"Dummy. Dummy. Dummy. I'm talking to you. Dummy. Dummy. Dummy. Pay attention to me. Dummy. Dummy. Dummy."
"Mythra, leave him alone, he's trying to concentrate…"
Pyra lightly scolded Mythra, who was busy lightly bonking Frankie over the head with both her fists as he looked over a plethora of notes he had taken regarding his final.
"I'll leave him alone when he remembers I exist. It's been exactly two seconds since he looked at me." Mythra said stoically, returning to her all too important task. Pyra could barely tell if she was joking.
"You're impossible sometimes…" Pyra placed the plate she was cleaning down in defeat as she sighed in slight annoyance.
"Hey. I'm not the one who got all antsy just cuz she didn't get to spend a night alone with him…" Mythra pointed out, still bonking a completely ignorant Frankie.
"Th-that's beside the point and you know it!" Pyra raised her voice as her blushing face furrowed excitedly.
"Dummy. Dummy. Dum-"
Frankie finally shut his laptop and pulled the recliner back, and then proceeded to poke Mythra's cheek in.
"I heard you the first time, you idiot…" He said plainly.
"H-hmph… well now I don't want your attention… big stupid Dummy…" Mythra turned away with a hefty pout and cross of her arms.
"Well too bad you're getting it-" Frankie reminded as he poked her cheeks rhythmically now.
"No. I don't want it…" Her speech became progressively more and more childish the further he went on.
"Mimi. Stop. Being. A. Hecking. Toaster." He teased.
"Toaster? Where did you get THAT from?"
"You're fair and yellow. Like toast, you're a toaster in essence."
"W-well… you're just a big Dummy-Gummy! What do you think of that?!"
Rather than dignifying her response after a few moments of silence, Frankie responded by shoving his hand in her face and pushing her away. With the air briefly knocked out of her, Mythra swiped huffily his way as he kept her at bay. Pyra laughed lightly to herself, remarking on the almost absurdly childish interaction.
Mythra had always had her share of childish moments and mannerisms in the past, asking others to stop being mean to her to their faces and whatnot. But it was clearer to Pyra more than anyone else that Mythra would always retreat into herself whenever acting like that before out of insecurity.
But now there was someone she could be like that with all the time, childish, silly, annoying, no matter how she behaved it felt like Frankie found something to appreciate about it. This put a smile to Pyra's face, especially as she realized…all the same applied to her as well. They certainly couldn't act like this together in public, lest they all evaporate from the embarrassment, but in these walls, separated from the outside world…they felt a safety with each other to be this way that they'd never quite felt before.
Still…something could be said about how often Mythra wanted his affection in moments like this. But it probably wasn't anything to worry too much about-
Pyra chuckled to herself over her own train of thought before confronting Frankie.
"Is everything okay, Frankie? I felt your heart race from all the way over there…" Pyra concernedly kneeled down to his level. The young man let out a heavy sigh.
"Well… Miko and I are gonna be looking over some of the things she and Kaito found in Mexico… see if we can use that to shed some light on all this… past junk, both in and outside of this report."
"Mmmm… so you're leaving us alone for the rest of the day…? You're mean…" Mythra childishly whined. Rather than chastise her any further, Pyra merely shot Mythra a disapproving glance before turning back to face Frankie, patting his head reassuringly.
"I think what you're doing is VERY brave, Frankie… don't forget that you've got us to come home to after it's all over… and thank you for keeping us in mind even with all your papers…" She placed her hands on his cheeks comfortingly, getting Frankie to turn away shyly.
"C-come on… you're being too nice to me…"
"Oh, hush, you, I'll be as nice to you as much as I feel like it! Especially cuz your cheeks are just the most magnificent to just hold and 'comfort'!" Pyra said with a widening smile, getting Mythra to join in as well.
"See? What did I tell you? The more you touch 'em, the more relaxed you feel-" Mythra toyed with Frankie's cheeks herself, pinching and pulling just as normal while Pyra poked and prodded at them childishly.
Darn it all, he was supposed to be nervous… these two were doing way too good of a job getting him out of his funk. Still, he remained… about as vigilant a person in his position could. Red in the cheeks, and eyes shut tightly, he took their actions on the chin and remained silently stubborn about his whole ordeal, while the two ladies couldn't be happier…
And that's when the door unlocked.
"Hey, big bro, you-" Miko entered the house suddenly and turned to see the sport from behind the couch, just….. staring.
"Oh, you're right Mythra, it's incredibly therapeutic!"
"Heheheh- he's the best, isn't he~?"
Frankie grumbled stubbornly, failing to not crack a smile as the two girls' kept playing with his face.
"…are you three QUITE done…?"
At the sound of Miko's voice, the three of them halted what they were doing immediately the very moment their hearts skipped. As if nothing had even happened, Pyra and Mythra stood up tall and faced Miko with their arms tucked inconspicuously behind their backs while Frankie stayed facing away from the door.
"Yes." They answered robotically. Miko smirked as she walked forward.
"Ooookayyyy, whatever you say… I'll hire you a florist… at this point in the next two hours~"
"Shut up you ding-dang brat and come get him already…" Mythra growled.
"Oh? Well I dare say that's rather presumptuous- I don't think Kokonut would approve~"
Mythra's eyes leered open darkly, as fire seemed to engulf her entire person, Pyra turned away in a huff, deciding not to think about… whatever on earth Miko was suggesting. Red as a beet, Frankie stayed silent on the couch.
"So, big brooooo… ya done playing with your girlfriends and ready to hit the books~?"
"D-don't know who you're talking about… let's just get a move on…" Frankie scuttled out of his seat and towards the door quickly, not even bothering to make eye contact with Miko.
"H-hey, wait- don't leave without saying goodbye, Dummy!" Mythra protested.
"O-of course not…!" Frankie replied with a bow, catching Pyra's eye as he propped himself back up.
"Don't forget what we talked about, you… if you're anything like Mythra, and I know you are, you better not get too upset with yourself if things go wrong…" She warned.
'No, it'll only be what I find that'll get me upset…' He thought to himself before responding with a silent, 'yes'.
"Alright, ladies, we're off- oh, and by the by, you'll have company all the same-" Miko said as she walked out the door with Frankie.
"Wait, wha-"
"Hey big sis-sisses!" Kaito suddenly exclaimed as he came into the house himself. Pyra and Mythra could only stare in stunned silence… what on earth was happening?
…
"Okay… laptop, check, pen and paper, check, big brobro, check… phones at the ready, check-"
"Turters…?"
"Check!"
Miko and Frankie went over their supplies at least five times before sitting down on the dining room table, ready to get to work. In his anxiousness, Frankie gently pet Turters' shell with his fingers. The turtle smiled happily as it lazily retreated back into it. Miko, for her part, only frowned and moaned sadly seeing Frankie act this way.
"Frankie… you don't have to do this if you don't want to…" She advised.
"N-no… I-i do wanna… h-how else am I gonna be able to help Pyra and Mythra beyond just… existing within their vicinity…? They're… so incredible… I… I HAVE to do more for them, I have to…" Frankie admitted through baited breath.
Miko sighed. "Gosh, you two really are brothers-" she muttered almost silently to herself before continuing.
"I understand, big brother… but you're not going to be helping them or yourself mulling over all these impossible what-ifs and he said she saids that we can't prove in any sense of the word… if Pyra and Mythra saw you like this, I can't imagine they'd be very happy, would they…?" Frankie turned away sadly, breathing slightly.
"Would they…?" Miko repeated.
"M-mm mm…"
"Exactly. You're writing a paper for school. That's all this is. And we ARE going to get some answers on… all of this… for your sake and theirs, one step at a time… that sound familiar…?"
Frankie scoffed and turned in embarrassment. "S-sure… be quiet and help me feel better…"
"Oh, well I wouldn't wanna take their place, again, Kokonut wouldn't like that very much~" Miko teased with a chuckle as she lifted the phone, first and foremost, reaching into the drawer just underneath the table and pulling out the slip of paper Kari gave to her some weeks prior. She looked over at Frankie for one last reassurance, though he was too busy trying to calm himself down, keeping Turters close and muttering all three of their names silently to himself with a somewhat childish inflection.
Miko did pick up on this, smiling to herself about how these moments of being overly childish were things she saw so clearly in Mythra and -to a subtler yet still present extent- Pyra. She shook her head. "What a bunch of dorks…" she muttered.
"Hm-?" Frankie shyly looked up from Turters.
"It's nothing-" Miko refocused.
As humorous as this was, Miko knew the best way to go on with this was to just… rip it all off at once… and so she dialed the number…
Frankie's breathing seemed to match that of the rings the other line was delivering as Miko sat vigilantly, awaiting the response herself.
The short rings of the dial began to feel agonizingly long as the tension raised considerably. Miko kept her composure so as to not further worry Frankie, but even she was becoming a bit anxious.
"Hello?" An almost alien sounding voice answered from the other end. Its dry and robotic droll reminded Frankie of an ex-smoker in recovery, and just the mere thought of what the person looked like on the other end made his skin crawl… certainly one way to get his heart to stop. Miko was undeterred, answering as professionally as she could.
"Good morning, dear sir or ma'am, you know a… Kari Yama, yes?" She asked.
"Very well. What's it to you?"
"I won't beat around the bush…" Miko quickly glanced at the notes she took from what Kari told her to say, and rattled off in a spotty but very official sounding tone. "-my friend and I here are interested in learning more about this… world forgotten to time… where Blades and their Drivers fought alongside each other to maintain a delicate balance above the so-called Cloud Sea, venturing on the backs of large creatures called Titans… what can you tell us of the world up above…?"
"That all depends on what you want to know. Have your friend speak up… tell them I mean no harm."
Miko glanced over Frankie's way. The young man gulped nervously and without thinking AT ALL, just went off.
"Hiithinkwesmuggledanextinctspeciesofturtleintotheusaarewegoingtobearrestedwhatdoyouknowabouttornaorelysiumoraddamorigoorbladesanddriversthetrinityprocessornoponsgormottikingsandqueenalliancesand-"
"Young man, please slow down- I can't answer your questions if I can't understand them." The voice said. Taking a deep breath, Frankie recollected himself and kept his heart in check.
"…alright… I know these… three girls who… came from that world… I also want to spread awareness of it however I can in the near future… this is important to all of us… if-if you can't tell me everything that's fine… if a report to be written into word is all you can give me that's fine… just please help us…"
There was a long strand of silence. Frankie and Miko looked at each other worriedly as the other line seemed to grow silent… but the voice continued nevertheless.
"I'll tell you everything I'm capable of… why don't you start from the beginning, then?"
…
"So… these friends of yours… are really thousands of years old… come from a remnant of the old world once known as Alrest, have little to no memory of their past lives… and you now act as their current… 'driver', you said…?" The person on the other end of the phone asked, Frankie and Miko having explained the gist of their situation up to now. Though…something about the way the person on the other end asked that question gave the impression they somehow already knew the answer.
"I… don't like to think of myself as a Driver, but… that's the long and short of it." He shifted nervously while staring intently at the phone Miko had put onto the desk. Miko herself had her notepad at the ready, prepared to jot down as much of this information as she could.
"Mm, that's…interesting. If you don't like to think of yourself as their Driver, then…what would you say you are to them?"
Frankie was not prepared for such a follow up question, and squirmed around in his seat for a moment muttering to himself. "W-w-well I…it's uh…"
"Heyheyheyhey- let's not get off track here! We've been waiting for what felt like years for this information, save the couple talk for later!" Miko hushed them both.
Frankie and Miko could swear they heard the voice on the other end give a slight chuckle.
"Well, alright then." The voice spoke once again. "You're correct, it's about time you learned about this land…
…named Alrest."
Miko wrote that down as soon as she heard it. She considered asking for the spelling but figured this would be far from the only strange sounding term she'd never heard of that this call would provide, so she simply spelled it as it sounded to her.
Frankie for his part was practically curling his toes with how much he was clenching, almost as if he was preparing for a sock to the jaw. But…at the realization one wasn't coming, he relaxed somewhat and took notice of the almost…nostalgic tone of voice from the other end that could be heard even through the voice modulator. Almost like she was reading a storybook.
"Mm…though I suppose I should clarify, Alrest was one of two worlds created after an…incident. I'll spare you the finer details since…well to be perfectly honest many of them are beyond even myself- no thanks to… outside forces" they muttered the last part BARELY audibly.
It was hard not to weigh on every word this person spoke, it felt as though that sentence alone had at least a dozen earth shattering revelations in it.
But at this point…Frankie and Miko were used to it. For the moment they silently let the speaker continue, choosing to refrain from interrupting unless it felt appropriate.
"...but to sum up the matter, this land of Alrest itself was preceded by another. This world was in a state not dissimilar to how it currently stands. Buildings, cities, regular people living regular lives. The technology of the time was actually quite advanced, just on par with that of your world now, if not a fair bit further along."
Technology? And more advanced than now? Frankie was stunned at the prospect, but then thought about it a bit more. He recalled the fact that, across known history, there were many times when an isolated part of human culture was far more advanced than those that came after, even by hundreds of years in some cases. Those further along civilizations were too also forgotten to time for one reason or another, until uncovered far after the fact.
While it was strange to consider as such, this revelation didn't seem all too far-fetched, at least in comparison to what else they had discovered.
"And the beacon of all of that progress…was a tower stretching far beyond the sky and into the stars. A bridge between the surface of the Earth and the heavens above…as well as the orbiting space stations of humankind, of course. This tower has gone by many names over time, but the one I knew it by was…the World Tree. And at the top of it…a land named Elysium."
The voice placed a pause of emphasis on that word, having predicted Frankie and Miko's reaction to it.
"E-Elysium? But that's…" Frankie began, a bit stuttery.
"...that's where Pyra and Mythra are from, isn't it?" Miko finished his thought.
"Mm, while that is true, this tale is long and wide-reaching. I'd recommend waiting a bit further before we get tangled up in the details like a fine web." Miko and Frankie (the latter with a bit more hesitation) agreed fairly quickly to the voice's suggestion. Again, this was barely the tip of the iceberg. Miko jotted down the basics of what the voice said, including the various different names of the tower and the station atop it.
"Admittedly, that name makes this place sound more fantastical and grand than it likely was. From what I know, it was known more commonly as the First Low Orbit Station by those who created and helmed it. It was filled with scientists and researchers, all working around the clock to discover better innovations for a better world. All in a tower of progress stretching into the sky-"
"Well…that sounds wonderful, but…a little too good to be true, I take it?" Miko asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. For as much progress humankind had made at this point, the world had suffered greatly for such success. As a result, life became more fleeting, which was taking a mental toll on the people of the era, including those on the station."
"...probably because they felt responsible for…making the world a better place…" Frankie quietly extrapolated on what it seemed the voice was implying.
"A likely assertion, however I should note that is beyond my personal knowledge of the matter. But it is nonetheless clear that these people were very driven. And you could say that no one was more driven than one scientist…a man named Klaus."
Klaus.
Frankie and Miko couldn't quite explain why, but that name stuck in their minds with an air of weight.
"Now, I should say I never got to know the man myself. But Klaus was a passionate dreamer. Very passionate. Too passionate. And that passion, when combined with the Conduit, would go on to change the course of this world to such an extent that the ripples are still felt by those living today like yourselves."
"The…Conduit?" Miko spoke up.
"Ah, but you've come across the Conduit yourselves already-" the voice chirped.
"W-wait, we have? W-when? What even is it?" Frankie leaned forward as he spoke.
"...hold on, you don't mean…" Miko pondered for a moment, quickly flipping through the documents on her laptop a long while before Mythra was awakened, those ventures into Pyra's mind. At the time they were on the hunt for a particular object, what was it called…
"The monolith-" The moment Miko found the correct notes she said it out loud, drawing Frankie's attention and the voice's amusement with a chuckle.
"Indeed, that large stone tablet-like contraption that you lot set your eyes on a good few months ago now-"
"How did you know…"
"Ah-ah, I know it's unfair dear, but I can't be revealing how I know these things. Rest assured, it is one and the same. That 'monolith' as you called it is the Conduit which Klaus came across."
"And…what did this…Conduit…thing…do? Just keep things simple for us." Frankie asked, doing what he could to maintain his composure.
"Hmm…I venture that 'what' the Conduit did will be less important to you than 'how' Klaus used it. In essence, he created -what's the term- a collection of artificial intelligences to help operate the Conduit and bend it to his will. This collection of three intelligences would soon take on a new life of their own, they were…the Trinity Processor."
A beat of dead silence washed over the table this time.
"I take it you've come across that term yourself."
"Y-yes…that's what Pyra and Mythra originated as…or…that lady Frankie, you mentioned her…"
"Pneuma." Frankie responded very blankly without even waiting for Miko to answer. She nervously continued.
"...yeah, her. So then…that means…"
"Yes, yes dear. Your friends, or more accurately, the person who would eventually go on to create them, was a part of the Trinity Processor that Klaus had made to use the Conduit in order to carry out his will."
"...and…what was that will? You mentioned…the worlds being split in two?" Miko asked.
"I did. And apologies that this is bluntly put, but I simply do not know much of anything about this 'other world' Klaus created, merely that it theoretically exists. I came into being far before you children, but it was still after the worlds had been split."
Miko tapped her pen to her lips. "Huh. That's sure peculiar."
"You are…far less surprised about this information than I assumed you'd be."
"Hm? Well I mean, maybe if Kokonut hadn't drilled every sci-fi, multiverse series he knew about into my head, I'd probably be more shocked at the concept. But frankly, once we got to accepting the existence of this fantastical Elysium place and all that, everything else kinda feels more mundane. Especially if you don't actually have much information on that other world."
"Hm. I suppose that makes sense. You're quite the resilient one, aren't you?"
"Charmed, but keep going. I don't know for sure why, but I doubt we have too much time left."
"Right you are. But I do believe we have some of the most important and imposing things out of the way, already… shall we continue on…?"
Miko hummed and nodded assuredly. Frankie had been relatively silent for the past few moments.
"I-I've also heard about this phenomenon… Ouroboros…? What's that…?" He asked, nervously scratching the table.
"Ouroboros? What kind of books have you been reading, young man? There IS no such thing."
Frankie and Miko could SWEAR they could hear some particularly violent cursing on the other end under the person's breath. They recollected themselves and explained just for a bit more.
"No- that doesn't need to be a part of our discussion- not unless you've got your head stuck up your rear end trying to prove an ultimately meaningless point… that point being birthed by a fairy tale, mind you…"
"Er… I guess not…" Frankie shuffled in his seat again, relieved, but embarrassed. Their silence was the cue for the person to get back on track.
"To continue, as you're no doubt vaguely aware, there were massive creatures living amidst the people of this land long past, called Titans. Within time, however, these continental creatures began to die out, falling into the Cloud Sea. And so, in an effort to preserve the habitats they had cultivated, the people living on each Titan worked together to combine each of the towering beasts into one unified land. And that, dearies, is what would eventually become the world you and I exist in today."
"Phew…that is a lot to wrap one's head around, I tell you…" Miko panted slightly as she frantically finished up her notes.
"But… but that doesn't explain why the remnants of that world are… so few and far between!" Frankie exclaimed. "All these gems and metals and fabrics- paintings, animals- so spread across the world that the mere thought of it might just make me explode!" After letting out his thoughts in one final scream, he took a big, deep breath, and planted himself onto the table, breathing heavily, but satisfied to get such a ponder out of his system.
"Now, now, son, let's slow it down a bit. I know this is a lot and difficult to take in… but just listen to me for a while longer… you're helping yourself understand this world as much as you're helping them, are you not?"
Miko looked at Frankie expectantly. The man swallowed nervously and muttered out a nervous "mm hmm" as the woman continued.
"Very good… now then, why don't we discuss those artifacts a bit further… your friend tells me that you have an ancient scribe that's… locked, shall we say?"
Miko uttered a tiny squeak as Frankie slowly turned to face her suspiciously.
"No… you just did…" He replied, his brow furrowing.
"B-big brother, I'm sorry… I-Kaito and I meant to tell you, honestly, but you were just so-"
"Now, now, both of you simmer down… if you could just explain to me exactly what the text of this book describes- at least what you're able to read, I'll be more than happy to shed some light on its deeper contents."
Frankie and Miko continued staring in tense silence at each other. Miko didn't avert her gaze, however. She continued to look up at the significantly taller Frankie, nervous and apologetic, but understanding and pressing all the same was what her face was painted with. Frankie, on the other hand, did begin to falter… he looked away as his disappointed scowl lessened barely noticeably, and a second or two after that, his entire demeanor shifted from upset to just… scared. He could feel his heart beating fast and a cold sweat ran down his neck.
Was he going back to square one all over again? WHAT on earth was this book hiding? WHY did Miko and Kaito say nothing about it? Who should he even be mad at? It wasn't like they could have done much about it. As all those thoughts swam messily in his head, Miko's expression changed as well. The pressure the current situation put them both in, she knew was already getting to him, and she could see all the torment he was putting himself through on top of that. Enough was enough, someone had to start so she might as well.
"In this book is the story of Addam Origo… the hero king of Tantal… known far and wide those millenia ago as the first Driver of the Aegis…" Frankie winced and tightened a grip on himself. Miko glanced his way quickly and continued as dutifully as ever. "He was witness to the fall of Torna and left a legacy unlike any other in his wake… much to live up to… but he was a family man through and through just as much as say, your next door neighbor- wife, child, the whole world. But one way or another, it IS because of him we're talking to you at all. So, if you please, we have a TROVE of secrets and artifacts we wish to discuss, and if there's more that this Addam wishes to share but can't due to this-this CORPORATION, PLEASE… help us. Genuinely. Truly. Help us…"
"…please…" Frankie finished in a slight whisper.
"…"
It was faint, but Frankie and Miko heard the frantic clicking of keys from the other end of the phone. Their breaths synchronized with the other as each and every tap meant that they'd be one step closer to answering so many questions at once. Perhaps not all of them… but enough nevertheless. They typed… and typed… and typed… and then…
CLICK!*
The sound came not from the phone, but the book itself. Miko flipped to the back and watched, alongside Frankie, as the seal that locked so much more of the story hidden within suddenly began to fade away before their very eyes as if it were magic!
"¿Q-que sucede…?"
Miko gently shushed Frankie's question as the locking label completely disappeared, leaving the two young adults to stare at each other in silent awe… without thinking, they both tore open the book and flipped open the pages, scanning them quickly and hastily to see just what exactly had been unveiled. Pictures of people, pictures of places that not even Pyra and Mythra ever seemed to recall showed up where they weren't before. There was figure text further explaining the stories written down in the book and walls of text that had Miko on the edge of her seat, and Frankie's brain regrouping in a wave of excitement, his heartbeat still failing to slow down.
"Addam was a caring man. For his people, his family, and the world with which he lived in. Leaving out so many details so fruitlessly is far from his forté, and whoever tried to bury that under this false claim of ownership is a complete and utter fool. We may not find everything you're looking for… but perhaps we can piece together what we need for the time being…"
What followed was a fairly smooth back and forth, where Frankie and Miko would ask the mysterious yet very helpful caller on the other end of the line about the various artifacts they had collected. While the caller was not able to answer every single question about every single artifact, what she was providing was far more than either of the two could have hoped for.
For his part, Frankie was becoming more and more invested and actually enjoying himself, something he was not expecting from the start of this call, and he found himself wondering why. Was it the feeling of relief at no longer being so completely in the dark regarding all this information? Was it the fact that he felt like he was truly engaging in the field of archaeology? Was it that this voice on the other end was far more playful and pleasant to converse with than he had imagined? Perhaps all three were true.
Eventually, the conversation spread to the topic of core crystals.
"I… I know that core crystals are special… they're representative of the bond that Blades have with their Drivers… I'm not entirely sure what that means but…"
"But Pyra and Mythra were so ready to awaken to you any way, weren't they…~?" Miko raised an eyebrow, while Frankie tightly shut his eyes in a flustered mess.
"B-be that as it may… theirs is the only one I've ever come across… by complete accident, as well…"
"Mm hmm… but Mexico was filled with a lot of hidden secrets… was it not?" The voice pointed out.
"So… you're saying all these metals and shiny things could be core crystals too?" Miko asked, lifting a few in her hands and letting them sift through her fingers.
"Core crystals have a very particular design and aura around them. A lump of gold, as pretty as it may be, is still just a lump. Too big or too gangly to be considered anything of the sort…"
"Well… Pyra and Mythra's are… flat…ish, shiny… I remember that she was warm to the touch before I awakened her. And she'd be speaking to me, I guess…? That droning humming before we were alone wouldn't be anything else would it?"
Interference over the phone cut out the voice's pondering sigh before it responded directly to Frankie.
"And the shape?"
"A cross. A bright, shining green cross. Though, I suppose I shouldn't give myself all the credit… what we thought was just a cross was just a gift Kaito found…" Frankie admitted. The voice clicked its tongue in intrigued harmony.
"I see… so they've made a direct choice…" it muttered. Before either of them could press further, the voice redirected back to the original topic. "Now then… have you anything that bears similarity to what you're describing?"
Miko's mouth parted slightly as she reached into her shirt and pulled out the gleaming gemstone Kaito got her in Mexico- now made into a necklace. Its iridescent blues and pinks sparkled faintly and transfixed Miko to its appearance… so simple yet so detailed. The shine even caught Frankie's eye, and now both of them were staring at the same artifact with equal amounts of intensity and intrigue.
"…did you do anything special to awaken Big Sis Pyra…?" Miko asked Frankie, clearly thinking the same thing he was.
"You really think your necklace could be a core crystal?"
"I do… I can't explain why, but I do… it just… I can feel it in my chest- like something is growing out of it- begging to be let out…" Miko held the necklace with the gem above her head, trying to see it from all angles.
"Well… I didn't really do much of anything… I just… kept it close and then she showed up when we were alone…"
Miko raised her eyebrows up at Frankie, giving him the cue to leave the room. In a small scramble, Frankie did as indicated and went upstairs. Even the voice stayed completely still and silent as the small woman stared down at her artifact, determined and focused to an almost terrifying degree. She concentrated hard… took a deep breath… pressed it close to her forehead…
Nothing.
She pressed it close to her chest.
Nothing.
Her stomach, her palm, her wrist. She even tried to call out to it with a strange incantation that sounded like the most primeval of tongues. Everything remained fruitless.
WHY? She asked herself.
Frankie eventually came down after a bit, and in sudden frustration, Miko pushed the gem into Frankie's own grasp and… 'silently' trudged herself upstairs to let Frankie attempt it. He examined it, caressed it, looked deep into every last fault of the crystal… and nothing all the same. He and Miko would alternate, both in the room, both away from the room after trying again with the other, they even tried taking the phone upstairs when going back to square one. Everything resulted in failure.
"GRAAAHHHH! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COME PYRA WOKE UP OUT OF THE BLUE LIKE IT WAS A THING TO DO?! WAS SHE JUST THAT THIRSTY FOR YOU THAT SHE COULDN'T HELP HERSELF?! I'M PLENTY ATTRACTIVE MYSELF!"
"TH-THAT'S NOT THE REASON AND YOU KNOW IT!" Miko and Frankie found themselves in a flustered cacophony of screams and denial as the two went back and forth trying to explain themselves… after a good five minutes, the voice interjected.
"You two, we aren't getting anywhere with this… now, there are two things that we can chalk up to this experience… one- Blades choose their Drivers as much as Drivers choose them. Neither of you are this Blade's choice, evidently. You're free to try again with this little Kaito friend of yours, but who's to say he'd have much of an effect himself? Or two… it isn't a core crystal… plain and simple…"
Frankie and Miko settled down and slumped over in their chairs, more disappointed now than anything. Both of them had a hard time trying to continue the conversation, where to even take it next… then Frankie blurted out something rather unusual.
"…Maybe there's a third option…"
Miko shifted her gaze to Frankie again, allowing him to continue.
"That old world is gone… all its remnants are scattered seemingly across the globe… and what's found where is so specific that I don't think it's much of an accident either. This book being locked away- HIDDEN away, at that, the geographical mix-up that seems to still be happening, even to this day. And with everything as jumbled up as it is… either the Aegis' powers are weakening or all this tampering with the past is affecting the Aegis' powers thusly. Core crystal or not, the intricacies of this gem are too specific to just be simply blown into existence by a mere man or woman… there's something bigger going on here… but I'm not entirely sure what to do about it…"
There was a pause in the voice's speech before it responded.
"Young man, if I may be so bold in asserting… for someone who claims to know so little, you speak so diligently of this time, it'd be easy to assume you've had first hand experience in it-"
Frankie jolted himself up the moment the person prodded on, and Miko looked over to the taller man, her eyes narrowing slightly, trying to read exactly what thoughts were wandering around his mind at the moment. Indeed, Frankie's face gave off a flurry of expressions, his mouth moved from side to side frantically while his brow twitched nervously, winking one eye after another as if he tried to ask himself if he was okay to go on… and after just another moment or two of thinking… he gave his response.
"Not… necessarily…" he admitted. "But I will tell you what I know, myself… the world of Alrest is a veritable paradise beyond your wildest recognition… technology and nature seem to dance together in perfect harmony- there IS no time period with which the world exhibits it's… it's own space entirely… creatures from the past… wandering with those that would still be known today one way or another… some of the most colorful people you'll ever meet… living each day to the fullest… the rough and tough Gormotti, the stout but ever so dedicated and sturdy Nopon… Blades both animal and human- they lived like angels lived…! Far beyond the sky and away from the sins of earth's common man down below- working in tandem with the old and the new day in and day out… I… I think I can say… that's the world I want people to know exists… not just for Pyra and Mythra's sake… but for those who lived alongside them… there's is a story that shouldn't be tampered with or fogged to create a humorous or devastating narrative… everyone deserves to know the truth… that's why I want to further my studies in this field… and they helped me realize that. I don't know how or if I even CAN fix all this junk that's been happening to their world- but if there's one thing I know that THEY want, it's to become human… I don't know what the hell that even means but it's important to them! It's important to Mythra! To Pyra! It's probably doubly important to Pneuma! So I'm not slowing down on any of this or any of what I will do for nothing or nobody! They at the very least deserve that, and I know that to be true!"
Frankie barely realized how much his body language had shifted over the course of this speech. Going from timid and uncertain, fiddling with his thumbs and looking to the side, to shutting his eyes in a state of complete zen as he describe the world further and further to outright slamming his fist on the table, tapping it harshly with his long index feature, and shouting angrily but confidently from that same nervous place that seemingly took total control of his heart in most cases… this was not one of those cases.
A hushed silence filled the room. Miko blinked quickly as he finished and couldn't help but laugh to herself a bit… for as squeamish as he could be, that burning passion of his still managed to shine on through… so proud to be his baby sister, she thought… and absolutely perfect for the two of them. Even the person on the phone was stunned speechless. The ticking clock was the only bit of noise that sounded the room and forced Frankie to clear the air with a gulp and a clear of his throat.
"…w-was it something I said…?" He picked at his lip.
"Heh… no complaints here, big brother… you and I are finally starting to speak the same language~" Miko applauded. The person on the phone let out a hoarse laugh before answering Frankie itself.
"As a matter of fact it was… and I do believe you're privy to learn more of what I'm able to tell you. Something that Addam and these books aren't able to. But that's going to put the responsibility of spreading this word solely on your shoulders… are you willing to take that chance?"
"I'm… not sure how much of an impact I'll make… but with a classroom full of free thinkers… I think I can do it."
"You heard the man, mister or missus! Lay it on the line for us!" Miko demanded as she once again took a pen and paper in hand.
Letting out a coarse laugh, the voice answered with an easy question.
"Well, first off, your turtle… potentially smuggled in you said~?"
"Errr…" Frankie's heart sank as he searched for an answer.
"Don't worry. By your own description it sounds like you're in the possession of a Pygmy Tardigrade Tortoise. Functionally extinct, sadly… but they have been known to lie dormant for hundreds… even thousands of years, by drastically altering their own body temperature!"
"N-no fooling…? Guess that's where the name comes from…" Frankie and Turters each blinked slowly at each other, now he was shaking with excitement, holding a living fossil in his very own hands… the secrets he could possess… and unfortunately never tell due to still being a turtle… oh well. "D-do you think maybe traces of his past are hidden in… in the shell, so to speak? Microscopic traces-?"
"I think that's a LITTLE too farfetched, big brother…"
"Mrm… wouldn't hurt to look…"
"This book is yours now, you two. What you do with it and the knowledge we've uncovered is completely up to you…" The voice was about to leave on their own, but they heard Frankie's heavy yet excited breath very clearly on the other end. "You have more you wish to ask, now don't you?"
"Of course I do! For example, were all these races of people analogous to Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals in the last Ice Age? How closely connected are the Gormotti to the every day human? Why are some Blades more animal than man and vice versa? What species did Nopon evolve from? What was the structure of the Cloud Sea and why could all these Titans, with all these settlements and creatures and people living on their backs swim so freely through it? Could some of them be cryptids? Have they been alive this whole time? What are we-"
The voice laughed the heartiest it had in the whole call, and tried its best to stop Frankie in his tracks before he lost himself even further.
"You ARE an eager sort, young man! Ahhh… if these peers of yours are as free thinking as you say they are… I imagine you'll be quite the driving force yourself… paving way for something just as great as Addam did before you…"
"Hear that, big brother~? She's comparing you to a king… though I suppose with how much Pyra and Mythra shadow you, it wouldn't be the first time~"
"W-w-b-but I-I-" Frankie was torn and looking between both the phone and a horribly smug Miko, unable to speak once more, but the mystery person was happy to lift him out of his disturbance.
"You have your pen and paper or laptop and printer at the ready, don't you…?"
"…yEs…" he squeaked.
"Well then… let's go over those questions one last time… class is in session."
"O-o-okay! Y-yeah! Let's! …but please don't compare me to him again…"
With a few more hearty laughs and friendly jabs, Frankie and Miko were on a roll, already imagining Frankie up on stage at his podium, sharing his presentation with his class in the weeks to come. Winter was fast approaching, finals would be due sooner than either anticipated, and there was no time like the present. Frankie locked in to every single word that the voice gave him and went off as furiously as a bullet at his workstation, with Miko chiming in every so often to keep him on track and away from a point he'd drag too much on. The day had certainly taken a turn, and yet… even despite their failure to really uncover the mystery of her necklace, Miko couldn't help but stare at it once again. No longer like a pretty piece of jewelry… but a veritable time capsule, if it really WAS a core crystal… if what all the voice had said was true, and she was confident it was, it certainly wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility… and with Frankie working so hard behind the screen, she knew that everything, eventually, would all work out only for the best.