Chapter 13: Tracking Down
With the need to get info hunting underway, the return to Port Anangham found itself coming among the morning hustle and bustle of the city. The streets were crowded in people heading about to their various businesses, some to the markets, others likely to the lower industrial areas, and some men in heavy gear likely to head to expeditions out in the wastes beyond the city. It gave Alba Cavanich a fare different feeling than Fonsa Myma had possessed. That city, while busy in its own right, had bore something of a quiet peace to its activity.
Whereas here, it was all loud and proud. Be it the sounds of the steamworks firing off and spewing steam into the sky, or the people milling around and chatting away as friends met with each other or business partners discussed the goings ons for the day and later. Soldiers were no less a common site among the shoppers and merchants milling about. A sight which was clearly bothering Nia as the party made their way to the elevators that had first brought them into the city.
"Does the sight of the capital's standing army concern you, My Lady?" Dromarch, sensing that concern, spoke up.
"A little," Nia admitted. "Though, after last night we should be safe… I hope."
"If Morag is true to her word, then we should be fine to move about as we need to," Vaios stated.
"Indeed. That, and the troops who captured us were part of the Gormotti regiment," added Dromarch.
"There's a difference?" Haze asked, Dromarch nodding.
"Quite the difference in fact. One can learn many things when in the brig of an Ardanian ship, and I made good use of the opportunity."
"Damn," Nia grumbled. "They chucked me into solitary, so I don't know anything."
"It does seem they have separate procedures for Blades and Drivers," Dromarch noted. "In any case, once I abandoned thoughts of staging a break-out, I did make sure to keep my ears open for intelligence."
"What else did you hear?" Mythra said, Dromarch humming.
"Let me think… the soldiers over there are, as I said previously, from the capital's garrison. However, the ones who are stationed outside of Hardheigh Palace belong to the First Imperial Guard, 2nd Battalion."
"So in terms of structure, like the name says, they're Imperial Guard rather than rank and file soldiers," Vaios noted, Dromarch nodding.
"And then above the rank and file of the Guard, you have the Carraig special guard unit," Dromarch continued, "And higher yet, the Special Inquisitor. The Flamebringer herself."
"Armies man, I can never deal with all this hierarchy crap," Nia muttered, shaking her head as her ears flattened.
"You're tellin' me!" Vaios mumbled. "Us Salvagers are a lot looser with those things. Crews form yeah, but we're pretty free form in working with each other on jobs or things. Highest authority is a ship's Captain at the end of the day until you get to the folks giving us jobs from the Trade Guild."
"Sounds a lot simpler to wrap your 'ead around than the army at least," Nia got an affirming nod from Vaios.
"Ever heard of the expression 'know thy enemy'?" Dromarch questioned.
"Well then let's compare," Vaios looked to Nia, "How was Torna organized by contrast?"
"Basically just centered around Jin," Nia replied. "But there was no real organization to it. But we all had our assignments."
"Then what was yours?" Mythra said.
"I was general support. I hadn't been there long, so I helped out with whatever."
"Sooo not much of a change to our little group now?" Vaios chuckled, Nia whacking him on the arm.
"It is as you say," Dromarch confirmed.
"Ah quit makin' it sound like I'm some useless layabout!" Nia snapped. "I mean, I can make ruska dumplings and stuff, so…"
"Then maybe you and Pyra should cook together next time," Mythra suggested.
"So long as you don't involve yourself in the process either," Vaios muttered, Mythra shooting him a look.
"What's the supposed to mean, huh?"
"Nothing… just that I remember how bad of a cook you happen to be."
"Of all the… why is that one of the first things that comes back for you huh?!"
"Hard to forget food that had a tendency to move once things start coming back to you," Vaios countered, Mythra giving him an annoyed pout as she stepped ahead of the lot.
"I would maybe… advise against such," Dromarch stammered.
"Why is that?" Haze asked. "I'm actually quite curious about how Nia's cooking tastes."
"Well perhaps I'll change some tunes once I stuff your faces full," Nia chuckled. "Though seriously Vaios, you have got to hand out more context to some of these things. The more things she says, the more questions I ruddy have."
"Just some recalling that Mythra isn't what one would call a… conventional cook," Vaios noted. "It's vague but… not pleasant. Traumatic, even. Enough I would say it's scientifically possible to be worse."
"I can still hear you!" Mythra snapped from her short distance ahead.
"Just… be prepared," Dromarch cautioned.
"I've definitely been through worse," Vaios chuckled. "Anyway, let's focus on the task at hand. Information hunting first, cooking experimentation later."
On returning to Port Anangham, the initial look around didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary as the group split up to look around the shipping yard. As Vaios and Tora were checking one dock for anything that looked out of line, they came to a stop when no results were to be yielded from just looking.
"Mehmeh, Tora think we may need better idea," Tora muttered, "Need to ask trader about Bion Connectors. But who would tell us?"
"If we could just find someone from the Guild…" Vaios muttered, scanning around the dock once again. As he looked, his head quickly snapped back, his eyes locking on a particular green pelted Nopon tallying up an abacus. "Wait a sec… I know that Nopon! Oiiii! Periperi!"
"Hm? Ohhh!" The Nopon chuckled as they turned to see the approaching Vaios. "Vaios, such coincidence to meet here! On job with Rakham I take it?"
"Uh, not quite," Vaios said. "More an… independent thing that's brought me and some friends into Mor Ardain for a few days. But… hey, has your ship brought any cargo in from Gormott as of late?"
"Have so. Came from Argentum to Gormott, then Gormott to Mor Ardain!"
"Perfect!" Tora cheered. "Then we have question for Periperi. Did Periperi transport large quantity of Bion Connector recently?"
"Mehmehmeh! Talking about contents of shipment is violation of trade confidentiality!"
"Come on, there's a reason we need to know," Vaios said, kneeling to be at eye level with the Nopon. "Between you and me, part of why I'm asking is because of… let's call it official Empire business I've been sort of hired for."
"Meh? What kind of Empire business?"
"The kind that comes off a request from the Special Inquisitor herself," Vaios said, a smirk on his face as Periperi flinched. "So, my hands are tied when it comes to asking about. Trust me, I understand Trade Guild protocol as well as any other Salvager. But I can't just tell the Special Inquisitor not even my connections could get the information she needs, right? That'd stain my honor as one of Argentum's best! So come on, we can pretend you never told us and brush it under the rug."
"Well… if it request from Vaios, and truly that serious, Periperi cannot refuse," Vaios subtly pumped a fist for his success. "Bion Connector came in yellow barrels. 10 to be precise. If shipment still present, would be at cargo area near elevator into city. Though shipment arrived yesterday, so cannot guarantee they still there."
"And if they came in from Gormott, I doubt the soldiers who man the post would bother doing a thorough inspection," Vaios muttered. "Thanks, Periperi. And good luck with the rest of your sales. Let's go, Tora."
"Thanks for knowledge!" Tora waved off with a wing as he followed Vaios off, the two stopping when they returned to the main plaza of the docks. "Well, cannot say we get much… practically lost lead we did, huh?"
"Yeah. If the shipment came in yesterday, then the odds are high it was already moved to wherever it needed to be taken too," Vaios muttered, a hand to his chin. "But then the question is just where? There's too much ground to cover for us to just start trolling around the wastes and hope we somehow stumble upon a place with yellow barrels just outside of it. We need to find more information to work with…"
"Tora remember junk shop back in city! Perhaps we look there next?"
"Not a bad idea. Let's meet back up with the others and then start heading on that way."
On returning to Alba Cavanich, Tora led the way through the winding roads into the main bazaar locale. It didn't take long for the Nopon to sniff out the junk shop he had found before. Though Tora certainly regretted the idea his first visit to the place had to be a purely business matter than a recreation one. But, finding Lila and perhaps his father came first in the Nopon's mind. He could indulge himself in getting parts to upgrade Poppi with another time.
Though as soon as the party approached and asked about coming and going bits of salvage…
"Sorry, ain't givin' away info like that if you ain't a payin' customer," the young counterkeep said, folding his arms as Vaios gave an annoyed look. "Look as put out as ya' want salvager, thems the rules."
"But we have serious reason for needing to know!" Tora protested.
"And I have a serious reason for needin' to see coin. You could be the bloody Emperor himself and I still wouldn't tell ya' about them Bion Connectors lest I know you're one of ours."
"Come on kid, there's a reason for the need to ask," Vaios put his hands on the counter, the teller not looking like he was about to budge at all. "Just at least tell us if you've seen yellow barrels coming in at all, will ya?"
"Like I said, no coin, no info."
"… are you a junk trader or a frickin' info broker?" Vaios grumbled.
"Oi, Isset! What's going on over here huh?" A man in heavy gear came from down the road, his gaze barely glancing over the party as they looked at him. "You giving lip to customers again?"
"They ain't customers, Boss," replied the boy. "They came on up and starting asking about some shipment or another. And I ain't small talking with people who ain't paying."
"This happens to be more serious than some coin y'know?" Nia growled.
"Look, sorry to say, but them's the rules around here," stated the boss as he turned. "If you wanna know what it is you… hold up… you, lad with the emerald hair. Why're you…"
"Familiar?" Vaios hummed.
"You're one of Rakham's lads!" gasped the man, Vaios slowly nodding. "Hah! Bloody knew I recognized that mug from somewhere. It's been ages!"
"… ah, right! You're that junk trader Rakham gets parts for the Inquestor from! Belchett!" Vaios chuckled, he and the man then clapping hands together. "Sorry about popping in without the usual crowd. Things are uh… complicated."
"Bloody swear, everywhere we go we seem to run into someone who knows his old man," Nia sighed, shaking her head. "It'd be annoying if it weren't so bloody useful."
"But that's only been twice now," Haze pointed out.
"Eh, make it three, countin' that Morag knew about the man," Nia added, the others nodding along.
"Boss, y'know this baby-faced guy?" Issei said, Vaios's eye chuckling.
"I'm way older than you ya' brat," Vaios bit.
"Eh not personally," Belchett said. "But, he is a member of the crew of a business partner. Rakham's a good sort, downright legendary here in Mor Ardain from his mercenary days. A member of his crew is worth their weight in gold. Sorry about the boy, he's not familiar with our regulars from up on the shoulder."
"Boss, y'sure?"
"I'm sure. Anyway, what is it you're askin' on about?"
"Well, it's less something we need, more something that can get us on a trail," Vaios stated. "We got word from an Argentum trader that a shipment of a salvage item called Bion Connectors came in from Gormott, being stored in about… ten yellow barrels. We're trying to find out where they could've gone."
"Hmm…" Belchett gave a hum. "If ya' don't mind me askin', since you ain't with Rakham this time… what's this lead hunting for hm? Cause right now, lemme lay my view out. I ain't seeing a Salvager. I'm seeing a group of three Drivers and their Blades askin' around about potentially paying customers… meaning this could turn bad for business. Trust me, last thing I wanna do is turn away one of Rakham's, but you gotta understand my position on just handin' info like that out."
"… why's this all got to be so complicated?" Mytrha sighed, Nia nodding in agreement.
"We're looking for them because it has to do with the attack on the garrison last night," Vaios didn't take more than a moment to give the honest reason. "The Nopon here, Tora, his Blade is one he built himself. An Artificial Blade, he calls her. The thing is, what attacked the garrison was another one, the one his father was building."
"So we on trail in hope of finding Artificial Blade and Dadapon!" Tora stated. "Tora understand why trader would hesitate, but please! Information on materials from Gormott sorely needed!"
"And the thing is, we're also kind of on a tight schedule," Vaios added. "We're only here in Mor Ardain until the next ship headed for the Praetorium docks. So at best, we've only got about four days to find out where they are before we miss our trip out. We can't just waste time wandering the old industrial district or heading to other towns."
"Too much ground to cover, not enough ground to cover it, eh?" Belchett hummed. "Alright, alright, I see you're issue. I can't say too much about those Bion Connectors, but… what other materials are you looking into shipments of?"
"I've heard some rumors around!" Isett added. "Mind telling me some of them aside from the Bion Connectors?"
"Tora have extensive list!" The party sighed as they knew what was about to happen. "Just tell Tora to stop if any sound familiar! Tetra-Circle! Snake Joint! Black Ash!"
"Hold it!" Isett mercifully cut Tora off before he could go any further. "I have heard some things about that last one!"
"Mehmehmeh, over already?" Tora mumbled.
"Masterpon seem disappointed," Poppi said.
"There was this old guy saying had a regular customer purchasing Black Ash," Isett said. "Pretty large-scale from the sounds of it. He was bragging about how he'd be rolling in cash for a while."
"Black Ash is key mineral used as shielding agent in ether furnace," Tora noted.
"Ah, right, I remember that," Belchett said. "That and a few other things actually. Business on some imported materials or stuff from the mines like that has been weirdly on the up as of late."
"You got any idea where those shipments are being taken too?" Vaios asked, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he got a nod.
"Yeah. Been hearing from some others they've been taking their shipments to the Old Industrial District. Not big orders mind you, small ones really. Only a handful of barrels at a time… like say, shipments of ten or less," Belchett very much had the party's attention now. "Thing is… can't help but strike me as odd. The Old Industrial District is basically just a bunch of rusted out infrastructure that had to be abandoned as the Titan aged and people got pushed further out from the wastes. I mean sure if you put in the effort and money you could get some of those old factories up and running, but the question is why'd you want to. Much less where you'd get the manpower."
"So, is it some kind of private operation?" Mythra asked. "Because from what you're saying, it sounds like whoever is making these material orders is trying to keep whatever they're doing with it discreet. Just out of sight of the Empire for some reason. Has anyone told you about their buyer?"
"Hmm… no. Thing is that most people who handle that stuff just take things where they're told. If the coin is good and reliable, no need to ask questions. So even if the buyer never shows their face, no problem."
"Ain't nobody ever thought of that as suspicious?" Nia asked.
"Eh, you tell me. You going to take good coin and easy jobs over the hassle of scheduling things? Nah. Whatever is going on in that District, ain't nobody bothering. The Empire ain't got no use for all that old infrastructure anyway, so they wouldn't snoop around without good reason," Belchett rolled a shoulder, tapping a finger as he turned back to Vaios. "My suggestion to ya' is to go look around that entrance. See if there's any crates or barrels lingering around from recent shipments or whatever. If this is something illegitimate, well… can't say I even know if it is or not."
"So I guess it's off to the wastes for us then, huh?" Vaios hummed.
"Only advice I can give," Belchett said with a shrug. "Anyway, good luck on whatever business is waiting for ya' from here. And next time you see Rakham, tell that bastard he owes me a trip to the bar after that last order, yeah?"
"Ahahaha, sure, sure. Anyway, thanks for the help Belchett. I'll be sure to stop by again when I'm not too busy!"
"Well then, I suppose we're going to be off getting caught up in all that dust, aren't we?" Nia muttered, her ears flattening as she looked off to the swirls of dust hanging in the air beyond the city. "Ah boy… this is gonna be annoyin' in'nit?"
"It's just a bit of sand," Vaios chuckled.
"There's never just a bit," Nia countered.
Beyond the towns and cities of Mor Ardain were the sand-strewn, rocky cliffs of the Titan's torso. Due to its humanoid shape, Mor Ardain's major cities like Alba Cavanich were constructed at the shoulder regions, giving them a wide berth of land to work with and build outwards from. Other settlements remained scattered across the cliff faces formed through natural erosion and centuries of expansion by its people.
And with the Titan's age came its change in environment. Dry, hot, and prone to dust storms from the old, abandoned steelworks and plants left to rust away as an inability to maintain them all meant people moved from lower regions of the Titan to higher ones. As such, the wastes of Mor Ardain were as much a wind-blasted stretch of umber rock and sand as they were the remains of abandoned factories or the still running mining facilities that operated to get the minerals needed to power Mor Ardain's steam works and steel production.
It made for quite the different feeling than the verdant plains and forests of Gormott or the majestic caverns of Uraya. Mor Ardain felt more like civilization encroaching over nature rather than working in tandem with it, ironically perhaps only out of demand of the aging Titan no longer being able to as easily support its population, both human and fauna, as easily as it could have in ages past.
"What's that large building over there?" As the group proceeded along the route they'd been given when leaving the city, Haze pointed out a massive structure built into some of the sandstone. Even at their distance not too far from the city gates, the towering size of the facility was clear.
"I believe that would be the geothermal power plant," Azurda noted. "It's a massive structure that sends power to practically every settlement across Mor Ardain. Smaller substations are run throughout to distribute it even further away than Alba Cavanich."
"Quite impressive how Ardanians have found ways to improve life even on such old Titan!" Tora said. "So… to ask, where is path to old factory district anyway?"
"That District is in the lower level, and the entrance shouldn't be far from here," Vaios scanned around at the tramrails running above them, now long abandoned as their destination had long since become irrelevant in favor of the lines running to the rest of the Titan. "Tramlines would probably be too obvious a way to take it, so it's likely the shipments were all taken by ground Titan transports. Which unfortunately means… a lot more walking. This is gonna be… annoying."
"Ah look who had a point," Nia grumbled, jumping onto Dromarch's back. "Alright, let's get this over with so we can get out of all this ruddy sand and dust."
The path forward was a simple one thanks to a helpful map of the area Vaios had grabbed from the bridge checkpoint leading out. And as the party made their way along the older roads through scattered rust and stone, it quickly became clear some of them were a lot more well adjusted or equipped for trekking the wasteland than others as the march went on.
"Uhhh…" Tora groaned. "Mor Ardain is so full of wasteland and hard rocks… Not easy for walking!"
"Guess a break around here would be good," Vaios scanned around the short valley they'd found themselves in, a good place to stop as it was well sheltered from the all too biting winds of the rest of the wastes.
"Good idea, yes!" Tora cheered, letting out a sigh as the group stepped away from the path and took seats on various bits of stone or the rare fallen over tree. "Ah, such relief…"
"You need to toughen up a bit, Tora," Azurda said, flitting over to the Nopon.
"Tora live whole life cooped up in house working on building Poppi! Not used to walking long distance! If only Tora could flitter-flutter like Gramps…"
"Well, you have those big ear… wing… things."
"Nopon wings not for flying! Could flap forever and not reach sky!"
"I mean you could ask Dromarch for a ride," Vaios joked, poking his thumb over towards the Blade as Nia was helping get sand out of Dromarch's fur. Then looking to Ursula, who was about napping in the arms of her bear companion. "Or just make Poppi bigger so you can do that."
"Poppi's size is all part of design!" Tora protested. "Changing size so extremely ruin whole point! But… Vai-Vai do have point about Dromarch!"
"I think not," Dromarch said. "I have solemnly sworn to carry none other than my lady."
"Go on, it can't hurt," Nia chuckled.
"Whaaat?!" Dromarch jumped in surprise, Nia laughing. "Are you sure about this my lady? If you allow Tora to ride me now, soon he will want Poppi to join him, and there will be no space left for you!"
"Well when you put it like that… Sorry, Tora, guess that's a no."
"Much disappoint," Tora sighed.
"Mythra, Haze, how are you two holding up?" Vaios asked, turning to his Blades.
"I'm used to this kind of thing," Mythra said. "Not my first on Mor Ardain, though it was a lot dustier back then. Plus walking isn't so hard. What about you, Haze?"
"I'm also holding up quite well," answered the priestess-like Blade. "It's also quite easy to use my wind to keep some of the worse of the dust away. Though the heat is… certainly something in these robes. Are you doing fine Vaios? Isn't that gear of yours insulated?"
"Eh, to be honest I've never really noticed temperatures much," Vaios grabbed the inner hems of his jacket, flicking it about and sending some puffs of dust off of the material. "Plus it's Salvager grade stuff. We make out stuff breathable since we spend so much time on the Cloud Sea. Would make being cooped up in ships all day unbearable."
"I mean at least you've also got eye protection what with those goggles o' yours," Nia added, Vaios tilting his head. "Gettin' dust in the eye is a right pain."
"Poppi also not like that," said the Artificial Blade. "Small particles get in joints and cause nasty creaking when moving… Must ask Masterpon to clean out when get out of this place."
"Vai-Vai, it seem like Mor Ardain somewhat tricky place for everyone," Tora noted. "Vai-Vai have any bright ideas for helping?"
"We're just going to have to rough it out," Vaios stated, putting a hand to the back of his head.
"Ah, the old 'grin and bear it' solution," Azurda joked. "That must be Rakham's lessons ebbing out."
"Vaios not even try to solve problem?" Poppi asked.
"I mean… it's not like I can solve it," Vaios muttered. "I mean sure, Haze could just wisk the dust away, but what'd that accomplish aside from tiring her out for when we'd need her? Plus I never really felt like it was bothering me until you all mentioned it. Sure it's an irritation, but it's not like it's been stopping us has it? And hey, it at least keeps the beasties away while we work our way through."
"Well… you've got a point about that," Mythra admitted.
"Fair… not like it's actually slowing me down," Nia said.
"Besides, the last couple of Titans made exploring around pretty easy on us," Vaios added, getting nods from the others. "We were bound to end up in at least one or two with less… friendly places to hoof around in. All part of the adventure I'd say. Wouldn't be fun without the occasional annoyance."
"Ah geez, you sound like Addam," Mythra sighed, Vaios chuckling. "At least you're not as prone to running headlong into messes for no reason. Anyway, we've probably rested enough. Don't wanna burn too much daylight out here in the wastes, yeah?"
"My thoughts exactly," Vaios stood and dusted his pants off. "We shouldn't be far from the entrance from here anyway. Let's hope we can actually find what we're looking for."
Setting off, as before it was a simple matter of following the left-over steel works and tramlines to find their destination. A spot near the cliffside, a weathered, darkened mass of steel left exposed to the weather and time for what was likely decades if not more. The tramline showed remains of how it used to bend past the cliff and further downwards to the lower area. And near the old walkways and rusted pipes was a protruding entryway. And quite conveniently before it, a host of barrels colored both green and yellow.
"Ah, look! Yellow barrels!" Tora trotted over to the collection first, popping a yellow barrels lid off, his wings flapping as he cheered. "Aha! Was right! These Bion Connectors! Check green barrels! May have Black Ash that was mentioned!"
"Got it," Vaios did so with a quick knock from an arm, and within the barrel was a whole slew of fine, ashen black stones. "Yep! Black Ash is in these ones. This is it."
"Materials for making Artificial Blades, no doubt," Dromarch noted.
"Well it's good we found 'em, but what now?" Nia asked. "This is just another dead end if there's ain't more clues."
"Hm? One of them has a note on it," Haze said, pulling a slip of paper from the lid of another barrel, flicking it out as she gave it a look. "Hmm… I can't read it. What language is this?"
"Let Poppi see," taking a look, Poppi nodded. "This is Nopon. Though handwriting is… quite poor. More like scribblings of child. Give Poppi a moment to figure out…"
"Good thing we got those two with us, eh?" Nia mused.
"Definitely," Mythra nodded. "Would be a shame to get this far and lose our lead all 'cause most of us can't read Nopon. Vaios, you pick up any other languages as a Salvager?"
"I mean I know a bit of Nopon," Vaios said while tilting a hand. "But I can't read it worth a damn. Poppi, you able to parse the chicken scratch out?"
"Yes," Poppi confirmed. "It reads 'As usual, deliver goods to certain facility around chest area of Mor Ardain Titan,' So now we know where supply meant to go."
"A facility in the chest area, huh?" Vaios hummed. "Looks like we got what we need. It's not precise, but it does narrow down where we need to start looking. Morag's going to wanna know about this soon as we get back… after we take some time to rest back at the hotel anyway. Going to be way too late once we're back at the city."
"Tora tell Morag how Poppi was key to investigation success! Will demand three year supply of Tasty Sausage!"
"Don't go gettin' too carried away with yourself there," Nia chuckled. "Anyway, could definitely do with a rest after all this walking. How's about another round in the hotsprings eh? Might get all that dust outta you, Poppi."
"Certainly!" Poppi nodded.
"Ah… don't think I don't see that look," Vaios chuckled as he caught Mythra giving the party a soft smile, the Aegis immediately looking away as her face flushed. "Ahaha! Don't try and hide it, Mythra. It's alright to like this lot, y'know? I'm not planning for things to end up like that did back then… however it went."
"Vaios… what you told Pyra in Uraya… you meant it, right?" Mythra looked to Vaios, who raised a brow. "About memories… how, even if a memory is painful, it's worth holding onto. Because it's part of who you are. I want to know… if you ever do remember everything… you won't regret it, will you? And… I don't just mean what happened 500 years ago. I mean even the things from before that, the things you only ever told Addam."
"I agreed to help you and Pyra get to Elyisum in part because of that," Vaios chuckled. "If there really is something up there connected to those vague memories, then I want to find out what it is. But… I also made a promise to Pyra, and I'm going to see it through. No matter who we have to face, or how painful it may get. I already decided I'm proving your power can protect this world. Don't expect a few memories to make me slow down."
"… no wonder Addam chose you," Mythra sighed. "Honestly… how resolved you are is impressive. You never did lose sight of your goals even then. And here I am… starting to question all of what I'm doing."
"Questioning… what, exactly?"
"I… now isn't the time to talk about it," Mythra shook her head, but Vaios could tell whatever she'd been thinking, it wasn't that nice. "Pyra and I… we're still figuring some things out. When we do… then I'll tell you. But, let's take care of this first, alright?"
"Sure," Vaios nodded as Mythra stepped off. As he followed, one of Vaios's hands went to the portion of Mythra's Core Crystal embedded in him, his fingers running along the emerald gem. Their reason for wanting to return to Elysium… that's something I still don't know about. It can't just be because Elysium is where they came from… in some form at least. But then… those other memories of mine… of a world without the Cloud Sea, the ones that cause so much pain when I see Elysium in my head… what does it all even mean? Just… who am I in all of this?
A/N
Yeesh me and my bad habits about uploads. Took me so dang long Xenoblade 3 is already out! Shame on me, shame on me for sure. But, I think that'll help me get back into my groove for this, so I can definitely get it back to my rotation FOR REAL this time. So long as I stop having ideas involving 3 at the same damn time... too much fun to be had, too much.