AN: Over a week I've tried to write this and it became this short? Well unfortunately, I'm not very good at writing downtime. Oh well, this chapter was just to wrap things up in Uraya and allow the gang to set sail to Indol once again.
Set Sail to Indol
It has been some time since the battle for Otohime, and the gang was mostly in the ship now, having taken cabins for themselves.
However, among the people still missing was Otohime herself, she was currently in a place called Raqura Aqua Gardens. The Imperial mother requested to have a talk with Queen Raqura, the surprised Queen granted it. So here they were at the gardens.
"What did you wish to speak about?" Raqura began curtly.
"My question is a simple one," Otohime replied easily, "What was I to you when your father was my Driver?"
"You know about your previous Driver?" Raqura asked in surprise.
"I recently discovered that the previous king of Uraya was my Driver before my little Ren," Otohime replied.
Raqura let out a small sigh, "What does it matter to you now?"
"…You are hurting," Otohime stated calmly, "You try to hide it, but I can feel it. You not gaining me hurts you, so I must wonder, did you wish to gain something of your father. Or perhaps I was more than your father's Blade."
Raqura looked surprised before letting out a small smile, "Whatever past ties you had to me died alongside my father."
"Perhaps," Otohime said, "But alas, I still find myself wondering if I am abandoning something that I held precious in my past life."
"So, you wish to know if there is something you need to make peace with?" Raqura inquired.
"Essentially, yes."
Raqura shook her head, "Very well. But due to your current ties to a Driver not of Uraya, I cannot divulge any details."
"Acceptable." was the simple agreement.
"Thank you," Raqura spoke, "When I was young, my mother died of a rare illness. My father and I were devastated by her sudden loss, but because of you, we were able to have peace."
"I see," Otohime said with a small smile, "So I was someone important to you. Then I apologize for bringing you sorrow."
"You have no need to apologize," Raqura answered curtly before smiling a little, "Though your words are appreciated. But if you do not mind me asking, where have you been these past 30 years?"
Otohime looked contemplative, "I fear that you would not believe me even if I told you."
Raqura raised an eyebrow, "It must be somewhere far away to have a girl strong enough to harm Voluq to that extent with her bare hands."
"…You could say that," Otohime said with a mysterious smile before closing her eyes. Then she opened them with a resolved look, "Would you like me to try explaining?"
"You may try," Raqura said, having an interest now.
And so, Otohime gave a slightly abridged version of where her and the Remnans were from. Leaving some key details out obviously.
Meanwhile in Fonsa Myma, some of the other members of the gang had decided to do some last-minute shopping with the leftover money that came from selling Dragunov's gems. Although there was some debate on what the money should be used on.
Anyway, Yang had browsed some of Fonsa Myma's delicacies, also getting some for Nora to possibly cheer her up, and was walking up the stairs that would move them past what they heard was a theater. Not one that showed movies, sadly.
But Yang had looked a little thoughtful about something.
"Something on your mind, Yangie?" Dragunov asked his Driver.
"Huh? Oh, nothing important," Yang said simply.
"Okay." And the fire Blade dropped it.
Only, Yang now felt like Dragunov was winning somehow so she talked, "It's just…It feels like Bumblebee's just become dead weight."
"You're telling me," the draconic Blade said remembering how he had to carry it when they crossed those stones again. Fortunately, Dragunov was easier to convince to move across than the first time.
"I just…don't know what to do with it," Yang said with a small sigh. She didn't want to part with her beloved bike, especially after the investment she did with the first diamonds Dragunov ever made.
"Why not sell it for scrap?"
Yang gave her Blade an appalled look, "You did NOT just say that."
"Nevermind," Dragunov said with a smirk before having a thoughtful look, "Why not ask Tora to modify it?"
"Huh?" Yang looked at Dragunov like he claimed sky to be red.
"Well he did create Poppi," the draconic Blade pointed out, earning an "Oh." from his Driver.
"You know…I'm not exactly comfortable letting that hyperactive fuzzball get his wing…thingies on my bike," Yang said in mild worry.
"It's that or leave it as a useless deadweight," Dragunov said before having an evil smirk, "And for the record, if we need to carry it again, I'm not gonna do that."
"Okay, fine, I'll ask him if he could help," Yang relented, "You don't have to be such a…Drag."
"Oh really?" Dragunov said in a challenging tone, "Last I checked, you're the one Dragging your bike."
The two's beginning punfest was now interrupted by a low chuckle. The two didn't realize they were about to walk past the theater before they saw a short old man looking at them.
"You two have a horrendous sense of humor," the old man said with a small smile, "You are clearly made for each other."
"None of your business old man," Dragunov said with a glare.
"Still as fiery as ever I see," the old man said in bemusement.
This threw the two for a loop. "Do we know you?" Yang asked with a skeptical look.
"No, I believe this is the first time we have met," the old man said, "My name is Cole, and I own this theater."
"Oh really," Yang said with a raised eyebrow, "Trying to recruit me?"
Cole chuckled at this, "Oh don't flatter yourself too much, young lady. In this career, looks aren't everything."
As this was going on, Dragunov was giving the old man an inquisitive look. "Have we met before?"
"I don't think we have," Cole said simply, "Why do you ask?"
"Because you seem…familiar," Dragunov said as he wracked his brain for an answer.
Cole looked thoughtful for a moment, "Does the name Minoth mean anything to you?"
"How do you know that?" Yang asked, knowing it was the name of the Flesh Eater that appeared in Thauron's journal.
Cole raised an eyebrow at Yang saying it, "The question I should be asking is, how do you know that, young lady."
Then Dragunov's eyes widened, "Are you Minoth?"
"I am called Cole nowdays," Cole replied with a small smile, "We thought Malos destroyed you, Dragunov."
"What happened to you?" Dragunov asked as he eyed the old Flesh Eater from head to toe.
"Just one of the downsides of being like this," Minoth said before frowning, "Now, how do you know about me?"
"I got my hands on Thauron's journal," Dragunov said simply, "It came with a group picture of our little group."
"Oh?" Cole said with a raised eyebrow, "Does it mention about the time Thauron asked my help in writing a love letter?"
"Wait what?!" Yang asked with a guffaw, "I haven't gotten there yet!"
"I don't think I've read that part either," Dragunov said, not immediately remembering anything like that. Then again, he did skip several chapters on occasion out of impatience.
"Out of respect for the poor guy, I should tell you not to, but I know you will read it for your own amusement anyway," Cole said with a mirthful smile. Then his eyes turned on Yang, "Yang, was it? I may not know you, but you must be something special to have this stubborn thing accept you as his Driver."
"…I never told you my name," Yang said now a little wary.
"You're not the first member of your group that I have met," Cole said with a small smile, "The first was someone called, Talos. He mentioned you and your Driver."
"How did you meet Talos?" Yang asked with a curious look.
"Pyra introduced him to me," Cole replied easily, "She said he had some…issues that she hoped I could help with."
"What kinds of issues?" Dragunov asked.
"I'm afraid you will have to ask him that," Cole said with a chuckle, "It was confidential after all."
"Fair enough," Dragunov shrugged.
"Now, today's play will start soon, would you like to see it?" Cole asked.
"No thanks," Yang said, "We should probably go back to the ship, we're on our way to Indol."
"Indol?" Cole asked with worry, "…I'm sure you will realize it yourselves, but I must warn you, don't trust Amalthus."
"If I remember correctly, Thauron didn't like him," Dragunov said with a frown, "Still, thanks for the warning."
"Good luck to you two," Cole then said, and with that Yang and Dragunov bid farewell. Now also wondering if this Amalthus was something to watch out for. They only know that he's the current leader of Indol and the Driver of Malos. Then again, the journal had a mention of Minoth being Amalthus' Blade, and he didn't have a high opinion of his Driver.
In the ship, Nora was wrapped in a blanket around herself and Ren. The two were cuddling inside the wrap for Nora's comfort. While the orangette still felt a little guilty about accidentally hurting Voluq badly, she wasn't crying anymore. Sure, the guy was a jerk, but she didn't want to kill him.
Then they heard a knocking coming from the door.
"Come in," Ren called and in came Rex.
"Is…everything okay here now?" The salvager asked with an awkward look.
Ren looked to Nora with a questioning look, feeling that it should be Nora who answered.
"No..." Nora replied getting the hint, "But better."
"Well…that's good," Rex said with a downcast look.
"Rex, was there something you needed?" Ren then asked.
"Well, Nia said that Voluq would be ready for active duty in a few days now that he has received combined healing from her, Weiss and Mathra." the Aegis Driver explained.
"Really?" Nora asked with a hopeful look, "I didn't…cripple him?"
"No, you didn't," Rex said with a smile," He will make a full recovery."
This made Nora feel a lot better, "Thank you."
With those words, Rex closed the door so that Nora and Ren could keep on their business.
"You didn't give them Rhota's message," Azurda piped up from Rex's helmet.
"I think Nora feels bad enough as is. There's no point in making her worse," Rex replied with a frown.
"Yes, probably for the best," Azurda said with a nod of approval, "Salvager Code Three I believe." The small titan chuckled.
"Make a girl cry? That's not gonna fly. Make a girl smile? You pass the trial." Rex cited with a smile, "I think Ren has that covered."
"I wonder if that will be you and some lucky girl one day," Azurda said with a laugh.
"Gramps!" Rex whined with a blush, which of course made the titan laugh harder.
On another part of the ship, Weiss was practicing with Aizen's Twin Swords. She managed to execute a pretty good maneuver with them before turning to Aizen.
"How was that?" Weiss asked, feeling a bit proud of herself.
"Better, but you could still use some work," Aizen replied, despite not taking his eyes off of his notebook which he was scribbling on even now.
"You're not even looking," Weiss complained.
"You still favor your left arm, when you need to use both arms," Aizen commented, still not taking his eyes off of the notebook despite having an affinity link, "Although your right swing did see some improvement." Weiss' jaw dropped at the explanation. "Do you still believe I'm not paying attention?"
"…No." Was the former heiress' dumbfounded response.
"Good," Aizen said, finally taking his eyes off of the notebook before giving his Driver an inquisitive look, "Miss Schnee, if you don't mind me asking what are your current measurements?"
"Excuse me?" Weiss asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Your measurements," Aizen replied simply, "I already know your height, your weight and the approximate length of your arms and legs. But I would like to know your bust, waist and hip measurements."
Weiss blushed, before snapping, "That's none of your business!" With that, Weiss threw Aizen's weapons on the floor before stomping off.
The nobleman Blade let out a weary sigh, "Why did I not see that coming. I suppose I must find out another way." All the while he eyed the sketch on his notebook with small notes of the needed measurements, minus the three he tried asking.
At another cabin, Penny was talking to Tora. The Nopon was lying on the bed, complaining about being dead tired. To which Poppi translated it as "Masterpon is lazy". Which seemed to be proven when Kos-Mos downloaded Penny's blueprints on a Scroll that the android Blade had procured back on Remnant. Tora was shifting through them with interested look. Humming to himself.
"So…friend Penny's Dust Reactor still function?" Tora asked as he was now going through the blueprints for the said contraption.
"Yes, the reactor is still functioning at optimal capacity," Penny said cheerfully.
"Hmm…hmm." Tora hummed as he then gave an inquisitive look, "How long friend say that Scroll last?"
"Without charging, and with its current usage, the Scroll's battery will be emptied in approximately five days." Kos-Mos cited. There was a chance that huntsmen would have to spend many days in the wilds without a chance for a charging, so the battery of the Scroll was made as long lasting as possible.
"Friends not able to charge?" Tora then asked.
"We have chargers, but we doubt there are electrical outlets compatible with them," Penny added in. Actually, they still weren't sure if Fonsa Myma had electricity now that they thought about it.
"Meh, meh. Tora need to pick a charger apart to see if can help," Tora then said as he bounced off the bed, "If possible, Tora able to reverse-engineer a charger capable of using Ether as energy source."
"The energy produced to power Scrolls is Dust, if that makes a difference," Penny pointed out.
"Tora hear from friends' Blades that Dust similar to Ether," Tora then spoke, "If Blades able to use Dust as energy, then Scrolls should be able to use Ether."
"An interesting theory," Kos-Mos said with a thoughtful look.
"But Blades and machines are still different," Penny contributed.
"If Tora want to help Penny upgrade, Tora need to look blueprints all the time," Tora said simply, "Must try."
"What if Masterpon breaks charger," Poppi then pointed out, "Poppi is sure that Penny might be sad for losing it."
"Meh, meh!" Tora sounded out, "That no good."
"It's okay, Ruby and the others all have chargers, so we can try multiple times," Penny said reassuringly.
"Tora hope not to have to try too many times," Tora said before looking thoughtful, "But Tora not have necessary tools for big operation. Need to go to Tora's house or find good workshop."
"Oh." Penny said, looking a little down.
"But Tora do Tora's best," Tora then quickly said in an attempt to cheer the girl up.
"Sensational!" And it seemed to have worked, seeing as Penny then picked Tora and hugged him with all her might. Crushing the poor Nopon who was now flailing all limbs.
"Penny hurting Masterpon!" Poppi then called out sternly, causing the artificial Driver to quickly drop the fuzzy inventor.
"Sorry, friend Tora. I didn't mean to," Penny apologized profusely.
"Tora okay," Tora said while gasping for precious air. Unfortunately, Tora didn't notice a deep frown on Poppi's face.
On the back of the ship, Jaune was pacing a bit. He wanted to help Nora, but Ren said he got it. So, the Arc boy could do nothing but trust Ren.
"Nora will be alright," Talos spoke from the wall he was leaning against.
"I know, but…I just wish I could help more," Jaune said as he leaned against the railing.
"Milord," Joana sounded out, "I believe sir Ren is more than capable of cheering lady Nora up," Joana spoke with confidence.
"I know, but I just wish I wasn't…" Jaune trailed off.
"Useless?" Talos asked, earning an appalled look from Joana and an angry one from Jaune.
"What did you say?" Jaune asked in anger.
"You heard me," Talos replied, standing on his feet, "Are you still upset that Pyrrha put you in the locker and sent you away?"
"You don't know what you're talking about," Jaune said as he walked closer to the metal Blade.
"Don't I?" Talos tilted his head, "Pyrrha saved you. You couldn't have helped her against Cinder."
"Well you're the one who killed her," Jaune almost shouted.
"Pyrrha was already dying," Talos shot back, "Leave her, she would have died. Do it, she would have died. Either way, she would have died."
"Master Talos," Joana said, getting between Talos and Jaune, "As the Blade of Lady Pyrrha, I respect you. But please, do not speak to milord like that."
Talos looked at Joana briefly before returning his attention to Jaune. "Before Adenine came to us, Pyrrha was ready to write a will where she wanted you to become my next Driver," Talos then said.
"What?" Jaune said.
"She hoped that with me and Joana at your side we would make you stronger together," Talos explained before looking down, "Then Adenine came with her idea. She convinced Pyrrha that this would be better for me. And at the time…I too felt that way. But now I wonder if it would have been better for me to just be passed on to you."
"What does that have to do with anything," Jaune asked.
"You're not the only one with regrets," Talos said, "You feel horrible that Pyrrha pushed you away. Take a guess how I felt when I found out that Pyrrha would die. All because I didn't kill Cinder immediately." At the last part, Talos clenched his fists hard enough that the metal they were made of strained. His eyes also flashed green.
"What was that?!" And Jaune saw it.
"What was what?" Talos asked, now confused. His eyes glowing blue again.
"Why did your eyes turn green?" Jaune asked.
"Green? My eyes are blue," Talos said in confusion before finding a reflective enough surface to see. "Are you turning colorblind?" Talos asked after seeing his eyes were still glowing blue.
"Master Talos, the glow of your eyes turned green for an instant before changing back," Joana added in.
"…That's ridiculous," Talos scoffed before moving away.
"…Joana, did I imagine it?" Jaune asked in mild confusion.
"If you did then why did I see it too?" Joana replied, "Does he truly not know?"
"…Well maybe he doesn't look at the mirror very often," Jaune said, wondering a little what that sudden color change was.
Soon enough, everyone who was supposed to be on the ship had returned. Dahlia had surprised Weiss by bringing some Titan-Oil Hand Cream and Gorgeous Blusher. Nora felt a little better thanks to both Ren's consoling, and Yang bringing some sweets.
Then came Otohime who was asked where she was. The Imperial Mother gave a mysterious smile before replying, "Secret." And then she gave a peck to Ren's forehead.
Then the ship set sail to Indol. The Alrestians ready to continue their mission, while Remnans were curious about what kind of place Indol is.
Meanwhile in the Torna ship, Akhos was looking at another batch of surveillance from their toys. When he switched to another footage, his eyes widened before getting his hands on the intercom. "We found the Aegis!"
It wasn't long until the rest of Torna arrived to the room to see the footage. It was Team JNR vs the Urayan Drivers.
"You were right, Jin," Akhos said with a smile, "The Aegis did find its way back."
"So I said," Jin said. Then his eyes fell upon one particular being. "Dragunov," the former Paragon of Torna sounded out.
"You know one of them?" Patroka asked in surprise.
"Only Dragunov," Jin replied, still looking at the screen where the Firestorm of Torna was sitting on a chair next to a blonde girl.
"Well, either the brat found the Core Crystal and gave it to someone here, or these humans come from where ever those holes lead to," Malos said as he squinted his eyes at the screen.
"Doesn't matter, we can just kill them," Akhos said simply, "They're just humans after all."
"No," Malos said with a smile, "We don't have to do any of that. Now that they're back, our operations are back on track."
"So, what do we do now?" Mikhail then asked.
"We track them," Jin replied, "If they still plan to go to Elysium, then we know exactly where they need to go."
"Understood Jin," Akhos said. With that, the crew scrambled around the ship to set sail to a new location.
Except Malos who placed a hand on the silver haired man's shoulder, "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Jin replied as he lightly pushed Malos' hand off.
"This won't cause you a problem, will it?"
"No," Jin said before turning to face Malos, "All ties I had to him were cut when Thauron died."
"Good, because right now, you might be the only one who can beat him," Malos then said sounding serious.
"What do you mean?" Jin asked, "Dragunov is strong but I doubt we would have problems against him."
Malos let out a small sigh, "Tell me Jin, did you ever read fairy tales?"
"What?" Jin was flabbergasted at such a question.
"Yes, or no." Malos crossed his arms.
"Yes, Lora wanted to read them sometimes," Jin answered, "Why do you ask?"
"Was one of those, the Tale of the Sun Dragon?" Malos then asked.
"Yes, why?" Jin was now more confused.
"Because that particular story is very real," Malos said, earning wide eyes from Jin.
"Explain." Jin practically demanded.
On another part of the ship, Mikhail and Patroka were preparing Monoceros to set sail.
"It doesn't matter how many allies they have; I will crush them all," Patroka muttered, still remembering how Mythra destroyed Perdido.
"Well, now they got Dragunov on their side," Mikhail said as he was checking the systems.
"What does one more Blade matter?" Patroka snapped a little.
"Patroka," Mikhail said, surprising the woman with how serious he sounded, "That guy used to be Jin's rival. You shouldn't underestimate him."
"How do you know that?" Patroka asked, now intrigued by both Mikhail knowing and by how serious he sounded.
"Same way I knew Jin," Mikhail said with a smile," Anyway, I remember that in terms of raw power, he surpasses the Flamebringer's Blade."
That made Patroka surprised. A Blade that's stronger than the Jewel of Mor Ardain isn't exactly common. "So, he's someone to look out for," Patroka said, now looking thoughtful.
"Pretty much," Mikhail said before smiling," But don't worry, I'll protect you."
"Really?" Patroka dead panned before moving to the blonde member.
Next thing Mikhail knew, he was on the floor thanks to Patroka's fist meeting his face. Then the violent woman walked away.
"…Was it something I said?" Mikhail whimpered as he was clutching his probably broken nose.
AN: Yup! There we go, Nora is being cheered up. Tora is about to get busy if/when the gang visits Torigoth or any good workshop. Aizen has some plans for Weiss. And finally, Torna knows that Rex and the gang are back.