difference, it's me."
"That is low."
"It's my job to look after you, my lady. Whatever form that takes. Promise me you'll stop working yourself so hard."
"Like I said, I can't." Nia sat up. "Adenine and I may have figured something out about your Core Crystal. We can't slow down now."
"Oh?"
"It's just speculation, but we may have found a way to speed the healing process along. It'll take some testing to figure out if we're right, but—"
"She probably wants me to come in for more appointments." Dromarch pulled back and sat next to the bed. For several seconds, he was quiet, but then he nodded. "I'll do it."
"Are you sure? I don't want to push you into anything."
"I've been thinking about it since the summit. And I want to try. I want to know who I was before, even if it's a long shot. Even if there's risk."
"I won't let anything happen to you again," Nia said.
"I know. But you wouldn't have put off talking about it for so long if you had any risk-free options available."
"This self-repair function Adenine's looking into might be," Nia said. Though there was no way to tell right now. They didn't even know if it existed yet.
"Even if it isn't, even if it kills me, I—" Dromarch stopped. "Forgive me, my lady. I must sound incredibly foolish."
"Don't apologize. If it's what you want to do, I'll help however I can. How about we stop by Adenine's tomorrow and see what she needs?"
"That sounds good. Better than doing nothing, at least. But promise me that, whatever happens, you'll stop working yourself so hard. Take time to do what it is you want to do."
"This is what I want to do," Nia said. "It's practically all I've wanted to do for years."
"No, it's what you need to do. And I understand. But at some point, you need to do what makes you happy."
Nia thought about that for a moment. The Gardens did make her happy, on a level. She was proud of this place, even if it was a mountain of work to keep it running. But that work was draining, and the one thing keeping her spirits up was the people around her. Zeke most of all. Maybe when Dromarch was better, the four of them could take some time to go travelling. Bumming it on the road like the old days. The thought made her smile.
"Alright," she said. "I can do that."
There was a buzz as her earpiece whirred to life on the bedside table. She could hear a voice coming out of it, too, but it was too faint to make out. Reluctantly, she picked it up and put it in her ear.
"I'm here," she said. "What is it?"
"Strix has a situation in the dungeons," Patroka said. "He says it's urgent."
Nia looked down at Dromarch. He'd just finished lecturing her about working less, and here she went.
"Can anyone else handle it?" she asked.
"He said to get you, specifically. He wouldn't say why."
"Great." Nia sighed and pulled herself out of bed. She'd figured this was coming sooner or later. It was a shame they had to do this now, but it was almost a miracle he'd stuck around this long. "Tell him I'll be down in five."
"No rest for the weary?" Dromarch asked.
"I'm afraid not. You go ahead and get some sleep, though. I imagine you'll need it for tomorrow. I shouldn't be long."
"If you say so," Dromarch said. "Be sure not to work yourself too hard, though."
"Right." Nia opened the door. "Good night."
"Good night, my lady."
She stepped through the door and closed it as quietly as possible. It was late, and she didn't want to wake the others. Zeke especially needed the sleep after the beating he took today. Silently, she walked down the hall, heading to the back of the Caretakers' quarters where the dungeons lay. The entrance was adjoined to Strix's room, so he was the one in charge of looking after the prisoners. He'd designed it that way because he was the person most comfortable playing warden for their potential criminals. When they created the dungeons, though, not even he'd imagined they'd be cramming so many people into them.
"Nia," Strix said, meeting her at the door. "Anyone else with you?"
"Just me. Patroka made it sound urgent. What's going on?"
"We have a…" Strix stopped. "Well, I'm not sure. I think you should take a look."
He stepped back, and for a moment Nia didn't know how to respond. But it didn't look like he was quitting, so she followed him down into the dungeons. Strix had added on several rooms in the past few days, but they still had barely enough cells to hold every captive. They'd initially planned on housing maybe a dozen people down here, not a hundred and fifty. Strix moved past Bradly's cell and into the new wing, where they were keeping Shieldwall. Orion was there too, sharing a cell with Shieldwall's leader and a handful of other miscreants.
"I've been in a lot of prisons," Orion said, looking up as they approached. "So believe me when I say sharing a cell with this loser is the worst fucking experience of my life."
"We could have just killed you," Strix said. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble."
"Your threats won't work on me," Shieldwall's leader said. "We all know what you really are."
"Will you shut up?" Orion asked. "No one gives a shit, Alverk."
"All this has done is prove we're right. The Blades are too dangerous to leave to their own devices."
"Please," Orion said, looking up at Nia. "I understand you people have a code, or whatever, but if you aren't going to kill him, then at least take these cuffs off and let me do it myself. I'd be doing us both a favor."
"We don't kill people," Nia said. "Even scum like him."
"And what would you know about me?" Alverk asked. "You're a witch blind to your own power. What gives you the right to judge me?"
"Alverk Vaerin," she said. "Your father tried unsuccessfully to assassinate the Urayan royal family during the Orisian War. You've been in exile ever since, trying to build power to take the throne for yourself. After the invasion of Gormott, you set up shop in Kizan Valley, trying to cajole desperate refugees and the remnants of the army into your own personal fighting force. The resistance put up with you because you had connections, but the moment you got what you needed, you sold us out to Mor Ardain and fled, taking a big chunk of our fighters with you."
"Don't talk like you were there," Alverk spat.
"I was there." Nia surrounded herself with ether and began to change appearance, returning briefly to her "human" form. She hadn't used it much since the Spirit Crucible. She was comfortable being herself, now. But maybe if this guy knew who he was dealing with, he'd be taking this more seriously. As the ether around her faded, the look on Alverk's face was priceless.
"You can't be serious…" he muttered. "The Butcher of Gormott was a fucking Flesh Eater!?"
"She's not just any Flesh Eater," Orion said. "That's the Banshee Queen, you absolute moron. Do you even read the briefings?"
"Thank you, Orion," Strix said. "For bringing this back around to something productive."
"Keep your fucking mouth shut!" Alverk shouted. "I'm not saying anything!"
"Is this what you needed me for?" Nia asked.
"Listen, Clíodhna," Orion said.
"I go by Nia these days," she said.
"Nia, then. Whatever. I'm not an idiot. I know when I'm beaten. Whatever you decide to do with me, I'm not in a position to argue. But I figure we can help each other out, and in exchange maybe you can make life a little easier for me and my men."
"This is why I called you," Strix said. "He knows something, or at least he claims to."
"I need guarantees before I talk, though."
"One more word and I'll take your tongue!" Alverk shouted. He lurched up from his cot and tried to grab Orion, but Strix erected a wall between them.
"Behave," he said.
"I don't make deals with people who hurt my friends," Nia said, crossing her arms. With everything he'd done to Zeke and Pandoria, she was tempted to just leave him down here to rot and damn the consequences. But Strix had brought her down here for a reason. Clearly, he thought there was something to this.
"Hey, I hope you understand this was just business," Orion said. "And I'm not asking for much. Fair treatment. A trial would be nice, Durro tells me you guys do those from time to time."
"I… Suppose that can be arranged." She was planning on doing that already, but they didn't need to know that.
"And I'd like to not spend the rest of my life in a dimly lit box. Could we get something more open-air?"
"I'll talk to the others, but that kind of decision isn't up to me."
"I thought you were in charge around here."
"No one's in charge," Nia said. "We keep the peace and deal with outsiders, but everything else is left up to the people."
"I tried explaining it to him already," Strix said.
"I thought you were joking," Orion said. "You're serious? You just… Let people do whatever?"
"Pretty much." Nia shrugged.
"It is a miracle this place is still standing."
"Maybe your imagination is just shit," Strix offered.
"They're lying," Alverk said. "Blades can't function without orders, they're not designed to. They may talk all nice, but—"
Strix reached through the bars and grabbed Alverk by the jaw. Mud spilled out of his hand, filling Alverk's mouth. He gagged, and after a moment, Strix withdrew the mud, wiping his hand off on his leg.
"If you talk again, I'm leaving it in," he said.
"I won't be intimidated by—"
Strix grabbed him again, filling his mouth again and solidifying the mud into a gag. Alverk screamed and stumbled back as Strix let him go, but the gag kept him muffled. After a moment, he stopped bothering.
"That sounded painful," Orion said. "Please tell me it was painful."
"Only a little," Strix said. Nia glared at him, and he shrugged. "I wasn't going to handle the screaming bigot with the kid gloves, Nia. If he wants respect, he can start acting like it."
"We're better than that."
"You are better than that," Strix said, correcting her. "I never said I was."
"Well, now that he's shut up," Orion said. "You probably put this one together already, but he and I work together."
"I figured as much," Nia said. "You showed up within three days of one another. That couldn't be a coincidence."
"I was here to break him out. But my ego got the better of me, and I fell back into old habits. Did Prince Ozychlyrus ever tell you what I used to do for a living?"
"He hadn't mentioned it."
"I poached Blades. As I'm sure you can imagine, lots of horrible people paid good money to get their hands on Blades without jumping through the Praetorium's hoops. Especially the female ones."
"You're making me reconsider our deal." Nia clenched her fist, digging her claws into her palm to keep herself from doing something reckless.
"Sorry, I'm rambling. The point is, my employer had—has—a vested interest in taking this place down. Alverk and his boys wanted you dead, and my employer gave him the means to seal the deal."
"Who wants us dead so badly?"
"I don't know his name. He contacts us through a Spessian fixer named Saur. Rumor has it he's some bigwig in the Spessian Federation, either with the Ministry of Defense or the Sovereignty Commission, but there's no real evidence. He's certainly got backing, though. Enough to get Sthenos to send fighters to shore up Alverk's failing militia. And enough to get the Praetorians to cough up the Core Chips for the bomb."
Spessia and the Praetorians were expected. Jibril hadn't made her contempt of Nia a secret, and Qadar and Zeke both thought Spessia were planning to start a war. But Sthenos? She'd been hoping they weren't involved, though the Crone showing up with Shieldwall hadn't been a good sign. They hated the Praetorium to the point of fanaticism, but other than that they seemed like good people. What could motivate them to throw in with the people they hated most to take down the Gardens?
"And enough to pay Walraig to go after our Titans," Strix guessed.
"Now you're catching on. Spessia wants a war with the Coalition, and my boss volunteered our services."
"Why come after us, though?" Nia asked. "Why not Mor Ardain or Uraya? What did we do to earn so many enemies?"
"You didn't have to do a thing. You're Blades trying to live your own lives. That alone terrifies a lot of people. The Praetorians want you dead on principle, Sthenos thinks of this place as basically the new Judicium, Alverk's men and the Urayan Queen both think Blades have no right to exist on their own, Walraig wants to tear down the Coalition's military power enough to give him a clear shot at the emperor, and the Spessian parliament wants to drive the Coalition nations apart. Using you as the wedge is a no-brainer, frankly."
"And you're just here for the money?" Nia asked.
"My men are, but what got me on board was Zeke, actually. When Saur approached me, he told me I would get a shot at some good old-fashioned revenge. And I've had my eye on that Blade of his for a long time now, so—"
Nia slammed her fist against the bars, shutting him up.
"Get to the point," she said.
"Saur had information on everyone here. Names and abilities for most of the Blades, a layout of the whole complex, even—"
"Hold that thought," Strix said. He walked back to the door to the prison and sealed it shut. After a moment, green lines came to life along the walls. Ether netting lining the whole place. Nia didn't like the idea, but it was the only way to keep Drivers and Blades locked up. As a side-effect, it isolated the whole prison from the outside. Strix couldn't see in when it was locked, and Patroka and Akhos couldn't either.
"Something wrong?" Nia asked.
"If he's saying what I think he's saying, we've got a problem," Strix said. "I think we need to be cautious with how we approach this."
"They had a mountain of intelligence on this place," Orion continued. "They even knew most of the specifics for how Zeke's eyeball magic works. And not that they told me how, but they knew enough to sneak Alverk's men past your all-seeing guard dog here."
"Bullshit," Strix said. "No one sneaks past me."
"They managed to drag two titanstones of Core Chips into the belly of your Titan without you noticing. Believe me when I say they have a way around your eyes."
"The Crone," Nia said. "That must've been how they got to Temperantia's core unseen."
"Like I said," Orion continued. "They didn't give me all the details. Apparently, I wasn't important enough to be trusted with that kind of intelligence. Which is insulting, frankly, but that's beside the point. You have a spy."
Nia didn't want to believe it. Orion was a cutthroat piece of work, and he'd say anything to get some kind of leverage over them. Assuming he wasn't just trying to sow distrust. But… Everything he said made sense, and he knew a lot of things he shouldn't. Strix's power was a closely guarded secret. Only a handful of Blades outside the Caretakers knew what he was capable of. So as much as she didn't want to believe it, it didn't surprise her. She even had a pretty good idea who it was.
"Do you have a name?" she asked.
"Rook. A codename, I'm pretty sure."
"It would explain some things," Strix said. "What's the plan, boss?"
"There are some people we should keep an eye on," she said. "But we can't become so suspicious that we let this become our top priority. For now, this stays between us until we have some more solid proof. Is there anything else you could tell us?"
"That's about all I know." Orion put his hands up. "Trust me, they didn't pay me nearly enough to keep my mouth shut."
"And you really don't know who hired you?"
"I do," Bradly said. Nia turned around and glared at him. For whatever reason, Strix had built the new wing directly across from his cell.
"Shut him up," she said. Strix flicked his wrist, and walls of earth came up around him.
"Wait!" he shouted. "I'm being serious here!"
"Should I?" Strix asked. Reluctantly, Nia nodded, and Strix lowered the walls.
"Hey Bradly," Orion said. "How's life been treating you?"
"Pretty good," he said. "You get used to the food after a while."
"Is he with your boss too?" Nia asked.
"Nope," Bradly said. "I learned my lesson about taking jobs from nutcases like that. But he did approach me. In person."
"Look at you," Orion said. "You know, somehow, I thought you'd get less self-important with age, not more."
"You talk too much," Strix said. Orion shrugged and sat back on his cot.
"Fair enough." He laid down, closing his eyes. "Let me know about those new rooms, yeah?"
This arsehole… He burst in here, kidnapped Pandoria, nearly killed Zeke, and now he was acting like he could just get away with that? No. Nia was done killing people, and she hated this prison, but there needed to be consequences for that kind of behavior. Nia reached out and wrapped a tendril of water around his chest, pulling him up. Then she slammed him against the bars and stepped in close, staring at him with more fury than she initially meant to.
"Let's get one thing straight," she said. "I am not your friend. I've got half a mind to leave you down here to rot, and the only thing stopping me is a promise I made a long time ago that I'd try being a better person than that. So do not mistake my generosity for weakness. If you do anything to hurt my friends, to hurt Zeke, ever again, I will make you long for the days you spent in this dimly lit box. Are we clear?"
"Yeah," Orion said, mustering up all the venom he could manage. It wasn't much, considering his position. "We're clear."
Satisfied, she let him go and stepped away.
A moment later, she felt horrible. She'd spent a long time trying to leave that kind of anger behind her. Not even Malos and Torna had managed to drag it out of her. Maybe Dromarch was right. Running the Gardens was starting to get to her.
"You know, I always figured all of you were like the Aegis Driver," Bradly said. "Too soft to do anything useful."
"Shut up," she said, approaching his cage. "And tell me what I want to know."
"Alright. Since you asked so nicely, I'll give you this one for free. His name's Atasaiah. A real big guy, even taller than the blind bandit over there. Absolutely covered in Titan plates."
"Is that name supposed to mean something?" Strix asked.
"I'd wager no, since I'd never heard of him either. Which is weird. I've been around long enough to know practically every Blade and Driver worth a damn. And this guy was one tough Blade."
"A Blade?" Nia asked. "You expect me to believe a Blade wants to destroy this place?"
"There's all kinds out there, sweetheart. But if I don't know him, you can be sure he's old. Aegis old, if I had to wager. Or maybe he's a friend of your Oracle. Azami tells me you've got quite the collection of misfits running this place. Either way, I'd watch your backs. He means trouble."
"Thanks," Nia said. She turned and headed for the exit.
"No problem," Bradly said, leaning back in his cell. "I'm happy to help."
Nia stopped at the door and waited for Strix to catch up.
"This is going to be a mess," she said.
"I'll say," Strix said. "Why do you think I called you down here?"
"Honestly? I figured you were going to quit on me. I'm still not sure why you haven't."
"Why in the hell would I quit now?" he asked.
"You told me when you joined that, at the first sign of trouble, you'd jump ship. Well, the Spessian Federation gunning for our heads seems like trouble to me, and I can't help but notice you're still here."
"Oh, that." Strix shrugged. "I needed an out, you know? To convince myself to take the job. So long as I felt like I could walk away whenever I needed to, then it was fine. But I've been here long enough to know better than that. I built this place. It's the first home I've had in a long time. I can't just walk away from that."
"Well, I'm glad to have you on board, then, because we're going to need all the help we can get."
"You think they're telling the truth?" Strix asked.
"No," Nia said. "Or, at least I don't want to. But it's too big a possibility to ignore, so like it or not, we have to take this seriously. I want you to look into Corvin's movements. See if he's been snooping around."
"You think he's our spy?"
"I think we've got to start somewhere. I'm going to see if Azurda knows anything about this 'Atasaiah'."
"About that," Strix said. "I don't know the name, but the description reminded me of someone. A guy I had a run-in with in Spessia once upon a time. It was probably two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty years ago? He was big, had Titan-like armor, and he was a Flesh Eater. Pretty much matches Bradly's description. And I know he's worked with the Spessian government in the past. He came up back when I did a job for them after the Osirian War."
"Wait…" That information sparked some old memories in Nia. "Do you mean the Titan Eater?"
"Yeah!" Strix exclaimed. "Man, I forgot you guys were after him too!"
"It's how we met, Strix," Nia said. "How did you forget that?"
"Listen, I made it my business not to have anything to do with people. Doing that job for Torna put me in a lot of hot water, so I was pretty happy to be done with the whole thing. I never thought we'd be dredging that back up."
"I figured he didn't exist," Nia admitted. "Some ghost Malos had dreamt up. Even you couldn't find him."
"Which means he's good. But I know he's out there somewhere. It's worth a shot."
"It's a start, I suppose. But we need to keep this quiet. If Orion's telling the truth, we've got a spy on our hands. So we need to be very, very careful about who we talk to. Alright?"
"Don't worry about me." Strix opened the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." Nia waved goodbye as she left the dungeon, returning to her room. Not that she was going to get much sleep. She'd been hopeful, after the summit, but things were progressing almost exactly as Qadar had predicted. Spessia was on the move. Whether she wanted it or not, war seemed like it was coming to their doorstep.