Chapter 28 "End of the Journey"

"So, what on Aionios happened back here?" the man in charge of the enterprising City group inquired upon inspecting the scene of Noah's and Mio's struggle against Moebius. "We don't normally find you strays getting heckled by multiple enemies at once."

"We stumbled upon a battle of theirs," the ponytailed soldier summarized wearily, "or rather, a game…"

"Ah, that battle between Keves and Agnus in the distance," his goggled ally stole a glance towards the Great Sword. "Were those your colonies?"

"No," the younger of the two deserters continued to speak for both of them. "I'm from Colony 25 in Dannagh Desert, while she's from Colony Rho along the Urayan Trail."

"Great gulkin's girdle! You two really have strayed off!" The group leader's voice bounced off the damaged canyon's walls. "Ahem… perhaps we should've started with names."

"It's alright," the now composed Kevesi bore the subtlest of grins. "I'm Noah."

"Mio," his Agnian counterpart kept her introduction simple.

"Noah and Mio, eh?" Their impromptu host raised his goggles to reveal the rest of his slightly wrinkly, weathered face which was bordered by a pair of impressive sideburns. "Pleased to make your acquaintances! I'm Dermond, leader of the Morrack militia for the City."

"Thank you, Dermond and your team, for assisting us," Noah reached out to shake his hand, as did Mio seconds later.

"It's what we do," the man in charge seemed genuine to them, "fighting Moebius and liberating soldiers, that is."

"Father," a girl with long, brown hair and a pair of green, half-rimmed glasses emerged from the group, "we're all ready to leave."

"Aye!" he acknowledged her before scanning the mess again. "We'll have to come back to clear this path once the heat's cooled over."

"What about the two colonies?" Mio's own sights lingered on the active battle in the background.

"There's nothing we can do for them now," Dermond stored his joviality while the conversation wandered into darker territory. "They'll have to sort it out amongst themselves."

"Even if it means mutual destruction?" her hands came together over her gem, brows slightly rumpled.

"We can't save everyone," he gave her the cold, hard fact, "sad as it is."

"Guess we were lucky to have deserted the war in one piece," the pacifist peered over his shoulder to Mio, speaking reflectively. "We could've still been fighting… not ever knowing why."

"We were even luckier to have not been crushed by that Moebius," the tenth-termer's mind remained in the present while the group began climbing the rock pile with a rope ladder.

"You're right," his focus aligned with hers, "especially considering my Blade failed to maintain itself at a critical time."

"I barely noticed that before he snatched us," the zephyr's face slightly contorted with the anomaly freshly in mind. By now, both soldiers had made it to the other side. "Doesn't it normally vibrate when it's near a Moebius?"

"What's this now?" the goggled man couldn't help but eavesdrop whilst bringing up the rear. "Your Blade failed on you?"

"Yeah, right before the trap sprung on him," the swordfighter stared at his presently empty palms. "I didn't know it was possible."

"There's only one explanation for it, but… hmm…" Dermond rubbed his chin while a theory swirled in his head. "Can you draw your Blade now?"

"Let's see…" Standing back, Noah complied with the request and brought out his veiled sword for any curious eyes to behold.

"Huh," his host blinked thrice, "I've never seen one like this before."

"Whoa…" the brunette stooped for a closer look, bewitched, "it's so… pretty?"

"It's just the sheathe, though." Now with an audience, the ponytailed soldier slowly and self-consciously extracted the inner sword.

"Great grebel's gullet!" Dermond reached out to get a decent feel of the mysterious weapon. "Is that… an entire sword made of Origin metal?"

"Um… I-I suppose?" the younger deserter looked to the older one, shoulders shrugged.

"You soldiers aren't expected to know, but the City uses it for countering Moebius," the bespectacled girl explained to Noah and Mio who'd already suspected as much.

"Ahem, yes, many of our inventions are made of it, including the trap you saw," the group leader chimed in, having seen enough. "That's why your Blade failed."

"You're saying it countered my sword?" the confounded Kevesi held it further outwards. "But… I'm not Moebius."

"It's the same power source," Dermond crossed his burly arms, leaning to one side. "Guess our tech isn't advanced enough to distinguish between the two yet."

"We City militants can enhance our Blades with the metal to fight against Moebius." The brunette briefly brought out her Blade, a gun with a bayonet consisting of the material under discussion. "However, it means we can't wield them near our own traps."

"Hence, we use an electro-disassembler for breaking Moebius cores," he directed their attention to the device which had been used to kill Colony 20's consul.

"Ah, I was wondering what that was all about," Mio observed its pointed rods while one of his team members temporarily uncapped its protectant covering for viewing.

"Yup, it's a process, alright," the goggled man yanked the rope ladder off the rock pile and handed it to someone else to roll up. "We'd start it up again if we had another one on hand."

"By the way, how did you know about Moebius?" the bespectacled girl had a curiosity of her own. "You seemed familiar with our traps for capturing them, too."

"We've defeated our own consuls," Noah enlightened the City folks of their feats after piecing his Blade back together and subsequently withdrawing it.

"Really?" she tilted her head, doubtingly. "By yourselves?"

"Not quite, um…" he cautiously faced Mio, unsure of how much to divulge.

"Mine was killed with the help of Verna's and Malik's team," his running mate summarized in a fragile but grateful tone. "They'd used a trap just like yours."

"Ah, I see you were in good hands with those two," Dermond's face lit up at the mention of his Maktha affiliates. "Anyway, let's head for the pickup point. We might have to wait for the next boat, but at least we'll be safer there."

"Alright, I'm ready," Mio latched onto her backpack straps, tired, bruised, but no less eager to move on.

After what'd been nothing short of a treacherous morning, Noah and Mio now found themselves along the home stretch towards the City. It was a mildly meandering path within Pedesto Valley, the hike through which proved to be relaxing for the frazzled soldiers. The sea's salty scent soon tickled their noses, while her ears perked up at the distant cawing of waterfowl. After turning the corner, the group of ten made their way to Morrack Inlet where a couple of tents sat empty by the shore.

"Hmm, nobody's here," the militant man noted before activating his Iris. "I'll see if any of our friends are available."

"Do you guys go by a schedule?" the ninth-termer wondered aloud while the others walked ahead.

"As helpful as it'd be, we can't afford to be predictable for Moebius," the brunette explained instead. "We often have to request our rides."

"That makes sense," his arms were crossed now.

"The water must make your Levnises easy to spot, huh?" the moonblades-wielder supposed of their hosts' susceptibilities.

"Yes, so we try to cloak them as best as possible," the bespectacled girl continued to educate them on their technology. "Also, we use boats out here, not Levnises."

"Boats?" the older soldier repeated in question.

"I suppose you wouldn't use them where you're from," the brunette observed her guests' curious expressions. "They're like transport Levnises, except they go by water and are far more ether-efficient."

"Not to mention transformed Moebius can't swim very well," Dermond caught the end of their conversation on his way back to them. "Anyway, it seems everybody's busy today, so we'll have to sit tight for now. Sorry about this, kids."

"It's okay," Noah spoke for both himself and Mio after sharing a nod with her. "We still appreciate all that you're doing for us."

"You should come and chill with us, then," their hostess suggested with a hand extended towards the rest of their group.

"Thanks, we will," he took one step before another thought occurred to him. "Incidentally, we didn't get your name."

"Ah, I'm Gianna," the City girl adjusted her glasses, "Dermond's daughter."

"Daughter?" the addled Agnian struggled with another foreign word of theirs.

"Great Gogol's gas…" the group leader shook his head, chuckling. "You'll learn when you're in the City."

"Uh, alright then," the pacifist's face was painted in confusion, much like his partner's. As much as they wished to know, it wasn't their priority right now.

And so, Noah and Mio joined their newest City acquaintances for a round of snacks and stories. Irises were registered between parties too, before she retreated to a tent to catch up on her reading and writing. Much to everyone's disappointment, a City boat wouldn't arrive to pick them up until several hours had passed.

"Well, it's about time!" Dermond shouted towards the vessel's semi-enclosed cabin.

"Sorry about that, mate!" the sea captain unlatched a door, letting one end of it flop into the sand. "An armada of merignas gave our freighters some trouble out there, myself included."

"I'm just havin' a joke," the goggled man waved them off. "Is everyone okay?"

"More frustrated than hurt," they reported as the City militants began boarding. "What's our destination?"

"The City," Dermond made the request for his group, eyeing Noah and Mio in particular. "Got a couple of strays with us."

"Ah, don't think I've got enough ether to make that trip," the sea captain informed him after checking the gauges. "We'll have to stop by the relay base to refuel."

"Shucks," he turned to his guests, head slightly hung low. "More delays, I'm afraid."

"If it'll get us there…" Mio swallowed an incoming groan, her gratitude still greatly outweighing her impatience.

With the sun nearing the horizon, the two deserters followed the City folks onto the boat for their first ride across the glistening waters. There wasn't much to view while they navigated the estuary, but soon the ocean presented itself with a fresh spray from the welcoming waves.

Now in Cadensia proper, Noah and Mio took in all the sights that they could. The Erythia Sea was the region's most prominent feature, dotted by multiple islands and a collection of fin-shaped, oceanic stacks. The eastern edge consisted of largely uninhabitable promontories, many strange rock formations of which extended well above sea. There were larger, tamer landmasses to the west where the neighboring Cent-Omnia region and its moated chasm kept close company. Noah knew from the map that the City was situated in the north, though both soldiers were content to enjoy the cruise while it lasted.

A few of the southern locales were noticeably occupied by military forces, including an Agnian Colony to their left and a Kevesi one partially enshrouded in black fog to their right. After passing by what appeared to be the home of several mutant insects, the sea captain announced their impending arrival to Thurbin Island and the City's auxiliary relay base built thereon. Once they moored at the dock, all ten passengers and the sea captain exited the boat and relished in the cool sea breeze.

"Seems you two aren't the only strays out here today," the City man remarked to Noah and Mio upon spotting five Agnian soldiers sitting on a bench. "Ahoy there, kiddies! Where might you be from?" In spite of the clear friendliness in Dermond's tone, they jumped to their feet and tried to hide behind one another.

"Um… C-Colony Upsilon, sir…" one of them eventually mustered enough courage to come forward.

"Upsilon, eh?" he approached them slowly. "How'd you get here?"

"Some odd… er, some people… wearing clothes like yours dropped us off," the Agnian soldier eyed the City folks before pointing at their boat behind them. "We rode in something like that."

"They had to leave in a hurry, though," one of their comrades spoke up too. "Distress call, I think…"

"Hmm, must've been our friends in the archipelago," Dermond thought out loud while the rest of his team walked to a storage building up the hill. "Ahem, where were you heading?"

"The City, sir," the first Agnian said the magic word. "We'd been hearing rumors about it for a long time…"

"We don't want to fight anymore," the second one added, unwittingly appealing to Noah and Mio. "Your people told us that we could live there if we, um… a-abandoned our colony…"

"Did they tell you about Moebius, too?" Gianna entered what'd effectively become an interrogation, interested in testing their knowledge.

"They said our consul was just using us," their timid stare dropped to the ground. "That's how it seemed, but we… couldn't have escaped on our own."

"Ah, well, you're safe with us now," the group leader held out his palms. "At ease, soldiers. We'll take you to the City once we grab a few things here." The two speaking Agnians nodded nervously while the other silent three sat back down. With no more questions being asked, they finally laid their eyes upon Noah and Mio.

"Hey," the zephyr waved daintily to them. "It'll be okay, I think. These City people have helped us a lot already."

"Indeed," her travel partner supported her attempt to comfort the somewhat quivering quintet. "Some of them gave us food and a warm blanket way back in Fornis."

"You're a Kevesi…" the Agnian who'd opened up first tensed at the sight of Noah.

"Oh," she paused at their understandable apprehension. "There's no need to worry about that anymore. He's not a Kevesi to me."

"And she's not an Agnian to me," Noah carried himself as cordially as he could, hoping for calmness and civility to prevail. "We found common ground in… deserting the war, seeking a better life."

"We formed a pact," his running mate was facing him now, "saved each other countless times…"

"Yeah…" he found her eyes with his, both of them sharing a smile.

"Is this real?" the second Agnian of the Upsilon quintet blinked disbelievingly at the display of lowered borders before them.

"I don't know what you were told by our friends who rescued you," Dermond rejoined the conversation with the soldiers, "but you'll find that the City facilitates cooperation among all residents, regardless of how they got there."

"Yes sir," the two speaking Agnians acknowledged in unison. As for Noah and Mio, the goggled man's statement only bolstered their desire to reach their final destination.

Minutes later, the others returned from storage with capsules of ether with which to refuel the boat. Unfortunately, minor damage was discovered during standard maintenance, necessitating an extra delay for repairs to ensure a safe, second half of the nautical journey. Due to the unexpected abundance of passengers, only Dermond, Gianna, and the seven soldiers followed the sea captain aboard for the remainder of the cruise to the City.

Open waters and a trio of porpoising shooxes greeted the still crowded boat upon its departure from the relay base. Night had fallen by now, though the moon ensured that potential obstacles remained sufficiently illuminated. Like before but not so easily, Noah and Mio observed another Agnian colony to their left and another partially obscured Kevesi one to their right. Beyond them, a couple of opposing peninsulas gave relative separation to the ocean's northern basin, known as Patulia Bay. As they drew closer to the mainland, hilltop structures which the soldiers could only assume belonged to the City slowly came into view, a sight accentuated by a grid of lights near the top. Anxiety pervaded on deck until the sea captain eased into the similarly named Patulia Harbor and subsequently let their passengers disembark.

The first thing that Noah and Mio noticed was an array of sturdy antennae installed all over the docks. There were multiple City personnel keeping watch as well, some of whom seemed rather pleased to see a new bunch of tenderfoot soldiers. After entering an elevator built into the overlooking cliffside, Dermond, Gianna, and their guests were lifted to Mulus Depot above, a militarized extension of the harbor. The journey was nearly over now, just one left turn and a short stroll towards a tall, steel wall with a few rooftops peeking from the other side. The massive doors at the bottom were wide open for them, and at long last Noah and Mio had reached the end of the journey.

"Welcome to the City, kids!" their host spun around with his hands in the air. "Make yourselves at home… especially since it will be your home."

All seven soldiers were stunned, none of them knowing what to ogle in the front plaza first. For the lone Kevesi and his Agnian counterpart, it was the inhabitants that became their focus over anything else. There were people of all shapes, sizes, and features, including little ones zipping around potted plants and wrinkly ones scooting at a caterpile's pace. Many stared back at the newcomers with varying countenances, though a few friendly shouts and waves kept it from being unpleasant.

"From here on out, you'll be able to choose how you wish to live," the brunette's voice wrangled the soldiers' attentions. "No more taking orders from consuls, and no more fighting… unless you wish to join the City militia against Moebius."

"We can't force you into anything," the exuberance on Dermond's weathered face had shifted into seriousness, "though as new citizens from the outside, you will be required to participate in orientation."

"Orientation?" the ponytailed soldier thought to himself for a second. "You mean like taking classes?"

"Yes, except you'll learn about the truths of this world," Gianna's hands rested on her hips, brows lowering, "not what Moebius wanted you to think."

"They taught you to hate each other, to take away life," the goggled man rued the enemy's brainwashing of early-termers, "but the City will teach you to appreciate life for what it really is and allow you to enjoy it."

"This… sounds like a dream… c-coming true," moisture began forming in Mio's slowly dimming eyes.

"It is," the bespectacled girl lightened up at the cat-eared Agnian's reaction. "Every soldier deserves happiness, just like our citizens."

"Anyway, before she and I return to our team at the relay base, there're a couple of places nearby that we need to take you kids," Dermond brought the conversation back to present matters. "First to the City registry, and then to the dorms."

"Very well," the swordfighter spoke for his fellow soldiers. "We're with you."

Points of interest were limited along the way, but Noah and Mio figured that they could tour the City properly in the next few days. For now, they were simply relieved to have made it here at all. After a brief visit to the registry office, their hosts directed them to the dormitory where free meals were provided for all incoming Kevesis and Agnians.

"This is where we drop you off," the group leader stayed by the doorway with his daughter. "Remember to attend orientation at military headquarters in the morning!"

"We will," Noah stood in front of the bunkbed which Mio had selected.

"I cannot state enough how grateful I am… to you and everyone who aided us," the tenth-termer bade their new allies a heartfelt farewell. With nothing more to do, Dermond and Gianna wished the soldiers good luck and finally left them on their own.

"Guess we should get ready for bed," the pacifist removed his crossbody bag and jacket, "seeing as we'll be busy tomorrow."

"Yeah…" the moonblades-wielder sighed satisfactorily after likewise depositing her backpack and uniform on the top bunk. A pause soon followed as the older soldier's gaze fell to the floor.

"Hey," his palms warmed her shoulders, almost unexpectedly. "Thank you."

"Hmm?" her ears perked up at his gentle hold. "F-for what?"

"For accompanying me here, to the City." A cautious but relatively unguarded grin slowly formed on the kind Kevesi's face.

"Oh… I didn't join you because I wanted to repay you," Mio recalled what she'd told him when she'd agreed to do so.

"Right," Noah's voice was barely above a whisper now, "you wanted to be free, truly."

"Yes, but also…" she stepped closer, clasping her hands behind his back to complete the embrace, "I did it… because I wanted to stay with you."

"Mio…" The ninth-termer's mouth went dry next as the strangest of feelings lightly rumbled in his abdomen. Aches persisted for both soldiers from their recent encounter with Moebius, thus their grasps on each other were mindfully delicate. "I'm honored… er, maybe that's not the right word. Um… I-I want to be with you, too."

Noah's and Mio's eyes were locked together at this point, intently, contemplatively, perhaps a little submissively. Neither one understood this new, reciprocating wish of theirs, but it dominated their thoughts in the now silent moment. Hearing nothing but their nervous breathing, Noah leaned inward to press his lips on her forehead, an instinctual act which he'd previously described as natural.

Although she wasn't admitting it aloud, this was exactly what Mio had hoped to receive from him. Pulling back to observe the sincerity on his face, she began pondering where the favor could be duly returned. Not quite ready to explore yet, Mio eventually settled on Noah's cheek and concluded the tender exchange in the same way that it'd been done back at Colony Rho.

"That was… most enjoyable," she remarked upon separating, their hearts beating a little faster than usual.

"Agreed," her travel partner inhaled deeply now that he had the chance. "I'm still not sure what it was, but…"

"It's a nice way to celebrate our arrival to the City, huh?" Mio finished his sentence for him before turning to ascend the ladder to her bunk. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah," he clutched his chest where her heat still lingered. "Goodnight."

Author's notes:

The third arc of this story is all done! Noah and Mio are finally home! While the journey might be over, life in the City has just begun! Once again, thank you everyone for reading so far. I see every piece of feedback and I'm incredibly appreciative. Honestly, it makes my day! Now for some tasty notes, because who doesn't love a little trivia?

With this story taking place in the past, even before Future Redeemed, it felt necessary to alter some locations on the map. Retroactively, I turned Gardin Defense Base into Colony 21, while I made the Syra Hovering Reefs fuller in the background. As for the Agnian bases in and around the Erythia Sea, I gave them to the City for this time period. Lanz and Ashera were introduced in this arc, the latter as a spunky second-termer to give them a sibling-like rivalry. The two consuls in the Great Sword's Base were given earth-shattering Moebius powers to shape the level into what it is in the game.

Aside from Noah and Mio reaching the City via the Keves Castle route, I didn't have anything set in stone for how they would accomplish that or what would happen along the way. Getting Mio a disguise from Colony 5 was the trickiest part to decide. At one point, I even considered having them cross the Cent-Omnia region instead. However, I decided against it, since it wasn't part of my original plan, loose though it was. Even this chapter went through several changes as it was being written. It probably would've been smarter to have had everything completely planned out, but at least this way allowed me to be a reader myself. I, too, can't wait to see how Noah and Mio interact next! After a break, we'll be back with more!

Questions and comments are welcome! Thanks again for reading!