Deep beneath the Cloud Sea, off the coast of the shattered remains of a long-dead Titan, an ancient metal door ground open, allowing a jet-black vessel entrance to a cavernous docking bay.

The top layer of the clouds within the chamber began to churn violently as the ship surfaced, slowly sliding to a halt beside an even larger vessel.

On the deck, waiting for the crew to disembark from the ship, Jin watched placidly, Malos standing at his side. Neither said a word as the smaller ship settled alongside the Monoceros, aligning its hatch with one of the gangplanks.

Soon enough, a hiss echoed through the docking bay as the vessel equalized pressure with its surroundings, allowing the hatch to be opened. There was only a brief delay following that before the crew began to disembark.

"Mikhail." Jin greeted, nodding at the blond as he exited the ship. "How did your mission turn out?"

The Blade Eater slowed slightly, a pensive look on his face. "…Not exactly how I was expecting it to." He replied, shooting a glance back toward the ship.

Malos chuckled. "Gave you more trouble than expected?"

"Something like that." Mikhail replied noncommittally, bringing his gaze back to his comrades.

Jin frowned, watching the blond's behavior. "What exactly happened?" He asked. "Akhos and Obrona did their best to observe the Flesh Eaters, but shortly after Nia and the Aegis arrived on the Titan…" He trailed off.

A muscle in Mikhail's jaw tightened at the mention of those two, but he kept his focus on the question regardless. "The short answer is that there were no Flesh Eaters." He replied, shooting another glance into the ship.

"Is that so?" Malos snorted, crossing his arms. An amused smile crossed his face. "Better not tell Akhos that. He's already blown a fuse over tracking issues."

Jin, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as amused. "But you did find something." The Flesh Eater said knowingly, carefully watching Mikhail's behavior. "You wouldn't be acting this cagey if you hadn't."

"Heh." The blond replied, his expression lightening slightly. "Perceptive as always."

Glancing back at the hatch, he called out to the people within. "Cress, Etene, come on out!"

The other two Torna members watched, one curious, the other skeptical, as Mikhail's Blade wandered out of the ship. His presence was expected, of course, but what wasn't was…

Malos blinked, taken aback by what he saw. "A kid?" He muttered, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her.

Jin stared as well. The girl wasn't young—probably close to Nia's apparent age—but was skinny enough to make her look younger. She was wearing an oversized set of Tornan engineering garb, probably one of Mikhail's spares, that had been tied off to tighten it up a bit. Even then, it still hung loosely on her frame, the collar low enough to reveal a Core Crystal on her chest.

But not a Flesh Eater one. Rather, hers was completely unblemished, as if she were a normal Blade, or possibly…

"Huh." Malos muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd you even find a Blade Eater, anyway?"

Mikhail ignored the dark Aegis, instead giving the girl an encouraging smile. "Etene, these are Malos and Jin." He introduced, pointing between the two for emphasis.

The girl eyed the two of them, not unkindly, but certainly with a distinctly guarded expression, as if she were trying to gauge whether or not they were a threat to her. In particular, Malos seemed to catch her attention, her gaze becoming more wary as she beheld him.

If anything, the dark-haired man almost seemed to find her reaction amusing. In response to her look, he offered her a grin that carried just a hint of malice. "Heh." He snorted, his lip quirking up.

Jin ignored his behavior, instead taking a step forward. "Nice to meet you." He said neutrally, offering the girl a hand. "Mikhail said that your name is Etene?"

She stood still for a moment, the guarded look still on her face as she observed his hand. After a moment, letting the man's greeting hang just long enough for silence to reign, she hesitantly accepted the shake. "Yes." The girl replied quietly.

With a curt nod, Jin stepped back, recognizing the girl's wariness. "Well, Etene, welcome to the Marsanes." He said. "You'll be safe here."

"For now, anyway." Malos joked darkly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bulkhead.

"Malos." Jin spoke up, his tone raising ever so slightly as he rebuked the dark Aegis.

The man snorted, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I'll play nice."

If Etene had been wary of the man before, now her demeanor had become hostile. She shot him a challenging glare, the sort that only a teenager would dare to make, even as she took a step back toward Mikhail.

Seeing how the situation was deteriorating, the blond gave his Blade a pleading look. "Cress, would you mind getting her set up with a room?" He asked. "I need to have a… chat with Jin and Malos."

Cressidus let out a loud, boisterous laugh. "Oh, I bet." He replied, walking up to the girl. Offering her a hand, he nodded his head in the direction of the hatch. "Come on, let's get you settled in."

Etene, no doubt feeling the building tension in the room, eagerly took his hand and followed the massive Blade out of the room. As she left, she shot Malos a final passing glare, before vanishing further into the ship.

The three men watched as the pair disappeared down the corridor, a different expression on each of their faces. Mikhail's was etched with a polite, yet strained, smile, while Jin's was calculating. Malos, on the other hand…

"Heh." He muttered. "She's got spunk; I'll give her that." The dark Aegis commented, a smirk on his face as he continued to lean against the wall.

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment I hear?" He asked.

"Just an observation." The man replied casually. "Whether she's worth anything else remains to be seen."

Before he could reply, Jin spoke up. "Mikhail, are you certain about this?" The Flesh Eater asked. "Our mission isn't the place for a child."

"As sure as you were about Nia." He replied, frowning. "And that girl is hardly a child. She's barely younger than the Aegis brat."

The other man paused at the retort. "Nia… wasn't a wise investment in the long run." He admitted quietly. "Can you be sure this girl will be?"

Mikhail's frown deepened. "If you're concerned about resolve, you shouldn't bother." The blond replied defensively. "You know as well as I do the sort of experiences Blade Eaters are subjected to just to be created. She's seen just how cruel humans can be."

He paused for a moment, as if debating what to say next. "Besides, I didn't bring her with combat in mind." Mikhail admitted. "She's far too fresh to be anything more than a speed bump to those kids."

"In which case, why did you recruit her?" The Flesh Eater pressed again. Something about Mikhail's behavior was off. "We don't have the manpower to watch over her at this stage in our preparations."

"That manpower issue is exactly the reason." Mikhail shot back. "She may not be a fighter, but we need support staff. Before she bailed, we had Nia handling a lot of that stuff, and look how much it freed the rest of us up to go out on missions."

"Yet our preparations are far enough along that support work is largely unnecessary at this point." Jin replied calmly. "Even Nia was mostly relegated to assisting Akhos in the infirmary for her final few weeks here. Would you have Etene do the same?"

"Why not?" The Blade Eater pushed back. "From what tutoring I was able to provide her during the trip, she seems to have been bonded with the Core Crystal of a healing Blade. Having a second healer on hand in the event that Akhos goes down is only a good thing!"

Jin sighed. "Healing is a very technical skill, Mikhail." The Flesh Eater pointed out. "If she did not inherit the knowledge of her donor Blade—and you yourself claimed that Blade Eaters don't—then it will take far longer for her to become useful in that capacity than it will for our plans to come to fruition." He looked the blond in the eyes. "So again, why did you recruit her if she doesn't possess any useful skills for us?"

Mikhail let out a frustrated hiss. "Why are you so opposed to it?" He shot back. "Do you really distrust my judgment so much?!"

Before Jin could reply, Malos stepped into the argument. Leaning back onto his feet, he spoke up. "Enough." The dark Aegis said, looking between them. "As much as I hate to break up a fight when it's just getting good, this isn't going to get us anywhere."

Glancing over at Mikhail, he looked the Blade Eater over with a frown. "What crawled up your ass and died, anyway?" He asked. "You're not normally this argumentative."

The dark Aegis smirked. "Not that I'm complaining, but-"

"Why didn't you warn me that Nia and the Aegis brat were on Tadbir?" Mikhail cut him off, his frustration, which had been simmering for more than a week, boiling over. "I nearly blew my cover long before I even found the Blade Eaters because I walked right into one of their party members." He growled. "Had it not been for Nia not giving them my description, I would have been caught then and there!"

He wasn't done there. "Hell, I tried calling you later, just to ask if you had any orders about how to handle them!" Mikhail yelled, clenching his fists. "But you couldn't even be bothered to answer! I'd expect something like this from Akhos, but you, Jin? I thought you were better than that!"

Jin remained silent for a moment, accepting the rebuke. "I'm sorry, Mikhail." He replied. "Unfortunately, for much of the time that you were gone, we were unable to communicate with the outside world."

The Blade Eater blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?" He asked, his frustration evaporating almost immediately.

"Shortly after you left, Indoline forces began sweeping the area around the exclusion zone, just outside of Ophion's engagement range." Jin explained. "They brought in a number of vessels equipped with sounding equipment."

"…Do you think they know we're here?" Mikhail wondered. He had put a substantial amount of effort into ensuring that the Marsanes was as hard to detect as possible. The Blade Eater had installed countermeasures that he was confident could disrupt most known forms of tracking objects beneath the Cloud Sea, be they Ardainian military nephophones, Urayan Titan sonar, or even the same etherwave resonance tracking that Tornan ships employed.

Unfortunately, he had no idea what sort of equipment the Indoline vessels used for the task, so he couldn't guarantee that it was something he had accounted for.

"I don't believe so." Jin denied. "Even when they were searching around the Cliffs, they didn't seem to be looking for recent activity. Rather, they were running pattern searches along the surrounding shelf." The Flesh Eater had a disquieted look on his face at the thought. "We were forced to disable our communications systems for the duration to avoid detection, but it was clear that we were not the target."

Malos snorted. "My old bastard of a Driver is clearly looking for something around here." He said darkly. "Something on the seafloor, too. We spotted salvaging vessels among the ships."

"I can't imagine what's out here worth the effort." Mikhail stated, crossing his arms. "It's gotta be pretty important, though. Aren't they at risk of violating some treaty or another with all of this activity?"

Jin nodded. "They would be if they were caught." The man said. "So far as we can tell, the Praetorium appears to be disguising their activities under the cover of reinforcing the cordon around the exclusion zone." He paused for a moment. "Likely using the rumors of the Aegis' return as justification."

Mikhail spat a curse. "Damned Bana." He growled. "That fat bastard just had to open his damn mouth, didn't he?"

It was going to be hard enough tracking the Aegis brat down without half of Alrest begging to grab him for themselves. The chairman was damn lucky that they still needed him alive for the time being. The artificial Blades he was producing for them required a substantial amount of resources to make—far more than Torna could collect without scrutiny.

Until they had enough to reasonably hold off Indol's forces once they began their ascent of the World Tree, keeping the corpulent nopon alive was an unfortunate necessity, something the furry bastard was clearly aware of if the constant, low-level 'production delays' were anything to go by.

"I have already made my displeasure known to him." Jin stated calmly. "It should be enough to keep him compliant for the time being."

Mikhail mused at the situation. "Do you want me to go lean on him?" The Blade Eater asked. "It would give me the chance to run another inspection of the factory, just to make sure it's actually running smoothly this time."

Jin shook his head. "No, not quite yet." He said. "At the moment, verifying the location of the Aegis is of greater concern."

The Blade Eater rolled his eyes. "Isn't that Akhos and Obrona's job?" He replied. "Cress and I can't exactly compare to wonder boy and his amazing ether tracking Blade."

"Normally." Jin replied. "However, both Nia and the Aegis have slipped beneath our view."

"What? How?" Mikhail narrowed his eyes. It had only been, what, eight days since he ran into them? What had those brats gotten up to in that time?

Malos answered in Jin's stead. "We don't know." The man said. "One minute we were tracking them just fine, the next…" He held out a hand, splaying the fingers. "Poof. Nothing."

"Based on their signature, we suspect that they encountered somebody capable of teaching them Minoth's Ether Shroud technique." The Flesh Eater continued where the dark Aegis left off. "Or, more likely, created a shroud for them."

There wasn't much about the thought that Mikhail could disagree with. There were only a handful of ways to evade a tracking Blade like Obrona. Beyond a technique like the Ether Shroud, those options were either specially modified signal disruptors, such as were installed on all of Torna's vehicles, or to be dead.

And he doubted the latter was true.

"How long ago did you lose track of them?" He inquired, trying to work out a timeframe. A week, especially after what they had been caught up in, was plenty of time to run into someone with the knowledge of the technique. Especially considering how liberal the old man was with spreading it.

But if they had vanished before, then that limited the number of options.

"Nine days ago." Malos replied. "According to Obrona, they had just settled on the nose of the Titan before vanishing, just a few hours before midnight."

A smirk grew on the dark Aegis' face as he added, "It was pretty hard to miss when Akhos started flipping out over it."

Mikhail chuckled mirthfully. "I imagine." He said.

"Unfortunately, we have no knowledge of what happened afterword." Jin stated, ignoring them making fun of their companion. "We weren't even able to confirm that they remained on the Titan after that."

"They did." Mikhail replied. "I encountered them the next morning, raiding the lab where I found Etene."

"And you didn't attempt to apprehend the boy?" Jin questioned.

Mikhail offered him a grin. "What can I say? You didn't give me orders one way or another." His tone was mirthful, but still carried an element that was almost challenging the Flesh Eater to contradict him.

Okay, he was still a little bitter about Jin going full radio silence on him. Even with a reasonable justification, he could hardly be blamed.

At his words, Malos let out a hearty chuckle. "Are you sure they didn't just scare you off?"

Ignoring the dark Aegis' comment, Jin pressed through Blade Eater for details. "Do you have any idea where they are going?" He asked.

"Who knows?" Mikhail shrugged. "I imagine they stuck around Tadbir for at least a couple days, if for no other reason than to resolve the issue with the Blade Eaters."

At the very least, Torna could trust both Nia and the Aegis to handle that. The brat was very clearly cut from the same cloth as Addam, and Nia was too much of a bleeding heart to ignore the plight of a group of terrified, freshly-turned Blade hybrids.

"Beyond that, though?" He shrugged. "No way to know."

Even as he said that, something occurred to him. "Say, when you said that they disappeared, you only specified Nia and the Aegis." Mikhail observed. "What about the rest of them?"

"Obrona was able to follow Dromarch for a time afterword." Jin replied. "However, once they returned to the city, she lost the return among the crowd."

"And the nopon's Blade?" He pressed. "Her return should be pretty distinct."

Malos made a contemplative noise. "So… the color wasn't just Obrona losing her touch, then?"

Mikhail shook his head. "Nope. I got a clear view of her. That was an artificial Blade, all right—and not one of the mass-produced ones that Bana's been selling us. If I had to guess, it's probably a similar make to the one that's always following that little minion of his around. You know; the one dressed up like a maid?"

"Interesting." Jin commented. "I will have to pass that along to Obrona. If she can follow them via the artificial Blade, that will make our next move all the easier."

"And more complicated." Malos observed. "I had planned to take Akhos and Obrona along when I went to scoop them up, but I'm not sure if an artificial Blade will be susceptible to her tricks."

The Blade Eater raised an eyebrow. "If you need an extra hand, I'll be more than happy to come along." Mikhail offered.

"No, Jin has another job for you." Malos said, rejecting the offer. "I'll bring Patroka along instead. After being stuck on the Marsanes for the last two weeks, she's probably itching for a fight."

"Jin?" Mikhail asked, looking over at the Flesh Eater.

"We're going to be investigating what Indol is looking for." The white-haired man stated. "We are too close to the endgame of our plans for that man to introduce a new variable."

A reasonable enough concern in Mikhail's opinion. The mere fact that Amalthus might want something here was reason enough to deny him. With the amount of resources present, it was imperative that they put a stop to whatever he had planned.

"You need my salvaging expertise?" The Blade Eater offered.

Jin shook his head. "In this case, your familiarity with computers is more useful. Unfortunately, I was never skilled enough with them to break encryptions like you can."

He turned around, facing the door. "We won't be leaving yet—not until one of the salvaging ships leaves the safety of the cordon forces—so take this time to help Etene get settled in."

"Thank you, Jin." The Blade Eater said, following after him.

"Don't mention it." Jin replied. "Whether or not she remains with us, I will not see one of ours turned out." The Flesh Eater stated. "That being said, I would like to know the details of what happened on Tadbir. From what you have said so far, I presume that the rest of the Blade Eaters went with the Aegis, but that does not explain how they got there in the first place."

Mikhail's face darkened. "You can probably guess the basics," he began, "but from what that girl told me…

It was bright and early in the morning, only slightly more than half a day after they had seen the Garfont contingent off, that the party found themselves back at the port, ready to depart themselves.

Unlike their arrival, where they had taken a public transport ship, the academy staff had offered to facilitate their trip to Mor Ardain. And unlike some of the repayment they had given the party, the reasoning was entirely practical.

With the need to bring so many families to the Titan in order to settle the fate of the surviving Blade Eaters, the academy had decided that, rather than force the parents of the victims to arrange their own travel while still dealing with the grief of the kidnappings, they would provide transport themselves. It wasn't like the academy had a dearth of ships to use, after all.

As such, upon learning that the party was headed to Mor Ardain—already the destination for more than one of the transports—Alexandria had offered them a place aboard one of them.

It was a welcome alternative to taking a public transport, in Rex's opinion. While the last ship they had taken was fast, the cramped conditions and lack of activities to occupy their time had grated on all of them.

Upon arriving at the port, the party assessed the vessel that would be their home for the next few days. It was of a similar size to the last one they had taken, and the proportional difference between the hull and the Titan carrying it similar as well, implying that it was built for speed. It was also of much better construction, clearly built as a yacht rather than a mere transport.

That wasn't to say it was extremely high-class—even the Special Inquisitor's personal cutter had been more stately—but it was obviously intended to carry academy officials rather than the public.

While the design of the vessel was noticeably similar to the previous transport, there was an obvious difference: it had an actual deck. In fact, while the front two thirds of the vessel were enclosed, the entire rear third was fully open to the elements, protected only by a handrail running along the edge of the deck.

"Well, it definitely looks like this will be a more comfortable trip than the last one." Rex observed, looking over the vessel with a note of approval.

"Indeed." Dromarch inclined his head, letting out a sigh of relief. "I would prefer to not have to travel in such a confined environment again in the near future."

Azurda chuckled. "The berths on the last ship may not have been spacious, but they were hardly cramped." The Titan observed.

"Master Azurda, you did not need to concern yourself with fitting into a sleeping compartment a mere half of your length." The tiger replied in a droll voice.

Beside them, Tora nodded his head. "That right!" He agreed. "Rooms on last boat too too small! Tora glad not have deal with again!"

"And why was that a concern for you?" Nia questioned, raising an eyebrow as she looked over the nopon with suspicion. "You're easily the most compact of the three of us."

Tora waved a wing at her dismissively. "That good for snoozy-sleep, but not when wakey-wake." He stated, hiking up his bag. "If rooms too small, Tora not able to work on new project!"

Rex tilted his head. "I didn't know you were working on something new." He said, glancing down at the nopon's bag. There were a pair of pipes sticking out of it, kept in place by the central flap. Something about them was familiar… the superficial wear across them looked old, maybe even ancient. "What are you doing this time…?"

Even as he spoke, it clicked. Of course that pattern was familiar—it was the same sort of wear you saw from objects that had been submerged in the Cloud Sea for an extended period. In fact, he was reasonably sure he even recognized the objects themselves. "W-wait a moment, Tora…" He said, not quite believing it. "Are those Infinity Ducts?"

He was greeted by a wide grin as a response. "Rex-Rex right on money!" The nopon replied, pulling one of them out. "Mechanical goods store still had in stock, so not want miss opportunity to buy before leave!" Tora hugged the pipe to his chest, as if it were a shiny new toy. "Now Tora can begin work on fabled JK weapon load out for Poppi!"

"You finished the design?" Rex asked, a little excitement leaking into his voice. He would be the first to admit that some of what the nopon did was beyond his understanding, but weapon design was fairly straightforward.

Besides, Tora was clearly passionate about it, so who was Rex to ruin his mood?

"That right!" He grinned. "Tora was struggling with design for much long time, but few days ago got help from Adenine. Pointed Tora in direction of book on process behind building of ether-imbued weapons."

While Rex may have been willing to indulge the nopon, he was hardly the only member of their group. Before Tora could elaborate on what secrets the book had revealed, she stepped in, putting her hands on her hips as she leaned toward him.

"Hang on a minute," she began, narrowing her eyes. "Aren't those the parts that Rex said cost a fortune?"

Tora shook his head. "That not fully true." He explained. "Pieces are pricey, but not pricey-pricey. Was able to get discount, so well within price range of Tora."

"You did buy them outright, yes?" Azurda pressed innocently. "No putting them on a tab this time?"

"N-no, Tora not do again." He blanched. "Learn from last time; not buy part unless pay in full."

"And just how did you have the money to 'pay in full?'" Nia asked skeptically. "Because I know you didn't take from the group fund, and I didn't think you had much of your own built up."

He nodded. "That true. That why Tora pay for same way as suit." He said casually.

"'Same way as-?!' You used one of the promissory notes to buy machine parts?!" Nia exclaimed, her eyes widening at the answer.

"Of course. Tora not get discount otherwise." He replied, tilting his head to the side. "How else Nia-Nia think pay for?"

Rex scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Ah, Tora?" He interjected. "You, um, know those were only supposed to be for our official expenses, right?" He wasn't really sure how he was supposed to approach this. He would go to a lot to get a good deal, but spending somebody else's money was not something he was comfortable doing.

Fortunately for Tora's continued existence, before the Gormotti girl could erupt at him over the revelation, a new voice interrupted. "Don't worry, Nia. He approved the purchase with me beforehand."

"Oh, thank the Architect." Nia said, letting out a relieved sigh. "I was not looking forward to explaining that to you."

Tora huffed at Nia's behavior. "Of course Tora ask first." He said defensively, crossing his wings. "What friends take Tora for?"

"Masterpon not known for sound financial decisions in past." Poppi replied. "Friend Nia likely extrapolate from previous experience."

Smiling, Alexandria approached the group. "I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to approve the request at first, but with the administrative discount, it was well within the stipend my Driver agreed upon."

"Well, thank you, Alexandria." Rex grinned at her. "I know that Tora's been eyeing those for a while."

Shaking his head fondly, he dismissed the topic. "So! What brings you down here?" He asked. "Here to see us off?"

"Among other things." She said cryptically, patting the bag hanging at her waist. "But more importantly, I'm not the only one who wanted to say farewell."

The light Blade stepped aside. "Your little fan club here wasn't about to let you leave so easily."

It was only then that Rex realized that the woman was not, in fact, alone. Behind where she had just been standing was a gaggle of children—all of them Blade Eaters—that were staring up at him.

He immediately recognized them as Taion's friends; In the front was Ewan, the Ardainian boy, flanked by the Gormotti Rhys and the Ardainian girl, Rhona. Slightly behind them was Leon, the Tantalese boy, who was standing beside Taion himself.

The Osirian boy didn't look particularly happy with the current turn of events, not that Rex was surprised. He had already been fairly sullen upon learning of the party's imminent departure yesterday.

Rex took a step forward, plastering a gentle smile on his face. "Hey, Taion." He said, kneeling just enough to match the boy's height.

"So you're leaving, then?" Taion replied, a childish pout on his face as he stared at the ground.

"I'm afraid so." Rex confirmed, a rueful look on his face. "We'd love to stick around longer, but, well…" He sighed. "We've got important things we need to do, and the world isn't kind enough to put itself on hold until we're ready."

Taion frowned at the words, idly picking at the cloth of his shirt, right above his Core Crystal. "I-I…" He muttered, his voice barely audible.

Next to him, Leon gave the boy an encouraging shove. "Come on, Taion!" He said softly. "What happened to the brave kid we all know?"

Rex remained quiet as the boy composed what he wanted to say, watching the dynamics of the group. He was kind of surprised that Leon, of all of them, was the one pushing Taion forward; from what he had heard, the Tantalese boy was the crybaby of the bunch. Normally, it would be Ewan who would do the encouraging.

After a moment of hesitance, Taion gave a small, sad nod. "I-I understand." He said, sniffling slightly. "I just wish you guys didn't have to go."

"It won't be forever." Rex assured him. "I told you before, remember? We'll pop back in from time to time!"

The boy looked up at him. "You promise?" He asked.

"Absolutely!" Rex smacked a fist against his chest for emphasis. "Salvager's honor!"

Behind him, he could hear Nia let out an annoyed groan. "Is this more of that stupid Salvager's Code nonsense?" She muttered.

Rex, in his infinite capacity for mercy, decided to ignore her slander for the time being.

"You'd better." Taion nodded, childish pout on his face. "It feels like everyone is leaving. You guys, the Garfont people yesterday…" He trailed off, his face falling. "Even miss Tokiha left the day after rescuing us."

Alexandria glanced down at him, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you know when she left the Titan?" The light Blade inquired skeptically. "She evaded custody before we even had the chance to interview her."

Taion shrank in on himself, even as he gave the woman an awkward smile. "…S-she, um, might have visited me in my room the first night after being rescued?" He answered uncertainly.

Rex couldn't help but smile at that. He knew that Perun wouldn't have left without saying goodbye to the boy. "She does that." He reassured. "Remember how she got into my room at the inn? You were with her then."

"Unbelievable." Alexandria huffed. "Even with the enhanced security, that woman…?" She closed her eyes, a scowl on her face. "I will have to push the guards harder, if that's the case!"

Despite the obvious amusement the boy was getting from watching his temporary guardian fume over her inability to catch Tokiha, Rex could quite clearly see that his mood had dropped at her mention.

"You really look up to her, don't you?" He asked gently, giving the boy a smile. Not that he was surprised in the least—after all, the woman had appeared at his darkest moment, preventing him from being dragged back into that nightmare. Even if he and the others had helped, Perun had been the one leading the charge.

Taion nodded. "Uh huh." He replied.

Leaning his head back, Rex made an exaggerated sound of contemplation. "Well~, how about this?" He said. Leaning in conspiratorially, he stage whispered to the boy. "We're about to go visit her stomping grounds, so I'll tell you what: If I run into her while we're there, I'll tell her to come visit again."

He leaned back to his original position. "Okay?"

The brilliant smile on Taion's face was absolutely worth the potential problems his promise could cause.

"You'd that?! Really?!" The boy exclaimed, excitement glittering in his eyes. "Thank you!"

Without waiting for confirmation, Taion looked back at his friends. A wave of excited squealing broke out among the group as the children chattered eagerly about the possibility of being visited once again by the famous vigilante.

Rex took a step back, placing his hands on his hips as he examined the fruits of his hard work. At the end of the day, he couldn't imagine a better reward than those excited smiles.

"That was very skillful of you." Alexandria observed, gingerly stepping around the children as she moved to speak with the group. "I will admit, I am still having difficulty figuring out the ideal means of handling them."

Azurda poked his head out of Rex's helmet. "You'll find that he has ample experience." The Titan stated. "Fonsett possesses a fair number of children, after all."

"I see." The woman stated, her focus already on a different topic. "With that out of the way, however, there is still my original intention for visiting to deal with."

"What's that?" Rex asked, giving her a quizzical look. "You already got everything you needed out of us, right?"

She nodded. "That I did." The woman agreed, opening the flap on the bag at her hip. "However, it would be remiss of me to allow you to leave without passing along your special request from yesterday."

Rex's eyes widened in understanding. "Then you…?"

"Yes." Alexandria confirmed, pulling a notebook out of the bag. It didn't look all that different from the ones that the party had made use of during their own investigations. It had a simple, unadorned cover, and was wrapped with a leather thong to keep itself closed. Even from here, though, Rex could see that it was closed irregularly, as if it contained supplementary papers within.

The salvager reached out, accepting the book from her as she continued to speak. "I will admit, there was not nearly as much material within the headmaster's private library as I had hoped, but I was able to locate some additional insights." Her lip quirked up slightly. "Beyond some of my own… familiarity with the topic, that is."

As the boy stowed the notebook away, she added. "Needless to say, some of what I was able to locate was not available to the public for a reason." Alexandria stated. "So I would request that you be discerning with who you allow to view it."

Nia laughed. "What, did the academy run some research expeditions into the exclusion zone or something?"

"No more than any of the other signatories of the treaties establishing the exclusion zone." The light Blade said noncommittally. Her eyes narrowed, even as a knowing grin settled on her face. "And certainly no more than an independent group of Drivers may be planning."

"I-I have no idea what you mean." The Gormotti girl replied, a little too fast to be believable.

"We'll be careful with it." Rex promised, scratching the back of his neck. "Is there anything else?"

Alexandria shook her head. "Not from me." The woman stated.

Behind Rex's head, Azurda spoke up again. "I do have one." He broached, leaning around his nominal ward's neck. "Would it be acceptable for us to practice while on the ship? I would rather these children not slack off during the journey, as they did on the way here."

"Oi, it's not like we had a choice." Nia replied defensively.

The light Blade ignored her, instead answering the Titan's question. "I personally don't see an issue with it." She replied. "However, you would be better served asking the captain; while he is required to at least take my recommendations into account, at the end of the day, once the vessel has departed, his word is law."

"I will be sure to do that." Azurda inclined his head. "Thank you."

"How much do you think we'll even be able to do?" Rex wondered aloud. "Basic training should be fine, but some…" He trailed off, glancing down at his chest. "...Other parts? Not so much."

Alexandria smirked at the question. "I believe you will be fine there as well." She stated. "While the crew is not aware of your… unique circumstances, they are familiar with the broader situation with the children." The woman explained. "All of them have served at least a handful of shifts watching over them the last week."

"We will take that into consideration." Azurda replied.

Behind them, Dromarch cleared his throat. "As much as I am loathe to interrupt," the tiger began, "it would appear that the crew is ready to get underway. If there is nothing else, then perhaps it would be best to get ourselves aboard?"

Rex glanced over his shoulder at the boat. Indeed, the energy the crew had displayed earlier was beginning to fade as they settled into their posts, with the captain in particular watching them from the door of the cabin.

"Yeah, probably." The salvager agreed. Turning to look back at Alexandria, he held out a hand. "Well, thank you for your help." The boy stated, giving her a polite smile.

She glanced at it, one corner of her lip quirking upward. "Likewise." The woman replied, taking the hand for a shake. "I hope you have a safe journey."

He watched impassively as the ice ran red with blood.

Weather this cold was rare in Uraya, even during the depths of winter. At least, inside the Titan, that was. Here, atop the massive whale's head, snow was far more common, gathering atop the mountainous peaks whenever the Titan rose from the depths.

Several feet beneath him, a scrawny Osirian man lay dying on the ground, his life fading with the setting of the sun. He took shallow, pained breaths, as if it were enough to save him at this point.

The dying man's Blade, a dark-skinned woman with long, white hair, was desperately trying to save him. She held her hands, stained red with her Driver's blood, over the fatal wound—a long, deep slash from a Chroma Katana.

His Chroma Katana.

Beside him, his Driver watched the scene, an amused look on his face. As if he were enjoying the sight of the Blade's futile attempts.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" His Driver, cloaked fully in black, stated. Despite the man's attempt at a dismissive tone, there was a faint tickle of mirth in his voice. "The way she squanders her final moments."

The Blade, hearing his words, glared up at the assassin. "Why?" She asked, struggling to retain her composure. Before his Driver had launched the attack, when he was running observation on their target, she had worn a firm, professional expression.

Now, however, that mask had cracked. Behind it, he could see flashes of deep emotion. Anguish. Despair. Desperation.

And above all else, a deep, burning hatred.

"What did we ever do to you?!" She cried, her hands quivering in rage as she stared his Driver down.

The man merely laughed at the question. "Do you even need to ask?" He replied, crossing his arms as he stared down at the woman. "This is what happens to those who cross the Blood Lobsters!"

"I… W-what?" She said, surprised by the answer.

He sneered at her as he continued. "Don't play dumb! Do you really think you were so clever, trying to slip under the radar? We know that you were helping some of our clients get out of repaying their debts!"

She looked as if the world had been pulled out from under her. "Are you…?! That's the reason you attacked us?! Because we were helping people you were extorting?!"

"What other reason do we need?" His Driver replied, speaking as if the Blade were a child. "Who cares why they owed us? At the end of the day, we didn't get our money, and it was because of you."

The Blade bowed her head, her entire body shaking as she contained her fury at his words.

But his Driver wasn't done. "You know, there's nothing I hate more than busybody do-gooders like you." He sneered. "Always acting so high and mighty, disrupting hard-working folk like ourselves as if it's your right." His eyes shot over to the dying man, his breath slowly stilling as he continued to bleed out. "And yet, you're always so damned shocked when the real world comes and knocks you out of that fantasy land you're living in."

If the woman had any response to that, his Driver wasn't interested in sticking around to hear it. Rather, no sooner had he finished speaking than he turned around, offering the Blade a few final words.

"Take your final moments to think on that." The man spat, beginning to walk away. "Maybe in your next life, you'll be more likely to survive in this world."

He stood there for a moment, watching as the woman glared up at his Driver's back. The look in her eyes was familiar—one that he frequently saw among the members of their organization. Those were not the eyes of the kind protector he had observed over the last few days as he and his Driver stalked their prey. Instead, they carried the solemn vow of violence and bloodshed.

They were the eyes of a killer.

"Percival," his Driver called suddenly, breaking him from his thoughts. "Let's go."

Shaking his head, the dark Blade slowly turned away from the woman, following his Driver as they left her to die alongside their target. They moved quickly, taking advantage of the fading light to vanish into the icy crags atop Uraya's crown.

"…Is it wise to leave her?" He asked as they leapt atop a stone arch, just one of a number of obstacles making up the broken terrain. "Would it not have been better to recover her Core Crystal?"

His Driver scoffed. "Why bother?" The man replied. "Blades like her, with such a strong sense of 'justice'?" His voice dripped with sarcasm at the word. "They can take multiple incarnations to fully scrub that shit from them. Better to just leave her be for now. Maybe after a few runs as the Blade of some little beastie, she'll be more useful."

Glancing over at him, his Driver gave him a teasing look. "Why? Is the Heartless Judge worried about the fate of some two-bit Blade?"

"Nothing of the sort." He denied, closing his eyes. It was true, in a sense; he didn't feel any more or less guilty than he did about any of their kills in the past. He had buried such emotions long ago, back when his Driver had first set out on this path. "But it does strike me as odd how personally you took this kill. Normally, you are far more composed than this."

The man snarled at the comment, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the ground. "Little shits like that are the worst." He replied testily. "Making a right mess of things while thinking they're saving the world."

Percival couldn't help but let out a small, amused snort at that. "I seem to remember a certain someone who once burned with that same fire." He said lightly.

If anything, the reminder only served to anger his Driver even more. "All the more reason to beat them into the dirt." He growled. "The sooner they learn how the world really works, the better off everyone will be!"

Left unsaid, yet clearly audible to the dark Blade, was the 'like I had to' that should have sat in the middle.

He knew better than to press the man any further. Once upon a time, it may have been helpful, but those days were long in the past. Now, it would only serve to further incite his Driver's fury.

As they continued, silence falling over them upon the conclusion of the conversation, Percival felt a faint ripple of ether. It wasn't an Art—at least not one he was familiar with; in fact, he had never felt anything like it. It was almost as if something… unnatural had occurred, as if something beautiful and pure had been irrevocably tainted.

It was enough to cause him to pause, something that his Driver noticed. "What is it?" The man asked, slowly reaching for the Chroma Katana at his waist.

Percival furrowed his brow, the action hidden from view by his mask. "I don't know." He admitted, looking back in the direction they had come. "But I don't like it."

Although his Driver wasn't able to feel the distortion of ether, the man was not able to miss the sound that came just after. In the distance, back where they had left their felled target, a loud, primal scream, filled with anguish and fury, echoed across the top of Uraya's head.

Somehow, then and there, Percival knew that he and his Driver had made a terrible enemy that night.

The chime of a doorbell in the main room of the shop drew Percival Wrotham from his memories. Standing up, the man stretched his back, his spine popping in a satisfying manner as he straightened his posture.

It had been a long time since he had thought of those days, back when he still followed his… former Driver. In the intervening decades, he had done his best to put them out of mind, instead focusing his efforts toward making amends for his actions during that dark time.

Yet, the specters of the past were not so easily laid to rest. The recent increase in Blood Lobster activity, and particularly some of the organization's representatives he had encountered while combating them, had dredged those memories back up.

He walked over to the door separating the storage area from the shop floor, gently shaking his head. He needed to center himself better. It was always harder when Perun was gone—by his nature, Percival was prone to falling into deep pits of contemplation without his wife there to anchor him to the present—but it was important that he manage it. The last thing he needed was to lose focus in the midst of a mission.

Sliding a polite smile on his face, Percival stepped out onto the shop floor. "Hello!" He greeted, looking around for whoever was present. "Welcome to Wrotham Printing! How can I be of…?

The disguised vigilante trailed off as he saw who it was—a very familiar man. He was of clear Ardainian stock, with bright blue eyes and short-cropped auburn hair, dressed sharply in typical fashion for a town like Chilsain. Age was just beginning to make itself apparent in his features, with subtle wrinkles around his eyes and slight tinges of gray in his hair.

Unfortunately, also familiar was the man's rather downcast demeanor. He wore a smile, but Percival wouldn't have needed to be familiar with him in order to tell that it was forced. His shoulders were sagged, as if carrying a great weight, and his eyes lacked the normal spark of life that they had once carried.

"Hendry." He greeted politely, closing the door behind him. "I'm glad to see you up and about."

"Percy." The man replied, unsuccessfully attempting to shore up his false smile. "How are you doing today?"

"I should be asking you that." Percival replied, swinging around the service desk. "These last few weeks have been hard on you. Both of you, for that matter." Hendry's wife, in particular, had been devastated by the disappearance of their daughter.

The man bowed his head slightly. "We're surviving." He replied sullenly, his smile faltering. "That's the best we can hope for at the moment." He let out a deep, melancholic sigh, squeezing his eyes closed for a brief moment before looking back up at the disguised vigilante. "Alas, the world waits for nobody."

"We can defer this if you need." Percival offered, placing a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "I have more than enough stock for the rest of the month."

Hendry shook his head. "No, I can't wallow in self-pity any longer than I already have." The man replied, steeling himself. "If I don't get started on the back orders, we'll be out of a house sooner than we know it." His eyes glistened as he made another attempt at a smile. "And it would be terrible for Rhona to return to us, only to be out in the street, eh?"

Percival was silent for a moment, giving the man a deep, piercing look. He stayed that way for several seconds, just long enough for it to become awkward, before breaking his gaze. "If you're sure." The disguised vigilante relented.

"I am." He assured. "Just… I need to work. To get my mind off of…" The man trailed off.

Rather than allow the man to fall back into despair, Percival began speaking. "Perhaps we should begin with the last batch of inks." He suggested. "Perun and I were thrilled by how neatly they were applied. Would it be possible to expand our order this time?"

"Oh, ah, yes. Of course." Hendry caught on, giving Percival an appreciative look. "You mean the Beòdubh inks?" He asked, looking for confirmation. "In that case, yes. They're a newer brand, but all of my other customers so far have…"

They launched into a heated discussion about the merits of the various new brands of ink that Hendry was selling, working out a deal that would benefit both of them. In the back of his mind, Percival was glad that the other man was doing better with his mind off of heavier topics.

At the same time, he felt guilty that he couldn't reassure the man of his daughter's condition. The last message that Perun had sent him implied she had located the children and successfully rescued them, but there was a limit to how much information they could transmit while making the conversation appear to be something benign to an eavesdropper.

Hopefully, his wife would return with positive news about the fate of little Rhona. He was fond of the entire family; they deserved better than what had happened.

After close to an hour of negotiations, the men had more or less settled on a fair deal. Just as they were preparing to shake on it, the bell rang once more as the shop door was pulled open.

Before he even had the chance to turn around and see who it was, an achingly familiar voice called out behind him. "I'm home!" The newcomer announced.

Spinning around to face the door, Percival was greeted by the sight of his wife pulling her bags onto the shop floor, allowing the door to close behind her. The dark-skinned woman looked a little haggard from her journey—not a surprise. Sea travel had never really agreed with her—but otherwise in good spirits.

He took a step forward, a gentle smile settling on his face. "Welcome home, dear." He greeted. "I didn't think you were due back for another day or two. I would have met you at the port had you let me know."

She gave him a mischievous grin. "That would have ruined the surprise!" The woman replied, dropping her bags.

"I suppose that's true." He chuckled softly.

Without another word, she stepped into his guard, arching her feet as she stood on her toes in order to bridge the height gap between them. Even with such measures, it was still necessary for him to lower his head slightly in order for their lips to meet.

The couple held the kiss for only a brief moment before separating, a pleasant smile on Perun's face as she pulled away.

Before either of them could say anything else, a polite cough from the side drew their attention. "Ah, my apologies." Hendry said awkwardly, quickly assembling his papers. "I appear to be interrupting. D-don't mind me, I'll just be on my way-!"

Perun placed a delicate hand over her mouth as she laughed. "Please, there isn't a rush." She assured him. "How have you been, Hendry? Are you feeling better?"

As before, the man's smile strained at the question. "I-I am." He claimed. "Or, I'm trying, at least. It's been hard, but one of us needs to carry on, and with Grizel…" The man trailed off, a sorrowful look on his face.

"So she's still…" Perun fished, her brow furrowing. Percival knew that, while the friendship between the two women mostly served to maintain his wife's cover, she did legitimately enjoy her company. When Grizel had lost herself to grief after Rhona's abduction, it was one of the things that had spurred Perun to temporarily put aside their current cases—both the continual rooting out of the Blood Lobsters as well as the more recent industrial heists—in favor of rescuing the girl.

Hendry paused in the middle of placing the documents in his bag. "She is." He confirmed. "I've been able to get her to leave our room for meals now, but as it stands…" The knuckles of his hand, still holding the handle of his briefcase, went white as he clenched his grasp.

Perun was silent for a moment, a calculating expression on her face that was at odds with her public persona. Percival couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at it. He knew that look. She was considering doing something that could threaten their cover if not handled correctly.

After only a brief moment of contemplation, she began to speak. "I… don't wish to give you false hope." She began, "But while I was away, I heard… rumors."

The man looked at her, a small glimmer of curiosity beneath the anguish on his face. "Rumors?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "At my last stop—on Tadbir—there was some sort of major ruckus the day before I left. Large enough that my departure was nearly delayed."

She idly fiddled with one of her strands of hair as she spoke. It wasn't one of her normal tics, rather, it was a pre-arranged signal for him not to interfere. "The details hadn't been made public by the time that I left, but the rumor was that they had apprehended a kidnapping ring."

Hendry blinked, processing the information. Slowly, the veil of anguish hanging over the man began to lift as the warm glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. "I-I…" He murmured, struggling for words. "You… d-do you think…?"

Perun held out a cautioning hand. "Again, all of this was hearsay." She reiterated. "But… if it is true, then I suspect that you will hear from somebody soon."

Despite the warning, he didn't seem to care. "I-I… thank you, Perun". He said, squeezing his eyes closed. "Even if it is only a rumor, the very possibility that it could be true…!"

His head shot up. "I-I need to talk to Grizel." He said, snatching his briefcase off the counter. "Maybe if she has hope, then…!"

Without another word, the man rushed out of the building, slamming the door in his wake as he rushed down the street. The couple watched as he left, more than a little concern crossing their features.

Sighing, Perun walked up to the front window, flipping the sign by the door from 'Open' to 'Closed'. "Well, that was quite the welcome." She said dryly, quickly inspecting the door for damage.

Behind her, Percival crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter. "Are you sure that telling him that was a wise decision?" He questioned.

"No." His wife replied, shaking her head. "But it was a necessary one. Hendry and Grizel are both hurting." She paused, walking back toward her bags. "Besides, I expect them to be contacted about Rhona within the next few days—maybe a week at most."

"You found her, then." Percival stated. "Alive." Perun wouldn't have given their friend such an assurance had the girl not been safe.

His wife nodded. "I did." She confirmed. "Rhona is… safe, at least, and in as good health as could be expected considering the circumstances." Perun's face darkened. "Which is more than can be said for many of the missing children."

Percival inclined his head. "I see." He said. Considering the sort of things that happened to kidnapped children, that was hardly surprising. In their line of work, it was… unfortunately common to see the dark underbelly of human society. "The motive?"

"Medical experimentation." She replied. "The details are… a little esoteric, but the results…" She trailed off, one of her hands brushing over her concealed Core Crystal. "…Let's say that it turns out our… condition… can go both ways."

That certainly sounded like quite a story.

"Well, there will be time to fill me in later." He said, picking up one of her bags. "In the meantime, is there anything you need to do?"

Once again, a mischievous smile worked its way across her face. "Beyond reacquainting myself with my husband?" She teased, running a hand across his chest. It lingered for a moment, hovering just above his own bloodstained Core Crystal, before withdrawing. "Yes, as a matter of fact."

Stepping back, her smile became less provocative. "We'll need to clean out the guest room. We have visitors coming soon."

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "Visitors, you say?" That was unexpected, to say the least. While he wouldn't go as far as to say that they never had anyone over, it was generally infrequent—especially when they were so active, having guests was a danger to their cover identities.

"They are already aware of our… nightlife, so to speak." She added enigmatically. "Indeed, they were of great assistance during my trip."

"I see." He replied, already piecing together the implications. Generally speaking, they were both loathe to involve others in their work, if for no other reason than to reduce the chances of being identified. That being said, there were always a few reasons they would make exceptions to that stance, although it always bore risk.

Percival wondered if they had discovered her identity as a result of working with her or whether she had brought them on because they had already worked it out. "For how long?"

"No more than a few days." His wife replied, pulling open the door to the back room. "I believe they will be moving on to Alba Cavanich fairly soon after arriving, but I have already agreed to teach them the basics of… avoiding undue attention."

He nodded in understanding. "Ah. Ours, then?" He asked, already suspecting the answer. It wasn't common for them to encounter other Flesh Eaters, but it didn't surprise him that Perun was more than willing to pass the Ether Shroud technique on to those she had. Especially if they had earned enough attention from her to pull onto her mission.

"One of them." The woman confirmed. "The other, well…" She trailed off. "He is in a similar boat to Rhona."

In which case, getting the full story out of her ahead of time would be even more important. Not that he was concerned about that, of course—no doubt she would explain everything once they were in their actual home, a much more secure location than the public-facing store.

Before he could press further, however, she continued. "More importantly, they have a personal interest in some of our business." Perun stated.

Percival furrowed his brow. "The usual suspects?" He inquired.

She shook her head. "No, the more recent one." His wife corrected. "The little affair down at Anangham."

The mysterious burglar targeting industrial sites? "Curious." He murmured. "Did they explain?"

She nodded, heading for the staircase to their house above the shop. "They did." Perun confirmed. "I suspect there is more to the story, but what I learned was enough to grant me some important insight into the potential nature of the perpetrator."

He nodded idly. That would be sufficient for the time being. Without another word, he followed his wife up the stairs. It sounded like she had quite the adventure to tell him about.

Author's Notes:

This chapter very nearly ended up being delayed a week. I actually made very good progress on writing it initially, but due to a faulty version control method, accidentally ended up deleting the initial versions of the first two scenes.

Fortunately, they were still fresh enough in my head that I was able to rewrite both of them in a single sitting, but it did force me to move what would have been the final scene to the next chapter.

In many ways, I actually like what I wrote here more than the originals, so I suppose there isn't much of a loss. I could have done without the stress, though.