2 Days Later

“…Alright! And with that, today’s classes are over!”

“Wait… what?” Austin looked up in surprise, and then glanced out the classroom window — where midday sunlight shone through. “Already?”

“Ha! Weren’t paying attention at the beginning of class, dweeb?” Pierce retorted. “Class is short today.”

“And for the rest of the week, as well,” Kaoné added. “It’s WCU tradition to shorten classes and reduce workload for the last few days before Creators’ Day.” She then smiled, looking out over each of the eight Keys who sat in the desks before her. “I hope you can make use of the extra time to further refine your plans for the big day!”

“I guess it’s in just three days, huh?” Conrad remarked.

“Exactly!” Sky exclaimed as she leaped to her feet, her chair tumbling backwards behind her. “We’re so close to being done, but we still have a lot of work to do! Phoenix, Kestrel, Twy, let’s go!!”

“Wha… what?” Phoenix groggily lifted her head to look up at Sky, only to then rest her head back on her desk. “Ugh…” she groaned. “Do we really need to meet?”

“Huh, now this is a first,” Spike said. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this, before. Usually it’s Conrad tryin’ to sneak in some sleep.”

“I maintain that there’s nothing wrong with that,” Conrad declared.

“On your own time, perhaps, but I’d still prefer that you not nap during class…” Kaoné replied. She then turned to give Phoenix a concerned look. “Are you alright, though? Did you get enough sleep?”

“…Ngh…” Phoenix groaned again, and then finally lifted her head to massage her brow. “…No. I was… kept up.”

“Wow. Your stamina must’ve gone to shit, then,” Pierce remarked with a snide smirk. “Or maybe you’ve just gone for so long without any action, that you forgot how to handle it.”

“Shut the hell up…” Phoenix muttered, but never once looked at Pierce.

“…Wait…!” Realization, followed by deep annoyance, washed across Sky’s face as she planted her hands on her hips and turned to glare at Phoenix. “Don’t tell me you stayed up late because of a fucking date!”

“Then I won’t,” Phoenix replied.

“Damn it! Creators’ Day is three days away! We still have work to do, you know! You haven’t even finished making my outfit!”

“I know. It’ll be fine. I’ll have it ready by the end of tomorrow…”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this tired…” Conrad observed. “You really should get more sleep, you know.”

Phoenix shot him a quick glare, only for her furrowed brow to shift toward Pierce.

“Don’t look at me,” he quickly retorted. “I’ve never let my dates get in the way of actual work.”

“Yes, but you’re the reason I can’t get anyone to stick around!” Phoenix accused. “Every damn guy in this school thinks I’m just trying to beat you in some stupid fucking contest!”

“That’s because you fucking are!” Sky interjected angrily. “I wouldn’t even care, but you keep letting it get in the way of our work! Can’t you not think about sex or this stupid contest for two seconds?!”

“I dunno if you can really lecture anyone about sex—“ Spike began to say, only for Sky to whip around and glare at him.

“Alright, alright, this is clearly getting out of hand,” Kaoné said, stepping away from her teaching podium to approach the Keys. She then turned to Phoenix. “Phoenix… are you sure you’ll be able to finish what you need by Isdia? If you need help making something, I’m here.”

Phoenix glanced toward Kaoné, only to sink into her seat with a sullen expression. “…No. It’s my responsibility. I can handle it on my own.”

“Good. Just remember that if you make someone a promise, you should try your best to keep it.”

“I know that,” Phoenix snapped, and then rapidly climbed out of her seat and gathered her things. “I can handle myself, alright? Now, I have work to do… and sleep to get.”

“Sounds like someone had a bad time last night,” Pierce snarked; Phoenix offered him naught but a snort in reply as she stormed out of the classroom. “…Damn,” Pierce muttered after watching her leave. “What a piece of work—“

“You need to watch your words, as well,” Kaoné sternly interjected, startling Pierce. “Provoking people can only make matters worse. When someone is angry or irritated, it’s best to keep to yourself, if you can’t say anything helpful.”

Pierce stared at her in surprise before glancing toward Austin, who was giving him a knowing look. “…Hmph,” Pierce snorted, ripping his gaze away from everyone else as he made for the classroom exit himself. “…Sure. Classes are over, right? So I’m out.”

“…Oof.” Conrad sighed as Pierce stepped out of the room. “…Never thought their little contest would get this bad.”

“I don’t get it,” Sky remarked, her arms crossed. “Phoenix was perfectly fine about everything until just a month ago, or so. Why is she suddenly so careless now?”

“’Cause she’s losing,” Conrad replied simply.

“Is she really that sore of a loser…?” Twy questioned with a frown.

“She and Pierce both are sore losers,” Conrad declared. “Especially when they lose to each other. It’s always been this way. But, usually, they can at least keep their contests out of the way of their regular lives… not sure what’s different, this time.”

“Liask,” Kestrel simply stated.

“Who, that girl Pierce is going out with?” Austin scoffed. “C’mon. There’s no way she actually likes him, right?”

“Don’t dismiss someone’s feelings so easily,” Kaoné said. “Most people aren’t completely bad, or completely good. This goes even for Pierce and Phoenix; flawed as they are, they’re both ultimately good people, I think.”

“What? Pierce, good?!”

“I know that he’s harsh with everyone — something that I should really say more about…” Kaoné admitted. “But I can tell that neither he nor Phoenix are dumb. A little short-sighted at times, yes, and they sometimes get carried away, but that doesn’t change the fact that they both have repeatedly jumped at the opportunity to help others — even when doing so would put themselves at risk. If they were all bad, they wouldn’t do that.”

“I guess…” Sky muttered.

“I’m not convinced,” Austin declared. “I think Pierce legitimately doesn’t realize the risk, most of the time. He just wants to play hero.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Kaoné refuted. “Everyone has their demons. That goes especially for someone like Pierce.”

“…Is there something about him that you’ve noticed, or something?” Twy asked.

Kaoné shook her head. “It’s not my place to say.”

“Ugh. All this fucking talk about Pierce and Phoenix… we’re wasting precious time!” Sky gestured toward Kestrel. “We can at least work on the music. C’mon!”

“Already done…” Kestrel responded.

“Yeah, yeah, and your final draft is great, but having access to the composer is still important, as a singer!” Sky urged, and then whipped around toward Spike. “You’re coming, too! I need a test audience!”

“Wait, but we—!” Austin began, only for Sky to whirl around and glare at him.

“You can have him back later!” Sky insisted. “But for now, he’s coming with me!”

“…Sorry, Austin,” Spike apologized quietly as he began to stand from his desk. “When she gets like this, there’s no sayin’ ‘no’. Don’t worry, I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Right…” Austin muttered as Spike and Sky moved toward the classroom exit, only for Sky to stop and look back at Kestrel.

“C’mon already!” she demanded.

Kestrel looked blankly at Sky, and then off to the side toward Conrad. Upon noticing this, Conrad released a sigh and a shrug. “Alright, alright. I’ll tag along,” he responded in resignation.

Upon hearing those words, Kestrel began gathering her things, and soon had joined Spike and Sky, alongside Conrad. A second later, they all departed from the room.

“…What the hell just happened?” Austin questioned incredulously.

“Everyone was so irritable, today…” Twy commented.

“It’s stress…” Kaoné said.

“From what, fucking Creators’ Day?” Austin retorted.

“It’s not just that,” Kaoné said. “It took a few days, but after the fall of Compound Falnon, people are starting to realize just how dangerous the Bleeders are, and the lengths they’re willing to go to make the people of this land suffer. Anxiety and tension permeate the air, and it’s affecting everyone. Everyone’s on edge. I can feel it…”

“But we weren’t even there…”

“No, but we’ve still heard about what happened,” Twy pointed out. “And we have personal, first-hand experience with both the Bleeders, and the Nano— uh, the metallic infection.”

“Davídrius told me that you guys even ran into both while on Nayasis,” Kaoné remarked as she passed Austin a glance. “…Do you really think nothing of it?”

Austin returned the look, his expression blank, before eventually diverting his gaze.

“I thought so,” Kaoné replied.

“While you’re here, and it’s just us, I have to ask…” Twy began, and then paused to take a deep breath. “…Is it… is it just me, or… are things actually getting worse, around here? And in the galaxy, in general?”

“You’re asking about the infection, aren’t you?”

“Not just that. The Bleeders, too. And I can’t help but feel that something’s up with all of the PMCs around here, too. The SFC, the Chaos Knights, the Black Suns…”

“I mean, we know that the SFC was behind the Bleeders, now, right?” Austin pointed out. “Stands to reason you don’t feel so good about them.”

“I guess, but…” Twy trailed off, and then looked back to Kaoné. “I just wanted to know your thoughts on everything, since you have so much more experience than us.”

Kaoné returned the gaze, only to release a deep sigh. “…When it comes to the Bleeders, at least, I think everything is looking up,” she eventually replied. “It’s true that they may attempt one more attack on Tresnon, but we’re on to them, now. We know who was suppling them with their technology, and we’ve cut them off, so the Bleeders only have so much steam left. And as long as I, Davídrius, and the Defense Force are around, no harm should come to Tresnon.”

“And everything else…?” Twy prompted.

“That’s… hard to say, to be honest. I can’t speculate much about what the PMCs are up to, you’d have to ask someone more familiar with their activities. Like Gavon, or Rebehka. Or maybe even your uncle, Austin. In regards to the infection, though…” Kaoné looked down, as if in thought. “…I didn’t want to believe it, before, but… I think Archoné Culana might be on to something.”

“Wait, are you sayin’ that us being ‘Keys’ actually means something?” Austin questioned.

“It might,” Kaoné admitted, looking up to meet Austin and Twy’s eyes again. “I was there twenty years ago, when I and everyone else in Hero Machina fought Morcii. I saw Siyuakén put him down. And just before she did, he said something. At the time, I thought he was just trying to get into our heads, or that he was just full of himself, but with the infection seemingly resurging like it is…”

“I don’t remember any ‘final words’ being part of the story…” Austin muttered.

“The official story isn’t complete, Rebehka’s said as much herself,” Twy replied. “But even when she recounted the actual story, she didn’t say anything about Morcii’s last words. What did he say?”

Kaoné remained silent for a second, as if contemplating whether or not to actually answer. But eventually, she said, “his last words, were… ‘this is only the beginning’.”

“…I mean, that sure sounds like he was just fuckin’ with you, to me…” Austin said.

“Maybe. But you don’t understand the hoops we had to jump through just to stop Morcii temporarily,” Kaoné insisted. “Arcán — the Prior we spoke with at the time — made it sound like it was all just a desperate stopgap to account for there not being any Keys. And now that you’re here, and the infection is returning… I fear that he might have been right. Maybe ‘Keys’ really are the only people capable of putting Morcii down for good.”

A poignant silence fell over the classroom as Austin and Twy exchanged wary glances.

“…Ah, I’m sorry,” Kaoné eventually apologized, adopting a sheepish smile as she did. “I shouldn’t have said any of that. You shouldn’t feel forced to accept this responsibility…”

“No, no, I’m glad that you were honest with us,” Twy insisted.

“But how the hell are we supposed to stop a fucking infection, huh?!” Austin remarked. “I don’t get it!”

“The Nanocreature War made it clear that Morcii is the prime driver of the infection,” Kaoné declared. “If he dies, I’m reasonably confident the infection will disappear, as well. But… well, if Arcán is right, then ‘Keys’ are the only ones who can end Morcii for good.”

“But how?” Austin insisted.

“That… I don’t know,” Kaoné admitted. “What we did, as Hero Machina, clearly wasn’t enough… but I don’t know of anything else. Arcán never told us. I suspect that only the Oraculm or a Prior would know the solution, but no one knows where any of the Priors are.”

“If it’s in the Oraculm, then that means that Pallan would know, right?” Twy questioned. “But he hasn’t said anything.”

“I mean, the bastard’s clearly keepin’ secrets from us,” Austin retorted. “He doesn’t think that we’re ‘ready’.”

“Even if he does know, though, it isn’t immediately relevant,” Kaoné said. “The infection is a problem, but the Ayas are all safe, and Morcii can’t come back without them. For now, you all should be focusing on training and honing your abilities. With luck, you won’t need them. But if you do, it’s best to be prepared.”

“…Got it,” Twy responded.

“And, again… I’m sorry for putting you all through this,” Kaoné apologized. “At least for the next few days, try to focus on Creators’ Day, instead. Use that to relax, lighten your spirits. It isn’t healthy to stress about everything all of the time.”

“Well, I would focus on Creators’ Day,” Austin drawled, “but half my group got kidnapped.”

“I could say the same, effectively…” Twy said. “I’ve finished my mural, anyways, so I have some time to spare. Maybe I could help you with whatever you need, Austin?”

“I mean, if you’re offerin’, I’ll take it. Maybe you could draw some things for me!”

“I’ll do what I can, but remember that we only have three days…”

“That should be more than enough! I just need some quick character art. Maybe a battlemap or two, if you can—”

“Three days, Austin…”

“Alright, alright, I get it, I get it. Still, thanks for offerin’ to help,” Austin said as he began climbing from his seat.

“It’s no problem,” Twy replied, and then turned toward Kaoné. “And thanks for hearing me out.”

“You’re welcome,” Kaoné replied with a warm smile. “I’m here to do what I can for all of you. I won’t claim to be perfect, there, but please, if you ever have any other questions, or even if you just want someone to talk to… I’m here.”

“I might take you up on that, sometime…” Twy muttered, only to then glance back at Austin. “But for now, let’s get going.”

“Aye, for sure!” Austin declared as he lead the duo out of the classroom, ready to continue preparing for Creators’ Day themselves.