Chapter 14: Bolt in the Wastes

His arms felt like lead as his ragged breaths tore from his lungs with each heave. The sword in his hands was more chipped edge than respectable blade at this point. And all around him, amid the raging flames and collapsing buildings, were the strewn remains of those damned Gargoyle Artificies that just wouldn't stop coming.

"Damn that Malos…" Vaios huffed, turning to face even more Gargoyles landing before him. "How many of these damn things are you going to call down from the station, huh?!"

Vaios sighed to himself as he rolled a shoulder. He had other things to be concerned with than shouting to the ether hoping his gripes could be heard. Not that he could barely hear himself over the sounds of the twin Sirens clashing above the city amid all of this chaos. That, and the Ardanian ship not far from his position attempting to get what civilians it could clear of the decimation before the Titan itself went down.

"Better question is how much more of this can I even keep up…" At this point Vaios wasn't sure what all had ceased working with how many of the Gargoyles he'd taken down and in turn been hit by. The problem when one was fighting machines the size of small buildings and you yourself were quite averagely sized and armed with nothing but an admittedly well-crafted sword. "Tch… if I still had access to my Fetter this'd be ten times easier…"

As more Gargoyles landed and began to close in, Vaios's head sagged. Taking a step forward, a lattice of blue energy began to rise around him, wisping off in smoky trails as he adjusted the grip on his sword.

"… begin limiter removal process…" he muttered, his vision shuddering for a moment as things began to flash in his view. Things not present in the world around him. "… disengage limiters for Overdrive function… remain in action until all enemies are silenced or operation is forced to cease… removal code…" as the word flashed before his eyes, Vaios let out a bitter chuckle. "I am Human."

As the lattice burst into a blazing aura, a roar rose from Vaios's throat as he charged the nearest Gargoyle, energy coursing across his sword as he slashed at it. And as the blade cut through, everything in his vision became a whirl of combat as everything else was shunted in favor of pure focus. And by the time his senses came back to him, Vaios found himself standing at the edge of a pier, the Ardanian ship behind him as more Gargoyles closed in.

He didn't know what kind of state he was in as he turned around, spotting people crowding at the edge of the departing vessel to try and catch sight of him. A bitter, but resolved smile rose to his face as he turned to face the Gargoyles once more came to him.

"Even if I have to take on 100 Artificies… even if it takes years… I said I'd survive. So… sorry, Mythra… but it looks like I've gotta do something really stupid to save all these people."

Vaios bolted upright and clutched at his chest as the memory suddenly ended. Drops of sweat fell from his forehead as he shook. He was never going to get used to how vivid those recollections were, was he? It was like each time one came to him, every emotion that was included had to rush back right alongside it. As if he were reliving the exact moment in all its detail at the time it had happened. And this time, it was a rare one where he got to say he actually understood the context behind it. He had the clues to fit it.

That memory had to have been from 500 years ago, at the time Pyra had described before they had left Uraya. In a sense, the moment he "died", in a sense of the word.

But as usual, all he was left with was more questions. What had he meant by "Fetter"? What did the information he had seen as he'd uttered what were clearly voice commands mean? What did it have to do with anything? The more he thought on it… the more it could only mean one thing. The memories I have of a different world… of the world without the Cloudsea. Of the man I called "Father." I still barely have any more of those memories. Just… words without context and meaning behind them. What was it about that time? That world? What did I have to do with any of it?

So, he focused on it. Trying to drag anything out of the morass of scattered memories. That image of a world without the cloud sea. Of expansive oceans of blue, of land that no doubt stretched as far as the eye could see. The image of a tower stretching beyond the clouds, so far beyond sight one could only guess where it truly ended.

"Come on…" Vaois muttered, a hand to his head as it started to throb. "Remember something dammit! More than just scattered words, more than a blurry face!"

But as he strained, Vaios suddenly felt a sharp pain split his skull, falling back onto the bed as he held his head, a strained groan leaving his throat as his eyes shuddered… and then his vision flashed red, scrolling letters appearing before him.

[Warning. Warning. Attempts to access backup memory failed to process. Damage to Crystal Cortex still in repair process. Do not attempt forced access before repair process has concluded. Memory will return as progress continues. Current Crystal Cortex Repair progress: 65 percent complete. Access to backup memory still restricted.]

As the pain subsided and his vision returned to normal, Vaios's hands limply fell to his side. His breaths came out heavily, and sweat fell from his brow onto the pillow as he stared blankly at ceiling as he rolled onto his back.

"What… what the hell am I?"

Hardheigh Palace.

The structure was as much royal residence was it was a fortress all its own. Dominating every other structure of Alba Cavanich in its scale, enough that anyone knew fair and wide the Palace was as much the seat of power of the Imperial Senate overseen by the Emperor as it was the base of the Royal Guard regiments tasked with their direct protection and oversight. As such the only people who were so much as allowed past the gates were always those who were either part of said regiments, or those of renown in the empire.

Nobility, political figures, those who had particular business with the same types.

So, needless to say, the passerbys of the day were quite curious as to why a ragtag bunch of Drivers and their blades were just as easily waived past the trickle of those entering the palace grounds that morning.

"Guess all the stuffy types are already high up there, huh?" Nia remarked as the party moved off the main path of the gate area.

"At least we know we were expected," Haze added. "Makes things quite convenient for us."

"I'm surprised we're being brought into some office," Mythra joked, taking a glance to Vaios. "Hey, you alright? You've been staring off into space since breakfast."

"Hm?" Vaios perked up, glancing around the party and giving a small chuckle. "Have I? Sorry… guess I just slept weird is all. But uh… I guess it's easier for us if Morág comes down here to chat. Keeps it simple, wouldn't you say?"

"Well least he was listenin'," Nia muttered.

With the hisses of steam and clanks of gears, the descent of a nearby elevator drew the party's attention. Not long after, Morág and Brighid exited and approached.

"I assume your search led to finding a lead?" asked the Inquisitor, Vaios nodding when deference was given to him.

"We ended up deciding to see if any shipments for materials that Tora used when building Poppi had been brought in lately," he began. "Particularly Bion Connectors, which can be salvaged around Gormott this time of year, and Black Ash from local mines. Lucky for us, the guy who runs the junk shop in town happens to an association of Rakham's, so getting an idea of where to look was pretty quick."

"And where did that information lead you too?" Brighid asked.

"To a spot of the Old Factory District that leads to the lower levels," Vaios continued. "We found barrels with the materials in them, and a note that Poppi was able to translate from Nopon. The place we're looking is in the chest area further down. Whatever spot there that those barrels are being taken to, the buyer doesn't want the suppliers seeing it for themselves."

"The chest area of the lower level…" Morág pondered it for a moment. "There was indeed a factory there. However, it was abandoned some thirty years ago, like much of the infrastructure in the lower level."

"So, you think we've got 'em?" Nia spoke up.

"We can't be certain until we investigate," Morág stated.

"Then how about we just go?" Vaios said, Morág raising a brow at him. "It's easier, isn't it? I can't imagine even you'd be able to throw together a bunch of troops fast enough to go check it out. We can head down there ourselves and see what we find, save you some time to get your men together while we verify the information."

"To tell the truth, you're correct. It would be difficult for me to dispatch the military so quickly. Would you?"

"Like I said, makes it easier. If it looks to dangerous for the lot of us, we'll turn back and wait for you and your soldiers to meet up with us."

"Agreed. Now as for what I have found; There are rumors about town that an esteemed Nopon merchant is involved in this affair."

"Esteemed… wait…" Vaios held a hand up as he ran the thought over. "It couldn't be Chairman Bana, could it?! But… if it was someone as high ranked as him from the Guild… it would explain why someone like Niranira would show up on an audit trip. Plus… there was the job that led to me finding Pyra and Mythra at all… Bana would've known what Torna wanted out of it…"

"I'd bet…" Nia muttered, looking to the side with a clear pang of guilt running through her.

"I'm not gonna believe it until I can confirm it," Vaios noted. "He's the Chairman of the Guild for crying out loud. And as a member of it I can't just go and suspect the head of it to be involved in this kind of shady stuff."

"An understandable point to make," Morág nodded. "However, I would elect not to remove the possibility from your mind. It could also be that, if it is Chairman Bana, he is using his position of power to discreetly move goods and material for this endeavor. We're currently searching the transaction records. If we find anything, we will inform you."

"Guess we're all gonna be quite busy today, huh?"

"Indeed. Once I rally my troops, I will begin heading for the designated location to meet up with you. If you do find anything at the factory before we arrive and it seems safe, don't feel cross about investigating further. The sooner we act, the better."

"Got it."

When the party returned to the old factory district, unsurprisingly, they found the barrels from the previous day absent, no doubt taken to their delivery destination further down from them. Which at least meant whoever had ordered the supplies had some path through the abandoned factory itself and to whatever lay beyond it. When they entered the locale, as to be expected, the rusted-out halls of the abandoned factory had long been taken over by whatever wildlife had moved in since it's abandonment.

Only to be expected for something that had long since been left behind some three decades prior.

Meaning that, as was perhaps all too usual for the party now, anything a bit too aggressive that decided to get in the way was either swiftly driven off or put down before it could become much of an annoyance.

"Man…" Vaios muttered as he stowed the Aegis blade, his eyes scanning the hallway they were exiting into a much wider stairwell down to a more open space. "Swinging this thing around is kind of annoying in tight space…"

"Oh please, you're barely struggling," Mythra scoffed as she stepped ahead of Vaios. "But, being in tight spaces is going to limit things a bit. Too dangerous for me to call on Siren when we're enclosed like this."

"What is… Siren?" Tora inquired.

"Siren is my Artifice, like the one we ran into at the Void," Mythra stated, the others sans Vaios and Azurda looking surprised. "Though Siren isn't quite the same as Ophion. That attack we used at the Olethro Playhouse isn't actually an Art of mine. All I'm really doing is commanding Siren to blast the hell out of whatever I have it target."

"Then no wonder it's not safe to use in a place like this," Haze noted. "Considering the damage it did to the Playhouse, it would probably bring the building itself down on us?"

"Well, if I can have it target though a spot that's structurally sound, it's actually not that hard," Mythra noted as they stopped at the base of the stairs. She took a moment to point to the high ceiling of the room they were in now. "Like in here. If I say… took a shot through that spot in the roof, I could probably nail something without bringing the place down on our heads."

"That's a bit of a new one for you," Vaios hummed, Mythra giving him a look. "I can vaguely recall your were pretty liberal about just firing Siren off when you felt like it."

"That was back then," Mythra said, a bitter edge to her voice. "Even I can learn how to fight smarter. You kept drilling it into my head after all."

"Huh… that I did," Vaios chuckled, stepping ahead. Mythra stared after him for a moment, then her head snapped to the others as she felt them looking at her.

"What?"

"And here I thought Pyra was the one for givin' wistful looks," Nia chuckled, Mythra turning away, but there was no hiding the blush. "Not that I blame ya' both for starin' at times. I can admit he's easy on the ol' eyes. His arse ain't so bad either."

"Are you trying to start something?" Mythra muttered.

"Only 'cause you make it easy to pick," Nia chuckled as she walked past, Tora and Poppi chuckling along with her.

"Sheesh," Mythra rolled her eyes, then looking to Haze as the other Blade chuckled. "Find it funny, huh Haze?"

"A little bit," Haze's admittance made Mythra sigh, both looking to Vaois as he started tapping at a closed door that clearly wasn't intent to be pulled open the easy way. "You've said you knew me in my previous life… Vaios and I, were we…?"

"You two got along plenty," Mythra said, folding her arms. "You and Lora got onto him for being as reckless as he tends to be. He patches up a lot faster than most people can, so Vaios has a bit of a habit of letting himself take more risks. Made having a healer like you around thankful at least. Glad you can be with us again now too, trust me."

"I don't doubt that," Haze mused. "It's also just… I can't help but be curious about it, like I mentioned at the hotel. So… I hope you don't mind me drilling you with questions once we have downtime."

"I'd be happy to chat anytime. It'll be nice, recalling some old stories."

"I look forward to it… though do keep in mind I'm also Vaios's Blade… you and Pyra aren't the only ones with an eye on him, you know? I don't plan to be far behind for long."

"Huh?" Mythra blinked as Haze strode forward, letting out a seemingly impressed sound as she folded her arms. "Well, that part of her that's lowkey is still around. Sheesh… why do I suddenly have competition?" realizing what had just run through her head, Mythra slapped her cheeks and rejoined the group as Vaios and Tora were stepping away from the door. "Stubborn one?"

"Eh, not for much longer," Vaios hopped back a couple of steps. Mythra raised a brow as she saw a thin lattice of blue form around Vaios. And as he hopped forward with a spin, that lattice gathered around his right leg right as it slammed into the door, not only denting it quite deeply but also sending the rusted object right from its frame and slamming to the room beyond. "There we go."

"Speaking of new things…" Mythra chuckled.

"I think it's more something I remembered how to do," Vaios noted, Tora and Poppi looking over the now cleared doorway. "Still don't know about what I did when fighting Malos, but this…? It's like I remembered how to control something. Whatever ability it is, it lets me control the ether flowing through my body and focus it. I guess that's how I was able to power up the Aegis Blade even when me and Pyra had our connection cut off… plus whatever that other thing I did was."

"Y'sure you ain't actually some kind of Blade?" Nia hummed. "Mythra, you know what Pyra's seen. He hidin' a Core Crystal under that shirt?"

"D-Don't go asking about that!" Mythra snapped. "And no, no he doesn't. The only one is the half of mine Pyra gave him. Like Pyra told you guys in Uraya, Vaios isn't a Blade… but he isn't normal either."

"I've about pieced that one together," Vaios had a sudden edge in his voice as they carried on.

"Alright, ruddy spill it," Nia stopped Vaios from moving further when she caught that, grabbing his wrist. "First you zonin' out at the palace and suddenly that tone. You gonna tell us the deal or what? This about something you remembered, or you just actin' odd for no damned reason?"

"It's… it's just stuff that's the same as usual for me," Vaios muttered, pulling his wrist free of Nia's hand. "The kind of thing where something gets answered and just brings up more questions. Whatever I am… it's obviously not human, but it isn't Blade either. And it turns out, I can't even force myself to try and remember. Because something is fixing itself right now."

"Tora… not follow," chimed the Nopon. "Is Vai-Vai saying… he like Poppi? That someone built you? But Vai-Vai squishy like any other person! No sign anyone could have built you like Artificial Blade!"

"I… I don't know what I am," Vaios sighed. "But look… like I said in Uraya, it doesn't exactly matter. It's just annoying for me to constantly be asking all these questions about myself and not being able to find an answer as easily as I'd hoped. But… that's why we're headed for Elysium in part. If it won't come back on its own, then maybe up there I'll find the answers."

"Eh, fair enough I suppose," Nia remarked. "Just… don't go gettin' all moody on us 'cause your own damn 'ead is fightin' against ya. Alright?"

"Heh… alright. Promise I won't."

"Good. Now then…" Nia then smirked, a hand moving and smacking Vaios on the rear before she continued. "Let's find whatever path gets us outta this damned rust bucket as quick as we can eh? If Vaios can just bust doors open, no need to go lookin' for keys to any locks now, yeah?"

"Okay guess we're just movin' on from that," Vaios noted, glancing at Mythra when he felt her eyes on him. "You good?"

"Fine," Mythra huffed and marched off, Vaios giving a sound as she went past.

"Vai-Vai have troublesome love life it seems," Tora noted, Vaios snapping around to the Nopon.

"Complicated indeed!" Poppi added.

"Ah shove it!" Vaios snapped.

After a perhaps merciful trip through the rest of the factory, it wasn't much longer afterwards that the party was finally free of the chocked building and back to the outdoors. They were faced now with a dusty cliffside, and the distance around them stretched out to the further ends of the lower area. Flying creatures used the old ironworks and pipes as their perches, land animals huddling from the dusty winds using the same infrastructure as their cover alongside the natural formations.

It seems that even in its own way, nature had reclaimed the factory for its own.

So from there, the natural path that didn't simply end up looping back to the lower ports they had arrived it took them further down the cliffside to an area even lower, to a zone in the cliffside further away from the old factory they had left.

Only for a sudden spout of laughter to interrupt the otherwise silent walk…

"… is this gonna be who I think it is?" Vaios muttered, recognizing the voice quite easily.

Who else but Zeke and Pandoria to come dashing out from behind some rocks? "So, we meet again, Aegis!"

"Oh. It's Shellhead," Nia hummed, Vaios putting a hand to his face.

"Yes! Wait, who's 'Shellhead'?!" Zeke snapped.

"How long have you been waiting for us?" Vaios groaned.

"Only the past… how long has it been, Pandy?"

"Eh… about a day? Ever since they said they were coming this way the other night," replied the Blade.

"… idiots…" Vaios groaned.

"Once again, your comedic timing is impeccable," Dromarch humm.

"You will address me as Zeke von Genbu, Bringer of Chaos!" Zeke shouted, grabbing his sword from his back and about flailing around as he struck various poses, of which Pandoria leaned back from to avoid the edge. "Or Zeke! Or THE ZEKENATOR!"

"… what's even that last one?" Haze mumbled, tilting her head.

"Least he could do is make his mind up," Nia sighed. "But whatever it is, probably some shite he made up."

"Hah!" Zeke clearly decided to ignore that jab. "You may have been lucky last time, thanks to a certain unstable cliff…"

"It wasn't unstable," Vaios cut in. "You just broke it with your stupidly flashy move that did nothing."

"Un. Stable!" Zeke insisted. "But this time round, we meet on good old terra firma! And for the record, my 'stupidly flashy move' is called the Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash Max, thank you very much!"

"I really don't care," Vaios drawled, his eyes happening to glance towards a rather large, very precariously placed boulder on the cliff just above them.

"If you think you can run from me a second time, you are quite mistaken!"

"Nobody did any runnin'…" Nia pointed out. "And anyway, Shellhead?"

"What?" Zeke said, Pandoria putting a hand to her face.

"You answer to that now?" came the exasperated statement.

"I've been wonderin' for a while now… but what's with the cutesy eyepatch?" Nia pointed to said article, drawing attention to the turtle design printed on its front.

"I'm quite glad you asked!"

"This is going to be really dumb, isn't it?" Vaios's ever present snark made Zeke flinch, just for a moment. Yet astoundingly, the man slipped back into whatever groove he was in quickly enough.

"This eyepatch conceals a power too great for mere mortals to comprehend…"

"So it is dumb!" The posing amid the sentence certainly didn't make Vaios feel any more impressed.

"The Eye of Shining Justice!"

"… yeah, dumb."

"Would it kill you to just let a man do his thing without throwing all your witty, smartass remarks in the middle of it?!"

"No. But I enjoy it too much not to."

"Makes for an amusing time at the least," Nia chuckled.

"Also, he definitely isn't wearing it because he didn't have the gold for a second contact lens!" Pandoria's sudden statement made Zeke lurch, Vaios and Nia's dulled stares only adding to the mental blow.

"How poor are you?" Nia sighed. "And are you that short-sighted?"

"By-the-by…" Dromarch spoke up. "What business might you have with us today?"

"Are you thick?! I'm here for the Aegis, obviously!" The only response Zeke got was an increasingly annoyed glare from Mythra before she looked away.

"Listen, pal," Nia started. "I'm sorry, but we really don't have time to play with your today. So hurry on home, okay?"

"What's this? Were you so frightened by our power that you wet yourself, furry-ears?" Zeke's mugging expression brought an annoyed flinch from Nia.

"Did it what?! You've got a lot of nerve you one-eyed monster!" Nia's outburst earned various surprised expressions, and a deep sigh from Vaios.

"Nia… phrasing…" groaned the young man.

"What? What about my phrasing was so odd?" Nia said, looking at Vaios with a demanding gaze.

"Look, it… ugh, nevermind. Look, Zeke von… Kenbu…"

"Genbu!"

"Whatever. Like Nia said, we don't exactly have the time to be messing around. So just… I dunno, leave?"

"As if! I still need to pay you back for Uraya! I don't care what business you're on about, I ain't leaving till we've scrapped."

"Have it your way then."

Grabbing the Aegis Blade and igniting it, Vaios dashed forward just as Zeke did, their blades colliding in a rain of sparks as the ether edges slammed together. It was quite the sight to see Zeke match Vaios's quick swings with his larger sword, arcs of lightning matching ribbons of light with each collision of the two blades. Vaios took a chance to make some distance and leaped away, a quick flick of the Aegis Blade sending a bolt of light flying towards Zeke.

"Got some new tricks in ya' now, eh chum?" Zeke laughed as he blocked the blast with his sword, only realizing Vaios had vanished when the sparking light cleared.

"I've got a few," Zeke looked back to see Vaios skidding to a stop behind him, the Aegis Blade positioned at his hip as if he were drawing it. "Photon Edge!"

The blade of light extended as Vaios slashed, Zeke parrying the blow with a quick shift of his blade. Yet the second contact was made, Vaios vanished again, reappearing to Zeke's side. Again the man parried, and again Vaios vanished before attacking from another angle. Parried again, changed again. The fourth go at this saw Vaios come from above, Zeke just blocking the strike as the energy blade was at its largest, lightning flying from Zeke's sword as he swung it to toss Vaios back.

"Whoa, what Arts Vai-Vai using?!" Tora gasped, his wings flapped as Vaios landed without trouble, flicking his sword arm and setting back to his stance. "This Mythra's power?!"

"Looks like he remembers my Arts better than I thought," Mythra mused. "Always was something he was good at, watching how others fought and incorporating those skills into his own style."

"Should we not help Vaios in fight?" Poppi asked. "This makes third time now we simply watch."

"Ah let 'im have his fun," Nia said, waving a hand. "Saves us the trouble of wastin' energy he has way more of. Besides… I'm not keen on gettin' between something where both of 'em are smiling like that."

As Nia pointed it out, the others took note of, as their clash of blades continued with both throwing their Arts out left and right, Vaios and Zeke had smirks on their faces and matching glints of wild excitement in their eyes. Mythra felt a pang of nostalgia as she saw that expression… it was one she was far more familiar with than the others could have known. Haven't seen that face in… way too long. Same one he'd have when sparring with Addam or Jin… stupid fight nut. And despite the snide thought, the affectionate smile that came to Mythra was easily caught but went unsaid.

"Best to let her bask in the moment," was the thought of the others.

"Well… you're certainly stronger than last time!" Zeke chuckled as he was kicked back, stumbling a bit and being caught by Pandoria.

"Oh please, you're still not even going all out yourself," Vaios snickered as he fell back himself, keeping his blade at the ready. "You actually going to try, or we gonna keep wasting time?"

"Well then, I suppose I'll abide by that and show you what for!" Zeke hefted his sword once more, lightning burst from the blade and sparking through the dust he sent flying. "Bringer of Chaos!" This is starting to look familiar… Vaios' brow raised as Zeke's blade burst with lightning, the man spinning it up and then carrying it into a massive leap. "Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash… MAX!"

"That's the same thing from last time!"

The slash came down, and indeed no differently than last time, all that happened was a burst of lightning across the ground and… nothing else.

"Seriously, what is that move supposed to do?!" Vaios snapped.

"It's barely even different!" Nia added. "What the bloody hell does addin' 'MAX' to it mean?!"

"What you saw in Uraya was simply the basic Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash," Zeke said, oh so proudly.

"Then what does this one do?" Vaios grumbled, putting his free hand to his hip.

"It's stronger! Because it's MAX!"

"BLOODY IDIOT!" Vaios and Nia shouted the insult at the same time, Zeke flinching away from the joint snapping.

And then the ground started to shake. But not because the Titan was moving. That was never quite the cause.

"Ah…" looking over, Mythra's worried exclamation made clear what the shaking was being caused by. That particularly precarious boulder, not quite clearly suddenly rocked from its position, beginning to tilt over the narrow bit of cliff face that had been a flimsy bulwark.

So, naturally, the thing went tilting over that bulwark and started down the nearest slope.

Right towards Zeke and Pandoria. So, also naturally, the two bolted away from it as fast as possible.

"P-Pandy, can't you do something?!" Zeke screamed.

"Sorrysorrysorry! You know my element's lightning! I'm not cut out for this!"

With little more space to run, the two were quite promptly slammed into by the boulder and set flying off into the distance in what Vaios could only call quite the slapstick display. And all the party could do was watch silently as the boulder proceeded to topple off into the cloud sea in turn.

"… we're definitely going to be seeing them again soon, aren't we?" Vaios sighed, shaking his head.

"Let's just get a move on, better not think of those idiots," Nia said, Vaios nodding as they proceeded ahead.

And what they found on getting to their destination was the seemingly rusted out shell of another factory entrance. However, despite the looks, there were also a number of yellow and green barrels right before its door. And on a quick inspection, they proved to be the same barrels the party had found the day before.

"Looks this is the place the note mentioned," Vaios said, tapping the main door as Poppi also checked it over.

"Dadapon and Lila inside here!" Tora cheered.

"It seems likely," Azurda said.

"Door is stubborn! Not open!" Poppi stepped away as her attempts to pull the door open didn't succeed, the others taking a few steps away as well… except for Vaios as it happened.

"Well, the security isn't a complete pushover by the looks of it," Nia noted, a hand to her chin.

"There has to be some alternative entrance," Dromarch noted, turning to Ursula. "Do you have any thoughts?"

"Uhm… none that I could say," said the smaller Blade.

"Has to be! No point standing…" Tora fell silent as he noticed something. "Wait, where Vai-Vai? Tora expected some dry line along with Nia!"

That was when the sound of the rusted doors loudly sliding open drew the group's attention. And standing behind them was Vaios, currently tapping his grapnel gun on a shoulder as he stood there.

"Well?" he said. "You all just gonna stand there gawking, or we gonna pull a break and enter?"

"When did you get there?" Nia asked, Vaios wiggling the grapnel gun.

"Did we just forget I have this? I hooked onto the catwalk and jumped through the busted window. Figured the door was internally locked, so I just got around it… or over, in this case."

"Saves us time," Mythra shrugged, leading the way into the main entrance… only for the group to immediately be faced with the problem of the next door. "So… how we get past this one?"

"Well…" Vaios looked around, his eyes coming to rest on a rather old looking and large air vent positioned near the walkway above them. "I may have an idea…"