The Next Day

“…And with that, we’ve covered everything, today. As I mentioned earlier, this week’s quiz will be tomorrow, not on Skydia, so don’t forget to study. And Skydia morning, we’ll be leaving for another off-world trip!”

“Another one…?” Conrad grumbled, his chin resting on his desk as he looked up at Kaoné.

“And so soon after the last one…” Twy muttered.

“Sorry, everyone,” Kaoné responded sheepishly. “I know this many trips can be stressful. But these are all opportunities that don’t come often, so let’s appreciate them when we can. Especially this time, since you’ll be getting to look at some of the Union’s less-developed planets!”

“And why are we going there?” Phoenix questioned.

“For training,” Kaoné replied while packing her instructor equipment. “There’s only so much you can do here in Treséd, or even on Nimalia. But Davídrius and I will explain the full details of your trip Skydia morning.” She then turned to leave the room, declaring, “I’m afraid I have some things to tend to, so I’ll be leaving ahead of you all. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

“Finally,” Pierce remarked, grabbing his textbooks and readily making for the classroom exit after Kaoné. “See you all later, losers!”

“That insufferable…!” Phoenix scowled as she glared after him. “…Ugh, I need to decompress. Kestrel, I’ll meet up with you later so we can study.”

Kestrel wordlessly nodded as Phoenix left the room, herself.

“We should probably get studyin’, ourselves…” Spike suggested, passing a glance toward Sky in particular.

“Ah, we can do that later!” Sky declared as she rushed to Kestrel’s side. “Hey, Kestrel! Let’s get some work done! We need to finish our song, after all!”

“…Mm…” Kestrel grunted in acknowledgment and then followed Sky out of the room.

“Wow, she really bailed on you, huh, dude?” Conrad remarked while glancing at Spike.

“That’s just how she is when she gets invested in a project,” Spike replied, and then shrugged in resignation. “Well, I’ll just get her in a couple hours. Guess I could get in some trainin’, in the meantime.” He looked over at Conrad, and then back at Austin and Twy, who were preparing to leave as well. “Any of y’all up to join me?”

“For training? Nah, I’m good,” Conrad said, and then yawned broadly. “…I’m just gonna go take a walk before dinner. Maybe a nap, too.”

“Are you ever not napping?” Twy questioned incredulously.

“Wish I wasn’t,” Conrad replied, and then offered a casual wave as he stepped out of the room. “Peace.”

“…Well, what about y’all?” Spike suggested as he looked to Austin and Twy.

“We already did training, today,” Austin commented. “I’d rather take it easy.”

“And I have some work I need to do, too…” Twy responded. She flashed an apologetic smile at Spike. “Sorry…”

“Nah, it’s cool. I expected it,” Spike replied with a smirk. “Well, I’m off, then. See y’all later.”

“…And just like that, everyone’s gone,” Austin remarked after watching Spike leave.

“Well, yeah,” Twy replied, as if what Austin had said was blindingly obvious. “Class is over, there isn’t much reason to stick around.”

“…I guess so.” Austin glanced out the classroom window, taking note of the afternoon light the flooded through it. He then looked back to Twy. “What’s that ‘work’ you need to do? Is it for Creators’ Day?”

“Pretty much…” Twy released a weary sigh as she and Austin left the classroom themselves, finally starting down the halls to the campus dorms. “Sky basically wants an entire mural as a painting…”

“A mural?” Austin echoed incredulously, “seriously? What wall are you even painting on?”

“Not an actual mural, just, a painting the size of one. I’m not doing it all on one canvas.”

“Oh. Well, still. Why’s it need to be so big?”

“It’s set-dressing for her performance. She wants the entire audience to see it.”

“…Set-dressing?” Austin looked down at Twy doubtfully. “That doesn’t seem like a very nice way of putting it.”

“It’s just about how Sky described it,” Twy replied, her tone carrying in it a hint of annoyance.

“…Guess that wouldn’t surprise me. Though, you could look at it another way: she just wants to make sure everyone can appreciate your artistic talent!”

Twy glanced up at Austin, her expression unreadable. A second later, however, she released a sigh of resignation. “…You’re probably right. Still… a painting as large as she wants is a massive ask, especially for one person over less than three weeks. Hell, even less than that, since we apparently have a new trip.”

“When you lay it all out like that, yeah, it sounds pretty bad. Why not just… you know, push back? Tell her ‘no’, and just make a more reasonably-sized painting?”

“I should… but to be honest, I’m also a little curious to see if I can reach Sky’s expectations. I’ve been practicing using my Hydrotechnism to paint with watercolors, so this is a good chance to apply that practice to an entirely different scale.”

“I see. I was gonna offer to help, but if you’re using it as practice, then I dunno if I can really do anything.”

“What would you even help with? I mean— I’m not trying to be rude, but, uh… I don’t usually accept help with my art.”

“What a roundabout way of saying that my art skills aren’t good enough for you,” Austin teased.

“What? No, th-that’s not…” Twy stuttered out.

“Relax! I get it. You don’t want someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing to ruin your work. It’s fine,” Austin insisted. “Still, though. You sure you can handle an entire mural on your own?”

“I’ll need to get more paints from Kaoné… but I should be fine.”

“A’ight, if you say so. Painting with your powers, though… that’s a neat idea. You’ve been practicing with them a lot, huh?”

Twy conjured up a small orb of water, hovering over her free left hand. “…After everything we’ve been through over the past few months,” she eventually replied, “I figure that we could use as much practice as we can get.”

“Can’t argue with that…” Austin muttered as the two finally emerged from the main campus building. Bright, late-afternoon sun shone down upon them, filling the blue skies uncontested — and imposing upon Compound Tresnon a stifling heat.

“Here…” Twy took off her cloak — a standard part of Tresnon’s desert outfits — and quickly soaked it with water before manipulating the article to hover in the air above Austin and herself, shielding them both from the sun. “That better?” she asked.

“I didn’t even say anything!” Austin remarked.

“The way you were squinting and grimacing was telling. You always do that when it’s too hot and bright.”

“I was grimacing…?”

“Yes, you were. Now let’s get going. The sooner we get into the dorms, the sooner we don’t have to deal with the heat.”

“I guess…” Austin replied, quickly falling into step beside Twy as she began to cross WCU’s campus grounds, all while keeping her soaked cloak in the air as a sun shield. Austin briefly glanced up at the hovering clothing article before looking down at Twy. “…Man, I wish I was half as good with my powers as you.”

“You’re not doing too poorly, yourself,” Twy countered. “Besides, your abilities sound much more difficult to train with than mine. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“So you say, but stuff like what happened on Oriciid’kas show that I have a long way to go…”

“You can’t blame any of that on yourself. The situation got out of everyone’s hands. Even Kaoné and Rebehka couldn’t save it.”

“…True… Still. It just doesn’t sit right with me. What happened there didn’t need to’ve happened at all…”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that the metallic infection only got out of hand because the Black Suns were trying too hard to save a bunch of ruins. That Chaos Knight lady was right, they should’ve just bombed the district from the start and started over from scratch.”

“And leave everyone inside to die?”

“No, no, I’m not sayin’ that! Evacuate everyone you can, of course. But what’s even the point of trying to salvage a big, corrupted mess? It seems like a great way to let the infection spread under your noses.”

“In general, sure, but it seemed like the Suns were taking every reasonable precaution.”

“And yet, that Critical Infection still happened.”

“True…” Twy admitted.

“And just think,” Austin insisted. “Kaoné was there, Rebehka was there — two of the members of Hero Machina. One of them, one of the most powerful Chaotics in the galaxy! And even they couldn’t put a stop to the infection!”

“I see where you’re going with this… you’re wondering what we’re supposed to do, if even they couldn’t stop it?”

“Exactly. How the hell are a handful of Chaotics supposed to fight that?!”

Twy remained silent for a moment, organizing her thoughts as the two reached the dorm entrance. Austin entered ahead of her and held the door open while she wrung all of the water out of her cloak; she then followed him inside, turning down the hallways toward their rooms. “…Well,” Twy eventually responded, “Kaoné did cure that one little animal of the infection. That’s a step, right?”

“It’s a step that none of us can take,” Austin pointed out. “None of us are Materiatechnics, remember?”

“Yes, but it’s still a symbol. A sign of progress. What Kaoné did shows that the infection can be beaten, and by Chaotics, no less. We might not be able to do the exact same as her, but there’s still room for Chaotics to matter.”

“I guess…”

“I’m not saying that it’ll be easy, of course. I think we all still have a long way to go before we’re ready to contribute in any meaningful way to beating back the metallic infection. And fighting it will definitely have risks… but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

“Mm…” Austin grunted in response. “…So you think Kaoné trying to cure that animal was the right thing to do?”

“Of course it was,” Twy replied. “The Black Suns said something about getting a bunch of data out of it so they can teach their own Chaotics to do the same, right? So not only did Kaoné prove that curing the infection is possible, but she also provided the means for more people to learn how to do it.”

“And if she hadn’t succeeded? What if her trying to cure that animal had triggered the Critical Infection, but we got nothing out of it?”

“That… …would be harder to justify, I suppose. Are we sure that her operation is what caused everything to get out of hand, though? That doesn’t seem right…”

“I think it just means that the Black Suns weren’t being as careful as they said they were.”

“What about the fact that Kaoné and Rebehka both sided with the Black Suns Colonel?”

Austin shrugged, just as the duo reached their rooms at the end of the building. “I don’t know…” he commented, turning to give Twy an uneasy look. “I agree that finding a cure is good, and important, but… I don’t think solvin’ the infection is gonna be that easy.”

“I never said it would be,” Twy replied. “Kaoné herself has said that she hasn’t cured an actual person, yet. I think it should definitely be possible, since she cured that cat-like animal, but… there’s still a lot of progress to be made, a lot of effort to be spent.”

“Yeah… I guess so.” Austin released a lofty sigh. “…Ugh. Sorry for gettin’ us on this topic.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m more than happy to hear out your concerns whenever,” Twy declared, only to quickly divert her gaze and begin fidgeting uncomfortably. “Uh, I-I mean, well… as, you know…”

“I get it, I get it. You have that project to work on, right?” Austin replied as he went to enter his room. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Uh, no— well, yes, but… um. Right.” Twy cleared her throat uneasily. “Well, um. Talk to you later, Austin.”

“Same to you. And good luck with the painting,” Austin responded, finally entering his room and leaving Twy to her own work.

---

*

“Pierce! You’re here!”

“Of course I am,” Pierce replied with a smirk as Liask ran up to him. “I can’t very well miss dinner, can I?”

“Especially when you’re havin’ it with me,” Liask replied with a grin, while threading her fingers with Pierce’s.

He looked down at their linked hands, and then glanced back at the WCU campus. The duo currently stood just in front of the gates, prepared to head out on the town; the campus grounds themselves were covered with students returning to the dorms from their classes, or heading out for dinner.

“…Is she watching?” Liask asked in a whisper after noticing Pierce looking around.

“…If she is, I can’t see her,” Pierce replied.

“Oh. Well, uh… if you can’t be sure, then we’d better keep holdin’ hands, huh?”

Pierce passed Liask an unreadable glance before forcing a charming smirk. “Heh, if you insist. But let’s not keep standing around, we have a whole evening to burn!”

“Yeah!” Liask responded enthusiastically as the duo left the campus and began walking the dusty streets of Compound Tresnon. “…Though, it’s still a weeknight. We can’t stay out too long…”

“Ah, don’t think about that,” Pierce insisted. “We’re out here to relax. Besides, I just got word that I’ll be going on another trip in a couple days, so this is the last chance we have to hang out before then.”

“Hang out…” Liask echoed, the enthusiasm in her expression momentarily fading before she smiled again. “Another trip, though, huh? To where?”

“I don’t know, Kaoné didn’t say. But we’re leaving on Skydia.”

“And I still have community service tomorrow… so tonight really is all we have, huh?”

“Exactly. So…” Pierce paused to look up at the sky; while low to the horizon, the sun still remained high enough that sunset was at least an hour away. “…While the sun’s still up, let’s go hit up the lakefront. Then we can have dinner during sunset.”

Liask passed him a cheeky glance. “Will you be able to pay for that, with your cut allowance?”

“It’s not an allowance, it’s a stipend,” Pierce insisted. “It’s different. Besides, I have plenty of experience with making a little bit of money last as long as I need it to. One evening out will be perfectly fine.”

“I guess you can’t convince your friends we’re datin’ without puttin’ some money on it, too, huh?”

“Well, sure, but let’s not talk about it like that, alright?” Pierce looked down at Liask. “Or even about that, um, at all. Let’s just have fun.”

Liask returned the look before slapping herself on her cheek with her free hand. “…Yeah, you’re right. Sorry!”

“Tch. Not only are you with him again, but you’re apologizin’? To him? I can’t believe this.”

“…Obra,” Pierce acknowledged stiffly as the dark-skinned Tresédian approached Pierce and Liask.

“Do you need something?” Liask questioned, giving Obra a smile all the while — though Pierce could tell that her expression had grown a little strained. “We’re kinda busy, here…”

“Busy… tch.” Obra scowled as he glanced between Pierce and Liask, his arms crossed in obvious frustration. “Just what the hell do y’all think you’re tryin’ to do here, huh?”

“Me and Pierce are on a date, obviously,” Liask countered.

“What’s your problem with this, anyways?” Pierce challenged. “Let me guess: you’re jealous, aren’t you?”

“Jealous? Tch,” Obra scoffed. “Don’t bullshit me. I ain’t jealous… I’m disgusted.”

“Obra!” Liask exclaimed in admonishment, “don’t be so rude!”

“You’re the one who’s bein’ rude, here!” Obra countered. “Just prancin’ around with this fuckin’ outsider here, all while Minilas is still out there, in Bleeder hands!”

“Wha…!” Liask stared at him, her mouth hung open; she had just been about to respond to Obra, but at his mention of Minilas, she froze in place.

“Hey…” Pierce glared at Obra. “Your friend still being out with the Bleeders isn’t our fault. Nothing about Liask going on a couple dates would change that!”

“The time y’all have spent on this useless bullshit is time you could’ve spent lookin’ for Minilas!” Obra declared. “That’s what I’ve been doin’. Tryin’ to figure out what I can from the Defense Force, from Ralak, from Selind. But I bet you ain’t even thought about this once, have you, Liask? Not since you got wrapped up with this outsider bastard, here!”

“No, that’s…” Liask responded meekly.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Pierce relinquished Liask’s hand to grab the collar of Obra’s cloak. “I get that you care for Minilas, but don’t you fucking blame Liask for this!”

“You would say that, wouldn’t you?” Obra retorted, merely glaring at Pierce as the latter continued to hold his collar. “It was your idea that led us on that useless fuckin’ chase to Rokres, where we fucked everythin’ up! I bet you’re tryin’ to forget it all, too!”

“Just because I know how to have fun every now and then doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten anything, asshole. Don’t forget that we stopped the Bleeder assassination attempt on the Rokres leaders, too — and Liask was actually there for it, unlike either of us!”

“…Tch.” Obra silently glowered at Pierce for a second before slapping away Pierce’s hand. He then turned to Liask, declaring, “if you actually give a shit about Minilas, then kick this outsider aside and help me find her! Or you can keep goin’ with your head in the sand while I save her, myself. Your fuckin’ choice.” With that, he whipped around and stormed off toward WCU.

“What a fucking asshole…” Pierce muttered as he watched Obra leave. “Hey, Liask, don’t pay attention to—“

“No…” Liask interrupted, “…no, he’s… he’s right.”

“…What?” Pierce finally turned back to face Liask, finding her absentmindedly stroking the scar across her mouth, her eyes glistening.

“I… I haven’t been thinkin’ about Minilas, at all…” She sniffled — an obvious attempt at fighting back tears — before continuing, “I-I mean, I’ve thought about her, yeah, but… I just…”

“Hey, c’mon… it’s alright—“ Pierce moved to place a reassuring hand on Liask’s shoulder, but she jerked away from him, causing him to regard her with surprise. “What…?”

“No, I’ve… I’ve been lyin’ this whole time,” Liask insisted, her gaze unable to meet Pierce’s. “My own friend was kidnapped! By Bleeders! Obra’s right, I should be tryin’ to get her back, but… but I just ran from that! I just… couldn’t bear to think of what might be happenin’ to Minilas, or how if I’d just been payin’ attention more, she never would’ve gotten taken in the first place, so I ended up datin’ you just to not think about it — but, but, even then, I’m not actually datin’ you, am I? I couldn’t even honestly tell you how I felt, just hidin’ behind this ‘pretend’ crap, usin’ your own stupid contest as an excuse to get closer to you, ‘cause I just… agh, what am I even doing?!”

Pierce fell silent, uncertain of how to respond to Liask’s outburst. He simply stood there, uneasily watching as she cradled herself, still stroking her scar all the while. Several times he opened his mouth, and then closed it again, as he tried to tell Liask that Minilas’s kidnapping wasn’t her fault — but all the while, he couldn’t help but be reminded of what happened on that fateful night on Ainminthalus, when he watched Trenon die. A dull throb passed through Pierce’s lower torso — a sensation he hadn’t felt in some time, but one that reminded him of his link to Liask. Several people had told him that Trenon’s death wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t shake the guilt anyways. So how could he tell Liask the same, that she wasn’t at fault for Minilas’s fate?

“I’m… I can’t believe myself…”

Pierce responded with uneasy silence to Liask’s self-disparagement.

“Not even everythin’ with Minilas, but I fell for the guy my brother fucking died to save…” she muttered. “I… and you, Pierce, you still stuck with me, anyways, and all under a lie…”

“Well…” Pierce regarded Liask with an uneasy smile. “The ‘pretend dating’ thing was a pretty transparent lie, really…”

Liask snapped her gaze up to meet Pierce’s eyes. “What?”

“I mean… yeah,” Pierce replied. “No one suggests to ‘pretend date’ someone if they didn’t already like that person at least a little bit. And even then, uh… you really weren’t good at hiding how you felt. About me, at least.”

“No… so I can’t even lie to you, huh? I’ve just been lyin’ to myself, this whole time…”

“…Look… we all lie to ourselves, sometimes. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Let’s at least get some dinner, getting some food might help—“

“Why are you bein’ so nice to me? Even after everythin’ I just said, you must think I’m a monster!”

“What? No… that’s ridiculous. You’re not a monster, Liask. If anyone’s a monster…” Pierce’s gaze shifted to look out over the streets of Tresnon, all while his lower torso throbbed once more. “…It’d be me. I’m the reason your brother is dead, after all. And still, I’m here, trying to make friends with you. By all rights, you should hate me.”

“Of course I don’t!” Liask insisted, “how could I? I wouldn’t throw away Trenon’s sacrifice like that! And even then, I think you’re a lot more selfless than you think! You even tried to help me and Obra look for Minilas. It may not have worked out in the end, but at least you tried! Of course I’d like someone like that!”

“…Still—“

“What about you, though?”

Pierce looked back to Liask in surprise. “Huh? What about me?”

“W-well…” She fidgeted uneasily. “You… you said you knew that I, um, liked you… right? And you still, uh, ‘pretended’ to date me. And to be nice to me… so, do you… feel the same way about me?”

“Ah…” An uneasy look washed across Pierce’s face as he diverted his gaze from Liask. Several seconds passed, filling the air with a heavy silence as Liask awaited Pierce’s response. “…I…” he began, his attention drifting upwards, to the cloudless late-afternoon skies. “…To be honest… …I don’t know.”

“You… don’t know…?”

“…Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about you.”

“Then… then why…? If you knew that I… all along…”

“…”

“So it really was just ‘pretend’ to you, huh?”

“H-hey, I…”

“I— I’m sorry…” Liask stepped away. “I… I need time to think…”

“Uh, r-right…” Pierce responded uneasily as Liask turned away, back towards the WCU campus. …Way to fucking go, you dumbass, he mentally berated himself, all while watching Liask trudge off. You KNEW you were leading her on the whole time, and you still did it? Fuck me. And to tell her as much while she was already fucked up from that encounter with Obra? Damn it, your timing is dogshit, Pierce. What the fuck kind of response is ‘I don’t know’, anyways?! How do you not know?! Fuck, between this stupid fucking contest with Phoenix, and Trenon, and… fuck. DO I like her? Or am I just making up excuses? What am I even doing… And all of this while Minilas is still kidnapped, too. Fucking hell…

Amidst all of his internal musings, the only thing Pierce could be sure of was that he wasn’t sure of anything. All he could do was watch in silence as the distance between him and Liask grew ever larger, unable to think of anything he could say to salvage the situation he now found himself in.