— Firdia, Colyath 17, 8054 —

“…And that’s how you do it! Piece of cake.”

“Really now,” Conrad deadpanned as he stared at the laptop screen in front of him, showing two fighting game characters — one of them collapsed on the right side of the screen. With a resigned sigh, Conrad tossed his game controller on the floor in front of him. “Guess I should’ve expected that, playing against someone with super reflexes.”

“Psh, that was pure skill,” Pierce countered. “I’ve been beating you in these games for years, dude. I don’t need Velocitechnic reflexes to help.”

“You don’t even play games that much, how the hell are you so good at them?”

Pierce made an exaggerated show of shrugging. “What can I say, I’m just naturally good at things.”

“Oh yeah? How about we play some Stellar Commander, then?”

“That turned-based bullshit? No thanks, I’ll pass.”

“What, afraid you’ll lose?”

“I know I’m competitive, but I’m not stupid. I’m passing because I know I’ll lose.”

“Wow, admitting to a loss before it even happens? Dude, are you okay?” Conrad questioned with feigned concern.

Pierce rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, whatever. That game isn’t fun, anyways. There’s so much damn micromanagement… I don’t want to control a whole damn army.”

“Usually, neither do I. But I’m less bad at tactics games than you are, so I’ll take the wins where I can get them.”

“Hmph. Well, even if I wanted to play, I wouldn’t have the time. I’m supposed to pick up Liask soon.”

“For your ‘date’?”

“Why are you saying it like that?” Pierce eyed Conrad in annoyance. “Is it really that hard to believe I found a girlfriend?”

“Given what I heard the two of you say to each other when we got back, yesterday?” Conrad replied, “yeah. It is.”

“What—? Wait, did you eavesdrop on us, you fuck?”

“Hey, I was curious. I thought something was fishy about the way you two were acting. And, lo and behold… it’s because you really are acting. Man.”

“What the fuck, dude. Can’t you ever keep your nose out of other people’s business?”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone, anyways.”

“You better not, or I’ll kick your ass.”

“Whoa, hostile much? Still… you really think you’re gonna fool Phoenix with an act? Or, more importantly — how did this even start? Why ‘act’ out a relationship in the first place? Why not just actually date her for real?”

Pierce looked away, his eyes idly scanning Conrad’s room as he thought of a response. Eventually, he replied, “…look, man, I don’t know. She’s just… look, I’m not talking about this right now.”

“Alright, alright.” Conrad held up his hands in resignation. “But I’m just saying, dude. This doesn’t seem, uh… healthy. Maybe you and Phoenix should just stop this contest of yours, call it a draw.”

“Bullshit. I’m going to win, you just watch. That aside, are you really trying to give me relationship advice? How many successful relationships have you had?”

“As many as you: none.”

“…Hmph.” Pierce snorted in derision before jumping to his feet. “I’m done talking about this. It’s almost noon, anyways — I need to go get Liask.”

“Sure,” Conrad drawled as he watched Pierce move to the door. “You guys have fun on your ‘date’.”

“I’m going to kick your ass later,” Pierce retorted as he opened the door and stepped out of the room.

Conrad watched the door to his room close, leaving him alone. In the wake of Pierce’s exit, Conrad merely shrugged to himself before exiting the game on his laptop and looking for something else to occupy his time. He wasn’t quite as into gaming as Austin was, but video games were still a good way to pass the time with minimal physical activity, so Conrad would play them from time to time. Casually, he turned his laptop to face his bed and then laid down sideways on his sheets, propping up his head with his left hand as he moved the computer mouse in his right to boot up one of the few games he had on his laptop. Just as soon as he started one up and exchanged the computer mouse for a controller, however, he heard a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he shouted, though he made no effort to get up from his bed — in fact, he settled in further, grasping his controller in both hands as he eyed the laptop screen on his desk.

The door to his room then opened once more, with Kestrel silently striding through. Once in his room, she quietly closed the door behind her before turning to look at Conrad, who offered a casual wave.

“Yo,” he said, though his attention remained primarily on his game. “What’s up?”

“…Mm.” Kestrel grunted once before crossing Conrad’s room to sit down at the foot of his bed, near his feet, allowing her to see his laptop screen. “…Bored.”

“Aren’t we all,” Conrad replied. He then released a happy sigh before remarking, “there’s nothing quite like being bored on a weekend.”

Kestrel passed him a blank glance.

“…I stand by what I said,” he insisted.

“…Mm.” Kestrel then looked at his laptop, watching for a few moments as Conrad played through the forested open world of some role-playing game. She then shifted her attention to Conrad’s lone room window; while the window itself remained closed, the curtains were wide open, allowing the bright midday sun to shine through.

“You can close ‘em if you want,” Conrad remarked after noticing where Kestrel was looking. “Kinda wanted to, myself, but then I’d have to get up from the bed.”

Kestrel shook her head, followed by manipulating the air around the curtains to draw them shut without ever having to move her body.

“You’re getting pretty good with those wind powers, huh?” Conrad observed, and then passed her a cheeky grin. “With someone like you around, I won’t ever need to get a fan, again!”

The silver-haired Aerotechnic fixed him with a level stare before firing off a single gust of wind that blew his t-shirt up onto his face.

“Ack! Okay! Sorry!” Conrad spluttered out as he got his shirt out of his face and straightened it out. “…Guess that was a bad joke, huh?”

Kestrel offered a single, wordless nod in response.

“Well, you don’t mince words, I’ll give you that. Or… non-words. Expressions? Whatever,” Conrad replied as he turned his attention back to his game. “At least you have a useful power, though. You and everyone else. Me, though? I really wonder why I’m here, sometimes.”

“Stealth?”

“Yeah, and when have we ever needed stealth? Rokres aside…”

“Important in Rokres.”

“Sure, I guess… but remember what I told you? It was mostly Relia who did the legwork. And even then, I learned in Rokres that my way of doing ‘stealth’ is wrong. I do it too well, if that makes sense.”

“…Too silent?”

“Yeah, basically. Just listen for the unusual silence, and you’ll find me. I can probably figure out a way around that, I guess, but it still won’t be of any use in a fight. I don’t see how I could’ve meaningfully helped in any of the fights we’ve had.”

“EA?”

“…Alright, yeah, I guess my invisibility helped Pierce out against that mech. But I’m not going to ride on his back every fucking fight, and I doubt he’d want that, either.”

“Range?”

Conrad wordlessly gestured toward Kestrel, at which point her torso partially faded from view — though it would occasionally flicker. “Sure, I discovered I can do invisibility from range… but not well.”

“Practice.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it…”

“Your glaive?”

“If it’s as ‘powerful’ as everyone says, then I guess it could help. I don’t really see how, though. It’s just a polearm.”

Kestrel passed Conrad a glance before looking down at the floor, as if in thought.

“…Ah, don’t mind me,” Conrad quickly added. “I’m just venting. At least I have an excuse to not get involved in fights in the first place, right?”

“…Do you… want to fight?”

“Eesh…” Conrad made a face. “Want to fight? No. Never. But at the same time… I mean, you, and Phoenix, and Pierce all fight when you can. You all help out whenever you can. Sometimes — only sometimes, mind you — I feel like I’m just dead weight.”

“…”

“Especially with all of this Nanocreature bullshit. That shit seems crazy, and somehow, we’re supposed to do something about that? I can see how you, or Pierce, or Phoenix could help out. Or the others. But me?…”

Kestrel responded only with silence as Conrad trailed off. Their conversation entered into a lull, with Conrad still playing his game while Kestrel watched, her face as stoically blank as ever. Eventually, she glanced at Conrad out the corner of her eye, and made to speak — only for another knock at his door to interrupt her.

“Is Kestrel in there?” came Phoenix’s voice through the door.

“Man, can’t a guy just play games in peace?” Conrad muttered to himself before raising his voice. “Come in!”

The door to his room flew open once more as Phoenix stepped through, with Kestrel already standing up from the bed. Phoenix immediately honed in on the two, and then on Conrad’s laptop — it was facing him and his bed, so she couldn’t see the screen, but it was obvious enough what Conrad was doing. “You and those games…” Phoenix remarked as she shook her head. “You’re wasting a perfectly good day in here!”

“’Good day’ my ass,” Conrad retorted, still lying on his bed as he eyed Kestrel approaching Phoenix. “Cloudless skies, again. High heat, again. Oh, and dust, too. No thanks, I’ll stay inside.”

“Knowing you, you have an excuse to stay inside for any season, any weather, or any locale,” Phoenix replied, her hands on her hips. “You really do need to get out more.”

“Man, I already hear that a lot from Pierce. Anyways, what do you need Kestrel for?”

“Creators’ Day?” Kestrel suggested.

“Oh, right…” Conrad idly nodded. “I’d heard you two were working together on something. You’re with the twins, too, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Phoenix declared. “…But aside from that, there practically is no plan! And we only have three weeks until the big day! That’s why I’m here for Kestrel, we need to get to work.”

“Sounds like a fantastic time,” Conrad deadpanned.

“Oh shut up, asshole.” Phoenix then gestured for Kestrel to follow her as she turned to leave Conrad’s room. “We have to go now,” she shouted over her shoulder, “but you had better go get some fresh air, you lazy-ass couch potato!”

“It’s not even a couch, it’s a bed!” Conrad shouted back.

Phoenix shook her head in resignation as Kestrel closed the door behind them. “He could certainly learn from you,” Phoenix remarked, now leading the duo down the dorm corridor. “The sun is way more of an inconvenience to you, and yet you still know how to get exercise and fresh air!”

“Don’t exercise outside…” Kestrel muttered; upon realizing that Phoenix was leading them outside, she used her control of the winds to fetch her sun hat and shawl from her room, gently carrying both on a soft breeze before quickly donning them to shield her skin from the sun.

Phoenix eyed Kestrel’s shawl and hat, quickly noting that the shawl was the same white and light gray article that she had received for her birthday. “…Well, I’m not about to try convincing you to exercise outside,” Phoenix eventually continued as she pushed through the dorm doors and onto the bright, dusty grounds of WCU. “Actually, I suppose I should’ve gotten the twins before coming to get you, huh? Sorry.”

Kestrel shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“Well, if you say so. That move where you grabbed your hat and shawl from inside your room was impressive, though. Can you really control air you can’t see?”

“Yes. …Weird?”

“I don’t know if it’s weird, but it sure seems hard. I swear… you and Conrad, and Twy, too — you all seem to’ve taken to your powers like a fish to water.”

“Mm… Conrad doesn’t like his.”

“That doesn’t square with how good he is at using them. You told me about that eavesdropping technique he used, yourself; that’s an impressive control of sound waves over a distance, you know.”

“Thinks it isn’t useful.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t; he’s Conrad. He always has an excuse to stay out of things. But if he can manipulate sound waves the way he does when he eavesdrops, then I’m sure he could do the reverse, too. A lot of people underestimate just how dangerous loud sounds can be — but loud sounds are basically just really energetic vibrations. And that kind of energy can be really devastating.”

“…”

“Enough about him, though…” Phoenix stopped walking for a moment to look up at Kestrel. “I’ve wanted to ask you. What’s your take on what’s been happening, recently? What do you think of all this?”

Kestrel stared back at her. “…All what?”

“You know, the trips we’ve been on. The Bleeders. The ‘metallic infection’. All of it,” Phoenix insisted. “I know you don’t usually complain, but…”

A moment of silence followed as Kestrel continued staring at Phoenix. She then diverted her gaze, and then looked up at the cloudless blue skies above, and the sun sitting high within them. “…It’s scary,” Kestrel eventually replied. “But… danger too big to ignore.”

Phoenix responded with a wary sigh. “I guess it is. It’s hard to look away from what’s happening, everywhere. I just… I just don’t like having to engage with it all on other people’s terms. If we’re supposed to be fighting this metallic infection thing, then I want to do it my way. And the Bleeders — that’s clearly a problem that affects us, so it pisses me off to no end that everyone is telling us to stay out of it! Ugh.”

“Agree with Pierce?”

“Agh, don’t say it like that. But… well, the asshole isn’t wrong. Not completely, anyways. If we can help, then we should. Yet, at the same time, being forced to do anything… argh, I just can’t find a way to reconcile this. Conscription is wrong, it absolutely is. But with the way things are developing in this galaxy, it seems irresponsible to not go along with SERRCom, which pisses me off!” Phoenix stomped the ground in frustration. “Sometimes, I wish I could just run away. Really do things on my own terms, without SERRCom bullshit getting in the way.”

Kestrel placed a reassuring hand on Phoenix’s shoulder, drawing the latter’s gaze. “Wherever you go,” Kestrel stated, “…wherever Conrad goes… I’ll follow. I’ll help.”

“…Aw. Thanks, Kestrel,” Phoenix replied, reaching up to squeeze Kestrel’s hand with her own. “…Can’t help but notice you didn’t mention Pierce, though.”

Kestrel withdrew her hand from Phoenix’s shoulder and turned away. “…Might help.”

“Ha!” Phoenix snorted in amusement before turning around and leading the two toward the practice fields. “Fair enough! Anyways, we’ve burnt enough time just standing here. I know the twins are out here, somewhere…”

“Do they know?”

“Know what? That we’re looking for them? No,” Phoenix replied. “But it’s been over a week since we last met to talk about what we’re doing on Creators’ Day, and the day itself is in three weeks! Whether they like it or not, we need to get to work, today!”

“…All day?”

“All afternoon, at least. Look, this kind of project takes a lot of work!”

Kestrel didn’t respond, instead choosing to keep following Phoenix in silence. The latter released an exasperated sigh and made to speak again, only to be distracted by two streaks of silver light flying through the air. Quickly, Phoenix and Kestrel turned their attentions toward the source of the streaks: Twy, standing in one of the practice fields with her bow aimed slightly upwards. To her side stood Sky, who had her staff out as she watched her sister shoot silver arrows into the distant skies.

“There they are,” Phoenix said to herself, and then raised her voice to call out to the twins. “Hey! Guys!”

“Hmm…?” Twy lowered her bow and turned to look at Phoenix and Kestrel as they approached. “…Oh, hey.”

“Y’all out here to practice, too?” Sky questioned, and then threw her arms out, as if beholding the sights around her. “It’s a great day for it!”

“…It’s hot,” Kestrel said flatly.

“You’ll have to excuse her,” Twy responded with a sigh as she passed her sister a glance. “I think her increased heat tolerance is making her lose touch with what counts as a ‘sane’ temperature.”

“Oh c’mon, it’s gotta be, like, 70-something out here, right?” Sky retorted.

“Wow, you really are out of touch,” Phoenix remarked. “It’s definitely high 80s.”

“Maybe even 90…” Twy muttered as she ran a small bubble of water across her forehead to wipe her sweat and cool herself.

“…Ah, it’s fine! We’ll be fine!” Sky insisted. “We all can stand it! Heat’s nothing to me, now, and you’ve got your water stuff, sis! And Spike and Austin have that durability thing to rely on, it’s all good!”

“Wait, are Spike and Austin out here, too?” Phoenix questioned as she began scanning the grounds.

“Not yet, but they’re supposed to be,” Twy replied. “We agreed to train together, today.”

“To train—? Agh…” Phoenix released a frustrated sigh. “I was going to get you two so we could work on our Creators’ Day project!”

“Oh yeah, we really need to do that, huh…” Sky mused. “…Uh… when’s Creators’ Day, again?”

“In three weeks!”

“Oh. …Guess that’s a problem, ha ha!”

“Don’t laugh! You’re supposed to be the main performer!” Phoenix looked at Sky in disbelief. “You do want to do this, right?”

“Hey, of course I do!” Sky shot back, “I just, you know, got distracted. By literally everything.”

“The same kind of ‘distraction’ that’s kept you from working on your schoolwork?” Twy challenged.

“It’s not my fault Kaoné suddenly sprung a bunch of stupid homework on us. Besides! Spike finally got over his aversion to cuddling, and stuff! Am I supposed to just ignore that?!”

“I’m going to ignore that,” Phoenix remarked. “But you guys can train any day. Creators’ Day, meanwhile, is fast approaching. We really need to get some work done!”

“’Work’…” Kestrel muttered.

“Alright, fine, I’ll stop calling it ‘work’. But we need to make progress, alright?”

“I don’t disagree, but…” Twy frowned. “…We already made plans with Austin and Spike…”

“If they’re as close friends as you guys seem to be, then I’m sure they’ll understand an approaching deadline,” Phoenix countered. “I’ll admit, I should’ve asked you guys earlier, but I was a little, uh… distracted, yesterday.”

“Drunk,” Kestrel corrected.

“Distracted,” Phoenix insisted.

“I mean, I’m down!” Sky exclaimed. “Training is boring, anyways. I’d much rather do some singing or songwriting!”

“Ugh…” Twy facepalmed in response to her sister’s declaration. “…You might find it boring, and honestly, so do I. But it’s still important. And we already made the plans, anyways. We can’t just ditch Austin and Spike, that wouldn’t be fair…”

“You’re… …well, you’re not wrong,” Phoenix admitted. “But we do need to get some wo— progress done!”

“Training… how long?” Kestrel questioned to Twy and Sky.

“Uh…” The twins glanced at each other before Twy continued, “I… don’t really know.”

“We can just make today’s training short, or something,” Sky replied airily. “Like, an hour, tops. Maybe less.”

“You’re just trying to get out of it.”

“Ah ha ha! You know me too well, sis!”

Twy sighed and shook her head in disbelief. She then turned toward Phoenix, saying, “you make a good point about Creators’ Day, though. We’ll make today’s training session a little shorter than usual. Then, once we’ve washed up afterwards, we can find you in your room. How’s that sound?”

“Hard to argue with that,” Phoenix remarked. “Sounds like a plan. We’ll see you two later! C’mon, Kestrel, let’s at least get started with our end!”

“Mm…” Kestrel grunted in acknowledgment as she followed Phoenix back to the dorms, leaving Twy and Sky in the practice fields.

Once Phoenix and Kestrel were out of earshot, Twy released a wary sigh. Turning to Sky, she remarked, “you really don’t want to train today, do you?”

“I mean… I kinda do, honestly,” Sky replied. “I do wanna get better with my fire, and with this staff. But, still, songwriting is so much more fun than training!”

“I don’t disagree — I’d rather be drawing or painting, personally. But training is still important. Don’t make me remind you again about what happened to you during the Bleeder attack.”

“…Uuuuggghhh…” Sky groaned in frustration. “…Fiiiiine.”

“Good,” Twy responded as she held up her bow again, carefully aiming into the distant sky before slowly drawing back the string. A silver arrow manifested on the bow, automatically nocked as Twy focused on steadying her aim.

“…Sure wish I had a weapon like yours, though,” Sky muttered while watching her sister. “Something with range, you know? Like, what the hell am I supposed to do with this stupid staff?”

“There’s more you can do with that than you might think.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

Twy paused for a second, and then passed Sky a quick glance — followed by a shake of her head. “…Nevermind,” Twy replied, turning her attention back to her bow and loosing her arrow. Instantly, a silver streak of light shot through the sky, disappearing into the distant blue.

“See? Look at that!” Sky exclaimed as she watched the arrow fade with distance. “How far can you even shoot with that thing? It’s like a sniper rifle, or something!”

“It does seem more convenient than a normal bow, that’s for sure,” Twy said as she lowered her weapon to look it over. “The bow itself is light, it conjures ammunition out of thin air, and its arrows don’t seem to be affected by gravity. They do seem to dissipate after a second or two, though, so the range on this bow still isn’t that much longer than a longbow.”

“But it’s still easier to use, ain’t it?”

“Spike!” Sky remarked cheerfully as she and Twy turned to face Spike and Austin, who were just now approaching the practice fields. “What took you so long?!”

“Sorry,” Spike apologized with a sheepish grin, which quickly transformed into surprise as Sky practically leaped onto him. He took a step back to maintain his balance as her arms enveloped his chest, at which point he began ruffling her hair. “…We were just a little distracted.”

“You were playing games, weren’t you?” Twy questioned, passing a level stare at Austin.

“Guilty as charged…” Austin replied with a sheepish shrug. “Well, we’re here now, though.”

Spike glanced between the silver and white bow in Twy’s hands, and the extravagant green of Sky’s staff. “…Y’all really do wanna practice with those weapons today, huh?”

“Not a bad idea, really,” Austin commented as he summoned his blue and golden claymore into his right hand. “I’m startin’ to get the hang of this thing, but there’s still plenty to learn, I think.” He then looked over at Twy’s bow. “…Sure wish I had a bow or somethin’, though.”

“Why does everyone want my weapon?” Twy responded in exasperation.

“Ha! That’s just the grass bein’ greener, and all that,” Spike remarked. He carefully separated himself from Sky before planting his hands on his hips and looking at each of Austin and Sky. “The way the two of y’all fight, though, a bow wouldn’t do y’all any good.”

“Guess I can’t argue with that,” Sky replied.

“True…” Austin admitted, “using my Imperator power on a bow wouldn’t be as useful as using it on a sword, I guess. Still, Twy, that bow of yours has some impressive range.”

“Your form with it looks almost professional, too,” Spike declared. “You been practicin’ archery behind our backs all this time, Twy?”

“Well… no,” Twy said. “I mean, I have been practicing with it recently, but still… I don’t really know why using this bow is so easy, for me. It’s like… I just knew all along how to use it.”

“Hey, wait, I think I get what you mean!” Sky exclaimed as she stamped her staff on the ground. “I haven’t used this thing much, but every time I pull it out, it feels weirdly familiar, you know?”

“Same for my sword,” Austin stated. “I mean, I guess it makes some kind of sense that we gained some amount of skill with these weapons when we got them, but I didn’t think it’d be all that significant.”

“I bet sis is just really good with her bow because she’s really good at everything she does!” Sky declared.

“That’s not even close to true…” Twy replied.

“Well, either way, we’re burnin’ daylight,” Spike remarked. “We got a whole afternoon, so let’s not waste it!”

“Oh, right!” Twy perked up, as if remembering something, before turning toward Austin and Spike. “Sky and I told Phoenix and Kestrel that we’d meet with them later today to work on our Creators’ Day project, so our training will have to be a little short…”

“Oh yeah, y’all are doin’ somethin’ for that, ain’t you…”

“When’s Creators’ Day, again?” Austin questioned.

“Ranth 7th,” Twy replied. “Just about three weeks from now.”

“Three weeks? Seriously?!” Austin replied incredulously. “Y’all said you wanted to do a whole song and dance thing, didn’t you?”

“Yep!” Sky replied with a proud grin. “It’s gonna be great!”

“Have you even started working on it yet?”

“Not really…” Twy admitted.

“You’re gonna have to work your ass off to hit ‘great’ in only three weeks, then,” Spike pointed out. “Y’all sure you shouldn’t be workin’ on that, today?”

“I’d be stressin’ the hell out about it, if I were you!” Austin exclaimed. “Hell, I’m not even part of the project, and I’m already stressin’ out about it!”

“We’re not doomed,” Twy countered. “…But you’re also not wrong that we need to get started, soon…”

“Might as well start now!” Austin declared. “We can train whenever, but Creators’ Day is soon! Y’all should make sure that that project of yours is in the best shape possible!”

“But we agreed to train today… are you really okay with us ditching?”

“More than fine, personally!”

“You’re just tryin’ to get outta trainin’, aren’t you?” Spike challenged.

“…I don’t know what you could possibly be talking about,” Austin replied, his gaze conspicuously diverted from Spike’s.

“Don’t think you’re gettin’ out of this so easily. You’re stayin’ here, Austin,” Spike said, and then turned to Sky and Twy. “The two of y’all, though — well, I’m not gonna force you to stay or go, I’ll leave that choice to y’all. But if you think you need to get to work on that project of yours, then I won’t be offended at all if you ‘ditch’. I’m no fan of deadlines, myself.”

“See, sis?” Sky remarked as she elbowed Twy in the side. “Everything worked out! Spike and Austin are great like that!”

“Don’t think you can butter me up,” Spike countered. “You need trainin’ way more than Twy does. You better believe I’ll be workin’ you to the bone once Creators’ Day is over.”

“Give me the right ‘bone’ and I’ll do anything you’d like,” Sky replied suggestively.

Spike responded only with silence, his arms crossed as he stared blankly down at Sky. To his side, Austin and Twy both facepalmed in tandem.

“Anyways,” Twy declared, breaking the awkward silence to grab Sky by the collar of her shirt and begin dragging her off, “we’ll be on our way. Thanks for understanding, guys!”

“Yeah, no problem,” Austin shouted after her, watching for a second as Sky batted her sister’s hand away and moved to walk beside her. He then looked over at Spike, saying, “she’s really somethin’, huh?”

“Who, Sky?” Spike shook his head. “She’s a real handful at times, I gotta admit.”

“In more ways than one, am I right?”

Spike turned to stare at Austin, his lips pursed — while the latter offered a cheeky grin. With a sigh, Spike turned around and began stretching. “I swear, you and Sky need to get your minds out of the fuckin’ gutter.”

“Man, what are you even complainin’ about?” Austin retorted as he dismissed his sword and rolled his shoulders in preparation to join Spike in stretching. “You’re the one with a girlfriend, here. And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been gettin’ handsy with her, again. It’s almost nauseating.”

“If you’re jealous, then why don’t you do somethin’ to fix your own situation, huh?”

“…Easier said than done.”

“If you just fuckin’ said it, then it’d be done! Twy’s right there!”

“Sh-shush!” Austin insisted, “what if she hears you?!”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Spike replied dismissively. “Alright, you wimp, let’s get to trainin’, huh?”

“I’m not a… …well, okay.” Austin sighed before summoning his sword into his hands again. “Serious question, though: you brought up bein’ afraid to get close to Sky before, due to your superstrength. Have you gotten over that?”

“…Not completely,” Spike responded. “But I’m gettin’ better about it. I’ve been keepin’ her waitin’ for literal months, after all. Figure I should finally get my act together.”

“Glad to hear it. Just… keep it in y’all’s rooms, please?”

“You were the one just jokin’ about gropin’ her!”

“Look, dude, jokes are one thing, seein’ it public is another!”

Spike released a resigned sigh as he cracked his knuckles and then fabricated a massive shield in one hand. “…Today’s trainin’ is gonna be especially hard, you hear me?”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait,” Austin drawled, watching as Spike drove the shield’s edge into the dirt such that it would stand vertically on its own. Upon seeing Spike back off, Austin asked, “wait, I thought we were sparring!”

“With that sword of yours? Hell no,” Spike declared. “If you wanna spar, we can do that later, if your trainin’ goes well. But if you’re workin’ with the sword, then my shields will have to do as trainin’ dummies.”

“Aw… but this is so boring! Why am I the only one training, anyways, huh? Are you trying to say I’m just that much worse than you?”

“We can all stand to improve, but there’s no doubt that you and Sky need the most practice. Remember what happened on Oriciid’kas?”

“Tch…” Austin scowled. “I remember we all did terribly until Kaoné showed up…”

“I can’t deny that. But, to be perfectly blunt, you still needed rescuin’ a handful of times.”

“I saved you once!”

“And I’m grateful for that, really. But you still need to work on your situational awareness, and your dodgin’ skills. Honestly, we should be workin’ on that today, not your form with your sword.”

“That’s just an excuse for you to punch me a lot, isn’t it?!”

“You were the one who wanted to spar!” Spike responded in exasperation.

“Oh… right,” Austin admitted sheepishly.

“I see you’re still the same as ever, huh, Austin?”

Austin and Spike both glanced to the side, where they spotted Luke — trailed by Gavon — approaching.

Luke offered a casual wave once they spotted him. “Doing some training, huh?” he observed.

“We were just about to start,” Spike stated.

“Oh, sorry. We’ll try not to keep you too long, then,” Luke replied. “But have either of y’all seen Davídrius, recently? Gavon and I need to speak with him.”

“Not today, I haven’t…” Austin answered. “It’s the weekend, so I bet he isn’t even on campus.”

“I figured that might be the case,” Gavon remarked with a sigh. “Still thought we’d check, though.”

“What do you want with Davídrius? Is this… about the Bleeders?”

Luke and Gavon exchanged a glance. “…It’s about a handful of things,” Luke eventually responded.

“And now that the conversation has shifted to something serious,” Gavon quipped, only to quickly turn solemn as he turned toward Austin and Spike. “I’ve heard about what you went through on Oriciid’kas. On behalf of the Black Suns, I’d like to apologize. That situation should never have gotten as bad as it did.”

“You don’t say,” Austin drawled.

“It did get pretty bad…” Spike muttered. “But the Colonel we met there seemed to think there was some kinda foul play…”

“Yeah, and Rebehka agreed, too,” Austin affirmed. “Uh… Gavon, right? What do you think?”

“I think it’s far too early to say,” Gavon replied. “The district of Holres’Ket was lost less than a week ago; it’ll take several more weeks, at an absolute minimum, for the investigations to conclude. I’ll be sure to inform you all the moment I know the answer, though.”

“Right…”

“We really should get going, though,” Luke said. “Austin, Spike, keep it up.”

“Sure thing,” Spike replied as Luke and Gavon turned to walk away, leaving Austin and Spike to square off for an impromptu duel.

As they walked, Gavon glanced over his shoulder at the two Earthians, watching for a second as they lunged toward each other. He then turned forward with a wary sigh. “…So Colonel D’Tan and Dean Tchiréon really did speculate about foul play in front of everyone?” he questioned to Luke.

“It was the Chaos Knight that actually used the words ‘foul play’, not the Colonel or Rebehka. But otherwise… yeah,” Luke replied. “It sure seemed like the Colonel and the Dean were convinced that what happened, couldn’t have happened under the established security protocols.”

“Hmm…”

“What about you?” Luke side-eyed Gavon as the two men excited the WCU campus and began walking down the streets of Compound Tresnon. “You’re with the Suns. Have you heard anything?”

Gavon remained thoughtfully silent for several moments. Eventually, he replied, “…nothing that I can tell you, I’m afraid.”

“Right… well, that’s just how it is, sometimes,” Luke responded. “Can you at least answer me this: do you think that the Critical Infection Incident had anything to do with those Sector 2 soldiers that showed up a day before?”

“We’re getting into dangerously speculative territory, my friend.”

“I suppose, but you were the one who told me and my team that Sector 2 is untrustworthy.”

“That I was…” Gavon muttered. “…Well, to be honest with you, I’m always distrustful of Sector 2. Them showing up in Holres’Ket is a giant red flag, as far as I’m concerned. That said, I looked into the whole incident — and from what I could find, the Sector 2 soldiers in the district really were there under orders from Sector 2’s Lieutenant General, Lucik Ferrous. And General Ferrous is well known for his dislike of the Chaos Knights — which is the cited reason for Sector 2’s presence, since that Chaos Knight was there.”

“You’re saying it all checks out?” Luke questioned.

“On a surface level, sure. There’s more to it than that, but…” Gavon released a frustrated sigh. “…I really can’t tell you any more about why I distrust Sector 2. I’m sorry, but it’s all confidential.”

“…I see. Well, I can’t really blame you. I’m not even a civilian, after all, I’m a member of a potentially opposing military force.”

“Luke…”

“No, I’m serious. I get it,” Luke responded, stopping for a moment to address Gavon head-on. “Every org has secrets, right? The Black Suns have some, SERRCom has some. I’m sure even the Chaos Knights, and the NSD, and everyone else has info that they don’t want people outside their orgs to know.”

Gavon regarded Luke with a wary look, only to sigh in resignation a second later. “…You’re right. And thanks for understanding.”

“Of course. What’s got you down, though? You usually seem a bit more chipper than this.”

“A couple days ago, I was called by my superior.” Gavon flashed an uneasy smirk. “You know how those can go.”

“Ah, I see…” Luke nodded in understanding as the two began walking again. “Well, after we let Davídrius know that we saw nothing on the walls today, how about we go shooting, and get drinks later? Help take your mind off things, and all that.”

“Shooting and drinking? My, how daring!” Gavon replied playfully.

“Not at the same time, of course! Sheesh.” Luke shook his head in disbelief. “Sounds like a great way to blow your head off.”

“Ha!” Gavon remarked with a smirk. “You joke, but if you tried to handle a Black Suns rifle while drunk and unaugmented, then you really could break your arm or blow off your shoulder from the recoil alone!”

“Wait, really?”

Luke and Gavon both glanced to the side, where they noticed Mark jogging up alongside them. “Hey, Mark,” Luke greeted, “finished your rounds?”

“I just got back from meeting with Selind, yeah. I wanted to report to you, too,” Mark replied, and then glanced toward Gavon. “…Which is when I heard you talk about the recoil of your rifle. Are Black Suns weapons really that powerful?”

“Well, I embellished a little, obviously,” Gavon said. “A single prosthetic arm isn’t enough to brace against recoil that would shatter an unaugmented person’s shoulder. But there is some truth to the matter.” He then looked at Luke. “Particularly with my SR-24. If you were to fire it at full power without properly bracing yourself, Luke, then you legitimately could break your arm.”

“Is that why you haven’t let me use it yet?” Luke prodded.

“But of course! It wouldn’t do to let a SERRCom officer injure themselves on a Black Suns weapon! Just imagine how bad that would look!”

Mark looked between the two officers with a smile. “I see you’re both getting along well.”

“That so…?” Luke questioned.

“We have been working together for over a month, now,” Gavon pointed out. “Stands to reason we’d either be getting along well, or terribly, at this point. How about you, Mark? You interested in going shooting with us?”

“Oh, no… I don’t want to intrude,” Mark quickly replied. “Besides, guns aren’t really my thing.”

“Every Chaotic could use a gun, you know. …But, then again, you aren’t a normal Chaotic, are you?”

“Ha ha…” Mark laughed uneasily. “Well… I suppose not.”

“You said you wanted to report to me, though, Mark?” Luke questioned.

“Oh, right.” Mark quickly straightened up as he turned to address Luke. “I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary on my side of the city. Selind said that no one else has seen anything today, either.”

“The Bleeders really are holding off for now, huh…” Luke mused. “Even though they raided and razed a nearby compound just a few days ago… I still don’t understand why the Bleeders didn’t try to capture the compound, instead. If they want to attack Tresnon, then surely they’ll need some kind of forward operating base?”

“I suspect they don’t need a compound as an FOB,” Gavon stated. “From what Selind and Davídrius have told me, the Bleeders’ leader, Strén, has used his Geotechnism to construct underground bases, before. Even under the sands of Treséd’s wastelands.”

“If so, then we’d have no way to tell where they’re hiding…” Mark muttered.

“That’s not completely true. Underground bunkers are detectable with all manner of modern sensor tech,” Gavon pointed out. “Now… Treséd doesn’t really have access to any of that tech right now, but I’m sure Kaoné can make some. She’s the real reason the Bleeders haven’t approached Tresnon since Hunger’s Bane, anyways.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about her Materiatechnism, and her Overdrive. Both are incredibly powerful — and thanks to her being a former member of Hero Machina, the entire galaxy knows it,” Gavon declared. “The vast majority of Chaotics wouldn’t win if they were forced to fight an entire modern army all on their own, but there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Kaoné could. And the Bleeders are much more poorly equipped than a modern army, even with the handful of tech they have now. I’m sure they realize that.”

“If that’s true, then shouldn’t they have attacked while she was away, on Oriciid’kas?” Luke pointed out.

“The Bleeders don’t have perfect information,” Gavon answered. “Really, no one in Treséd does. The lack of tech on this continent makes surveillance incredibly difficult, which is a double-edged sword — we’re having a hard time tracking the Bleeders, but in all likelihood, they’re having a hard time assessing Compound Tresnon’s strength, as well. I’ve also noticed that ever since the Hunger’s Bane attack, Kaoné specifically remains inside Tresnon’s walls at all times; she doesn’t even seem to wander the town all that frequently. I think she’s purposefully keeping a low profile, to make it more difficult for the Bleeders to tell if she really is gone from the Compound, or if she just isn’t making herself known.”

“If Kaoné is so important to deterring the Bleeders, then I’d think we should make her presence exceedingly well known,” Mark countered.

“If she were a permanent resident, then I’d agree,” Gavon replied. “But it’s clear that she has responsibilities elsewhere, and won’t remain in Treséd for forever. If Tresnon wants to use her reputation as a shield, then they have to make the Bleeders as confused as possible as to whether or not she’s really here, so that they don’t try to attack when she isn’t.”

“In which case, their attacks on the surrounding settlements are probably meant to draw out her or Davídrius, aren’t they?” Luke speculated.

Gavon nodded. “That’s what I think. In particular, it’s clear that there’s an old, lingering grudge between Davídrius and Strén — a deep grudge, in fact. I’m sure it’s a big part of why Strén announced his presence at the Hunger’s Bane attack. It was a terror tactic, of sorts, and he likely hoped that introducing himself as a known quantity would throw Davídrius off balance. And constantly attacking the surrounding Compounds repeatedly forces Davídrius and the Defense Force to be reactive, rather than proactive, which is a terribly demoralizing mindset to be in when you already hate your enemy. On top of that, as I understand it, all of the former members of Hero Machina are still close friends. As a result of that, if Davídrius is ever captured or neutralized, then the Bleeders might be able to use that to draw out Kaoné — or even send her Berserk. And a Berserk Chaotic as powerful as Kaoné would devastate Tresnon better than the Bleeders could, themselves.”

“When you put it that way… the Bleeders sound even more thoughtful and intimidating than I thought,” Mark commented.

“They’re no ordinary criminal gang, I’ll grant them that,” Gavon declared. “But I remain confident that we’ll beat them. We just need to remain vigilant.”

“I suppose so… Anyways.” Luke then turned to Mark. “Well, that was a real tangent. Anything else to report, Mark?”

“Uh, no, sir, that’s it,” Mark replied. “…Oh, wait, Selind told me to tell you that she’s busy today and tonight, so she won’t be able to join either of you for shooting or drinking.”

“That so…”

“It’s to be expected,” Gavon remarked. “She’s managing the entire Defense Force, after all, and these are trying times. I wonder if we should go help…”

“Might be worth it to at least check in on her,” Luke commented. “Alright, then, Mark, we’ve gotta go. Keep up the good work.”

“You, as well,” Mark responded, watching as Luke and Gavon continued down the street. He then turned around and began making his way toward Market Street, a large, empty canvas bag in hand. Now that his daily guard duties were over with, he intended to get some shopping done, as the kitchen cabinets back in the dorm were beginning to run low on food. There was a lot going on recently, after all, and a lot for everyone to stress out about. He merely wished to help alleviate stress in the best way he knew how: by cooking good meals with tasty food.

As Mark walked down the streets, he eventually came upon the lake shores; Mirage Lake stretched out before him, as if an ocean. While Market Street awaited him to the east, Mark remained standing where he was, taking in the sights of the lake for just a brief few moments. The vast blue waters reminded him of home — of Earth — in a way that the sandy beige of Compound Tresnon couldn’t possibly, and with that, were thoughts of his friends.

“Mote, Danielle, Kate…” he muttered to himself, “…I really miss you all. Whatever you’re doing, wherever your missions take you, I hope you’re doing well…”

Serene silence followed his words as he allowed only the sounds of the lake’s gentle waves to fill the air. The distant Market Street crowds could be faintly heard on the winds, as well, eventually drawing Mark’s attention back to his destination. With a deep breath, he began walking once more; he still had shopping to do, after all. Just as he began walking, however, he found himself nearly stumbling over a couple that had just rounded the corner. “Sorry, sorry…!” he began to apologize, quickly backing off.

“Oh… it’s you.”

“Huh…?” Mark looked down at the couple, getting a better look at them — and quickly realizing that it was Pierce and Liask that he had almost overrun. “Oh! Hello.”

“Watch out where you’re walking…” Pierce muttered.

“C’mon, Pierce, it was an accident,” Liask insisted, and then turned to give Mark a smile. “Nice to meet you, again. You’re one of Pierce’s friends, right?”

“Friends…?” Mark echoed uneasily as he exchanged a glance with Pierce.

“More like an acquaintance,” Pierce corrected. “We haven’t talked much. Hell, I’ve talked with the dweeb, more.”

“I suppose we really haven’t talked much at all, have we…”

“Well… you at least make good food, I’ll give you that. So, uh. Thanks for making dinner all the time, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it!” Mark replied with a warm smile. He then looked down at Pierce and Liask’s hands, noting that they were linked, at which point he made to excuse himself. “Speaking of food, though, I have some shopping I need to do. So let me get out your way.”

“Uh, see you later,” Pierce responded as Mark left for Market Street.

“…Hehe,” Liask giggled once Mark was out of earshot. “You really do have an awkward side, huh?”

“What else are you supposed to do when you run into an acquaintance,” Pierce challenged. He then looked down at where he and Liask were holding hands. “Besides, I’m still… getting used to this.”

“That’s surprisingly innocent of you.”

“Oh shut it. I mean the whole ‘acting’ thing. Plus, holding hands doesn’t really seem like a Tresédian thing, so everyone’s staring at us.”

“It’s not, but it is an Earth thing, right? And it’s your Earthian friends you need to convince. So, holding hands!” Liask smiled at Pierce, only to then wriggle her fingers uncomfortably. “…Is this really an Earth thing, though? It’s so weird…”

“If you’re that uncomfortable, then we can just stop,” Pierce suggested.

“No, no! It’s fine. I’ll get used to it,” Liask insisted. “So, uh… our ‘date’?”

“…Right. Our ‘date’…” Pierce echoed, his gaze sweeping over the lake waters and the nearby shores. “…It’s early afternoon, so I’m sure most of the fun places are closed. But we could still hit up the lakefront.”

“Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s go!”

“Alright…” Pierce offered her a slight nod and a forced smile before turning to begin walking the streets of Tresnon toward the Mirage Lakefront, prepared for anything else that the weekend afternoon might hold.