Chapter 22: Veils of Pretense

A/N: Moving right along, it seems the goodies are still gone.

Mòrag didn't curse aloud, but it was a very near thing.

The Torna member, Mikhail, already had a weapon to Rhodri's neck. And the man had the poise — if you could call something like this poise — of someone who had taken hostages before and knew how to leverage that position.

Scanning the abandoned mining camp around them again, the two Carraig Drivers sent as protection detail for Rhodri were still nowhere to be found.

"Don't make any rash moves," Brighid whispered furiously to Rex. "We need Rhodri alive,"

Not entirely true, as they might be able to make do without him, but they needed every advantage they could to make this mission go smoothly and in a timely manner.

She heard Rex practically growl out an annoyed, "I know." Considering his history with Torna, that was likely the best she would get.

Irritatingly, Mikhail smirked at their reactions and he focused his attention on Rex. "Hey kid, you're looking at me like I've gone and chucked your favourite toy into the Cloud Sea. All I did was knock you and your Blade around some."

"You used me! I trusted you and you used me!"

Mikhail raised his eyebrow. "And whose fault is that? Besides, it was just salvager business at the end of the day. And look! You're already back up, and it's not even been a week." He shook his head as if in wonder "You kids grow up so fast."

"You're not going to get a rise out of me," Rex bit out. "Not this time."

Thank the Architect that Rex could learn from his mistakes. She gave a quick, discreet hand signal to Brighid while Mikhail's focus wasn't on her, and felt an affirmative through their affinity link, as Brighid discreetly took one of the whipswords. Just in time for Mikhail to put his attention back on her again.

Mòrag glared in response as he eyed her up and down. "Surely tossing you for a dip in the hot springs isn't enough to deserve a glare that harsh, is it? I figured you would've relaxed after that. That's what hot springs are for."

Her eyes narrowed, and her grip tightened on her whipsword. "Hundreds of my countrymen are dead because of Torna's actions."

He shrugged while keeping a tight grip on Rhodri, the glowing blade of that war fan never leaving his neck. That war fan wasn't the weapon he had used when he extracted the Aegis. Did he have another Blade, and were they and his original one nearby?

"Wasn't me, your special inquisitorialness," the man chided teasingly. "I'm just the mechanic of this whole operation. You're pointing fingers at the wrong guy."

"I'm sure those who died at the Jakolo Inn would disagree."

He raised an eyebrow in response. "Wouldn't have happened if you'd just left us alone."

"I think you know why I could not." Mòrag glanced around again. "My men stationed here. Where are they?"

"They've just been knocked out and tied up with their Blades. Still alive." He hefted Rhodri, which was an impressive feat of strength given the Gormotti man's size. "Your friend can even confirm it for you."

Rhodri sighed, a very weary sounding sigh. "He speaks the truth, Inquisitor."

"See?" The smile and smug tone was cavalier, but there was something put upon about it. Like an act. "Nothing to worry about."

Of course with the blade of the war fan at his neck, there was no evidence that Rhodri wasn't being forced to agree with him.

Mòrag scoffed. "That you don't dare face us without holding him hostage doesn't add validity to your claim. You have no moral high ground to stand upon."

"Heh. Can you blame me? You wouldn't have even given me the time of day without a little collateral, am I right?"

He was likely right, of course.

"Possibly," she conceded, "and yet this has done nothing to change my opinion of you."

"Like I've got to impress you." His ever present smirk turned to a scowl. "Besides, you talk about morals, but it's all talk. You've done some seriously messed up stuff as Inquisitor, haven't you? All for the 'greater good' of your empire."

"I am no sycophant, but what I do, I do for Niall's dream of a better world. Now enough of this prattle," Mòrag spat. "What is it that you want?"

"Oh I want plenty." Mikhail waggled his eyebrows, that obnoxious smirk back on his face. Mòrag resisted the urge to gag. "But this is simple. You all are here for Lora. For the 'Driver of the Aegis.'"

"We're here because of Brionac," Mòrag deflected, still looking for an opportunity to free Rhodri. Despite his outwardly flippant and disgustingly provocative attitude, Mikhail hadn't slipped up at all. Curse him.

He laughed aloud. "You actually think I'd believe that? Even the illustrious Flamebringer wouldn't take on the thousands of troops in Dagas' camp with just you and the kid over there." He shook his head. "Besides, your turncoat here already spilled. You're here for a chat, and maybe even an extraction."

"And?' Rex challenged. "So what if we are?"

"As it turns out, so am I."

And to her utter surprise, he let go of Rhodri, pushing the man stumbling away.

With a surge of their affinity link, Mòrag signaled Brighid, who had surreptitiously been creeping around to get closer to Mikhail. In tandem with each other, her whipsword and Brighid's carved two furrows into the dry ground, two walls of blue flame leaping up in their wake, separating Mikhail and Rhodri further, and narrowing Mikhail's area of escape. Brighid clenched her hand into a fist and the flames curled around the Torna operative, trapping him within.

Or so she thought.

Within a moment, his form — highlighted by the light of the blue flame — back flipped gracefully out of the fiery enclosure, far higher than any Driver without their Blade should have been able to.

There was the bark of Rex's hidden rifle on his greatsword, and a piercing bullet of flame ether soared towards Mikhail's chest, the man still midair. It should have hit him dead center of mass and knocked him out of the air, but at the last second, the ether projectile seemed to curve around the man as he twisted around it.

He landed smoothly, rolling to the side to bleed off momentum and jumped to his feet, almost like a dance in a performance. But Mòrag was on him almost as soon as he landed. Bending Brighid's flames around her, she charged through the blazing circle to give herself cover as Brighid tossed her the other whipsword through the flames. But Mikhail was ready for her attack, deftly dodging her jabs even as he weaved in strikes with those war fans.

She disengaged, hopping backwards after her latest strike, whipswords at the ready as she carefully eyed the man.

"See what I mean?" He said as they began circling each other, eying for breaks in their defense. "Man, and here I was hoping that you'd at least try to be civil after I released the hostage."

Mòrag didn't grace him with a response. He must have known that his actions would have led to this, especially without giving them any demands for the release of Rhodri. Her eyes flicked over to the large Gormotti man, thankful to see Rex and Azurda helping him, before focusing back to Mikhail.

"No response?" He tilted his head, seeming to relax his guard as he used one of the war fans to beckon her forward. "If you want to dance, let's just get back to it, Inquisitor. Work that anger out of you. The ladies always say I'm a good partner for that."

Even with the obvious bait, Mòrag's hand twitched on the hilts of her whipswords, but she held back. Without his Blade here, why would he risk fighting them? And with his hostage gone, he should be outmatched. Why did he seem so confident in a drawn out engagement?

"Enough of your game," Brighid taunted. "You're outmatched. You may have caught Lady Mòrag off guard back at the capital, but there are no such tricks here. Without your Blade, you're powerless against the strongest Driver and Blade in the Empire."

Ah, good. It seemed Brighid was following her line of thinking as she tried to bait him out.

Both she and Brighid knew that Blade weapons — as those war fans must be, now that she had seen them close up — could store ether energy. Energy he would have used deflecting Brighid's flames and Rex's attack. If they could bait him into an attack, that stored energy would run out, so long as the Blade whose weapons those were wasn't around.

"Not gonna happen, Torch-head," Mikhail taunted, and she felt Brighid bristle at the derogatory nickname. "We could run in circles all night, but I know you won't. Your mission's too time sensitive for that. So let's all calm down and chat like good little boys and girls."

She was tempted to rush him again right there, because surely she could overwhelm him, and drain his weapons of their remaining energy. Burn out the contagion and danger to her country that this Torna operative represented right then and there.

"Lady Mòrag?" Brighid whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. An unsubtle prompt to follow through with her thought, her affinity link trembling with the desire to do just that. She clenched her fists, but subtly shook her head.

"So are we gonna talk now," Mikhail called, "or do we need to go another round on the dance floor?"

"And what exactly," she bit out, "is there for us to discuss?"

"Well, before you interrupted me," he began twirling one of his war fans around in his hand, "I was going to suggest that our reasons for being here really weren't so different. 'Enemy of my enemy is my friend' kind of deal."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Neither of us like Dagas. I don't really care what happens to your empire, but he's crossed some lines." In a smooth motion, he clipped the twirling war fan to his side, and extended his right hand towards them. "So, what say we put our differences aside for the noble goal of rescuing the world's most wanted women?"

Mòrag's eyes narrowed. She had seen the photo of the Driver of the Aegis and Malos inside Dagas' camp. Had Mikhail not been a part of that? She was missing something.

"And what assurance," she voiced carefully, "would we have that you and your fellow operatives already in Dagas' camp wouldn't turn on us? That you would not simply expose us to the enemy to be rid of a thorn in your side?"

His hand dropped a little, and she barely caught him muttering, "Seriously? Not even after a cool line like that?"

She raised one of her whipswords, pointing it directly at him. "Speak clearly, or I will incinerate you where you stand."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you can," he explained like he was speaking to a petulant child. "But what good would that do you? What kind of impression would killing a friend of the Driver of the Aegis do for your precious chance at diplomacy with her?"

So he and Lora were more than just allies of convenience? Or was he bluffing? This was getting cumbersome very quickly.

"If you truly wish for a partnership, what are you offering? Or are all your alliances built on such weak foundations?"

"Alright, I'll throw you a bone or two." He tapped his finger to his chin in a way that seemed to show he was thinking, but Mòrag felt it was an act. "For one, the place is heavily guarded. I've already done my own scouting and it doesn't look great. It won't be easy getting in without your Gormotti ticket."

"I am aware of that. What else?"

"Fine, how about this? Dagas would probably just as soon kill me, even if I handed you to him on a silver platter. Guy's got a grudge with me the size of the World Tree. I don't think we could work together if we tried. And his ego? I mean, come on, 'Lord of the Wastes?' Who comes up with stuff like that?"

Interesting. If this was true, it would be mutual destruction for both if either revealed their identities while infiltrating the camp. However...

"And your comrades?" she pressed.

"They're not going to be happy to see you, but I'm sure getting them out of prison would put you in their good graces. For now."

So some of them had been captured? If Dagas was using them to push the Driver of the Aegis to work with them, then it would be easier to get her to cooperate if Mòrag at least promised to free them.

But that didn't explain one thing. "Perhaps, but what of Malos?"

She saw his face momentarily scrunch up in confusion, though he recovered quite quickly. "What about him?"

"My latest intelligence has him, the Aegis and her Driver roaming with some freedom throughout the camp."

He muttered something incomprehensible, and ran his free hand through his hair. "I'll handle him, so long as our 'mutual benefactor,'" he threw a thumb over to Rhodri, who was rubbing his neck where the war fan had grazed it, "can get me in too. I'll even throw in a good word to Lora. Maybe she'll even be willing to talk to you after that stunt you pulled if I smooth things over."

It was a tempting offer, and could ease Rex's own mission of diplomacy, but her own mission to protect him — and perhaps sabotage operation of the camp while she was there — would be harder if she was stuck rescuing other members of Torna.

Brighid leaned up close to her, the warmth of her hand coming to rest on her shoulder. "Lady Mòrag, you're not seriously considering this, are you?"

"Despite his initial approach," Mòrag whispered back, "this could prove a useful way to gain more intel on the Torna operatives. The situation with Brionac and the Aegis and her Driver will still be our main priority, but…"

Brighid sighed deeply. "Just be careful. I don't trust him, and the empire cannot stand to lose you, especially not right now."

"I know."

She eyed the man across from him, arms crossed, and beginning to look impatient, despite the carefree outer attitude. There was much that could go wrong in the interim with this entire operation if she allowed him to come along. Not to mention the nightmare she would face in the Imperial Senate if it got out that she had worked with terrorists, Torna especially.

But as much a threat as Torna was, they paled to the immediacy of the threat that Brionac posed to the empire, especially with the Aegis and her Driver under their thumb. If the empire could instead get in her good graces, then perhaps the tragedy that befell Alrest during the Aegis War wouldn't repeat itself on the Ardainian Titan.

She slowly sheathed her whipswords at her side, watching Mikhail closely for any untoward moves. When he made none, she took her hands off the hilts.

"Very well, I will accept your terms. I will free your comrades if you can get us to the Driver of the Aegis. I will also aid you in her escape, provided you cooperate and do not sell us out to the enemy." Her eyes narrowed. "But know that if you go back on your word, the empire will hunt you for the remainder of your days."

He made a two fingered salute. "Wouldn't dream of it, your inquisitorialness. Pleasure to be working with you."

Jin brushed his fingers through one of two large piles of blackened ash on the floor of an undercity apartment, the smell of dark element ether tinging the air with an acrid, almost acidic stench. Wiping the ash on his cloak, he stood, eying the dark stain of dried blood on the wall.

"Is friend Jin sure this what we looking for?"

He glanced over to the Nopon, about as far away as he could be and still be in the same room.

His small arm rested over his nose, deliberately not directly looking at what remained of a human.

Jin took in the Nopon's squeamishness, unimpressed. "This is Perceval's handiwork alright. Black ash is a trademark of the 'Eater of Men.'"

So assuming the intel was correct, at least for now, the Bloody Lobsters were in the Alba Cavanich.

"Wait, he eat them?!" Tora practically squeaked, hopping back even further away as his arm went off his nose, acrid smell forgotten at the thought of being 'devoured.'

Jin sighed. "Not In a literal sense. It's just one of his monikers. He cuts his targets in two with a single blow, and then allows the body to be broken down by dark-element ether, until nothing but black ash remains. All in the name of meting out 'justice.'"

It was an impressive show of ether control, as most bodies, both of humans and monsters would leave nothing behind when killed with such a powerful ether attack. It hadn't stopped Malos from calling it stupid when he'd seen it.

Malos scoffed. "They should have been caught years ago, leaving behind evidence like this"

"And your own 'hallmark' of leaving glassed craters behind?"

Of course, it was more about sending a message. Sure, it was obvious who did it, but then, when everyone had access to the services of the Bloody Lobsters, it became a political guessing game of who had enough reason and money to order the hit.

Human nonsense, all of it.

"Jin sure it not just remains of a burned body?" Poppi asked, bringing him back to the present. She seemed to take the scene of death in stride, though Jin didn't know if it was due to a lack of programming on how to handle it or something else.

"Yes." He gestured to the living area around them. "Look around the place. What do you see?"

Poppi carefully scanned the small flat, turning her head one way, before cupping her hand around her eyes, squinting as her 'pupils' contracted unnaturally. "Poppi sees nothing out of the ordinary besides black ash on floor and blood on wall. Décor is inferior to Masterpon's." Her 'pupils' dilated again, and she focused back on Jin. "Otherwise, it seem like ordinary room."

"Exactly," Jin responded. "Besides a few disturbed items and the blood, it's intact. If the body was burned, the smell of scorched flesh would permeate the area. Bones also take a much higher temperature to incinerate; at those temperatures, this room would be in shambles."

"Friend Jin seem oftly familiar with burned bodies," Tora muttered quietly.

Jin looked impassively down at the Nopon. "I've seen the worst of what humanity has to offer. Looting and pillaging as the world burns." He glanced over at the black ash remaining, and with something approaching pity in his voice, said, "You're lucky this wasn't you."

The Nopon audibly gulped. "Friend thinks it will happen to Tora?"

"It would have already happened, had your Blade not stopped Perceval's first blow in Torigoth."

"Poppi could not allow it," she assured them both. "Would have been terrible for Poppi to have less than week of memories with Masterpon."

Jin made a low grunt that could have passed for an affirmation.

After having the Nopon tag along with his investigation into the Bloody Lobsters and hearing more of Tora's story, it was plainly obvious to Jin that the young Nopon should have died years ago. Nothing short of sheer dumb luck had helped him survive long enough to build Poppi.

"So, um," the Nopon nervously shifted back and forth on his stubby feet, "putting aside very gruesome death, Tora wonders, what exactly do Bloody Lobsters do?"

"You don't even know what the group that's trying to kill you does?"

"Should Tora know?" Tora asked. "Tora knows they some cross-Titan gang that have loan sharks, but otherwise Tora have no idea."

At this point, even having spent less than a day with the Nopon, Jin was beginning to be less and less surprised.

"The Bloody Lobsters," Jin began, "started life over five-hundred years ago as a mercenary group from Coeia that specialized in assassinations." He noticed Poppi's hand shot up, and Jin waited a moment for her to speak, but she didn't. "Did you have something to say?"

"Poppi does not know that Titan: Coeia." She tilted her head, sending the cap flopping to the side. "Is one of the small ones?"

"No. It was one of the great nations of Alrest, famed for its mining and gemstones. But it was sunk beneath the cloud sea during the Aegis War. Of course, even after that, the influence of the Bloody Lobsters remained strong throughout Alrest because of the draw for their 'unique custom.'"

"Their assassinations?" Poppi asked.

Jin nodded. "Exactly. Sometime after the fall of Coeia, they picked up a powerful Blade. Ruthless in his craft, the Blade became known as 'The Heartless Judge,' and became feared throughout the criminal underworld of Alrest."

"And no one try to stop them?" Tora asked. "No hero swooshy-swoop in and save the day?"

"Plenty tried, and some even succeeded in killing his Drivers, but none ever managed to wrest the Blade out of the hands of the group. It's the sad tale of many Blades."

Blades forced to kill for their masters for generations, never able to truly make a life outside of what was decided for them. In that sense, he pitied Perceval.

"That is very sad story for Perceval," Poppi agreed, "but Poppi still doesn't understand. Why did Bloody Lobsters target Masterpon?"

"Why indeed?" Jin wondered aloud. They wouldn't have dispatched Perceval personally unless they wanted the Nopon dead.

Having temporarily dealt with the Bloody Lobsters in Torna's bid for core crystals, Jin knew something of their modus operandi. So why would their loan sharks based in Torigoth continue to give Tora extreme sums of money despite there being no promise of collateral?

He eyed Poppi.

The answer seemed obvious, with said answer currently soothing Tora by stroking his fur as he cowered behind his creation.

So, who in the organization had heard about Tora building a functioning artificial Blade and wanted to fund it to eventually steal her for themselves?

Or, had it even been the Bloody Lobsters who ordered the hit, or was it another person or organization that had hired them to do so? Jin could think of several organizations — including governments — that would benefit from gaining an artificial Blade, utilizing the Bloody Lobsters to protect their anonymity.

Regardless, staying here any longer was pointless.

Moving past the ashen remains, Jin stepped out into the dimly lit morning of the alleyway of the undercity and began walking to his next destination. Moments later, Tora and Poppi skittered out behind him.

"Wait!" Tora called.

Jin didn't stop walking but turned back and down to face the Nopon as he caught up to his stride. "What?"

"Isn't friend Jin going to report this to authorities?"

"That would be counterproductive." Even with his 'disguise' he wasn't dumb enough to think that someone in the Ardainian guard wouldn't be able to put together who he was. And his bounty, though not as high as Lora's, was significant enough that people would try, both in and out of the military.

"If we did, it could drive who we're looking for into hiding. No, we'll bait them out and trace them to their hideout in the city."

"Hmm. Tora sees." Then his eyes lit up with glee, and he started hopping in place. "It like when Kirumi use tasty treats to lure out arch nemesis, completely immobilizing them with deadly paralytic baked into treats! Then bish-bash with mighty robot!"

"…Sure."

"Jin doesn't sound sure," Poppi said. "Sometimes Masterpon's thought processes are very unclear, so Poppi can explain connection if-"

"That won't be necessary," Jin quickly assured her.

It was quicker to agree with the Nopon than be dragged into arguing semantics of a story he didn't care for.

"So, what is friend Jin going to use as bait?" Tora asked.

He eyed the Nopon with skepticism. Did he really not understand? "I should think it would be obvious."

"Meh?" The Nopon blinked owlishly. "Maybe Bloody Lobsters are hungry? Jin going to become snack-fund provider for them and then strike right when they eating?"

How would that even…?

Poppi leaned up over to him, tugging on his cloak. He got the message and leaned down as she whispered, "Masterpon is unfortunately as smart as he is dense. Sometimes does not understand simplest of inferences."

So he gathered.

Tora leaned in close to the two of them, "Hey, what is Poppi telling friend Jin?"

Poppi turned back to Tora. "Masterpon, Jin is implying that masterpon is the bait."

"Meh-meh?!" Tora hopped back, headwings unfolding in tandem with his genuine bewilderment. "But Tora barely survived last encounter with Perceval!"

"Is fine, Masterpon," she soothed, stiff, outstretched arm patting Tora's head. "Poppi will be there too."

"It shouldn't be dangerous," Jin assured, somewhat irked that he had to assuage the Nopon's fears. "You and Poppi need only be there to lure them out. I can take care of the rest."

"B-but," the Nopon stuttered, "What if Perceval show up?"

"He won't be an issue."

He stood up from his crouch, and began walking away from them. After all, if Mikhail and Patroka could defeat him, what chance did Perceval stand against him?

A hush seemed to fall over the landscape as the prevalent winds that had picked up over the wastes that morning were silenced by the imposing peaks of an artificially created valley. Azurda was thankful for that, as the dust stirred up by it had been irritating him all morning.

The carved out valley made for easier access and transfer of equipment into the rich ether mining fields near the edge of the Ardainian Titan — or so Mòrag told them before — but it also made it defensible. Great for Brionac, not so much for them, as the landscape left them exposed and funneled all traffic into one bottleneck.

Azurda could feel the tension in the group as they made their way down that valley near the edge of the Ardainian Titan. Infiltrating a terrorist base was hardly a stress free activity after all.

But the other source of tension walked near to their group, hands laced behind his head. His distinctive dark red armour covered behind one of the standard issue Ardainian military uniforms and face concealed behind the helmets provided to them by Rhodri.

Azurda of course, wore neither, as his frame and shape of his face would fit none of it, and instead opted to just wear a red band around his arm. The red band was trimmed with gold and embroidered by a large, prominent white skull with an ornate spear underneath: the banner under which Brionac rallied.

In the end, Lady Brighid had opted to stay behind, to tend the two Carraig Drivers that Mikhail had knocked out and to wait and act as a field commander for when the army's main force arrived. While Mòrag had assured him that she was more than proficient with the saber and rifle combo she now carried instead, it still worried Azurda being the only Blade in the group.

"What?" Mikhail asked him, seeming to notice his attention on him, voice muffled by the helmet.

"It is nothing."

Azurda sighed quietly. He wasn't sure if he was thankful or worried that the man had mostly kept silent after striking their uneasy deal with Mòrag. And with the helmet blocking view of his face now, it was even harder to get a good read on him. At the least, Mikhail walked close to Mòrag at her behest.

Rex, of course, was conflicted. Azurda could see it in his Driver's body language, even through the military uniform and helmet. After all, Mikhail was part of the same organization that had killed the expedition that had brought up the Aegis Pyra, as well as fatally wounded his forbearer.

Mikhail was not Malos of course, but Mikhail was the only Torna operative that Azurda could truly say that he had any history with. Azurda knew only what Rex had told him of Jin and Malos, and had the experience fighting Nia at the hot spring. They seemed easy enough to grasp, at least from what Rex had told him. But Mikhail?

"You might be fighting against the ideals your current Driver believes in, and you would have no idea. And it will happen again and again and again."

"What are you implying?"

"Not sure, to be honest. Something about the system just feels wrong. Some days, I just want to ask the Architect why, you know?"

Mikhail was a confusing man. And he was clearly still not telling them everything.

"Only a little further," Rhodri called from the front of the group, breaking Azurda out of his reverie.

And there was another thing. Azurda still couldn't quite place it, but there was something familiar about Rhodri's features. He was sure he'd never met the Gormotti man before, and checking with Rex hadn't yielded any further insights either. And yet…

"We should be coming up on the encampment soon-"

A shot echoed through the canyon, pinging off the ground near their group.

"You are entering territory claimed by the Lord of the Wastes," a voice called out from somewhere up above them, likely on the wall of the valley. "Do not take another step or you will be fired upon!"

"-right about now," Azurda heard Rhodri mutter. He slowly took off his helmet — revealing his dark brown hair, Gormotti ears, and dark skin — and raised his left arm. The armband with Brionac's sigil high. "Peace, brothers! We seek no harm, only refuge! I am Rhodri of the Caledfwlch cell, from the capital."

"Put your hands behind your heads, and make no sudden moves! An escort will be there shortly, and we will confirm your identity at the gate."

Rhodri did so, and the rest of their little group followed suit. "Just let them lead us," he murmured to them, "and we'll be fine. As far as they know, we're their brothers and sisters in arms. Let me do the talking and we'll be fine."

Right. Azurda supposed he should be getting in character.

…how did imperialist terrorists think, exactly?

Brionac troops, distinguished by that same red armband with the white skull, quickly surrounded them and they made their way towards the gate past erected metal barricades.

There was no chatter as they were led down the valley past more barricades and traps, but the Brionac soldiers seemed to focus most of their troops near him and Rex, which made sense. They kept looking up at him worriedly, as if he was a bomb about to go off.

Azurda tried to be stoic in this, but it felt silly. After all, to him, besides Rhodri, he and Rex were the least dangerous of their group here. Granted, neither Mikhail nor Morag had their Blades currently, but it still felt strange to be treated as the most formidable opponent, even if it made sense.

Before long, however, they arrived at the bottom of the sloping valley where two towers nearly as tall as the valley walls, with large banners of the white skull and spear hanging proudly off of them.

The threshold to the gate of Brionac's camp.

The one at the head of their armed escort moved forward to the small group of armed guards at the front. "We've got a small group of four and a Blade claiming to be from the Caledfwlch cell."

"Have they given any identification?" The forward most gate guard responded.

"The head of the group is a Gormotti says his name is Rhodri, who-"

"Hold on," the gate guard looked up with greater interest now. "Did you say Rhodri?"

"Yes sir." The soldier sounded hesitant.

"I'll deal with this."

"Uh…sir?"

The guard stood up, and removed his helmet, revealing another Gormotti man with lighter skin and curly blonde hair.

Azurda saw Rhodri tense as well, seeming to recognize him. The other Gormotti stepped right up to Rhodri, sizing him up. Despite being slightly shorter than him, Rhodri seemed to shrink in his presence, though he kept his eyes firmly on the other man.

The tense stare down between the two kept going, long enough that Azurda wondered if they were going to have to make an escape already.

Until the man grinned, and grabbed the Gormotti man in a bear hug.

"Aw, come here, you!"

Azurda saw Rhodri tense, but then he visibly relaxed after a moment, before returning the gesture, albeit more awkwardly. They separated and Rhodri lightly punched the other Gormotti's shoulder.

"You'll give a man a heart attack doing that, Ceolwulf," Rhodri complained.

"Nah, couldn't help it, old man" Ceolwulf poked the other Gormotti in the chest. "Had to get you back for that time in Chilsain."

"You still remember that?"

"'Course I do! Got the scar to prove it and all."

"Bloody fine time to do it," Rhodri muttered.

Ceolwulf clapped Rhodri on the shoulder. "Good to see you, though, honest. But, uh, last I heard, your cell had been stationed in the capital. What're you doing out here?"

Rhodri sighed. "Running, unfortunately. But my crew finished up what we set out to do."

"So Senator Saundra's bit the dust?" Rhodri nodded. "Knew it was going to be risky, but I figured if anyone could lead a crew to do that, it'd be you." Ceolwulf glanced at their group, eyes sliding over each of them, lingering on Azurda.

"Say, where's Merfyn gone?" Ceolwulf asked. "Little beast Blade would never leave your side last I saw."

"Merfyn was captured in our escape: caught in an ether net. With the Jewel of the Empire on our tail, we were lucky we didn't lose more."

Ceolwulf raised his eyebrows. "The Jewel? You're lucky you're alive." He shook his head. "Still, shame. I like Merfyn. You're way uptight without him. Though if everything here goes well, we'll get him back."

Rhodri cleared his throat. "As much as I don't mind reminiscing," he gestured to the guard escort still around him. "Are you going to keep us out here all day, or what?"

"Oh!" Ceolwulf laughed, "Of course not." He gestured to the Brionac armed escort. "You can let your guard down brothers; I know Rhodri. The man's saved my life more than once, and he's loyal to the cause. I'll see him and his crew in."

And, to Azurda's relief, the soldiers relented, allowing Ceolwulf to let them into the camp. The other guards on duty slid a heavy reinforced gate out of the way. He noted a weathered sign with the words "KEEP OUT - RAW ETHER MININ-" on it, though the rest had been painted over with Brionac's skull emblem.

The valley opened up into a roughly circular area, a quarry of some sort that Azurda barely got a glimpse of before Ceolwulf led them to a large tent only a little ways in the entrance. Yet that glimpse didn't bode well for their eventual escape.

Probably a couple thousand soldiers, dozens of Titan armaments, plenty of other machines of war, and Azurda spotted several Driver and Blade pairs sparring. Rex tensed beside him, seeing it all, and Azurda carefully opened an affinity link to him, sending calm as much as he could.

Azurda had to duck into the tent, and it didn't appear to be anything special, seeming to be used as a thoroughfare for camp entrants as well as storage, though he couldn't tell what was being stored here.

"Camp's gotten a bit cramped with all of us here," Ceolwulf explained as he checked them in with a very tired looking woman, who gave the humans pre-made packs full of changes of clothes, food and hygiene kits, though Azurda's lacked the change of clothes. "It's been wild, honestly, seeing all this come together."

"I hardly believed it myself when I first heard," Rhodri agreed as he checked over the contents of his pack.

"Still, big risk coming out here for you all, wasn't it?" Ceolwulf asked.

Rhodri laughed good-naturedly. "I don't know which one's a bigger risk, old friend. Being stationed in the heart of the empire or gathering the whole organization out in the boonies of an old ether mine with a big target on our backs."

"I get what you mean, but I've put my faith in Lord Dagas and his vision for the empire. Got to when that kid on the throne won't do anything, you know?"

They left the staging tent, and were led out into the ether mining quarry proper, and Ceolwulf led them through the camp to an even larger tent, this one marked 'Barracks 7.' The Gormotti stopped just outside it, gesturing to the whole of the operation. "Impressive, eh?"

"It is." Rhodri replied. "Walraig wouldn't have been able to amass something like this."

"Walraig? Who's that?" Rex asked aloud.

Rhodri turned a seemingly lazy gaze back on the group, but Azurda saw warning in his eyes. "You're a bit young to remember him I'll bet, but he was Brionac's head honcho up until an op went wrong about five years ago."

"That's putting it lightly," Ceolwulf responded blithely. "Despite Lord Dagas outing the culprits years ago, rumours are still all over the place. People blame Lindwurm, mercenaries, core crystal hunters, bandits, even Uraya if you can believe it."

"That one almost makes sense, considering Walraig was originally from one of Uraya's noble houses, after all."

"Aw, don't you start down the conspiracy bandwagon too." Ceolwulf shook his head, smiling, then clapped his hands together, "But don't keep me in suspense anymore, Rhodri, who's the kid, the crew and," he looked up to Azurda, "the Blade? And no need to keep your helmets on here. We're safe for now, so take a load off."

Slowly, their group did so, and Azurda gauged Ceolwulf's reaction, in case he seemed to recognize any of them, but the Gormotti man seemed none the wiser.

Rhodri set his hand on Rex's shoulder. "The young one's name is Regis. He's the Driver with his Blade, Seiryū. Since he's a new Driver I've been something of a mentor to him."

"Hey," Rex waved, thankfully taking the declaration of mentorship in stride. "Good to meet ya!"

"The quiet woman in the middle is Meleph," Rhodri continued, indicating Mòrag. "Fantastic marksman and sniper. Don't let the eyepatch and scars on her face draw you in. Just let her do her job and she'll thrive."

Mòrag didn't say anything, and simply nodded at the introduction. While it was still odd for Azurda to see her without her trademark hat, she kept her hair in a practical bun lower than she normally kept it. The raw looking scars crisscrossing her face and over her left eye weren't real of course, simply makeup expertly applied by Brighid before they left. The eyepatch just left less of her face visible to identify. Unless you knew her personally, it would be difficult to tell it was her.

"And the last one-" Rhodri began.

"Satahiko!" Mikhail announced, cutting him off. "Mechanic, arms specialist and," he leaned one arm on Mòrag's shoulder with a grin, "resident lady killer. Right, Mels?"

Mòrag's retribution was swift and painful, fist shooting up into Mikhail's jaw faster than he could react, making him stumble away, rubbing his jaw. She crossed her arms, visible eye twitching.

Azurda could swear he heard Mikhail mumble "worth it" as he rubbed a noticeable bruise forming on his chin.

Ceolwulf, for his part, took it in stride, laughing. "Quite the charmer, eh?"

Rhodri cleared his throat. "At any rate, they're what's left of the Caledfwlch cell after the Jewel cracked down on Brionac's activity in the capital."

Ceolwulf's smile waned. "Wouldn't surprise me if the Special Inquisitor wanted to save face after that mess in the upper city with the Driver of the Aegis."

Azurda subtly glanced at Mòrag at the mention of the 'Jakolo Incident,' but she made no noticeable moves.

Rhodri chuckled. "Probably. After we got out, we didn't know if operational security had been breached. So instead of staying there, we heeded Lord Dagas' call to arms. I won't bore you with the travel details."

"Dry and dusty where the Architect's light don't shine." Ceolwulf chuckled at his poor attempt at a joke before perking up. "Oh, yeah, did you hear? Lord Dagas intercepted the Driver of the Aegis once she fled the city. She's working with us now, or so I hear." Ceolwulf grinned. "With her here there'll be no way we can lose."

"So it's true then?" Rhodri asked. "The Aegis is really back? She's real?"

"Yeah," Rhodri nodded eagerly. "Seen her and the Aegis with my own eyes when Lord Dagas brought her in, emerald core crystal and all. Haven't had a chance to talk with or really see her or her Driver since they got here. Been stuck on gate duty after all." He sighed. "Speaking of, I'd better get back there, or I'll get a good chewing out. Fina is on duty roster; she'll have you working before you know it."

"Thank you, Ceolwulf," Rhodri said, sticking out his hand. "Truly."

Ceolwulf clasped the other Gormotti man's wrist, smile brightening. "Of course. I'll see you at the canteen later tonight, eh? See if we can't get some decent swill and reminiscence a bit."

"Naturally."

He let go. "Drop your stuff off here and head over to the duty roster tent. Head straight towards that first ether pump jack near the middle of the camp. Can't miss it."

Azurda and the rest of the group eyed Ceolwulf as he parted, before looking back to Rhodri.

"He and I joined Brionac at the same time," Rhodri offered as explanation. "He…convinced me to defect, initially." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter for now." He looked at Mòrag. "Meleph, is Fina…?"

"I know her, yes." Mòrag confirmed. Or in words, it was one of her operatives on the inside. "We shouldn't dawdle."

As they moved to set their stuff down in the barracks, he heard Rex let out a sigh of relief. Azurda set his hand on his Driver's shoulder, and Rex looked up quizzically, and Azurda just smiled.

"Don't worry Az-er, Seiryū," Rex whispered. "We've got this. You'll see."

Azurda nodded back. He just hoped their hand of fellowship to the Aegis and her Driver wouldn't be too little too late.

After dropping off their belongings into rooms in the barracks cordoned off by gender, Mòrag took the lead as the group headed over to the center of the camp where the pumpjack Ceolwulf had mentioned levered slowly up and down.

Though she had to turn her head more to account for her eyepatch, as they crossed the camp, Mòrag mentally took note of the camp's layout as they walked.

As a quarry, it was a defensible position, so long as they kept the plateaus above well defended against Titanships. That was made easier, with the high natural rock walls only being on two sides of a rough rectangle. One other side extended up the Ardainian Titan's body, while the last had thick metal walls separating them from the edge of the Titan.

Add in the pipes snaking about meant for liquid ether transport, as well as the several pump jacks closer to the middle, it made for a decent defensive position, with cover, and Brionac seemed to utilize it well.

It was also infrastructure that she knew Niall was hesitant to destroy, with the large crystallized and liquid ether reserves still here. They were invaluable — though dwindling — resources. Losing them would be devastating, another potential weakness that Uraya might try to exploit.

Despite their ceasefire with Uraya, Niall didn't want to give the other nation any reason to expedite breaking that, and Mòrag agreed.

Arriving at the duty roster tent proper, they found a woman Mòrag recognized. One of her most trusted undercover operatives that she had personally assigned to go deep undercover in Brionac years ago. She was the one that had taken the picture of the Aegis and her Driver on their arrival in the camp.

Fina, a short, dark haired, plain and overall unassuming Ardainian, woman showed no sign of recognizing her as she looked over their group. Aside from her gaze lingering on her longer than the others. Mòrag's chest swelled with pride.

"Are you all new as well?" Fina asked, yawning, and with a put upon sigh, her hand came to rest on her chin, propping her head up.

"Yes," Rhodri took the lead now, stepping up to the desk Fina sat behind. "We've just arrived in the camp about an hour ago. I'm sure you've been busy, but we were told to see Fina for duty assignments?"

"Yup, that's me."

"Good." Rhodri gestured to Mòrag. "Meleph, you first."

Mòrag nodded, stepping up to Fina's desk as her operative put away what she was working on. "Is it difficult to find things for everyone to do?"

"Yes and no." Fina answered, pulling out and opening up notebook. "Our numbers are closing in on three-thousand, so there's no shortage of things that need doing with that."

"That many?" Mòrag skewed her voice to sound impressed.

"Impressive right?" Fina sounded proud. "It's honestly been mind boggling to know that Brionac was really this big. I knew there were a lot of us, but we were spread out in different cells." She grimaced. "But it does make logistics a bit of a pain with everyone here.

"I imagine so." Mòrag agreed. "Brionac felt so de-centralized before, but seeing this…"

Fina nodded. "In just the last day, nearly a hundred more arrived. It's putting a strain on resources."

"Is there no time frame on a march order?"

"Nothing yet. But I guess it makes sense that it's not widely known yet. With how many people are coming in, I guess the higher ups don't want to take a chance at information leaking."

Unfortunate, but not surprising. "I suppose…Lord Dagas knows the full details of the plan to protect operational security."

"Probably," Fina agreed, "but I doubt we'll be staying here much longer."

"Oh?"

"While it's great for moral bringing in the Driver of the Aegis — I mean, who wouldn't want a living legend on their side? — Lord Dagas has to know there's no way it won't bring the empire down on us quicker if it gets out she's here."

"Quite." And Mòrag squashed the spark of amusement at the statement. "Speaking of the Driver of the Aegis, have you seen her at all?"

"You a fan?"

"Simply curious."

"You and everyone else." Fina shook her head. "Sorry, I've just gotten just glimpses. But honestly, it's been hard to get close enough to talk to her, especially after her bodyguard nearly killed someone who wouldn't leave her alone."

"Bodyguard?"

Fina tapped her chin as if she was thinking. "Tall, shorter dark hair and armour. Driver. Intimidating. Hard guy to miss, though I don't know his name."

Malos, Mòrag surmised. Her brow furrowed. "Is the Aegis or her Driver still in the camp?"

Fina shook her head. "I haven't seen them today, though rumour is that Lord Dagas took them somewhere. Couldn't say what for."

Then she was being kept under close watch. Not unsurprising, but it would make Rex's job harder. She eyed Mikhail, and he gave her a thumbs up and a wink. Mòrag let out a scoff.

"Anyways, enough about our local celebrity," Fina continued. "Any preferences or skills I should know about?"

"Marksman and sniper, but guard rotation wouldn't go amiss." Mòrag made a show of rolling her shoulder. "I knocked my shoulder in the escape from the capital, so something that'll give it an opportunity to heal would be good."

Obviously, it hadn't been injured, but it was a good excuse to get her on guard rotation.

Fina glanced through her notebook. "Let's see…I've got a spot open on prison guard duty I can put you on, if that works?"

"Anything I should know about the prisoners?"

Fina glanced back down at the notes. "Most of them are pretty tame, but there's some newer arrivals that have given some of the guards some trouble. A Gormotti Driver and a couple of Blades. They're in Blade suppression cells, but the Gormotti is a bit of a handful so I've heard. Think you can handle that?"

That must be the Torna operative Nia, Dromarch and…Cressidus she believed Mikhail had called his Blade.

Mòrag nodded curtly. "That will be fine."

"Good." She yawned as she noted something down, and handed her some paper. "I'll get your companions settled too."

Mòrag nodded and stepped back, tucking the assignment sheet — and another paper that had been given in secret underneath — away. She waited while Fina assigned Rex on a squad training with other Drivers and Blades, and Rhodri "convinced" her to have him go with the boy since he'd been "training the kid in the capital."

Mikhail's horrible attempt at flirting with Fina was met with a stone wall of professionalism and she put him to work on machine maintenance.

They gathered outside the tent, where Mòrag quietly announced "We'll meet in the canteen during meals and at the end of the day to discuss our progress." She glanced around, finding them mostly alone, and in a quieter voice, to Rex said. "Be as patient as you can, and my operatives will help you get to them."

"Hey," Mikhail interjected, "I want her out of here as much as you do, so I'll be helping the kid meet his crush too."

"My what?!" Rex balked.

Mikhail elbowed him with a grin. "C'mon, kid, the Aegis is a beautiful woman. Don't tell me you haven't wondered if you'd have a shot?"

"N-no!" Rex protested a bit too quickly. She saw Azurda's hand meet his forehead as Rex's cheeks flushed, hurriedly crossing his arms. "She... uh, she just said she's going to Elysium, and since she was born there, I just want to know what it's like. That's all."

She should have foreseen this. Despite his abilities, Rex was only fifteen after all.

"Riiight." Mikhail drawled out. "Don't worry, kid. Your old pal Satahiko will help give you a shot at it."

"Enough." She bit out, looking to Azurda. "Seiryū, keep your Driver focused. Everyone, get to your posts. And Satahiko," she gave him a glare, "don't do anything stupid."

"Roger that Mels," Mikhail gave her a wink and casual salute and sauntered away.

"Don't worry about it, Mòr-er Meleph," Rex said, "He was just saying things to get under our skin."

"I am aware," Mòrag responded coolly. She knew the Aegis was conventionally attractive, and that Rex was a young man. "So long as you are able to focus on your assignment, we will be fine. Remember what we are here for."

"Right," Rex nodded. "Pyra's pretty, but I won't let that get in the way of talking to Lora. See you later!" He gave her a grin with a double thumbs up and left, Azurda trailing behind him.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Architect help her. Please don't let Mikhail's comment push him to actually try to woo the Aegis.

The dry, musty, stagnant heat of the maintenance tunnel weighed on Lora as she and Pyra warily followed Dagas. It hadn't been as noticeable near the tunnel's entrance where the short bursts of wind helped keep the heat reasonable.

Unfortunately, this wouldn't be an escape. If it were just her and Pyra, they might be able to, but she wasn't about to leave Nia, Dromarch and Cressidus behind to whatever fate awaited her back in the ether mine where this 'Brionac' was stationed.

It didn't surprise her that instead of merely talking to them inside that camp, that the following morning Dagas was instead leading them to the "appointed place" to talk.

He'd rebuffed her and Pyra's attempts to talk on the way as well. Which left her with just the noise of unrefined liquid ether flowing through the pipes around them, and the clunk of their boots on the grimy metal floor. It felt like they'd been walking for nearly an hour now.

The light of the sun didn't reach them anymore, and the electrical lighting overhead cast looming shadows as they passed. Yet despite the darkness, it was uncomfortably hot in here, and the heat seemed to cling to Lora. She felt sweat drip down her face, plinking on to the metal.

Pyra was supportive, offering her water, which she gratefully accepted, but though that and Pyra's affinity link was likely kept her from truly overheating, not for the first time, she wished Jin were here. He'd probably be a little grumpy about it, but he'd be able to keep things way cooler for her.

As she wiped her forehead, Lora spotted small lizards clinging to the ceiling, basking in the warmth, so at least something enjoyed the heat. As Dagas passed a small group, one of the larger ones, hardly larger than her wrist, hissed at him. With a flick of his finger, a small flame incinerated the creature, and the little ones surrounding it scattered.

Pyra let out a small gasp as the embers of fire ether scattered, though Dagas made no comment on either the creature or Pyra's reaction.

Well he was just a bundle of joy, wasn't he?

Eventually, she heard the noise of some form of machinery coming from up ahead, and spotted workers who were using a machine of some sort to drill through rock and rubble. The dust in the air was thick from the drilling that Lora covered her mouth with her sleeve.

One of the workers overseeing the operation saw them approaching and signaled the machine operator to stop.

"Lord Dagas!" The worker called as the drill was winding down. "We were informed of your arrival today, but who's" and his eyes flicked over to Lora, then Pyra, eyes widening at the sight of Pyra's core crystal. He looked closer at her. "You're…!"

"She is the Driver of the Aegis, yes," Dagas remarked, though his tone wasn't dismissive, as much as it was impatient.

"I have a name, you know." Lora muttered into her sleeve. She lowered her arm now that the drilling had stopped as the dust settled, putting on her best impression of Jin's 'aloof' face and hoping it got the point across that she really didn't want to be here.

"Lora, yes," Dagas glanced back at her, something like — but not quite — respect in his piercing blue eye. He turned back to the worker. "What is the progress of the excavation?"

The worker wrenched his gaze away from her, and focused back on Dagas. "Our instruments put us at over eighty percent. Structural integrity is holding, and we may be able to blast through soon, but it'll be risky with the ether still running through the pipes."

"Good. And the Ardainian contingent on the other side?"

"Latest update from your spies has them none the wiser, though they've increased the guard in the facility."

Dagas nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent work. Go ahead and have you and your team take your leave. I will take it from here."

The worker glanced at him in confusion, looking back at the excavation site, then back to Dagas, then over to her and Pyra. An expression passed over his face that screamed 'this is way above what I get paid to ask questions for' and nodded.

"Of course." He turned to the other workers. "Men, pack up: we're out!"

Lora shifted closer to the side of the tunnel, leaning against its side as she watched them pack up the machinery. Dagas went to the side with the head worker and talked quietly enough that she couldn't hear what was being said. The other workers kept glancing at her and Pyra as they worked.

Lora had already experienced some of this in the camp, but all the attention really was…frustrating. The wonder in those gazes — like she was a legend come to life — as their eyes flicked back and forth between her and Pyra, then back to their work as they realized she'd caught them staring.

It continued as the workers finally cleared out. As they passed, they openly stared, and Pyra gave them strained smiles and a wave. But before long, only Dagas remained, his piercing blue eye seeming to assess her.

"Heavy is the head that bears the crown." He finally broke the silence after an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Huh?"

He looked at her a moment more. "I suppose time will tell how well you wear it."

So he was talking now? Lora gave a look around the maintenance tunnel and mostly drilled through rubble. "This is your 'appointed place'?" She remarked drily. "It's a bit…anticlimactic."

Dagas shook his head lightly. "Patience. This is but a step along the way." He stepped closer to the hole, drilled through the rubble. "I advise you to step back."

A part of her didn't want to, just to spite him, but after a small stare down, she relented. She'd seen him melt through copious amounts of metal like it was nothing after all and that gave her a healthy respect for his abilities, if not him.

Dagas set his hand against the hole, and fire-element ether began gathering in his palm. Lora's eyes widened, and she took a couple of steps back, remembering how much damage that attack had done out in the wastes.

Pyra hurriedly stepped forward. "Wait, that'll bring down the tunnel on us!" she shouted, moving ahead of Lora, hand ready to bring up an ether shield.

Dagas eyed their panic with calm composure. "If I desired to kill your Driver, there are far better ways than sending by sending myself to rocky grave with her."

"Well, we saw you melt through metal before like it was nothing," Lora countered. "Couldn't you do that here instead?"

"This will be quicker. And worry not. I have had time enough to master control over this power than you realize. Watch."

Lora saw Pyra bite her lip as Dagas gathered more power, until it seemed a miniature sun glowed and Lora had to shield her eyes. After a moment more, he simply flicked the ball of fire into the hole. Lora flinched, but instead of impacting the rock and exploding like she expected, it stayed, floating in the middle.

Alright. He was clearly showing off at this point. Though she had to grudgingly admit that she was impressed as the amount of ether control needed to do something like that.

And then he snapped his fingers.

The ball of fire exploded out away from them, and though Pyra raised her ether barrier, nothing pinged off it. Light suffused through the dust of the new hole, and to her relief a small breeze brushed against her as the stagnant air finally had a place to go.

Dagas raised an eyebrow at them. "Come, the appointed place awaits."

He stepped through the cleared opening into the sunlight, and after a moment's hesitation, Lora and Pyra followed.

While it was mercifully cooler than the tunnel, a wave of heat washed over her from below as she stepped out of the tunnel, and it was easy to see why. Hundreds of peds below, through the gridiron of a catwalk, glimmering green liquid ether pooled in a massive circular reservoir. The walls of the reservoir went up and up several stories, all with crisscrossing catwalks leading to several other machines, pipes and small buildings.

But that was all she had time to see as her attention was torn away by the sound of a blaring alarm starting.

"E-explosion in sector one of ether reservoir three," a panicked voice over loudspeaker called out. "All personnel evacuate to your designated routes!"

She saw Pyra quickly raise her ether barrier, something pinging off its edge. Lora quickly spotted a contingent of soldiers above them on a higher catwalk, taking aim at them.

"Unidentified intruders: you are trespassing on the property of the Empire of Mor Ardain. In the name of the emperor, stand down and surrender yourselves for questioning!"

"Amusing," Dagas mused with no small amount of contempt. His greataxe appeared lazily in one hand, while fire element ether gathered in the palm of the other. "The peasants of the child emperor don't recognize us."

Pyra stepped forward. "Don't do this, Dagas. There's no need for this."

He raised an eyebrow. "No need, you say?"

"Repeat: in the name of the emperor, stand down and surrender yourselves for questioning!"

"Dagas, please," Pyra insisted.

"It is far too late for that."

"No!"

Pyra tried to cross the distance, to block the deadly ether projectile, but she was too late.

In moments, the flame crossed the distance to the catwalk. The soldiers near the epicenter dove out of the way, but it didn't matter. A moment later, the miniature sun exploded, and the screams of the soldiers were cut off.

Lora had to shield her eyes from the light of the blast, and when it cleared, a whole section of the catwalk had gone molten, slag dripping along the edges of the blast radius. A Driver and Blade pair remained behind, and raised an ether cannon towards them to fire.

Lora dove out of the way of the shot, her and Pyra ducking behind the cover of some machine she had no idea the use for. She poked her head out in time to see Dagas wind his arm with his greataxe back, the blade alighting with flames, before he chucked it towards the Driver.

The Driver's Blade raised their ether barrier, but the greataxe didn't hit it. Instead, it tore through the catwalk between the Driver and Blade. The Driver screamed, and the Blade dived for them, missing by a hair. And with horror, Lora saw the Driver drop screaming into the ether reservoir below.

Moments later, the Blade dissipated into etheric motes, their core crystal dropping with a clink onto the edge of the shorn catwalk.

Dagas re-summoned his greataxe to his side and turned towards her.

"Come, Driver of the Aegis. Witness with me, the throes of a dying empire."

A/N: What's this? An update that didn't take over six months? What is this, 2021?

Anyways, some actual notes on the chapter for once:

1. I can't tell you how good it is to write Lora again. It's been too long. Like a year.

2. Yes, the fake names given for the party are their Japanese names. Though since Rex doesn't have one, I went with 'Regis' since it has a similar meaning to his name.

3. For the one person who's actually keeping track of timeframes, (you know who you are) the previous leadership of Brionac (Walraig and co.) were killed about 5 years ago. The Bloody Lobsters' last leader was killed a couple of decades ago. I mixed up the two a couple of times, but this timeframe is now reflected in all the sparse mentions of it throughout previous chapters instead of just sitting in my notes for the story as of 10/12/2024. If you're reading the whole thing after that, it's already there. Don't worry about it

4. On a longer tangential note, while Rhodri is an actual NPC in the game, his Blade's name is never named. The names Ceolwulf and Merfyn come from some Welsh history surrounding a real 9th century historical king named "Rhodri ap Merfyn," commonly known as "Rhodri Mawr." As the name suggests, Merfyn was the name of his dad, but it was also the name of one of his kids.

Ceolwulf (specifically Ceolwulf II of Mercia), another king, was most likely was in or ordered the battle that killed Rhodri, possibly even killing him himself and assuming control over Wales. Then, Rhodri's sons defeated the Mercians as "revenge of God for Rhodri."

Note that historical events won't have an effect on how the arc goes for the characters, but I spent way too long on that rabbit hole not to share some of it with you all. Also disclaimer: I am not Welsh, and have little in the way of fact checking the articles about these historical figures save the internet. Which is about as reliable as you think.