[IS]: Insert song - "Id-Hope (Fire Emblem Awakening)"
[ISE]: Insert song end
"...There's an opening!"
"Hit it!" Machias aimed his shotgun and fired at the skeleton's arm, blasting a chunk of bone away.
Laura grit her teeth. "This isn't progressing as quickly as we hoped…"
An idea popped into her head. "Maybe if I tried using that…"
The monster shook Fie off its arm, causing her to land next to Laura. "That big guy's not letting me get in," she said regretfully. "Got any ideas?"
"One." Laura activated her ARCUS, placing her thumb on the quartz that Holly had given her from earlier. "Everyone! Come close to me!"
Elliot and Machias hurriedly rushed to where Laura was standing. Thrusting her ARCUS forward, the power of earth enveloped all of them like a shield covering their entire bodies.
"I feel...sturdier, somehow," Elliot commented. "What was that?"
"A gift from Holly," Laura answered. "According to her, it can nullify physical attacks from enemies."
"Seriously?" Machias questioned. "That sounds useful, but does it really?"
"Wanna find out?" As she said that, Fie broke into a sprint. The monster had noticed all of them congregating into one spot and was readying an attack. It reached into the mountain behind it, grabbed a chunk of rock, and prepared to throw it.
"Spread out!"
At Laura's word, she, Machias, and Elliot each ran in separate directions. The boulder that the skeleton threw broke apart in several pieces.
Meanwhile, Fie had used this opportunity to get close to the skeleton's spine, which was planted firmly into the ground. She quickly attached a plastic explosive on a flash grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it towards the base of the spine. As she was about to run away, however, the Tehra Gigant caught her off guard by swatting its arm at her like she was a fly. The attack sent Fie rolling into the dirt as the grenade went off.
"Fie!" Laura ran over to her partner. "Can you stand?"
The younger girl groaned as she took her partner's hand. From the looks of things, she appeared to be no worse for wear, but the adamantine shield that was covering her had begun to crack apart.
"That was careless," Fie berated herself. "Definitely can't take another hit."
The ground shook, followed by a loud roar from the Tehra Gigant. As it happened, Fie's makeshift explosive had succeeded in blowing apart the vertebrae bone that was anchoring the skeleton into the ground. The rumbling was due to the colossal skeleton dropping to the ground as a result of its support being shortened.
Upon noticing this, Laura pointed to the skull of the Tehra Gigant, where the bug Scarlet had released had implanted itself. "If we succeed in separating that insect from its host, the fossil should subside. However, as it stands, we can't reach it from here. But if we were to continue lowering it to the ground by destroying its spine…"
"...We'll be able to get to that bug sooner." Fie nodded her head. "It's worth a try."
"Hey!" Machias called out to them. "It's doing something!"
The titanic fossil was leaning forwards and supporting itself using its giant arms. Then, it started to gather energy in its mouth.
Laura widened her eyes. "Everyone, move out of the way!" she shouted.
The students narrowly managed to roll out of the way as the Tehra Gigant's skeleton fired a giant fireball from its mouth. The projectile moved forward in a straight line and hit the side of the mountain with such a force that it caused the top portion of the cliff to topple backwards and collapse.
"There goes our only way back to the inn…" Machias cursed.
"We need to find a way to beat this thing fast!" Elliot said, panicking.
"Stay calm, Elliot," Laura assured him. "We have a plan."
"And that is?"
Laura pointed her sword at the fossil. "Focus on the monster's spine! Once it is low to the ground, aim for the insect on its head!"
On the other side of the cliff, Morgan slowly got up from the ground. She was just about to enter the east section of the island when a sudden earthquake shook her off her feet and caused a large chunk of the mountain to collapse onto the road in front of her. Now the path to her friends was blocked.
"Dammit!" She tried desperately to find some way to get around the landslide, but it simply wasn't possible with her current gear. Her axe would probably break against the rubble, so that was out of the question. She could try and use a wind art to get on top of the cliff, but there was no telling how stable it looked despite its appearance, and if another earthquake were to occur as she was scaling it, she could easily lose her footing. She didn't even bother to bring any climbing gear with her either. The only other thing she had on hand was the horse riding gear she received from Holly.
Riding gear…
…
"Morgan, wait one moment!"
Morgan turned around to find Holly catching up to her. Notably, she was holding something in her hands that wasn't her crystal ball.
"What are you doing here, Holly?" she asked the fortune-teller. "You should be evacuating with everyone else."
"I know." Holly held out the object in her hand. "But I first needed to give you this."
Morgan squinted her eyes at the object. "A horse bridle?"
"It came from a fortune I read earlier today," she said. "It said that this will be instrumental to your success."
Morgan couldn't help but be skeptical. After all, there were no longer any horses on the island. What else was she going to ride? But at the same time, she couldn't deny the accuracy of Holly's fortune-telling. In the end, she reluctantly took the bridle off of Holly's hands.
…
She looked at the bridle in her hand, then at the surrounding landscape. If there wasn't a way around it, then she simply had to go above it. But how would she be able to scale the cliffside?
She would need to find something that could safely get her above and over. Maybe something that could fly…
Flight. Of course. That was the answer.
She wasn't sure if this idea was even going to work, but she had to try. After retreating a few steps so she wouldn't get caught by another potential landslide, Morgan took a deep breath, put her fingers in her lips, and blew the loudest whistle she could muster.
Nothing except the roars of the monster on the other side of the cliff. She blew again.
She thought she heard a loud bang from a shotgun, followed by the sound of steel clanging against another surface. She blew again.
She heard a whoosh sound followed by the ground shaking behind her. Something had just landed.
Slowly, Morgan turned around to find the creature that she was looking for. She reached out her hand and gingerly stroked its head. It purred with recognition.
Ever since she laid eyes on the beast, she immediately felt a sense of connection to it. Maybe it was the fact that it resembled something from her past. Or perhaps it was out of pity, seeing a magnificent creature suffering from an ailment that clearly pained it. But regardless, that didn't explain how she knew what to do in order to soothe a pained wyvern. Frankly, it should have been impossible; the number of times she remembered interacting with wyverns in the past were sparse. She had always been more of a pegasus person, to be honest.
So why, then, did she feel an odd wave of nostalgia wash over her?
"I know it's sudden…" she whispered softly to it. "But I need your help with this. Please?"
Now that they had an objective in mind, Group B was faring much better against the revived Tehra Gigant. So far, they had succeeded in destroying another section of the skeleton's spine, lowering its body more closer to their level. However, even with Machias and Fie's firearms, they still couldn't knock the bug off the monster's skull. Making things more difficult was that the monster had caught on to what they were trying to achieve and conjured small stalagmites around its base to protect the last part of its spine, meaning that students needed to find a new strategy.
"Break Shot!" Machias fired a high-speed bullet from his shotgun that just narrowly missed the insect on the monster's skull. He fumbled around his pockets for a spare cartridge, but to his dismay, he only had one left. "I'm almost out of ammo!"
"Not doing too well here either." Fie had been using her grenades to gradually blow apart the stalagmites surrounding the reanimated fossil's body, but she was similarly running out of resources. She hadn't expected that she would be using her explosives in this manner and therefore only brought the bare minimum so they wouldn't impede her movement.
The titanic monstrosity then did something unprecedented. It grabbed one of the stalagmites surrounding its spine and swung it wildly in front of it, forcing the students back.
"Doesn't look like we can get in now," Machias said.
Elliot looked at each of them. By this point, the shields that Laura had conjured up with her ARCUS had mostly either worn away or were close to breaking. "Laura, can you use that art again?"
"Of course. Give me one…" Laura retrieved her ARCUS, but much to her shock, it was low on power. "Impossible! My ARCUS is out of energy already?"
Fie hummed to herself. "So that's the downside. Figures something that powerful would consume more energy than usual."
The Tehra Gigant hurled the stalagmite in its hand at the students, forcing them to disperse. Then, it slammed its arms into the ground, causing an earthquake that knocked Group B off their feets and caused a new set of stalagmites to rise up from the ground.
"Not again!" Elliot yelped.
Laura grimaced. "This isn't going well…"
Just as they were about to figure out what to do next, a loud shriek sounded through the skies above them.
Fie's ears perked up, recognizing the sound. "That was…"
Elliot looked up and pointed his finger. "There!"
A winged silhouette came into view, flying in from the west side of the island and appearing as if it were emerging from the sun. As it drew closer, the students immediately recognized the creature coming towards them.
"The Scalyptera?!" Machias exclaimed.
The monster they had encountered earlier that morning sailed above them directly towards the skeleton. Screeching loudly, it protruded its legs forward and proceeded to assault the other monster with its claws.
But that wasn't all. Looking more closely, the Scalyptera had what appeared to be a horse bridle fastened on its head. And at the base of the monster's neck, the students saw a familiar figure holding onto the reins with a bardiche in hand.
"M-Morgan?!"
At the moment, Morgan was focused on trying not to let go of the reins as the Scalyptera continued to harass the Tehra Gigant. The fossil flailed its limbs wildly trying to get the wyvern off, but its attempts were continuously fended off by Morgan, who used her polearm to defend herself. Eventually, the flying reptile leapt off of the fossil and soared through the air until Morgan motioned for it to hover near her classmates.
"Sorry I'm late!" Morgan called down. She had to raise her voice so her classmates could hear her amidst the Scalyptera's flapping wings. "What'd I miss?"
"You're...riding a dragon!" Elliot managed to say. His mouth was agape, an expression that the rest of his classmates shared.
"Long story!" she shouted. "Help's on the way, but there's a landslide! We need to stall until the RMP gets here!"
"With you here, we can end this here and now!" Laura pointed her sword at the Tehra Gigant's skull. "Aim for the insect on the skull! That is our key to victory!"
"Skull! Got it!" Morgan tapped her legs and motioned the reins up. The Scalyptera responded to her motions and flew upwards. Once they were at a suitable altitude, she shouted, "Make it rain!"
At her command, the Scalyptera spewed fire from its mouth, setting the Tehra Gigant ablaze. In retaliation, the colossal skeleton grabbed a chunk of rock from behind it and hurled it at the flying reptile.
"Look out!" Morgan jerked the reins to the left, causing the Scalyptera to halt its assault and veer in that direction to avoid the oncoming attack. It briefly turned its head and snarled.
"Sorry!" she apologized. "I'll be gentler next time. Watch out for those rocks when you're flying around, okay?"
The Scalyptera growled in annoyance. From the ground below, the Tehra Gigant prepared to throw another boulder.
"Looks like we're the targets…" Morgan muttered. "Alright! Show me how well you can fly!"
Roaring in compliance, the Scalyptera nosedived to gain acceleration. The Tehra Gigant continued to hurl boulders and stalagmites at the filer, but its large windup period meant that the wyvern could clearly see when and where it was going to throw. Morgan didn't need to do any more directing and simply did her best to hang onto the Scalyptera as it weaved through the air. Because she didn't have a saddle to put her feet in, she had to wrap her legs tightly around the Scalyptera's thin neck to keep herself from dangling.
With the monster's attention concentrated solely on Morgan, the rest of the students on the ground were able to safely launch their counterattack. Machias fired the last of his shotgun shells. Elliot concentrated hard on his ARCUS, causing a high-pressure water current to shoot forward. Laura concentrated her energy into her sword and slammed it into the ground, creating a shockwave that ruptured the ground and blew away the remaining stalagmites. Finally, Fie dashed in, threw another grenade near the monster's spine, and dashed back out before it could explode. All of these attacks in quick succession caused the Tehra Gigant's spine to break apart, resulting in it falling forward to the ground. Even with only its large arms left to support it, however, the skeleton didn't stop moving. Slowly, it started crawling forward, using its arms to drag the rest of its body along.
"It's coming straight at us!" Elliot yelped.
"Not good!" Machias agreed. He quickly fished out his ARCUS and cast a low-level earth art aimed at the monster's head. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to stop the monster's movements.
Laura looked behind her. The students had enough room to retreat, but if they moved out of the way now, the monster would just steamroll through the mountainside and make a beeline to the inn. "Is there nothing we can do?" she muttered.
That was when it happened. From above, a yellow-colored stream of lightning rained down and struck the Tehra Gigant straight in the face. The destructive force of the attack was enough to cause the monster to keel forward, leaving the possessive insect on its skull exposed.
The students looked up. Morgan's right hand was stretched outward while her left hand was holding her orbment. She was too high up to see clearly, but Laura could've sworn there were traces of fire coming from her body.
But now wasn't the time for observations. With a nod to Fie, Laura rushed forward. Feeling a strong connection coming from her partner, her body moved on its own, cutting the insect with a series of three slashes. As soon as she completed the final strike, Fie moved forward with an attack of her own. Crossing her gunswords and slashing in an "X" shape, the bug was cut clean off the skull of the Tehra Gigant, dissected in the shape of a star. The malevolent aura surrounding the fossil dissipated, and it ceased to move once again.
"Did that do it?" Machias asked to make sure.
He and the other students looked at the remains of the bug that lay scattered on the ground. One by one, each of the parts faded away until there was nothing left.
Elliot's knees buckled. "It's finally over…" he breathed as he slumped to the ground.
Off to the side, the Scalyptera landed on the ground, followed by Morgan sliding off its left wing. After stroking its neck, she hobbled towards the rest of her classmates.
"That was amazing, you two!" she said to Laura and Fie. "It was almost like you were perfectly in sync with each other!"
Fie put her gunswords away. "Says the girl who came in riding a dragon."
"Truly," Laura agreed. "Compared to us, your entrance was far more surprising."
"Well, the road was blocked off on the other end because of a landslide," Morgan said, pointing to the mountain wall that had collapsed from the monster's attack. "The only thing I had on hand was some riding gear Holly gave me."
"Riding gear?"
A set of heavy footsteps came from behind Morgan as the Scalyptera approached the group of students. Though they knew better than to raise their weapons at it, all of them sans Morgan couldn't help but feel apprehensive, especially when it lowered its neck and growled dangerously.
"Right! Sorry!" Morgan slapped her forehead. "I'll get that off you. Just hold still, okay?"
The rest of Group B had lost count of the amount of times Morgan had surprised them with her antics throughout their entire field study. Each time they thought they had seen everything she had to offer, she would find some other way to blow their expectations out of the water.
"I thought you said you couldn't talk to monsters," Machias recalled.
"I can't," Morgan denied. "But this one's more intelligent than the ones we're used to seeing. Also, I'm guessing that us saving its life had something to do with it."
She undid the last strap and removed the bridle from the Scalyptera's head. Upon closer inspection of the bridle, Morgan made a face. "Yikes! You really did a number on this thing!"
The wyvern snorted in an unapologetic fashion. Surprisingly, it had possessed a narrow-enough head to the point where the bridle had initially fit perfectly, but unfortunately, its aggressive flying and use of fire breath had taken its toll on the leather material, rendering it unfit for further use. It was a wonder that it was still intact after it all.
"You said that you received that from Holly, correct?" Laura questioned. "Did she have the manager's permission to take it?"
"I hope so." Morgan wasn't entirely sure herself. "She did say that she got it from a fortune, and if there's one thing we know, it's that Holy's fortunes are really accurate."
The Scalyptera ruffled its neck, finally free from its restraints, and turned around to leave.
"Thanks for your help!" Morgan called out to it. "Take care of yourself!"
The Scalyptera roared in response before taking off, leaping into the air and flapping its wings until it flew out of sight. Morgan waved good-bye at it all the while.
"So…"
Morgan slowly turned around to face the expectant glares of her classmates.
"If we can address the elephant in the room…" Machias said, putting his hands on his hips. "Where did you learn how to ride a dragon?"
Morgan let out a small sigh. She had expected something like this would happen, so she flashed an apologetic smile. "You know, I'm not quite sure myself!"
Upon seeing her classmates' expression turn from expectant to surprised, Morgan scratched the back of her head. "I mean, I had to find some way over that landslide, like I said earlier, and my mind just sorta put two and two together. I figured riding a wyvern wasn't too different from riding a horse, and Jusis let me ride a horse back at the academy, so everything just sorta…happened."
"But you were using your weapon while you were riding it!" Elliot pointed out. "Are you sure you don't have any sort of military training?"
"Uh…" Mogan could feel his and Machias's eyes boring deep into her soul. "I...might've had some, actually…"
"...Typical guy behavior."
Machias turned to Fie, slightly offended. "What was that, Fie?"
"Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?" she replied nonchalantly. "You don't know what you don't know."
"Still…"
"I'm afraid I must concur," Laura spoke up. "Tempted I may be to speak my mind, it would be imperative if we were all caught up on the current situation. We can talk more later today, once we are in a safer location."
Machias and Elliot realized themselves and apologized to Morgan, who mouthed the words "Thank you" to Fie and Laura. The students spent the next few minutes getting Morgan up to speed on what had transpired after they had left the inn.
"...I see." Morgan nodded her head once her classmates were finished. "So Scarlet…"
"...Was behind everything, yeah." Machias grit his teeth. "Even tried to attack us and use us as hostages. Unfortunately, she got away while we were fending off the monster."
"Did she say anything?"
"She said that it was an experiment to see how her artifact worked," Elliot recalled. "I'm guessing she was referring to that jar she used to summon those bugs."
"There was something else," Fie added. "She said she wanted to see how quickly the authorities would respond to the monster attacks, but the Scalyptera kept getting in her way."
"She deliberately wanted to get people's attention? Hmm, I wonder…" Morgan cupped her chin. 'Could Scarlet be a part of that "Society" that Prince Olivert mentioned?"
"Is something the matter?" Laura asked.
Morgan shook her head. "It's nothing. Anyways, you guys think we should hang tight over here or should we take the long way around?"
"If the police are on their way here, we might as well wait for them," Machias proposed. "We can fill them in on what happened."
"We should let them know where we are, too." Morgan turned to Laura. "I think now would be a good time for that signal flare."
The swordswoman chuckled. "Let's see if my ARCUS has recovered some of its energy."
Fortunately for the students, Laura's ARCUS had enough energy to spare to launch one Fire Bolt art into the sky. A while later, the Railway Military Police came to pick them up and escorted them back to the inn.
The afternoon following their fight against the Tehra Gigant continued to be as eventful as Group B was expecting. After returning to the inn and giving their recount of what happened to Tom, they assisted the Railway Military Police in launching their investigation by writing detailed reports and setting up the necessary equipment. Only then were they allowed to proceed with their afternoon tasks, which, fortunately for the students, were few in number to the point where they split up the work amongst themselves. It didn't take long for them to finish all their tasks and write their reports.
"Thank you once again for your hard work this weekend," Tom said. "I can't tell you how grateful we are that you were all here to help us...or rather, I should be saving that for when all of you are gathered, hm?"
Tom gave a hearty laugh while Machias and Elliot only chuckled.
"By the way, sir…" Machias raised his hand. "Can I ask something?"
Tom stopped laughing. "Yes? What is it?"
Machias pursed his lips. "What's going to happen now? To Morgan, I mean?"
"Ah, yes. Miss Daraen…" Tom cupped his chin. "It is true that her contributions have led to us unearthing a trouble far greater than we have ever anticipated. If it weren't for her quick thinking, we wouldn't have gotten the police involved as well."
"Is she still in trouble?"
"Unfortunately, I must still maintain my responsibility in reporting all that I have seen on your field study, and more than once she has exhibited reckless and possibly dangerous behavior. We told her not to go into the island by herself, and yet she did so anyways, not to mention that she caused irrevocable damage to one of our horse bridles."
"Which she said she received from Holly," Elliot countered.
"Yes, about that…" Tom clasped his hands together and frowned. "We talked with Holly after the commotion settled down, and she said that she didn't meet Morgan at all today. Furthermore, she said nothing about taking a horse bridle. Brittany confirmed this factoid as well."
"There has to be some mistake!" Machias stood up abruptly. "Morgan wouldn't lie or steal!"
"I would very much like to agree with you on this as well." Tom's frown deepened. "And yet all the evidence seems to point to her stealing it during the commotion, then making an excuse to cover herself up. I'm afraid I can't overlook this…"
"No way…" Elliot lowered his head. "We did all that we could, and it still wasn't enough?"
Just then, a knock came from the door, followed by a woman's voice calling out, "Manager Kono, can I have a word?"
"Ah, wait one moment, you two." Tom stood up from his desk. "Yes, yes! Come in!"
"Please excuse me." The door opened, and a woman with icy blue hair tied into a side ponytail entered the management house. She was wearing the RMP uniform and carried a small card in her hand.
"The Icy Maiden…!" Machias realized before standing up and respectfully moving out of the way. Elliot let out a gasp of his own before following Machias's example.
The woman noticed the two boys and gave an earnest smile. "Well, I'll be. Governor Regnitz's son, as well as the son of General Craig. I never would have expected to run into the two of you like this."
Elliot's eyes widened. "Y-You know my dad?"
Machias was similarly shocked. "General Craig? You don't mean...Craig the Red from the 4th Armored Division?"
"I've had the pleasure of working with both of your fathers on multiple occasions," she explained. "And while their positions are different, the one commonality they both share is their love for their sons."
Her response left the two of them in stunned silence.
"So, Captain Rieveldt…" Tom said. "Have you found anything new from your investigation?"
"My team and I did a sweep through the entire island. No sign of the dancer or any other related parties. But more importantly…" The captain handed him the card she was holding. "We found this lying on top of one of the boxes outside."
"A card?" Tom inspected the card. It was colored white with a fancy-looking "B" on top of it.
"A calling card, to be precise," Captain Rieveldt corrected. "Look on the other side."
The manager did as he was told and turned the card over. There were lines of writing that read:
"To the senior manager of operations at Bryonia Island, know that the reason one of the bridles in this box is missing is because I have secured one for my own use. There is no guarantee that you will get it back, but I assure you, it is but a small price to pay to see an alien beauty flourish. I thank you very much for your generosity.
-Phantom Thief B."
Elliot recognized the name. "Phantom Thief-?!"
"The guy who was responsible for those thefts years ago?" Machias recalled. "The guy who stole an orbal tank from the Imperial Army? THAT phantom thief?"
"Phantom Thief Bleublanc…" Captain Rieveldt said. "The item in question is a bit out of left field as far as his tastes are concerned, but I can confirm that it's his handwriting. It would appear that he was residing on this very island under a different guise. Then, during the commotion, he snatched a horse bridle for his own personal use, the same one that one of the students gave back to you earlier today."
"But what does this all mean?" Tom questioned. "Has he stolen anything else?"
"We're looking into it as we speak, sir. That is why I came in to let you know. Fortunately, there is one thing I can say for certain."
"Which is…?"
She turned to Machias and Elliot and smiled. "It means that your classmate is innocent. We haven't found any evidence to suggest she played a part in any form of sabotage. Even her aforementioned behavior played a vital role in bringing this situation to light, so the ends justify the means. Knowing how Thors functions, it's likely she'll need to take remedial classes with your instructor, but you can rest assured that she shouldn't be in any danger of suspension or expulsion."
Machias couldn't resist pumping his fist. Likewise, Elliot breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"It seems that one crisis has averted for now, at least…" Though Tom spoke in an impassive tone, his expression indicated he was satisfied with the results as well. "However, there is still the issue of convincing the faculty themselves…"
"You can ask either me or Major Irving to put in a word for her," Captain Rieveldt immediately replied. "If a third party vouches on her behalf, then there is little the academy can do about it."
Tom nodded. "Understood. Yes, I will let you know if I need any assistance. Take care, Captain."
The blue-haired captain saluted and made her way out of the management house.
"Wait! Captain Rieveldt!"
She turned around to find Machias and Elliot running to catch up with her.
"You two," she said. "Is there something you needed from me?"
"Just one thing…" Elliot tried his best not to buckle under the captain's gaze. "I, uh...I mean we, er…"
"You don't need to act so formal with me." The captain tried to ease Elliot's nerves with a calming smile. "You can use my first name if it makes things easier."
"R-Right…" Elliot took a deep breath. "We just wanted to thank you for all you did for Morgan, Captain Claire. We'll let her know the news once she comes back."
"There's no need to thank me. I'm just doing my part." Claire looked to the side. "It wouldn't do for a mind like that to be snuffed out before it could reach its fullest potential."
Elliot tilted his head. "What was that?"
Captain Claire shook her head. "I'm just talking to myself is all. But speaking of which, where ARE the other members of your group?"
"We split up to complete the remaining tasks for our field study," Machias explained. "We were all going to visit the manager once we finished writing our reports, but the other three said they had already planned on doing a team-building exercise, so they told us to go on ahead."
"A team-building exercise?"
"Y-Yeah." Elliot scratched his cheek. "Dunno what they could've meant by that, though."
"...My mind was preoccupied in the heat of the moment, but I can recall the motions that I performed."
Laura swung her sword up, down, and horizontally, as if she were drawing a triangle in the air. "A standard three-hit series of the Arseid School."
Fie shook her head. "No, you aimed the last swing a bit higher. I remembered cause I used a cross cut to finish the shape."
"A shape?" Morgan inquired.
"I think it was because of the combat link," the former jaeger theorized. "Her sword swings left behind trace marks in the air. Like this…"
Fie used her gunswords to trace a set of lines in the sand, eventually writing the letter "A" but with the middle line stretching beyond the boundaries of the other lines.
"Once I saw them, I felt like I had to follow up before they disappeared. That's why I did this."
She crossed her weapons together and drew an "X" shape going outwards, connecting the points on the shape until it made a star.
"Ah…" Laura nodded in understanding. "I see now."
"A star sign…" Morgan muttered. "Think you can do it again?"
"We could attempt it now…" Laura looked to Morgan. "But we shouldn't get too sidetracked from the main reason we came out here."
Fie squinted her eyes at Morgan. "This was your idea. Hope you're not trying to worm your way out of this."
Morgan chuckled. "I haven't forgotten, trust me. I was just thinking that it'd probably work better if you guys had something to use it on. You know, a real combat scenario."
"We COULD search for some monsters to fight," Laura proposed.
"But the sun's going down." Fie pointed to the sea. Since the beach was on the west side of the island, the three of them were treated to the sight of the sun setting just above the horizon, painting the sky a dark orange. "We shouldn't stay out for longer than we have to."
"In that case, why don't we do this?" Morgan snapped her fingers. "Laura, is your ARCUS working again?"
The swordswoman nodded her head. "Yes. It has fully recharged."
"Fie told me that you have something that can nullify physical attacks. Use it on all three of us."
"Oh?" Laura gave her a look of befuddlement.
Fie looked similarly perplexed. "What are you planning?"
Morgan brought out both her orbments. "I'll just take Fire Bolt from my ARCUS...put it into my Enigma…" As she murmured to herself, she took a red-colored quartz from her ARCUS and inserted it into an empty slot in her personal orbment.
"Okay!" After closing both her orbments and putting her ARCUS away, she clapped both of her hands on her cheeks and grabbed her weapon. "Get your weapons. Let's make this one quick."
It was at that moment that Laura and Fie understood her intentions. "Are you suggesting that the two of us fight you?" the former asked to make sure.
Morgan gave a standing ovation. "Ding, ding, ding! Someone give this woman a prize!"
"...You're insane."
Morgan laughed at Fie's remark. "Well, I'm no Instructor Sara, but I think I can give the two of you a run for your mira. And like you said, it's a bit risky searching for monsters now."
Laura retrieved her ARCUS and began casting an art. After a while, earthen shields started forming around the students.
"So THIS is how it feels." Morgan flexed her fingers, taking in the feeling the orbal art had on her body. "It definitely feels different from the Crest orbal art, that's for sure."
Fie retrieved her gunswords and adopted her battle stance. "You sure about this?"
"If the shields are sturdy enough, I should be able to take a beating. Besides, this actually works perfectly for what I was originally going to show you guys."
A memory resurfaced in Laura's mind as she unstrapped her sword from her waist. "Might this have something to do with that technique you performed while on top of that dragon?"
"So you saw." Morgan didn't sound surprised. "I said before that seeing you two give it your all against each other made me realize how dishonest I've been in comparison. Not just to Class VII, but also to myself as well. That's why I want to follow your guys' example. To keep moving forward with Class VII, I need to start revealing who I am, and the best way I can start is here...in this moment!"
Morgan held her hand close to her heart and shut her eyes. Focusing her mind, she drew into the deepest parts of her soul, feeling the latent warmth that lay within her. Taking in a deep breath, she pictured herself holding the source of the warmth in her hands, which took the shape of a small ball of fire. Ever so gently, she leaned in and whispered to herself…
"Let my soul ignite."
"M-Morgan?!"
"Are those...flames?"
Her classmates' voices drew her back to reality. When she opened her eyes, Morgan confirmed that violet-colored flames were exuding from her entire body. There was no turning back now. [IS]
"Laura. Fie." She called both of their names. "You've always wondered what would happen if you fought me at my best; well, now here's your chance! But I gotta warn you: the only way you'll be able to land a scratch on me is if you use teamwork!"
Morgan planted her axe in the sand next to her. Her left hand was gripped tightly around her orbment. "So come on! If the two of you really have learned to see past your differences...then show me your combined strength! Right here, right now!"
Laura raised her sword in front of her. "Is that a challenge?"
"I think she needs to learn the hard way," said Fie.
With a nod to each other, Laura and Fie tied an ARCUS link between them.
"From here on out, we're going to be playing by my rules!" Morgan announced. "Hope you're ready!"
Morgan began directing her magical energy towards her orbment, just like how a mage would concentrate their latent energy into a tome or stave to use its power, causing it to whir with excitement. As the energy continued to gather in her left hand, a small gust of wind started to appear into existence.
Once enough energy was accumulated, Morgan pointed her free hand in the direction of her classmates. "Elwind!"
At her command, two green, arc-shaped projectiles shot forward. Laura and Fie barely managed to avoid the attack by sidestepping away from each other, watching the wind projectiles crash into the side of a nearby boulder.
"That didn't look like Air Strike…" Fie commented.
Laura's eyes widened with realization. "That art...I've seen it before! Back in Celdic!"
"There's still more!" Morgan's voice called out. "Fire!"
Thrusting out her free hand again, a fire projectile was thrown out in Laura's direction. The swordswoman hastily blocked the attack, surprised at the speed at which Morgan was able to cast her art. When she lowered her sword again, Morgan was already charging her next attack, this time with an electrical aura surrounding her left hand.
"Won't let you!" Fie aimed her gunswords at Morgan and fired a sweep of bullets.
"Tch!" Morgan quickly retrieved her axe and rolled out of the way. However, it forced her to halt her casting. She looked to the side to find Laura quickly advancing on her position.
"In that case…!" Morgan resumed charging her orbment. Predicting where Laura was about to swing from her position, she ducked under her opponent's horizontal slice, then leapt into the air. She thrust her orbment down while airborne. "Take this!"
"Nrgh!" A flash of lightning wildly rained downwards on Laura, pushing her backwards.
Morgan landed on the sand, ready to pursue the incapacitated Laura, but right as she was about to take a step forward, she rotated her body and swung her axe in the other direction.
Fie, who had her surprise attack foiled, grunted in surprise. "What?"
"Predictable!" Despite only using one hand, Morgan still had the strength advantage and was able to effortlessly push Fie aside.
"Ha…" Morgan exhaled deeply. The flames that were once simmering brightly all over her body had diminished greatly.
"Guess I'm at my limit…" she muttered. "But I'm just getting started!" She lowered her posture and held her axe close to her face.
Laura recognized Morgan's stance from their duel a week prior. "Here she comes!" she warned her partner. "Fie, aim for her legs!"
Her partner nodded. "Got it!"
Morgan smirked as she pushed one final charge into her orbment. "Yeah, go ahead and aim low. Just be sure to watch the sand!"
Once her ARCUS was sufficiently charged, Morgan dispelled her flames with a flick of her arm. Then, she thrust her orbment down into the sand and gave the order to fire. A wind projectile fired at her feet, causing her to fly upwards and the sand to kick up. Laura and Fie covered their eyes to keep the sand from their eyes.
When she landed, Morgan made the split second decision to go after Fie. Lengthening her axe into its two-handed form, she stabbed at the younger girl, only for her weapon to be met with metal.
"ARCUS links let you resonate with your partner," Fie stated, holding back Morgan's weapons with her own. "You're dealing with two pairs of eyes now."
From behind Morgan, Laura leapt into the air with her sword raised. "Shatter!"
Thinking quickly, Morgan pushed her bardiche in, forcefully reverting it to its one-handed form and knocking Fie back. Then, she slashed in a wide arc behind her, barely managing to stave off Laura's attack in time. Unfortunately, Laura's brute strength came out on top, causing Morgan to spiral out of balance.
After a dominant start, it was now Morgan's turn to be on the defensive, and while she quickly regained her footing, it didn't take long for her to realize that regaining some of that momentum would be difficult. Laura, the ideal knight, stood her ground in the thick of the fight and dominated the offensive front with her large, wide swings. Fie, the wily assassin, used her speed to prevent the opposition from escaping Laura's attacks while sneaking in some stray hits of her own. As Morgan had hypothesized in the past, Laura and Fie's inability to maintain a combat link was the only thing holding them back; with that obstacle out of the way, they were free to show just how well their fighting styles complemented each other. It was thanks to Morgan's prior knowledge of her opponents' respective fighting styles that she was able to keep them at bay, but having to keep track of two fearsome opponents at once was draining her stamina.
Eventually, Morgan's guard faltered. She had extended her axe to block Laura's attack from the front, which gave Fie ample time to position herself behind Morgan and dash past her while slicing at her thigh. No blood was drawn thanks to the effect of Laura's orbal art, but the shield that was encasing Morgan cracked at the spot where Fie struck her. Morgan's knee buckled, and upon noticing this, Laura sidestepped and pushed forward with the flat of her blade, once again knocking her opponent off-balance.
"Together, Fie!"
"Roger!"
As they rushed forwards, both of their ARCUS orbments briefly emitted a blue light. Laura performed a three-hit combination: an upper slash, a downwards slash, and a horizontal slash that formed the outline of an upside-down "V" with a line passing through the middle. Immediately afterwards, Fie jumped forward and slashed her gunswords in an "X" formation, which, when combined with Laura's preceding sequence, created the outline of a star.
"Star Sign!"
Their thoughts as one, Laura and Fie blew Morgan away with their combined strength. The shield that surrounded their classmate shattered, signaling the end of the battle. [ISE]
Laura was panting heavily. "We...did it."
Fie looked similarly winded. "Uh-huh."
She raised her hand for a high five. Laura completed the gesture.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Morgan tried to sit back up, but the amount of energy she used up during the fight left her in a tired, hurting state. "I think...Class VII has witnessed the birth of an unstoppable duo," she managed to croak.
Laura and Fie walked over to where Morgan was laying on the beach. "Are you alright?" the former asked.
"Do I look alright?" Morgan asked drily.
Fie snorted. "If you have enough energy for a snark, then you're fine."
"That art definitely protects you," Morgan commented. "But it won't stop you from feeling the full force of an attack. Still, I'd probably be in much worse condition if it weren't for that. I hate to ask you two to do more when you're already pretty tired, but could you maybe help me up?"
"Of course." Nodding at each other, Laura and Fie each grabbed ahold of one of Morgan's hands and hoisted her over their shoulders.
"Heehee." Morgan giggled. "This reminds me of yesterday."
"You didn't hurt your ankle again, did you?" Fie inquired.
"I sure hope not."
"We may need to get you checked up just in case," Laura suggested. "Let us take things slowly."
Morgan nodded her head. The trio slowly began to trudge their way back to the inn.
"Now, then…" said Laura. "What was that technique you performed? I've never seen anything like it."
"It looked kind of like Rean's Flame Slash," Fie noted. "Except instead of just the weapon, you lit your whole body on fire. The color looked a bit different though."
Morgan chuckled. "Figures that'd be the first point of comparison. I'm not entirely sure where Rean gets his flames from, but I can assure you that my flames aren't lethal. I wasn't trying to self-immolate myself or anything; it's just a byproduct of my skill."
"Another skill?" the blue-haired swordswoman asked. "Your repertoire grows ever more perplexing."
Morgan looked down. "It's called 'Ignis'. On paper, it's a skill that allows me to channel some of my magical power and add it to my physical strength or vice versa."
"Magic?" Laura repeated the word, perplexed. "Does such a thing even exist?"
"There's orbal arts," Fie reminded her. "They're basically magic spells."
"Well, you're half-right," Morgan interjected. "The basic idea for magic is to harness the world's energy to produce a desired effect. It doesn't sound that different from orbal arts at first, but the means through which the effect is achieved is what separates them. Orbal arts need orbments in order to get anything done, so that's more like technology. The magic I'm thinking of is kind of like the opposite; it's something that naturally comes from within, but you need something to channel it or else you can't use it."
"In other words, you're your own conduit," Laura summarized.
"So, what does this have to do with your 'skill'?" Fie asked.
"Like I said, it's more or less a side effect," Morgan began. "You know how orbments work right? At their core, they're devices that draw orbal energy from quartzes. Quartzes, meanwhile, get their energy from either the surrounding environment or an artificial energy supply like an orbment charging station. The energy itself isn't specific to one element either, so it doesn't matter what gets put into it so long as it comes from the same source. And since Ignis involves me pouring magical energy into an attack…"
"It translates into orbal energy for quartzes to use since the function's basically the same," Fie finished. "Did I get that right?"
Morgan smiled. "Clever girl. That's the theory behind it. The energy I radiate as a result of using Ignis is compatible with quartzes, and if I direct it into an orbment the same way I enhance a physical attack, it's able to store that energy for later use. That's why I can cast spells at a more frequent rate. And as an added bonus, since the orbal energy technically comes from me, I can override the basic functions of the quartzes and shape the outputs into whatever form or shape I wish."
"So that's why your orbal arts looked different," Laura muttered.
"The downside is that I can only keep it up for so long," Morgan added. "Normally, it's reserved for one or two attacks tops, but I wanted to push myself to see how far I could go. It's not everyday I get to let loose like this."
"I'm...still having trouble comprehending all of this." Laura was shaking her head in disbelief. "I knew you were holding back, but this is far beyond anything I could have imagined. If other people found out about this…" Her face paled. "Goodness, now I understand why you would want to keep this to yourself."
"Any sane person would want to keep you for themselves," Fie stated flatly. "Your power is way too invaluable if it makes you a living magical nuke."
Morgan laughed nervously. "That's a pretty apt expression, honestly."
"But this does beg the question…" Laura thought aloud. "You mentioned it was called a 'skill'; does this mean it can be learned by anyone? Or is it reserved for only a select few? What are the drawbacks?" She stopped herself before she could say any more. "My apologies. I didn't mean to stir up any harmful feelings."
"It's fine. I know that wasn't your intention." Morgan looked down morosely. "I think by this point it should be obvious that my background is a bit more...complicated than you might have imagined. Not just with my skills, but also when I was with the Scalyptera. I'm sure the two of you have lots of questions, but I just want to let you know something first: I'm not sure I'll be able to tell you everything."
"Is there a particular reason as to why you must keep your past a secret?" Laura asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
"It's not that I HAVE to keep it a secret…" Morgan refuted. "It's just...my past is so far removed from what other people think of as real that they'd just call me crazy or a liar if I told them." She closed her eyes. "And it's something I'm still searching for to this day."
"What…?" Laura gave her a concerned look. On the other side of Morgan, Fie was doing the same.
Morgan opened her eyes. "My life in Erebonia began when I woke up in a field in the outskirts of Heimdallr. That was around three years ago. The only things I knew at the time were my name and the names of my parents. I was found and taken in by a local family, and not long after, I started to work for them-"
"You worked for them?" Laura interjected. "They must have considerable social standing."
"Or they could just be running a shop," Fie pointed out.
"As I was saying…" Morgan continued, "I worked for them for about a year. After that, they thought it would be best if I tried becoming more self-sufficient, so they set me up with some family friends in Heimdallr. From that point on, I did a lot of odd jobs around the city to make a living for myself until, one day, I received an offer to study at Thors.
"During that whole time, my memories would gradually come back to me in dreams, bit by bit. It took a long time, and there's still a few gaps here and there, but I can remember most of my past now. I even managed to recover some of my old combat skills. However…" Morgan frowned. "They come to a stop after a certain point."
"Come to a stop?" Laura inquired. "As in, you cannot remember?"
"Well…" Morgan shook her head. "Maybe not all of it. There are some things I can recall that don't seem like they occurred during my childhood, but all they are are just snippets. They're like small pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out where to put them. Basically, my memory's kind of a mess right now; that's why I said I wasn't sure if I could tell you everything. Even then, the past three years I've been in Erebonia and my life beyond that are so different from each other that I'd understand if you thought I was making things up.
"So, if you understand what you're getting yourselves into, then the floor's open to any questions you may have. Don't be shy."
Morgan waited for Laura or Fie to jump at the opportunity to ask her questions. However, to her surprise, the pair only glanced at each other once and simply continued to trudge forward.
"Uh, you two? I said the floor's open to questions."
"We heard you the first time," Fie responded.
"Then, why…?"
"Because we have elected not to ask you about it at this time," Laura interrupted.
Morgan was a bit surprised. She could understand Fie wanting to save the questions for later due to her background, but Laura was something else. She was normally the most outspoken when it came to learning about fighting styles she was unfamiliar with. Or perhaps she was deliberately reining herself in?
"There are certainly a number of things I do wish to ask you…" Laura admitted, confirming Morgan's hunch. "But after hearing your reasoning, I do not think asking about your past outright would be the wisest course of action, especially considering the gaps in your memory."
"You...believe me?"
"Your story is far too elaborate to be a typical alibi," she reasoned. "And I was the one who told you that I would lend my ear if you wanted someone to talk to."
Morgan remembered their earlier conversation. "I guess you did say that."
"But more than anything…" Laura gave Morgan a smile. "I am honored that I was among the first to witness your true power. I now see what you meant by wanting to reveal who you are, and you certainly went above and beyond my expectations. My promise to support you remains true."
Morgan felt a warmth in her heart when she heard Laura's words of reassurance. "Thanks, you two."
"That's what friends are for, right?" Fie responded, flashing a rare smile. "We've pretty much formed our own trio."
Laura chuckled. "Truly. Overcoming our respective ordeals have resulted in us coming closer as a group."
"Yeah…"
Morgan took a deep breath. She knew that there would inevitably come a day where she would be forced to lay herself bare for the rest of her classmates to see. At the very least, now that day didn't appear as scary as before. She made a promise to start being more honest about herself, and a good tactician doesn't undersell their promises.
When the three of them neared the inn area, Morgan motioned for Laura and Fie to let her walk by herself. The three of them walked down the slope to find Elliot and Machias talking amongst themselves in front of the inn. When they noticed them coming, they waved and came forward to greet them.
"Hey! You're back!" said Elliot. "Listen, we have some good news!"
"Really?" Morgan responded, trying to keep her expectations low. "This better be something."
END OF CHAPTER 3
Author's note: And that will wrap up Chapter 3! Thank you all once again for your patience with this one. As a whole, the Bryonia Island arc took a lot longer than it should have, what with there being constant revisions to the storyboard amidst a pandemic. This was my first time creating original content for this series, and I hope that I met the expectations of those of you who asked for it since the beginning.
In addition to creating an original part of the story, I also resolved the conflict between Laura and Fie earlier than usual. Many of you asked when I was going to start deviating from canon, and I gave it. I hoped I delivered in portraying both sides of the conflict equally throughout the entire arc while also making it making it a personal endeavor for Morgan.
Speaking of Morgan, there are two notable points I want to go over concerning her. First, I revealed another skill that she currently possesses, that being Ignis. To reimagine this skill in a new setting, I decided to run with the idea that Morgan is channeling her inner magical energy to power up her next attack and make it compatible with her orbment, thereby allowing her to recreate some familiar spells from her home game. To keep things balanced, she is only able to use a spell if a quartz of a corresponding element is in her orbment and she is only able to use spells up to the fourth tier, with stronger spells requiring a longer charge (think of how Robin is able to cast different thunder spells in Smash by charging his tome). Of course, she always has the option of using it for its intended purpose as well. I teased it at certain points during the past two field studies, and it feels good to finally show it in all its splendor.
Second, it wouldn't be Morgan if there wasn't some good ol' amnesia to keep the suspense going. I had debated on whether to include this and to what degree, but in the end I decided to add it. Despite the amnesia, however, Morgan has taken the first step in revealing her background. While it may not be the background that we're familiar with [yet], there is still a story to be told. If you noticed, there's been a surprising three year gap between Morgan's arrival in Erebonia and the start of the story. What happened during that time frame? Well, that's what's going to be the focus of the upcoming arc, as the next field study location is none other than Heimdallr, a.k.a. Morgan's home turf! With Morgan starting to become more honest, now is a better time than ever for some exposition on just what our little tactician has been up to.
The next chapter will be an interlude chapter, and after that, we will skip ahead in time to the following month. Here's one last segment to end off the chapter. See you! (^ _ ^)/
"You know…" A large, muscular man rubbed his neck. "When you told me to come pick you up a day in advance, I didn't think you'd pick here of all places."
The place the man was in was in an alcove on the north side of Bryonia Island. He had docked his airship close to the shore and just stepped out to meet his correspondent: Scarlet.
"The RMP are sure to be scouting the island as we speak," she informed him. "This is the only blind spot where ships can pass through undetected."
"Well, we'll need to take a bit of a detour if we want to stay that way. You sure it's alright leaving your stuff behind?"
"There is another reason I chose this location." Scarlet moved towards one of the bushes located on the shore. Moving some of the leaves away revealed a chest that contained all her belongings.
The muscular man let out a guffaw. "Haha! Should've figured! Come on. Let's get outta here."
He helped Scarlet carry her luggage up the ladder and onto the ship. While he lowered the chest into the ship's storage, Scarlet made her way into the main passenger area.
"Welcome back, Comrade S."
Scarlet stood at the door, surprised by the voice that had greeted her. Sitting in one of the passenger seats and waving nonchalantly at her was a man cloaked in black. His head was covered by a helmet with a red visor, which caused his voice to sound slightly warped.
"Comrade C." Scarlet took a seat across from him. "I didn't expect you to be here in person."
"A leader has to make sure all the gears are moving as they should," C responded. "It appears that the plan was a resounding success."
"I wonder…"
"You do not agree?" C's tone harbored a hint of skepticism. "We have demonstrated that 'he' faces the risk of his ranks being divided at any time. The Icy Maiden is stationed in the west, while the Scarecrow was called to deal with the Republic."
"I know that." Scarlet looked out the window at the island behind them. "But a part of me wishes that we didn't have to part in such...less than ideal circumstances. Our arrangement was temporary, but the staff treated me like one of their own. It reminded me of my time in Arteria."
The muscular man came in and walked past them to reach the cockpit.
"Do you harbor any regrets?"
Scarlet closed her eyes momentarily. Then, she brought out an eyepatch and wrapped it around her right eye. "Not anymore, Leader," she said with a determined voice. "After all, there probably won't be much chance to reconnect with what we're doing."
C let out a low grunt. The ship began to set sail across the water.
"Just one member short of a full house," Scarlet noticed. "I take it we're going to be picking up G next?"
"An excellent deduction, as always," C complimented with a chuckle. "First, we will find a location to lay low until nightfall. Then we will pick up Comrade G in Nord."
"If we're going to be a ways off, then I have one question that I'd like to ask."
"Go right ahead."
"It's something that has been weighing on my mind ever since this morning…" Scarlet leaned forward. "Why would Marquis Ballad let go of the Lusitania like that?"
"You know, I asked C the same question myself!" the muscular man said from the cockpit. "He only gave me a one-word response."
"And what might that word be?"
"Pantagruel." C crossed his arms. "Make of that what you will."
Slowly, the black ship started ascending from the water and into the sky.