Chapter 42 "Matters of Priority"
One moment Noah was awake, the next he was seemingly lifeless. Never before in his life had maintaining consciousness been so tough. Mio's warmth, her soft pecks to his forehead, her even softer voice were crucial to him following the tumultuous end to their latest mission against Moebius. Even when his eyes were open, barely, everything was a senseless blur to him. Beyond Mio's face, what looked like the bright blue sky soon turned dim and gray with tiny ether lights. Perhaps it was the interior of a Levnis about to depart for home where he and several others could get some proper medical attention.
The next time Noah opened his eyes, fully, he could make out the beige panels of some ceiling. His mind already clearer, he knew that he'd just awoken in a City infirmary. As his other senses reignited, he realized that Mio was still in his company, her hand over his own.
"You're up," the zephyr spoke first, appearing equally tired.
"Mio…" he remained calm despite his debilitation.
"You're alive," she squeezed his hand, her eyes now moist. "How do you feel?"
"Sore," his response came without needing to move a muscle.
"You were healed on the ride over," Mio brought him up to speed, "and then the nurses here patched you up."
"I see," Noah ran his other hand along his chest where a bandage wrap had been applied underneath his shirt. "Are you…?"
"I'm fine," she swiftly answered with a tinge of uncertainty in her tone, "r-right now."
"Huh? Mi-" The ponytailed soldier started to say upon sitting up but was interrupted by the lingering pain.
"Please, don't force yourself," the moonblades-wielder quickly wrapped her arm around his back for support.
"Mio, wait," he wasn't keen on changing subjects. "What do you mean by… right now?"
"Mmph…" there was clear consternation on her face as she prepared to explain. "Back there, when you… got hurt, something happened to me, too."
"You were also stunned by the loud noise?" the ninth-termer assumed, knowing how sensitive her ears could be.
"Well, yeah, but… my whole body went numb," Mio revealed to him the extent of her own impairment. "That's why I couldn't get to you. That's why you're hurt."
"I had no idea," his eyes met hers before they could look away.
"I was… so scared," her tears were building up again, threatening to run down her cheeks. "I thought I was going to lose you. I wasn't… prepared to lose you."
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I should've been more careful." By now, Noah's expression was nearly mirroring hers. "Is that what you meant back there, when you said you weren't ready?"
"Yeah," she stared at the mark on his hand. "I'm supposed to go before you do, not the other way around."
"Mio…" his mouth ran dry upon hearing her say it.
"You know it's going to happen," the zephyr steeled herself while conversely Noah seemed to fall apart. "I've got… less than seven months now."
"Mio," the former pacifist repeated her name, this time louder and more strained.
"It's the truth," her brows lowered on her face, no longer holding onto him. "We can't run away from it."
"But… we haven't even fully realized our Ouroboros powers," the younger deserter began searching for reasons to keep going. "If we defeat Moebius, then we won't have to worry about…"
"That battle earlier, it was a wake-up call," Mio shared her understanding of the situation that'd nearly resulted in Noah's death. "I got too wrapped up in it. I… we lost sight of the most important thing to us."
"W-what's that, then?" he asked with partially bated breath.
"Our precious time left together," the tenth-termer reached for his hand again, along with the other this time. "Noah, we already have what we need to be happy. The City, a home of our own, a community of friends, and each other."
"Can we not have it all in a world that doesn't hold our lives back?" the ponytailed soldier wondered aloud, perhaps rhetorically.
"I want it, too," she admitted without hesitation, "but as we are now, we may not be strong enough to achieve it."
"Where do we go from here?" Noah kept the questions coming, still trying to recover his wits.
"Let's just… live," the moonblades-wielder seated herself on the mattress. "Let's do those things you'd wanted to do before we'd learned about Moebius."
"I remember," his voice was barely above a whisper now.
"We can still contribute to the City's cause, even without fighting Moebius directly," Mio reminded him, harkening back to the compromise that they'd made following their brief separation two months prior.
"I don't… I don't know if I'm brave enough," the cowed Kevesi confessed to his Agnian counterpart, "to accept our present lives, to lose you in… due time." Tears were flowing at last, only they were his, rather than hers. It wasn't the first time that Noah and Mio had discussed matters of priority for themselves, but the stakes were higher now with less time on the clock.
"You need to let it go," she coaxed him, their foreheads together. "I'll help."
"H-how?" Noah gently tightened his grip on her hands.
"There you are," a familiar voice interrupted their delicate dialogue. "You're hurt, I knew it."
"Bowan," the zephyr saw the blue-finned defender and Colony Rho's former lieutenant heading down the row of beds towards theirs at the end.
"What happened?" he eyed them both upon arrival.
"Does it matter?" she relinquished her hold on Noah to cross her arms. "You're going to yell at us, anyway."
"As I should," the former officer pursed his lips, gazing upon them in dismay. "You said you'd protect each other, and I'd trusted that you'd do so."
"We appreciate your concern," Mio returned his frown, though her words weren't ingenuine.
"But…?" his hands rested on his hips.
"I had nothing else to say," she quelled his suspicion, slightly lightening up. "Thanks for checking on us."
"Hmph," Bowan likewise appeared to relax his stance. "Well, don't scare me like that again. You're the only friends I've got left."
"You don't consider Docca and Feriferi to be your friends?" the moonblades-wielder let the conversation meander.
"I don't know where they've gone," the blue-finned Agnian didn't quite answer her question. "Anyway, I hope you don't plan on going out to fight Moebius again. My nerves won't take it."
"We were just chatting about what to do," she faced Noah whilst palming his knee. "Perhaps this wasn't the place for tha-"
"Friend Noah up? That great news!" Another familiar voice captured their attention.
"Huh?" No longer weepy, the former pacifist peered over the edge of the bed to spot Feriferi, the green-furred Nopon whose name had just come up.
"She's here?" Bowan whipped his head in her direction.
"Time to examine patient." Toting a medical kit, the little rotund nurse hopped onto a stool alongside Noah. "Please to wait!"
"Okay," the cat-eared Agnian slid off the bed. "Can we leave afterwards?"
"Permission to be granted!" the Nopon promised before tending to the injured party. "Now, how is bandage? Is too tight, perhaps?"
"It's fine," Noah tried to grin through the mild discomfort. "Thanks."
"Does friend experience dizziness?" Feriferi inquired of the patient next. "Difficulty breathing? Persistent itch in inconvenient spot?"
"Um, no," he scratched the back of his head after considering such symptoms.
"Splendid!" she snapped her medical kit shut. "Then order from Feriferi is to rest until pain all gone!"
"Understood," the swordfighter nodded to her.
"Also while here," the green furball spun around towards Bowan, "how is other patient?"
"Me?" the former officer instantly retreated. "I'm just visi-"
"Is friend Bowan doing morning stretches like Feriferi ask?" she interrogated him, squinting, wings on nonexistent hips.
"You didn't tell me to do that," he argued with his back nearly against the wall.
"That beside point," Feriferi brushed off his retort with one of her own. "Is good daily regimen besides!"
"Do you enjoy nagging on me?" Bowan started to pout, shoulders sagging in defeat.
"Absolutely!" the Nopon's sunniness competed against his despondence like before.
"Ready to go home?" the zephyr inquired of her tired partner. Before he could respond, they noticed yet more familiar faces appearing from the other end of the infirmary.
"Oi! Noah!" Leading this group was Lanz, the muscly defender from Colony 5, accompanied by his third-term teammates Ashera and Pollux.
"You guys," the ponytailed soldier finally rose from his bed. "You've joined the City?"
"We had to, mate," the two-toned boy focused on Noah out of everybody surrounding him. "Our colony's gone."
"It's you…" the blue-finned Agnian recognized the big boy whose presence made for a rather cramped space.
"Huh?" Lanz pivoted towards Bowan, their eyes soon meeting. "Wait, I've seen you bef-"
"Scumbag!" Bowan lashed out at him which drew attention from everyone else in the infirmary. "You killed Moraine, my friends! And you have the gall to complain about your colony?!"
"It is gone!" the muscly Kevesi matched his voice level. "We lost everything!"
"No, I lost everything, all thanks to you!" the former officer insisted, rather accusingly. "You have no ri-"
"Hey!" Mio interrupted Bowan but also directed her disapproval towards Lanz as well. "Cool it."
"Yelling is violation of clinic policy!" Feriferi likewise objected to the heated spat. "Fighting also not allowed! Have plenty patients already!"
"You two battled at Colony Rho," the moonblades-wielder presumed correctly. "That much is clear."
"Yeah, and now he's lookin' for another fat lip!" Lanz stepped closer to his recent opponent, wearing his scariest face.
"How snuffin' dare you?!" Bowan's fingers twitched as if he were about to summon his Blade.
"That enough!" the green furball set down her medical kit and grabbed both contenders by the pant legs. "Out with squabblers!" Exhibiting strength not normally associated with Nopon, Feriferi dragged them all the way out to the street which prompted everyone else to follow.
"But he's the reason why I was injured," the blue-finned Agnian stooped over her, lobbying for sympathy.
"Is weak excuse for inconsideration of others!" Disappointed, Feriferi gave him and Lanz solid scolding while the others caught up.
"Be mindful we're all allies here in the City," the zephyr likewise admonished the two bickering boys. "Both of you, no more fighting each other. Your colony days are over."
"Yeah, Muscles!" Ashera teasingly poked him in the back. "Can't have the big bad Mio on your case!"
"Shut up!" the two-toned boy snarled at her, only to receive a smirk in return.
"Were you three freed by the Ouroboros Stone?" the oldest soldier of the group inquired of the newcomers.
"You mean that egg-shaped device?" Pollux scratched his forehead, baffled by the long, foreign word. "We can't see Colony 5's Flame Clock anymore."
"That's good, then," Noah added his still slightly weak voice into the mix.
"They want us to go to class tomorrow," Lanz informed him as well, though with a huff. "Thought we were done with that rot."
"Doesn't hurt to exercise your brain every so often, eh?" the Kevesi girl nudged him again, this time with her elbow.
"Yeah… er, I mean…" he shook his head in confusion before running a hand down his face.
"If you guys are staying in the barracks, please behave yourselves," Mio implored of the two defenders, focusing on her friend in particular. "Yeah?"
"I'll keep my distance," Bowan crossed his arms and looked away begrudgingly.
"Hope it's a big room," the muscly Kevesi took a similar stance.
"Feriferi better not see friends back in clinic with new bruises come morning!" the Nopon gave them one last warning as everybody turned to go their separate ways.
"Come on, let's get out of here," the moonblades-wielder once again wrapped her arm around Noah's back, though he was able to walk on his own. Both deserters wanted nothing more than to go home and unwind, especially after what'd just transpired. With the infirmary in close proximity to military headquarters, however, they weren't quite in the clear from the mission's fallout.
"Hmm?" the former pacifist noticed some people gathered in front of a row of carved, geometric stones. "What's this?"
"Aren't those the City's remembrance stones?" her curious sights scanned the objects in question and the attending crowd. "And isn't that…?"
"Alexandria and Chickadee," Noah observed them interacting with citizens, a few of whom appeared distraught.
"Hey," the stylish soldier waved to him and Mio, "good to see you two standing again."
"Yeah, we were worried," the dark-toned girl chimed in, "especially for you, Noah."
"Thanks," the swordfighter smiled through his exhaustion. "I'm… okay now."
"You don't quite look it," Alexandria opined candidly to him upon a brief inspection of his state.
"We were on our way home," Mio informed them before returning her focus onto the somber scene. "At any rate, what's going on here?"
"We're honoring the ones whom we lost out there," answered a citizen who turned out to be one of their militant teammates on the fateful mission.
"May we participate?" she offered after sharing a nod with Noah.
"You already are, just by being here," their response was warm despite the mood. "If you wish, you may have a turn to pay your respects."
"We can do that," the cat-eared Agnian assented as they walked towards the remembrance stone on which the victims' names were freshly etched. At the foot of it lied several articles of clothing, along with other accessories and a few flowers.
"Wait, are these…?" Noah started to ask, though he had a fairly clear idea.
"Their personal effects," the militant confirmed his suspicion. "We picked up all that we could in the valley."
"What about their husks?" the zephyr wondered aloud as she and Noah turned back around.
"Oh, didn't you know?" they acted surprised, hands on hips. "We citizens and you soldiers out of the cycle don't leave husks behind."
"Really?" her brows rose on her face. "So, then…"
"We fade away completely, like a natural homecoming," the militant continued to enlighten them before extending an arm towards the remembrance stone. "That's why we do this."
"Huh," Mio stared at it first, then at her hands, and finally at Noah.
"It's my fault," the ponytailed soldier's own sights were dimmed, on the ground. "Roald said you all had just retreated when we arrived, yet I encouraged everyone to push forward."
"Noah," she watched regret color his countenance.
"I'm sorry," he spoke to the objects at their feet as if the dead militants could hear him.
"Please don't shoulder all the blame yourself," her hand gently enveloped his fist, hoping to soften his clench into letting their fingers intertwine. For three solid, solemn minutes, they stood together this way while other people came and went.
"Thanks, Mio," Noah eventually turned to her, his tone weary but not completely disconsolate. "I'm ready to leave."
"Same for us," Chickadee approached them with Alexandria in tow. "Whew… what a long day it's been."
"I think all could use a few days to rest," the accessorized Agnian wiped the fringe of her hair away as the four soldiers headed into the front plaza.
"How right you are," her partner leaned against her, the air already less heavy with their presence. "Fending off that Moebius made my arm really achy."
"You let me take care of that when we get home," Alexandria assured her, giving her a quick but affectionate nuzzle. "I owe you that much and more for saving me, Chicky."
"Looking forward to it, Alex," the furry-eared Agnian grinned in response.
"Me too," the stylish soldier gave her a knowing look before addressing Noah and Mio once more. "Right, we'll be seeing you. Take it easy, now."
"Like super easy," Chickadee emphasized as she and Alexandria veered in a different direction.
"We will," the moonblades-wielder bade them farewell, Noah's hand now firmly in hers. Having split from their seventh-term friends, the two deserters finally began their long walk home. This time, they let no distractions pull them off their path, not even the innocent laughter leaking out a window of the orphanage. The final stretch to their apartment was hardly the longest, though it started to feel that way with every step.
Once inside, they gladly closed their door to the outside world. The silence was almost deafening, if not for their own tired breathing and shuffling of their boots. Though the walls around them were mostly bare, sterile, there was an undeniable sense of refuge within this humble little abode. A shower, a quick bite to eat, and an evening of peace were all that Noah and Mio needed now. However, the contrite Kevesi had something to get off his chest first.
"Hey," his voice, though low, cut into the stuffy air of their apartment.
"Hmm?" she turned to face him after taking two steps ahead.
"I gave it some thought," the younger deserter raised his jaded sights to the older one, "about what we were discussing earlier."
"I'm listening," her ears stood at rapt attention.
"You were right, we did lose sight of what we have here," the former pacifist admitted, slightly slumping.
"Does this mean you'll pull back to enjoy it with me?" Mio's tone fell somewhere between curious and expectant.
"I'll try, but…" his head dropped again, eyes momentarily shut, "my desire to free the world from Moebius is… overwhelming."
"I know," she partially mimicked his posture.
"I'm scared, Mio," Noah added to his confession to her, inhaling sharply through his teeth. "The future, as it stands to be, is the most frightening thing to me."
"I wish we could challenge our fate, too, just like how I overcame my consul's dominance with your help," the zephyr brought her hands together over her gem. "But as I said earlier…"
"We're not strong enough," the ninth-termer hadn't forgotten her words of caution, "to take on every single Moebius."
"That's right," she watched his face contort with dolor. "We should pass it on, let others mount a successful charge that which we cannot."
"I'm going to struggle," his head shook slowly, "to let it all go… t-to let you go."
"I did say I'd help," Mio reminded him as he began to tear up again. "I'll find things for us to do together, so we can be happy every day."
"But that would only make it harder," his voice gained strength for the first time all evening.
"You think so?" her hands fell to her sides.
"I know it," the ponytailed soldier insisted, willing himself to look at her with his emotions in a storm. "You've filled the void that I didn't even know I had in my life until we came to the City."
"It's the same for me," the moonblades-wielder could remain unaffected by his outpouring no longer. "This void you speak of… I felt it, briefly, when I thought I'd lost you."
"Mio…" he whispered her name like he'd done many times already.
"So, I understand," the cat-eared Agnian moved to stand nearly toe to toe with him. "Between the two of us, I have it easy. You'll be the one who's left alone when the time comes."
"Which is why I want us to break out of these ten years we've got," Noah circled them back to the sticking point of their seemingly perpetual dissensus. "Is it selfish of me?"
"Not at all," Mio placed her palm on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "As I've said, I want it as well. We're only human."
"Yeah…" the former pacifist felt the last of his composure melting away.
"At the moment, though…" a sigh passed through her lips before they pressed against his cheek, "I'm just grateful to still have you, my Noah."
"My Mio," he did the same to her but on her forehead.
This was hardly their first tender moment, however, something felt unmistakably different tonight. Perhaps it was of no surprise, given the circumstances. Her ears twitched at the first of his ensuing sobs, a sound most familiar to her at this point. Mio knew that Noah was no longer holding back, evidenced by his tear which ran onto her temple while they stood together. Her arms were gently wrapped around him, embracing not only his bruised body but also her role as his pillar of strength. This boy, sweet and genuine, who'd once given her the will to keep going, was now the vulnerable one in need of comfort.
When at last Noah had calmed himself, Mio pulled away and held his head in her hands. Indeed, his cheeks were glistening like a grassy plain carved by rivers. Their eyes locked together as they'd done several times previously, her shimmering ambers taking in every ounce of care in his cobalt blues. Never before had he looked so pathetic to her, a pouty face which drew hers back in moments later.
The feeling was foreign, flustering, frightening, yet fantastic above all. Long had Mio read about this particular gesture, and recently had it been highly recommended to her and Noah. At last, they were experiencing it for themselves in their own little world. Everything was awkward and artless while the two youths gnawed away at this boundary which had persisted for months. Once the tentativeness eroded, the delightful electricity gradually grew between them. Greedily, the affectionate Agnian pried for more from her Kevesi counterpart who gladly acquiesced to such explorative whims.
Breathless and lightheaded were Noah and Mio upon relinquishing each other when they'd had enough. What an amazing sensation it was that Moebius had kept hidden from them and every other soldier in Aionios. And yet, sadness reclaimed him as the heat dissipated, knowing that in seven months he would lose this person who'd just brought him to new heights of joy in a world dipped in agony.
"It'll be alright," the tenth-termer smiled at him before reaching for his hands once more. "Would you like to help me cook something?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Noah found it within himself to reciprocate her cheer, even if by a little bit. "Maybe you can teach me your soup recipe."
"Of course," she led him into their kitchenette, ready to begin the next phase of their lives together.
Author's notes:
We've reached the end of the fourth arc of this story but not the end overall. Indeed, there's more to come, even if we're past the halfway point. Thank you so much for reading this far! You all make me want to keep writing!
This was a very busy arc in terms of establishing characters and systems in the City. Noah and Mio now have a community of friends, many of whom will feature in future chapters. Except for Consul V from the base game and Consul R from Future Redeemed, all the Moebius were customized to fit each situation as usual. Consul Haleney was originally planned to be creepy Consul W from the base game, however, the DLC's use of a different W necessitated a change since this story takes place beforehand. Also, Triton was originally going to be a consul for both Colonies Mu and 12 as a way to allow unliberated soldiers to sneak into the City, but then I decided to make him a dunderhead fisherman in his late-twenties who hasn't been tempted by eternity yet.
As I've said, there'll be more, though I don't know how much exactly. Right now, I'm considering at least two more full arcs. I have a lot of subplots, or episodes, in mind. The next task is to place them in an order that makes sense to me and contributes to the overall storyline. Since I don't use social media, you can look at my profile on this site for updates about the progress of this story.
Questions and comments are welcome! Thanks again for reading!