Chapter 39 "Building a Community"
Eighteen days had passed since the brief trip to Colony Upsilon, during which time Noah and Mio resumed their volunteering at the orphanage and helped their new friends and acquaintances settle into the City. With the many recent recruits from the colonies filling up the barracks, their relocation to the various residential districts was all but mandatory. Most of them moved to the newest apartments in the northwest expansion, but Fonse, the redheaded mace-and-shield defender, and Denize, the freckled swordswoman, found an available unit further south near military headquarters. There was even enough space to include Lana, the reborn blonde, much to their delight. On this day, Noah and Mio knocked on their door to convene with them before the next mission.
"Hi!" Lana answered with a waft of cheeriness.
"H-hello there," the zephyr recoiled at the first-termer's perpetually sunny disposition which caught Noah off guard, too. "How are you today?"
"Good!" the little blonde looked up to her with her hands behind her back. "I'm looking forward to Ms. Aron's art class."
"Ah, you've been attending for the past few days," the ponytailed soldier returned her smile. "I gather it's been enjoyable."
"Yes," she shyly slid the sole of her shoe along the surface. "She said we're gonna start, uh, ori… gami… next."
"Origami?" Mio raised her brow at the foreign yet intriguing word.
"Doesn't that involve paper?" he cupped his elbow with one hand and rubbed his chin with the other. "Anyway, where are Fonse and Denize? We don't want to be late."
"Huh? Oh, they're still inside." Turning around, Lana latched onto the doorframe and prepared to bellow. "You guys! We're waiting!"
"Hang on!" Fonse responded from somewhere within their apartment. Everyone outside could hear what sounded like frantic fumbling, along with incoherent chatter between the two presently absent individuals. Moments later, he and Denize emerged with their hair and new City clothes unkempt. "We're here! Sorry about that."
"What were you doing in there?" the cat-eared Agnian couldn't fight her curiosity.
"None of your business," Denize rebuffed her, cheeks rosy.
"Right…" Noah noticed their state, though he didn't dwell on it. "Shall we head out?" Wasting no further time, the liberated soldiers took to the streets. Along the way, Lana branched off for her own destination while the rest continued towards military headquarters which wasn't far away.
Arriving just a minute late, they found Reynolds, the short, bearded coordinator with a terminal already announcing the day's available assignments to a crowd of volunteers. Familiar among them were Sena, Alexandria, and Chickadee, though friendly banter would have to wait while the biggest mission on the docket was due to be detailed.
"Based on reports from our Nopon informants, Colonies 6 and Gamma will mobilize soon," Reynolds laid out the situation after clicking on his terminal. "The timing of both is no coincidence. Moebius is planning to gather life from this battle, so we're taking this opportunity to hunt them down."
"Let's see," the swordfighter momentarily accessed his Iris map, as did a few others, "so that means…"
"Assuming they begin movement simultaneously, we project their meeting point to be Lower Melnath Pass," the bearded man continued with the briefing. "You lot will support our team that's nearest to the target area."
"We'll do our best," the former pacifist spoke for the rest of the volunteers who were on board.
"Always what we want to hear," Reynolds approved of Noah's confidence. "Good luck out there." While the coordinator proceeded to hand out noncombative assignments to those who opted to stay behind, the brave Moebius-hunters headed down the outdoor corridor to the Levnis pad where their ride awaited them.
Missions like this were routine for Noah and Mio, only now they had several friends in their company. Once the pilot had lifted them out of the City, they flew westward to the Aetia region where the action was forecasted to occur. The landscape below ranged from charred fields to grassy hills, though their destination didn't quite fall into either category. Boasting unique flora, Alfeto Valley was perfectly dressed for autumn with nary a battle scar to bear.
"Isn't that the team we're supposed to meet?" the keen-eyed Kevesi pointed out the cabin window to a group of militants on the ground.
"Ah," Mio spotted them as well, along with a smattering of volffs. "Seems they're in trouble."
"Then we'd better prepare to help when we hop out," he determined as their Levnis descended upon the northern end of the valley where the territorial skirmish had broken out. The militants were already putting up their best defense, though the quadrupedal beasts had seemingly overwhelmed them. With their Blades now drawn, the volunteers sprang into action to lend a hand.
"Back off!" A tall woman with brown hair tied under an explorer's hat, likely the group leader, lunged at the largest beast with a modified lance. Within moments and thanks to the reinforcements, half of the volff pack had been eradicated which reduced the stragglers into a howling fit.
"Scatter!" Sena slammed the ground with a heavy sword, the impact of which spooked the remaining volffs into doing just that. When the dust settled, there were no more to be seen.
"Thanks for the save!" the apparent lady in charge acknowledged her and the others. "You must be the volunteers."
"We are," Noah confirmed while everyone withdrew their weapons.
"Welcome to the valley!" she greeted them properly, despite the rough start. "I'm Adelene, leader of the City's Alfeto militia."
"Pleased to meet you," the ponytailed soldier reached out for a handshake. "I'm Noah, and this is Mio."
"Noah and Mio, eh?" Adelene alternated glances between the two deserters. "Lucky us! We've got a strong force, then."
"You've heard of us?" the moonblades-wielder suspected from her words.
"Indeed," the group leader flashed an approving grin. "The buzz at HQ is that you've taken down multiple Moebius."
"Oh, we just help out where we can," Mio scratched the back of her head, expressing their modesty.
"Well, your achievements haven't gone unnoticed," Adelene asserted with continued enthusiasm. "Hopefully, we can eliminate at least one of them mudders together."
"That's why we're here," Noah peered over his shoulder to the rest of his group. "What can we do?"
"You know a battle is expected to happen nearby, yes?" the tall woman adjusted her hat while the other militants set up parameters for a temporary station. "Evidently, we're early, so we'll camp until Keves and Agnus appear. And thanks to those volffs earlier, we're good on food through tonight if necessary."
"Tonight?" the redhead repeated with mild concern. "Are we really staying out here that long?"
"No later than tomorrow," she gave him a rough estimation, sounding unbothered in contrast. "HQ will let us know if they receive any intel that the battle's off."
As it turned out, night had indeed befallen Noah and company while they were still waiting for the colonies to show up. By now, two campfires had been set, one for the militants and the other for the liberated soldiers. With no word on a change in plans, they each took a seat and made themselves cozy for the evening. Having not previously accounted for the mission taking this long, Denize momentarily stepped away to apprise Lana of their present situation via her Iris.
"Alright, I told her not to wait up for us," the freckled Kevesi settled back down beside her partner.
"Did she have anything to say?" Fonse turned to her after poking at the burning logs with a stick.
"She sounded disappointed that we're staying up late," Denize relayed the nature of their call to him.
"Not much we can do about it," he leaned back on one arm, "since we're in a holding pattern."
"Have you three been getting along since moving into your apartment?" the former pacifist inquired of his friends from the desert.
"Yes, though it's not the same as before," the mace-wielder confessed, lamentably.
"Well, of course," Mio entered their conversation from her spot beside Noah, "she's a first-termer now."
"I mean she's kind of… bossy," Fonse specified, sharing a disconcerted look with Denize.
"Bossy… really?" the cat-eared Agnian sat up in shock. "That sweet little girl?"
"Who are you talking about?" Chickadee tossed her voice from across the campfire.
"Lana, our friend from Colony 25," the redhead brought her up to speed. "Sorry, but what's your name again?"
"Chickadee," she bowed slightly, hands together over her lap. "Guess we never got a chance to meet properly when we were still in the barracks."
"No, we didn't," he concurred, struck by her piercing, green eyes.
"Since we're all here now, why don't we get to know a little about each other?" Noah proposed to the whole circle of liberated soldiers. "We can take turns."
"You mean like… a round of introductions?" his special mate sought clarification, sounding interested. "Like what we did with my friends from Colony Rho?"
"Exactly," he nodded to her before addressing everyone else. "Whether or not we have more missions together like this, building a community is always a good idea."
"I see you've not changed at all, mate," Fonse remarked with a half-smirk, Denize now leaning against him.
"Thanks, I think…" the ponytailed soldier rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, who wants to go first?"
"You probably should," Mio urged him after nobody else said anything.
"Um, alright then," he faced her momentarily, picking his mind for something about himself to share. "I'm Noah, ninth term. It may come as no surprise to some of you, but I've never liked fighting."
"You'll fight Moebius, though," the mace-wielder lightly argued.
"In order to bring peace to all of us, yes," Noah's tone and expression both became serious.
"I'm Mio, tenth term," the zephyr followed up his opening introduction. "I used to live in fear of my consul… and my homecoming, but… I'm free now. I will forever be grateful."
"Mio…" his voice softened to a nearly inaudible level.
"I'm Alphonse, or Fonse for short, ninth term," the other male Kevesi took his turn next. "I've spent my whole life with Denize here, and technically Lana, too."
"Just like Chicky and me," Alexandria compared with a smile and an arm wrapped around her dear friend.
"Denize, like he said, also ninth term," the swordswoman begrudgingly participated in the activity, "uh…"
"Tell them about your mini succulent collection," Fonse suggested for her to share about herself.
"Nobody's gonna care about that," Denize looked at him as if he were daft.
"Nonsense!" her partner dismissed her discouragement before proceeding to expound on it to the others anyway. "She bought out the whole stock at the City's nursery."
"Fonse, stop!" she gently jabbed him, her face completely pouty now.
"I never knew you liked succulents, Denize," the former pacifist sounded intrigued by this inconsequential revelation. "Is it because of Dannagh Desert?"
"Hmph… yeah," the freckled Kevesi admitted after relinquishing her resistance.
"I'm Alexandria, seventh term," the accessorized Agnian resumed the roundtable, summoning her weapon for show-and-tell. "Check out my Blade. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've decorated it."
"That's not an upgrade?" the redhead leaned inward for a closer look.
"It's purely aesthetic," Alexandria ran her fingers along the barrel and across a few flourishing attachments. "I had some help with it from Chickadee."
"Right, that's me, also seventh term," the dark-toned girl took her cue to go next. "I like to make jewelry. Sort of taught myself back on the colony's resource team."
"Jewelry?" the swordfighter gave her his undivided attention. "What sort?"
"Oh, I dabble around," Chickadee palmed her knees, fighting a small bout of unexpected shyness. "Alex is wearing a tiara I made for her."
"Mhm, I love it," the stylish soldier expressed her appreciation, beaming at her close companion.
"I'm glad you do," the furry-eared Agnian reciprocated warmly, the two girls seemingly slipping into their own little bubble. "I put everything I had into it."
"Your efforts show," Mio likewise complimented Chickadee before she looked around the campfire. "Has everyone had a turn?"
"I haven't gone yet!" the ether-lined girl waved her hand, having been silent throughout the conversation thus far. "I'm Sena, ninth term. Um… it's important to me that I train hard every day!"
"That should come as no surprise," the moonblades-wielder started to chuckle. "The way you swing your big Blade with ease. It's impressive."
"Y-you think so?" Sena's brows rose on her unassuming face, taken aback by Mio's praise.
"I agree," Fonse gave her a dose of positivity as well. "You don't even break a sweat, and with your hair on fire, too."
"Oh, it's not fire," she shook her head at his misassumption. "It's ether, like my lines."
"Really?" the oldest soldier's ears perked up. "May I feel?"
"Uh… sure," the blue-haired Agnian nervously consented to her request. "It won't burn you." Everyone fell silent while Mio repositioned herself behind Sena to test her claim.
"You're right," astonishment colored the zephyr's face after running her fingers through the lively locks. "There's some heat, but… it's just hair. This is… quite fascinating."
"There's so much we can learn from each other," Noah declared while Mio ambled back to her spot beside him. "So many things that Moebius held back from us."
"Yeah, like music, or theatre, or…" Chickadee began to list off examples.
"Families," Mio brought up which incited a mixed reaction from Noah. "They certainly didn't want us learning about families."
"Right, I thought I knew what the word love meant, but now…" the mace-wielder rested his forehead against Denize's, "I get it."
"Huh?" she watched the Kevesi couple cuddle. "Are you two…?"
"We are," he confirmed which caused Denize to shield her now blushing face. "And you?"
"Oh, um," the suddenly abashed Agnian gave Noah a hesitant look, "I don't think we've ever really discussed it."
"But we watched you guys embracing each other back in the desert," Fonse recalled from nearly four weeks ago. "Do you not even kiss?"
"Kiss?" her face became as rosy as Denize's. "Um, on the cheek."
"What about here?" he pointed to his lips.
"On the…?" she covered her own mouth with both hands. "Well, I-I've read about it, but we've not… really…"
"You should give it a try!" Alexandria cut in with a burst of energy.
"Yeah!" the dark-toned girl seconded the encouragement. "It'll blow your mind!"
"I agree," the redhead grinned briefly, "though…"
"Hmm?" the ponytailed soldier watched consternation grow on his friend's face. "Is anything wrong?"
"It's Lana," Fonse straightened himself, ceasing his snuggling with his partner. "She keeps watching us, like we're in trouble or something."
"I hate to say it, but she's quite nosey," Denize confessed, too, after a sigh of resignation. "We only have privacy when she's ou-"
"Hold it!" the moonblades-wielder interrupted her, bringing their banter to a halt.
"Mio?" Noah watched her ears twitch to a sound which nobody else but Chickadee could pick up with theirs.
"I heard… a distant thump… a heavy one," she described to the now hushed group, "and again."
"You think it might be a Ferronis?" he whispered to her, his Blade now active, holstered, but not yet vibrating.
"I heard it, too," Chickadee concurred with Mio, both of them hardly moving a muscle.
"You can hear it from that far out?" Sena likewise spoke in a quiet voice, the air tense and still.
"Yeah." Convinced upon hearing it for a third time, Mio climbed to her feet and ran towards the other campfire. "Something's coming!"
"What's this now?" Adelene peered up to her after taking a sip from her drink. Before anything more could be said, a very light tremor caused the militants to notice. "On second thought, no need to answer. Right, everybody, prepare yourselves for action!"
"Where should we go?" the zephyr inquired what her fellow volunteers were wondering, all of them now standing.
"Much as I'd like to intercept this battle, it'd be too dangerous for us." Their boss for the mission set her sights northward where two branching paths comprised Lower Melnath Pass, including a precarious land bridge. "Our primary goal is to remove the Moebius involved, so we have to let the colonies engage each other first. Let's stay here for now, and then we'll target the enemy."
"Won't they be standing atop their Ferronises?" the former pacifist gripped his veiled sword's hilt, still feeling no vibrations.
"Certainly," she continued to envision how everything could play out. "Since we don't have altitude on them, we may have no choice but to lure them down to us."
"Colony Gamma in sight, ma'am!" one of her teammates called out, pointing to the hill on the other end of the branching paths.
"Indeed," the tall woman spotted moving ether lights before looking to the right, "which just leaves…"
"Colony 6," another militant identified the opposing party. "Looks like they jumped the gap from Berje Belt."
"So, the only remaining question is on which path they'll meet," Adelene spoke rhetorically while every abled fighter gathered around her.
As it happened, the answer was both. Frenzied Kevesis and Agnians rushed to slash at each other on the low road by Loch Ciel while heavy artillery units set up their battle lines on the land bridge. Behind each side was a Ferronis, validating Mio's earlier detection. Due to their positioning, Colony 6's was the only one within reach.
"I spy a consul up there," the mace-wielder directed everyone's attention to the deck.
"Good." Ready to intervene, the group leader gave a hand signal to one of her snipers whose sharpshooter Blade was already locked and loaded. Though the target was too far away for the shot to do actual damage, it was enough to get their attention and subsequently lure them away from the battle.
"Do you flippin' mind?!" the consul of Colony 6 caterwauled upon teleporting before Noah's group. Aside from a slightly stocky frame and a chip to his mask, this caped, red-armored man had no notable features as he walked towards the band of heroes. "Can't you see we're busy here?!"
"We see it plainly," Adelene summoned her Blade again, as did the others.
"Quite," he eyed them warily before activating his Iris for a call. "R! We've got party-crashers!"
"R? Who is…?" Noah started to ask when penumbral particles signaled the impending presence of a second foe.
"Really, now?!" This time it was the consul of Colony Gamma, a petite woman with a complex mask. "We've only just warmed up here!"
"Did you tell your commander to keep pushing forward?" the red-armored man conferred with his associate.
"Of course!" she snapped whilst staring down Noah's group, his and Mio's unique Blades in particular.
"Good!" Colony 6's consul clasped his palms together. "Then let's exterminate these pests!"
"Right!" the caped woman extended her arms with her own palms up. "Can't have them ruining our little game!"
"Just like the consuls in the Great Sword's Base," Mio gritted her teeth as the two dictators expelled a wave of purple energy. It was a scene that many of the liberated soldiers and militants had seen before, the transformation of red armor into giant, mutated Moebius bodies.
"Wha…!" the ether-lined girl's jaw was dropped at the stunning yet disgusting sight.
"Just what we seek!" the tall woman made the first move. "Shatter their cores!"
"Good luck getting close!" the male monster chided upon separating two curved parcels of his flesh which subsequently spun protectively around his torso.
"Or finding us!" the female one likewise displayed her own special power by releasing an icy mist which quickly lowered visibility.
"Where'd they go?" Fonse stopped in his tracks, shielding preemptively. "I can't even tell if they're moving!"
"Over here!" the ponytailed soldier stabbed the air near Colony Gamma's Moebius, aided by the vibrations of his Blade.
"And here!" the cat-eared Agnian likewise swung her own Blade close to Colony 6's Moebius after hearing his footsteps.
"Whoa there!" the bigger beast backed away, both he and his fellow Moebius still able to see via their Irises. "Feelin' confident, aren't we?" Seconds later, he grasped his self-made protectors and tossed them like boomerangs. While Mio dodged swiftly out of the way, others found it difficult to stay mobile through the frigid air.
"T-too c-cold…" the swordswoman stammered, teeth audibly chattering. "C-can't react… f-fast enough…"
"S-stay by me, then," the redhead stumbled in front of her with his shield out.
"We n-need to s-stay by Sena!" the accessorized Agnian suggested instead to counter the chills.
"Huh?" her heat-giving friend suddenly found herself surrounded by her allies.
"Should we even be in the same spot?" Chickadee questioned this tactic before an onslaught of hard ice chunks came their way. Fonse and a few militant defenders tried to block as many as possible, though they couldn't detect them until impact.
"Stay vigilant!" Adelene warned everybody, though they were well aware of the peril. Further attacks from the boomerangs kept them on their toes, too.
"You won't stand forever!" the Moebius of Colony Gamma taunted, watching them recoil from her wintry hazards. "We'll break you down!"
"No, you won't!" Noah surprised her with a partial swipe at her core, the first contact made on either consul of this battle.
"Gah! You… miserable miscreant!" A small puff of red motes and a wisp of penumbral matter indicated substantial damage to the female monster, further evidenced by the subsequent evaporating of her icy mist. Suddenly scared, she retreated and formed an ice slab in front of herself as a shield. "C! A little assistance!"
"On it!" The other Moebius tossed one of his boomerangs at Noah who dropped to the ground to avoid it. Seeing an opening, Mio leapt onto the enemy's hulking shoulders to gouge him on either side of his neck with both ring swords. "Raaagh! Get off me!"
"Mio!" the former pacifist likewise called to her, though it appeared that she wasn't listening. Three well-timed seconds later, however, the agile Agnian backflipped over the returning boomerang which impaled the already screaming Moebius whom she'd successfully distracted.
"He's wide open!" Mio hollered to Noah upon landing on the ground. No longer hesitant in this situation, he dashed in her wake and pierced the unprotected core.
"How could…?" the Moebius of Colony 6 helplessly watched penumbral matter spew from himself. Soon, his body and boomerangs shriveled to give way to his consul form which retained his fatal injury.
"No way…" his surviving associate watched him fade into a plume of motes. Now the only enemy left on the field, she refocused on his killers who walked intimidatingly towards her with their Blades hungry for more. "That… sword… just like they said…"
"What?" Noah relaxed neither his stance nor his grimace.
"Would rather just… pop back home… and take the flak…" she mumbled before dematerializing off the plane, ending what remained of their battle. All at once, the air was still again while noise from the warring colonies reentered the Moebius-hunters' collective conscience.
"Well done!" the group leader congratulated Noah and Mio on their triumph. "I'd expected nothing less!"
"Is everyone okay?" his response was that of worry, none of pride.
"How about yourself?" the moonblades-wielder's own concern centered on him.
"It doesn't feel so… heavy this time," the ponytailed soldier reassembled his Blade before withdrawing it.
"Perhaps you're getting used to it," she suggested like he'd been told upon his first Moebius kill a month prior.
"I suppose," her trusted partner's tone lowered, as did his gaze, "but now…
"Hmm?" Mio immediately noticed his lingering disquietude.
"The Moebius that escaped," Noah replayed the final moments of their confrontation in his head, "she seemed to recognize us… or my Blade, at least."
"Well, we have challenged several by now," she reminded him, not quite enthusiastically.
"Yeah," the former pacifist turned to her, his countenance conflicted. "I just hope… it doesn't spell trouble for us."