Wheels of Radiance - Turali Grand Prix

by Wordybird

Summary:

Two years have passed since the events of Wheels of Thunder, and all Arashi and her lovers wish for is to enjoy a happy, peaceful life. But when an old friend arrives at their doorstep with a dreadful warning, it's clear that a new storm is on the horizon.

After his part in Garlemald's near-ruination, Zenos Galvus has avoided a homecoming for as long as he can. Now at last the time has come to face the sins of his past under Athena's control, but the wounds of his father have bled far deeper than he realised, and ghosts from long ago now rise to haunt his every step.

As dreadful foes and familiar faces new and old take to the stage, all signs point westward to the land of the golden dawn. Will the Turali Grand Prix bring glory or calamity? And what price will be paid by those bold enough to challenge it?

Chapter 1: Bonding

Notes:

Recommended listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFrjMq4aL-g

“Admit it, I look ridiculous.”

“Fine, you look ridiculous. Can you stop fussing with your kimono now?”

Arashi groaned and let her head fall against the mirror, eyes closed, fists clenched, feeling every bit as foolish as her sister likely already knew she was. She knew, deep down, that she did not look ridiculous, that the snow-white kimono in all its countless ilms of silk fit her perfectly, had been put on perfectly, accentuated her every feature perfectly. She knew that her make-up was perfect, that her hair was perfect, that everything was perfect.

But she felt like the queen of all impostors, somehow. Is this how all people feel on their wedding day, or am I just a unique brand of idiot?

A huff of irritation was the only warning Arashi had before a strong pair of hands clamped around her shoulders, yanking her around with a yelp until she was face to face with the deeply annoyed face of one Alisaie Leveilleur. “Arashi, for the last time, you look amazing. There is not a hair out of place and not a stitch loose. You will take everyone’s breath away from the moment you step through those doors. Now can you please stop giving Sanda free ammunition and let us walk you down the aisle?”

“Sis.” Arashi turned to look at Sanda. Two years apart had changed her sister in ways Arashi was still coming to terms with. The Turali sun had drenched her skin, giving her normally pale skin a deep tan and making her pale scales and horns all the more striking by contrast. Her previously lengthy hair had been cut into a short bob, ending just above her neck in an efficiently chopped cut. But it was her eyes that had changed the most, having lost just a little of their childish joy in favour of a more world-weary gaze. The sisters hadn’t had a chance to fully catch up thanks to the flurry of wedding planning, but Sanda’s eyes promised a story worth hearing.

“She’s right. You look incredible. Don’t let your jitters get the better of you. Go out there, wow everyone, try not to lose yourself in her eyes as you tie the knot. It’ll be over before you know it.” Sanda’s smile contained not an ounce of cheek, for once. It didn’t last. “Besides, how am I supposed to tease you for your terrible taste in women for the rest of your life if you don’t actually get married to her, huh?”

The flat stare Arashi shot her sister did nothing to wipe away her smirk. “May I remind you, dear sister, that you also fell for that woman only for her to break your heart?”

That was enough to sour Sanda’s expression. “And you’re the one who crawled right back into her arms the moment they were free.” She stuck her tongue out for added emphasis, but it was hardly necessary. Arashi strode towards her sister with murder in her eyes, but a sudden vice around her arm yanked her back.

“ Ladies, ” Alisaie hissed as her other arm clamped around Arashi’s waist, “How about we save the sisterly violence until after the ceremony, hmm? I’d rather not have to put yet more make-up on to cover up a fresh black eye on our blushing bride.”

“If my sister is willing to apologise for insulting my fiance, I’ll consider it,” Arashi replied primly, eyes narrowed in the direction of the decidedly unapologetic Sanda.

“Hey, I only insulted one of them!” Sanda shot back. “And I stand by my comment. You, dear sister, have terrible taste in women.”

This only provoked further declarations of violence, of course, with Arashi doing her level best to escape her maid of honour’s shockingly strong grip. Of course, if Arashi had been using her true strength she’d have broken free in an instant, but she had no desire to call upon the might of her old life. She’d turned her back on it two years prior, when she used it to bring an end to the monster that had once been her mother. She would not use it again.

Besides, I don’t want to reduce my sister to paste, just knock a little sense into her. Teach her to badmouth my wife-to-be on my bloody wedding day. Make sure she-

The door creaked open amidst the sisters’ arguing as a silver-haired elezen peered through the door. His hopeful face fell as he took in the scene of impending violence in front of him. “Really, Arashi, you’ll ruin your kimono if you keep this up!”

Arashi shot her best man a dirty look. “Haurchefant, kindly take my sister back to her seat before I throttle her.” She tried to keep her tone level, sweet, even, but the venom crept in anyway. Deep down Arashi knew it wasn’t her sister’s fault that she was so easily worked up, but she was all too easy to make into a scapegoat. It was easier by far than admitting the actual truth.

Arashi was terrified.

---

“Oh, stop fussing with your braid. You’ll tug it out if you keep that up, and I’ll have to do a botch job fixing it for you.” Kasumi’s eyes narrowed as she strode towards the fussing bride, ready to pull the poor braid free from worrying fingers by force if necessary.

Yotsuyu allowed herself to release the braid and let it fall back against her shoulder, meeting Kasumi’s glare with one of her own. “I thought I’d brought you here to be moral support, not to play nursemaid like I’m some unruly child.”

“Then stop acting like one.” Kasumi held her scowl for a moment longer before her face softened into a gentle smile. “You’ve nothing to fear, you know that. Your tormentors aren’t going to rise from the grave simply to bring down your wedding day.” Her hand was soft and warm against Yotsuyu’s cheek, radiating reassurance in a way only an old warrior could.

“I’m fully aware of that,” Yotsuyu snapped, but she leaned into Kasumi’s touch all the same. “But try telling it to my heart. Besides, it doesn’t help that I’m garbed for a funeral rather than a wedding.” Black had seemed like such a good idea at the time, such a bold idea, and Yotsuyu had wanted nothing more than to break from tradition when she’d decided the jet and crimson dress would be hers. But now, looking at herself in front of the mirror, seeing it draped on her form, it felt…

It felt like an omen. A harbinger of things to come.

Then let it be one for those who would wish me harm instead. Let it be a warning that I will brook no intrusion on my happiness. Resolve hardened in her chest, chasing away the fear.

“That’s the spirit,” Kasumi said with a grin. “Though, try not to look like you’re going to war when you walk down the aisle. Might scare your poor wife to death before you even tie the knot.”

“If she is unprepared for war, then that’s her problem. Besides, she’s made of sterner stuff than that.”

Kasumi scoffed. “One of them is, at least. The other will crumble before you with barely a look.” She gave Yotsuyu a wry smile, her eyes glinting yellow for just a moment before returning to their usual green-blue mixture. Yotsuyu swore her companion did such things to remind her lover that she hadn’t always been a (mostly) regular au ra woman. Behind those eyes lay three thousand years of grief and longing, wounds which were still struggling to fully heal. But they also betrayed a more recent hurt, one which Kasumi had been trying and failing not to show of late.

“Speak. The kami know I have not the patience for silence today.” Nor did she have the patience to mince words, but Kasumi knew that full-well by this point. They had shared a bed often enough for her to learn, to say nothing of the year or so Kasumi had spent whispering in Yotsuyu’s head.

“We’ve been over it before. I’ve made my peace with it, and I’m happy for the three of you.”

“But you wish you were in a dress of your own?”

Kasumi looked away, her expression unchanged but her posture flinching just slightly. “The day will come. I know that. And I will take the slow road if it means I reach that day at all. But still…” Kasumi shook her head with a scowl. “As I said, I’ve made my peace. It will take time still before Arashi is ready. Longer still for Lyse, I suspect. And I’ve never quite known how to read you.”

It was blissfully simple to pull Kasumi by the collar against her body, to plant her lips against the au ra’s, to hear her gasp of surprise and watch her eyes widen. Yotsuyu gave her just enough time to lean into the sudden affection before gently pulling away. Wouldn’t do to get distracted now of all times. “Were it up to me,” Yotsuyu purred, “You would be feeling every last butterfly that has infested my stomach in a dressing room all to yourself.”

Kasumi shot Yotsuyu a withering glare. “You have got to stop doing that,” she muttered, but she couldn’t quite hide her smile.

A gentle knock at the door stole away Yotsuyu’s answer before it could pass her lips. “Ma’am?” Yugiri’s quiet but insistent tone rang through the heavy wood. “It’s almost time. Are you ready?”

Absolutely not. “I am.” Yotsuyu exchanged a final glance with Kasumi, then made for the door.

---

 

“Nearly done. Just a few more dabs under your eyes and… there we go!” Curtis stepped back, framing his youngest daughter’s face with his hands and nodding in approval. Lyse fought back a smile and tried to look as imperious as possible. She channelled a little of Yotsuyu’s icy dignity, but try as she might she just couldn’t stop her giddy joy from creeping in. It didn’t help that her father was grinning at her without a hint of restraint, pride and love radiating from his face in an irresistible tide.

“Look at you, my girl. Arashi and Yotsuyu won’t know what hit ‘em.” Lyse blushed, turning away from her father to face the mirror in front of her. For a moment she didn’t recognise the woman in front of her, dressed in such bold crimson, sleeves lined with griffin feathers, golden chains dangling across her hips, face painted more like a warrior queen than a bride to be. Even knowing how she would look when it all came together, the result was still overwhelming to behold.

As soon as Lyse had made her and her partners’ intentions clear to her family, the Hexts had put their collective heads together to ensure Lyse would shine brightest of all. Yda had set aside her improvements to the Aether Conversion Engine for the time being and instead delved into ancient Ala Mhigan wedding traditions. Rena had dug deep into the Hext family coffers to procure the finest fabrics for her wedding dress, and the most talented tailors to put it together. As for Curtis, he had enlisted the help of an old friend or two to obtain the griffin feathers that adorned her dress, and had revealed his hidden face-painting talents besides. Even Fordola had pitched in, though mostly to keep the rest of Lyse’s family from going too far overboard with it all.

When Lyse had (understandably, she thought) protested at such extravagance, she had been politely hushed by her family.

“It’s what any big sister would do,” Yda had said without even looking up from aetherically treated tomes.

“A hero of your stature deserves nothing less!” Her mother had huffed before returning to giving Redolent Rose an earful.

“You want to get one over on Yotsuyu, don’t you?” Her father had retorted with a knowing grin.

“Just take what you’re given,” Fordola had muttered, her expression bitter.

So Lyse, knowing when she was beaten, had allowed her family to go all out on her special day. And now she stood, staring at their efforts given form, feeling not a little ridiculous but unable to stop smiling all the same. A bit of a step up from our last wedding, eh, Arashi?

“Thank you,” Lyse breathed as she turned to face her father again.

“Careful, girl! No tears now, you’ll ruin the paint!” Curtis’s eyes filled with the concern only someone about to see an hour of hard work wasted could summon. Lyse laughed, the sight of her father in such a sudden panic chasing away the tears in an instant. It didn’t take long for Curtis to laugh as well, father and daughter caught up in their own hilarity.

“Right, I’d say you’re just about ready to dazzle the world,” Curtis declared, only for his eyes to widen as he slapped his palm against his thigh. “Wait, you’re missing something still! Something very important. You wait right there, I need to go collect it!” Curtis didn’t wait for a reply before vanishing out of the dressing room, leaving Lyse to wonder just what was so important that it needed such urgent retrieval.

With a dramatic sigh she slumped onto the stool, trying not to stare at herself in the mirror. And failing miserably. Gods, they really did go all out, didn’t they? Even her hair, normally pulled into an easy pony-tail, had been allowed to flow freely and embellished with wild flowers. She looked… She didn’t even know how to describe how she looked. Like a different person entirely. Another me from another life. A warrior queen, wild and fierce and unstoppable.

It was in the midst of these thoughts that Curtis returned, the creaking of the door the only warning Lyse received before her father sprung a pair of gifts upon her. “First one’s from your maid of honour,” Curtis explained, handing the wide, flat box to Lyse with a shaky smile. “Promised her I’d give this to you before the ceremony. Thank Rhalgr I remembered, eh?”

Lyse had already opened the box by the time her father finished, gasping in wonder at what lay inside. A rose-gold circlet, beautifully engraved with roses and feathers and ending in a swooping wing towards the back. She shouldn’t have been surprised that it fit perfectly atop her head, but she couldn’t help the feeling of amazement at how right it felt against her crown, how perfectly it sat amongst her golden locks. Alisaie, you shouldn’t have…

“The second one’s from your mother and I,” Curtis continued, wrenching Lyse’s attention away from the circlet and towards the second, smaller box clutched in her father’s hands. Lyse moved to open it, but Curtis caught her hands before they could reach it. “If you’ll allow me,” he said, his voice quivering slightly. With a slight tremble in his hands he prised open the lid, revealing a mostly-transparent length of silk dyed pure white. Curtis pulled it out of its container with reverent hands, allowing the folded fabric to unfurl into a veil.

“Your mother wore this on the day we married.” Lyse’s stare moved from the veil to her father’s face, seeing the memory light up his face brighter than any sun’s rays could. “I told her there and then that she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Course, then she called me an idiot because how could I tell she hadn’t done something terrible to herself with the veil covering most of her face. But I knew. Just like your loves will know when they see you stride down that aisle.”

“Dad…” Lyse took the veil from her father’s hands, her own grip trembling now. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Curtis said with a smile. “Now, let’s get it attached to your circlet nice and quick. Almost time, you know.”

Lyse’s heart skipped a good few beats. “Already?”

“Aye, love. Already. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Anyone tries to ruin my daughter’s special day, they’ll have me to answer to!”

---

Arashi was first to enter the great chamber and take her hesitant steps down the aisle. For someone so used to the spotlight in both her life as Warrior of Light and her career as a professional racer, she always managed to surprise people when she mentioned her stage fright. Now that nervous energy was all that kept her from bolting down the hall and out of the great cathedral that she, her lovers, and most everyone she considered a friend resided in. She wanted to run. She wanted to run far, far away, to snatch up Lyse, Yotsuyu, and Kasumi, to burrow herself and her loves in a deep, dark hole and never look back.

But Yotsuyu would kill her if she did, and Lyse would carry the disappointment with her for the rest of her life. And Arashi wasn’t about to let them down. So with a hammering heart and the harrowing knowledge that all eyes were on her, she pressed forward.

Alisaie caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile. Haurchefant had a steady hand on her forearm, keeping her focused. Sanda gave her a thumbs-up from the front row. Arashi took their lending of strength gratefully, managing not to trip over her kimono on the way to her place before the altar. The elderly moogle (at least, Arashi assumed they were elderly judging by their great beard) gave her a sage nod before motioning for the next of the brides to enter.

Yotsuyu flowed through the opened doors like liquid moonlight, her deep black dress drinking in the gazes of all whose gaze found it and held those gazes tight. Yotsuyu’s eyes, however, were fixed on the altar ahead, and on the woman she’d gone through such strife and grief with. The woman she adored, who looked at her with such naked amazement it was a wonder she hadn’t rushed down the aisle to breathlessly sing her praises. Still, she didn’t miss Sanda’s rolling eyes as the two briefly made eye-contact, nor her long-suffering smile. Tural has agreed with you, it seems.

Yugiri and Kasumi stood to each side of her, Kasumi in her freshly adjusted suit, deep blue in shade and doing a wonderful job of accentuating her lithe body beneath; Yugiri in a rather less tailored suit, doing a better job of hiding her powerful biceps and triceps, her well-muscled legs, her near-permanent tension and readiness to spring into action at any moment.

Despite Yotsuyu’s insistence, Yugiri had refused to relinquish her position as Yotsuyu’s bodyguard as well as her personal assistant, and took both side of her employment deadly seriously. Thankfully, she also took her temporary role as ring-and-key-bearer just as seriously.

Arashi was still staring at her as she ascended to face her. Yotsuyu allowed herself a small smirk, more than happy to take the little victory presented to her. Not that it was easy to tear her eyes away from the woman who would be her wife, of course. The pearl-white kimono shone beautifully in the light, giving Arashi a grace and elegance that she rarely allowed herself to show. Her makeup had been applied to accentuate that pristine beauty as well, drawing attention to her bountiful blue eyes, to her rosy cheeks, to her shining white scales and horns. Her hair had been pulled into an elaborate braid and ponytail; apparently an old Ala Mhigan style that Arashi had once favoured in days long past. Her smile was small and shy, but it radiated love that was all too easy to return. Yotsuyu opened her mouth to say something, to express her delight, to gently rib Arashi, to break the quiet.

Then the doors opened again, and the final bride stepped through them.

Lyse walked with a confidence she didn’t feel, supported every step of the way by her father. She had felt a little awkward about being the only one present with a father to walk with her down the aisle, but Arashi had (gently, but firmly) told her to stop being a fool and embrace that she had a family to lean on. Lyse was glad of her insistence now, trying not to wilt with the eyes of the crowd on her, to say nothing of Arashi and Yotsuyu staring at her in open-mouthed wonder. As if they didn’t look more beautiful than Lyse could put into words.

Yda and her mother were waiting for her at the front row, grinning from ear to ear and giving her the biggest thumbs-up that they could manage. As Curtis peeled away from Lyse’s side to join them, Lyse could hear him having a hushed conversation with his wife, confirming the delivery of the gifts and the proper application of the face paint. Lyse didn’t stop to listen further, taking the last few steps up to the altar, standing between Arashi and Yotsuyu and facing the elderly moogle. Thankfully the veil hid her furiously blushing face for the time being. Oh gods, here we go!

The majority of the ceremony was a blur, the very many rehearsals they had all endured ensuring that nothing went drastically wrong, even as they tripped over their lines or lost themselves in the excitement of it all. But finally the time came to tie the knot. Literally, in their case.

The moogle brought forth a long length of red silk, cut in such a way that it ended in a trio of ribbons. Following their cues, each woman took one of the ends in their hands and put their spare hand forward into the shared space between them. Yotsuyu’s hand was covered by Arashi’s, which was then covered by Lyse’s. Yotsuyu took her length of ribbon and draped it on top of the hands, her eyes focused on the moogle as they began to speak again.

“With this end tied do you swear to guard one another through good tidings and ill, and to share in life’s joys and pains as one, kupo.”

Arashi’s ribbon followed, looping under the first ribbon as she and Yotsuyu worked together to tie the two ends together.

“With this end do you promise to strive to be one another’s laughter and love, to do no harm that cannot be repaired, to burn no bridges that cannot be rebuilt.”

Lyse’s ribbon was last, snaking into the tiny gap left between Arashi’s and Yotsuyu’s ribbons and firmly securing their hands together.

“With this end do you announce to the world your intentions to be eternally bonded, to allow no force of intent to sever it, to work towards your future as one. Do the three of you swear to these oaths, kupo?”

“I do.” Three voices spoke as one.

The officiating moogle nodded sagely. “Then I now pronounce you eternally bonded. May the weave of your tapestry be beautiful forever more. And it goes without saying, kupo, but you may now-”

Yotsuyu didn’t wait for the moogle to finish, using their bound hands to yank Arashi in and kiss her. Arashi had learned to expect that kind of impatience by this point, but between almost tripping over her kimono and barely avoiding knocking Lyse over as well, she was entirely unprepared all the same. She didn’t know how long she was held in the grip of Yotsuyu’s lips for, but she was entirely breathless (and embarrassingly aware of the cheering crowd) by the time she was finally released.

She didn’t get much of a chance to recover, however, for Lyse was already tugging away and into her waiting arms. “My turn,” Lyse growled, apparently having forgotten the veil between them in her haste. Arashi just about had time to pull it up enough to meet Lyse’s lips, but then she was quite hopelessly lost in the ensuing kiss to get much further. It was only when Lyse pulled reluctantly away that Arashi managed to pull back the veil properly, revealing the fierce face paint beneath. “Wow,” Arashi breathed as she took it in, but she didn’t have time to stare. Lyse was already rounding on Yotsuyu, catching her just as unawares as she was yanked against Lyse and kissed with equal ferocity.

“That’s better,” Lyse murmured as she allowed Yotsuyu to stumble away, the Doman woman’s normally unbreachable armour quite thoroughly pierced. Her still bound hand raised into the air, pulling Arashi’s and Yotsuyu’s with it, raising their bond high into the air for the cheering crowd to see.

“Finally,” Yotsuyu murmured, her smile unguarded and joyous. Lyse was grinning without reservation. And Arashi, looking out across the sea of cheering faces, could only laugh in abject relief.

It’s done. We made it.

Notes:

Well well well, would ya look who came crawling back! It's me, and with a sequel instead of a prequel like I promised. I... may have gotten a little carried away and written six and a half chapters of one and... half of another. Prequel's still coming, but right now? It's time to look to the future. I did promise wedding bells, after all.

Chapter 2: Respite

When they had begun planning the wedding, they had anticipated it being a small, intimate affair. With two of the three brides being orphans and the Hexts a rather small family to begin with, they’d settled on only a few close friends and whatever family they felt would not forgive them if they weren’t invited. But alas, news of their ceremony had spread further and wider than they’d expected, and so it was that half of the Eorzean Grand Prix and a good number of plus-ones spilled out into a garden that was just big enough to contain them as the proper reception was prepared.

It also meant that the brides were inevitably swamped by well-wishers and hangers-on, all wanting to congratulate them on the beautiful wedding, on how lovely their dresses were, on how happy they looked together. All of which gave Kasumi the perfect excuse to duck into the hedge maze and get some time to herself on the bench at its centre. In theory, anyway.

In practice, she’d had to glare away at least three couples looking to steal some quiet affection together within the first five minutes, and she was quickly beginning to lose any and all patience with the very concept of weddings. Too many guests, too much noise, too much excitement and merriment. To say nothing of her suit, which was just slightly too tight in all the wrong places and just slightly too hot for the summer heat as well. She was half-tempted to unbutton the wretched thing, and to the seven hells with any stares she might receive.

Another set of footsteps only added to her irritation. She shot a glare towards the entrance to the maze’s heart, ready to tell her latest interloper to go back the way they came, but the words died on her lips as she saw Arashi shuffling her way. Despite all her annoyances and reservations, her smile at seeing the woman she had once been one with was as genuine as it came.

“You know you’re meant to avoid the mud, not trail your kimono right through it?” Kasumi allowed herself one playful jab at her soulmate’s expense. She’d earned that much.

“Oh, hush. If I hear one more word about this damn thing I’m going to rip it off and walk around naked for the rest of the day.” Arashi’s scowl was right at home on her face, a look Kasumi had seen time and time again over the years. She idly wondered how much Arashi realised she was adopting her old self’s mannerisms as time went on. “Budge up,” Arashi muttered as she drew close to the bench. Kasumi obliged.

“Come to check in on me, then?” Kasumi should have known her disappearance wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.

“More like I needed an excuse to get away myself.” Arashi leaned easily against Kasumi’s side, their tails coiling gently together as their horns gently rubbed together. “Tsuyu and Lyse can handle the pleasantries for a while. And if not, they’ll just take it out on me tonight.”

Kasumi chuckled as her arm slid across Arashi’s shoulders. “The way you say it, I suspect you’re just looking to give them excuses.” Arashi’s sparkling eyes and wicked smile was confirmation enough. The pair sat in comfortable silence for a time, letting the muffled noise of the celebrations lull them into tranquillity.

“Congratulations, by the way.” Kasumi’s eyes slid to the key and ring held by a silver chain around Arashi’s neck. “The ceremony was beautiful. As were the three of you, of course.”

“Thank you. By the kami, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard those words already, but they sound better coming from you.” Arashi closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the clear blue sky. “How are you feeling?” Arashi’s eyes opened just a little to look at Kasumi from the corner of her gaze.

“Fine,” Kasumi replied, a little too quickly and a little too brightly.

“Please don’t lie to my on my wedding day. You’re awful at it anyway.”

“I…” Kasumi sighed, taking her arm from Arashi’s shoulders and leaning forward to rest her head in her palms. “What do you want me to say? We’ve been over this, time and time again. I understand your reasons and I accept them. I knew it would hurt and I was prepared for it. It’s as simple as that.”

“But it still hurts.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” Arashi sighed heavily and pulled Kasumi close with an arm. “I just don’t want to rush into anything. Not when we can’t say how much of this love is our own compared with how much of it was who we used to be. Especially where Lyse is concerned.”

“And yet here you are, marrying Lyse yourself, knowing full well your feelings for her might be just as compromised.” Kasumi froze as the words escaped her, feeling Arashi stiffen against her. “I’m sorry, I-”

“No. Don’t apologise. You have a point.” Arashi stared at the far hedge, saying nothing for a time. Then, “I fell for Lyse before I remembered what we used to be. And I was different enough from the old me when we first met that I know Lyse’s feelings for me are genuine too. But… Sometimes I look at you and I’m back in Ishgard, hearing you shout all those awful things, knowing that every word is true. But I do love you. I know that much. I just… need more time, and so does Lyse, and we appreciate you letting us have it.”

Damn you. Kasumi silenced the bitter thought and let Arashi’s words wash over her. “I love you too,” she murmured after a time. “More than-”

“I’ll ever know?” Arashi finished with a sly grin. Her face was suddenly a mere inch away from Kasumi’s, her lips brushing against her soulmate’s cheek with teasing lightness. “I’m well aware, thank you.”

Kasumi knew that she was taking the bait when she took Arashi’s chin and tilted her face down for a proper kiss. She knew even before she heard Arashi’s throaty giggle. She didn’t care.

When Arashi was finally freed from Kasumi’s grip, her face was entirely flushed with rosy excitement. “That’s a much better way of saying it,” she murmured with a grin. “What else can you tell me with that tongue of yours?”

Kasumi chuckled, pushing Arashi away with a gentle shove. “I think I’ve taken up enough of your time, don’t you?” She ignored Arashi’s petulant tongue and rose to her feet, turning to offer Arashi her hand. “Come on. Least I can do is escort you safely back to civilisation.”

“My hero!” Arashi declared with a mock swoon, taking Kasumi’s hand with a grin. “Very well, lead me out of this dreadful maze, oh gallant knight of mine!”

---

“If I have to hear one more comment about my chosen colour of dress,” Yotsuyu hissed as she clutched her champagne glass just slightly too tightly, “I am going to spit blood.”

Lyse opened her mouth to try and calm her newly wedded wife down, but Yotsuyu’s narrowed eyes fixed directly on her with such intensity that Lyse took an involuntary step back. For a moment Lyse saw not one of the women she loved, but the vengeful viceroy poisoning everything around her. “That includes you, Lyse.”

“I think it’s a good colour on you,” Lyse muttered anyway. Yotsuyu stared at her a moment longer, then smiled a reluctant smile as Lyse’s sincerity took root. “Besides,” Lyse continued, a little louder, “Who cares about what anyone else thinks? It’s our wedding, and I’m not exactly dressed traditionally either.”

“Yes, you do look ready to kidnap Arashi and I and carry us off into the mountains.” Yotsuyu allowed herself a smirk as she continued, “Not that I doubt either of us would mind at this point. Particularly given your best friend is about to take us for all she’s worth with her little speech later. Merciful kami, save me from the sharp tongue of a spiteful young woman!”

“Be nice,” Lyse gently reprimanded, though her heart wasn’t truly in it. She’d seen Alisaie’s rough draft. It was… particularly venomous, to say the least. Lyse had spent a good few nights neutering some of the more inflammatory material. The bits comparing Yotsuyu to a particularly unruly horse were just mean .

Yotsuyu huffed and took a sip of her drink, but she soon softened, eyes turning to the floor as she frowned. “I’m sorry. I should be better, I know. This is the happiest day of my life, and all that tripe.” Then, more quietly. “Do you think she would be proud of me, if she could see me now?”

Lyse slipped her hand around Yotsuyu’s palm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Of course she would. You survived. You found love and happiness and safety. You put a stop to your brother. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Yotsuyu shook her head and let herself lean against Lyse’s body. “Thank you,” she whispered almost too quietly to hear.

“You’re welcome,” Lyse replied. A gentle tilt of Yotsuyu’s chin brought her lips close enough to kiss. Amidst all the buzz and banter around them, the pair enjoyed a moment of peace together. But as Yotsuyu slowly pulled away, Lyse muttered, “You still owe me for letting you have the first kiss at the altar, though.”

“Letting?” Yotsuyu arched a perfect eyebrow. “Funny, I recall taking what was rightfully mine at the first opportunity.”

“And you only had that chance because of this veil,” Lyse shot back, clutching a handful of the airy fabric and jostling it in Yotsuyu’s direction. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you and my mother conspired to give you a head-start.”

“Really?” Yotsuyu gave her wife an exasperated look. “This is what you choose to take umbrage with?”

“Yes, it is,” Lyse huffed, crossing her arms and pouting dramatically. “If Arashi gets to catastrophise at every opportunity and you get to snipe and hiss at all our well-wishers, then I get to be grumpy about something too.”

“I wouldn’t think to deny you that, only…” For once Yotsuyu looked uncertain. “Are you quite sure this is what you wish to hold like a grudge? I thought you about such pettiness.”

“I’m allowed to be petty too,” Lyse replied with a sniff. “Though I reserve the right to be upset about something more worthy if it happens.” Not that anything would happen. It was their day. Athena was dead. Varis was dead. Asahi was dead. Gridania was… not rattling its sabres at Ala Mhigo’s doors, at the very least. Weren’t they allowed some peace and quiet to enjoy? Was that so much to ask?

Yotsuyu said nothing, but her arm slid easily around Lyse’s waist and pulled her into her wife’s waiting embrace. Must have been wearing my emotions on my sleeve. Lyse sighed and buried her head against Yotsuyu’s shoulder. “What’s truly the problem?” Yotsuyu murmured as her fingers ran tenderly through Lyse’s hair.

“I don’t know. Well, okay, I do, but…” Lyse blew out a frustrated sigh against Yotsuyu’s neck. “Arashi must be rubbing off on me. I just have this horrible feeling that something’s going to go wrong. I thought I’d shake it after we tied the knot, but it’s still just sitting in my gut, churning away, making me unable to properly enjoy myself. You know?”

“I do.” Yotsuyu said nothing more.

“It’s probably nothing. I know it’s probably nothing. But I just can’t help but wonder, what if we’re missing something? Something important, something that could…”

“You’re right.” Yotsuyu’s fingers worked to untangle a knot in Lyse’s tresses. “Arashi is rubbing off on you. Cease this foolishness and relax. Whatever comes for us, the four of us will endure. As we have before, as we will again.”

Lyse chuckled, feeling Yotsuyu’s derision push away the dread. She’s right. I’m just being silly. “Love you,” she murmured against Yotsuyu’s all-consuming hair.

“I love you too,” Yotsuyu murmured, soft as silk. And then, in a surprised tone. “Oh! Now there’s a face I wasn’t anticipating. Seems Sanda worked her magic after all.”

Lyse unburied herself from Yotsuyu to look in the direction that had caught her interest. Sure enough, a particularly striking man was making awkward attempts at conversation with Nero Scaeva, gently urged on by a particularly insistent Sanda. Though his skin had tanned from long hours under the sun and his normally flowing locks had been tied into a rough ponytail, there was no mistaking the hulking presence of the former prodigal son of the Galvus family.

Zenos had seen fit to attend the celebrations, against all possible expectations.

…

He felt ridiculous. He likely looked worse. He hadn’t shaved properly, he’d barely slept, and he’d barely had a chance to wash the grime from his body before Sanda had hurried him out the door. And yet, standing in front of his old mechanic, seeing the familiar smile crease the normally stand-offish man’s face, hearing his name called out like an old friend…

It felt good. That, he could not deny.

He had, however, forgotten just how much Nero loved the sound of his own voice, especially when he had a chance to drag his partner’s name through the mud. So it was that Zenos found himself pleasantly trapped in another of Nero’s tales of engineering triumph and Cid’s mad scramble to chase even a shred of his genius. Having a company and engineering division of his own compared to Cid’s crew of three was, of course, of no consequence.

“...And so I proved once and for all that I am the engineering prodigy of the generation, rather than that coddled dullard from a long-since irrelevant family of clock peddlers!” Nero barked a laugh loud enough to draw looks from the people around him, but he paid them no mind. He’d long since dismissed the opinions of others in his quest for mechanical supremacy. “Ah, but enough about Scaeva’s Superior Steelworks! How have you been, Zenos? Tural looks to be treating you well, if nothing else!”

“Yes, it has. It was… fulfilling in a way I had not anticipated. The land, its people, its history. A far cry from home, but I think that was what I needed.” Somewhere far from where I spilled my father’s blood. Far from my sins. It was only at Sanda’s insistence that he had joined her on the journey to Doma, and with great reluctance at that. He knew that one day he would have to face Garlemald again, face his legacy, but could it not have been a little later? A little further off?

And yet… I promised her. And she promised she would be by my side. He would not go back on his word. He could not.

His turmoil must have shown on his face, for Nero clapped his arm with a reassuring smile. “It’s good to see you again, old friend. Kasumi is a capable enough driver, but Shinryu is wasted on her. And just between you and me,” Nero lowered his voice and cast a furtive glance at the bride in black, “A certain someone has been getting rather too comfortable at the top. Any time you want to return to the track, you just say the word.”

Returning to the Grand Prix. To Shinryu . Despite all that had happened, Zenos found his pulse racing at the thought. The grey had receded greatly thanks to his medication, but Zenos had realised it would never truly be banished, not permanently. Only when he raced did it give way entirely. Only then did he find true, transcendent joy.

But he couldn’t. Not until he’d faced his demons. Not until his homecoming.

“I’ll consider it,” Zenos said after a while. Nero seemed satisfied enough with the reply, at least. The overeager engineer opened his mouth to speak, but a burly arm suddenly curled around his shoulders as a smaller, white-haired man gripped the lanky Garlean in what could either have been a friendly gesture or a prelude to violence. It was always hard to tell with Cid.

“Seems my partner’s been talking your ear off, eh Zenos?” Cid’s grin was just slightly frosty as he looked between Zenos and Nero. “And loudly enough to be heard from the other side of the garden, too. Funny, that.”

“Garlond!” Nero forced a tight burst of joy into his voice, though his answering grin was more of a grimace. “It seems you’re missing something important; I specifically asked you to procure me another glass of champagne!”

Cid slapped his third eye with his spare arm with an exaggerated expression of dismay. “Oh, silly me! I must have forgotten it! So hard to keep up with the elaborate and complicated demands of the foremost engineer in the land, you see. So much hot air I have to wade through just to find the meaning in your words!”

Nero’s grin had vanished entirely now, replaced with the kind of annoyance that only a pair who’d known and loved one another most of their lives could inflict on each other. Soon enough the two were engaged in yet another argument, leaving Zenos quite forgotten.

“Hey,” came an urgent whisper at his hip. He looked down to see Sanda staring up at him with her brilliant blue eyes, her face fixed in a frown. “You need rescuing from these two and I need moral support while I congratulate the brides. You with me?”

“Lead on,” Zenos murmured, taking Sanda’s hand. She needed no encouragement after that.

Notes:

And so the other half of this little gaggle of idiots appears. Love to put Zenos in Situations He Is Unprepared For. We got one (and a half) chapters of wedding left, so enjoy the marital bliss while it lasts!

Chapter 3: Celebrants

The meal and the following party were a blur of laughter, light, and forcing herself not to throttle Alisaie. According to Lyse, her speech had been significantly toned down from the original version, which was not a little terrifying to consider. But after that had come the meals and more drinks and so much chatter. Arashi had learned of how Curtis had fallen head-first (literally) into meeting the love of his life. She had learned from Yda of Lyse’s particularly strong Void phase, and her continued infatuation with a particular band from the genre. She had learned that Yotsuyu got very, very loud when she was well and truly drunk.

Somewhere in the mix she had borne witness to Sanda being well and truly dumbstruck when Gaia had shyly asked for her autograph. The look on her sister’s face was something Arashi would file away as ammunition for the rest of her life.

But then it was time to dance, which meant sobering up Yotsuyu a little (just a little, it was fun to see her sloshed) and pull her out onto the open space. Lyse needed no encouragement, taking her place besides her brides. The three of them had torn their hair out looking into what dances they could do together, something which might symbolise their shared bond. And then, once they had decided on their dresses, something which even a much-too-stiff kimono could manage.

But it was worth it as the music came on, as they found their feet, uncertainly at first but gaining in confidence with every note, losing themselves in the flow, in each other, in their joy and excitement and passion until, with a final flourish, the first song came to a close.

After that, all hell broke loose.

Somewhere in the crush of bodies all descending on the dance floor, Arashi found Yotsuyu’s and Lyse’s hands and pulled them free, slipping away unnoticed among the revelry. Flushed and breathing hard, Arashi let out a laugh as they stepped out into the hallway, a laugh of fierce, unstoppable delight. “Gods, that was incredible!” she declared between heavy breaths. “I thought for sure I was going to trip over this thing! And the way your feathers flowed, Lyse! Breathtaking. I could watch you dance all night.”

“Which is of course why you pulled me away from all the dancing,” Lyse replied with a grin. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I need a moment or two to catch my breath after all that. How about you, Yotsuyu?”

“Everything’s… spinning…” Yotsuyu gasped, looking a little green. Arashi and Lyse exchanged a glance, leading Arashi to duck back inside for a glass of water. Yugiri caught her eye as Arashi plucked her prize from the closest table, a look of concern marring her otherwise relaxed posture. Arashi gave her a reassuring smile and slipped out of the room again before the auri bodyguard could break away and approach her.

The glass of water disappeared down Yotsuyu’s throat alarmingly quickly, but it seemed to settle her somewhat. At the very least she’d gone from green to red, which was surely a positive sign. “Next time,” Yotsuyu muttered, “you two don’t ply me for every damned drink in the bar.”

“How was I to know you’d be such a lightweight?” Arashi replied, very deliberately leaving out the fact that she’d barely touched her own drink out of the same fear.

“Ugh,” Yotsuyu replied, bending down to place her now-empty glass to the floor. Arashi tried not to gaze too hard at the view suddenly offered to her. It was, admittedly, difficult to miss, but she was better than that. And it’s not like I haven’t seen everything before anyway. Still, she could have sworn she saw a slight flash of disappointment in Yotsuyu’s eye as she rose to her feet and noticed Arashi specifically not stealing a look down her dress.

Evil woman.

“So, what now?” asked Lyse, who had either missed the subtle exchange or simply pretended not to notice. “Are we done for the day? Or is this just a chance to catch our breath before we dive back into the fray?”

“That depends on you two.” Arashi leaned heavily against the wall, her tail flicking to and fro. “I’m more than happy to go back in for another round or two on the dancefloor and say our goodnights properly, but if you two would rather get a good look at our room for the night instead…” She didn’t miss the gleam in Lyse’s eye, nor Yotsuyu’s predatory smile.

“Well, I’d hate to tire myself out too much before we properly celebrate,” Lyse murmured, followed by a particularly unsubtle giggle. “Yotsuyu?”

“Oh, as if you have to ask.” Yotsuyu’s tone was honey itself, sticky and sweet and slow. “I assume one of you has the room key?”

Arashi fished through the pockets of her kimono ( thank the kami for the designer’s good sense ), her fingers clutching around something cold and hard. With a triumphant grin she pulled out the key and lifted into the air. She should have expected that Yotsuyu would snatch it out of her fingers at the first opportunity.

“I shall go and survey our quarters,” Yotsuyu declared. “I trust you will allow me sufficient time to do so?” She didn’t wait for an argument before vanishing down the hallway a little too quickly. Lyse and Arashi exchanged a look as their wife departed.

“So much for checking it out all together,” Lyse muttered, but her smile belied how little she truly cared. Indeed, she had already closed the distance between herself and Arashi, arms sliding so easily around her waist, lips so hungrily finding hers, tongue so delightfully insistent as it probed for an opening. With a giggle Arashi gave it what it wanted, her tail coiling around Lyse’s dress as a flush of possessiveness overtook her. Lyse’s answering growl sent a primal thrill through her body, forcing out all common sense in a wave of desire that-

“Ahem,” sounded an unsurprised, yet unimpressed clearing of a throat behind the pair. Lyse practically leapt out of Arashi’s arms with a startled yelp, nearly pulling Arashi with her anyway until Arashi managed to untangle her tail from Lyse’s thigh. Kasumi gave the two lovebirds a level stare, but the smirk twitching at the corner of her lips told Arashi all she needed to know.

“Before you two get too comfortable, Galvus wants a word. Seems he’s almost as antsy to get out of this crowd as the guests of honour, but he asked me to fetch you before he did. He’s waiting out in the garden for you, Arashi.”

“Right! I’ll, um… I’ll go and see how Yotsuyu’s doing with… With her surveying! Of the premises!” Lyse’s face was redder than Arashi had seen it in quite some time, though whether it was from embarrassment or something else entirely she couldn’t say. “I’ll see you soon, hopefully!” She hurried down the hall without a word, leaving Kasumi and Arashi alone for the second time that day. Kasumi stopped bothering to hide her amusement once they were alone. Smug git.

“You’re lucky these doors have no windows,” Kasumi said as she smirked. “That was quite the show you two were putting on.”

“And luckier still you found me rather than Alisaie, yes, yes.” Arashi waved Kasumi off with an irritated wave, half tempted to follow Lyse anyway and leave Zenos waiting. It had been two years since his dramatic exit from the Grand Prix. Surely he could wait another night? But Kasumi’s level stare would brook no argument, and with a reluctant sigh Arashi allowed herself to be led back into the garden’s cool night air.

Zenos had discarded his coat at some point and allowed his hair to flow free. The wind had eagerly taken the chance to toss it one way and another in its clutches, but it did not seem to affect the massive man. Few things did, in Arashi’s experience. The way he slouched over the railing on the porch was different, though, as was the hesitancy in his eyes when he looked her way. The darkness of the garden was only amplified by the bright lights and celebrations inside, but Arashi caught the faint outline of a frown on his face.

“Zenos. It’s good to see you again,” Arashi said with a smile. It still surprised her how genuine her words were, given how their previous life had shaken out. And how this one could have gone, if things had been slightly different. But they hadn’t. Zenos wasn’t the monster he once had been, just as Yotsuyu was not her venomous viceroy echoing through time to haunt Doma again. Just as I’m not the saviour of the star.

“Likewise,” Zenos murmured with a faint smile of his own. “I apologise for keeping you from the revelry, but I have never been one for festivities. I… get in the way, more often than not.”

“Well, that makes two of us.” Arashi took her place beside the man, leaning out and staring into the dark. “Thanks for keeping an eye on my sister, by the way. I know she’s a handful.”

“She has been a constant and welcome companion,” Zenos replied. “Without her, I fear what I would have done in my darker moments. It was she who begged your other half to spare my life. I owe her a great deal more than I can repay.”

“Don’t mention it,” Kasumi spoke from the dark, startling Arashi and causing Zenos to turn warily. How in the seven hells did you follow me so quietly? “Especially not to Sanda, her ego’s big enough already. Besides, I wasn’t exactly keen on getting your blood on my hands a second time.”

“Third,” Arashi cut in. “A third time.”

“Semantics,” Kasumi retorted with a dismissive wave. “Anyway, am I free to leave the two of you to talk, or do I need to play nursemaid a little longer?”

“Your assistance is appreciated, but no longer necessary.” Zenos gestured back to the party inside. “By all means, return to the celebrations and make merry.”

“Gladly,” Kasumi murmured. She vanished back into the darkness as though she’d never been, leaving the pair alone.

“So…” Arashi turned back to the darkness. Try as she might, she could make out nothing in its inky depths. She tried not to take it as an omen, particularly given she’d banished her dread from earlier. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“I did.” Zenos brushed a stray hair from his face and said nothing for a time. Arashi looked up to see his brow furrow and his jaw work, but no words emerged. Finally he said, “I apologise. It appears I am not as prepared to make my request as I had hoped.”

“Take your time.” But for the love of all that is holy, please be quick. The taste of Lyse’s lips still lingered, the heat of her burning an imprint against Arashi’s body. To say nothing of Yotsuyu’s plans. Let’s hope they haven’t gone fully out the window yet.

It was several more agonising seconds before Zenos finally found his words. “I have two requests to make of you. First, I intend to rejoin the Grand Prix once my business in Garlemald is concluded. Provided that the Commissioner accepts and I am able to find a team willing to take me, of course.”

Arashi snorted and clapped a hand on Zenos’s arm. “As if Nero hasn’t been chomping at the bit to get his star back. If you’re asking for my blessing, you have it. It hasn’t been the same out there without you.”

Zenos nodded, relief clear on his face. “That is well. Second…” Zenos took a deep breath, his arm quivering slightly under Arashi’s palm. “I intend to court your sister. I would-” He stopped as Arashi began to cough and hack, her eyes wide and her face reddening. It took her several moments before she finally caught her breath again.

“I’m sorry, you what ?” She’d misheard him, surely. Or else he was joking. He absolutely did not mean that-

“I intend to court your sister.” His face was upsettingly sincere. “She has been of great comfort and joy to me of late, and I find myself interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with her. But I would not ask this of you without your blessing.”

Arashi leaned heavily against the railing, heedless of the creaking of wood beneath her. The world had narrowed into a tiny dot. Her blood rushed through her skull relentlessly. She couldn’t find her breath. Couldn’t find her thoughts.

Zenos wants to date my sister?! Gods… Why?!

“I… Merciful kami, that’s a hell of a thing to spring on a woman on her wedding day, Galvus!”

“I apologise,” Zenos replied, worry starting to show on his face. Whether it was for her health or her decision, she couldn’t say.

“I… Gods, okay. Alright. My sister is a grown woman, and she’s more than capable of making her own decisions. If you two want to… you know , then by all means. Don’t let me stop you. Just… Don’t expect me to have an easy time getting used to the idea, alright? Particularly given she, you know, hated you even more than I did in our last lives.”

Zenos chuckled self-deprecatingly and turned his gaze skywards, up to the glittering stars above them. “A fact she is entirely unaware of, it would seem. Or else consciously rejects. I count myself truly lucky for that.” He turned to smile down at her. “Thank you. I appreciate your understanding.”

“Aye, well, just don’t go asking for me to go cheering you both on.” Gods, why does she have to go after the most awkward possible people? What’s wrong with Jullus? I could accept Jullus. “Anyway, is that all you needed?”

Zenos nodded. “I will keep you no longer. May your life and love flourish, my friend.”

Arashi gave him a final nod and turned to leave. “Treat her gently, Zenos. No matter if she tells you otherwise.” She managed to make it back inside the hotel and shut the door behind her before she began to fly down the halls. She’d waited long enough. Her loves awaited.

It took no time at all to reach the bridal suite, though Arashi nearly tripped over her own robes several times in her haste. Can’t wait to be out of this thing, she bitterly mused as she reached the ornately carved and painted door. Still, she couldn’t stop her rising pulse beating in time with her soaring excitement, and nor did she want to. Her knuckles trembled as they found the solid wood and rapped gently against it.

The door swung inward as if on command. “You’re late.” Yotsuyu stood on the other hand, dressed in her favourite robe and not a shred more. Her smile promised more than Arashi’s over-active imagination could keep up with. She had taken the time to remove her make-up while Arashi had been occupied, though her hair was still in its elaborate braid. “Lyse is in the bathroom wrestling with her face-paint. You still have time to make yourself presentable.”

Arashi chuckled and stepped in through the open door, taking in the great room before her. From the ruby red wallpaper to the plush pink carpet beneath her feet, the room screamed intimacy and romance, right down to the massive, lace-accented bed near the far wall. Even the lights were dim and rosy, and the air itself carried a pleasantly floral scent.

“As you can see,” Yotsuyu murmured against her horn, “We should have little trouble worrying about space tonight.” Her fingers tugged at Arashi’s great ribbon, her eagerness at odds with her apparently calm tone.

“I thought you wanted me to make myself presentable,” Arashi replied, tilting her head to gaze at Yotsuyu out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t miss the mischievous glint in Yotsuyu’s eye.

“Precisely. Hence we must remove these distractions first. Our trap needs bait, does it not?” The ribbon finally gave way before Yotsuyu’s insistence, and shortly after the rest of the kimono followed suit. Yotsuyu’s throaty chuckle almost distracted Arashi from her words. Almost.

“I thought we agreed you’d be the bait tonight,” she muttered. Her tail slapped none-too-gently against Yotsuyu’s legs.

“That was before Lyse made her desires for the night clear,” Yotsuyu replied. Gods, of course she told Yotsuyu about our kiss. “Though this should hardly come as a surprise. We all know who she wants more, do we not?”

Arashi turned around, ready to retort, ready to answer that Lyse’s love burned just as brightly for Yotsuyu as for herself, but Yotsuyu’s lips found her first. There was a touch, just a touch, of desperation in the kiss, that slight lingering want to be reassured, to be held close, to never be let go. But Yotsuyu would never admit such things out loud, and soon her hand found Arashi’s chest and pushed her away, towards the bathroom door, towards the other love of her life.

“Go to her. Bring her to me. And try to hurry, if you can.” Yotsuyu’s breath hitched just slightly as she spoke, but it was enough to stoke Arashi’s flame better than any bellows could. It pushed her forward just that little bit faster.

The door was left ajar, enough for Arashi to see Lyse scrubbing away the last stubborn remnants of her face-paint with a determined grimace. She didn’t look away from her face in the mirror as Arashi entered, not even registering her presence until the au ra’s arms slid around her waist from behind and her tail wrapped languidly around one leg.

“You, my love, are overdressed.” Arashi’s voice was a breathy whisper against Lyse’s ear, not bothering to disguise her rising hunger. It had the desired effect as Lyse shivered just slightly against her. “Come on out so we can fix that. We’re wasting moonlight in here, you know.”

“Gods, you certainly know how to make a compelling argument.” Lyse smiled, but it was a brittle one, and a sigh shortly escaped her lips. She gave Arashi an apologetic look through the mirror’s reflection. “Sorry, just… Can’t shake this feeling, you know? That something’s going to go horribly wrong still. It just feels too easy, you know? All of this. Like we haven’t…”

“Lyse,” Arashi murmured, her grip tightening around the blonde. “We stopped Tsuyu’s murderous brother, put my mother out of her misery, and stopped a bloody calamity, all while navigating my romantic blundering and stopping Tsuyu from doing anything monumentally stupid. We have earned this, and every single moment that follows. Relax. Enjoy this. Enjoy us.”

Lyse made to speak, but this time it was Arashi’s turn to silence her love with her lips. “I love you,” she murmured before Lyse had a chance to speak again. “And so does Tsuyu. And that love is going to carry us all to greater heights than we’ll ever know.”

“When did you get so poetic?” Lyse asked with a sly grin. Arashi blushed and looked away.

“Must be Kasumi rubbing off on me.” Lyse’s grin only widened as Arashi realised just how poor her choice of words was. “Look, do you want me to keep spouting romantic bullshit, or would you prefer to team up with Yotsuyu to make me totally speechless for a while?”

“Hmm. Hmmmmm…” Lyse made a show of thinking it over, but her hands were already moving to the straps of her dress. Arashi’s hands found hers, gently pulling them away.

“Not here,” she murmured, gesturing with her head to the bedroom beyond. “Out there.”

The pair half walked, half stumbled out into the bedroom, Arashi still comfortably coiled around Lyse and Lyse very much distracted by her wife’s distinctly unclothed self. She was all too willing to lose herself in Arashi’s next kiss as they tumbled towards the bed, her desire overriding her dread all too easily. She didn’t notice the glint in Arashi’s eye, nor Yotsuyu gliding in behind them until a second pair of hands began working away at her dress. By then she was too caught up in the heat of things to care, even as her dress fell away, as she was gently tripped into bed by the flick of a tail, as she found herself sandwiched between the two women she loved.

“I thought we… hey, wait, wait wait wait!” Arashi waited. Yotsuyu did not. “I thought we… agreed that… oh gods, right there, yes, that Arashi was first!”

“Plans changed,” Arashi murmured against Lyse’s ear. “Yotsuyu made a very compelling argument. Now, lie back and relax...”

As her lovers’ hands and mouths found their way around Lyse’s body, all she could do was enjoy the ride for all its worth. Her wives would accept nothing less.

Notes:

Bringing back my good buddy Ganon for this chapter! It's their wedding night, you knew this was coming. Besides, y'all got jumpscared Arashi from the idea of Zenos and Sanda dating, so I'm allowed this.

If only she knew how bad it really was.

Chapter 4: Returning

“Sooooo…” Sanda’s tail whipped from side to side as she stood at the doorway, completely failing to hide her eagerness. “How did it go?”

“She was shocked,” Zenos replied with a grimace. “I fear I may well have induced a panic attack. But… she allowed our union. Reluctantly.”

Sanda’s whoop of joy filled the room as she danced around in celebration. “I told you she’d come around! I told you~!” Her dancing took her on a meandering path through their shared hotel room, nimbly dodging the strewn suitcases and piles of clothing that she’d repeatedly claimed she’d deal with ‘before it becomes a problem’. She stopped directly in front of Zenos, grinning up at him. “So now you can stop looking so guilty every time I ride you, right?”

Zenos sputtered. Sanda’s grin widened. She loved ripping away his armour with such comments, loved seeing him on the back foot, loved forcing him out of his placid mask and expressing real emotion. Even if it was just embarrassment sometimes. It was fun.

“I still do not understand why you feel the need to be so evasive about our relationship,” Zenos said once he’d recovered himself somewhat. “Your sister was… willing to accept the idea of us, if nothing else.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll just go ahead and tell her now. ‘Hey, sis, your old rival and I have been bumping uglies for the past year and a half, sorry we didn’t tell you!’ She’d kill me, and probably you too after she was done cursing me.” She’d intended to tell Arashi sooner, of course, if only to see the look on her face, but between Sanda’s travels with Zenos, the various globe-trotting adventures of her older sister, and the sheer time-zone difference between Tural and Doma, it hadn’t worked out. And besides, they hadn’t intended to keep going after the first time. It had just… happened. Again, and again, and again…

“I concede your point,” Zenos muttered, defeated. “Though it rankles to keep the truth of the matter from her, we are at least free now to court one another properly.”

“Oh, are you finally going to treat me to that dinner you promised?” Sanda’s eyes lit up with devilish glee. So what if they’d shared many a meal together in Tural? Half the time it had been whatever Zenos had been able to hunt, while the other half… Well, tacos were all well and good, but they weren’t a candlelit dinner in a fancy restaurant and a dress to die for, were they?

“Perhaps. But we must engage in business before pleasure.” Zenos’s ghost of a smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. But it had appeared, which Sanda took as a good sign. It had taken months of gentle poking and prodding to finally get him to admit that he did want to go home again, and even longer to actually get him to agree to do it. Arashi’s wedding date announcement had helped. It gave them the pair a deadline, a point to work towards, a specific event to plan around. Now it was her job to ensure her precious prince didn’t get cold feet.

“A few days there, then we’ll be back to doing whatever we want. Like grovelling before Nero’s feet until he agrees to take you back. And…” Sanda trailed off, her words suddenly running into the brick wall that was her own future. And what do I do with myself, now we’re done travelling? She’d spent the past two years not really trying to think about it, after the Athena Incident had been put behind her. She couldn’t go back to modelling, not after vanishing off the face of the star and winding up the prime suspect in a murder investigation. But what else was there?

“We shall face it together.” Zenos’s massive hand clamped around hers with a gentleness she’d come to stop being quite so surprised about over time. “Come what may, I will not abandon the woman who pulled me from bleakest despair when she needs me.”

“By all means, keep flattering me. Truly, I melt at your every soft spoken word!” Sanda made a show of fluttering her eyebrows and swooning. She was rewarded with a humouring chuckle as Zenos ran his spare hand through her hair. A moment later and her head was tilted back as Zenos bent down to kiss her. The trouble with being just over half her boyfriend’s size was that she had to practically climb the man to return the favour, but she’d learned to live with it. Besides, she’d taught him well in the ways of locking lips since they’d started. He’d been quite hopeless before, but time and practice (a lot of practice) had worked their wonders.

“Hey, you are still good with all this, right?” Sanda could see the sudden concern in Zenos’s features as he unbent his frame. “With us, I mean. With me. I know we both agreed that this would be a good time, not a long time, but…”

“You would truly ask that of me after I braved your elder sister’s wrath to win your hand?” The blonde behemoth chuckled, but his laughter didn’t meet his eyes. “I meant every word I said to her.”

“And what exactly did you say to her?”

“That I intend to begin courting you.”

“Oh.”

“Will that pose a problem?”

“No, not at all.” Sanda shook her head to emphasise her point. Zenos smiled, apparently convinced. Now I just need to convince myself. “But like you said, business before pleasure. Garlemald first.” And I need all the time I can get to figure out just how far I want this relationship to go.

…

Yugiri liked the quiet. She liked the peace it brought, she liked the way any noise that broke it would be amplified by the silence it broke, she liked to let it envelop her and vanish inside of it. But sometimes the quiet could suffocate, could engulf her too hungrily and too greedily, could urge her to lose herself in it and know nothing more.

So when Kasumi’s footsteps sounded across the stone patio towards her, Yugiri breathed a quiet sigh of relief before marshalling her face into its usual stony gaze and turning to face the newcomer.

“Party too much for you as well?” Kasumi’s voice cut cleanly through the silence, her blue-green eyes glittering as she offered her fellow au ra a smile. Yugiri returned it, if a little more reserved. Once Kasumi had made it abundantly clear that she meant Yotsuyu no harm, Yugiri had found herself quickly warming to the woman. They had a shared understanding between them, that of protectors and guardians who wished for nothing more than to not have to draw their blades again.

“I’ve never been much for dancing,” Yugiri replied as Kasumi sidled to her side. “Besides, I seem to have lost track of my charge in the confusion.”

“Oh, she’s in good hands, I’m sure. Very good hands, knowing the company she vanished off with.” Kasumi’s grin told Yugiri all she needed to know, right down to the slightly bitter glint in her eyes.

“How heartening to hear that my services will not be required for the night,” Yugiri replied, letting a ghost of humour creep into her voice. “Though I shall have to find some way to occupy myself now. I don’t suppose you have any suggestions?”

“Don’t look at me, I’m still figuring out what to do with myself.” Kasumi stared out into the darkness, a distant look settling on her face. “Two years I’ve had a body all my own, and still it finds ways to surprise me. I never realised heartache could be such a literal term, you know? I want to run to them, I want to lose myself in their embraces, I want to shout and scream at them for leaving me behind at all, I want to… Ugh. No. I promised I wouldn’t do this. My time will come.”

Yugiri laid a hand atop Kasumi’s, squeezing it gently. “Better to let such feelings out than to let them fester. By all means, continue.”

Kasumi let out a long, slow sigh. “No. I appreciate your words, Yugiri, but no. They don’t deserve it, and I don’t want to speak it. What I need is distraction.”

“What manner of distraction did you have in mind?” Perhaps I can find something to take my mind off of the ideas you’ve so easily planted in my head. She knew full-well what Yotsuyu was up to, but to hear Kasumi mention it so brazenly…

“A good drink or two, a quiet room, and whatever silly nonsense I can find that will take my mind off of things. Board games, aethernet trawling, training, anything will do.”

“Well, if it’s distractions you want…” Kasumi and Yugiri whirled in unison to face the newcomer, who came to an abrupt halt under their twinned gazes. Alisaie held up her hands, one of which was clutched around a bottle of wine, in a placating gesture. “Sorry, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Her gaze rested squarely on the pair’s clasped hands.

Yugiri made a show of prising her grip out of Kasumi’s as she met Alisaie with a level stare. “What did you mean to say, regarding distractions?”

“Right, yes!” Alisaie held up the bottle with a smile. “So, I had plans for tonight which just fell through on account of Ryne and Gaia enjoying the longest slow dance known to man and Minfilia playing chaperone. But I think the three of us could salvage it together. What say we share this very heavy bottle, air some grievances, and try not to be absolutely miserable tonight?”

Yugiri normally wasn’t one for drinking. It dulled her senses, rendered her lady vulnerable to attack. But seeing the plaintive look behind Alisaie’s smile, seeing Kasumi’s sideways glance as if to ask for permission, knowing that Yotsuyu was surrounded by people more than capable of protecting her…

“Very well. I’ll take you up on your offer. Kasumi?”

“As if you had to ask. Lead the way, Leveilleur.”

 

---

Yotsuyu awoke the way she awoke most days; in a pleasant crush of warm flesh and the sleeping murmurs of her loves. Arashi was coiled against her back, her tail sitting comfortably against Yotsuyu’s thigh. Lyse lay against her chest, curled up in her arms and sleeping peacefully. Were it not for the trail of bite marks running down her neck and chest, one would have suspected the three of them had done not a thing together that night.

If one were a fool. And blind. And likely deaf. What was the point in holding back on their wedding night, after all?

It was so tempting to simply shut her eyes and lose herself in the press of flesh again. But her head was pounding, and various other parts of her body demanded attention, so with a groan she pulled herself free and stumbled out of bed. The sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains mocked her with its brilliance as it seared her blurry gaze. She shot it a dirty look as she trod a path to the nearest bottle of water. The liquid half fell into her open mouth and half dribbled down her body, but Yotsuyu didn’t care. Her hair clung to her body in a horrible, sticky mess, but she didn’t care. Her body ached along with her head, decrying her decisions the night before, but she didn’t bloody care.

Let her body make its inane demands. She regretted nothing.

Well, except for the fact that one of their number was left out.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed and sprang into artificial life as a message appeared on its screen. Yotsuyu considered letting it sit there and return to rest, but her traitorous eyes simply had to see who had sent it. With a sigh of deep irritation at herself, she put down the empty bottle and picked up the phone. It took several attempts to unlock it, but finally she found her way in.

Several messages awaited her, each one degrading in quality and comprehension as the night went on until the one sent mere moments ago.

Never trusting Alisaie and a bottle of wine again. See you at home. Love you all.

Yotsuyu smirked, knowing full well that she’d get the full story later. Either willingly, or after some persuasion. Though Kasumi was well and truly her own woman now, she and Arashi still shared enough weak points that Yotsuyu could exploit them easily enough. But that could wait. Yotsuyu’s fingers glided along the keypad as she drafted a reply.

Water helps. Bacon bread helps more. We love you too.

Yotsuyu slapped the phone back down on the table and stretched, letting at least a few of the kinks in her spine unfurl as she let out a grateful groan. Back to bed, I think. What point was there in ruining a perfectly good morning by not sleeping through it? They had the room for the rest of the day, and Yotsuyu fully intended to make good use of it.

Alas, her return to her rightful place was denied most cruelly. In her absence, Arashi had sought the nearest source of warmth in Lyse and had now coiled herself around the blonde, both snoring in unison in a picture of perfect contentment. Which was all well and good for them, but what about her? Where was her contentment to be found?

They knew and loved each other all their lives. What good am I compared to that? Yotsuyu blinked away the cruel jab and all its horrid implications. Arashi and Lyse had made it more than clear that Yotsuyu was as much a pillar to them as they were to one another. That was why they had wed one another all together. To banish those awful feelings once and for all.

At least, that’s what they were supposed to do, anyway.

Ugh. No use moping around and feeling sorry for myself. Yotsuyu turned from the happy couple and made for the bathroom door. A hot shower would at the very least ease her physical aches, if nothing else. Or perhaps a bath. They had time, after all. Why not allow herself a chance to properly unwind?

The door was whisper quiet as Yotsuyu pulled it open, and just as silent save for a gentle click when she shut it behind her. She made the mistake of glancing at herself in the mirror, seeing for the first time how truly bedraggled she was. By the kami, even my bags have bags. Too little sleep and too much stress had done quite the number on her in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and while the night before was glorious, she wanted nothing more than a solid week of sleep now that it was over.

Thirty-one summers old and already time is coming to claim its due. Yotsuyu grimaced and turned away from the mirror, back towards the shower. I’ll likely fall asleep if I take a bath now. But she paused as she stepped into the massive cubicle, her hand hesitating at the shower controls.

Thirty-one summers. She hadn’t expected she’d live that long, living under the terror of Asahi and her mother. She’d just passed thirty-two when she met her end at the hand of the Warrior of Light, in a life once lived. But somehow here she was, just a year away from reaching that same age, her whole life still ahead of her. It seemed… unreal. Unearned. Unbelievable.

And yet it was true. And it would remain true no matter how much she denied it. She could take comfort in that.

A gentle rap against the door caught her attention as she lingered by the controls. It seemed her wives’ peace had been broken by wakefulness at last. “Enter,” she called out to her would-be visitor. A moment later the door clicked open and Arashi’s head appeared through the opening. At Yotsuyu’s impatient gesture the rest of her stepped through the gap.

“Sorry, didn’t know you were freshening up. I can come back if you’d like the peace.” She made no motion to move, however, standing naked in the doorway. It was easy enough to read between the lines and see the question within.

“Stay. I could use the company.” Yotsuyu smirked as Arashi’s tail curled around the door handle and pushed it closed behind her. It took barely a moment for the au ra to join Yotsuyu in the shower, reaching past her to grab for the controls and start the downpour. Her elaborate braid and ponytail had come loose during the night, and now her long, violet locks clung to her back as the tide of hot water engulfed the pair.

Yotsuyu couldn’t contain her groan of relief as her aching muscles began to loosen, closing her eyes and throwing back her head to let the steaming shower wash away the night before. Her eyes were still shut as she felt Arashi’s arms gently encircle her, the au ra’s head coming to rest against Yotsuyu’s chest with a slight sound of contentment.

“Everything alright?” Arashi asked as her tail curled around Yotsuyu’s hips.

“Yes,” Yotsuyu murmured, starting to believe it. “And what of you?”

Arashi snorted. “Lucky I can walk straight, but otherwise? Never better. Lyse is still sleeping it off, though, so don’t expect more company.”

“A pity.” Yotsuyu smirked down at the woman tangling herself around her. “We could have picked up where we left off last night.”

“Gods,” Arashi breathed against Yotsuyu’s collar-bone. “I don’t think I’d survive that. I can barely walk this morning thanks to the two of you. Lyse especially.” Arashi’s eyes slid up to Yotsuyu’s face with a half-lidded glare. “You just had to tell her last night’s trickery was my idea, didn’t you?”

“If I had not, it would have been me in your shoes instead. You know that as well as I.” Yotsuyu’s lips found the top of Arashi’s head as she ran her knuckles down the au ra’s back. “Besides, you seemed perfectly content to be the centre of attention, as I recall.”

“That! Is entirely unrelated to the point!” Arashi sputtered, face flushing red. Yotsuyu chuckled warmly and kissed her head again. For someone so eager to give herself to her lovers every night, it was shockingly easy to make her blush in the light of day. It was also entirely adorable, but Yotsuyu wasn’t about to say it out loud. It would only make her worse.

She felt the shift in the air before she saw the look in Arashi’s eye. Some subtle change had come over her, a particular intent that Yotsuyu couldn’t put her finger on. But Arashi’s tone gave her the answer to her question she hadn’t yet asked.

“You know, a woman could feel a little slighted by being thrown into the path of a raging griffin like that.” Arashi’s eyes glinted dangerously as her hands locked just a little tighter around Yotsuyu. “A woman might think she’s owed a little sweet revenge.” The au ra rose to her tiptoes to reach Yotsuyu’s ear, whispering, “A woman might have been given a wedding gift from her sister and suddenly have the urge to use it.”

A gift? What could she possibly have… Yotsuyu froze as a memory drifted to the surface. A memory of Sharlayan, of tape measures and exposure and being so wonderfully taken advantage of. She met Arashi’s gaze, seeing the slow smile spread across her face. “She didn’t…”

“Oh, but she did. You were too busy drinking to hear her whispering, but I did. I heard every word.” Arashi’s finger met the point between Yotsuyu’s shoulder blades and started trailing downwards. “How I never found this one I’ll never know, but now that I do…” Arashi leaned up again to peck Yotsuyu’s chin. “I intend to give you a taste of your own medicine. I trust you have no objections?”

Yes. Yotsuyu tried to voice them. Failed. To the hells with it. She embraced sweet surrender, and all that came with it.

---

“Toothbrushes?”

“Packed, along with the toothpaste!”

“Clothes?”

“Arashi’s packing them now! Or trying to, anyway, I think she might be struggling with the dresses.”

“Accessories?”

“Everything we can carry is packed away, everything else I left with dad.”

“Make-up?”

“Yotsuyu, we’re fine. We’ve checked, double-checked and triple-checked. Relax.”

“...Rope?”

“Oh shite, the rope! Arashi, did we…?”

Arashi gave Lyse a withering look from her position hunched over an overstuffed suitcase, a coiled length of rope in her hand. She looked radiant in the dying light of the sun, but Lyse didn’t dare say so aloud.

“Okay, we did! Good!” Lyse let out a breath of relief and shot Arashi a sunny smile. Arashi rolled her eyes and went back to attempting to shut the full-to-bursting case. Yotsuyu, apparently satisfied that their combined checklist was complete, strolled over to the door and leaned against the wall, apparently entirely unconcerned with Arashi’s struggling. Her furtive glances from her phone to the struggling woman told a different story, but Lyse knew well enough not to say anything. Yotsuyu valued her mask of unaffected boredom, even when she didn’t need to wear it. It grounded her, and Lyse wasn’t about to take it away from her. Not until she’s ready to put it down for good.

Instead Lyse offered her assistance where it was actually needed, lending her weight to the case and giving Arashi the vital push she needed to finally zip up their luggage with a victorious cry. “Thank you, dearest,” she said with obvious relief, followed by a breath of exertion as she sagged back against the floor. “That’s everything, right? Please tell me that’s everything.”

“That’s everything,” Lyse confirmed, pulling Arashi up to her feet and giving her a peck on her scaled cheek. “Are you ready to go?” The question was directed at Yotsuyu, who looked up from her phone just long enough to give the pair a curt nod. That was enough for Arashi, who made for the door with suitcase in hand. Lyse followed dutifully behind, sparing a final glance for the room they were leaving behind before following the other two out of the door.

I guess my bad feeling was just a feeling after all.

The check-out and journey home was uneventful. While the trio caught a few glances here and there (most likely for their high-necked, all-covering clothing in the height of summer), nobody sought to impede them. Nor did any calamities befall them all on the way. Even the traffic lights seemed unwilling to get in their way as they crossed the final road leading up to the great hill and the Washi estate at its peak. Two years of trekking up and down its length had worn some of the shine from it, but Lyse enjoyed the challenge nonetheless.

Yotsuyu, on the other hand, spent every free breath cursing the mountainous terrain, Arashi, and Arashi’s mother for daring to pick such an inhospitable place to build a home. Which at least meant her stamina was improving.

Lyse chose to ignore her wife’s breathless fury, turning instead to the grim-faced Arashi and her heavy load. She’d insisted on carrying the luggage the entire way back, perhaps as some sort of penance for insisting they pack so much in the first place, or perhaps just to train her own physique. Either way, Lyse wouldn’t dream of suggesting Arashi let her take it. Her wife was far too stubborn for her own good.

“So, now that we’re done with the whole marriage business, what’s next on the to-do list?”

Arashi grimaced and halted, taking in a few deep breaths before answering. “Well, the garden needs a good check-up. Something’s been eating the leaves of the strawberry bush, and I intend to find out what and give it what for. After that, dredging the pond of debris. Oh, and checking the roof tiling for damage. That last storm was a doozy; wouldn’t surprise me if some of the tiles got knocked loose.”

Lyse blinked a few times, having not expected Arashi to have such a clear list in mind already. But she supposed old habits died hard, and the former adventurer’s never-ending list of tasks was practically ancient. “Right. Well, um… Okay then! We’ll divide up the tasks when we get back, I suppose?”

“After we sleep for the next week or so, yes.” Arashi resumed her grim march up the street with a groan, catching up to Yotsuyu shortly after. Lyse smiled at the pair as they resumed their bickering, her heart full to bursting with love. Of all the things I expected when I kissed you in Sharlayan, this couldn’t have been lower on my list. And yet here she was, married twice over and likely to add a third to the tally in time. Despite all the pain it had taken to get there, she couldn’t be happier with the result.

Soon enough the three of them crested the final hill, a final short walk away from the great building that was their home. Initially they had planned to find somewhere else to live, somewhere in Eorzea. But days had stretched into weeks, then months, then suddenly two years had gone by and there they remained. Besides, Lyse couldn’t tear herself away from the underground gym if she tried.

Arashi and Yotsuyu had stopped in their tracks, Lyse realised as she grew closer. Curiosity sparked within her, lending her a tiny bit more energy to jog up and peer over their heads to see what all the fuss was about. Her eyes widened as she realised just what it was that had drawn them up short.

A middle-aged lalafellin woman dressed in a sharply tailored suit stood by the front gate to the house, frowning at the intercom embedded in the wall a good foot or two taller than she could reach. At the sound of Lyse’s footsteps coming to a stop she turned, her frown turning into a professionally warm smile.

“Ah, what luck!” Commissioner Nanamo Namo declared as she took in the three of them. “My apologies for missing the wedding, but I’ve had a rather urgent matter come up which I simply must discuss with you all. I don’t suppose I can join you inside so that we may discuss it?”

Arashi and Yotsuyu exchanged a glance, both women knowing full well that the Commissioner wasn’t likely to take no for an answer. “Very well,” Yotsuyu replied. “But make it quick.”

Notes:

Nanamo jumpscare. Eight foot vertical leap-scare. Still can't hold the buzzer long enough to get it to go through while she leaps though. Alas, Doma cares not for the needs of lalafell.

Chapter 5: Visistors

Zenos tore himself out of the clutches of another nightmare. Body awash with sweat, heart pounding a ragged beat, he tried and failed to lever himself up into a sitting position. The source of his inability to move grumbled and tightened her grip on him, still blissfully slumbering despite her living pillow’s rudeness. Though she was barely half his height, Sanda was frighteningly strong when she wanted to be. Most of the time she used that strength to keep Zenos from wriggling around too much in his sleep.

Still, the sight of her was a comfort, to say nothing of the anchor to reality she represented. Those horrible images of her lying on the floor of Athena’s lab, covered in blood, were just that. Images. A potential future that had not come to pass. The sight of her glaring at me with such seething hate, however…

Zenos pulled a few ragged strands of hair from over his face and breathed a long, slow sigh as he stared up at the ceiling of their cabin. Logically he knew that their bitter past lives were long since forgotten by the rest of the world, that few remembered the last emperor of Garlemald except as a footnote in ancient history. But he had borne witness to that same nightmare as it rode his flesh anew, as it had become accomplice to horrors the world was still reeling from.

And he knew that had things gone differently, he could have trod that path again. Had he not discovered racing, had his drive to burn away the grey pushed him just a little further, had…

No. No more of this self-pitying drivel. He was getting nowhere by obsessing over what-ifs. What hadn’t happened, hadn’t happened. What was true was that he had an alarmingly fetching woman using his torso as a makeshift mattress and showing no desire to move. Which was a pity, because now he was awake he realised that his body had some urgent business to attend to.

It took a good bit of wriggling (and not a little grumbling from Sanda) to escape the au ra’s grasp, but he managed it eventually. His newfound freedom won him an all-expense-paid trip to the cabin’s bathroom, and not a moment too soon.

By the time he emerged, Sanda had replaced him with one of the pillows and showed no particular signs of wanting his return. As for the cabin, it was suddenly much too small for him. So Zenos decided to go for a walk instead. The airship would be quiet enough at this time of night that none would bother him. And if anyone tried, he had trained well in the art of appearing unapproachable.

Thankfully the corridor was beautifully devoid of people by the time Zenos emerged. A relief, for conversation remained more difficult than he would like. He had hoped his medication would banish such awkwardness as it had banished the grey, but as Sanda had cautioned him when he began taking the pills, they would not work miracles.

Still, they did enough. The fact that he could feel relief at all was proof of that. And irritation. And fear. And that strange flutter in his chest when he looked at Sanda, which he knew wasn’t love but had to be something more than simple attraction. It was the same feeling that had driven him to tell Arashi he intended to court her little sister. That want to stoke the flame and watch it grow into something warm and wonderful. Or a brilliant blaze. Perhaps that would finally chase away the lingering fog.

Perhaps.

Zenos’s feet sent him into the dining hall, now conspicuously empty of people, tables, and most everything else. In several hours it would be awash with people, but now as moonlight bathed its walls and floor, it felt hollowed out. Zenos took in a deep breath at the doorway, taking in the silence and the emptiness like an old friend. When his father lost his temper with Zenos (which was far too often), Zenos had sought out places like this to let his own rage simmer. He hadn’t liked that only passion and anger could pierce the grey. He hated what it had said about him.

He didn’t even notice the other man’s presence until he stepped through a moonbeam. Zenos couldn’t help his soft intake of breath as surprise overtook him. As the other man glanced up, he looked as startled as Zenos to have his reverie so interrupted. He was a tall man, though not nearly as tall as Zenos himself, slim of build and pale of skin, with a mop of sandy blonde hair. His third eye glinting in the darkness marked him as Garlean, but aside from that he was quite unremarkable. His clothing was plain and somewhat shabby, and his gait marked him as a man quite unsure what to do with himself. His age was difficult to judge. His eyes had a certain weariness around their edges, but he bore no wrinkles and stood unbowed by the rigours of time. Were it not for the extra eye, he could have been anyone from anywhere.

“Terribly sorry!” The man spoke before Zenos could, scuttling forward with a bowed head and nervous glances. “I simply thought that I might wander a little, and I always get so restless on these long journeys, so-”

“Hold a moment.” Zenos frowned as he realised he was still mostly in the dark of the doorway. He took a step forward to rectify that, but that simply sent the other man jerking backwards. “I mean you no harm, nor am I here to reprimand you. I am a fellow wanderer, nothing more.”

“Oh. Oh!” A sudden change came over the man as he stepped back into the light. “Well, what a coincidence! Two travellers crossing paths in such a way. Truly, this must be fate! Ah, but how rude of me, I should introduce myself. My name is Nerva! And how about you, my new friend?”

Nerva? Impossible. Nerva Galvus was long gone, his soul erased from existence. Even the name itself had been lost to the annals of history. “Viator.” He had agreed on the false name with Sanda several days prior, when they were finalising their plans to return to Garlemald. It was unlikely to fool anyone who dug too deeply, but it would be enough to deflect a casual enquiry. But if this man was going to give out a false identity, it seemed only prudent to do the same.

“Ha, a traveller indeed!” Nerva’s face lit up as he offered his hand. Zenos took it, giving the proffered limb a polite shake as he sought a polite way to escape what was rapidly turning into a conversation he was deeply unprepared for with a stranger he was deeply unable to trust. “So, what has you embarking on this homecoming, if I may be so bold?” His smile would have been disarming if Zenos wasn’t so on edge.

“Visiting family,” Zenos replied blandly. Technically true, even if said family was cold in the ground. “And yourself?”

“The same, funnily enough. I haven’t been home since… well, you know. It’s high time to return and start rebuilding, I think. Can’t let the scars of yesterday define me, right?” Again, that smile, but this time with a hard edge to it. His story was hardly unique. While many Garleans had chosen to remain, to rebuild, many others had been unable to bear the scars of their fair city turned into a ghost town and ruled by monstrosities, brief though that had been. Zenos was one of many who had been unable to remain.

“We are only what we choose to be,” Zenos murmured. “To be shackled by the past is to become stagnant. You do well to break free of those chains.” I, meanwhile, am still stifled by mine, even when the key to my freedom is held in front of me. He was feeling more and more sure that returning to Garlemald was a bad idea, but he could do nothing to stop it now. Not when the airship ceaselessly carried him towards his old home.

“Well said! Well said indeed! I had no idea we had such an orator on board!” Nerva moved to clap Zenos on the arm, thought better of it, and let his arm fall to his side instead. A few moments of awkward silence stretched out before the strange man tried again. “So, how long will you be in Garlemald for? I’d be happy to have you over for supper some time, if you’re planning on an extended trip. We travellers need to stick together, right?”

“I’m afraid I must decline. I will likely leave as soon as my visit is complete.” And I have no desire to walk into your den like a docile doe. “I wish you luck in your reconstruction. May it bear fruits greater than those that were taken from you.”

“And may you find what you’re looking for on the road ahead, my friend.” Nerva gave him another smile and nodded his head in a clear gesture of farewell. Zenos stepped to one side to allow him out of the dining room, watching the man vanish into the darkened corridors beyond. Only once Nerva had been swallowed entirely by the dark did Zenos allow himself to breathe again. His heart was hammering, a dreadful sense of unease overtaking him. Were he a more trusting man, he’d have written the man off as merely harmless, if a little over-familiar.

But he was not one to place his faith in the hands of dead men, particularly those whose intentions he could not unravel.

---

For once Arashi was glad of the cavernous living room that her parents had, in her mother’s vanity, deigned to build for their relatively tiny family. With her, Kasumi, and Lyse on one sofa, Yotsuyu nestled in her favourite armchair beside them, and Nanamo sat on the sofa opposite them all, the place felt halfway lived in again. The Commissioner had politely refused any offers of refreshments, her tone clear that she intended to get out of their hair with all due haste.

Which left the question of why she had gotten in their hair in the first place.

“I’ll not mince words,” Nanamo said once they had all made themselves comfortable. “These past several months I have been deep in negotiations with the Turali Racing Association. Those negotiations have come to a head. Ladies, how would you like to represent the Eorzean Grand Prix in a joint racing venture between our organisations?”

Arashi blinked as Nanamo’s words sunk in. Kasumi was likewise blind-sided by the sudden request. Yotsuyu, for all her attempts to appear unfazed, couldn’t hide the slight widening in her eyes. Lyse, on the other hand, looked absolutely delighted .

“I’ve always wanted to see Tural!” she said with a grin, looking to Arashi and Kasumi in turn. “What do you think? Shall we start packing our bags?”

“Already? Gods, Lyse, we haven’t even unpacked from the wedding yet!” Arashi leaned back against the sofa with a grunt of exhaustion. With tired eyes she locked gazes with Nanamo. “I have several questions, but let’s start with when and go from there.”

Nanamo chuckled softly at Arashi’s beleaguered look. “Oh, we won’t be announcing this collaboration for a month or two, perhaps more. We have a great many details to work through yet, and I need to consult with your employers first. But if you wish to get ahead of the competition, you are free to make the journey whenever you wish and get a lay of the land.”

“Right. A month away. Good.” A little of Arashi’s exhaustion lifted from her shoulders as curiosity began to take its place. “Next question, then. Why?”

Nanamo raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why? What do you mean?”

“Why us? Why now? Why any of this at all?” Arashi gestured uselessly as she tried and failed to grasp the words she wanted. She gave Yotsuyu a pleading look, hoping her fellow racer might have a better idea of how to articulate it all.

Yotsuyu, however, was less than helpful. “Is it not obvious? The gesture here is hardly subtle.” At Arashi’s lack of comprehension, Yotsuyu continued. “We have been chosen because we are the best in the league, and the Commissioner wishes to put the Eorzean Grand Prix in the greatest possible light. As for why now, it is the obvious time, is it not? There will be several months before the Grand Prix begins again, so now is the perfect time to announce a special event. Am I correct?” Yotsuyu turned to Nanamo, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.

“For the most part,” Nanamo confirmed with a nod. “Though there are some finer details going on behind the scenes. Nothing you need be privy to, of course.”

“When will you be expecting an answer, then?” Kasumi broke the silence she had maintained since Nanamo’s sudden arrival. Though she kept her emotions well contained, Arashi could sense the frustration in her. The fact that her tail her entwined so tightly around Arashi’s own was proof enough of that. Arashi met Kasumi’s sideways glance with a tight nod. She’ll be gone soon. Then it’ll be just us again. Have some patience.

The irony of asking a three-millennia-old incarnation of her self-love to be patient was not lost on her.

“Ideally? As quickly as possible. But I would ask that you provide me a response within the next three weeks. That should give me time to prepare the necessary paperwork and arrange the press tour before we go live with the announcement. Simply make your employers aware of your answer when you’re ready.”

Arashi nodded, still mulling over the offer. It was tempting, certainly, but she’d been looking forward to some peace and quiet after the last Grand Prix. To suddenly swan off across the ocean, Suzaku in tow, and do it all again on completely unfamiliar tracks with completely unfamiliar racers…

Okay now that I think about it that does sound like fun. Dammit, she has me hooked.

“Anyway, I believe I’ve taken up enough of your time.” Nanamo hopped off the sofa and made for the door, Lyse bouncing off the sofa to see her out. “Do give my offer some thought, will you? I dearly hope I shall see you on Tural’s vibrant shores soon.” Then she was gone, vanishing out the opened door and out of their lives again.

Kasumi slumped against Arashi with a grateful sigh, swiftly snuggling against her with eyes shut and a surprisingly gentle smile on her face. “Finally,” she muttered as Arashi’s hand went to her girlfriend’s head and began to gently stroke. “Welcome home. I missed you.”

“You sound like we haven’t seen each other in weeks,” Arashi murmured as she rested her face against Kasumi’s hair. Kasumi’s murmur of contentment was all the answer Arashi received, coupled with the slight tightening of her arms around Arashi’s back and sides. She felt, rather than saw, Lyse flop back down beside them and pincer Kasumi from the other side.

“So we’re going, right?” Lyse’s cheery voice cut through the quiet.

“Lyse, dear,” Kasumi said, her voice flat and dull, “Not tonight. All I want to do right now is eat something horrendous for my body, hold and be held in turn, and collapse into bed.”

“I presume you couldn’t find any bacon bread, then?” Yotsuyu asked from the armchair, a picture of perfect innocence. That picture did nothing to stop Kasumi from shooting her a dirty look.

“These damn bodies of ours are far too frail and far too easily swayed by chemicals.” Kasumi’s favourite complaint since gaining a body of her own. Arashi and Lyse exchanged a look over her head and rolled their eyes together. “While the three of you were swiving one another within an inch of your lives,” the grumpy au ra continued, “I was swallowing my weight’s worth of wine in a vain attempt to drown my sorrows with Yugiri and Alisaie. And failing, I might add. All it did was give me the mother of all hangovers this morning, a fact which I made the fatal mistake of telling my lovely spider lily about.”

Yotsuyu let out a throaty chuckle as she rose from the chair, taking the few short steps she needed to reach Kasumi’s cuddled form. “Did she always feel this sorry for herself when she was a part of you?” She tilted her chin quizzically in Arashi’s direction.

“Sometimes,” Arashi confirmed. “Mostly when I reminded her of certain events in Ishgard. Such as when she tried to stage a hostile takeover of my body. Or when we said our farewells after my return from the First. Or...”

Kasumi groaned something that sounded suspiciously like “traitor” and buried her head further against Arashi’s chest. Yotsuyu’s smile was entirely missed by her, but Arashi saw it all too clearly. It was the smile of a woman storing ammunition for later battles. Aloud, the raven-haired woman declared, “I shall get to ordering us some sustenance, then. I trust pizza will serve to-”

The buzzer rang out. All four women’s head snapped up and looked towards the intercom, but it was Yotsuyu who made to answer it. “Likely the Commissioner missed some vital detail in our discussion earlier,” she said, but Arashi had trouble believing it. There was a sudden tension in the air, one she was all too familiar with. From the way Kasumi’s eyes had begun to glow gold, she felt it too.

“Tsuyu, be careful.” Arashi untangled herself from Kasumi and made to join Yotsuyu by the door. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” Yotsuyu shot her a glance, but made no protest as Arashi gently pushed her to one side and snatched the intercom phone from its holder herself. “Washi Residence, state your business.” She hated how clipped and cold her voice sounded, hated how easily she found herself falling back into old habits. The Warrior of Light rides again.

The screen showed nothing, having malfunctioned some weeks prior. They had intended to fix it after the wedding, but now Arashi felt its absence keenly. For a moment the phone was silent, but then a familiar voice sounded through it.

“Arashi. It’s Fareena. Open up, I need your help.” She sounded terse, her breaths short and sharp. A far cry from her usual self.

Arashi sighed and considered hanging up there and then. To miss my wedding only to show up at my doorstop the very next day. The nerve of her… But that same feeling from before told her that something was very, very wrong, and the viera woman sat at the centre of it. And then there was her tone. With a heavy sigh, Arashi pushed the button that would open the gates and allow Fareena inside. I really hope I’m not making a mistake here.

The sound of heavy footsteps made their way from the gate to the front door, but no-one inside was prepared for the great thud against the door that followed. Heart beginning to pound, Arashi crept towards the door and slowly, oh so slowly, let it swing towards her.

Fareena’s head fell through the doorway, followed by the rest of her body. Her clothes were a ragged mess, her exposed skin a tapestry of cuts, bites, and other wounds. But by far the worst was an ugly puncture wound at her side, leaking alarming quantities of blood. She was still breathing, but just barely, her chest wheezing raggedly as unconsciousness claimed her.

Instinct took over as Arashi caught Fareena’s head before it could make impact with the floor, propping it against her chest and looping her arms under Fareena’s shoulders. Lyse leapt into action in a flash, vaulting over Fareena to grab her legs.

Soon the barely breathing viera was carried inside and laid out on the sofa that Nanamo had just recently occupied. Kasumi was at her side before she even touched the fabric, her hands glowing as a steady stream of healing aether flowed into their friend. “Gods, this is far beyond me.” Kasumi’s face was grim as she muttered. Already she was starting to grow pale from the exertion. “She’s been poisoned. Don’t know by what, but it was large enough to dump far too much venom into her system for her to hold out long. She needs someone more practised at healing than me if she’s going to live.”

“I’ll call Alisaie,” Lyse responded, but Kasumi shook her head with a pained expression.

“More skilled than that. She needs a White Mage. Arashi?”

Arashi nodded, not needing any further prompting. There was only one White Mage she trusted enough in a crisis like this. “I’ll get Tender on the line.” And if the kami are merciful, she’s still in Doma.

Notes:

Stumbling to the door with a massive puncture wound and a nasty dose of venom? Welcome back Fareena, we hardly missed ye.

Chapter 6: Emergency

To Fareena’s immense luck, Tender was not only still in Doma, but entirely unoccupied when Arashi called. Within a few minutes she and Haurchefant arrived breathlessly at the front gate, vaulting over it rather than wait for the slow steel to part. Tender allowed herself a single horrified gasp when she saw the state of the viera lying on the sofa, then the walls slammed down and she was barking orders, directing the others, sending Haurchefant to buy medical supplies, and to the seven hells with the late hour, directing Lyse to apply the right pressure to the right wounds, having Kasumi focus her efforts on the minor scratches, demanding Arashi devote as much of her aether as she could managed to keeping Tender’s supply well-stocked.

All Yotsuyu could do was stand by and watch, quietly horrified, as they set to work without a complaint, without a voice of dissent, without even a murmur of disagreement. Like a colony of ants rushing to defend the nest from invasion. No will of their own, no decisions made that were not filtered through Tender first.

They’ve done this before. So many times. How did any of you live with having to practice such things to the degree that you can do this all so easily?

It was another stark reminder that the three women she loved had lived the lives of heroes, and bled for the privilege time and time again. While she... Enough. That woman is dead a thousand times over. You are not her. Yotsuyu banished the taste of tobacco on her tongue and tore her eyes away from the scene in the living room, just in time for the intercom to go off again.

This time Haurchefant did not leap over the fence as it opened, though only due to the fact that his arms were laden with first aid products and enough bandage to mummify Fareena. As Tender and Kasumi worked and Arashi kept them both supplied with aether, Haurchefant and Lyse set about cleaning and dressing Fareena’s wounds as best they could. Yotsuyu made herself useful, pouring some glasses of water and distributing them to the rapidly wearying healers. Then again, when the glasses ran dry. Then again. Then-

Lyse caught her arm as she passed. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “You don’t have to push yourself like this.” She tied off another bandage around Fareena’s arm and rose to her feet, giving Haurchefant a tired smile and nod. Haurchefant returned the smile, their part in the grim work completed. The rest was up to Tender and Kasumi. While Haurchefant remained to give Tender what support he could, Lyse pulled Yotsuyu away, out through the kitchen and the back door and into the garden.

“Sorry,” Lyse said as they stood together under the night sky. “I know what it’s like to feel like you have to help however you can, but sometimes the best thing to do is stay out of the way.”

Yotsuyu said nothing, simply staring up at the moon. It was full and bright tonight, filled with the hazy yellow of reflected gold gathered like a thief during the day. Some nights it was all she dreamed of, touching that brilliance, bathing herself in it, subsuming all she was and emerging a creature of perfect vengeance. Except that the sun cut her down all the same, dancing that fatal dance that they knew all too well.

“Yotsuyu?”

She shook herself free of her thoughts, turning to give Lyse a brittle smile. “I apologise. I was merely lost in thought.” She felt Lyse’s hand take hers, squeeze it, tug her just a little closer. She let it happen. “How many times?” Lyse turned to her, confused. “How many times have you been through this? Playing at nurse, fretting by her bedside, praying that she’ll return to you as those with the power to make it true try all that they can to do so?”

“Enough,” Lyse replied bitterly, her eyes downcast and her hands gently shaking. “I thought we were done with all of this after Gridania. I hoped so desperately for it. But here we are again. Once Fareena wakes up I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.” Then, more quietly. “I guess my gut feeling was a little off, eh?”

Yotsuyu turned to look at her, really look at her. Seeing past the brave face Lyse was so used to putting on, seeing the tension in her shoulders, the subtle trembling of her body, the tear running down her face unnoticed by her. It was the easiest thing in the world to pull Lyse into her arms, to lean down so her curtain of raven-dark hair blotted out the world around them, to press her forehead to Lyse’s.

“We won’t allow this to engulf us,” she murmured as Lyse’s arms tightened around her. “Whatever has thrown this brush with death at our door, we shall not get caught up in its machinations. We have earned this peace. I will not let a single thing take that away from us.”

Lyse laughed bitterly and tilted her head to plant a kiss on Yotsuyu’s cheek. “I wish I could believe that, but I know how these things go where Arashi’s concerned. We’re getting roped into this whether we like it or not. Best thing we can do is accept that now.”

---

Tender sank back into Haurchefant’s waiting arms with an exhausted sigh. “There,” she declared, “That should be the end of that wretched poison. She’ll be out for some time yet, but we should be able to let her body handle it from here.”

Arashi nodded, pale and barely conscious from the strain on her aether. Kasumi was barely better, her breathing haggard and her brow shining with sweat. Seeing Tender work was a marvel, but it was a marvel Kasumi had hoped never to see again after the events of Gridania. Damnation, we were supposed to be free of all this. She glanced over at Arashi, who took that opportunity to slump heavily against Kasumi with a dull whine. Kasumi wrapped a weary arm around her love, pulling her tight and kissing the top of her head.

Tender gave the pair a sympathetic look as Haurchefant helped her to her feet. “Apologies, you two. Seems I overdid it a little on the aether drain.”

“Don’t be,” Arashi murmured through half-lidded eyes. “She’s alive. If I have to feel like a chocobo’s just run me down to accomplish that, so be it.” Kasumi felt a flare of irritation as Arashi’s self-sacrificing nature once again rose to the surface, but she forced it back down. She’d be the mother of all hypocrites to call the woman out on it anyway.

“Do you have any idea at all what happened to her?” Haurchefant spoke what all of them had been wondering but were too exhausted to give words to. Kasumi shook her head, partially to answer the silver-haired elezen’s question, but also to shake away the encroaching exhaustion.

“She rang the gate buzzer, demanded we let her in, then collapsed against the door.” Arashi’s voice was reed thin, her tone unsteady, but none of them missed the quiet thread of fury that undercut every word. “As soon as she wakes up I’m going to find out, though. And then I’m going to-”

“Do nothing,” Kasumi cut in before Arashi could finish her thought. “You’ve put that behind you, remember? Leave the heroics to those who have the stomach for it.”

“Kasumi, they nearly killed her!” Anger gave Arashi energy enough to push free from Kasumi’s grip and rise unsteadily to her feet. “Whoever did this has to pay for it, and if they’re strong enough to put that much of a dent in her, I might be the only one capable of stopping them. You know that!”

“And if they’re too much for you too? What then? Don’t make me mourn you again, Arashi, for the love of all that is holy!”

“And if I just stand by and let my friend’s would-be murderer walk free, how can I live with myself then? I don’t want to do this, but I have to! For her sake if not-”

“Ladies.” Tender met the au ras’ fiery gazes with a frosty look of her own. “Surely this discussion can wait until you’ve actually spoken with Fareena, yes? Or at least when we’re all not run entirely ragged.” Tender grimaced, her hand going to her head. “By the Twelve, my head’s going to split open at this rate… I don’t suppose you have a spare bedroom for us so I can sleep this off?”

“You can use my room,” Kasumi offered. “Bed’s freshly made and there’s enough room for two. Rest up.” She hesitated before adding, “And thank you, for coming when you did. You’re a lifesaver.”

Tender nodded with an exhausted smile, leaning heavily on Haurchefant as the pair made their way upstairs. Kasumi waited until they had disappeared from sight before allowing herself to collapse against the opposite sofa, letting out a frustrated sigh and staring up at the ceiling.

“Please don’t do this to us again,” she murmured, just quietly enough for Arashi to hear. “Just let us rest. Let us have our peace. Let yourself enjoy the peace you laboured so hard to earn. Please.”

“She came to us for a reason. She needs us, Kasumi. I can’t ignore that.”

Kasumi said nothing in response as Arashi fell down onto the sofa next to her, her head knocking into her girlfriend’s shoulder. Kasumi only realised Arashi had fallen asleep when she heard her lover’s breathing slow and deepen. She allowed herself a soft smile at the exhausted woman using her body as a pillow, then turned her gaze to Fareena. The viera woman was breathing much easier now, her bandaged chest rising and falling in a twin rhythm with Arashi’s, her deep brown skin returned to its natural shade rather than the awful pallor it had been several minutes before.

Damn you for dragging your sorry carcass to our doorstep. Damn you for making your mess our problem. Damn you for dragging the Warrior of Light back out of her cage.

Then Kasumi’s eyelids finally succumbed to gravity’s gentle tug, and she knew only darkness.

Notes:

See? I can still write a shorter chapter when the occasion calls for it!

Ignore the fact that this is the shortest chapter of what I've written by a good margin.

Don't worry about it. It's cool.

Chapter 7: Homecoming

“Now arriving in Garlemald. Please may all passengers make ready to disembark.”

Sanda swallowed the spike of nervousness that swelled up within her. Got to be strong. For his sake if not for mine. The last time she had been in Garlemald, she had been putting down a madwoman obsessed with godhood and hells-bent on causing a Calamity. The time before that, she had watched a man she considered a friend lose himself to a monster. Before that, she’d witnessed her sister almost perish from sheer cold and exposure and the woman who broke both their hearts weep with devastation.

But things were different now. She was different. A few days, then I’m out of here. That’s fine. The only real question was whether she’d be leaving alone. As she looked at Zenos’s face, saw the war between nostalgia and trauma waging behind his eyes, she honestly couldn’t say. Her hand found his, engulfed by the sheer size of it, squeezing gently. As he looked down at her she gave him a reassuring smile. For safety’s sake they had chosen to wear glamours for the trip into Garlemald, but there was no mistaking the relief in the smile his false face wore.

We’re in this together. For a little while longer, anyway. Once Garlemald was behind them, Zenos would return to the Grand Prix. Though they had joked about begging Nero on hands and knees to take him back, Sanda knew it was all but certain he’d be welcomed back with open arms. Ever since his shocking departure, the Grand Prix had suffered somewhat in ratings, particularly after the shocking revelations about Garlemald Industries and its part in the narrowly averted Calamity. Add to that the fact that the winner of each race had boiled down to a coin toss between her sister and Yotsuyu, and it was no surprise sales were in a slump. His grand return would provide a much needed injection of excitement back into the league.

Which was all well and good for him, but for Sanda… She had no real desire to simply be his hanger-on or cheerleader as he regained his crown. She had desires of her own, wants and needs and goals. She simply had no idea what they were, and even less idea how to go about finding out. She’d hoped two years travelling through Tural would help her. It hadn’t. All she’d gained was a nebulous relationship with a man terrified she’d wake up hating him one day and a hell of a tan. It felt so desperately like she was missing something, something important, but what? She just couldn’t say.

The boarding ramp lowered, impacting the ground beneath with a dull thud and disgorging the first few impatient passengers. She and Zenos lingered towards the back, content to allow the crowd to thin before setting foot in the city that had shaped them so powerfully. They weren’t afraid. Definitely not. Okay, maybe a little afraid. Sanda glanced back at the suitcase which had been her world for so long. It would remain so for a little longer, but after that… Back to Doma. Back to the old family home, collecting all my things, finding a place to stay. Back to setting down some roots again. Back to figuring out how to tell Zenos that I don’t know what I want.

But first, Garlemald. Sanda took the first step forward, defiance filling her core and pushing her through her barriers. As it always had, as it always would. Zenos followed behind, hesitant but knowing there was no turning back. Together they took their faltering steps down the ramp, into Garlemald proper.

In the back of her mind, Sanda had been expecting the same ghost town she’d left, filled only exhausted, terrified people and the bodies of the monstrosities that had once been their families. She’d expected the air of oppression and pain to swallow up the world again, to drown it beneath bleakest despair and suffering. She’d expected the scars to be visible, jagged and fresh and bleeding. She should have known better, really, but the sight of the city below them full of life, full of people, full of hope threw her off-guard. It continued to keep her off-balance as she and Zenos rode the elevator down the airship landing and into the city proper. It only took one look to see that same shock in Zenos’s eyes too.

The city had moved on. Buried its dead, mourned them, forged ahead. Despite everything, it was ready to flourish again. It had not forgotten, it could never forget, but it could stop wallowing in its agony and burn a brighter future. And so it had done just that.

Sanda had to stop herself from staring, from searching for signs of the damage she’d seen the last time she was there, from trying to find the eyes of monsters in the alleyways. As they made their way to the hotel, she forced herself again and again to bury the sensation of wrongness that pervaded her, the feeling that nothing was quite as it should have been. It took her some time to realise just what it was that felt so off about it all.

They had moved on. She had not. She could not. She was a prisoner of time, seeing the ghosts of atrocities around every corner, feeling the weight of countless sins bearing down on her, knowing that even if the people had forgotten, the city had not. It knew her. And more importantly, it knew the man walking by her side.

The pair were silent as they made their way to the hotel. Words were inadequate. Sanda barely even made small talk with the receptionist as they checked in, got their room keys, were wished a pleasant stay. It was only when they were safely in the elevator that Zenos turned to her and spoke again.

“You feel it too, do you not?”

“I can’t stop feeling it, yeah. I keep half-expecting Athena to jump us from around the corner.”

Zenos nodded, clearly wanting to say more but unable to find the words. For a moment, just a moment, Sanda considered prompting him, letting the words out, letting him speak what he so desperately wanted to speak. But then the moment passed, and silence slid back into place until the elevator ground to a stop.

“Hey, um…” Sanda gazed at Zenos out of the corner of her eye. “Can we… stay in our room for a while? I don’t think I’m ready for the city again. Not just yet, anyway.”

Zenos nodded, the relief clear in his eyes and the very slight smile on his face. She noted silently the gentle easing of the tension in his shoulders and smiled a little herself. Expressing such discomfort was difficult for Zenos still, much less doing something about it. Sanda had learned over time how to look for those signs and broach the subject in a way that allowed him to recognise them in himself, just like her therapist had suggested. Krile’s advice had worked wonders, though Sanda would never fully admit it to her face. She’d get much too smug about it.

Their room was on the far end of the building, but this time the silence of the corridors felt a good deal less oppressive than the quiet they had brought with them. It probably wasn’t a good idea to put off the visit, but Varis had been rotting in his grave for two years now. Another few hours spent procrastinating wasn’t going to hurt, and there was still plenty of daylight left this far north.

Sanda reached the room first, fishing for the key until Zenos reached past her to unlock the door himself. He politely ignored Sanda’s irritated look and pushed open the door for her, the very picture of courtesy. But Sanda didn’t miss his ever so slight smile as she grumbled and stepped inside, nor the almost inaudible chuckle that rumbled in his chest. He enjoyed toying with her just as much as she enjoyed toying with him, as it turned out. A fact which irritated her to no end .

The hotel room was nothing to write home about, but the bed was large and soft and the view of the city below was nice enough. It also came with a massive shower, a fact which Sanda filed away for later. Zenos never usually initiated when it came to sex, but he was happy enough to reciprocate when Sanda was in the mood. When pressed on the fact, he’d admitted that he didn’t feel much in the way of sexual attraction, but enjoyed the intimacy of the act, and the clear joy that Sanda took in it. Which was, he’d repeatedly assured her, more than enough to continue.

Sanda flopped dramatically onto the bed with a heavy sigh, letting her suitcase collapse to the floor as she stared at the ceiling. “Tell me again how I managed to talk us into this,” she muttered to no-one in particular as Zenos bent to right her suitcase and let it rest properly against the far wall.

“As I recall, you used every tool at your disposal and eventually wore me into submission.” Zenos answered her anyway, resting gently on the edge of the bed. “Quite how you managed the momentous task of convincing yourself is a feat far beyond my imagining.” The comment earned him a slap from Sanda’s tail, but he bore it stoically. The bastard.

She knew, of course, how she’d brought herself around to the idea. How Krile had subtly planted the idea in her head during one of their long-distance sessions. How it had sprouted and grown as they’d seen all that Tural had to offer. How it had finally spilled out after Arashi had told her breathlessly about her and her lovers’ combined wedding idea. How-

Wait. Sanda jerked upright, slapping her forehead. Shit!

“I didn’t tell Arashi! Ugh! I’m such an idiot!” Zenos said nothing, simply tilting his head towards her with an upturned eyebrow. “Venat! I forgot to tell Arashi about her message! Ugh ugh uuuuugh!” Sanda collapsed back onto the bed with a frustrated groan. “Okay, new plan. First we finish up our business here, then I’m going back to tell her the message, THEN I figure out what I’m going to do now I’m back!”

“A lofty set of goals, certainly. But might I add another item to it?” Zenos had a particular smile on his face, one which Sanda didn’t quite realise.

“Go ahead…”

“Dinner. At the Bismarck. As I have repeatedly been made to promise at length by a certain someone who could not stop singing its praises.”

“Deal. On one condition. Okay, two conditions, actually.”

“Name your price.”

“First, we’re going shopping so I can dress the part. I’m not going to the Bismarck in my travelling clothes. And second… You’re coming with me to Doma too. I’ll need the moral support if I have to deal with Yotsuyu again.”

“Consider it done.”

…

It was late afternoon by the time the pair finally emerged from their room again, having worked up enough courage (and blown off enough steam) to face the city once more. While Sanda put on a brave face, Zenos knew her well enough to know how rattled she was. In all their talks about visiting his home again, she’d always been careful to steer the conversation towards his closure, his chance to make peace with the wounds of his past and begin properly healing.

But now he saw just how badly she needed to walk the streets again, how many ghosts clung to her back the way they did his. She had agreed to come with him on his vengeance-bound voyage to slay Athena for the sake of his rival. She had watched him embrace his most monstrous tendencies. She had come to his rescue.

And she had agreed to run away with him, too. He’d never thought to ask himself why. Now he understood.

Garlemald was beautiful as always in the summer, the streets near-constantly lit, the last of the snow at last banished, the people free to move and mingle in ways the winter tried to deny with all its miserable strength. But paradoxically, it was also one of the quieter times in the city’s lifecycle, as the majority of the students packed their things and returned home, or else locked themselves away in their workshops and pursued their pet projects. All of which meant that the streets were quiet enough to move freely through as they made their way to their destination. Towards his father.

He’d tried to think of what to say on the airship trip. He’d tried to think of the right words at the wedding. He’d tried to think of what would be the most fitting farewell when Sanda had finally convinced him to return to his home. He’d failed, time and time again, and now the weight of that failure added concrete to his legs. It was only Sanda’s presence beside him, gently tugging him forward, that kept him from turning tail and running.

I have to face this. I have to. Else I will never find the will to move on.

The crowds thinned further and further the closer the pair got to the graveyard, as if instinctually avoiding the area for fear that old ghosts might be dredged up. A foolish notion, of course. Athena’s body had been burned, her ashes carried to the deepest trench in all the oceans by Vrtra and dropped inside. Her soul, what was left of it, had long since been carried away into the Aetherial Sea and scrubbed clean. And yet her touch lingered all the same. Hungry. Desperate to remain.

Zenos knew in his heart that none would be present to mourn Varis on their arrival. He knew that even before his father’s sins were discovered, few truly liked the stony man, and fewer still could stand to love him. Contrary to Zenos’s expectations, however, they were not entirely alone as they stepped through the open gates and down the rows of stone slabs. Zenos’s footsteps came to a sudden stop as he took in the sight, his breath catching in his throat. His sudden stop was enough to halt Sanda as well, her gaze concerned as she looked between him and the sight that forced him to cease.

Another soul stood, impossibly, in front of his father’s grave. A familiar soul. The shock of blonde hair was tossed and tousled by the wind, his ragged clothes flapped about, but he was otherwise entirely unmoveable, a strange expression on his face. Nerva, that strange but gentle-seeming man from the airship, looked, if Zenos had to guess, furious. Certainly Varis had no shortage of people who blamed him for Athena’s rise to power, no matter that she held his strings. But something felt off about Nerva’s rage. Something more primal, more personal. Zenos had little time to consider such mysteries as the relative stranger’s face whipped up from staring daggers into the grave.

Nerva whirled to face the pair and quickly schooling his expression into something more like what Zenos had seen on his face before. “Ah, my new friend!” His tone was once again warm as he flashed a smile Zenos’s way, but there was an edge to it that hadn’t been there in the dark. A jagged glint that set Zenos on edge in turn. He felt Sanda’s hand find his, glanced at her just quickly enough to see the tension in her shoulders, the readiness to commit violence to defend them rising to the surface. He squeezed her hand twice. Not yet. The tension left her shoulders.

“Now, what brings you here on such a lovely day?” Nerva’s eyebrow rose as he addressed the pair. “And with such breathtaking company, too! Might I have the pleasure of your name, my lady?”

“Ren,” came Sanda’s monosyllabic reply. A risky choice, but with two years gone and all witnesses inclined to speak her name with ill intent dead in the ground, hopefully not too dangerous.

“Ren!” Nerva repeated, his eyes sparkling. Zenos felt the instinctive urge to put himself between the other Garlean and Sanda, but he resisted it. Sanda is more than capable of handling herself. “A charming name for a charming woman! Tell me, what brings you out here at this late hour? Surely you haven’t come to while away your time in this gloomy… ah. Of course.” Nerva’s face fell theatrically as he considered their surroundings. “My apologies, Viator. I should have realised your family was no longer with us.”

The man’s games were wearing thinner by the moment. “No offence is taken,” Zenos rumbled, turning to one of the graves. “But we would prefer to mourn in peace, and I would not wish to intrude on your grief. We will take our leave until you have made your peace.”

“Oh, that’s no trouble! Truth be told I was just about done anyway. I had hoped I might gain some measure of closure, seeing father’s grave, but it seems he’s not content to allow me even that.” Zenos froze as Nerva’s words found purchase, as their meaning unravelled. Impossible. Varis had never re-married after his mother had left, and by all accounts he had no interest in fathering further heirs which might complicate his line of succession. And yet as Zenos looked deeper, he could see it, just faintly. The set of Nerva’s brow, the steel-blue of his eyes, the slightly-too-thin lips and stubborn jaw. He lacked his father’s height and build, but aside from that…

“Ah, where are my manners!” Nerva held out his hand towards Zenos, his smile suddenly a good deal less genial. “Nerva Galvus, at your service! Second son of the Galvus family, soon-to-be acting head of Galvus Industries, and… ah yes, your younger brother. It is such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Zenos. Such a pleasure indeed.”

“I don’t know what…” Zenos began, but Nerva held up a hand.

“Please don’t belittle me, brother. I didn’t waste most of my day out here waiting for you to finally stop feeling sorry for yourself just for you to deny the obvious. You can relax, fear not! I’ve no wish to harm you or your companion. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m here to offer you an invitation!”

“Viator? What is he talking about?” Sanda’s voice quivered as her false face stared up at him, a perfect picture of betrayal in her eyes. For a moment even Zenos was convinced of her shock.

“I will explain all later, Ren.” That should at least keep your anonymity protected. Nerva barely even spared her a glance, his attention focused solely on Zenos himself. Zenos turned back to the man who called himself his brother, his gaze full of steel. “This invitation of yours. Explain.”

“Oh, it’s quite simple.” Nerva’s smile slid back into place as if it had never been. “I wish to host you at my manor tonight. We’ve a great deal to catch up on, and I’m certain you have a mountain of questions for me. That, and mother was quite insistent that I bring you along.”

Mother? Zenos’s heart skipped a beat. The woman who had brought him into this world, who had vanished before he could truly remember her, who had abandoned him to a father who cared not a whit for him and a grandfather who couldn’t bring himself to intervene. She wanted to see him, after all these years of silence? Why?

Nerva’s smile widened as confusion blossomed on Zenos’s features. “All will be revealed, dear brother. All you need do is accept our gracious offer. What do you say, hmm? A single night of family bonding and then you can be off on your merry way again.”

Sanda’s hand squeezed his once, twice, thrice. Trap. Zenos squeezed agreement back. But he suspected Nerva was unwilling to take no for an answer, particularly if what he had said about waiting for them all day had been true.

“Very well. I accept. Galvus Manor, I assume?” Zenos felt a slight pang of satisfaction as Nerva’s smile slipped just a little with surprise. Then it returned in full force, acknowledgement of a point well won.

“Very observant of you! I’ll see you at seventh bell, on the dot! Until then, brother dearest!” Nerva was already turning to leave, shouting over his shoulder as he jogged away. Zenos kept his eyes on the man until he vanished from sight entirely, eyes narrowed. It was only when Sanda waved her hand in front of his face that he snapped back to reality.

“Creepy guy. You know him?”

“We met on the airship one night,” Zenos responded. “I thought it a coincidence, but now…”

“Knives strapped to the thighs tonight, got it.” Sanda made a sour face in the direction Nerva had vanished off to. “And for the record, this doesn’t count as fancy dinner, got it? It’s Bismarck or nothing!”

Despite himself, Zenos smiled. “As you say.” Sanda smiled right back at him, a radiant thing, but even she couldn’t hide the brittle edge to it as she turned and made her way to Varis’s grave. With an ever-deepening sense of unease, Zenos followed on behind.

Notes:

PTSD! Nationwide scars hastily patched over! Weird little guys! This chapter really does have it all, huh? This is the chapter that I really started hitting my groove writing Zenos again. Honestly finding it a lot easier to do so this time now he has company to keep him out of his shell. Nerva is also there.

Chapter 8: Waiting

Arashi awoke to the slightly damp feeling of Yotsuyu drooling on her shoulder. Not that she could judge as she pried her own head from Kasumi’s shoulder. Both women were still fast asleep, though the sun shone through the curtains with all the light it could muster. As for Lyse, she had sprawled herself across all three women’s laps. She smiled once she saw Arashi’s eyes blearily open, reaching up to cup her face. “Morning,” she whispered, quiet enough not to disturb the others.

“Morning,” Arashi murmured in response, her mind mostly occupied by the question of how to get up without awakening her wife and girlfriend. And not knocking Lyse to the floor in the process. The whole thing was suddenly too complicated, so she settled for nuzzling into Lyse’s hand instead. Judging by the widening of Lyse’s smile, that was the right answer.

“They moved Fareena upstairs,” Lyse continued, running her fingers along Arashi’s scales. “I offered them my room to keep her in once I woke up. Tender’s giving her another once-over now, while Haurchefant…” Lyse’s head twisted in the direction of the kitchen, “Is cooking up breakfast.” The smell of frying bacon suddenly hit Arashi’s nose, causing her stomach to growl in a most ungraceful way. “He wants to have a word with you, once we’re all awake. In private.”

Arashi nodded, then twisted her face to plant a feather-light kiss on Lyse’s palm. It was Lyse’s giggle that awoke Kasumi with a groan, yawning and stretching and muttering about her back. Given they were all slumped on the sofa from the night before, Arashi wasn’t surprised. Her own body was aching viciously, and she could only imagine the barbs Yotsuyu would be flinging once she awoke.

It didn’t take long for Yotsuyu to join the rest of them in wakefulness, and sure enough her sharp tongue was in fine form as she shook out stiff shoulders, arched her aching spine, and proceeded to curse out Kasumi and Arashi for forcing her to suffer such indignities for their sakes. Thankfully the promise of freshly served bacon was enough to placate her, along with the concession of first shot at the shower.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, though with the caveat of turning on the radio to let some music filter out the various clinking of cutlery and gnashing of teeth. Kasumi had, as she became more used to her body, realised that she absolutely did not enjoy the sound of others eating, so they had found ways to dull the discomfort for her as best they could. Even still, she was usually the first to clear her plate and vanish, and this was no exception. With a quick but sincere thanks thrown in the chef’s direction, she was out the back door and into the garden as quickly as she could.

Lyse and Yotsuyu were next to depart, Yotsuyu for her promised shower and Lyse for a change of clothes. With Tender yet to emerge from her examination of their injured guest, that left only Arashi and Haurchefant to deal with the sudden pile of dishes. Arashi made a mental note to have a talk with Yotsuyu about her subtle skipping of what was supposed to be her turn later, but she nonetheless took up her place by the dish rack as Haurchefant began washing the plates.

“How are you feeling?” Haurchefant asked as he slipped another plate into the rack. Arashi’s towelled hand snatched it up the moment his fingers left the ceramic.

“Fine,” Arashi replied automatically, her hand working over the drenched plate until it was dry enough to put to one side.

“Are you certain?” Haurchefant’s tone didn’t change, but his eyes were tightly focused on her.

“I… Gods, I don’t know. One of my oldest friends is lying half-dead under my roof, and I have the feeling this is just going to be the start. I don’t want to get roped into this, but I already am and I have to-”

“Do you?” Haurchefant turned to face her, dishes forgotten. “You are not the Warrior of Light any more, Arashi. You left that burden behind. Did you not tell me as much after you left Athena to myself and the Scions?”

“This is different and you know it.” Arashi huffed and turned her gaze to the stairwell. “She came to me. Wounded and desperate and convinced that I could help her. Not you, not Tender, not any of the Scions. Me. I have to know why. I have to find whatever did this to her and… and make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

“Did she ask for you to do that?” Haurchefant’s hand found Arashi’s arm. “Did she tell you, in her own words, that this is what she wants? Did you consider that you are allowed to refuse her? Or did you do what you have done so many times before and simply assume that you are the only woman strong enough to do whatever you feel needs doing?”

Damn you. “Who else, then?” Arashi whirled to face the elezen, meeting his level stare with a glare of her own. “Show me someone capable of doing the things that I could. The things that I still can, if I have to. Show me anyone who can do what’s necessary and I’ll happily let them take the burden from me.”

Haurchefant said nothing. His eyes simply held hers as they stood in silence. Slowly it dawned on Arashi what he meant.

“No. No, absolutely not. I won’t do that to Tender after she spent so long mourning you the last time. She’d never forgive me, and I’d never forgive myself!”

“How bold of you, my dear friend, to assume she would not be coming with me.” Haurchefant flashed her a heroic smile, but it quickly faded. “This burden is not yours any more, Arashi. You know that.” His voice softened, but the undercurrent of stone stubbornness remained unbroken. “Let me take the mantle. I promise you, this time my shield will not falter.”

“Bastard.” Arashi looked away, blinking back tears. “That’s a low blow and you know it.”

“I’m not above fighting dirty if it means keeping my best friend alive. Besides, I’m certain if our roles were reversed you would be doing the same. I’ve seen how you fought.”

Arashi’s tail slapped the cabinet beside her unhappily, still blinking away unshed tears. The problem with having all the memories of her old life was that it was far too easy to fall back into them. To remember the chill in the air, the frantic pulses of aether, the anguished cries of Tender as she realised what was going to happen, the damned smile …

“Fine. I’ll think about it. And I’ll wait until Fareena’s awake enough to explain herself. But if she needs me then I’m going to answer that call. I trust Fareena’s judgement. If she needs the Weapon of Light, she’s getting it.”

Haurchefant’s thin-lipped stare told her all she needed to know, but he nodded all the same. Neither of us happy, eh? Good. That makes it a proper compromise, then.

…

Haurchefant and Tender bade their farewells later that day, with the caveat that they be called as soon as possible once Fareena awakened. With little to do but wait, Arashi and Lyse set about dividing tasks amongst them all. Arashi was confined to watching over Fareena for a time. Lyse was sent to collect what groceries she could to tide them over. Kasumi and Yotsuyu were sent to deal with the garden. Which went swimmingly enough, until Kasumi made a passing comment about Yotsuyu’s old self seeing her dressed in overalls and mysteriously wound up in the pond. Neither woman would explain exactly how that had happened, but Lyse had several guesses.

After that came dealing with the roof, which did indeed have several missing tiles. Arashi’s irritation over the fact was somewhat overblown, particularly given how much worse it could have been with the intensity of the recent storm, but none of them said a word about it. She was free to express her anxieties over their guest in whatever way she felt most comfortable with.

Lunch was prepared, swiftly devoured, then allowed to sit as they all mulled over what should have been a week’s worth of tasks being completed within a particularly industrious morning. Yotsuyu was more than happy to suggest things they could do to fill the time they had left, but even that failed to swallow up more than a few hours. So it was that they lay in a pile of limbs together, all staring up at the ceiling. All waiting.

It was almost a relief when Yugiri came calling.

It was a good deal less relieving when the time came to admit to their guest what had happened to her gunbreaking teacher. Yugiri had practically flown up the stairs to Fareena’s side, her calm and collected armour shattering like so much glass as worry overtook her. They pretended not to notice as Yugiri collapsed by the bedside in tears of pain and relief, nor when Yugiri swore bloody vengeance on whoever had attacked her teacher so.

“Do you have any idea who did this?” Yugiri’s voice was boiling with fury, carefully leashed but ready to slip its bonds at any moment.

“None. Fareena didn’t have the chance to tell us.” Kasumi’s voice was grim, full of bitter disappointment at their lack of answers.

“I see.” Yugiri straightened up, her mask firmly back in place. “You will inform me the moment she returns to us. I will have the name of the monster responsible, and then I will have their head.” Well, maybe not fully in place. Yotsuyu met her bodyguard’s eyes for just a moment, the intensity of her gaze far too heated to hold for long.

Only Arashi and Kasumi heard Yugiri’s prayer for her teacher’s safety, and neither said a word about it. But they made quite certain Yugiri remained with them all until her heart had settled and she was less likely to do anything stupid. Arashi couldn’t help but remember Yugiri’s desperate attempt to assassinate a certain crown prince in Doma so very long ago. The fact that Arashi had been just as willing to attempt it was, of course, irrelevant.

But eventually they could do nothing more to keep Yugiri constrained, nor did they have the heart to do so. It was clear that the auri woman was going to investigate her teacher’s attack the moment she left, and while none of them said it, all of them wanted the answers Yugiri’s investigation would bring to the surface so badly that it hurt.

After Yugiri left the silence returned. Lyse decided to work off some stress down in the gym. Yotsuyu took the latest book she had taken to leafing through and announced she would keep an eye on their sleeping guest. Which left Arashi and Kasumi to fill the time or face the dreadful quiet together. It took all of ten minutes lying together on the sofa before Arashi levered herself into a sitting position with a growl and flung herself up to her feet. Kasumi watched as she stalked over to the shoe rack, snatching up her running shoes with a glower.

Kasumi looked to Arashi, then to the darkening sky outside the window. “It’s going to rain, you realise.”

“Probably.” Arashi snatched up an umbrella and turned back to Kasumi with a hopeful smile. “Come with me?”

Several minutes later the pair were huddled under Arashi’s umbrella, caught in the middle of a vicious downpour. As thunder rolled and lightning split the sky, Arashi breathed a sigh of relief. “Much better.” Her smile was pure, free, released of obligation and worry. It was, in Kasumi’s surely unbiased opinion, breathtakingly beautiful. It only got harder to bear when that smile was turned on her. “Thanks. Didn’t want to go out alone.”

Kasumi tried (unsuccessfully) to shrug nonchalantly. “Did you have a destination in mind, or did you just want to get out of the house?”

Arashi’s smile faded as she nodded. “I wanted to go and see them.” Her gaze went to the middle-distance, towards the distant cemetery. Kasumi nodded and took Arashi’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It has been some time since we did so. Arashi twisted and slung her free arm around Kasumi’s hips. “That’s part of why I wanted you to come with. Don’t want to face them alone.”

Kasumi’s arms slid easily around Arashi’s back. “When you’re ready, then.” The rain drowned out the world around them in a curtain of grey, save for Arashi’s gentle breathing and murmured noises of appreciation. Their lips met as if it was inevitable, a gentle thing that spoke far more than words could convey. Wrapped up in one another as they were, they entirely failed to hear the approaching footsteps until a gravelly cough shocked them out of the lips of one another.

An elder roegadyn man stood a few feet away, a knowing smile on his lips as he observed the pair. He was a giant of a man, even for roegadyn, his skin constantly covered in cuts and scars, particularly along his massive arms. His hair, once black, had now gone mostly to grey, chopped short in a rough mane that was completed by his carefully maintained sideburns and beard. A collection of swooping tattoos marked his face, particularly across his deep brown eyes. They only made his wrinkles seem all the more severe, but despite all that his smile was warm and welcoming, if not a little amused.

“I see I’m not the only poor soul caught in the rain!” the old man bellowed, followed by a great belly laugh. He was dressed only in a bright red floral shirt and tan-shaded shorts, coupled with a pair of woollen socks and sandals. He, along with the fragile looking bag he was carrying, was soaked through, but he did not seem to care in the slightest.

“Mr Daito!” Arashi flashed the man a wide grin as she uncoiled herself from Kasumi’s grasp. “What are you doing out in this weather? And without an umbrella, no less! I thought your wife taught you better than that!”

Gosetsu Daito, once loyal bodyguard to the Rijin royal family and now happily retired, threw back his head to the rain and laughed again. “Ha! It was the light of my life who sent me out on this mad journey in the first place! ‘Twas she who despaired so at our dire lack of spices after last night’s supper, and ‘twas she who impressed upon me the need to procure the finest dzo chuck I could find so that we might feast like monarchs upon our daughter’s return! And so here I am, soaked through but well-supplied with the makings of a fine banquet!” He shook his bag of shopping for emphasis, delight with his findings clear on his face. “And what of the two of you? I had expected you would remain at home for some time to come, given your recent bonding!”

Arashi grimaced and Kasumi’s eyes suddenly found intense interest in the pavement. “There’s… been a lot more excitement over the past night than we expected. Kasumi and I are getting a breath of fresh air before we jump back into the fray, so to speak.” Kasumi’s eyes narrowed at Arashi’s choice of words, but she added nothing more.

“I see,” Gosetsu’s good humour left him as he took on a grave expression. “I thought I sensed an ill wind last night. I will not pry, but I will say this: Should you require my aid over the coming days, you need but ask. This old man has nothing but time, and I would not let it be said that I let a daughter of Hana’s suffer when I could have shouldered the burden.”

“Thank you,” The pair replied at the same time, only to stop and laugh at one another, blushing faintly. “Thank you, Gosetsu,” Arashi replied. “We’ll keep it in mind, but we won’t keep you any longer. Go and get out of this rain, and tell your wife to at least give you an umbrella next time!”

“I will convey your words of wisdom, oh sage of the heavens!” Gosetsu laughed again, but his smile quickly faded. “A word of warning before I leave you, however. That ill wind still dances in the air. I can feel it even now. Tread carefully, lest you run afoul of it again.”

He turned to leave without another word, jogging through the waterlogged streets before either au ra thought to stop him. Kasumi frowned, but she didn’t have time to ponder his ominous warning for long. Arashi was already moving towards the graveyard, taking Kasumi’s only cover from the rain with her. Gosetsu’s warning was swiftly forgotten as Kasumi raced after her impatient soulmate to avoid soaking her entirely un-waterproofed shirt.

Notes:

The wait is the hardest part~

Also introducing Gosetsu's modern day incarnation, who I really wanted to bring into Wheels of Thunder but never had a good chance to. Love that guy. So much fun to write.

Next time, the most awkward family dinner imaginable begins.

Chapter 9: Intrusion

“How do I look?” Sanda twirled in a slow circle, letting her ruby dress swish around her legs in a cascade of sparkling light. From her expression she knew exactly how enchanting she was, particularly now she had shed her glamour and restocked her makeup supplies. Two years living light in Tural had been enough to make Zenos forget his companion’s past as a premiere fashion model. Now it seemed she was ready to step back into that role, if only for an evening.

“Radiant,” Zenos replied as Sanda’s expectant gaze bored into him. It was the only word that came to mind, born from a mind hopelessly unequipped to express such things. Thankfully it seemed good enough, for Sanda broke out into a grin and jumped up to peck Zenos’s cheek.

“I was aiming for heartbreakingly, breathtakingly gorgeous but I’ll take radiant!” Sanda stepped back with a frown, touching her cheek. “Oh, you’ll probably have to wash that off now. Well, you need to freshen up anyway, so consider that extra incentive!” She slid around until she stood behind them, gently shoving him into the newly vacated bathroom. “Go, go! We don’t have much time!”

Zenos didn’t have a chance to protest before the door was slammed behind him. Not that Sanda was wrong, given it was already sixth bell, but Zenos had hoped for more time to prepare, more time to ready himself for the meeting to come.

More time to process the fact that he had knelt in front of his father’s grave and felt nothing at all.

Zenos put the thought out of his head and made his way to the sink, twisting the taps and slamming the plug in place. Sanda was right, he was in dire need of refinement. His hair was a tangled mess, his skin was in a grim state from all the recent travel, and his stubble had evolved into a full-blown fuzz. It was-

Zenos froze. He couldn’t see himself in the mirror. What stared back at him was a monster, cold-eyed and grinning like the demon it was. “Finally,” it purred as it stared back at him, using his voice, his face and twisting them into something horrific. “Finally you admit that the old man meant nothing to you. That you felt no pain as you slid the blade in, only sweet relief. Sweet freedom . Just one more shackle loosed. Embrace that freedom, bask in it! Only then will you become what you were meant to be! A hunter, fierce and proud and beyond all others, concerned only with your quarry, with the glory of the hunt!”

“I am not you. You are not me. Cease haunting me, ghost.” Zenos tore his eyes away from the monster on the other side of the glass. He is not real. He left this stage years ago. You will never become him again. But his heart still pounded, his breath still came out ragged and harsh, he still remembered the blood in his mouth, the elevated pulse, the sheer, unbridled thrill of facing her, breaking against her, forcing himself to get up for one last-

His fist slammed against the wall, barely avoiding the mirror but still sending a spike of pain up his arm. It was enough to banish the unwanted memory. For now, at least. Zenos didn’t look at the mirror again as he yanked off his clothes, climbed into the shower, let the hot spray of water wash away the sweat and grime of his excursions.

Would that it could wash away my old life with it.

Shaving came next, his messy beard falling away before his razor with comfortable ease. He didn’t have time for proper skincare, but he was at least able to throw a flannel over his face and scrub away for a time. When he looked at himself in the mirror again he saw only himself, naked and damp and warily staring back. Good enough. He towelled off the worst of the dampness and pulled on his underwear, then moved to open the door again.

Only to have to catch Sanda as she tumbled directly though with a surprised yelp. Were she not so slight, she would have sent both of them to the tiles in a heap, but thankfully Zenos was able to halt her sudden momentum with a grunt and steady her in his arms. He was rewarded for his heroics with Sanda shoving herself away with a huff, arms folding as she looked up at him in concern.

“Everything okay with you? I heard a thud earlier. Is he…?”

“I’m fine.” Telling you about him was a mistake. I should not have burdened you so. “I simply lost my balance, that is all. I caught myself before any damage could be done.”

“If you say so.” Sanda’s tail twitched in that telltale way it always did when she didn’t believe him, but she said no more. “Suit’s ready for you. Sure you don’t want to skip town?”

Zenos shook his head as he exited the bathroom and snatched up his new shirt. “If Nerva speaks truly of his intent to gain control of Galvus Industries, he has more than enough resources to keep watch over us. If we tried to run, we would not get far.” He would not speak the other reason. He didn’t like the way his heart began to pound when he thought of the possibility of meeting his mother.

“If you say so,” Sanda muttered, entirely unconvinced and not in the slightest bit interested in hiding it. “Look, just let me know if you want out, okay? Pretty sure we’re both strong enough to bust out if we have to, and I’d rather not have a repeat of two years ago if I can help it. That Nerva guy gives me a seriously bad feeling.”

“I will.” I won’t let them hurt you, whatever happens. The very thought made his blood run cold. “Let’s go.”

…

Galvus Manor had changed since last Zenos had been in Garlemald. For a start its shattered doors and windows had been replaced, and it no longer stank of burning bodies from the numerous bonfires that had been set up to cleanse Athena’s horrors. But even beyond that, Zenos could feel something in the air, some subtle shift from the cold cruelty of its former master to something new. Something untested.

The great oaken doors swung open the moment Zenos and Sanda approached. Zenos paused only long enough to glance at Sanda, who despite her bravado was clutching his hand a good deal tighter than usual. Zenos at least had some happy memories of his old home to balance out the terrors of Athena’s ordeals. Sanda, on the other hand, had only known the place for the den of horrors that it had become. He caught her eye and gave her a gentle smile. It was enough to give her the strength she needed to step through the threshold, pulling Zenos with her.

The interior of the manor was, aside from the servants at the door, entirely sparse. The chequered floor that had once stood beneath his feet was now replaced by white marble, and the crimson wallpaper had been stripped away and replaced with deep black paint. All of Varis’s vanities that once lined the walls and pedestals had vanished with his passing, making the space seem all the more cavernous than it once had. If Zenos was meant to feel like a stranger in his own home, it was working like a charm.

He did not have time to ponder the deeper reasons behind the change in interior design, however, for the doors at the far end of the foyer burst open as if on cue. Nerva stepped through them with a flourish, now dressed immaculately in a perfectly tailored tuxedo and armed with a carefully disarming smile. He was upon them within moments, still smiling but looking a good deal more manic than before.

“There you are! You know, I didn’t believe them when they told me how exacting your timing was, but here you are proving me wrong! How wonderful! Come, come, let me take your coats!” He didn’t wait for a response before lunging forward to pry Zenos’s heavy overcoat from his shoulders before rounding on Sanda, who just about had time to slip out of hers before it was snatched away in turn. The coats found themselves tossed haphazardly onto the waiting rack, at which point Nerva immediately lost interest in them and turned back to his guests. “Oh, but where are my manners, you must be famished! Allow me to show you to the dining room! Mother has already made her way there, so you can enjoy your touching reunion while I make sure dinner is on its way. I trust you still know the way to the dining room, yes?”

“I do,” Zenos replied, still uncertain just how to approach this strange man who claimed to be his brother. Why did father never mention you? What stain did you leave on the family for him to excise you so completely? Or was it simply the fact that you existed at all? Two when there should have been one?

Nerva didn’t notice Zenos’s turmoil, or else didn’t care, for his off-putting smile remained fixed on his face as he stepped lightly around the massive man. But the smile did vanish, just for a moment, as Nerva murmured, “Be gentle with her, will you? She’s been waiting all your life for this. There’s a good chap.” Nerva didn’t wait for a response before prancing merrily past them, headed in the direction of the kitchen. Zenos was left to exchange a glance with Sanda, alone together again.

“Well, you know the way better than I do. Lead on, big guy!” Sanda emphasised her point by slapping the small of his back with her tail. Zenos, however, was lost in thought. Mother. He’d long since given up on ever seeing her again. He’d forgotten her face, her voice, her mannerisms and habits and tics and everything about her. His father had been sure to erase each and every trace of her when she’d left, burying even her memory under spite and hate. But now…

“Hey.” Sanda jumped in front of Zenos’s face, in what would have been a particularly distracting display for anyone else given the cut of her dress. Zenos, on the other hand was jolted back to reality only as she hit the ground again. “Come on. You’re not going to get this whole thing over and done with if you don’t start moving again. Let’s go.”

“Of course.” Zenos shook the last mental cobwebs free and began walking down the corridor, his great strides punctuated by the rapid patter of Sanda’s attempts to catch up to him. They were entirely alone as they made their way through what were rapidly becoming unfamiliar halls, the sound of their echoing footsteps the only company they were allowed to keep.

The journey seemed to stretch on forever, but suddenly Zenos paused as he realised they had almost walked right past the doors to the dining room. He caught Sanda’s arm to stop her from going any further while he surveyed the doors in front of him. Athena had needed very little in the way of sustenance after she took Galvus Manor, and even less need for the dining room itself. So it was that the doors in front of him were dreadfully familiar, deep black with golden handles, doing its best to drink in the light but polished to an almost-mirror sheen. Zenos took a final steadying breath, then pushed open the doors.

The room within was just how he remembered it. Stark white floor, blood red floors, and far, far too large for the tiny family it served. The massive table stretched from one end of the room to the other, draped in pearly white cloth and lined with plates, cutlery and glasses as if expecting an army rather than a couple. Zenos half-expected to hear his father’s booming call from the far end of the table, demanding to know who this harlot was by his son’s side and just what he thought he was playing at.

One thing, however, was very different. At the head of the table sat not his father somehow risen from the grave, but a woman. She was a tall one, even sitting down, dressed in a black stain dress that flowed effortlessly from her shoulders like night itself. She had aged gracefully, but the rigours of time were beginning to show on her face, her high cheekbones starting to sag and her crow’s feet pinching tighter around her eyes. Those eyes, however, were piercing in their intensity and razor sharp in their clarity, the same blue-grey of an approaching storm. Her hair, while starting to go grey, retained enough blonde in it to fight the onset of age with stony dignity. Her nose was viciously hooked, and just thin enough to emphasise her piercing gaze all the more brilliantly. But it was her lips that held Zenos’s attention, quivering faintly under burgundy lipstick. Her focus was entirely on him, he realised, Sanda taken in for but a moment before being dismissed entirely.

“Zenos?” Carosa Galvus, the woman who Zenos had assumed gone from his life entirely, the woman who had brought him into it in the first place, asked. “Is that truly you?”

“It is,” Zenos replied through a suddenly thick throat, “Mother…?”

Carosa was out of her seat in an instant, rushing across the length of the dining room with an entirely undignified cry. She was taller than Varis, Zenos realised, almost as tall as he himself, but then she was engulfing him, crushing him in a tighter hug than ever he had known, laughing and crying and forgoing all convention as she held her son for the first time in decades.

“My boy! My sweet, darling boy! Oh, how I’ve missed you! That we should finally meet again, after all this time! At last my luck has turned for the better!”

Zenos, feeling nothing at all, held her mechanically. Carosa, too caught up in the euphoria of it all, did not notice in the slightest.

---

The thief was quiet, Kasumi was willing to give them that. But not quiet enough. They failed to account for the superior hearing of an au ra. They failed to account for the fact that Kasumi was, by necessity, a light sleeper. But most importantly of all, they failed to account for the creaky stair as they ascended. It was that, more than the shattered glass, that fully roused the ancient soul from her slumber, and it was that which left her straining to hear more footsteps as the would-be burglar reached the landing.

Kasumi’s armour was on before she’d even hit the floor, shadows reaching out to protect her as she made to protect those closest to her. Arashi stirred briefly at Kasumi’s absence from the bed, but she returned to slumber after a moment of unrest. Good. Don’t need you trying any heroics. The door out into the hall was ajar, but with the lights off darkness reigned supreme all the same. Not that Kasumi cared. Whether it was her former state as a being of darkness or simply a quirk of her incarnation, her night-vision was nearly as excellent as her hearing. She doubted the same could be said of their uninvited guest.

It was clear that the thief was taking every precaution to stay silent after their misadventure with the stairs, but there was no disguising the feather-light pad of their feet along the hall. Kasumi saw the deeper darkness of their silhouette as they slid past the doorway. They were slender and lithe, dressed all in black, but they made no effort to disguise the pointed ears and slender tail that marked them as miqo’te. Nor was there any mistaking the glint of steel in their right hand.

Not a thief, then. An assassin.

Kasumi slipped into the hallway in perfect silence, trusting in the darkness to devour her presence until she felt the need to make herself known. She trailed behind the armed intruder, but she knew already where their destination lay. They had come to finish the job started by whoever had almost killed Fareena, after all. And if they were halfway intelligent, they’d be able to track her aether trail right back to the source.

Sure enough, the interloper paused outside the door to Lyse’s room, gently pushing the mass of wood inward and slipping through the smallest crack they could. Heart pounding, mind racing, Kasumi followed behind her. She waited until the intruder reached the bed, knelt down by its side, confirmed the identity of their target.

Then she struck.

A blast of spiked, terrible darkness caught the assassin’s hand as they rose the knife high, knocking it loose and causing them to cry out in pain. They whirled to face Kasumi, only to be met with a nightmare of armour and shadow, only identifiable as human from the ominously glowing golden eyes that stared out from it.

“Poor manners to make yourself at home in another person’s abode without making yourself known to your hosts,” Kasumi growled. “Poorer still to assault one of their guests. I trust you have a good explanation for your rudeness?”

The assassin stared at her for a moment, shock and frustration warring in their body language for supremacy. With their face masked Kasumi could only glimpse at a pair of oddly familiar eyes. Then something clicked and whirred against their head, something that suddenly flashed red with an ominous keening ring . Kasumi’s eyes widened as ancient memories suddenly rose to the surface.

A regulator? That’s impossible! We burned that entire system to the ground!

But she had no time to consider it further, for a pair of great leathery wings burst from the miqo’te’s back and they sprang forward with terrible speed and caught Kasumi square in the midriff. As the pair crashed into the hallway, Kasumi’s pondering took a backseat as a more primal instinct took hold.

If they want a fight, they’ll damn well get one.

 

Notes:

And here. We. Go.

Fun fact, the end of this chapter (and the whole of the next one) was how I'd initially planned to start the fic! But then I remembered that I'd promised Tumblr a wedding, and I do love to meander gently to a point instead of getting right to it, so here we are, at the (planned) beginning, nine chapters in.

yaaaaaaay

Chapter 10: Close-Quarters

Kasumi crashed into the far wall with enough force to blow the breath clean out of her lungs. Were it not for her armour, she’d probably have broken a few bones from the impact, but as it was she was able, if only barely, to duck to one side and avoid the sudden onrush of razor claws aimed directly at her face.

Whoever her assailant was, they were clearly no stranger to fights in tight spaces. Their massive wings, which should have been an impediment, folded tightly against their body as they lunged and thrust, only to whip out in an attempt to lash Kasumi the moment she tried to dart to their side. But Kasumi wasn’t about to be beaten by some stranger in her own home, and she was more than willing to fight dirty to get the edge she needed.

The darkness disguised her knee as it slammed directly into her opponent’s crotch.

The assassin, to their credit, did not collapse in a heap of agony as Kasumi had hoped for. But they did let out a howl of excruciation and stumble back into the bedroom again, which was good enough for Kasumi to throw herself through the threshold and tackle them to the ground before they could regain their composure. With any luck that will be enough to wake the others. I’d prefer not to have to fight this thing alone if I can help it. Her desire to keep her lovers safe was all well and good, but she was no fool. She’d stand a much better chance with Arashi or Lyse at her side.

The assassin struggled to rise, but with Kasumi’s weight pressing down on them they couldn’t find the leverage they needed to get free. Just need to hold you a little longer, then- Kasumi was suddenly sailing back through the door, carried by what felt like a gale force wind until she tumbled back against the wall. Right. Magic. Of course you can use magic. Her foe leapt to her feet the moment they could, but instead of lunging after Kasumi they whirled back to the bed. Back to Fareena. Oh no you don’t! Kasumi hurled another bolt of darkness at the assassin’s back, taking some satisfaction in the hiss of pain that resulted from its impact. But she was still sprawled on the floor from the gust, and the magic wasn’t enough to distract her foe as she’d hoped.

So she decided to do something stupid instead. Something she’d promised not to do again.

Kasumi hadn’t used her sword properly in years. The only times she even bothered to summon it was to spar with Lyse as part of her training. When she’d thrown Arashi’s old sword into the ocean, she’d allowed her life of bloodshed to fall away with it. Or so she’d hoped, anyway. But as the heavy mass of steel manifested from the darkness, she couldn’t deny how right it felt in her hands, how her heart soared in anticipation as she brandished it in front of her, towards the feral assassin, towards her enemy.

[GRIT]

[PROVOKE]

“First mistake. Turning your back on an enemy before you’ve killed her.” Kasumi’s voice echoed strangely as her opponent swung back towards her. She rose to her feet with a hungry smile, sword still pointed squarely at the would-be assassin. “Second mistake. Assuming I’m afraid to use lethal force to put you down.” Her crystal pulsed steadily against her chest, drawing on energies it hadn’t had to in a long, long time. “Third mistake.” The assailant flew towards her again before she could finish. Just as planned. Kasumi stepped to the side and swung the flat of her blade into their side, sending them flying down the hall with a horrible crack. Just enough room, minus some scratched wallpaper. We need to change location. “Thinking I wouldn’t see that coming this time.”

The intruder rose unsteadily to their feet, hissing and clutching what must have been several broken ribs. But if they were capable of using a feral soul, they were no doubt able to repair such wounds easily enough. Got to wear them down. Drain their aether. Then I can go in for the kill. She made a show of stalking down the hallway towards them, sword trailing behind her. Partially to intimidate her opponent, but also in the hopes that it would be enough to wake the others without alerting her enemy to their presence. The moment she realises I’m not alone is the moment we lose the element of surprise.

But she was hardly immune to being surprised herself. “You don’t know what you’re doing!” the assassin yelled, their voice, her voice stopping Kasumi in her tracks. “If you had any idea what she’s done, you wouldn’t be protecting her! I don’t want to hurt you, just let me have this!”

Kasumi’s heart sank. The assassin’s voice was rough, full of fire and passion, tinged with the desperation to prove herself that had endeared Arashi to her when they had first clashed. It should have been obvious from the start. Her build, her athletics, her use of a regulator, her singular focus. “Yaana?” Kasumi asked, her resolve suddenly shattered. “Is that you?”

The way she froze was enough to confirm Kasumi’s suspicions. “How do you know that name?” Yaana demanded, breaking Kasumi’s heart all at once. Oh, Halone. Not like this. Not her. Please don’t make me do this. “Answer me!”

“Do you remember the name, ‘Stormy Horizon?’” Kasumi’s voice was filled with horrible hope. Please remember. Please. I won’t want to end you like this. And for a moment, a single, heart-stopping moment, Yaana’s eyes flashed with recognition. But then they hardened again and she took a single, defiant step forward. Kasumi’s heart fell… then hardened. Very well. She surged forward in a flash of shadow and collided with Yaana, knocking them both over the bannister and down to the ground floor with a horrible crash, pain lancing through Kasumi’s body even as she rolled off of Yaana and raised her sword to end it quickly.

She didn’t get the chance, for Yaana had recovered just as quickly and was already lunging forward with her claws. Kasumi caught them with her blade before they could reach her, but the force of the blow sent her stumbling back, her ramrod-straight tail the only thing keeping her from losing her balance entirely. Even with the extra space compared to the cramped hallway above them, she didn’t have the room she needed to comfortably swing her blade. Not with so much furniture in the way. Got to get her outside. Into the garden, or the street.

Yaana must have realised the same, for she pressed the advantage in a whirl of claws and wings. Kasumi barely had time to catch her breath in between lunges and swings, her sword getting in the way of Yaana’s frenzied assault and her armour catching what the sword could not. But the scrape of claw on metal did nothing to help her focus, and little by little she was being driven back. Away from the stairs. Dammit, no good. Need to change tactics.

Kasumi counted one breath, then another, then a third, then let go of her sword and ducked. Yaana’s next wild swing went over Kasumi’s head as she snatched the blade before it could reach the floor and slammed it pommel-first into Yaana’s sternum, knocking the wind out of her and setting her up for Kasumi to slam her fist into Yaana’s jaw. Even with her non-dominant hand she was able to put a good bit of force into the blow, helped by the massive well of aether she held inside herself, and sure enough Yaana went flying across the room and slammed heavily into the far wall, slumping against it in a groaning heap.

“I don’t want to fight you, Yaana.” Kasumi let her sword dissipate as she stepped slowly towards her foe. “Stand down. Talk to me. Let’s figure this out properly.” Dammit, where are the others? They should have woken by now. Yaana, what did you do?

Yaana pushed herself to her feet, winded but no less determined. “Words won’t settle this. You won’t move aside and I won’t stop until that monster is dead. Stop stalling.” Shite, figured me out. Kasumi braced herself, but she was entirely unprepared as Yaana opened her mouth and screamed . The unholy shriek was loud enough to shake the windows, and more than loud enough to force Kasumi to cover her horns with her hands. The noise tore through her, sent every nerve in her body screaming for release, turned the world into a blurry mess.

She was entirely unprepared as Yaana launched herself from the wall and crashed headlong into the au ra, sending them both tumbling in a heap of tangled limbs and fury. A hail of batting wings and slicing claws rained down on Kasumi as she fought to untangle herself, wincing and hissing as her armour buckled under the vicious assault. Finally she managed to get a fist free, ramming it hard into Yaana’s ribs but this time Yaana was prepared for the blow, absorbing it with a grunt and retaliating by wrapping a clawed hand around Kasumi’s neck.

“I didn’t want this!” Yaana cried as she began to squeeze. Panic filled Kasumi’s body as it suddenly became difficult to breathe. An ocean of aether she may have had, but that would do her very little good with a crushed windpipe. She scratched and kicked in a mad attempt to get free of Yaana’s grip, but she couldn’t find the purchase she needed. Yaana’s other hand found Kasumi’s neck as well, squeezing all the tighter.

“You were supposed to be asleep! I would have been in and out in a minute or two, and that murderer would have been dead! But you just had to screw it up, didn’t you? You just had to wake up and ruin everything!”

I’m going to die here. Kasumi’s vision began to darken, her thoughts began to descend into pure animal panic, her limbs bucking, her lungs crying out for air. Instinctively she began to re-summon her sword, ready to cut her way to freedom, to life, but to take it would be to abandon her promise, to become what she had forsaken again, to let down the women she loved. Arashi! Lyse! Yotsuyu! Anyone! Stop her before I have to end her! Please! Her blade was forming in her hand, too unwieldy to use properly, but with the right angle she could plunge it into Yaana’s unprotected side, to end the threat before it could end her, to-

CRASH!

Yaana’s eyes went wide as the remnants of a vase fell apart around her head. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed against Kasumi in a heap, knocked cleanly unconscious. Above them both, breathing hard and looking half terrified and half furious beyond measure, Yotsuyu stared at them with panicky, uneven breaths. Kasumi could only lie there, gasping for air as Yaana’s grip loosened and thanking all the gods and kami that would listen.

“You,” Yotsuyu hissed, “Have a great deal of explaining to do.”

---

Several minutes, one removed regulator, and a length of rope later, Yaana was rendered unable to perform her terrible duty, unable to move, and unable to do a great deal more than glower at the four women whose house she had broken into. Yotsuyu had taken the liberty of removing her mask, confirming beyond all reasonable doubt the miqo’te’s identity to the three that would recognise her. Arashi sat directly opposite their captive, eyes heavy with worry and regret. And anger. A great deal of that, too.

“What in the seven hells did we do to deserve this?” Arashi shook her head and rubbed away the tears which threatened to spill from her eyes. “Two days ago I was getting married, and now we have one old friend limping away from death’s door and another trying to send her all the way through. Which god did I cross and forget to scrub off this star?”

Lyse took a seat next to Arashi, arms wrapping tightly around her wife. “None of this is your fault, Arashi. You know that. All of this is just unfortunate coincidence.” Arashi shot Lyse a bitter look, but said nothing else. Lyse’s attention turned towards Yaana. “You may not know us, but we do know you. Please trust us when we say that we mean you no harm, but we need to know what you were doing here and why you intended to kill our friend. Please, talk to us. Help us understand.”

“She’s a murderer. She killed my sister.” Yaana’s tone was sharp enough to cut glass, while her eyes boiled over with rage. Despite that, she made no attempt to break free of her restraints. Presumably because she didn’t fancy her chances against four women versus just one, particularly without a regulator to even the odds.

“She killed Eutrope?” Arashi’s eyes met Yaana’s, suddenly full of dread as Yaana nodded. Fareena wouldn’t do that. She’s not the kind of person. Right? In truth, the viera was a relative stranger in this life. If Zenos could reject his bloodstained past, was it not possible that Fareena could choose a different one too? No. I can’t believe that. There’s got to be something else going on here.

“Would someone care to explain just what in the lowest hell is going on?” Yotsuyu was bleary-eyed with sleeplessness, garbed only in her night-gown, and more than willing to make both things everyone else’s problem. “Or need I remind you that some of our stories ended long before any of you had a chance to encounter this woman in our last lives?”

“I’ll fill you in,” Kasumi murmured, taking Yotsuyu gently by the arm and steering her away. Her voice was still rather strained from her near-strangulation, but otherwise she was healthy enough. Still, Arashi couldn’t deny that it hurt to have been left to sleep while her soulmate confronted such danger, magically induced or not. They’d still yet to determine just how Yaana had accomplished that little trick. Would it have been so difficult to try and wake me? Arashi shook her head as Lyse’s grip tightened around her. An argument for another day. She let herself lean into Lyse’s arms and shut her eyes for a moment, taking whatever strength she could from her presence. But the fact that Kasumi had come so close to death, saved only by Yotsuyu’s timely intervention…

Arashi opened her eyes again to study their captive. Scrapes and bruises aside, Yaana looked near-identical to how she had when they had first met in the Arcadion. From her multi-coloured eyes to her bubblegum pink hair with sky blue highlights in its rough curls to her toned and powerful muscles. The look in her eyes was familiar too, full of the fire of one desperate to prove something to herself, and to the world at large while she was at it. Even the grief was an echo of what it had been when they had fought, when she had learned of her sister’s inevitable fate.

“Look,” Arashi began, “I want to trust you, but you drugged us all, broke into my house, and tried to kill one of my oldest friends. If it wasn’t for Tsuyu, you would have killed one of my lovers. I am, to be frank, furious. You’re going to tell me what happened between yourself and Fareena, because if you don’t then I’m going to start breaking things until you do.”

It was a bluff, of course, but it still drew a concerned look from Lyse and a slight widening of the eyes from Yaana. But then the miqo’te’s jaw set and her gaze turned stubborn, and Arashi knew she wouldn’t get anything out of her captive. What in the seven hells are we going to do with you? Handing her to the authorities was out of the question. If she was acting alone, she’d vanish into the system never to be seen again. If she wasn’t, they’d only invite retribution down on their heads. Which also ruled out killing her, though Arashi wasn’t considering it in the first place. But it was also clear that if she was left to her own devices Yaana would only try to finish what she started, regulator or no regulator.

“What the other woman said earlier,” Yaana suddenly said, cutting through Arashi’s inner turmoil, “About past lives. What was she talking about? Why do you all seem to know who I am?”

Lyse and Arashi exchanged a glance. As a rule they tried not to bring up the fact that they had memories of who they used to be with the people they had once crossed paths with unless they knew those memories were shared, but…

“The three of us fought together. In the Arcadion. We released the captive souls that were in the grip of its president and saved its fighters from psyschonekrosis.” Lyse’s tone was gentle as she broke the impossible news to the clearly disbelieving miqo’te. “You went by Black Cat back then, and Arashi was-”

“Stormy Horizon. Your other friend told me,” Yaana clarified in a swift and immediate crushing of Arashi’s hopes. “You’re all serious, aren’t you? You believe all of this nonsense.”

“You have no idea how badly I wish I was joking,” Arashi muttered. “But I’m not. We’re not. Back then I was known as the Warrior of Light, among other titles. And Fareena was one of my closest friends. That’s why I can’t believe you. Fareena was a lot of things, but a cold-blooded murderer of innocents wasn’t one of them. So please, help me understand. Tell me what happened.”

“No need!” A voice from the upper landing caused five sets of heads to jerk up to face it at the same time. For one so close to death the day previously, Fareena Hagen looked upsettingly hale and healthy. Were it not for the mass of bandages covering her abdomen, she would have appeared perfectly fine to the casual eye. “She’ll only screw up the telling, and I’ll have to tell you all sooner or later anyway.” Fareena grinned down at the group, ignoring the look of disbelief, exhaustion, exasperation, and outright hatred that she was met with. “You’re right, Arashi. I’m no murderer. And if your new friend down there would stop trying to kill me with her eyes, I’ll tell you exactly how wrong she is about that and, well, everything else too.”

Arashi suppressed a groan as Fareena began limping down the stairs. So much for getting both sides of the story...

Notes:

Leave it to Fareena to wake up at the worst possible time and make herself everybody else's problem. Again. Love that rabbit. She's so awful.

Chapter 11: Dining

The silence was excruciating. The waiting was worse . Sanda sat as primly as she could, but underneath the table her tail was flicking and twitching with a kind of manic tension she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Not since Athena had stolen the Aether Conversion Engine back in Sharlayan as she had hid and prayed Athena’s pet monster wouldn’t find her. Logically she knew she wasn’t even close to that kind of danger here, but everything felt so badly… off in a way she couldn’t put properly into words.

If Zenos felt it, he didn’t give any indication. No emotion flicked across his face, no glint of his anxiety danced in his body language. He might as well have been cast from stone. Which was worrying enough in its own right, but the fact that his mother was so similar, so carefully concealed, only made it that much worse. Unlike Zenos, however, Carosa could not disguise the faint tremble in her hand as she reached for her glass of wine.

They were all seated near the head of the table now, Carosa at the very end while Zenos and Sanda sat to her right. Sanda had (politely, but firmly) refused to be seated on the other side of the table, partially so she could be better moral support for Zenos, but also to allow her to tap messages on Zenos’s leg with her tail. Okay? We go? Her tail tapped away. She got a response in the form of Zenos’s gentle finger-tap. No. But stay.

Carosa was oblivious to their silent exchange, her eyes darting occasionally to the door to their left before returning to Zenos’s face. Sanda had been quite forgotten by their host, a fact she was torn between being offended by and feeling relief about. It allowed her to focus more on the horrible wrongness that pervaded the atmosphere, the feeling that something was lurking just out of sight, waiting to strike the moment she let her guard down. Maybe it was the lingering trauma from facing Athena in these very walls. Maybe it was Nerva’s off-putting smile. But whatever it was, something in Sanda’s mind was screaming at her to listen to it, to focus on it. And she-

“I’m sure you’re wondering-”

“Why did you-?”

Carosa and Zenos spoke at once, shattering the silence only for it to return in full force as they regarded one another. For just a moment Carosa’s eyes took on a steely glint that reminded Sanda more of Varis than anyone, but then they softened into something almost motherly. “Go on, son. Ask what you will and I will answer.”

Zenos, never one to let such an opportunity slip his grasp, leapt on the opportunity. “Why did you leave? What made you vanish so utterly from my life? Why have you only now deigned to return? Is that man truly my brother? Am I a son to you, or merely some trophy to claim along with my father’s company? Why here, why now, why?”

Sanda’s tail brushed tenderly against Zenos’s knee as he stared at his suddenly speechless mother. They had been warned that such outbursts of emotion might occur when Zenos started taking his medication, but to see it emerge so suddenly after so long was still startling. Zenos himself looked rather wide-eyed as well, his breathing more erratic than usual as he held Carosa’s gaze. For a moment it seemed the Galvus matriarch might simply remain silent, but finally she breathed a nervous laugh and regarded her firstborn son with a smile.

“I suppose I should have expected that. I could try and placate you, I suppose; tell you that I had my reasons for doing what I did. But the simple truth is that I was a coward.” Carosa clutched her near-empty glass and drained the rest of it with a grimace. “It’s time I told you how the marriage between your father and I ended, since I’m certain neither he nor your grandfather bothered.” Zenos nodded his confirmation and Sanda steeled herself. Time to get some Galvus family history…

“Your father wasn’t always the monster he became later in life, hard though I know that must be to believe. Once he was strong rather than hard, considerate rather than obstinate, charming rather than unflinching. He took more after his father, a hard negotiator but a loyal friend an ally. That is the Varis I met, all those years ago.” A ghost of a smile crossed Carosa’s face. “We met at one of your father’s charity balls, that one in honour of the completion of the new university wing, if I remember right. I relied a little too much on the liquid courage the champagne gave me, I’m rather ashamed to say, and your father found me in a rather compromising position bent over a potted plant. Somehow I managed to charm a phone number out of him, though how I still don’t understand.

“Our romance was a whirlwind after that. We found not just a spark between us but a bonfire, a raging inferno that cooled into a roaring hearth in our hearts after our initial few months. He was witty, fierce, devastatingly handsome, genuinely concerned with my interests instead of simply paying lip-service to them.” A sudden light danced in Carosa’s gaze, a hidden spark that had suddenly caught as she remembered happier days. “I was the one who suggested his father try to branch into engineering, you know, and that allowed Varis a chance to get into the Grand Prix. To see him so elated… It stirred the heart more than I could say.”

The warmth in Carosa’s eyes died as suddenly as it appeared. “But then I had you. And suddenly that elation fell away. The love went cold. I couldn’t understand why he’d changed so suddenly for the longest time. But then I chanced to see the medical documents he’d left on his desk one day. I saw his death warrant written on them, plain as day. A slow, lingering end awaited him. I confronted him about his silence, of course, but that simply made it worse. We fought like lions, screaming in the halls, threatening such horrible things… It was your grandfather who finally dragged us away from one another in the end. Forced us to cool off and evaluate our feelings properly. I swore I would never forgive him for hiding such a revelation from me, but as my feelings died down I realised it was all bravado.”

Carosa paused there, the pain in her eyes clear as she took a shuddering breath. Sanda glanced at Zenos to find him quietly enraptured as pieces of his family he’d long thought buried forever were unearthed, all the facets of his early life suddenly becoming horribly clear. But he was unprepared for Carosa’s next sentence, even as Sanda saw it coming.

“A few days later, I realised I was pregnant with our second child.”

“I was elated at first. I thought it was just what your father needed. A chance to reconnect, a confirmation of the future awaiting him, another legacy after he was gone. His response was that the Galvus family only needed a single heir. He told me to get rid of it. As if he was discussing a business deal gone badly.” Carosa sniffed and rubbed away the tears from her eyes. Despite her misgivings Sanda’s heart still went out to the still largely unknown woman in front of her. Her pain was real enough, if nothing else. Zenos, on the other hand, betrayed nothing. He might as well have been stone.

“I made my decision there and then,” Carosa continued. “I packed up my things and left that same night. I would have taken you with me, I wanted to more badly than breathing, but your grandfather convinced me not to. He knew the darkness in Varis. He told me that if I took you, I would only bring your father’s wrath down on us all. I… I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t let him hurt my unborn child. So, while it broke my heart to do so, I… I…” Carosa swallowed, tried to speak, swallowed again.

Zenos was out of his chair before anyone else could react, striding to his mother’s seat and flinging his arms around her. It was only when Sanda looked properly at him that she could see the tension in his shoulders, the quivering running through his body. The floodgate finally broke, huh? Carosa was weeping openly now, her arms clenched tightly around Zenos as all semblance of dignity and grace fled. Neither of them noticed as Sanda quietly slipped out of her chair and padded over to the far door, nor as she slipped just as quietly outside. She allowed herself a few shuddering breaths before marshalling herself. Carosa’s story was believable enough, certainly, but Sanda still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. And then there was the matter of the missing Nerva, to say nothing of their supper...

Let them have their alone time. I’ll go find out what’s keeping our dinner so long.

…

Galvus Manor shouldn’t have been such a maze, but to one so unused to its halls and rooms, it most certainly was. After several minutes of trying and failing to find the kitchen, Sanda had turned back in an attempt to find her way back to the dining room. Unfortunately that, too, had failed, and in her haste to escape the place she had entirely failed to note any landmarks that would have helped in finding her way back to it. Which left her confused, upset, and more than a little annoyed. A perfect combination to be wandering nearly empty halls in, surely.

“Uuuuuuuuugh!” Sanda allowed herself a moment to vent her frustrations and pound the wall with her fist, her tail smacking against it for extra emphasis. “Great idea, Sanda! Leave your boyfriend alone with his emotionally compromised mother while you go wander the halls of Etheirys’s largest mansion all alone! Perfect plan! Idiot.” Her only solace was that the halls were both well-lit and lined with great windows to let in the not-quite-twilight rays, meaning she wasn’t in danger of smacking into anything in the dark.

Unfortunately, that was her only real silver lining when facing down a particularly dark cloud.

“Okay, stop panicking and think.” Talking aloud helped quell the rising tide of fear, Sanda found, particularly when faced with such an uncertain situation. “Worse comes to worst, you can just smash a window and get out that way. A little extreme, but it works as a last resort. Failing that, you have your phone. Even if the idea of calling Zenos just to ask that he comes to find me makes me want to crawl into a hole and die. I could also teleport to the aetheryte plaza, but then I’d have to walk all the way back here in this dress and no coat. Okay. Okay. Better! Let’s not do those things!”

Her heart restored to its regular rate, Sanda pushed herself off the wall and began to retrace her steps. Or tried to, anyway. A calmer mind did little to make the winding corridors and similar doors any less confounding, and quickly enough she found her feet starting to hurt from her distinctly uncomfortable shoes. She knew it had been a mistake to get them when they pinched her toes so much, but they’d been on too short notice to enjoy the luxury of choice. Now she regretted her limited options all the more as she yanked them off and rubbed her aching feet. Her hiss of relief almost drowned out the sudden shout that echoed down the hall. Almost.

Sanda’s head jerked up as she turned towards the source of the noise. A man’s voice, crying out in anger, not far away from her. While she hated to add more to their likely already heavy burden, she hated being lost more. I’ll just ask for some directions back to the dining room. I’ll make my own way there after that.

That was the plan, anyway, but as Sanda rounded the corner she suddenly found herself reconsidering her decision. She hadn’t noticed the heavy iron tang in the air until she saw its source with her own eyes, but there was no denying it as her eyes landed on the body. They were dressed like a servant, their otherwise pristine suit dyed crimson from the great wound marring their chest. Their expression was one of shock, eyebrows knit as if to reprimand their murderer for the offence. But no words would ever emerge from them again, not as their lifeblood pooled around them. At first Sanda thought they had been the source of the shout, but as she tore her eyes from the body she realised she was dreadfully wrong.

Standing above the corpse, phone clutched to his head in one hand and bloody butcher’s knife in another, eyes alight with unspeakable fury, stood Nerva.

“I don’t care what delays you’ve faced, you made a promise! In my line of work, you do your damnedest to keep those promises no matter how many eggs you have to break! … What do you mean, complications? Speak plainly instead of giving me these veiled allusions, you fool! … Fine, so you have two broken fighters and a potential third as well. Was that so difficult, man? You know how to solve that, no? I’m certain you can find more fighters to uplift if you try very, very hard. … Demeaning you? Finally caught on, did you? Perhaps if every call I had to take from you didn’t involve some pointless delay or complication, I wouldn’t have to! You have one month, Zoraal Ja. You will provide me a suitable candidate for the next stage of testing, or I will find someone capable of doing it in your place. … Yes, yes, you may have someone in Doma investigate, fear not. And they inevitably come back with a corpse, you can send a thank you card to the usual address for looking the other way.”

Sanda stared wide-eyed from around the corner as Nerva snapped his phone shut and tucked it delicately into his breast pocket. It was only then that he appeared to take any notice of the body beneath him, though his only reaction was to wrinkle his nose in disgust and toss the knife to the ground beside it. “Waste of a good blade…” he muttered as he dispassionately eyed his work. Then he turned his back on the corpse and began walking down the hallway with a trail of bloody footprints in his wake.

Doma. He mentioned Doma. And a corpse. Sanda’s heart raced as Nerva’s half of the conversation sunk in. Surely he doesn’t mean… But it would hardly be the first time a Galvus had meddled in her sister’s affairs, nor the first time they had tried to outright murder her. Sanda fumbled desperately for her phone only for it to slip out of her trembling fingers and land with a sickening smack against the floor, skidding and crashing around the corner. In a panic Sanda stooped down to grab it, but it was hopelessly shattered from the hard tile beneath. No, no, no no no! Sanda cradled it disbelievingly in her hands, her chance at warning her sister of the imminent danger slipping through her fingers moment by moment.

It was only as she stood that she noticed Nerva had turned and was looking in her direction. Her eyes met his, saw them widen as realisation took hold, saw the mental calculus turn his emotions from surprise to anger to cold, calculating violence. She heard him start to walk purposefully in her direction, pausing only to pick up the butcher’s knife he had so casually discarded. Any doubts she’d had as to the poor servant’s murderer were dispelled in an instant as he approached, looking for all the world like a butcher ready to cull a particularly troublesome sow.

He didn’t expect her to launch towards him with a knife of her own. He certainly didn’t expect her to slide under his hasty guard with all the practised ease of a trained fighter. He expected a length of steel to slam into his throat in a vicious jab even less. His fingers, suddenly wracked with spasms, dropped the butcher’s knife to the floor and let it clatter against his feet. He tried to reach for the blade in his neck, but Sanda jerked it out as quickly as it had been planted there, leaping back in the same motion to avoid the sudden spray of blood that followed.

Nerva stood for a moment or two longer, staring at her in what Sanda later realised was more annoyance than shock, before falling to the ground beside his victim. Sanda took several seconds to stare at him, chest heaving, heart hammering, before leaning down to clean the blood from her blade using the poor servant’s shirt. Her mind was elsewhere, shielded from the sudden and horrible violence by something as it steered her away from the bodies, around the corner again, back to her shoes.

Only when she made absolutely certain that the shoes were securely fastened did Sanda begin to run.

Notes:

Well, uh... RIP Nerva, we hardly knew ye. Shouldn't have tangled with the Warrior of Light's sister. Oh well, lesson learned, back to the afterlife with ya.

Chapter 12: Flight

“So, first things first, your sister isn’t dead. Obviously.” Fareena was even smugger than usual as eight pairs of eyes settled entirely on her. Yugiri, true to the promise she had forced out of her client, had been summoned at the earliest opportunity, followed shortly after by Tender Star and Haurchefant. Arashi’s living room had gone from spacious to cramped in short order, but Fareena demanded everyone be present for her “grand adventure” to be told properly. In truth, Yugiri simply suspected she wanted the attention.

“You’re lying,” Yaana retorted with as much venom as she could muster. “I saw her body, I checked for a pulse! There was nothing!”

“There wouldn’t be, no. After all, she was under the effects of Stopga.” Fareena smirked at the shock crossing Yaana’s face, clearly relishing the sudden re-evaluation taking place. “Took days of work to adjust her regulator so we could store it in there, but it worked like a charm. She’ll be up and about again by now, and probably wondering where in the seven hells I am. Well done on screwing up the plan, by the way. You mangled our efforts perfectly.”

From anyone else it would have been stern condemnation, but out of Fareena’s mouth it sounded more like praise. Arashi, however, was distinctly unimpressed.

“That’s all well and good, Hagen, but none of this explains what in the seven hells you were doing instead of attending my wedding, or why you decided to turn up at my doorstep on the verge of death the very next evening.”

“Our wedding,” Yotsuyu chimed in with a venomous look in Fareena’s direction. “And our doorstep.” The vitriol in her glare was nothing compared with Lyse’s gaze, however. She simply looked disappointed, and more than a little upset. It was that look, Yugiri suspected, which finally broke through Fareena’s usual bravado and brought out the tired old woman within.

“I was out in Tural, doing some location shooting for my next movie. Exhausting stuff, lots of action scenes, way too many stunts, but we got it filmed with time to spare, so I was given time to myself. Figured I’d use it to see how Neo Alexandria was doing these days. Ended up finding an underground fighting ring. Illegal regulators, feral souls, all the good stuff. Thought I’d go in and break it. Didn’t work.”

Arashi and Tender shared a weary glance at Fareena’s abridged style of storytelling. “Tell us the whole story, Fareena. Not just the parts you think are important.”

Fareena gave Arashi a level stare, her eyes full of unexpected exhaustion. “The more you know the more likely you’ll get back to old habits. This is deep, and rotten to the core besides. Are you sure?”

Arashi nodded. Fareena sighed.

“Fine. Fine… While we were filming, one of the extras collapsed and died. They were perfectly healthy, all vitals perfect, no family history of sudden deaths or hereditary diseases. One moment there, the next… nothing. It was only when we searched their things for emergency contacts that we found the regulator. I was the only one that recognised it for what it was, and what had killed him. So I took some personal time to investigate.

“The rest is simple enough. I made myself a problem until some unpleasant people tried to silence me, then when I handed their arses to them I got some answers. Found some hotshot Mamool Ja was making waves in the undercity, offering people huge amounts of money for some simple tests. Some came back, rich as can be. Others… didn’t. I bribed my way to getting a meeting, roughed myself up to appear desperate, waltzed right through the front door. As it turns out, the mad fool has restarted Arcadion, feral souls and all.”

“You’re joking…” Arashi began, only to trail off as her eyes went to Yaana, still bound on the chair opposite, then to Yotsuyu, cradling the regulator. More quietly she said, “Go on.”

Fareena nodded with a grim expression. “It’s all underground still, at this point. No huge crowds, no grand arenas. Instead the people are pushed to their limits with feral souls, forced to contract psyschonekrosis, then… cured and cast out. Most of them, anyway. Those that survive enough time without contracting the disease are called up, whatever that means. I didn’t stay long enough to find out.

“Eutrope remembered me. Yaana didn’t. So Eutrope and I put a plan together to get her the freedom to snoop around and get me out to spread the word to the Scions. But then this one,” Fareena jerked her head in Yaana’s direction, “Got it in her head to avenge a sister who wasn’t even dead, got her scorpion-soul-infused friend to help, and the rest is history.”

Fool. What possessed you to investigate such a dangerous situation alone without even thinking to tell anyone? Yugiri kept such heated thoughts to herself. They would do no good to allow out into the world, and there were others more than happy to voice them instead.

“How could you be so stupid?!” Lyse spoke for the first time since everyone assembled with a voice full of hurt and anger. “You of all people should know how dangerous the usage of feral souls can be, but you still just blundered in there without a care in the world, and without telling anyone what you were doing either! Did you stop to think even once what would happen if you went and disappeared without a trace! Or if Tender hadn’t been able to reach you in time! Or if she wasn’t able to cure you, or Kasumi wasn’t able to break through her drowsiness and save you! Or… Or…!”

Fareena stared at Lyse as if seeing her for the first time, taking in every detail of her furious face as it broke down into heartbreak. Arashi pulled her tightly against her chest as Lyse’s anger ebbed away, her own eyes red with unshed tears.

“I didn’t know you cared so deeply…” Fareena murmured into the silence. Then, even more quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Say that again!” Lyse demanded, her voice muffled by Arashi’s nightgown but nonetheless full of righteous hurt.

“I’m sorry. I should have-”

“Again!”

I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I am the star’s grandest fool and I should be put on display for my idiocy! Are you happy now?”

“No! No I’m not! We could have lost you, and we barely even got to know you again! I can’t believe you’d be so selfish!”

“Lyse,” Arashi murmured, causing Lyse to look up sharply at her. “I know. You’re right and you should say it. But, much though I hate to say it, we need to put our feelings to one side and-”

“And what, Arashi? Charge blindly in and solve yet another problem?” This time it was Yotsuyu who spoke. “Are you a weapon, to be pointed at whatever threat happens to crash against us until it stops moving? Are we to jump at every opportunity to throw ourselves into the line of fire just because it happens to cross our path? You are not that woman! I never was! Let this rest. Let us rest.”

“If I may,” Yugiri declared before Arashi’s heated response could meet the air, “I have a request I would like to make.” All eyes were suddenly on her. It was not a particularly pleasant feeling, for one so used to melting into the background, but she pushed through nonetheless. “Teacher, am I to assume that your clash with Eutrope and ambush from Yaana were both publicly observed?” Fareena nodded. “Then we can also assume that the person or persons running this new Arcadion believe you are dead, or will soon be dead. If they had reason to suspect you, they now no longer do. If they did not, they now need a replacement.” Yugiri steeled herself and met her teacher’s wary gaze.

“I would be that replacement.”

As expected, the living room erupted into noise as the assembled crowd voiced their dissent. All present called her reckless, foolish, a half-deaf, useless bodyguard (Yotsuyu must have been truly tired to only come up with that), the most suicidally stupid au ra in what was a deeply competitive field of morons (Fareena, on the other hand, was on fine form). All except for Yaana, who was quietly fiddling with her rope but looking much less murderous, and Kasumi, who was staring thoughtfully at Yugiri. A potential ally to sway the others, perhaps, but-

Arashi’s phone cut through the din. As the tide of voices died down, Arashi snatched up the offending object and scowled as she answered it, all but slamming the speaker to her horn. “Cid, now is not the-”

“Shut up and listen, girl.” Cid’s gravelly tones growled out of the phone, audible to the other au ra in the room but few others. “You’re in danger, terrible danger. Your sister’s put her foot in it big time, and now we’re all about to reap the consequences.”

“Sanda? Cid, what’s going on?”

“No time! Get out of your house. Get out of Doma. Tonight, as soon as you possibly can. If you’re able, take separate airships, if not, teleport around a few places first. Throw off your trail, confuse ‘em. Meet us in Tural, we’ll explain everything there.”

“Confuse who?” Arashi’s exasperation leaked through her voice as the stress of the past several days made itself clear.

“Galvus’s pet assassins. Nerva’s, to be clear, not Zenos’s. They’re coming to silence any witnesses if your sister is to be believed. Now get moving!” The line went dead a moment later, leaving Arashi staring pale-faced at the phone.

“Yaana? You came here of your own volition, right?” Arashi’s voice was tight with tension, only increasing as Yaana nodded. “And you came here alone, right?” Another nod. Arashi stared ahead a few moments as Lyse pushed herself to her feet, having heard enough to understand the danger.

“Would one of you mind explaining what’s going on?” Tender could sense the sudden tension in the air, if her expression was any indication. Arashi looked at her and all Yugiri could see was the old Warrior of Light reborn.

“We have to leave. All of us, now.”

…

Zenos still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the woman who called herself his mother. Certainly her story made sense, particularly given his father’s hateful nature, but he couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than she was willing to explain. Varis had made no secret of his condition for as long as Zenos could remember, for one thing. And for another, such a fight as she had described surely would have seared itself into his memory even at so young an age.

But despite all that, he still felt a pang of sympathy for her, enough to hold her as she wept. Enough to offer his sympathies for suffering under the man that had tormented him for so long. Enough to feel a spark of something approaching affection. But not enough to distract him from the fact that Sanda had suddenly vanished. So, after making sure his host had recovered enough to do well enough without him, he had gone off in search of her.

It took him several minutes of searching before he ran into her. Or rather, before she ran headlong into him, eyes wide with panic, fists slamming incoherently against his chest, looking for all the world like a frightened beast more than a person. The near-black stains on her dress certainly didn’t help. They looked almost like…

“Sanda. What happened?” She was trembling, the pounding of her heart audible in the otherwise silent hallway, her breathing shallow and ragged.

“We have to go. Now, right now. Nerva, he… he attacked someone and then he... I… I killed him, Zenos. I killed him and he’s dead and we have to go! ”

It always ends in blood. Zenos’s bitterness surprised him as he scooped up Sanda in his arms and began carrying her back to the main foyer, away from any hope of reconciliation and away from the corpse of the brother he’d barely known. When they were safely away and Sanda had calmed down, he would get the full story, but for now he had a simple goal: get away with the woman he’d grown so close to.

They made it all of a single corner before a voice rang out from behind them. An impossible voice, for he was supposed to be dead. “Leaving so soon, brother? That’s a pity. I’d expected you to at least stay for dinner, but it appears father’s rudeness runs through your veins too.” Sanda froze in Zenos’s arms as he turned to see Nerva, very much alive and apparently unharmed, calmly stepping towards them. In his hand was a butcher’s knife that could only be stained with blood. His usual smile was gone, replaced with a feral grin that reminded Zenos of… well, himself. His old self. The monster in the mirror.

“He’s supposed to be dead why is he alive what’s going on Zenos run please” Sanda clung to him like a drowning woman would clutch to a plank of wood. It pained him to see her so hopelessly distressed, but he put those feelings to one side for a moment. Nerva was getting closer by the moment, and worse still he was in the direction they had to move in to reach the exit. A fact he was very well aware of, judging by the way his grin widened.

“A poor host demands a hasty escape,” Zenos replied as he stared down the other man. “First you deny us our meal, then you attempt to murder my companion. Are you no better than a beast, a slave to your basest instincts? If so, then bar my path at your peril, beast.”

“A beast? Oh, Zenos, that you of all people would speak such words to me after what you’ve done. Consigning me to this half-life, casting me in your shadow again and again, butchering without mercy and then getting away without so much as a slap on the wrist? Perhaps you should look at the blood on your own hands, dear brother!”

Nerva moved far faster than Zenos would have expected, his arm rising up to come down in a brutal chop aimed not for Zenos himself, but for Sanda. Zenos’s boot caught Nerva directly in the stomach, halting his forward momentum and sending him tumbling back with a whoosh of air. But he was back on his feet again before Zenos could capitalise, knife still in hand, eyes still frenzied, advancing with the fierce determination of a man intent on-

“NERVA! ENOUGH!” Nerva froze as Carosa’s voice cut down the hallway with all the cold iron that Varis has strained so hard to keep a hold of in his later years. The knife clattered to the floor, forgotten, as Nerva turned to face the furious face of his mother. “Have you entirely taken leave of your senses, boy? These are our guests! We do not murder our guests! And we especially do not murder my firstborn son!”

“But mother!” Nerva’s voice had gone from theatrical to wheedling, a child caught stealing treats. “The woman heard me! And she killed me too!”

“Oh seven hells, of course she did. Fine, we will deal with her properly later, but you will not harm your elder brother. Am I clear on this?” Carosa’s exasperation chilled Zenos to the core, the feeling growing even worse as Nerva gave her a cowed nod in response. She knows. Of course she knows. The chill only ran deeper as his mother’s eyes settled on him, calculating her options. “Zenos, dear, I apologise for my unruly son. He’s… dealing with a great deal more than he should, at present. Come back to the dining room, allow me to explain, we-”

“No.” If I accept your offer, you will take her and I will never see her again. “This dinner is over, mother. You will allow my companion and I safe passage, or else I will force the issue.”

Even knowing what he now knew, Zenos swore he saw his mother’s heart break as she took in his words. “Oh, Zenos. Don’t do this. Don’t choose one silly little girl over your family. Come now, surely your father taught you-”

Zenos barrelled past the murderous mother and son duo with tremendous speed, his shoulders slamming into the pair and knocking them to the floor in a heap. Sanda’s arms wrapped all the tighter around his neck as he sprinted through the halls. He didn’t bother to check if they were being followed or not, he simply ran. He paused only long enough to let Sanda snatch their coats at the front door, then he was out, into the night, into the streets, heedless of the sparse people traffic and the growing shouts behind him and-

A door slammed open in front of him, followed by the bushy white beard of Cid. “In here, lad, now!” Zenos needed no further encouragement before diving through the door, Cid slamming it behind him with a huff. It was only then that Zenos allowed himself to stop, allowed Sanda to find her feet again, allowed his burning legs a chance to very aggressively complain about what he had just done. Thankfully a nearby table and chair allowed him a chance to address its complaints.

“Thank you,” Zenos managed in between ragged breaths.

“Don’t thank me, it was the least I could do,” Cid replied gruffly as he made his way to the table, sinking into the seat opposite Zenos with a whooshing breath. “Besides, it was Jullus who saw the pair of you tearing through the streets like a voidsent was after you and asked me to keep an eye out. He’ll be along shortly to make sure you’re alright.” Cid caught Zenos’s eyes with a steely gaze. “So, what happened? Ran afoul of the new owners of your old house?”

“How did you-?”

“Easy enough to guess, given half the staff was turned out into the streets looking for someone matching your description. Want to tell me what happened, or will I need to get Nero to drag it out of you?”

“Nerva attacked me. I killed him. Then he came back.” Sanda’s sudden response drew Cid’s and Zenos’s attention in an instant. “His mother’s in on it. They… They’re doing something in Tural. I don’t know what. I just…” Sanda’s voice failed her and she lapsed into pained silence, staring at the table with empty eyes. There’s more she isn’t telling me. More than just our unplanned exit. But now was not the time to pry. When she had recovered, found her courage again, then he would have his answers. Until then, he would be patient.

Cid bit his lip and grimaced, his eyes flicking between Zenos and Sanda as he digested Sanda’s admittedly sparse information. “Nerva, eh? Like the old Garlean prince? Not a name I’m familiar with, I’ll admit.”

“He’s my brother.” That caught Cid’s attention. “Or so he claimed. My mother claimed his legitimacy.”

“Your brother? Your mother ?” Cid’s tone rapidly became incredulous. “Carosa’s back in Garlemald? Twelve forfend, boy, why didn’t you lead with that!” Zenos felt the full force of Cid’s frustration in his glare as the older man clutched his head and rubbed his temples. “Alright. Your battleaxe of a mother is back on the board with an Ascian son in tow. Perfect. Just what we needed. You’re sure it was her?”

“Yes.” It was about the only thing he could be certain of.

“Gods be good… Nero! Get out here! You’ll want to hear all of this for yourself.”

Nero, as it turned out, was neither happy to be brought into the fold nor dressed at all appropriately for the situation. Nursing a cup of freshly brewed coffee, he was garbed in a bright pink, ruffled and surely luxurious dressing gown, paired with the fluffiest slippers Zenos had ever set eyes on. He had, for some reason adorned a pair of sunglasses, which he refused to remove as he stepped into the main room with a glare at all assembled.

“Whatever it is, Garlond, you’d best make it quick. I graciously allowed you to put up these two so that my star racer wouldn’t be thrown into a jail cell, but I refuse to be involved any further in your madcap-”

“Carosa’s returned.”

“Tell me everything.”

So Zenos did, recounting his encounters with the man calling himself his brother on the airship journey to Garlemald and at his father’s grave, continuing into the strange and unsettling dinner with his mother, and ending with Sanda’s revelations and their headlong escape into the city. Nero, unlike Cid, listened with the kind of rapt attention of a child at a pantomime. By the end of it all he was grinning madly, the light in his eyes burning through his sunglasses.

“Carosa bloody Galvus, as I live and breathe… You probably wouldn’t know this, long before your time, but that woman’s a legend. A genius when it comes to engineering, and a businesswoman ruthless enough to make even Solus pause. Galvus Industries was her pet project, you know! Well, the engineering side of it, anyway. Oh, the way she and your father used to butt heads, Garlond!”

Cid was distinctly less impressed. “You did hear the part about her son likely being an Ascian in disguise and their attempts to murder your star racer, yes? Or did that all fall to the wayside the moment you heard your idol’s name again?”

“Yes, yes, minor concerns. We’ll deal with those issues as well, fret not. But oh, to have a chance to match wits with the Queen of Machines herself!”

“There’s something else,” Sanda quietly intoned as she found the will to speak again. “Before he attacked me, Nerva was talking on the phone with someone. Zoraal Ja, I think he said? He mentioned sending someone to Doma… And a corpse.”

Cid was out of his chair in an instant, reaching through his various pockets before finding his phone and snatching it out. His fingers swiftly jabbed at the keypad, already pacing as his nervousness took root. Nero had paled considerably as well as he realised his other star might be in danger.

“Come on, girl, pick up…”

“Cid, now is not the-” Arashi’s irritated voice crackled through Cid’s old phone. His face flushed with relief at her voice, only to harden into something much sterner.

“Shut up and listen, girl. You’re in danger, terrible danger. Your sister’s put her foot in it big time, and now we’re all about to reap the consequences.”

“Sanda?” Arashi’s voice heightened into panic. “Cid, what’s going on?”

“No time! Get out of your house. Get out of Doma. Tonight, as soon as you possibly can. If you’re able, take separate airships, if not, teleport around a few places first. Throw off your trail, confuse ‘em. Meet us in Tural, we’ll explain everything there.”

“Confuse who?”

Cid scowled as he muttered, “Galvus’s pet assassins. Nerva’s, to be clear, not Zenos’s. They’re coming to silence any witnesses if your sister is to be believed. Now get moving!” Cid hung up the phone before Arashi could say any more, his face flushed with a combination of fear and fury. “Nero, pack our bags. I’ll call the Commissioner, let her know the good news. Zenos, Sanda, you’re coming with us. Not taking no for an answer, and Garlemald’s going to get very unpleasant for you both very quickly if you don’t.”

“Wait, Tural?” Sanda’s face wrinkled in confusion, at long last breaking through her despair. “As in, Tural across the Salt? Why there?”

Cid flashed them a terrible grin. “Didn’t you hear? The Turali Grand Prix is going to be starting soon, and we’ve been invited. Congratulations, girl, you’ve just been upgraded to pit crew.”

Notes:

Okay, maybe un-RIP Nerva. Not dead nor alive but another, worse thing (another fucking Ascian-type guy).

Next time, we have our first proper race. Kinda.

Chapter 13: Salt

Come on, you bucket of bolts, just a little longer! She could feel it rattling beneath her, could smell the acrid exhaust fumes sputtering out darker and darker plumes, could see her opponent gaining on her more and more as they rounded the final corner together. Not like this, not like this! Her furious desire to win pushed just a little more juice out of the fading light of her bike, forcing a final furious flame to jet out of it and keeping her opponent at bay a moment longer.

That’s it, just a few more seconds and we’ve got this! She could already feel the heady thrill of triumph start to bubble up inside her, but she forced herself to remain calm. Well, as calm as she could, given the circumstances. She’d held the lead this long, she absolutely had it in her to keep it down the final stretch to the finish line. There weren’t even any aether cannisters between her and the goal, and her rival hadn’t had any luck with their last shot anyway. Victory was as good as hers!

As long as her ride held out that long, of course.

And as long as her opponent, who had a reputation for taking ruthless advantage of any mistake made, didn’t choose to take advantage of the fact that her bike might collapse at any moment.

Which he would, obviously.

All of which made the final seconds as they raced towards the finish line all the more nerve-wracking, but all the more thrilling with it. This is it! This is what I was made for! She could hardly tell if it was her thoughts or her bike’s at this point, but it didn’t matter. They resonated in a way no other racer could.

It was the only thing that kept it from falling apart as they barrelled across the finish light a half-second ahead of her rival. Her cry of victory echoed out as she dismounted, giving her bike a loving pat as it wheezed and choked out the last of its fumes. “I told you that I’d win in the end!” she declared with not a little pride as her rival dismounted in turn.

“And I told you,” her opponent sniffed, “That this was a test run and you shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard.” The man tugged off his helmet, revealing his near-black skin and somehow darker hair. His ears, large and floppy, bounced back into position as he groaned in relief. “Honestly, Wuk Lamat, how many times must I tell you not to take these trials so seriously?”

“Speak for yourself!” Wuk Lamat tugged off her own helmet and shook her wild mane of hair free, breathing in the salty sea air and grinning in entirely overblown triumph. “I saw you trying to overtake me at that last turn! Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it too.”

“What I felt,” huffed Erenville as he kicked the brake into place, “Was that if I didn’t force you to stop sooner rather than later your entire bike would fall to pieces. Honestly, are you trying to give our mechanic a heart attack? Because treating Dawn’s Promise so recklessly is a surefire way to accomplish that.”

“Oh, like you weren’t pushing Dawnseeker to its limits? Come on, I saw the way you were gripping your handlebars by the end of that lap! Is it so hard to just admit you wanted to win too?”

Erenville said nothing in response, simply turning to give his bike a once-over. He didn’t appear to notice when Wuk Lamat stuck her tongue out at his back, but her ears didn’t fail to catch his irritated sight as she began wheeling her bike back to the garage. How does he always know? Eh, doesn’t matter. One day he’ll get that stick out of his ass, and then I won’t have to do it any more!

The sun was starting to set as Wuk Lamat wheeled her trusty ride into the garage. “Hey, Koana! You still here? I put Dawn’s Promise through its paces again! Think the handling’s a little off, though, I keep skidding around the tight turns!” Silence greeted her. “Koana? Koooaaaana!” More silence. Wuk Lamat hissed and moved to the back of the garage, navigating through the dying light of the sun alone. The place was a mess of machinery, most of it the result of Koana’s constant side projects and works-in-progress that never quite saw their way to fruition. Koana himself was bent over one of them as Wuk Lamat approached, quite clearly fast asleep.

It was tempting to let him have his rest, but she’d made a promise… Wuk Lamat’s hands crashed together just above his head, causing him to jolt awake from his slumber with a start. “Ah! Wuh! Oh, it’s you, sister. Sorry, I must have nodded off. Again…” Koana pushed up his glasses to rub the sleep from his eyes, yawning as he did. His mop of sea-green hair was even more of a mess than usual, and his tan skin had gone a few shades paler from being stuck in the garage most of the day.

“You must still be tired if you’re calling me sister,” Wuk Lamat replied with a grin. “That was our last life, remember?”

“Right, yes. Sorry, Lamaty’i. Again. Ugh…” Koana pushed himself to his feet and stretched with a groan, just in time to catch Erenville wheeling his own bike in to join Wuk Lamat’s. “Oh, Erenville! How went the test ride?”

“Smooth enough,” Erenville replied coolly. “Though it could have gone a good deal more smoothly had a certain someone not tried to turn it into another race.”

Koana’s gaze slid up to Wuk Lamat with the typical look of a disappointed elder brother. Wuk Lamat at least had the grace to appear admonished this time. “I know, I know! I just can’t help it! You know how cranky Dawn’s Promise gets when it hasn’t been put through its paces in a while!”

Koana’s feline ears twitched in time with Erenville’s, though one was a good deal better at concealing his exasperation than the other. Koana spoke first. “Lamaty’i, I know you’re excited for the upcoming collaboration, but-”

“What? No, no it’s got nothing to do with that! I just needed to blow off some steam, that’s all!”

“Lamaty’i…”

“Okay okay, fine! Maybe I’m a little excited to see her again, and maybe I went a little overboard trying to prepare myself, but can you blame me? It’s the Warrior of Light! The woman who helped us win the contest of succession! My mentor!”

“Your mentor who, more than likely, will have no idea who you are.” Leave it to Erenville to throw cold water all over her excitement. Wuk Lamat deflated visibly.

“I know that, but still. If she’s coming to race, then I want to give her the best race she’ll ever have! I owe her that much at least.”

Erenville looked ready to argue the point further, but a polite cough at the doorway caused him to pause. The trio turned to find their fourth, a young hyur woman, standing illuminated by the lazy sunset, a paper bag in one hand and a strong cup of coffee in the other.

“Apologies if I’m interrupting, but I thought you might want some refreshments after your race. And something to make sure Koana doesn’t fall asleep halfway through the meal, of course.” She flashed the miqo’te a grin and stepped lightly between the parked bikes, her wavy, deep brown hair turning dull as she stepped out of the light. If her pale skin didn’t mark her as someone not native to Tural, her accent certainly did, clipped and precise and exceedingly formal. But it didn’t stop her natural good humour and sense of gentle mischief from coming through anyway, particularly as she began humming while she brushed past Wuk Lamat.

“You’re staring again,” Erenville whispered.

“Am not!” Wuk Lamat retorted, a little too loudly.

The woman’s head whipped around, a knowing smile on her face. “Are not what, Lamaty’i?” Her grass-green eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Am not nothing! It’s fine! I’m fine! Don’t worry about it, okay? Okay!” Wuk Lamat was thankful for the fur covering her skin. She was absolutely certain her blush would be showing through without it. “Just hurry up and give us our tacos, Gemma! I’m so hungry, I could eat an ibruq whole and still have room for seconds!”

Gemma gave Koana a stern look as she handed him his massive mug. “You let her push Dawn’s Promise too far, didn’t you?”

“I-In my defence, I wasn’t awake to stop her!” Koana bashfully responded.

“And you,” Gemma continued, rounding on Erenville, “Surely encouraged her by trying to beat her to the finish line, didn’t you?”

“It’s not my fault she can’t help but rise to any challenge dangled in her face.” Erenville’s cool demeanour was ruined entirely by the very soft stamping of his foot. Gemma sighed in exasperation and slapped the bag of tacos onto the table none-too-gently.

“Really, it’s like you all want me to stay up all night making sure that poor bike doesn’t rattle itself to death in the Grand Prix!” Gemma glared at the three of them for a moment longer before her bad mood vanished like spring rain. “Right, that’s enough scolding you all like lost children. I, for one, am famished! Come on, grab a seat and let’s eat!”

Wuk Lamat was all too happy to oblige.

---

...But while the liberation of Ala Mhigo and Doma were important milestones in shattering the grip of the Garlean Empire, it was the battle at Ghimylt that truly turned the tide of war in the nascent Eorzean Alliance’s favour. Thanks to the valiant actions of the Warrior of Light, the Emperor’s personal guard was driven back, and while her clash against the possessed Garlean prince was inconclusive, the confusion sowed at the Prince’s sudden retreat to Garlemald gave the Alliance the vital breath they needed.

However, all was not well, for the aftermath of the battle left the Warrior of Light comatose and the final active Scion rendered as soulless as her brother. Though some sources at the battlefield claim the Warrior of Light still fought the crown prince and forced his retreat, most agree that it was only due to the timely arrival of Estinien Varlineau that-

“What are you reading?”

Yotsuyu slammed the book shut with a start, jerking up to see Arashi looking innocently down at her. I thought you’d still be roaming the airship. “Nothing,” Yotsuyu replied, much too quickly and much too sharply. Arashi’s eyebrow immediately rose. Damnation. “Nothing you need concern yourself with.”

“Well, now I know you’re hiding something.” Arashi reached for the book, but Yotsuyu was just slightly too quick for her grasping hand. “Come on, let me see! I promise I won’t judge!” Arashi tried again with a more ambitious lunge, but Yotsuyu was ready for her this time, yanking the book out of the way once again. “Alright, now you’re just being childish. Come on!” Arashi was pouting now, tail swishing one way and the other as she gave Yotsuyu a disappointed look. Maybe I’m overreacting, Yotsuyu thought as her heart began to soften. It’s not such a bad thing to-

Arashi moved quick as a bullet and snatched the book out of Yotsuyu’s grasp. Her triumphant cry lasted just long enough for Yotsuyu to lunge out of her seat and tackle the au ra to the ground, trying and failing to stop her from getting a good look at her ill-gotten gains. “ A Collected History of the Seventh Astral Era , huh?” Arashi’s cheeky grin went even wider as Yotsuyu continued to claw for the book. “Have you been reading up on my history?”

Yotsuyu stiffened, tried to think of something, anything , to deny the obvious. Nothing came out, and her steadily reddening face was more than enough of a giveaway anyway.

“Tsuyu, that is adorable !”

“Breathe even a word of this to anyone and I will see that you live to regret it,” Yotsuyu hissed, trying and failing to inject some venom into her words. The sight of Arashi’s cheerful grin was irritatingly effective at defusing her anger.

“I won’t tell a soul,” Arashi promised. “Now, if you could get off me so I can stop being horizontal…”

On the other hand, her negotiation tactics left a good deal to be desired, and Yotsuyu never passed up a chance to take revenge. It was a simple matter to push herself up and straddle the au ra’s hips, keeping one hand on her chest and making it quite clear where she was to stay. Yotsuyu even managed an imperious stare, which took more effort than she cared to admit given her flustered state. “No, I think you shall stay down there and think about what you’ve done.”

“Yes ma’am.” Arashi’s instant response and saucer-wide eyes were a twinned delight to behold. Yotsuyu’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk. So easy to toy with you even now. Her hand tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned down to meet Arashi’s lips. Not that it helped, since gravity took her great black curtain and walled the two of them off from the world anyway. From her wife’s lovestruck smile as Yotsuyu leaned back up again, she didn’t mind at all.

“There is one thing I am confused about, though,” Arashi said, spoiling what was shaping up to be a perfectly good mood. “You could just ask me about what happened after… you know. Why go to all the trouble of looking up a dusty old tome instead?”

“Simple. You’re biased.”

Arashi’s eyebrows shot up faster than rockets. “Biased?! I lived it! I remember every last bloody detail! Those historians are going off of second and third-hand accounts of my own life! Besides, most of the major sources still quote ‘Shtola, and if you want to hear about biases, let me tell you-”

“Who was it that defeated Zenos yae Galvus over the skies of Ala Mhigo?”

“Well, technically it was me, but I couldn’t have done it without Fareena taking the lead, or Tender keeping us all on our feet, and Sanda-”

“You see my point? You minimise your own contributions. I cannot take your word for things unless I inflate your self-imposed importance tenfold. This book,” Yotsuyu patted her hard-won tome for emphasis, “Will give me a better representation of how you shaped the world. And, should it come to that, what new threats we may face going forward.”

“Ah.” Arashi’s face fell. “Right. I suppose we should be wary of that. Especially given what happened the first time I travelled to Tural.” She sighed and screwed her eyes shut, one hand rising to her face and cradling it gently. “I’m sorry. This isn’t what I wanted for us, but here we are again. You keep getting dragged into my messes.”

Yotsuyu’s hand found Arashi’s and tugged it gently away. “I would be the world’s largest hypocrite if I were to take issue with that. It’s because of me that you almost died by my brother’s hand more times than I’d care to count. Besides,” Yotsuyu lowered her voice and leaned in again, her lips almost but not quite touching Arashi’s horn, “I happen to enjoy being caught in your gravity. Far better to embrace it than to fight it, I’ve learned.”

Arashi’s face went crimson and her hand wrestled its way free of Yotsuyu’s grip to cover the spreading redness. “Evil woman! Evil evil evil!”

Yotsuyu’s throaty chuckle only made Arashi blush harder. “And what does that say about you, I wonder, that I have so utterly captivated you, hmm? The vaunted Warrior of Light reduced to a blushing, hopeless mess beneath such a black-hearted demon? Why, how scan-”

She should have expected her wife might take matters into her own hands, but somehow the idea hadn’t quite crossed her mind. One moment she was whispering sweet nothings, the next she was on her back against the cabin floor with a very flustered au ra atop her instead. Oh, she had about enough time to think before Arashi’s lips found hers again and she decided to put her energies to better use. Judging by the noises her wife began to make, it was the right decision to make.

---

In hindsight, there wasn’t nearly enough room in the cabin. Even with all the movable furniture (of which there was very little) moved to the far wall, even with them deciding on initiating and breaking grapples, even with Lyse’s best attempts at self-control, she and Kasumi were still gathering a fine collection of bruises from bumping into most everything available. Which meant that the pair, already close by virtue of their continuous hold practice, were forced closer still by the lack of room. Which would have been fine, were Kasumi not so distracting and so willing to take advantage of Lyse’s distraction to gain an edge over her.

“You know,” Kasumi whispered, her breath hot and ticklish against Lyse’s neck, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you enjoyed being trapped in my grip. And here I thought you couldn’t stand not being in con- WAGH!”

It didn’t stop Lyse from launching the overconfident au ra over her head and slamming her into the floor, nor did it stop her from putting her hands on her hips and grinning down at her stunned and confounded girlfriend. “Sorry, you were saying? I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Kasumi stared up at her, spread-eagle and staring up in disbelief. Her chest rose and fell in great breaths of air, the tip of her tail twitching just slightly. Lyse’s raised eyebrow of concern was enough to bring her back to reality, however, and she quickly pushed herself back onto her feet with a huff.

“Yes, yes, point made. Don’t get distracted while sparring, lesson learned. Again.” Kasumi huffed and shook out her hair, her back turned to Lyse as she continued, “This used to be so much easier, you know. No synapses firing with unwelcome thoughts or chemical reactions getting in the way. Just a body of aether and the purity of the fight.”

Lyse chuckled and stepped close enough to snake her arms around Kasumi’s waist from behind. It was gratifying indeed to feel Kasumi’s body stiffen for just a moment before melting into the embrace. “But there’s plenty of benefits. You have to admit that, right?”

“I suppose I could allow you that point, yes.” Kasumi’s head fell comfortably against Lyse’s collar, the points of her horns making gentle divots against Lyse’s skin. “The intensity of sensation now compared with before is… welcome, if distracting. But I need to work on my self-control and we both know it. I can’t let these things divert me in a fight. Not again.”

This again… “What happened back home wasn’t your fault, Kasumi. If it wasn’t for you, Fareena would be dead and we wouldn’t have known a thing about why.”

“And if hadn’t been for Yotsuyu, I would have joined her, or else wound up slaying our old friend to save myself. I was caught entirely off-guard by that sonic attack and I paid the price. I can’t let that happen again. I have to be ready.”

“Ready for what? You’re acting like you’re going off to war. I thought you and Arashi swore to leave all that behind you. Are you going to let all that go so easily?”

“I’m not doing this because I want to!” Kasumi wrestled free of Lyse’s grip with a sharp sigh, turning to face her properly. “But you know what’s coming, Lyse. Don’t tell me you can’t feel the storm on the horizon, unless you want me to call you a liar. If we’re not ready for it, we’ll be consumed. And if I have to forsake my vows of peace to allow you, Arashi and Yotsuyu a chance at peace, I will happily do so. It’s the least I can-”

Lyse yanked Kasumi against her faster than thought, her arms a vice grip around the slender au ra. “Stop it. Stop acting like her! Stop treating your happiness like it’s some kind of bargaining chip! You deserve to be at peace just as much as we do, if not more so! So stop with this talk, okay?”

There was a long pause before Kasumi relented. “Okay.”

“Good.” Lyse tilted Kasumi’s chin sharply upward, meeting and holding her gaze with all the stubbornness she could muster. “Promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid when we reach Tural. Promise me, no matter what Cid or Sanda or Zenos say, you’re not going to try and take Arashi’s place in whatever madness they insist we take part in.” Promise me we won’t lose you.

“I promise.” Kasumi didn’t hesitate this time, her eyes speaking volumes about her sincerity. Thank Rhalgr this one’s willing to listen.

“Good. Because if you do, I’m going with you. If you’re going to be mind-numbingly stupid, you’ll need an expert in the field to keep you safe!”

That got a laugh out of Kasumi, low and breathy and tickling Lyse’s chest. “I’ll keep that in mind. There’s no-one I’d rather have watching my back, after all.” Then, more quietly, “I love you.”

Lyse’s eyes went to the single strand of blonde in Kasumi’s hair, drawn by the way Kasumi twirled it around a finger. Is that you speaking, or the Arashi that you once were? Does it even matter? “I love you too,” Lyse murmured in return. Willing herself to really, truly believe it.

Kasumi’s eyes shut as Lyse leaned down to kiss her, but she didn’t miss the flicker of uncertainty behind them just before they were closed off to her. She didn’t have time to ponder it, for soon Kasumi’s lips parted and the worries of the mind gave way to the hunger of the flesh.

Hunger that Lyse was all too happy to lose herself in. It was easier than facing herself by far.

---

It was a simple enough matter to get through the gate. They hadn’t changed the code in years, after all. The spare key he’d been given still worked as well. Under happier circumstances he would have taken his best friend’s daughter to task for her lax security. Now, he counted himself lucky that the kami still smiled upon him as he stepped through the threshold.

He expected a shout to ring out, some cry of alarm or surprise at his arrival. Instead only silence greeted him. In his line of work that would normally have sounded alarm bells, but instead it only brought him relief. He had hoped against hope the occupants had already fled, but to speak such thoughts aloud was to invite misfortune on those he silently sought to protect.

He put his relief to one side and crept through the ground floor, his ears pricked for even the slightest sound of an ambush. His hand unconsciously went to the knife at his hip, but the more the looked the less he found. There had clearly been some kind of scuffle, that much was obvious from the broken window and the shattered vase against the stairs, but there was no blood, no body, no nothing. Had the intruder fled? Or had they been disposed off and dumped elsewhere?

He fought back a yawn, pushed against the drowsiness that assaulted him. Sleep magic lingering in the air. Black Bat’s doing, most likely. That someone had managed to shake it off and fend her off was a testament to their discipline. Or their luck. You taught her well, my friend.

A cursory search of the bedrooms upstairs confirmed his suspicions. The sheets were cool, but it was obvious they had been used recently from the ruffles and wrinkles in them. Some of the drawers remained open as well, the clothes inside them tossed and shoved aside in a manner which suggested a hasty escape. They knew I was coming. Good.

His employer would not be pleased, however.

As if on cue, a sudden vibration inside his breast pocket caught him by surprise. With fumbling hands he managed to pull the offending phone out and answer it, though his great fingers struggled to avoid hanging up on his caller by accident. A costly mistake he would rather avoid.

“Well?” His employer was a man of few words, and today was no exception.

“You were correct. Black Bat picked up Mad Hare’s trail. There was a fight, and now both lie dead in the house. As for its occupants, they have vanished to the four winds.”

“As expected. I assume you can handle clean-up?”

“Of course. I shall see that none have reason to suspect that anything happened here.”

“Good. You can expect payment through the usual channels.”

“Will that be all?” By the kami, please let that be all.

“No. My partner has reason to believe the owners of the house may have cause to move against us. You are to ensure that they do not.”

He fought to maintain his composure as he replied, “I see. Am I free to make use of whatever methods I see fit?”

There was a dark chuckle from the other end of the line. “Do as you please. Just make sure they do not interfere with our plans. Oh, and try to make sure you do not draw too much attention to yourself as you do so. I would hate for your actions to reflect back on your family.”

The leash tightened around his neck, strangling the fury that rose up at the veiled threat. He was silent until the phone clicked and went dead.

Only then did Gosetsu howl with the rage he’d kept so carefully at bay.

Notes:

Me: I really like Gosetsu, he's such a layered and entertaining guy and a real high point in Stormblood.
Also me: Make him a baddie it'll be fun

I am my worst enemy. Also yours, if you like Gosetsu. But at least he's got his family still!

Chapter 14: Bearings

“Alright, you two should be safe enough to teleport now.” Cid declared this apparently at random as he addressed what should have been an empty room. Anyone watching his journey from his own room might have wondered how he’d even got into this room in the first place, given the cabin was meant to be vacant and bare this trip. But Cid had made quite certain no prying eyes followed him in the first place as he made his trip, and so nobody realised that the supposedly empty room held a pair of stowaways.

“You’re sure?” Sanda asked as she uncurled herself from Zenos’s chest. She’d been loathe to leave his side since Garlemald. Partly because of Nerva’s manic lust for her blood, but also because she didn’t want the something to rise up again. She’d thought it dead and buried after she’d put down Athena, but as it turned out it was not so easily quelled. It hadn’t emerged again after she’d fled the scene, but the coldness of it, the detachment of its violence… It terrified her.

She’d tried to tell Zenos about it. Of all people, he would understand it best. But she couldn’t find the words. They fell away on her tongue every time she tried to speak them into being. So she sat, terrified and miserable, in her boyfriend’s arms as the world passed below them in an endless blue.

“Sure as I can be, aye.” Cid’s eyes shone with a kindness that had a hard time reaching his tone, too gruff and grumpy from years of habit. “Nero’s done a thorough sweep of the airship and found nothing to suggest the Galvuses are onto us, but I’d bet easy gil that they’ll be checking every airship coming into Tuliyollal. Best way to avoid that is to not be on the airship when it arrives.”

Some would call it an abundance of caution, paranoia even, to go to such lengths. But those people hadn’t seen the murder in Nerva’s eyes, nor the resignation in Carosa’s. Zenos and Sanda had been bundled in with Shinryu and Tsukuyomi when Cid and Nero had made their departure out of Garlemald, only being allowed out of the cargo hold when the engineers were certain that their pursuers had lost the scent. It had been a bumpy ride, but Sanda was used to rough journeys by this point.

“What of Arashi and Yotsuyu? How do they fare?” Zenos spoke for the first time, eyes full of uncharacteristic worry.

“They’re all fine, don’t panic. They had the good sense to stop in Kugane and pick up some glamours before they left properly.” Cid’s eyes met Sanda’s as he continued, “Thankfully Hancock still feels like he owes you for that bad glamour all that time ago. Always a pleasure to lean on that man’s generosity some.”

Sanda grimaced as unwelcome memories were dredged up of her first visit to Garlemald. Were it not for Zenos finding her first, she’d likely have ended up in Athena’s lab for an extended stay instead of the quick visit she’d intended. “How long will it take until they arrive?” The more she considered her sister the more desperately she wanted to confirm her safety. The panic was getting more and more difficult to quell.

“Should be a few more days before they land. Time enough for the pair of you to get yourselves somewhere to stay, and if you’re lucky get a room or three booked for them too. Didn’t get the full story from them, but they’ve picked up a few stragglers from what Arashi told me.”

Of course they did. It felt like every time Sanda blinked Arashi’s collection of hangers-on grew. She still didn’t know what to make of Kasumi, other than that she didn’t like how familiar the woman was around her. Like a long-lost sister she’d never known, which only made her relationship with Arashi all the stranger. But Sanda had learned a long time ago not to judge her sister’s decisions with romance.

Especially given she’d bounced from one of Arashi’s rivals to the other in quick succession.

“Alright. No sense in wasting time, I guess.” Sanda pushed herself to her feet and went to her meagre belongings. They’d had no time to collect the majority of their things, but Cid had been kind enough to grab what he could from their hotel room once the mad search had died down. A few shirts, enough underwear to last, her least favourite skirt and a pair of jeans had survived. The rest were likely lost, torn to shreds or used for aether samples to track them down. Sanda stuffed what little she had into her and Zenos’s shared suitcase before shutting it with a decisive click. “Ready.”

Zenos was at her side the moment the word left her mouth, taking her spare hand in his. “We owe you a great deal,” he murmured in Cid’s direction.”Were it not for you, we might still be hunted. Name your price and your favour will be repaid.”

“Oh, enough of that,” Cid gruffly responded with a wave of his hand. “It was the right thing to do, no more, no less. Besides, I doubt Arashi would forgive me if I let her sister get into trouble when I could do something about it, to say nothing of Nero if I let his former star slip through his fingers again!”

Despite his usual stony exterior, Cid’s laugh was surprisingly infectious. For the first time since the dinner Sanda allowed herself a laugh, light and airy and as carefree as she could manage. Even Zenos cracked a small smile, though it quickly vanished again. “We’ll see you soon, Cid. Try not to strangle Nero before we meet again, okay?” Sanda gave Cid a wink, sending another low chuckle through the engineer. But the mirth quickly dried up as his eyes widened and he began checking his pockets.

“Damn, nearly forgot! Here.” Cid held out a tiny black pearl, dropping it into Zenos’s palm. “Linking pearl. Keep it on you and we’ll be able to find you when we reach Tural.” Cid pulled out another pearl from the same pocket, which began glowing a deep red as the other pearl began to shine radiant blue. “Now, no more dawdling. Get going, and good luck!”

Sanda needed no more encouragement. With a final wave she began to channel her aether, fixing her destination in mind and keeping a tight grip on Zenos’s hand. Last thing I want to do is lose him in the Lifestream. Then they were gone, vanishing in a ripple of aether from the cool and airy cabin and appearing in a burst… elsewhere.

“This is not Tuliyollal,” Zenos muttered as he took in their hot, humid, leafy environs.

“Of course not. If they’re going to check the airships coming in across the Salt, they’d be idiots not to check the aetheryte plaza too. So I altered our destination a little. All we need to do is take a quick balloon trip over and we’ll be all set.”

“A sound idea. You did well to think of it despite our turbulent exit.”

Sanda let herself flush a little at the compliment. “One of us has to keep our head on straight, right? You did it during our escape, so now it’s my turn.”

All around them the world bustled with life and energy as the people of Ok’hanu got on with their daily lives. I guess it will be harvest time pretty soon, Sanda mused as a clutch of Hanuhanu children passed by them with arms full of reeds for their float. Any other time and she’d have considered staying in the area a while longer, offering a helping hand to the locals in return for having a place to stay during the festivities. But this year she’d have to settle for the brief glimpse of preparations she got.

Zenos was first to move, cutting through the humid air that tried to form a solid wall around them. Sanda trailed behind in his wake and tried to let herself relax. We did it. We got away. As long as they laid low until the Grand Prix began, they’d have nothing to fear. With the spotlight on Zenos again and her safely enrolled in the pit crew, their enemies would think twice before going after them. But every time Sanda blinked she saw a flash of Nerva’s face. Of his coldly calculating look as he advanced on her. Of his manic glee when he lunged at Zenos. Of the shock in his eyes when she-

“Sanda?”

Zenos’s concern brought her out of her stupor. “I’m fine.” A lie neither of them believed, but Zenos knew better than to press her as she caught up to him. Just a little longer. Then I can rest.

---

“Tsuyu, you’re going to die if you wear all that.”

“I don’t see the problem,” Yotsuyu replied with a sniff.

“You don’t see a problem with a black dress, a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pumps? In Tuliyollal? In the height of summer?” Arashi stared at Yotsuyu as if she’d entirely taken leave of her senses. She had dressed herself far more appropriately for the weather to come, picking out a loose and breezy power-blue shirt and a much shorter skirt. He shoes were also much better suited to the city, a pair of off-white walking boots which, while they had seen better days, were more than rugged enough for the hilled city.

The trouble, of course, was that Yotsuyu hadn’t been given the time to collect anything weather-appropriate during their sudden exodus. But to admit that was to admit defeat, so Yotsuyu did what she did best.

“If you’re so concerned with how others dress, perhaps you should give up driving and take up tailoring instead.” She was rewarded with Arashi’s narrowed eyes and huff of annoyance. With their glamours applied the au ra had taken on the appearance of a dark haired, tanned miqo’te woman in her late thirties, but anyone familiar with her mannerisms could see past the disguise in the blink of an eye. The Warrior of Light reborn might be a great many things, but a skilled actor was not one of them.

“Fine. Suit yourself. Just don’t come to me when you catch heat exhaustion.” Arashi turned to stalk off, only to turn and add, “And don’t forget your sun lotion! The last thing you want is sunburnt skin under a glamour. Attracts all kinds of unwanted eyes.”

There was clearly a story there, but Arashi was gone out the cabin door before Yotsuyu could think to ask about it. Which was probably for the best, given they would be touching down soon and she hadn’t yet applied her own glamour. They’d agreed on three groups once they touched down so as to avoid any undue suspicion. Lyse would be joining Yotsuyu and Arashi, while Kasumi would accompany Yaana and Haurchefant. Yugiri had been insistent on going with Fareena, so Tender had, with some reluctance, volunteered herself to round out their number. Once they had secured accommodations they would determine their next steps, but their first and most important priority was avoiding any undue attention.

Privately, Yotsuyu found it rather difficult to believe any of them wouldn’t attract some level of attention given the eclectic mix they had become, but Arashi and Lyse seemed confident enough. Time and experience had taught her to trust their guts over her own when it came to such things, but this time she felt something else stirring alongside her instinctual distrust. A feeling of-

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIING

Ugh. Yotsuyu thanked the relatively merciful kami that nobody was around to see her almost jump out of her skin. The offending phone found itself snatched up and clutched in her palm in a grip more akin to a troublesome mouse finally caught than a device. Yotsuyu slid her finger along its surface with a grimace, making no effort to disguise her annoyance as she answered, “What?”

“Miss Naeuri? Is this a bad time?”

Yotsuyu bit back a curse, an affirmation, and another, worse curse. “Commissioner. No, simply unexpected. Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly, simply… You’ll recall that I visited you last week with my proposition, yes?” Yotsuyu blinked. In truth she had forgotten about that with all the excitement of the intervening days. “Well, I’m afraid to say that our timetable has… moved up considerably. I’ll be needing an answer regarding your participation sooner rather than later, I’m afraid to say.”

“I see.” Yotsuyu did her level best to keep her tone as bland as possible. She almost succeeded. Of all the wretched kinks to have thrown our way, of all the pointlessly cruel times… “When will you be expecting one, then?”

“Within the week. I fear I rather greatly underestimated the impatience of the Turali side of things, and they are eager to strike while the iron is hot following the conclusion of their own Grand Prix not long ago. I trust you will pass on the message to your fellows?”

“Of course.” Yotsuyu’s knuckles were white, her words spoken through mostly-gritted teeth.

“Wonderful. Oh, and do be sure to ensure your engineers get the message as well, yes? For Nero not to answer his phone is one thing, but I expected better from Cid.”

“I will.” Yotsuyu ended the call before her control over her temper failed. Just. The phone found itself sailing through the air and crashing unceremoniously against the ruffled bedsheets, undamaged but bouncing high into the air on its impact from the force of the throw. Yotsuyu bit down on a scream of frustration and forced herself to breathe. It wasn’t even the call itself that had inspired such fury, not really. But to lay the blame at her feet for all the calamities that had piled up so swiftly was beneath her, especially knowing that the target of her wrath wanted nothing more than to be free as well. This was supposed to be done with. I was supposed to be free of all this. But she should have known better. They all should.

Those caught in the tangles of the Warrior of Light’s web only find escape one way: Death.

…

Yotsuyu had expected a great many things about Tuliyollal from the stories Arashi and Lyse had told, but they had failed to state one very simple fact.

The damned city was built atop a mountain.

Well, perhaps not a mountain, but Lyse’s confident description of it being “a bit steep” was understating the situation far more than was reasonable. Her only saving grace was that her glamoured identity, that of an ageing elezen woman with poor hips, required Arashi to be glued to her side as her “carer”. It kept her from tumbling down every last step in the city. The fact that it allowed Arashi to be insufferably doting on her “poor elderly client” was rather less welcome, particularly given Lyse’s false identity was that of the carer’s excitable girlfriend.

“Gods, I never expected I’d see so much of the old city still intact!” Lyse’s newfound tail bobbed and swung in giddy glee as she bounced around the pair. “Look, you can still see the original stonework here! And the old palace is still standing! I heard they turned it into a museum now, we should go and take a look some time!” Any other day and it would have been charming to see her so happy. Today it rankled to the point of gritted teeth and bitter glares.

“D'ondolo,” Arashi warned, causing Lyse to pause and twist her way. “Try and tone it down, please. We’ll have time enough to explore the city once we’re settled in.”

“Right,” Lyse replied, her false ears drooping visibly. “Sorry, Koh. Sorry, ma’am.”

“Forgiven, love,” Arashi replied before Yotsuyu could cut in. She shot her disgruntled love a warning glance before flashing her a sunny smile. “Shall we continue, my lady?” Yotsuyu didn’t get a chance to say otherwise before being “escorted” down every damned step in the city. At least Lyse had donated her very large, very floppy straw hat to keep the baking sun from entirely debilitating her. A sliver of mercy that kept Yotsuyu from completely melting down.

Finally they made it to the foot of the great hill, only to almost be swept away by the endless crowds that thronged the massive markets. It was only thanks to Arashi’s quick thinking that Yotsuyu didn’t lose them both entirely, the au ra’s tail snaking around Yotsuyu’s waist at the same time she snatched Lyse’s hand. With their makeshift anchors secured, they pushed and weaved their way through the current and out the other side, though not without getting accosted by the usual selection of over-eager merchants and would-be guides to the city.

Arashi gave the two a slightly exhausted grin as they caught their breath on the other side of the street, uncoiling her tail from Yotsuyu’s waist and allowing Lyse’s hand to untangle itself from her own. “Gods, I’d forgotten how bustling this place could be! I really did take Lamaty’i for granted, didn’t I? She had a way of parting the crowds when she passed. Well, when she wasn’t diving into the thick of them to talk to her people, anyway...”

“Lamaty’i?” The name rang a bell, but not a familiar one. Perhaps she’d read it in the collected histories already.

“Wuk Lamat,” Arashi elaborated. “She’s the reason I came out here in the first place. I helped put her and her brother on the throne, and then together we fended off the Alexandrian invasion. It’s… Well, I can explain later if you’d- Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

Arashi was nearly knocked off her feet as a huge reptilian creature shouldered past her. A Mamool Ja, Yotsuyu belatedly realised, though they were far larger and bulkier than any of their fellows. Their scales were a dull brown, and their eyes a milky white shade, though the thing that drew Yotsuyu’s attention more than anything was the great crest spearing out of their head. A Hoobigo, then, and a woman at that. Are all of their women as massive as this one? At Arashi’s shout the Mamool Ja turned to give her a fierce glare.

“How about you watch where you’re…” The Hoobigo’s gravelly voice, so haughty and brash, died down into nothing as she took in Arashi’s glamoured form. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in apparent shock, then that great head was shaking rapidly from side to side. “Oh no. No, no, no! Not you! Not again!” She turned and fled into the crowds before anyone could react, leaving a trail of disturbed shoppers in her wake.

“Someone you know?” Yotsuyu wryly queried.

“Not that I know of…” Arashi looked more stunned than anything, blinking rapidly as if to clear the confusion from her face. “Besides, even if I did know her, how would she have known who I am?”

“Maybe another one of Hancock’s mishaps,” murmured Lyse. “Hopefully it doesn’t get us into trouble again.”

“Maybe,” Arashi replied, though the look on her face made it clear she was unconvinced. “Anyway, we’re almost there. Just a little further.” She set off again before Yotsuyu or Lyse could question it further, making her way down to the very edge of the land where a series of piers jutted out into the shimmering blue sea. Yotsuyu made a mental note to purchase a swimsuit or three and enjoy what little time they had to themselves once they’d settled in.

As they drew closer, Yotsuyu could see that what she’d initially assumed to be a series of piers was in fact a large collection of houses, suspended above the sea by great pillars and branching out of the walkways leading out into the ocean. Arashi approached what appeared to be an open-air reception desk, conversing quietly with the attendant, making small talk, trading jokes. A short while later she returned with a set of keys and a triumphant grin.

“Last cabin available just opened up! Let’s go!” Arashi rushed off down the closest pier with a grin, her charge apparently forgotten in her excitement. Yotsuyu’s disgruntled glare slid right off her back as her wife became a distant blip. Lyse, thankfully, had not forgotten, and so the two of them were able to keep up the act long enough to reach the very last cabin on the walkway. Arashi had already disappeared inside, leaving the door wide open for her partners.

The moment the door was shut the glamours were dispelled, all three women breathing a sigh of relief as they could finally do away with their false identities for a time. “The place is fully warded,” Arashi declared from the open-air balcony. “We can see and hear outwards, but nothing can look or listen in without some seriously potent magic, and that’d be enough to shatter the wards and trigger the alarms. The Dawnservants like to ensure their guests’ privacy.”

“What luck that we were able to claim the last cabin, then.” Yotsuyu slid her suitcase against the wall and kicked off her shoes with a grimace. “I assume this was another of your mainstays during your time here?”

“It was a much smaller venture back then,” Lyse replied with a smile. “And a good bit cosier inside the cabins too. But as Eorzea and Tural continued to grow hand in hand, the place grew along with everything else. We haven’t even seen new town yet, after all. That’s on the other side of the hill.”

“We’ll add it to the to-do list,” Arashi said as she stepped back into the main cabin, slipping an arm around Lyse’s shoulders. “Gods know we’ve got time aplenty to spare.”

Ah. “About that,” Yotsuyu cut in, drawing the gaze of her wives. “I received a call from Nanamo earlier. We-”

A knock on the door cut her off, causing all three women to tense. Arashi was quickest to apply her glamour, motioning the other two to get out of sight before moving for the door. “Can I help-” Arashi began before cutting off in shock. “Sanda?”

That was all Sanda needed to burst through the door and lock her sister in a tight hug, followed shortly after by Zenos’s massive frame ducking inside. Lyse and Yotsuyu exchanged a glance before emerging from their hiding place.

“We need to talk,” Sanda said, her voice shaky and tired. Arashi simply nodded, guiding her sister to the waiting chairs.

So much for rest and relaxation.

 

Notes:

Starting to sweat more and more as I reach the end of my backlog. Soon I'll have to start writing harder instead of just waiting a couple of days and then putting out the next chapter. Stop being so addictive, moon-based activities!

Chapter 15: Hurt

“...And that’s when Cid found us and we wound up hitching a ride with them out of Garlemald. We teleported over a couple of days ago, then made our way here from Kozama’uka.” Sanda’s voice was steady aside from the occasional tremble, but her eyes had a haunted quality that Arashi hadn’t seen before. Not in this life, anyway. Sanda had insisted on sandwiching herself between Arashi and Zenos as Lyse had begun the process of adding everyone to what was rapidly becoming an untenable group call.

“I can confirm that last part,” Cid chimed in, his face appearing in the air above the table that the phone had been placed on. “We smuggled them out with Shinryu and Suzaku shortly before Nerva had his cronies call a lockdown on Garlemald. By now I imagine he’ll have realised we’re all long gone.”

“Gods…” Lyse leaned back against her seat opposite Arashi with a horrified expression. “So not only does Zenos have a secret brother, he’s half-mad and homicidal on top of that! And he’s got connections with Zoraal Ja, of all people too! Do you have some good news to tell us, or should I brace myself for worse things to come?”

“Well, we can at least assume that they’re unaware of your presence here, if nothing else.” Nero’s face muscled into view with his typical smug smile. “With your usage of glamours and quick thinking teleporting somewhere other than Tuliyollal, our enemy will waste time chasing shadows. Time we can use ferreting out their plans and thwarting them. All in time for the Grand Prix, if we’re quick.”

Yotsuyu barked out a laugh from the only other available chair. “How very optimistic of you, Nero. Tell me, did you happen to have any missed calls lately? From our gracious Commissioner Namo, perhaps?”

There was a moment or two of silence as several pairs of eyes fixed on Yotsuyu. “Plans have changed. We now have less than a week to make our decision, and I suspect the Grand Prix will follow shortly after. Time is a luxury we no longer possess.”

“Well,” Kasumi murmured, “That certainly complicates things, yes. Not only do we have a rogue Ascian that must be dealt with and shady goings on in Neo Alexandria, but now we must juggle them with the trials and tribulations of the combined Grand Prix as well. It never rains, eh?”

“Unless it pours.” Arashi’s expression was dour as she considered her options. None of which were particularly good, really. Abandon the Grand Prix and chase down the Galvuses and Zoraal Ja, or accept Nanamo’s request and lose valuable time trying to chase their trail.

“Take heart, friends!” Haurchefant, as always, found it in him to see the silver lining. “This gives us valuable cover, after all! We can pursue our investigation without attracting undue notice from the unsavoury elements that might otherwise move against us.”

“Though that still begs the question of where to even begin.” Tender’s brow was furrowed as she paced in and out of view, much to Fareena’s clear annoyance. “Our only real lead lies in Neo Alexandria, and that was cut off thanks to the actions of a certain pair.”

“With respect,” Yugiri cut in before anyone else could speak, “I have already suggested a plan of attack before our unplanned exodus. If you would allow me to-”

“Absolutely not,” Yotsuyu snapped. “I will not have you risking your life for some foolish and likely pointless endeavour, let alone your soul! Besides, you are one person against what is clearly a well-funded and well-connected organisation. We cannot simply-”

“And why not?” Yugiri’s voice took on an unusual heat as she halted Yotsuyu in her tracks. “You did so before with Athena, did you not? Charging in with barely half a plan other than to claim her head? Letting her outmanoeuvre us not once, not twice, but three separate times? Were it not for the luck of the kami, none of us would be alive to have this conversation in the first place!”

“Yugiri…” Yotsuyu began, but was swiftly cut off again.

“No. I will not allow you to walk blithely into danger again. I failed you when Asahi struck, and I failed you when Hana attacked. I will not fail you again. Allow me to do this, I beg of you.”

Silence reigned as Yotsuyu was, for once, left speechless. It was plain to see the war on her face, the fury at being talked back to by her faithful shadow coupled with the desperate fear not to lose the woman who had been such a consistent presence and comfort in her darkest hours. At last she opened her mouth to speak again, her decision plainly made, but-

“I quit.”

It was not Yugiri who spoke but Kasumi, wearing a peculiar smirk on her face. “I quit,” she repeated. “Nero, you’ll have to find someone else to drive Shinryu from now on. I’m sure that won’t be an issue.” Arashi stared dumbfounded as Kasumi continued. “Yugiri, what you are planning is foolish beyond measure and daring in the extreme. Good thing I’m well used to such situations. I nominate myself to join you on this mad venture.”

“Not alone you’re not.” Lyse’s eyes had a particular glint of determination as she looked Kasumi in the eye through the phone’s display. “I told you, didn’t I? If you’re going to be mind-numbingly stupid, you need an expert to keep you safe. We’re going together or not at all.”

“What? No. No, I won’t let you! Don’t do this! We can- We-” Arashi stared at Lyse from across the table, then at Kasumi through the phone. “Please.”

“We don’t have much of a choice, Arashi.” Kasumi’s eyes were deeply troubled but just as determined as she faced her love. “You’re going to be busy with the Grand Prix, and besides which, we’re not going to let you do anything that would put you in harm’s way again. Lyse and I have the best combat experience, the lowest profiles, and the least ties to bind us as we investigate. It has to be us.”

“Hate to say it, but they’re right.” Fareena was unusually quiet as she piped up, her face full of undisguised worry. “This new Arcadion focuses on close-quarters fighting, and Lyse is by far the best fighter we’ve got in that regard. Even better than me, and I don’t say that lightly. Meanwhile Kasumi will be able to get into places the rest of us can’t, and if things go bad she can keep attention on herself and clear the way for everyone else. As for you, Yugiri…” Fareena took a deep breath and said, “You have my blessing. Don’t screw this up.”

“I’m coming too.” Yaana stared distrustfully at the others, but there was a desperation in her tone which she couldn’t quite disguise. “You’ll need my help to get in, and I can give you the rundown on your opponents. Besides, I still need to find my sister. She’ll be able to help you in your investigations, I’m sure of it.”

“Then I suppose that’s settled,” Haurchefant declared. “We racers shall do what we do best and keep everyone’s eyes on us while you work in the shadows to uncover the secrets of Arcadion! Though that does leave the issue of-”

Arashi was up and moving before she could think. The urge to get away was overpowering. Her world started to blur as she shoved open the door, ignored the sudden shouts, barrelled down what little pier was left before the ocean reclaimed what was its own, finally let the first terrified sobs escape her as they began to rack her body. Not them. Please not them. Please no. No.

Her legs gave way and she found herself half-sitting, half-falling into the stone bench, face held in her hands, weeping as dread and fear and anger and pain overtook her entirely. I don’t want to lose them. Don’t make me say goodbye. Please just let them stay with me. Please.

“Arashi!” In her state she hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps, not until they were upon her, until a pair of arms were wrapping tightly around her, until she was cradled against Lyse’s collar. She wanted so badly to let herself be held, to weep until she could weep no more, to let herself be told that everything was going to be alright. But she couldn’t. She pushed herself free, rose to her feet as anger won over dread.

“Why?!” Her heart was pumping raw fury through her veins, the sting of betrayal fresh and sharp. “What could possibly possess you to do that? You have no idea what you’re getting into, no idea what could await you when this all goes to hell, which it will! You’re just going to wander blithely to your death? You want to sentence Tsuyu and I to watching the women we love lose their very souls? What’s wrong with you?!”

Lyse went from surprised to taken aback to annoyed. “You know why, Arashi! Kasumi and I are the best choices for this mission, and we’re smart enough not to go risking our lives taking unnecessary risks besides. And anyway, weren’t you the one volunteering yourself to go face down whatever hurt Fareena so badly not even a week ago? Did you consider how we felt then? Or did you do what you always do and just throw yourself into the breach without even thinking of the consequences?”

“I did think of the consequences! I was willing to walk away before Cid and Sanda dragged us all into this anyway! I never wanted this, Lyse! I never wanted any of this! All I wanted was to live out the rest of my life with you, with Tsuyu, with Kasumi! That’s it! But now it’s all happening again and I… I can’t…”

“Arashi…” Lyse reached out to touch Arashi, but the au ra flinched away.

“Don’t. Not unless you’re going to tell me that you’re giving up on this whole stupid idea. If you aren’t, I don’t want to hear it.”

Silence crept in. It stretched on for a dangerous moment. Then-

“Fine! Be a hypocrite then! If that’s how you’re going to be, you can stew in your melodrama for all I care! Because I had to go through this over and over again while you were out saving the star, and you didn’t give a damn about my feelings then! Now you get to know how it feels for once!”

Lyse stormed off, but not before Arashi could glimpse the tears in her eyes shining through the fury on her face. She tried to call out, tried to offer some limp apology, but her throat closed on the words before they could form. All that came out instead was a strangled wail as she threw herself back onto the bench and lost herself in her own misery.

Distantly she heard the slam of the door, then nothing.

…

Time passed. Arashi sat and cried until she had no more tears left. She curled in on herself and stewed in her despair. She thought bitter, horrible thoughts about the women she loved. Those so willing to abandon her to leap into the jaws of death, and those who sat there and said not a word at the grand betrayal. They weren’t charitable thoughts, nor were they logical ones, but she didn’t give a damn about logic. She just wanted to be left alone and-

“Hi sis.” Sanda didn’t wait for a response before flopping down next to her sister.

“...Hi Sanda.” Arashi’s voice came out a dull croak as she slowly uncurled herself.

The two sat in silence for a short while before Sanda said, “Sorry. For dumping all this on you. I…”

“Don’t.” Arashi’s misery was gently pushed to one side as the big sister came to the fore. “None of this is your fault. Even if you hadn’t run afoul of Nerva, Fareena would still have stumbled back into my life and brought all this hell with her. I don’t blame you.”

“Oh. Okay…” Sanda shuffled her feet and stared at her hands for a few more moments. “I’m supposed to tell you that you’re being selfish and short-sighted. Which you probably are, but who cares? You’re allowed that every now and then, right? After what you went through.” Another few seconds of silence. “This is why I’m mono-amorous, by the way.”

Arashi snorted despite herself and gave her younger sister a disbelieving look. “Really? You’re choosing now to bring that up?”

Sanda shrugged with a grin. “Seemed appropriate.”

Arashi’s disbelief cracked and gave way into a giggle. That was enough to set Sanda off, and shortly the pair were laughing uproariously, holding onto one another as the ridiculousness of the situation hit them all at once. “Gods,” Arashi said between gales of laughter, “We really are hopeless, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Sanda agreed through breathless giggles, “Probably!”

Eventually Arashi managed to regain her composure, though not without a few more bouts of laughter echoing through her. “So…” She said, turning to look properly at her sister, “What happened in Garlemald? I know you, you’re not so frail as to let attempted murder hit you this badly. What are you afraid to tell the others?”

Sanda said nothing, but her eyes lost their mirth as her posture stiffened. That bad, huh? For her sister to refuse to discuss with even her it meant something truly horrible must have happened. Or something Sanda decided she needed to shoulder herself.

“Come on, Sanda. You know I can keep a secret. Let me help you.”

“I… I don’t want to burden you with this. Not like I was. You don’t deserve that.”

Arashi took a shot in the dark. “This is about our old lives, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“Then don’t worry. I remember it all. You can tell me.”

Sanda stared at her like she’d just swallowed the sun. “Everything? What do you mean, everything?”

“Everything.” Arashi allowed herself a slight smirk at her sister’s disbelief. “Obviously.”

“Okay…” Sanda’s eyes flitted between Arashi’s face and the sea before she finally sighed and turned her gaze towards the floor. “What… What was I like, back when we lived our first lives as us?”

Oh. She’d prepared for that question for years, but it was never going to be enough when finally staring it down. But she also knew that her stubborn, patient sister wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so after some time she gave her answer.

“You were quiet. Withdrawn. I… did something very unkind to you when you were younger thinking it’d keep you safe. You never fully recovered from that, I think. And you hated the life I’d been thrust into after leaving you. Much, much more than I ever could. But you stayed with it, because it was the only way you could stay strong enough to watch my back. It wasn’t all bad!” She hastily added at the look on Sanda’s face. “You fell in love. You found true friends to call your own. You became famous across the star with your songs. You… I like to think you were happy sometimes. I hope you were happy.”

“I see…” Arashi saw, just for a moment, another Sanda sitting beside her. A smaller, sadder version of her sister. An achingly familiar version. “I think she’s in here.” Sanda’s hand went to her heart. “She helped me kill Athena. She helped me kill Nerva too. I… This is going to sound stupid, but I think she’s the reason I haven’t remembered anything yet.”

“Not as stupid as you’d think.” Arashi turned to Sanda with a sad smile. “I was the same until Kasumi accidentally forced the issue. Wouldn’t recommend doing the same.”

“But I might have to.” Sanda’s tone turned unexpectedly fierce. “I don’t want her to stay in here. I want to know what I was. I want to be that! But…”

“But you’re afraid.”

Sanda was silent for several long moments before finally saying, “What if I end up like Zenos? What if she’s too strong, what if she just takes over and locks me away?”

“Then I’ll beat her up until she gives me back my sister.” Arashi caught her sister’s gaze, let Sanda see the sincerity in her eyes. “Have you talked to Zenos about it?”

Sanda shook her head. “No. I want to, but every time I try, I just… I can’t.”

Arashi nodded, gently squeezing Sanda’s shoulder. “No rush. You don’t have to do it alone either. I’m here to help, okay?”

“Okay.” Sanda smiled. “Thanks.”

“That’s what I’m here for. So, are you staying anywhere near here? I wanted to ask earlier, but it didn’t seem appropriate given everything else.”

Sanda shook her head with a sad smile. “Zenos and I are over in new town, on the other side of the mountain. A lot less busy over there, but it’ll be a trek to get over there until you attune to the aetheryte shards. Probably something to do when… Well, you know.”

“Yeah.” The darkness they’d worked to keep at bay suddenly swept in again. It was nice to forget it for a moment or two, but… “Sanda, what would-”

Arashi paused as a sudden shadow crossed over them. A shadow belonging to Yotsuyu, staring at Arashi with heavy eyes.

“We need to talk,” Yotsuyu said, her tone unreadable. Her gaze, however, was not, and Sanda bore her ex-girlfriend’s gaze for only a few moments before promising to talk again and hurrying away. Leaving Arashi all alone to face the wrath of Yotsuyu Naeuri alone.

---

What am I supposed to do with you? Yotsuyu took her place beside Arashi as if she’d been born to take it. It had broken her heart to interrupt the sisters’ heart-to-heart, but she needed to. Her wavering courage demanded no less. So she ignored the hammering of her own heart, ignored the urge to simply get up and run, and said,

“If you had not done it, I would have. And I would not have been nearly so graceful about it either.”

Arashi’s head snapped to face Yotsuyu, the expression of pure shock on her face making a rather amusing sight despite it all. “If this is your idea of a joke, Tsuyu…”

“It isn’t.” Yotsuyu held Arashi’s gaze as she continued, “I want nothing more than to force Lyse and Kasumi to change their minds and swear off this idiotic behaviour. That way we might have enough leverage to convince Yugiri to do the same, if nothing else.” The sun was starting to set, catching the azure sea and setting it ablaze with a ruby sheen. Yotsuyu turned to face it as she murmured, “But I know that will help nothing. And though I would rather spit blood, I have chosen to allow them to march into danger.”

Arashi swallowed thickly and leaned slowly against Yotsuyu, shivering slightly. Yotsuyu’s arm slid around her shoulders and began to tenderly stroke her arm as she awaited Arashi’s response. “You’re braver than me,” the au ra finally managed. “I put on a brave face with Sanda, but every time I think about letting Lyse go, I…” Arashi hiccuped pitifully as she fought off a fresh wave of tears. “When I close my eyes I can hear the crunch. When my mother hit her. When she…”

So that’s what this is about. “I hear it too,” Yotsuyu whispered, her head leaning down to rest against Arashi’s. “But do you know what I see?” Arashi shook her head. “You. Dangling in the air off your mother’s claws. Falling to the ground, unseeing, unblinking. Knowing without a doubt that you were dead.”

Arashi’s breath caught in her throat. “Oh.”

“Yes. Oh.” Yotsuyu forced herself out of the memory, pushing herself back into the now, into the real. “I was lucky. I could look away. I could channel that fury and pain into something. All Lyse could do was stare until you woke up. Her very worst fears confirmed in a terrible instant, and all she could do was watch and scream.”

Arashi said nothing but Yotsuyu could sense the change in her, the raw hurt turning into something more thoughtful. Finally she whispered, “I’m so scared, Tsuyu. I don’t want to lose her. What do I do?”

“I don’t know.” Yotsuyu’s hand kept stroking Arashi’s arm and shoulder. “But I will pray for them. And I will swallow my anger and betrayal and wish them well as they depart. Because if I did not and they did not return I would never forgive myself.”

“Yes. I know. I… I owe Lyse an apology, don’t I?” Yotsuyu said nothing. The answer was obvious enough that she hardly needed to say it. “I’m… really bad at apologising. And I’m still scared. Can we… just stay here for a while?”

Yotsuyu thought of refusing, but out of the corner of her eye she caught the desperation in Arashi’s own. “As long as you need,” she said instead. Lyse isn’t going anywhere, and we all need more time to cool off. So she sat in silence, offering what little comfort she could to a woman who so desperately needed it. All the while trying to smother the small thrill she felt at it all.

She hated how enticing the idea was to have her wife all to herself again. And she knew if she spoke that thought into the world, Arashi would hate her too.

Notes:

[Mournfully, through a veil of tears] The girls are fighting~

Anyway, if this was an actual published book you'd probably see a big [END OF ACT ONE] at the bottom of this chapter. The players are all on the board and moving to their respective locations so finally, FINALLY...

Next time: Tuliyollal Turnpike.

Chapter 16: Tuliyollal Turnpike

Despite everything that had happened, it felt good to be back behind the wheel again. Not driving yet, as the race was not due to begin for another hour, but simply sitting inside Shinryu , being poked and prodded and adjust this way and that by Nero’s fussing, feeling the rising anticipation start to reach a fever pitch and force the lingering grey to flee before its furious tide. He had given up this joy, this elation, to face the woman who had turned his father into a shell of his former self. Now he sat where he was born to sit, preparing to do what he was born to do, and…

And something felt just ever so slightly off . Something he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Nero had sworn up and down that any adjustments made for Kasumi’s slighter size had been accounted for, but… Ah. That was it. Zenos climbed out of Shinryu and examined the seat. Sure enough, a small hole had been cut out of the seat at its back to accommodate a tail. A tail he did not possess.

“Something wrong, Galvus?” Nero’s head poked out from under Tsukuyomi ’s carriage, eyebrows raised in concern. Sanda looked up from her position perched on the stool, wide-eyed and ready to jump to attention at any moment. Nero had, against all odds, managed to procure her a Steelworks jumpsuit, and while she’d barely had a chance to learn the basics of vehicle maintenance, she was a surprisingly quick learner. It sparked something warm in Zenos to see her throwing herself so fully into her new work, even if it was simply to keep up appearances.

“The seat,” Zenos said as he stretched and shook out slightly stiff limbs. “I would ask that you fill in the hole, if you are able. I would rather do without the distraction on the track.” Not when my rival will push me for all I’m worth.

“The seat? Oh, seven hells, the seat!” Nero scrambled out from under Tsukuyomi and stalked over to Shinryu to survey the hole in question. “I knew I was missing something, I bloody knew it! Washi!” Sanda snapped immediately to attention. “Not a word of this to your sister. She’ll tell Garlond and he’ll never let me live it down.” Nero sighed sharply, hands on his hips, and nibbled on his lower lip to keep an irritated sigh from being released. “Quick fix is all we’ll have time for. We’ll need some sealant. Washi, go get it. Tool cabinet, probably buried near the bottom. Take care not to stab yourself.”

Sanda was off before Nero had finished speaking, her eagerness to do something outshining all else. Something had changed in her since Garlemald, but she had at least pushed through the dreadful silence that had cast her in its pall after seeing her sister again. Their bond was something truly powerful, to pull Sanda out of her terror and let her heal. Zenos couldn’t help but feel a pang at it, a sense that he had failed somehow in not doing the same, but he could not place why. There is much I have yet to define about all of this. Would that I had the time and expertise to do so.

All of a sudden the urge to wander came upon him, restlessness taking his steps out of the garage before he had time to think it through. Perhaps it was the nerves. Perhaps it was the need to leave Nero and his protege to their devices for a time. Or perhaps he simply… needed to be alone.

He made it all of a few metres before catching sight of Yotsuyu and Arashi pressed against the wall of the garage, too caught up with one another to notice him. The pair were roughly obscured by a collection of carefully stacked boxes, but not well enough to disguise their frenzied movements. Apparently they needed to blow off their own steam. Zenos swiftly moved along as a blush rose to his cheeks. Their boldness was something he still struggled to comprehend, even with Sanda to contend with. Perhaps if he felt such urges more strongly he would-

“Oh!” A soft thud against his chest brought him to a sudden stop as a young hyur woman bounced sharply off it. Were it not for his quick thinking she would have fallen to the ground in a heap, but instead she found herself caught against one of his great arms. “Oh, thank you! So sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts.” The woman disentangled herself from his gentle grip and offered him an apologetic smile. She was a small thing, barely taller than Sanda and rather thin besides. Her waves of dull brown hair fell just short of her neck, and her skin tone was a good deal paler than most Turali residents. Her uniform, however, marked her as one of the mechanics on the Turali side of the Grand Prix. Curious.

“The fault is mine,” Zenos replied, his father’s repeated drills on politeness and social convention rising to the surface as if on cue. “I should have taken more care with my steps.” It was so easy to miss the things around him when he was lost in his thoughts, all the more when trying to give a particularly bold pair the privacy they had forgotten to ask for.

“Well, regardless of whose fault it is, you have my thanks.” The woman sketched a shockingly formal curtsey as she looked up at him, only to freeze partway through as her eyes widened. “Wait a moment. You’re Zenos Galvus, aren’t you? The former champion of the Eorzean Grand Prix!”

“I am,” Zenos confirmed, a sudden uncertainty snaking through him. From her accent the strange woman could have been Eorzean, but something about her formalities and mannerisms struck him as peculiar. Still, he took her suddenly outstretched hand all the same and gave it a gentle shake.

“My name’s Gemma! I’m a mechanic-in-training with the Dawn’s Promise team. I’ve heard a great deal about you from Lama- I mean, Wuk Lamat! I take this to mean you’ll be participating in today’s race?”

“I shall, yes.” It was hardly a secret to the staff, though Nanamo had asked him to keep his presence minimal so as not to spoil the surprise to the public. “I look forward to testing myself against the best Tural has to offer.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are!” Gemma’s smile was wide and eager, but unlike Nerva’s Zenos felt not a trace of malice in it. “And believe me, the feeling’s mutual. Wuk Lamat hasn’t stopped talking about her excitement to face the great Suzaku and Tsukuyomi at last. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees you out there too!”

Zenos, despite his wariness, found himself smiling too. “Then I shall have to ensure it is an encounter worthy of us all.” Shinryu demands nothing less of me.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Gemma grinned fiercely, apparently just as eager to see the inevitable clash as her driver was to experience it. “Oh, if I may be so bold, might I beg a favour of you?”

Zenos braced himself. “Go on.”

Gemma apparently caught his apprehension, her mouth shaping a perfect ‘O’ as her eyebrows shut upwards. “Please, fear not it’s nothing serious! I simply wanted to beg for some of your time after the race is over. There are some things I’d like to discuss with you, if you have the time.”

Part of Zenos wanted to reject her out of hand, but that was the side of him that couldn’t stop seeing Nerva’s cold smile, or his mother’s cold fury. I will not let them control me. “I will discuss the matter with my companion. I trust you will allow her to join me if I accept?”

“I would be honoured to host you both, of course!” It was subtle, but Zenos saw the light in Gemma’s eyes dim just slightly. “But I’d best not delay you any further. Good luck out there, sir Galvus! May your return be a triumphant one!” She gave him one more smile before manoeuvring around him with a pleasant hum. Zenos returned her smile with a nod of farewell and continued on his way. There was still time before the race, and he intended to-

“Oh my! Goodness, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude!”

Ah. Belatedly Zenos realised he should have warned Gemma not to venture too close to his garage. Let us hope this first impression does not colour her perception of them too much.

---

“Racers, start your engines!” The announcer’s booming voice rang out over the frenzied crowd. Arashi grinned and checked her helmet one more time. All straps secured, horns are fully covered, headset’s working. All good. Beside her she saw Alisaie doing the same, though with a muffled curse as the elezen realised she hadn’t fully secured herself. Alisaie had arrived two days prior, full of questions, excitement, energy. Arashi had promised to explain everything after the race, but privately she suspected Yotsuyu would delay that explanation further to enjoy some time alone again. As if her little stunt earlier hadn’t been enough.

The woman in question had taken her place to Arashi’s left, apparently entirely unconcerned about her sins. The Eorzean division had been given the front row to make up for the Turalis’ home-field advantage, but Yotsuyu had scoffed and insisted that she could leave everyone else in the dust regardless of their position. Thankfully she hadn’t said it within earshot of the Commissioner.

Beyond Tsukuyomi lay Shinryu , having been driven out by Zenos himself. The man had come out fully suited and helmeted, presumably to keep the surprise of his reappearance for as long as possible. But it was difficult indeed to mistake his broad-shouldered, hornless body with Kasumi, and already people in the front row of the crowd were beginning to whisper amongst themselves.

But there was no time to consider just how much the crowds had realised, for the first set of lights suddenly flashed on. Everyone on the track snapped to attention, the rest of the world falling away as the track ahead of them became their sole focus.

The second set of lights flickered into life, ruby red and brilliant against the black background. Arashi’s heart began to thunder despite herself, despite her fears, despite everything. Lyse and Kasumi and Sanda and all the rest faded away. Only the race ahead of her mattered.

One more set of lights. Gleaming amber this time. It took an effort of will not to rush ahead already. She could feel the excitement burning away in her core, in Suzaku ’s engine, churning, whirling, ready to be unleashed, ready to-

Green. GO! Arashi hurtled forward in a heady rush as fifteen other racers charged forward with her. Tuliyollal’s signature track looped into and around the new town, built barely half a decade ago as the people’s clamour for a Grand Prix of their own was finally answered. It was modelled off of the Kugane Chase, winding through what had a few days before been packed city streets and almost kissing the great mountain that housed the former palace of the Dawnservants before rounding back on itself and into the main stadium. It was a tangled, vibrant mess of a track and Arashi could already tell she was going to love it.

Of course, first she had to survive her first race on it, and a particularly belligerent pair of Mamool Ja seemed intent on making that difficult. Normally Suzaku ’s natural speed and handling would have been enough to open a sizeable gap early on in the race, with Tsukuyomi catching up later on. But apparently someone hadn’t told the Turali racers that, for Suzaku was being hemmed in on both sides by a pair of massive four-wheeled monstrosities. They had to be massive to house the towering pair that sat in them, both grinning in evil-intentioned unison.

“Seems this little lizard doesn’t understand the way we do things around here, brother!” The Hoobigo shouted over her head to her companion, punctuating her declaration with a malicious chuckle. Her ramshackle ride looked to be made more of scrap metal than anything else, but the heart of it beat with furious intensity, matched only by its twin on Arashi’s right.

“It certainly does seem that way, doesn’t it, sister?” The Boonewa man gave her a cruel smile as his telescopic eye met her stony gaze. “Shall we teach her the easy way or the hard way?”

“Oh, you know it’s got to be the- HEY! GET BACK HERE!” Apparently neither of them had realised Suzaku still had higher speeds she yearned to reach, for neither were prepared for Arashi surging forward ahead of them and snaking around the next turn. So nice to know that arsehole from the markets will be a regular pain in my tail.

She could already hear the twin roars of their engines rising in pitch as they tried to catch up to her, but Arashi was around the bend and crashing through the first set of aether cannisters, hurtling down the rapidly narrowing track as buildings crowded in on either side. She could vaguely make out people leaning out the upper windows, waving banners and scarves dyed to match their favourites. Amidst the riot of colour she caught the red and blue of Garlond Ironworks among them.

It was all she needed to surge forward with a whoop of exhilaration, much to her lone fan’s approval as she soared past.

The elation lasted all of a few seconds before a jolt of electricity slammed into the back of Suzaku , shutting off her engine and, for a few briefly terrifying moments, sending her careening freely towards the nearest wall. With a jerk of the handlebars and a dash of luck she was able to stop herself from smearing against it, but the bump of impact sent a shudder through her as she fought to restart her engine.

Just in time Suzaku sputtered back into furious life, just in time Arashi was able to accelerate out through the narrow streets and onto the main track again, for not a moment later the Mamool Ja pair flew out with twin cackles, followed shortly after by the rest of the pack. Bloody pair is more persistent than Bakool Ja Ja was...

“I TOLD YOU, GIRL! YOU LEARN TO RESPECT THE PECKING ORDER, OR YOU LEARN TO-” The Hoobigo didn’t get much further as their wheels suddenly froze in place, sending them spinning out with a wild wail. Arashi took advantage of the confusion to slam into the side of the Boonewa, arming her own aether cannister to send a wall of earth crashing directly into him. His cry of thwarted frustration quickly faded away, replaced by a much more familiar engine’s roar.

“Were those guys bothering you?” Phoenix ’s driver pulled ahead of the pack to reach Arashi’s side. While she couldn’t see Alisaie’s face, Arashi could tell she was grinning more smugly than a coeurl with cream. Her aether cannister was suspiciously empty.

“I could have handled them, you know!” Couldn’t let Alisaie get too big a head. Which meant she’d have to pick up the pace and leave Phoenix in the dust sooner rather than later.

“Oh yes, of course you could have! Which is obviously why you let them almost turn you into a stain on the walls!” Alisaie shot Arashi a withering glare through the narrow band of her visor, but said no more. Both she and Arashi had other things to worry about all of a sudden.

Shinryu was gaining on them.

And not just Shinryu . Tsukuyomi was not to be outdone, and shortly behind her chased another pair of silvery steeds, more like works of art than proper cars. Not that it stopped them from gaining ground on Nero’s masterworks as if it came naturally to them.

“Truce?”

“Truce!”

 

…

It should have been an easy race, all things considered. Yotsuyu had studied her new rivals prior to their first encounter and found them, for the most part, underwhelming. The Mamool Ja idiots talked a big game but would be easily pushed to one side. The viera woman enjoyed playing with her food too much to present a serious threat, and the hrothgar man from another star was simply too kind to make good on his superb driving. As for the other hrothgar and viera, they were clearly skilled but lacked the refinement they needed to go up against Tsukuyomi and win. That and their vehicles were two bad knocks away from the scrapheap.

But nobody had informed her of the two silver-clad newcomers. Nobody had informed her of their superb teamwork and co-ordination. Nobody had informed her that one of them wouldn’t stop bloody shouting at her.

“VILLAIN! You shall go no further! The proud legacy of Alexandria shall not be sullied by your filth for as long as I draw breath!” The hyur man had to fight hard to be audible over the heavy thrum of his engine, but he managed all the same. Yotsuyu cursed as his gleaming beast of a vehicle veered into her as they rounded another corner, trying to create more distance only to find herself pincered by the vehicle’s twin. The other racer had said not a word the entire time, but Yotsuyu could feel the furious intensity radiating off her all the same.

They were, it seemed, both completely insane.

They were also frighteningly good racers.

Like hells I’m going to lose to these vainglorious fools. Yotsuyu snarled and slammed a fist against the waiting aether cannister, conjuring a tide of furious water around her to force her would-be rivals apart and allow her to slip through the gap. Shinryu was just ahead of her now, while Suzaku and Phoenix were not much further ahead. Which was exactly what Yotsuyu was hoping for, given another set of aether cannisters awaited just ahead of them. Just one good shot is all I need, then-

The world vanished into darkness. She heard, rather than saw, Zenos’s tires screech as he found himself similarly blinded, caught up in the cloud of pure darkness aether along with her. It was a suffocating thing, cloying and clawing and trying to blot out every last trace of light around her. But it was also poorly timed. All Yotsuyu had to do was listen out for Zenos to avoid running into him and keep her car from turning and the pair were soon out and free with plenty of straightforward track left to spare.

A little too zealous for your own good, aren’t you? Yotsuyu smirked as Tsukuyomi gained more and more ground over her rivals, now almost neck-and-neck with the mighty Shinryu . While Zenos was still no slouch behind the wheel, he was also two years out of practice and dealing with all of the tiny changes made to his old vehicle to accommodate Kasumi’s needs. And though she could feel the steadily rising dynamis pulsing around her, she also knew that it was still much too weak to even the odds in Zenos’s favour just yet. All she had to do was overtake him, gain enough vital seconds ahead, then victory would be as good as hers.

Or it would, were it not for her wife and irritating hanger-on jockeying for first place. A problem, but not a difficult one to resolve. Already the pair were bickering with one another following the rapid dismantling of the Mamool Ja that had sought to muscle in on them. Arashi was gesturing furiously as they crashed through the aether cannisters, while Alisaie looked ready to run her partner off the road. It was almost theatrically dramatic, the two making it quite clear that… Wait.

It was theatre! Yotsuyu’s eyes widened and she swerved hard through the cannisters as a twin wave of water and lightning suddenly crashed towards her from the formerly bickering pair. Zenos was slower, but still just fast enough to avoid the sudden elemental cascade heading his way. Their persistent pursuers, however, were not so lucky. The shouty one was caught in the wave and tossed aside with a final cry of villainy, while the silent one found her engine shorting out violently enough to send her crumpling against the nearby wall. Both seemed unharmed, but they would not be challenging the leaders of the race again.

And a good thing too, for all Yotsuyu had to show for her efforts was useless light aether. She could use it to send Alisaie hurtling towards the nearest flat object, but it would barely even slow Arashi down. And then there was Zenos to contend with, who was more and more rapidly growing used to Shinryu ’s new quirks and turning them to his advantage.

That, and his own dashboard glowed a dull red following his collision with the cannisters. Some people get all the luck.

They were coming up to the final few turns now as the course finished its long loop around the new town. The track had widened considerably, but after the turns came a final long stretch that narrowed almost to a pin-prick, only widening again at the very final stretch before the finish. Whoever gained the lead in that narrow pass would most surely win, making it all the more important to gain the lead here and now. Yotsuyu slammed on the accelerator with all the force she could muster, silently willing Tsukuyomi to find the speed it needed to forge ahead and force its way through.

Zenos had other ideas.

Flames erupted from Shinryu as it surged forward with all the inevitability of the tides, forcing past Yotsuyu, parting Suzaku and Phoenix with ease and singing past them, drifting around the next corner like it had known the track all its life. Yotsuyu wanted to snarl, wanted to curse and cry and claw back whatever lead she could salvage. But in the end, all she could do was stare.

Stare at the vanishing back of the man who had rediscovered that he was a prodigy all along.

…

It was like Vylbrand all over again. Watching Zenos so effortlessly clinch what Arashi had fought so hard for as if it meant nothing at all to him. Watching Alisaie’s face fall as she saw everything she’d built up be snatched away in front of her. Watching the track narrow more and more until it was quite impossible to overtake him even with the slender frame of Suzaku and Phoenix .

But Arashi’s heart hadn’t sung with such excitement back in Vylbrand. She hadn’t felt the feral hunger and vicious glee that she felt now. She hadn’t seen the challenge for what it was.

But she had felt the dynamis then, just as she felt it now. Calling on her to do the impossible anyway, and to the seven hells with the consequences. Against Alisaie’s shout of protest she shot forward into the narrowing track, Suzaku rising to the challenge with an excited roar of her own as bike and rider synchronised for the sole, shining chance to slay a dragon once again.

The aether cannisters were too far ahead to make a difference. They were a formality, a final desperate chance for the competitors to make a grasp at a victory long since fallen out of their grasp. But the racers of the past hadn’t been able to reach for something else. They had felt it, most likely, had known instinctively that it was all around them, but they lacked the knowledge to take it for their own.

Arashi had no such trouble.

She reached for the dynamis with a furious cry at the same moment she smashed through the final aether cannisters. Shinryu was too far ahead still, too distant a target to challenge, and the glowing ice aether of her recently claimed cannister would do nothing to close that gap in any way that mattered. Her attempt would end in failure, she knew that. She just didn’t care. She closed her fist and pulled the dynamis into her. She felt it respond to her desire. And she slammed the cannister into place and let the torrent of aether and dynamis mingle.

Into a ramp.

If I can’t get around him, I’ll just have to get over him instead. Suzaku found just enough purchase on the slippery incline to keep its speed, rushing headlong up and over and off it and finally, truly flying. It wouldn’t be enough, that much was obvious. She would land just behind Shinryu, a beautiful but futile final effort to deny him his victory. But if she had to lose, she would lose gnashing and clawing and forcing herself to fight to her very last breath.

She didn’t feel someone else reaching for the dynamis too. She didn’t see the sudden bolt of light aether until it enveloped Suzaku in its radiance. But she felt it pulse and saw Suzaku rise just a little higher, be propelled just a little faster, as for just a moment the bike gained the wings of its namesake.

And then she was crashing down mere inches ahead of Shinryu , inches before the finish line, hurtling across it before she even knew what was happening, before either she or Zenos could process what had just occurred. It wasn’t until she’d finally ground to a halt that she registered the screaming crowds all shouting her name.

Zenos pulled to a stop beside her, looking entirely stunned. Arashi dismounted and jogged over to him, helping him out of Shinryu and tugging off her helmet. “That was… breathtaking,” Zenos finally managed. He yanked off his own helmet to reveal a feral grin and terrifyingly intense eyes. “To face you again after all this time… I’d forgotten how my heart sings at the chance to test myself against you. Thank you for the reminder.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Arashi said through shaky breaths. Her whole body was shivering as the adrenaline faded away. She stumbled a little, only to be caught by Alisaie as she rocketed across the finish line and leapt off Phoenix to reach her partner. A few seconds later she was joined by Yotsuyu, who looked predictably smug as she sauntered over to her wife’s side. Who else but her would have forced that list bit of dynamis to send Arashi over the finish line?

Arashi found herself caught in the congratulations of her friends, but she couldn’t fully focus on it. Her eyes found themselves drawn to the crowd, scanning them for the face she always expected to see. The woman who had joined her through thick and thin, who had been there to support her ever since that fateful meeting in Ala Mhigo. Who had always cheered loudest and hardest for her and Alisaie.

But Lyse wasn’t present. She and Kasumi had already ventured off into Shaaloani to dig up what information they could before heading into Neo Alexandria. It didn’t stop Arashi from staring though, trying in vain to find the woman who wasn’t there.

And finding instead the woman in white who was.

Notes:

Unfortunately I must confess that I really, REALLY enjoy writing absolute arrogant morons. They just tickle my brain in a way that I can't escape from.

Anyway all this to say I hope you like the lizard idiots (big) because they're far from done with me yet. Also hi god, how ya doing. Didn't know you were a Mario Kart fan.

Chapter 17: Hunting

They were fast, Lyse gave them that. But they were far from subtle.

Lyse easily weaved past another clumsy punch and returned the favour with a heavy fist to her assailant’s gut. They crumpled in a wheezing heap by her feet, but already another thug was rushing in to try and grab her. They weren’t prepared for her to suddenly duck, tumbling headlong over her and landing with a heavy thud behind her. Lyse followed up with a sharp scything kick down on their arm, causing them to cry out in pain as it broke with an audible snap.

Just in time for the first man to regain his breath and charge at her with a furious shout. Amateur, really. Lyse’s body shifted to the right, save for an outstretched leg to catch the fool on his way past. He went tripping, stumbling, then finally tumbling over his friend. Lyse rushed in with a sharp chop against his neck, ensuring he would not get up again.

She turned with a cocky grin towards the rest of the ragged gang blocking the alleyway. “That was a good warm-up. Anyone else want a go?”

Predictably, they did not. Nor did they stick around to try and help their injured friends, instead choosing to scatter to the four winds of the under-city. Lyse sighed and blew away a strand of hair which had fallen over her eye during the fight. She’d been picking fights like this for three days now in the vain hope of getting the attention of Arcadion’s ringmasters. She was beginning to think they needed a change of tactic.

“Sorry about this,” Lyse murmured as she bent down and left a sack of gil next to the two injured men. “Get yourselves patched up and get out of here, okay? You deserve better than all this.” It wasn’t much, but the small recompense eased her guilt at starting fights with kids that didn’t deserve it.

Wary for a sudden ambush (it wouldn’t be the first time), Lyse emerged out of the alley to find the street ahead empty of people. This late out it made sense for it to be so quiet, but Lyse had wandered into the alley noting at least one or two people loitering inside a doorway or looking for trouble. For them to be completely deserted meant either that the gang had warned the rest of the street’s former occupants about the violence-mad monster in the shape of a woman (unlikely, given their speedy exit), or someone or something else had cleared them out.

As a pair of au ra melted from the shadows to accompany her, it became clear who. Kasumi flashed her a weary smile, while Yugiri graced her with a simple nod. “Had to deal with some scouts looking to make life more difficult for you,” Kasumi explained as she drew close enough to link arms with Lyse. “They took off quickly enough when they saw a flash of steel.”

“But they didn’t see your face, right?” Their slapdash plan required Lyse’s companions to remain in the shadows while she worked, or at least to present themselves as relatively harmless.

“They caught a glimpse of yellow eyes, but that’s about it. Don’t worry, I was careful.” Kasumi flashed a playful grin, but it vanished upon seeing the look in Lyse’s eyes. Ever since her spat with Arashi she’d been unable to find the joy in things quite so easily. While they’d apologised to each other for their harsh words later in the night, the hurt feelings and discomfort about Lyse’s decision lingered right up until her departure. She kept thinking about the look in Arashi’s eyes as she and Kasumi set off across the great bridge. The mix of hope and fear and betrayal.

Arashi was a hypocrite still, but Lyse hadn’t realised how hard it was to be the one saying goodbye for a change.

Kasumi, as usual, was much better at keeping her emotions from finding their way onto her sleeve. Which made it all the harder to wake up finding her curled in on herself and weeping late at night. Arashi’s farewell with her soulmate had been exhausted, quietly furious, and deeply upset. “Come back alive. Then we’ll talk.”

“Something wrong?” Kasumi squeezed Lyse’s arm hard enough to jolt her back to reality. Lyse shook her head and gave Kasumi what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Nothing we can do anything about. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” The look on Kasumi’s face told her she was unconvinced, but she said no more. Lyse didn’t miss the flicker of pain behind her eyes as the au ra turned away to face Yugiri instead.

“And how about you? Any hurts to air?” Kasumi’s lopsided smile took the sting out of her words, if only a little. “Promise I’m a better listener than you’d think.”

“I’ve aired what grievances I need to,” Yugiri primly replied. “And you should know them well enough to keep them under lock and key.”

Kasumi gave her a blank look before understanding bloomed. “Ah yes. Fear not, my lips are sealed.” The look the two auri women shared was downright conspiratorial. Lyse immediately wanted to pry into whatever secrets they were keeping between them, but she held herself back. This was neither the time nor the place to beg scraps from her friends.

The great spire that had once been known as Everkeep no longer stood under a barrier of lightning aether. It had not for thousands of years, and with any luck it never would again. But the mass of electrope that made up its building blocks still crackled with the potential energy it had once been bathed in all that time ago, never quite decaying, never quite fading away. The people it had once housed, refugees from another world and trapped citizens of another, had for the most part gone separate ways after the restoration of the Ninth, but a stubborn few had remained to maintain the city that for so long had been their last refuge.

That stubborn few had grown as others found their way to the technological marvel that had once been a desperate people’s last hope. More and more had settled down, formed bonds and set down roots to bind them to it. Those people had discarded the city’s old name in favour of something new. Neo Alexandria. A beacon of remembrance for one world and a bitter memory that would rather be forgotten for another. As time went on those same people moved to the very upper levels, leaving the rest of the tower to the ravages of time. Never mind that some people had chosen not to, or simply could not move to the top two levels. Solution Nine had fared better than the tiers below it, but it had been abandoned by its higher-ups just the same.

Now it was mostly home to those that could find nowhere else they belonged. A near-empty level in a near-empty tower, stubbornly clinging on and forming something approaching a life worth living as best they could. It should have been no surprise that Zoraal Ja had set up shop here, preying on the people who had lost all direction in their lives, offering them gilded promises only to use them for all they were worth and spit them out again.

Lyse had never met the man in their last life, but from how Arashi and Kasumi had described him, it seemed little had changed.

At least, that’s what it had seemed like at first. But the more Lyse dug into the man who had made himself their enemy, the less it all made sense. In the public eye Zoraal Ja was an excellent statesman, a man who put the needs of his people above personal gain time and time again. She had looked up videos of his speeches and seen a man who seemed to truly believe in bettering the people of Neo Alexandria, who had angled for the vacant Head of Reason position in the Turali government to further that agenda.

Then, two years ago, he had suddenly changed gears. He had withdrawn his campaign for election, had withdrawn from the public eye, had withdrawn as completely as a man of his position could, much to the shock of his campaign team, supporters, and his teenage son. Gulool Ja had described the change that had come over his father like another man had suddenly settled into his body. A stranger to everyone he had once knew.

It reminded Lyse unsettlingly of Zenos after Athena had sunk her claws into him. Which meant (hopefully) that the old Zoraal Ja might be drawn to the surface, or at least made to see reason. And if not… Lyse studied Kasumi and Yugiri out of the corner of her eye. We’ll do what we must.

“Almost there,” Kasumi murmured as she unlinked her arm from Lyse. “See you inside. Keep your wits about you.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Lyse replied as she kept on walking. Yaana had allowed them to stay in her gym for the time being while they scouted out the under-city. It was a small, quiet building, tucked away in what had once been the entertainment district of Solution 9. It had seen better days, but given the building was made of the same electrope as most everything else in the city, it had withstood the test of time better than most. Lyse knew it more intimately than she’d anticipated. Once it had been a bar that housed the resistance movement known as Oblivion. Once she and Arashi had stood within its walls and fought to unravel the mystery of Sphene and the monster known as Calyx. Once upon a time.

Now it was under watch, and had been since shortly after Lyse’s arrival.

The observer had been subtle enough that it had taken Yugiri’s eyes to pick them out amidst the neon glow of street lights and various advertisements. What their intentions were and why they had chosen now of all times to take such an interest in it was anyone’s guess, but Lyse found herself thankful (and not for the first time) that they had found more secretive ways of getting in and out of the gym. As far as the observer knew, Lyse was its sole occupant. Best that they kept believing that until their intentions were better known.

The door to the gym slid open easily enough just as it always had, sliding shut again almost as soon as Lyse stepped through it. Only when it had fully shut out the city behind her that Lyse allowed herself a long, unhappy sigh. She was starting to lose hope that they’d ever find their way into Arcadion. Fareena was certain that if Lyse stirred up enough trouble she’d find herself recruited soon enough, but so far she’d had no such luck. Perhaps I should-

Lyse froze as her eyes caught a faint shimmer in the corner of the room, just behind one of the treadmills. For a moment she thought it was simply a trick of the light, but then the shimmer shifted just slightly in reaction to her gaze. It had been spotted and it knew it. Best seize the advantage while I still have it.

“Whoever you are, come out where I can see you.” Lyse injected as much false confidence into her voice as she could manage. She ignored the sudden raising of her pulse, the tightening of the world around her, the sudden urge to shift into opo-opo stance. Not yet. There was still a chance to keep things from getting violent. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.

“I’m impressed.” The shimmer straightened, walked forward with near-inaudible pads, positioned itself on the other side of the gym, facing Lyse. Their voice was impossible to place, but the cadence was oddly familiar. “There’s few indeed who can spot me so easily. That explains Arcadion’s interest in you, even if you’re as subtle in your advertising as a rroneek in heat.. But a word of warning, friend. That place will do you no favours, no matter what you’ve been told.”

Lyse’s heart skipped a beat. Arcadion’s interested in me? It was working. The plan was working! An effort of will kept the excitement from her face as she replied, “I know the risks. But I have to try. My family needs the money and I’m the only one strong enough to try.”

The shimmer appeared to shrug. “Well, can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Then the shimmer became a blur as it rushed Lyse, silent and full of malicious intent. It was instinct more than anything that pushed Lyse’s arms into a cross before her face, but that instinct caught a vicious blow intended for her nose. The shimmer blurred to Lyse’s left, aiming to disorient and confuse her while they dismantled her. So Lyse did what she did best. She improvised.

The shimmer wasn’t expecting her to jerk suddenly forward and sweep her leg in a wide circle, just as she wasn’t expecting to catch its legs with her wild move. But she had, so she capitalised by leaping at where the shimmer had landed in an attempt to pin it down. If her theory was right they was using a regulator to power their invisibility, so her best option was to find it and rip it off. Unfortunately, the shimmer was too fast to be caught so easily, rolling away and leaping to their feet with a growl. Lyse was just as quick to rise to hers, bouncing on her heels with a grin. This was what she was good at. It felt good to finally get back to it.

A jab came at her gut, was caught and repelled. Another jab aimed for her suddenly open face, was caught against a forearm. The kick caught her, though, sending her stumbling back with a woosh of air. The shimmer was on her in an instant, but Lyse was ready. Its next kick found itself trapped between her hands, jerked violently to the right as Lyse twisted with it. This time she didn’t let go as her attacker fell to the floor, using the leg as leverage to keep them from rolling free as she reached for their other leg.

It found her instead, delivering another savage blow against her side. It was enough for Lyse to loosen her grip, just enough for the trapped leg to kick its way free and scramble away. “I’m trying to help you, you idiot!” The shimmer was breathing more heavily now as it backed out of Lyse’s effective range. “You’re signing your own death warrant if you let them take you!”

“Then that’s a risk I’ll just have to-”

It was a mistake to answer back, Lyse realised, as the shimmer suddenly sprang forward and headbutted her. A classic blunder, letting her guard down against someone with no intention of seeing reason. Never mind that she was just as stubborn. Lyse saw stars as she stumbled back, hands instinctively going to her throbbing nose to inspect the damage. Not broken, by the feel of it. But suddenly she had more pressing issues as her opponent slid behind her back, one arm closing around her throat. A textbook choke-hold, right down to the other arm pinning her arms against her sides to keep her from fighting back.

“I’m going to stop you, one way or another!” The shimmer declared as it choked the life out of her. “I won’t let anyone else throw their lives away for that monster! I won’t!” The stars were coming back in force now, the world getting dark. Lyse flexed and groaned, tried in vain to free her arms, but to no avail. I’ve got to get free. If I don’t, I-

A memory flew to the surface. Kasumi with her arm around Lyse’s neck, crowing so hungrily about her victory, so happy with herself to have turned the tables on her teacher only to go arse over foot as Lyse had shifted her weight. A desperate gamble, but worth a shot. Lyse threw herself forward in a lurch, her back bowing until it was almost horizontal. It was enough to ease the shimmer’s grip as they were suddenly jerked forward. Just enough for her to get her arm free, to smash it as hard as she could into the face of her attacker. Suddenly Lyse could breathe again as the shimmer wailed and clutched their face, blood now dripping from what was (with any luck) a freshly broken nose.

“You little shit! Fine, if you refuse to listen to reason, I’ll just have to-”

Kasumi’s body caught the shimmer square in centre mass, flinging them to the ground before they knew what was going on. The au ra’s movements were wild, frantic, as they beat ceaselessly down on the suddenly defensive shimmer. “I!” Slam. “Won’t!” Slam. “Let!” Slam. “You!” Slam. “Take her from me!” Slam slam slam slam. The shimmer went limp against the repeated assault, apparently knocked fully unconscious.

Lyse staggered forward and grabbed Kasumi by the arm, keeping the flailing woman from doing any further damage. “I’m okay,” she said, only now starting to believe it. “I’m okay.”

Kasumi had to be pulled off of the shimmering figure, her eyes unfocused and glowing furious yellow and her breathing ragged and heavy. Yugiri, thankfully, had not been far behind, and was more than happy to take up the job of keeping an eye on their intruder. Lyse held Kasumi until the frenzy fell away, letting her return to herself in her own time, the pair shaking from exertion and panic and the kind of wild energy that came from a life-or-death encounter.

Only when she was certain that Kasumi would be alright did Lyse allow herself to untangle herself from the au ra and turn to the intruder. Yugiri was tugging gently at something around where their head should have been, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Eventually the regulator came free and the figure suddenly blurred back into visibility. Lyse half-suspected who she would see lying on the floor of the gym, but to see it confirmed was still a shock. A miqo’te woman, slender and lithe and lightly tanned, her neatly braided and pony-tailed hair a faint lilac that burst into brilliant blue at its ends. Even unconscious the family resemblance was uncanny.

“Yugiri?” Lyse called over her shoulder, “Watch over these two, would you? I need to go and find Yaana.” Lyse took a steadying breath as she stared at her attacker.

“We’ve just found her sister.”

 

Notes:

Checkhov's Chokehold is one of his lesser-known storytelling devices, but it has its uses nonetheless.

Next time, Arashi has a close encounter and goes to a bar. Probably in that order, too.

Chapter 18: Afterglow

Hydaelyn. Venat!

Arashi stared up at the woman who by all rights should have been reduced to cosmic dust. The impossible woman stared back at her. Alive. Returned to the star she’d given her very soul to protect. Watching her brave little spark race, of all things. Then Venat turned away and vanished into the roaring crowds before Arashi could say anything, do anything to make her stop. Not that it would have helped. They were too far apart, too overwhelmed by the manic energy of the fervent audience.

But she was alive. Alive!

A thousand unanswered questions sprang to Arashi’s mind, all far too late to get an answer to them. How had she returned? Why hadn’t she come to find Arashi before? How long had she been wandering the world? Was she still Unsundered? Was she still a god? Why-

“Arashi?”

Alisaie’s worried expression cut across Arashi’s field of vision, finally breaking the spell that had held her in place. “Are you alright? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“I did, I think...” Arashi took great pleasure in seeing the look on Alisaie’s face as she said, “I think I just saw Hydaelyn watching the race.”

Alisaie’s mouth hung open as she stared in what must have been a mirror to Arashi’s own a few moments ago. “Hydaelyn.” Her voice came out flat and disbelieving. “As in, capital H Hydaelyn. The source of the Mothercrystal. The one who Sundered Zodiark. The one who the Warrior of Light and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn faced back in the Final Days?

“Yes. That Hydaelyn.” Their final test. The woman who had set Arashi on her journey all those years ago. “I know it sounds impossible, but it was her. I know it. I felt it.”

“Okay, you’re right, that is several different kinds of impossible, but I guess we’ll just have to add it to the list of impossible things that keep happening around you.” Alisaie’s ability to take things in stride was an admirable quality, if nothing else. By this point the remainder of the racers had crossed the finish line and were making their way off the track, either to glorious cheers or gentle commiseration. Yotsuyu hadn’t waited for Arashi before escorting Tsukuyomi back to her garage, so Arashi and Alisaie made their way back together.

Cid, predictably enough, was torn between outrage that Arashi had once again risked his pride and joy on such a reckless attempt to steal a meaningless victory and elation that she’d given him more ammunition to lord over Nero. Eventually the latter emotion won, though not without getting a promise out of Arashi that she’d never try something so stupid again. They both knew it was an empty promise, practically made to be broken, but the gesture eased his heart at least.

After the vehicles were secured it was time for the post-race press conference, which was, for all the ways the Turali Grand Prix differed from its Eorzean counterpart, almost identical in how utterly insufferable Arashi found it. She suffered through the minimum amount of questions she could bear before ducking out in her usual fashion, once again adding to her completely unearned mystique.

Yotsuyu found her as she was stripping off her suit in the changing rooms. Arashi had gotten rather used to her wife surprising her with sudden embraces, so it was no great surprise to feel Yotsuyu’s slender fingers suddenly slipping around her hips, gently stroking her scales as Arashi leaned back against her wife.

“I assume you understand who you have to thank for your narrow victory today?” Yotsuyu purred against Arashi’s horn in a way she knew damn well made her poor lover weak in the knees. Evil woman.

“Name your price, then.” Arashi tried to make her voice a defiant growl, but what came out instead was significantly less impressive than she’d hoped. It didn’t help that Yotsuyu’s lips were still barely a hair’s breadth from her horn, the hyur’s breath hot and ticklish in a way that Arashi could barely stand. Which Yotsuyu was more than happy to weaponise.

“Later,” the woman in question whispered, her voice dripping with promise. “Right now I’m far more interested in claiming my consolation prize.” Yotsuyu was, Arashi realised belatedly, a good deal less clothed than she’d initially assumed. “Having to watch you and Galvus leave me in the dust so effortlessly.” Her fingers slid forward, tracing along the lines of Arashi’s hip bones. “Knowing even that Leveilleur brat was going to cross the finish line ahead of me.” Her grip tightened ever so slightly but relaxed just as quickly. “And when I try to congratulate you, I find you staring out into the crowd instead. Were I not so generous, I’d assume you’d already grown bored of me.”

“Never,” Arashi insisted through a faint shudder as Yotsuyu’s hands suddenly made it so much harder to focus on what she was saying. “Gods, at least let me take a shower first!”

“After going to all the trouble of locking the doors and ensuring we have some time alone?” Yotsuyu’s breathy chuckle awakened Arashi’s appetite in ways few other things could. “I think not.” It was so tempting to let Yotsuyu have her way, and growing more appealing by the second. But…

“I know what you’re trying to do, you know.” Yotsuyu’s fingers froze in place. “Trying to keep me distracted, keeping me focused on the here and now. And I appreciate it, I really do, but…” But I can’t stop thinking of them when you touch me and it all feels so wrong to not have them here too. She swallowed the words before they could be spoken properly. It wasn’t fair to lay that at Yotsuyu’s feet, especially with everything her wife was likely also going through. It wasn’t just her lovers exposing themselves to danger.

“I’m sorry,” Yotsuyu murmured as her fingers slid upwards to link around Arashi’s stomach. “But you’re only half-right. I’m not just doing this for you.” Arashi tilted her head back to look up Yotsuyu in the eye. She found a whirling mess of bitterness and anxiety and pain staring back at her, all held back by baser instincts taking the wheel. A calculated surrender to her lust so she could drown out the fear.

Yotsuyu’s face was flushed, Arashi realised, her breath coming out in puffs and tickling Arashi’s nose, her eyes sparkling through the distress. “Please,” Yotsuyu whispered as she leaned down until their noses touched. “Let me have this. Just this once.”

Arashi’s lips found Yotsuyu’s without hesitation.

…

“Better?”

“Better. More?”

“More.”

…

It was customary among the Turali racers to celebrate their races, win or lose, together. Despite their differences and rivalries on the track, the post-race celebrations were hallowed ground, a time to patch over fresh wounds before they could fester or scar. Betool Ja had scoffed at the idea when Wuk Lamat had first suggested it. But Makool Ja had seen fit to give it a try, and he always had a way of making his ideas sound so reasonable to the point that she would have been a fool to refuse them.

It hadn’t been so bad, once she’d gotten some drink in her. Though she could have done without kitty cat’s smug look when she first heard Betool Ja laughing with her fellow racers. The morning after, fighting off the worst hangover she’d ever known, she began to remember at last what her soulbound sibling had come to understand shortly before her.

That had been five years ago now. Time had a way of flying past her these days.

The bar they’d chosen to teach the Eorzean division their ways in was enjoying a boom in popularity thanks to their patronage, and even more so when the race’s winner had been cajoled into buying everyone a round. The former Warrior of Light was already tipsy, her face flushed and her manner wild and free as she swapped tales of her exploits with Cahciua. The older viera woman had a light in her eyes that Betool Ja had never seen before. Damn adventurers. Can’t stop yourselves, can you?

To Arashi’s right, Yotsuyu was considerably less comfortable as Wuk Lamat talked her ear off about whatever she could come up with. It was obvious to anyone who knew the hrothgar that she was nervous, but Betool suspected all Yotsuyu could see was the teeth. As if the kitten was ever going to use them for more than devouring tacos. Beside her Erenville was enduring the attention of the red catboy who wouldn’t shut up. Gar’huh, their name was, or something like that. The silver-haired elezen by his side was too busy flirting with his lover to moderate the Eorzean’s behaviour. Typical tourists.

Makool Ja had stuffed himself into the corner, taking up most of the table that the other white-haired Eorzean had found himself perched around. The pair were debating something or another, but Betool Ja found it difficult to care. Thancred Waters was not high on his list of welcome faces. Which was why Betool Ja had taken the seat at the very far end of the bar, obviously. She definitely wasn’t avoiding the woman who had once been a terrifying adversary, then a strange kind of friend. Makool Ja was a jackass to even suggest it.

Besides, a few of the newcomers hadn’t even bothered to show up. That uppity heir to the Galvus fortune had vanished along with his girlfriend and Wuk Lamat’s newest hanger-on. The other resident big cat was, more likely than not, enjoying a more private celebration with his wife. The rabbit and winged monstrosity didn’t drink, apparently. As for the new inductees to the Turali Grand Prix, they were too straight-laced to even listen to the offer. Which suited Betool Ja just fine, honestly. She’d never admit it, but they freaked her out.

Makool Ja was trying to make eye contact while keeping their conversation with Waters. Betool Ja ignored him and nursed her drink instead, noting with disappointment that it was almost empty already. Never enough drink in these things. The fact that her much larger size made it difficult to get intoxicated in the first place didn’t help. After how the race had gone she wanted nothing more than to drown her sorrows, but she couldn’t even do that right. Useless.

Her soulbound brother wasn’t even trying to be subtle any more. His left eye was jerking furiously between her and Arashi, while his right remained stubbornly fixed on Thancred. He’d argued long and hard that they should apologise for their recklessness earlier, but if she couldn’t take a little rough-housing, what kind of champion was she? Besides, everybody had seen her stunt in Ul’dah a few years back. It was fine. She’d probably forgotten all about it.

Except that the annoying little voice at the back of Betool Ja’s head wouldn’t shut up about making good on her mistakes. A voice that sounded just enough like kitty cat that Betool Ja got twitchy just listening to it. Fine! I’ll go smooth things over. She rose to her feet only to immediately smash her crest into the ungodly low ceiling, drawing more than a few stares from the inebriated patrons. Including the little lizard and kitty cat. Perfect. Just what I needed.

Well, no sense in stopping now. With a confidence she didn’t feel, Betool swaggered over to the bar and slammed her palm down on the counter between Arashi and her wife. It was admittedly a little satisfying seeing the troublemaker jump, even if it drew a glare from kitty cat.

“What do you want, Betool Ja?” The warning in Wuk Lamat’s voice was clear enough, but it was also easy enough to ignore. Betool Ja stared instead at the former Warrior of Light, who was staring just as intently back at her. Either that or she was struggling to focus. This was a mistake.

“Relax. I just want to talk to our guest here. In private.” It was difficult not to make it sound threatening, but Betool Ja tried. Hard. Judging by the look on the hrothgar’s face, it wasn’t working. To say nothing of the venom in the hyur woman’s eyes. Afraid I’m going to run off into the night with her? She’s not my type.

Thankfully there was one person on her side, though not the person she expected. “Alright then, let’s talk.” Arashi slid off her barstool with a slightly woozy stagger, her tail flipping one way and then the other to keep the balance that was currently evading her legs. The other women, even Cahciua, looked ready to jump to her defence, but she held up a slightly more steady hand. “I’ll be fine, relax. I can handle an overgrown lizard or two.” Arashi blinked unsteadily, then added, “Or three? Four? Stop multiplying, it’s unfair.”

...Just go with it. “Outside, then. Try not to throw up on the way there.” Betool Ja didn’t wait for a response before stalking through the rapidly parting crowds and ducking through the doorway. The sun had set a few hours ago, but the summer heat still clung to the air like an unpleasant house guest. The new town side of Tuliyollal didn’t have the sea air to cool it, a fact which tended to keep most tourists on the other side of the mountain. Arashi didn’t seem to mind as she stepped out from stifling, stale air inside to stifling, slightly less stale air outside. Must be the reptile in her.

“So, you wanted to talk?” There was a sharpness in her eyes that wasn’t there before. Was that just an act to make me let my guard down? Or do you already know what I’m about to ask?

“I… Yeah. Look, this isn’t easy for me to say, but… I’m sorry about earlier. My brother and I get a little to excited for our own good sometimes. We didn’t mean to almost splatter you against the wall. It just… happened.”

“Well, it’s hardly the first time these races have almost killed me,” Arashi replied with unsettling good cheer. “Forgiven. Just don’t do it again if you don’t want your vehicles scrapped.” Her accompanying grin was somehow worse. Betool Ja suppressed a shudder as Arashi turned back to enter the bar again.

“Wait!” She’d called out before she even knew what she was going to say next. Something, some desperation or need to be acknowledged or something spoke out before her reason could catch up. Arashi turned, one eyebrow raised in cautious curiosity as she stared up at the other woman. “You… You were at the markets the other week, right? We bumped into one another, didn’t we?” What the hell am I saying? Why would I ask that? Was she really about to go and reveal it all here and now?

“I think you have me mistaken for someone else.” Arashi smiled pleasantly, but her reply was just a little too smooth, her eyes just a little too pleasant for someone so suddenly tense. “My wife and I only arrived a week ago, with the rest of the Eorzean division.”

“No, you’re lying! I saw you, you were glamoured but I knew! You can’t hide the colour of your soul from me! Not after everything we went through together!” Arashi’s eyes widened. Betool Ja snapped her hands over her idiot mouth. I wasn’t supposed to say that! Maybe she really was drunk after all.

“What do you mean by that?” Arashi took a step closer, her eyes glittering enigmatically . For a moment Betool saw her. Not the woman she was now, but the woman she used to be, the one who had so terrified her brother and her back in their first life. The life that bound them together. The force of nature contained in such a tiny frame.

She knows. She has to know. “We’ve… Met. Before. This is going to sound crazy, but I know you. I fought you. It’s thanks to you that my people got to break free of the culture that drove us to such desperation as to…” As to make me. She trailed off lamely, staring at Arashi, knowing what was going to happen next. She’d laugh it off, call her mad or drunk or both, walk right back into the bar and-

“Gulool Ja Ja?” Arashi whispered with a wondrous stare.

“What?! No! I’m-”

Arashi’s face split into a terrible grin. She giggled, then cackled, then descended into a full-blown gale of laughter, doubling over, slapping her legs, tail swaying wildly as she turned red from lack of air. “The look on your… You really thought I… That I didn’t… Oh by the kami that was good! You’re so… It was so… You’ve got to stop making this too easy, Bakool Ja Ja!”

She knows. She knew all along . Somehow it was so, so much worse than her not knowing. At least that way Betool Ja could have made a better first impression this time around. Instead…

“So, about those tacos you still owe me!”

Notes:

Real ones know it is their solemn duty to bully Bakool Ja Ja as much as possible, reincarnated into different bodies or not. Arashi Washi is extremely real.

Chapter 19: Warning

“For the record,” Betool Ja spat between mouthfuls of tacos, “I don’t owe you shit.”

“And yet here we are,” Arashi retorted with a sugary smile. “Eating Tural’s greatest export under the stars together thanks to your generous nature!”

Her shit-eating grin lasted all the way until Betool Ja shoved her off the bench.

“Bastard,” Arashi muttered, but the light still danced in her eyes. She brushed off the remains of her taco from her shirt and took her seat next to the massive Mamool Ja again, still wary for another shove. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed you. I’m glad you made it here too. And your brother, of course, assuming the big guy chatting up Thancred is him.”

“You catch on quick. Wish I could say the feeling was mutual.” Betool Ja flashed Arashi a grin with just a few too many teeth to be comfortable. “Should’ve known trouble would come crashing into me sooner or later.”

“Trouble? I’ll have you know I’ve been on my best behaviour since I came here!” Well, mostly on her best behaviour. Yotsuyu was a bad influence, especially without Lyse or Kasumi to balance her out. Betool Ja, however, looked unconvinced.

“Uh-huh. Which is obviously why you and your little entourage came to Tuliyollal two weeks ahead of the rest of the Grand Prix wearing hasty glamours. I’m not stupid.” Arashi raised an eyebrow. “Don’t give me that look! I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I can put two and two together when it’s spelled out properly. And before you ask, no, I don’t want to know. I got roped into your messes before. I’m not letting it happen again.”

Good luck with that, Arashi thought to herself as she saw Betool Ja’s grimace. But the less people who got involved with the Galvuses and Zoraal Ja, the better. I don’t want your lives on my conscience. It’s already heavy enough.

“So…” She said instead in a desperate attempt to change the subject. “You’re a girl now, huh?”

“Something wrong with that?” snapped Betool Ja, suddenly defensive.

“Nothing, nothing!” Arashi held up her hands to quell the much larger woman’s annoyance. “It’s just… Everyone else I’ve run into has been themselves, more or less. Right down to the…”

“Private parts? Bah. Maybe your friends just don’t have any imagination. Or else you don’t. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been a woman. I’ve got some stories I could tell you about my last life, let me tell you!”

“Wait, hang on, what?” Arashi was far from ignorant about the fact that her soul had been through the Aetherial Sea countless times before now, but as far as she’d been aware this was the first time it had remembered being someone else. And yet the way Betool Ja said it, the sheer nonchalance in her voice, suggested quite the opposite was true for her.

“Right, you probably don’t know, do you?” Betool Ja basked in the rare pleasure of being the one in the know for once. Smug prick. The Mamool Ja settled back against the great stone bench overlooking new town with a sigh and gave Arashi a self-indulgent smile. “Alright, story time. A very long time ago, back when you… Well…” Betool Ja’s smug aura died down as she trailed off, leaving Arashi to fill in the blanks.

“Brought a swift and final end to the practice of Blessed Siblings?” Arashi ventured.

“Yeah. That.” Betool Ja’s eyes flashed with the distant pain of memories better forgotten. “Anyway, after you did that, my brother and I were the last of our kind to be born. Once we passed on, we expected that to be the end of it. New bodies, new souls, new lives, you know? Except that two souls bound together so tightly for so long don’t tend to forget that. So when our time came to be reborn… We found one another again. And we weren’t the only ones either.”

Betool Ja’s face turned downright wistful as she continued. “We knew we were different from the others from the start. Our size, for one. The fact that we remember flashes of lives we’d never known. The tug of our souls drawing us together again. It wasn’t until we met that it all came flooding back. Who’d we’d been. What we’d been. Blessed Siblings might be no more, but in their place has risen something new. Soulbound Siblings.”

A myriad of questions pushed and shoved for dominance in Arashi’s mind, but the one which came out first surprised her. “How many times?”

Betool Ja chuckled and stared up at the night sky. “You think I kept count? Hells no! I was too busy fending off questions about history at the time. You have any idea how many times I’ve been dragged out of my home by some idiot historian just to settle a dispute over some event I never cared about in my last life? Everyone and their mother thinks I’m some font of knowledge and wisdom, but I just want to be left alone. That’s why I bullied Makool Ja into joining me as a racer in the Grand Prix. Now if people are coming up to me, it’s to ask for an autograph!”

“Which I’m sure you give out with all the grace and generosity you can muster. I bet you even throw in a free photo too!” Arashi added with a smirk. There was a moment of silence as Betool Ja digested her words, then the pair fell about with laughter. Still the same old stupid bastard you’ve always been, just like me.

“I’m glad,” Arashi said after a while, her tone soft as she looked up at the stars with Betool Ja. “I thought for sure everyone was continually caught in my wake, forced to relive lives they’d left behind just because of my last wish. It’s nice to see some people are still pulled along by different threads.”

“Well, you know me,” Betool Ja replied with a grin, “I never was very good at following orders. Especially not from jumped-up baby lizards!”

She was very surprised indeed when Arashi mustered just a little of her old strength to shove her bodily off the bench. But then that grin broke out into a delighted laugh as she brushed off the dust and rose to her feet. “Not bad, not bad! You’ve still got some life in you after all!”

Their return trip to the jam-packed bar was largely uneventful, minus the occasional boisterous shove and wisecrack at the other’s expense. But as they walked back, Arashi felt at least a little of the weight she’d been feeling lift from her shoulders. She refused to let me write her back into my story until I crashed right into hers. Maybe others can do the same. Maybe-

Yotsuyu crashed full force into Arashi with wild eyes and flung her arms tightly around her wife. “Thank the kami you’re alright!”

“Tsuyu?” Arashi’s hands moved automatically to embrace Yotsuyu in turn. “Of course I’m alright, what’s going on?”

Yotsuyu looked at Arashi, then up at Betool Ja. “Oh, don’t mind me. I can keep a secret, I promise!” The Mamool Ja’s grin did nothing to help, particularly not when coupled with her teasing tone. Either way, it was enough to make up Yotsuyu’s mind.

“Not here. Back at the cabins.” She didn’t wait for Arashi to agree before clutching her hand and stalking away. Arashi met Betool Ja’s eyes long enough to give her an apologetic smile before letting herself be dragged along. She’d seen the look in Yotsuyu’s eyes before.

It was the look she used to have when she thought she’d seen her brother.

---

The bar was everything Yotsuyu hated. Loud, hot, full of rowdy people who wanted nothing more than to get to know her better. She’d allowed herself to be dragged here by Arashi as compensation for… forwardness earlier, but then Arashi had abandoned her to make trouble with the massive Mamool Ja woman, leaving Yotsuyu trapped between a hrothgar woman who wouldn’t shut up and a viera woman who seemed unsettlingly interested in Arashi’s career.

It was almost a blessing when the roegadyn man gently carved out a space for himself and asked for a drink. Almost, for Yotsuyu would recognise the low gravelly rumble of his voice anywhere.

“My apologies for butting in, but navigating this city works up quite a thirst.” Gosetsu had none of his usual bluster and vivacity as he paid for his drink, dwarfed in his massive hands as he cradled it, making not a single move to drink it. He seemed to be waiting for something. Acknowledgement, perhaps, or perhaps some hint that Yotsuyu recognised him. As if she hadn’t done everything in her power to avoid the man since Arashi had warned of his residence nearby.

So Yotsuyu ignored him and sipped her own drink instead.

She felt Gosetsu’s stare bore into her, but eventually the man blew out a soft sigh and took a swig of his own drink. The majority of the glass was emptied in a single gulp, followed by a grateful rush of air. “Much better,” Gosetsu said with a smile. “That I should have to suffer through Tural at the height of summer is a sure sign that the kami care not a whit for the wants of old men. Would that I could return to Doma and soak my aching bones.”

“Was there something you wanted?” Yotsuyu asked as stiffly as she could. One of the benefits of being seen as rude and unreasonable was using it to hurry along those she had no desire to deal with. “I’ve little time for the ramblings of old men, particularly when they wish only to spout unsightly nonsense about their bodies.”

“Ha! Your tongue hasn’t dulled in the slightest, I see!” Yotsuyu glanced at the man to see Gosetsu’s face split into a wide grin. Just for a moment Yotsuyu could see the man he had once been in another life. A straighter back, a more stern countenance, eyes which had suffered such horrors but lived to tell the tale of their vanquishing. Eyes which had sized her up and deemed her a threat which would not be ignored. Eyes which had seen her unconscious, helpless form and chosen to show mercy. Eyes which had brimmed over with tears when he had been told of her passing.

Then the smile vanished and the man vanished with it, replaced with something colder and sadder. “I came to deliver you a warning,” Gosetsu murmured. “I know not where your paramours have fled to, but know that they walk blindly into terrible danger. There are those out there with great interest in keeping their secrets buried, and I would not have Hana and Kaien’s daughters, nor those that they love, falling afoul of them. Nor will I repeat the mistakes of our wretched pasts. Go home. Lest we all have cause to regret what will happen next.”

Yotsuyu couldn’t stop herself from turning to properly look at Gosetsu for the first time. A blade looked back at her. No warmth or humanity emanated from him, no sense of sympathy or even passion. Just cold, collected violence, ready to spring forth at a moment’s notice. Except for the eyes, which pleaded with her not to come any closer lest she be split in half upon his edge.

She found that she could say nothing as Gosetsu got up and left, his drink forgotten as he muscled his way out of the bar. Dimly she was aware of the viera and hrothgar women taking notice of her, asking if she was alright, exclaiming that she was shaking. But she could not answer them, not truly. She was too busy reckoning with a single thought, one which had taken root the moment she had laid eyes upon Gosetsu’s cold iron gaze.

Arashi hasn’t returned yet.

That crystallised horror was what finally pushed her into explosive action, shunting her drink across the counter as she hastily pushed herself free of her stool and rushed into the night. He wouldn’t, surely he wouldn’t, surely she could take care of herself if she did, surely the great Mamool Ja with her would-

Not if they were working together. One to separate and one to finish the job.

Her heart cried out in abject relief when she finally saw Arashi crest the hill with her giant companion in tow, laughing and joking without a care in the world. But her body wouldn’t be satisfied until she could hold her, to know with every sense she had that Arashi was truly unharmed, that she wasn’t just a vision granted to quell her terrified soul.

She ignored the Mamool Ja’s irritated look at her sudden intrusion. She ignored Arashi’s cry of surprise as the au ra was engulfed in Yotsuyu’s arms. She ignored it all.

I won’t let him take you from me. Not you, not Lyse, not Kasumi, not anyone.

...

“So you’re absolutely certain he remembered?” Yotsuyu nodded. There was no mistaking the hope Gosetsu had held, nor the meaning behind his warning. “Shite. This whole time I thought he of all people might be free of it all. He played me for a fool.” Arashi ran a hand through her hair, eyes filled with strain. They had teleported back to their cabin as soon as Yotsuyu deemed it safe to do so, at which point the dark-haired hyur had explained everything.

“He was a master at keeping his blade sheathed until he needed it.” Yotsuyu’s voice was far quieter than usual as she rested her head against Arashi’s chest. “For him to show his steel this early… He will not hesitate to strike us down if he feels it necessary.”

“I see.” Arashi stared out at the ink-black sea and star-studded sky from their seat at the balcony. “But he wanted to warn us all the same. Why? Does he just want to avoid drawing attention to himself, or is the old Gosetsu still in there somewhere?”

“Does it matter?” Yotsuyu found Arashi’s fingers with her own, lacing them together and squeezing as hard as she could bear. “I will not let him take you from me. Not you, not Kasumi, not Lyse, not anyone.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You know that.” Arashi’s words were quietly fierce, but all Yotsuyu could see was her bleeding out on the floor in Gridania, slain by her mother’s hand. Her worst nightmare come true. “It’s funny, though. When I first saw you I never would have guessed you’d be so clingy. In this life or our last one.” She took Yotsuyu’s irritated swat gracefully, given the force behind it.

“Are you truly so clueless? You’ve seen my bitterest memories. You’ve walked in my footsteps and seen me at my lowest. You know what I would do to stop myself from falling to such depths again. If I must become a monster to do so, then so be it. I will not let the ones I love be hurt again.”

Arashi was silent for several moments before she finally said, “Did I ever tell you how Kasumi was born?”

“You did not.” Nor had Kasumi cared to speak of it, even when pressed. The au ra had simply called it a story she wasn’t fit to tell and to ask Arashi instead.

“It’s not one of my proudest moments,” Arashi said with an embarrassed laugh. “I was in Ishgard, technically in hiding after things went badly in Ul’dah. I’d managed to earn the ire of the church within a few days of being there, and things only got worse from there. Corruption, heresy, dragon slaying… You’ve probably read all about it, I’m sure.” Sure enough, she had. Yotsuyu gestured with her free hand for Arashi to continue.

“Well, everything came to a head after we put down Nidhogg. The Archbishop wasn’t happy that we’d discovered the truth of his war, so he struck against us. The Lord Commander was taken when he tried to make his father see reason. We rescued him in the Vault, but when we went to face him, I… Haurchefant…” Arashi sniffed as her words died away. Yotsuyu’s hand went to her cheek, gently cradling Arashi’s face as she tried to find her composure again.

“He was my best friend,” Arashi finally managed. “He was brave and kind and loyal and wouldn’t dare let anyone hurt others if he could help it. He saw the spear before I did. He threw himself in front of it. I… None of us could save him. And I was left with a ragged hole where he used to be. After that I found a corpse, a crystal, and a sword. I found Kasumi.”

Arashi heaved out a great sigh as she looked down at Yotsuyu. “People called me hero then. For stopping the war and the Archbishop. But all I wanted was to see him drown in his own blood. That’s the only reason I went to Azys Lla. I wanted to find him and then kill him. After that… After that I’d disappear. I’d done it before, I could do it again. Obviously, things didn’t turn out that way, but… I thought you should know. Lyse has known for decades, after all, and Kasumi knew from the start.”

“Thank you,” murmured Yotsuyu. The history books had spoken of all of it in broad strokes, but to hear the passion and pain in Arashi’s voice painted it all in different colours. Harsher, more raw. Colours she could understand. But… “Why tell me all of this, then, and why now?”

“Because I think if things had been different, if we’d have found some way to divert your path… You’d have made a good Dark Knight. You’d have brought justice to those who hurt you without burning the world around you. You’d have…”

“Found peace?” Yotsuyu scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I think not. But sometimes I do find myself wondering. What might have happened had our families known one another. What could have been if I had fled Doma with you before its fall. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything.”

“Maybe.” Arashi’s gaze was thoughtful as she stared out into the dark. Too thoughtful. Yotsuyu twisted around and swung her legs so that they straddled Arashi’s hips. The au ra suddenly found her view of the stars obstructed by something far closer and more tangible, but from her smile she didn’t much mind.

“I tire of all this talk of ancient history and vengeful ghosts,” Yotsuyu declared. “And I have not forgotten that you owe me for your glorious victory tonight. You will repay me. With interest, I think.”

“Gladly,” Arashi whispered as her arms tightened comfortably around Yotsuyu’s back, pulling her down to kiss her properly. It was a temporary relief from the endlessly gnawing fear, but a temporary relief was all Yotsuyu needed. A night devoted to the one of the loves she would do anything at all to keep. No matter the cost.

Notes:

Can you tell that Betool Ja has become a new favourite to write? Big Lizard Idiot and Small Lizard Idiot have a natural chemistry I didn't really realise until now. Definitely need to keep that in mind the next time FFXIV Write comes along.

Anyway Gosetsu's here again. That's probably fine.

Chapter 20: Tension

“Sorry about the mess,” Gemma apologetically declared as she picked her way through the hopelessly cluttered garage. “I keep saying we should clean up more in case of guests, but somehow it never happens.” It reminded Sanda of Arashi’s room when they were children. Full of half-forgotten things that her elder sister swore she’d find a use for some time. It had taken until her first girlfriend showed up to snap her out of that habit, but one look from the roegadyn girl had been enough to trigger it in a flash.

Zenos, however, didn’t appear to particularly care as he picked his way through the wreckage and half-built prototypes, leaving Sanda to trail behind in his wake and try not to break anything. How someone so huge and imposing could be so graceful was a mystery all its own. Thankfully Sanda was no slouch in that department thanks to her modelling, even with the added disadvantage of a tail to get in the way.

Within short order Gemma managed to clear away enough debris to free up a trio of seats, taking one and gesturing for Zenos and Sanda to take the others. Sanda slid into the one next to Gemma before Zenos could take it, giving Gemma a steady look as she did. Zenos had told her all about the hyur’s disappointment when Zenos had insisted that Sanda accompany them. You’d better not get any ideas. Zenos appeared not to notice as he lowered himself into the last of the chairs, practically dwarfing both it and the other two women he sat with. His eyes were fixed squarely on Gemma, a strange tension in his frame. Sanda knew him well enough to know he was struggling to make sense of his emotions, but to anyone else he likely seemed a predator waiting to strike.

Gemma, however, seemed undaunted by his singular focus. “Well! First of all, thank you for coming at such short notice. I hate to drag you away from Lamaty’i’s little get-together, but I felt this was important enough to warrant doing so.” Her smile, while bright, was brittle enough to show the strain beneath. Sanda felt a strange pang of familiarity at it; a flash of memory that was not her own rising to the surface. She shoved it to one side.

“So what did you want with us?” Or with Zenos, anyway.

“Right! Yes…” Gemma’s smile faltered and faded as she stared down at her hands, clasped tightly on her lap. “My apologies, but this is rather difficult to share. I thought myself prepared to do so, but now the time has come…” She made a small, unhappy noise in the back of her throat.

“Take your time,” Zenos offered, the first words he’d spoken since they’d met up. Gemma looked up sharply at his sudden speech, but nodded with newfound determination all the same.

“From the beginning, then.” Gemma took a deep breath and looked at the two properly as she began. “First of all, you’ve probably already gathered that I’m not a Turali native. The truth is that I’m not even from this Reflection at all. I originally hailed from the Ninth. From Alexandria.”

The fact that Gemma’s revelation felt so natural surprised Sanda far more than the revelation itself. Like she’d been expecting it rather than caught off-guard by it. Something stirred in her again, but she shoved it back down to sleep. Not here. Not now.

“I was a maid, you see. In the royal palace. Not the most glamorous job but a well-paying one, and a chance to glimpse the inner workings of the wheels of my nation. What I saw… Wasn’t pleasant. I’m afraid to say that it concerns your mother, Zenos. I fear she has corrupted the king and queen’s minds. They have been ensnared in some terrible plan. One involving conquest unimaginable.”

Sanda and Zenos exchanged a glance. How is it that you managed to fall so far from the rot of your family tree? But Gemma was already continuing, entirely heedless of her guests’ shared look.

“She came to us some twenty-five summers ago, so they say, heavily pregnant with her son and begging sanctuary. She spoke of being hunted by her vengeful husband and fleeing to our Reflection to escape him. The king and queen agreed quickly enough, though many suspect it was because the queen was pregnant with the crown princess at the time. Regardless, she was granted the sanctuary she sought until such a time as her child was born and she was able to make her own way again. But then her son’s condition made itself known, and… Well. A short while became an extended stay as the best doctors in Alexandria tried and failed to treat him.”

“His treatment?” Sanda’s breath caught in her throat as she remembered slaying the man, seeing his body bleed out and go cold only for him to appear entirely unharmed minutes later. An Ascian, Kasumi had called him. An ancient shadow from history’s most horrible pages.

Gemma nodded and continued. “Psychonekrosis, it’s called. The soul becomes disconnected from the body after a time, eventually losing its grip entirely and falling back into the Aetherial Sea. It’s exceptionally rare, you see, and usually it involves the intense fusion of one’s soul with that of another. But poor Nerva was born with it, and despite the best efforts of the court physician he perished. He was around five summers old at the time.”

“Impossible,” Zenos declared the moment Gemma had finished speaking. “I spoke with Nerva myself two weeks prior. He was alive and well. Not the deceased child you claim.” Zenos’s brow furrowed in a way most unlike him as he continued, “If your intention was to lie to me about my family, I-”

“Zenos.” Sanda put a hand on his thigh, turning to face him with wide eyes. “I saw him die. He came back. What if…?”

Zenos settled as a mixture of thoughtfulness and dread came over him. He gestured for Gemma to continue once more. She took the interruption with grace, at least. She knows how ridiculous this all sounds.

“Thank you,” Gemma said with a pained smile. “As I was saying, your younger brother perished at around five summers old, but Carosa refused to accept it. She began to claim that she could hear him talking to her when she slept. At first everyone assumed it was simply her grief conjuring phantoms, but she grew more and more insistent until eventually she simply disappeared, taking Nerva’s body with her. Search parties were sent out to find her, but they all returned empty handed. It was assumed that she had gone missing, presumed dead. Until she and her son returned fifteen summers later, that is.”

Gemma paused and suddenly rose from her seat. “My apologies, but if I don’t fetch a drink I fear I may not be able to continue. Do you mind if I…?” Zenos nodded, giving her the permission she so clearly sought to get away and seek refreshments. Sanda waited until Gemma was out of earshot before she turned to Zenos.

“Do you believe her?”

“I… know not,” Zenos replied. “She is sincere in her telling and what she has told us aligns with what we know, but I sense there are things she is not telling us. Things which would shed further light on this whole affair.”

Sanda nodded, her gaze flicking to Gemma’s back as she flitted about near the back of the garage, glass in hand. She seemed friendly enough, but Sanda knew as well as anyone how easily a sunny facade could be painted on to hide a vicious animal beneath. Nerva had been the same, after all. But something was different about Gemma. Something about her made Sanda want to trust her, something deeper than instinct, more reliable than blind trust. It made her skin itch to focus on it.

“Right, terribly sorry about that!” Gemma hustled back with a trio of glasses cradled precariously in her arms. Sanda reached to pluck two of them free before they could slip free, handing one to Zenos and holding the other herself. Neither made a move to drink them. Gemma had no such restraints as she drank deep of her own glass, the water vanishing in short order.

“Ahhh, much better!” Her sunny disposition was back as she set down her glass. “Now, where was I?”

“You spoke of my mother’s return,” Zenos supplied. There was a burning in his eyes that hadn’t been present before. A yearning to understand more, or just to know as much as he could about the woman who had shaped so much of his life by choosing to leave it.

“Right, of course. Your mother’s return.” Gemma’s gaze found her hands again. “You must understand, most of the story I’ve told so far I was not present for, so I can only provide what I learned prior to my departure. From here, however… These past five years have been difficult to live through. Your mother… changed things when she returned. Almost entirely for the worse.”

Gemma placed her glass down on the counter, the sudden thud sending a jolt through Sanda. “Carosa, from what I’ve heard, was always a driven woman, but it was clear her isolation had only made it worse. She’d grown cold, callous, downright cruel to the people she used to treat with dignity and respect. She insisted on having the king’s ear at every opportunity, singling out and shunning the queen whenever she thought she could get away with it. Her son swung between frothing hate and razor-sharp geniality. Together they made the servants’ lives a living hell. But for some reason my- the king allowed it all to happen. I still don’t know why.”

“So you fled here to get away from her, then?” A reasonable enough decision, but surely there were better ways to escape that kind of situation than fleeing to an entirely different Reflection. But Gemma shook her head with the dreadful certainty that said there was a great deal more to the story.

“If only it were that simple. No, I fled because I was unfortunate enough to bear witness to her plans. As I said before, her intentions are conquest, but she needs the king’s assistance to achieve it. She intends to raise an army forged of electrope, you see. And as soon as the king allows her to open her mine, she will have all she needs to make good on those plans. I would like to say that I ran because I wished to warn others of her intentions, but in truth I fled because I knew my life would be in danger if what I knew was discovered.” Gemma’s eyes grew dark as she whispered, “I am, unfortunately, a coward. But I can at least warn you, Zenos. So that you know better than to trust her when she comes calling as her son already has.”

Zenos was silent for several moments before finally replying with, “Thank you. It took a great deal more courage than you believe to warn me of this. I will keep your words in mind if we should cross paths with her.” Sanda caught the warning in Zenos’s eye and kept her mouth shut.

It was clear Gemma still had her secrets to keep. It only made sense to keep secrets of their own. Gemma, for her part, missed the gesture, too focused on her hands and the glass clenched between them. “Thank you,” she finally murmured. “For believing me. It feels so good to finally tell someone about all of this, even if we are still relative strangers.”

“You haven’t told your team?” Sanda blurted out the question before she could think to stop herself. Gemma shook her head with a rueful grin.

“Would that I could, but no. Lamaty’i is the type to rush into danger headlong without a second thought, and I’d not have her fighting a battle she cannot win. Nor would I endanger her friends with that same charge. Pray, keep this our little secret if you will.”

“Consider it done,” Zenos’s voice was a bass rumble as he rose to his feet. Sanda followed suit, all too eager to be getting on with her evening instead of cooped up in a too-hot, too-musty garage. I’m starving. Maybe we should-

“Oh! One last thing, before you go.” Gemma looked at them both in turn with a sudden spark of fear. “Those two drivers you faced today, Zenos? Stay away from them. They are far more dangerous than you might assume, and I’d not have your blood on their hands if I can help it. Keep them at arms’ length as much as you can.”

Zenos and Sanda exchanged another glance before nodding. Here we go again...

---

It was fortunate that Yaana was around to be the first person Eutrope saw when she awoke, or else things would have gone far uglier. She rose with a start, shouting and flailing before coming face to face with her sister. “You’re alive,” Eutrope breathed as she took in Yaana’s wide-eyed stare. Then, louder, “You’re alive!”

“I could say the same to you!” Yaana replied as her eyes glistened with tears. The pair embraced without another word as Lyse watched on. Behind her Fareena scoffed, likely annoyed her repeated assertions of Yaana’s safety hadn’t been heeded properly. Nobody paid her any mind. Kasumi, from her vantage point in the corner, traded glances with Yugiri. It was fortunate indeed that Lyse had managed to snap Kasumi out of her blind panic. Even with Tender’s healing Eutrope still nursed a black eye and a nasty bruise across her cheek. It would have been so easy to end you. Too easy.

It was heartening in its own way to know that the woman once known as Wicked Thunder as exactly as stubborn, prone to dash decisions, and quick to judge as she had once been. Eutrope had, according to her, been scoping out the old gym the moment Lyse had claimed it for her own and decided (probably correctly) that the Ala Mhigan was in over her head. “I’ve been spending the past several days making sure Zoraal Ja’s agents didn’t find you before I had a chance to talk with you myself,” Eutrope explained. “Wanted to talk you out of your idiocy before it could get you killed.”

“And where was that kindness when I waltzed through the door, huh?” Fareena shot the miqo’te woman an irritated look, which was promptly ignored.

“Is that what you call trying to kill her?” Kasumi could hold her silence no longer. Fury still bubbled under the surface, hot and roiling and begging for release. Her eyes were likely burning eerie yellow, a facet of herself she still couldn’t get under control.

“I wasn’t-!” Eutrope began, a fury all her own rising to the surface before she forced it down with visible effort. “I wasn’t going to kill her. Just knock her out and get her out of the under-city. Best way to stop the Arcadion project is to starve it of new recruits, I figure. Especially since Mad Hare’s officially marked as killed in action.” Eutrope turned to her sister and added, “Along with Black Bat.”

“Gods,” Yaana muttered as her gaze hit the floor. “Scorpienne’s going to be devastated.”

“Scorpienne? What about me?” Eutrope grabbed her sister by the shoulders, shaking her a good deal more roughly than she likely meant. “Do you have any idea how worried I was when you vanished into the night after Fareena’s trail? To say nothing of hearing you’d gone and died out there!”

“And what about you? Playing dead without so much of a warning! Leaving me to think I’d lost both sisters! What else could I have done but try to get revenge on the woman who’d done it?”

“Ladies.” Tender punctuated her sudden interruption by slamming her staff on the metal floor of the gym. “There is a time and a place for this conversation, but it is not now. We are all aligned in our purpose, yes? Arcadion has to go. If we can find out Zoraal Ja’s and the Galvuses’ greater goals, so much the better, but let’s focus on that first instead of this pointless bickering.”

To Tender’s credit she took the furiously aligned glares of Yaana and Eutrope without flinching. The pair backed down as they met her level stare in return, ears flattening momentarily before twitching as they looked away. “Fine,” Eutrope muttered. “If you’re going to insist on forcing the issue, I’d rather work with you than against you. You seem more reasonable than Mad Hare was at least.”

Fareena made ready for a pointed barb in response, but Yugiri flashed her a warning glare before the words could leave her mouth. It did not stop the viera from stamping against the floor in thwarted fury, however. Lyse took the opportunity to speak up instead.

“Thank you, Eutrope. We really do appreciate your willingness to cooperate with us. Now, our plan was simple. We aim to draw Zoraal Ja’s attention and get invited into Arcadion, at which point we’ll keep all eyes on us while you and Fareena dig up what information you can in the shadows. Once we have an idea of what we’re up against, we’ll use it to bring down the organisation and make Zoraal Ja face justice for whatever he’s planning.”

Eutrope’s derision was written plainly on her face.“Is that all? And I suppose you intend to get an all-expense trip to the upper levels while you’re at it? Zoraal Ja’s much craftier and more careful than that. I’ve been working for months with Mad Hare to get to the bottom of his schemes and come up entirely blank. All you’re going to do is offer him more test subjects to expose to psychonekrosis so he can further his research on it.”

“So what, you intend to just let him get away with it all? To hurt your friends while you stand by and do nothing? Because I won’t let monsters like him have their way if I can help it, and I thought you wouldn’t either!”

“Gods, another do-gooder with more fire than sense. I’ll tell you what I told Fareena. I’m here to find answers about my sister, not topple a politician whose shadow stretches half the continent. If our goals align, great. If not, stay out of my way. I won’t hesitate to finish the job if I have to.”

“Eutrope-” Yaana began, but Eutrope was already stalking towards the doors, pausing only to snatch up her discarded regulator on the way. She’d almost made it to the front door when a sudden bang erupted against it, sending a spike of tension through everyone. Kasumi had her armour on before she could even think, natural impulse overriding reason. A moment later her blade was in her hand, heavy and sharp and ready to cut down her enemies.

But nothing burst through the door. Instead a slip of paper was shunted through the tiny gap at its base, followed by the sound of vanishing footsteps. Her breaths shallow and her eyes wide, Eutrope picked up the paper and returned to the group. As one they closed in around her to look at what was written on it.

You’ve made quite a mess in your short stay. Consider your audition passed. Arcadion welcomes you and your auri companions. We will await you outside your gym at sixth bell tomorrow. Do not keep us waiting.

“Well,” Fareena said far more brightly than she should, “I think that qualifies as a good first step, don’t you?”

Notes:

Fareena's boundless optimism continues to confound, annoy, and worry everyone around her. Keep it up, you wretched bun!

Chapter 21: Introductions

“Still time to back out, you know.” Kasumi looked down from atop Lyse with a ghost of a smile. “If you want to, that is.”

“Oh?” Lyse raised an eyebrow as a playful smile spread across her face. “Whatever happened to wanting to take the lead for once?”

“You know what I mean,” Kasumi murmured with equal playfulness, placing one hand on Lyse’s chest to keep her from taking advantage of the ambiguous wording. “Tomorrow. We can vanish, you know. Go back to Tuliyollal. Recruit our resident Warriors of Light and smash the place to the ground instead. I doubt Arashi would even strain herself all that much.”

“Do you want to?” Lyse cut to the heart of the matter with those four simple words. Her gaze was unreadable in the dark of their room, but just for a moment Kasumi swore she saw a glint of hope in there. It was tempting to lie. Put on a brave face and claim all would be well. But she never could find it in her to do so when it came to the woman she’d loved and mourned so long.

“Desperately.” The word was a ragged whisper, ripped from her more than spoken. “I’ve been her shadow for so long. To be apart from her again after so little time is agony. I want her here. I need her here!” Lyse’s sympathetic look was too much to take. Kasumi’s gaze flicked away, off to one side. “But if this is what I must endure to protect her from herself, I will shoulder it eagerly. It’s what she deserves.”

“And what about what you deserve?” Lyse’s hand found Kasumi’s cheek, gently guiding her gaze back to Lyse’s own. “You didn’t have to volunteer for this, you know. You could have let Yugiri tackle this alone.”

“If I hadn’t, Arashi would have. You know that.” A poor answer, but the only one she had. “And if we don’t strike at the heart of this now we will surely have cause to regret it later. I will not let another Athena take root when I could pluck it out while it remains a minor nuisance. Arashi and Yotsuyu both deserve to enjoy their peace. And so do you.”

Lyse’s answering smile was soft and sad and so very sweet. It melted Kasumi’s heart anew to see it, even as Lyse’s hand crept around to the back of her head, gripping her by her hair and tugging her down. Her kiss was, by contrast, a good deal hungrier and more forceful than her smile, but it was what Kasumi needed. The pair groaned together as they let their shared desire fully blossom, Lyse’s hands directing Kasumi’s exactly where they were so desperately needed. Somewhere in the muddle of limbs and lust it became unclear who was leading who, but neither cared by that point. Not until they quenched the furious fires in them and fell together in a hot, sweaty heap.

“We still need to work on your selfishness,” Lyse murmured between deep, heavy breaths. “Your happiness is just as important as theirs.”

“Fascinating choice of pillow talk,” Kasumi murmured as she peeled herself off of the blonde, settling instead at her side. “Not what I would have gone with, but Yotsuyu always tells me I’m too morose for my own good after sex.”

“ And bad at changing the subject while we’re at it!” Lyse’s laugh was short-lived even as her arms slid around the au ra so intent on escaping her grasp. “Seriously, is it so hard to just allow yourself to choose for yourself instead of letting the needs of everyone else come first?”

No getting out of it, I see. Lyse had a stubborn set to her jaw again, steadfastly awaiting an answer. “Do you know what I’m most afraid of, Lyse?”

Lyse’s eyebrow rose in confusion, but she shook her head and nodded for Kasumi to continue.

“Dying.” Lyse’s eyebrow raised higher. “Not my end, though. I’m more than ready for that. No, I’m afraid that you’ll leave me behind again.” Kasumi shuddered, breath catching in her chest, only to find Lyse’s arms wrap just a little tighter around her. Giving her strength to continue. “I thought once Arashi died I would dissipate, fade away, return to the aether that made me when she passed. I was prepared for that. But then I didn’t. She made a deal with Alexander. Kept Myste and I running while she went to the Sea. I… I hated her for years. Decades. Centuries. But then the hate fell away and all I felt was loneliness. I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to lose her. Except now I don’t want to lose you either. Or Yotsuyu. I… My worst possible fear is that you will all age and pass on and I will remain myself, undying, forever.”

There. The words were out there in the world at last. Kasumi let them linger in the air between them, let Lyse digest them properly, let them simply exist. She saw the way Lyse’s eyes softened, the way her lips parted in a perfect “oh”, saw the newfound understanding fall into place. But then her expression hardened into something else.

“Do you mind if I say something a little mean?” Now it was Kasumi’s turn to raise an eyebrow, but she nodded her head all the same. “Okay, good. That’s stupid, and you’re being stupid for letting it control you like that.”

“I-”

“I wasn’t finished.” Lyse’s gaze was stern as she continued. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve been afraid Arashi would never come home from one of her adventures? Because frankly I’ve long since lost count. But I never let it stop me from wishing her luck and letting her go every single time she had to leave. And yes, I jumped at the chance to stop her from getting in harm’s way for once, but I also did it to make sure you didn’t go off and do anything reckless and dangerous too, because I know you. You’ve got a lot more Arashi in you than you’d like to admit, after all.”

“I suppose I can’t argue that,” Kasumi muttered darkly.

“Good, because I’m too tired to prove you wrong about that anyway. What is it going to take for you to admit that your happiness is just as important as hers? Because I’m getting sick and tired of you trying to fill a role she left behind just to avoid the fact that you’re hurt by her choosing not to marry you too.”

Kasumi opened her mouth to launch a retort, but nothing came out. Lyse had an uncanny knack of getting to the root of the problem, a fact that Kasumi herself had weaponised against Arashi in the old days. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying being on the receiving end of it. Finally, realising Lyse was waiting for a response, she said in a small, tired voice, “Some days I find myself wondering if she truly does love me, or if she’s telling me a gentle lie like you are. Those are the bad days, but they’ve been getting more frequent of late.”

Lyse’s eyes dimmed as she looked away, guilt blossoming on her face. “So you know, then.”

“You’re a better liar than you were, but I know your tells.” Kasumi smiled softly and reached out to stroke Lyse’s face. “I don’t mind if you don’t love me yet. Knowing that you’re willing to try is enough.”

“And what if I never can?” Lyse asked. “What if I can’t figure out where my love for her ends and my feelings for you begin?”

“Then it would hardly be the first time I’ve loved you both from a distance,” Kasumi murmured. “You and Arashi found each other again. You and Yotsuyu and her have made something truly beautiful. She’s happier than she’s ever been now. That’s enough.”

“No. It isn’t. Not if you’re left denying yourself what you truly want.” Lyse’s gaze met Kasumi’s once again, trying desperately to make the au ra understand, to make her see what she needed to see. But the effort was too much and Lyse was too tired to try and longer. She rolled over onto her other side and allowed sleep to claim her.

Kasumi did not.

…

Yugiri, true to expectation, was waiting outside for Kasumi and Lyse the next day, appearing for all the world as if she’d been waiting there all night. Or whatever passed for night in a city without a sky, anyway. She graced Kasumi with the ghost of a smile as she stepped out through the door, but it swiftly vanished into her neutral expression once more. Certainly it was gone by the time Lyse emerged, apologising for the delay in her usual sunny fashion. Yotsuyu and Arashi constantly complained that Yugiri was difficult to read, but Kasumi had long since learned to read her subtle tells, such as the way her eyes brightened around the people she treasured, or the subtle adjustments in her tone when speaking as Yotsuyu’s bodyguard and when speaking as her friend. It wasn’t that hard as long as you-

“Kasumi? Everything alright?” Lyse was looking at Kasumi with not a little concern as she was jolted back to reality. For me of all people to be distracted…

“I’m fine. Just a little tired, it seems.” Kasumi ignored Lyse’s knowing smile and graced Yugiri with a friendly nod. They were all a little early, but it seemed best to make a good impression on their mysterious contact. Eutrope had vanished as soon as the cost was clear, making it clear that she wanted no part in their plans and any harm visited on her sister would be returned in kind. Yaana had been torn between her sister and the plan, but had in the end been persuaded to remain and offer support. As for Fareena and Tender, they had taken their leave to do what reconnaissance they still could.

The fact that the Arcadion staff were aware of Lyse’s companionship with Kasumi and Yugiri had been a source of concern, but ultimately not enough of one to warrant calling off their plan. As Yugiri had pointed out, they would be able to gather information much better from the inside, and Lyse was more than happy to draw attention while Yugiri and Kasumi skulked about. Besides, Lyse had added, they’d be better able to watch each other’s backs this way.

Still, something about it all rubbed Kasumi the wrong way. She couldn’t help the feeling that they were playing too easily into their enemy’s hands, especially when they had very little idea what said enemy wanted. She kept such thoughts to herself, however. They’d only distract from the mission at hand.

It didn’t take long for the empty streets to ring with the sound of heavy footsteps. Yugiri didn’t turn to face it (she’d been trained too well for that) but her eyes flicked towards the source of it all the same, waiting intently for the source of the noise to make itself clear. Lyse was a good deal less subtle, twisting and staring down the open street, tense and focused and ready to fight if need be. Kasumi forced herself to breathe, pushed away the urge to pull her armour out of the shadows and be clad in liquid darkness. We planned for this. Everything will be fine. But her gaze nonetheless flitted towards the building opposite the gym where Fareena was residing. Hoping the viera was ready and waiting just in case.

Zoraal Ja had, if nothing else, immaculately tailored his clothes to impress. He had taken a formal tuxedo and adapted it, not only to his body structure but his culture as well. Splashes of brilliant red and vibrant green dotted the jacket, contrasting with the jet black fabric and stormy blue jewels that made up his lapels and buttons. No, not jewels, Kasumi corrected herself as she looked properly. Electrope. He’s wearing his city’s foundations. And judging by the way they sparked and pulsed, they were no mere ornaments.

Below the jacket lay a gleaming white shirt, impossibly soft and sleek with a sharp collar and a deep blue bow tie completing the look. His hands and feet were uncovered by fabric, but an elaborate mesh of gold and electrope covered them all, ending in wickedly sharp steel claws around his fingers and toes. A similar headdress covered his head, proclaiming to all around his wealth and status. A fierce and intimidating figure if ever there was one. The fact that he was over twice Kasumi’s height certainly didn’t help.

But Lyse wasn’t looking at him, Kasumi noticed. She was looking at the man walking by his side, far smaller and slighter but no less impeccably dressed. A pale man with sandy blonde hair and a deep scowl on his face, arguing furiously with Zoraal Ja as the latter caught sight of the trio. A man with a third eye embedded in his forehead. A man who, the more Kasumi looked at him, resembled his elder brother far more than she would have expected.

“Nerva,” Lyse whispered. “That is him, right? It has to be.”

“Most likely,” Yugiri murmured. “Tread warily. If he recognises us, we may have to fight our way free.”

“We may have to anyway,” Kasumi growled. “Look behind them.”

Zoraal Ja was no fool, it seemed. He’d brought a small gang of metal-clad men with him, all armoured head-to-toe in electrope-infused metal and helmets that covered their heads in a harsh metallic grid. They were unpleasantly familiar in form to the electrope soldiers that had once been used to terrorise Tural, but from the disorganised and distinct way they all moved it appeared there were humans beneath the armour after all. A blessing and a curse, really. Kasumi didn’t relish the thought of harming those simply trying to do their jobs. Their masters, however…

“How do you fancy our chances?” Lyse asked as their potential adversaries drew near.

“Depends on if Fareena’s noticed the entourage or not,” Kasumi replied. “Be ready to run. I’ll hold them off as long as I’m able.”

“I’m not leaving you-” Lyse began with a frown, but she didn’t get any further than that.

“What did I tell you, Nerva?” The booming voice of Zoraal Ja rang out across the street as he caught sight of the trio. “A promising batch of candidates, ready and waiting for your assessment!” Nerva merely scowled in response, but his eyes swept over the three of them in an appraising glance. Kasumi fought the sudden urge to claw those eyes out, particularly as the man’s frown twisted into an unpleasant smile. Not yet. Not until we know what they’re planning. Thankfully there seemed to be no glint of recognition in his eyes, nor in the eyes of Zoraal Ja as he grew closer. A small blessing.

“So you’re the one who has been making a name for herself with the bodies of my people,” the Mamool Ja continued as he stopped several feet away from them. His gaze was likewise appraising, but there was no malice in his eyes, simply cold calculation. “Rare indeed for a woman so skilled to find her way into my city, let alone to make her intentions so easily known. Tell me, what brings you to my doorstep?”

“You have a cure, right?” Lyse stepped forward, her eyes locked on Zoraal Ja’s as she spoke. “For psychonekrosis? I need it. My sister’s sick, and-”

“Enough.” Zoraal Ja held up a clawed hand, his face impassive. But Kasumi hadn’t missed the way his eyes twitched at the name of the disease, nor the undisguised shock on Nerva’s face. “I know not how your sister came to be sick, but I can assure you I have no such sure. You have wasted your time in coming here, and mine in the bargain. Begone.” Zoraal Ja turned to leave, clearly disappointed.

“No.” Lyse took a defiant step forward as a peculiar fire began to burn in her eyes. “You know something, you have to! Everyone keeps talking about your miracle cure, and I’m not leaving until I have it!”

Zoraal Ja stopped. Turned. Looked again at Lyse’s stubborn stance with newfound appreciation. “You play a dangerous game here, girl. This is your final warning. Go home. Enjoy what time you have with your sister before she meets her end. I cannot help you.”

“We’re not leaving.” Yugiri stepped forward this time, followed a moment later by Kasumi. “My teacher is dead, and my only clue has led me here. I will not rest until I have found and slain her murderer.”

Zoraal Ja didn’t react, not at first. One moment he was standing there, the next he had crossed the distance between them with claws outstretched. Lyse leapt backward with just enough speed to avoid getting skewered, eyes wide but feet steady as she landed. Kasumi and Yugiri likewise had to dodge away as Zoraal Ja’s great tail swung around in a brutal arc. Kasumi just about had time to register the great spike at its tip before it lashed upwards towards her. Instinct took over and she blunted the blow with crossed arms, shadowy armour crawling up them to keep her from getting gouged. She wasn’t ready for Zoraal Ja’s foot slamming into her gut, however. With a grunt she was sent tumbling back and crashing into the wall, winded and bruised.

Yugiri, never one to let such an advantage slip from her grasp, rushed in and slammed her unsheathed gunblade into Zoraal Ja’s unprotected side. Fabric ripped and burned as the aether cannister ignited, but Zoraal Ja simply turned to face the new threat with an unimpressed look. His casual backhand caught her horn, disorienting her even as it knocked her away. “I can only assume you are one of Mad Hare’s disciples,” he said as he brushed off the embers from his suit. “All fury and no grace. Just like your master. Run home, girl. You are not good enough to-”

[RISING RAPTOR]

Lyse’s furious uppercut caught Zoraal Ja clean in the jaw, shutting him up with a horrific snap and causing him to stumble back with a howl of pain. His jet black eyes narrowed on Lyse as she followed up with a set of quick jabs to his chest, each primed with bone-breaking force. Each was blunted by the strange suit, electrope buttons surging with every impact. Absorbing the force of our attacks. Clever. Kasumi pushed herself free from the wall, her body’s aether supply surging to undo the worst of the damage. Lyse needs me. That was enough to clear out the rest of the cobwebs. A moment of concentration summoned forth her greatsword and the rest of her armour, then she rejoined the fray.

[SHADOWSTRIDE]

[EDGE OF SHADOW]

Blade met suit. Blade carved through suit and scraped against scale. Blade split scale and tore open flesh. Zoraal Ja’s howl of pained surprised was well worth the pain of his tail slamming into her side in return. This time Kasumi stood her ground, planting her feet and pivoting to strike at the bludgeoning appendage before it could whip free. Too slow. She was left carving air, wide open for Zoraal Ja’s claw to slice down her back. The armour held, but only just. Just my luck that he’s kept his strength from the old days as well. Kasumi grimaced as Zoraal Ja rounded on her, true anger blossoming in his eyes now. Anger, but also something else that was overtaking it. Something she hadn’t seen on his face before.

Glee.

“ That is much more like it!” Zoraal Ja brought his hands down in a club, crashing into Kasumi’s sword and making her knees buckle with the force. “You want answers? You want revenge? Then show me you are worthy of them!” His tail whipped around again, forcing Kasumi to leap back out of its range to avoid taking another nasty blow. Lyse was less lucky, catching the thankfully less spiked trunk of it to the stomach and getting thrown off her feet. The momentum of the tail swung her with it and sent her flying off to the side, landing in a heap.

To Lyse’s credit, however, she made an excellent distraction.

[DOUBLE DOWN]

An explosive cross of raw aether slammed into Zoraal Ja’s other side as Yugiri found her opening and took ruthless advantage of it. While the suit absorbed much of the impact, it was still enough to knock Zoraal Ja off-balance for a moment. Kasumi rushed in to capitalise, blade swinging in a cruel upwards arc in an attempt to cleave the Mamool Ja in two. Predictably enough, the suit blunted her blade too much to do any real damage, but she was rewarded with a moment of panic in Zoraal Ja’s eyes as he jerked his unprotected head back. Right in time for Lyse to find her footing again and crash fist-first into his face.

In this life and in others, few indeed could say that they had managed to knock the great and mighty Zoraal Ja off his feet and lived to tell the tale. That day Lyse, Kasumi and Yugiri added their names to that list. They didn’t have long to savour their victory, however. As Zoraal Ja fell his minions rushed in, armed with sparking blades and glittering rifles and pointing them at the women with well-trained efficiency. Within moments they were encircled, surrounded by death wielded in all-too-eager hands. At their violent gesturing Kasumi let her sword dissipate and raised her arms to the sky. Yugiri, after a long moment, let her gunblade fall to the floor. Lyse, however…

“I expected better. All’s fair until you start losing, is that it?” Her eyes were full of fire, glaring daggers at Zoraal Ja as he rose unsteadily to his feet. He looked stunned, not quite believing the reality that he had been dealt such a blow. But then his mask fell back into place and he abruptly gestured at his soldiers. As one they put away their weapons and parted to allow him to pass through their ranks.

“Good. Very good. You have earned your answers and more. You should be honoured. It is not often I personally test my candidates. Come with me and I will see that you are properly inducted.” His impassive face split into an unpleasant smile as he continued.

“Welcome to the Arcadion.”

Notes:

Phew! This one was weirdly difficult to pull together. Just couldn't find the motivation to write these past couple of days, but then yesterday I wound up writing another 3k words, so... I guess the juice is back? Anyway, next time we jump back to the other two idiots and meet a few very old friends.

Chapter 22: Reunion

Arashi awoke to darkness. Which, after a moment or two of panic, was simply Yotsuyu’s hair on top of her face. A few moments later Arashi was freed of the insidious trap her wife had laid and had also managed not to tumble out of bed in the process. Yotsuyu, for her part, was still fast asleep, looking as peaceful as she always did when she slept. Actually catching her asleep was rare, given she tended to rise earlier than anyone else, but given the day they’d had (to say nothing of the night), she’d earned some rest.

Arashi stumbled out of bed after her allotted wife-gazing time was up and strode out to meet the sun on the balcony. Judging by how high in the sky it was, she’d likely slept until mid-morning. Not surprising, but somewhat annoying. She’d wanted to catch up with Sanda and Zenos, put together some sort of plan of action going forward, but knowing her sister they were already out and about and causing varying levels of trouble for themselves. Not a total loss, but a potentially wasted day when they had no information, very little in the way of a plan, and half of their friends off on a suicidally stupid mission that could very well get them all killed or-

Stop that. You know that doesn’t help anyone. Arashi paused and forced herself to take a deep breath. Lyse and Kasumi were fine. Their friends would make sure of that. And if they don’t, I’ll personally roast Fareena over an open fire. Besides, there was something she could do that had nothing to do with her sister or her lovers.

Venat was alive. And Arashi intended to find out exactly how and why.

Thankfully, she had a lead in mind already. A very old friend who owed her the mother of all favours. If she was lucky they would still be in the area. Then again, three thousand years was a long time for anyone to stay in a single place, particularly one with their abilities. But it couldn’t hurt to try… Assuming I can convince Tsuyu to drive me out there, that is.

An unrestrained yawn emerged from behind as Yotsuyu rolled out of bed. Apparently not that much rest, Arashi thought to herself as her bleary-eyed wife located her and began a path of interception. Within a few moments Arashi found herself gently embraced and tugged gently upwards for a kiss. “I thought you’d want to sleep a little longer,” Arashi murmured once her lips were freed once more.

“You stink,” was Yotsuyu’s curt reply. “Breath and body both. Come with me.”

Arashi didn’t get a word of protest in before she was dragged into a slightly-too-small shower with her wife. Despite Yotsuyu’s protests about her breath, she had very few complaints when Arashi’s lips found hers again partway through, nor room to say much of anything aside from “more”. We can afford to waste a little more time.

“What happened to make you so bold?” Yotsuyu whispered with a breathy laugh.

“ Someone needs to keep you in line now that Lyse is gone,” Arashi responded with a particularly wicked grin. “She gave me this job herself. My sole duty while she’s off punching things. Her words, not mine.”

“Then I shall have to have some words of my own with her on her return,” Yotsuyu muttered. The glint in her eyes spoke of particularly wicked revenge. It would have been more convincing if she wasn’t breathing so heavily, or if her face was not so bright and blushing. A little more time won’t hurt, right? Arashi’s tail agreed as it slid up Yotsuyu’s thigh. A look and a nod was all the encouragement she needed after that.

It took some time before they mustered up the energy to emerge from the shower, particularly since Yotsuyu demanded recompense for being, in her words, “preyed upon by a vile brute with no sense of decorum”. A little rude, but soon enough it was Arashi’s turn not to have any words to spare. Eventually they managed to get themselves dried off, halfway clothed and cleansed of bad breath. Which meant there was, unfortunately, nothing to distract from the favour she needed to ask.

“Tsuyu?” Arashi braced herself for the inevitable derision and prodding that was sure to come. “I need to talk to you about something. And once I’m done, I need to ask something from you.”

“Go on.” Yotsuyu was perched on the bed and wrestling with a pair of tights, but she allowed the offending article to slip down as she gave her wife her full attention.

“Right. Okay. I… Gods, this is going to sound ridiculous, but here goes…” Arashi took a deep breath, tried to make herself look as credible as possible, and said, “I saw Hydaelyn yesterday. In the crowds. She’s alive.”

Silence dominated the room for a few moments as Yotsuyu absorbed the information. Then, after clear deliberation, Yotsuyu said:

“And who exactly is this Hydaelyn? Some old friend of yours from long ago?”

Ah. Right. She never got caught up in the Ascians’ plots directly. Of course she wouldn’t know. Arashi collected herself and lamely responded, “She’s a god. Or was. Really she’s one of the last survivors of a long-dead race of people that we all technically descended from, but also she broke that world and its people into the Source and its Reflections and… I’ve lost you, haven’t I?”

“Entirely. Frankly, I would be calling you a liar if I didn’t know you were mostly incapable of it.” Arashi opened her mouth to retort, but Yotsuyu held up a hand. “You wish to investigate her, yes?”

“I- Yes. Exactly. And I have an idea of how to begin, but-”

“But you require my assistance to do so.”

“Well, not exactly require, but I wouldn’t mind the company, and-”

“Done. When do we begin?”

“Wait, hang on.” Arashi found the wheels of her mind spinning rapidly out of control as her valiant and well-considered arguments ground to a screeching halt. “You’re willing to help? Just like that? No argument, no needling, no nothing?” Arashi’s eyes narrowed as she closed the gap between herself and her wife, tail twitching with sudden suspicion. “Who are you and what have you done with Tsuyu?”

Yotsuyu’s deeply unimpressed look was enough to convince Arashi that she hadn’t been possessed, body-snatched, or otherwise replaced. The acid tone in her response dispelled any lingering doubts. “If you’re truly so lacking in wit that you can’t see a simple act of kindness for what it is then you deserve all the bitterness it brings you. Besides,” Yotsuyu’s lips curled into a smile, “I will treat this as a favour owed. I expect you to be ready when I choose to collect on it in time.”

With a suddenly sinking heart, Arashi nodded.

…

A very, very long time ago, there had been a Convocation of Fourteen. A group of power who sat at the centre of the very brightest jewel in all the star, who shepherded its people and their creations to an even brighter future. Then had come catastrophe, apocalypse, and those self-same Fourteen had made a terrible choice to preserve the world they still had. They succeeded, but not without great cost, and not without even more terrible plans being hatched to restore their star to glory.

But then a rogue element had shattered it, and them, into pieces, leaving only three to pull the world back together one Shard at a time. The rest had been scattered to the winds, brought back to themselves only through the tireless efforts of the three. Some had fallen again, slain by the divided people of these tiny remnants of what used to be simply because they couldn’t understand what they had lost.

But bit by bit, the world had been pulled back together. It was working!

And then an adventurer had come. She stood against the mightiest empire of her divided star and she cast it back, away from the lands she’d called home. Worse, she had sent one of the three Unsundered flying back into the darkness lest he be broken too. But then opportunity knocked, and one of their more limited number had taken it and attempted to snuff out that little light.

And been snuffed out in turn.

A worrying setback, but not an irreplaceable one. Their replacement had been plucked from the Source and raised up to their proper station by the recently reawakened Emet-Selch once Lahabrea had gone and gotten himself killed, been given their marching orders and left to their own devices while the increasingly troublesome Warrior of Light was dealt with.

Then he had gone and died.

But no matter, for Elidibus had gone to deal with the threat personally, and surely he would-

Then he had gone and died too.

The remaining Ascians had seen the writing on the wall by that point. Some, like the omnicidal Fandaniel, had put their own plans into motion. Others, refusing to believe that the last of the Unsundered had passed, chose to lay low and await their inevitable return. One among them, however, had a different idea.

He had run as far as his essence could take him, away from Eorzea, away from Doma, away from Bozja, away from his bloody idiot colleagues. Across the Salt so he could never be bothered again. And for twenty brilliant summers he had been successful in that endeavour.

Until the Warrior of Light had come knocking at his door. Unbeknownst to him, she had been hunting the remaining Ascians so that they might never again threaten the safety of the Source. She had offered him the same choice she had offered the rest of his kind. Give up his evil ways, never again use his powers for evil, and make no effort to resurrect the dread Primal Zodiark – or else be consigned to oblivion and rebirth like all the others she had hunted down.

It had been the easiest decision he’d ever made, particularly after the last remnants of his Tempering were cured. And so, true to her word, she had let him be. For three thousand years he had been free to do as he pleased so long as he did not abuse his abilities or seek to harm others. So he had done what any bored, immortal, only-slightly-terrified being would do. He had turned to botany. Eventually his efforts had attracted a few others who shared his knack for undying, and together they had built a small preserve to create new life for its own sake. And it had been good. It had been wonderful.

And then it had come crashing down around him when the apparently fucking immortal Warrior of Light showed up at his door again.

…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

“Please stop screaming, Nabriales. I’m not here to kill you.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII’m sorry?”

“I said I’m not here to kill you.” Arashi folded her arms as she stared down at the cowering au ra, who was now lowering his arms from over his head with all the trust and credulity of a wounded bird under a cat’s paw. Yotsuyu had been given a brief history of the man, but if this was his reaction to seeing her again then he was surely far from the world-altering threat Arashi had made him out to be. Or Arashi truly was that dangerous when she was at her peak.

“You’re really not going to kill me?” Nabriales scrambled up to his feet, suddenly towering over the two women. Standing at almost seven fulms high, his pitch black horns jutting out around his face and mane of wild black hair made him appear threatening indeed, particularly when coupled with his brilliant yellow eyes and attempted scowl. However, the illusion was rather ruined by the dirt-stained apron and bright yellow gloves around his hands, to say nothing of the gardener’s tan and thorn scratches across his bare arms. For the last living Ascian, he certainly didn’t live up to the legend. But perhaps that was why he lived while all the rest had been burned from history’s pages.

Arashi sighed the long-suffering sigh of the weary. “In the past three thousand years have you done anything to advance the goals of the Ascians?” Nabriales shook his head. “And have you used your powers over creation to harm or abuse others?” Another shake, then…

“Well, there was that one time I used it to strengthen a rather fragile strain of lily when cross-breeding wasn’t taking as I’d hoped, but that was the only time and I felt guilty about it for weeks and-”

“Good enough. No, Nabriales, I’m really not here to kill you. How about we step inside so we can talk about this properly?”

Finally, some sense. Yotsuyu had spent the past hour suffering through sweltering heat driving under the boiling sun in a car with poor temperature control while Arashi had bumbled her way through navigating entirely unfamiliar terrain in a vain attempt to find the wayward Ascian. Eventually they had simply gotten lucky and found a sign pointing to the great greenhouse out on the very outskirts of Tuliyollal, tucked far away from the main roads and nestled as close to the edge of the forest as it could get. Getting inside would be a welcome change from it all.

The air inside was a wall of such refreshing cold Yotsuyu felt years being added back onto her lifespan. Merciful kami, what a relief. In retrospect it was no wonder Arashi had had such difficulty finding the place. Built from the same wood of the forest beyond it and roofed with their great leaves woven into place, the house was a near-perfect chameleon from the outside. And on the inside… The first and most obvious things Yotsuyu noticed were the plants. They were everywhere, sat on nearly every available surface, hanging from the ceiling in aerial pots, in some cases growing up the walls themselves. All fragrant and beautiful, and a good many of them intent on getting in Yotsuyu’s way as she followed the two au ra through the greenery.

There was, mercifully, a small patch of space towards the back of the open-plan house that was not overgrown with plant matter. A few small chairs (all wooden, of course) sat around an oaken table, upon which was sprawled all manner of scribbled notes, open books and, in one specific corner, a tiny radio blasting out particularly heavy music. Nabriales turned this down with an apologetic smile as Yotsuyu’s frosty stare fixed upon it.

“Helps the plants grow better, you see.” Nabriales settled into the far chair with a smile and gestured for Arashi and Yotsuyu to do the same. “I apologise for the lack of refreshments, but neither I nor my business partner have need for them, so…” The Ascian trailed off lamely before couching. “Well, enough about that. What brings you to my door, if you’re not here to kill me where I stand?”

Arashi’s tail curled around her waist as she stared at the last living Ascian. From what Yotsuyu had read of their personal history and what Arashi had bothered to explain, the previous Nabriales had been her first true triumph over the shadowy Convocation, though at a terrible cost. Letting their successor walk free had been… difficult, even so many years later. And now she must beg for his help. How galling. Yotsuyu’s hand found Arashi’s tail and gave it a very slight squeeze. Arashi’s grateful smile warmed Yotsuyu, cutting right through the chilly interior of the house.

“I need your help in finding someone for me,” Arashi said, her eyes finding Nabriales’s nervous glance and holding it in place. “I’d try to find her myself, but I’m too busy with the Grand Prix and I have no idea where she might have gone. She never could stay in one place for long.”

“Oh, is that all? Well, I’m certain I can spare some time to do so! Who is this person you’re so desperate to find?”

“Venat.”

Nabriales’s complexion went from tan to pale in an instant. His eyes widened, his pulse quickened, his breath tightened. “V-Venat, you say? As in, Hydaelyn?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, in Zodiark’s almighty name, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Nabriales curled into a ball and began to sob. Arashi’s eyes widened in sudden panic as she leaned forward in her chair, the wood underneath her creaking dangerously as she thrust her arms forward in a vain attempt to console the suddenly despondent man. “Wait, calm down, it’s okay! I don’t want you to confront her or anything, I just want to know where she is so I can talk to her myself! You won’t have to apprehend her or anything, just… you know, help me find her again.”

“I’m doomed I’m doomed I’m doomed my time is up death has finally come for me oh Zodiark please don’t forsake me so I’ll do anything please!”

Arashi’s panic melted away into irritation as Nabriales rocked in his chair and continued wailing. “He wasn’t always this dramatic, I swear.” Arashi rose, apparently ready to shake some sense into the inconsolable man, but something at the door at the far end of the room caused her to pause. Yotsuyu’s head swivelled in the same direction to see… Arashi? Impossible.

Impossible or not, the other Arashi stood and stared at herself, who stared right back in open-mouthed confusion. Looking between the two there were some small differences. The other Arashi was smaller across the chest and hips, her arms more obviously muscled, her face marked with scars long faded but stubbornly persistent. It was, Yotsuyu realised, like looking at Kasumi when she had first manifested. It was the Arashi she had faced so long ago. In Doma Castle. At the Castrum. The Warrior of Light.

Except that the Arashi of that time would never be seen dead in a flannel top that cut off just above her mid-riff and denim shorts that bared a frankly scandalous amount of leg. Nor would her eyes be a stark grey shade, matching her strangely off-colour scales and horns. “Potential sensor error,” the imposter Arashi declared. “Visual bug detected. Arashi Washi appears to be in visual range. Nabriales, confirm?”

Nabriales was too busy feeling sorry for himself to answer. Arashi stepped forward, her eyes wide with disbelief as she reached out with her hand. The other Arashi didn’t move, but neither did they shrink away from the true Arashi’s touch once she drew close enough.

“Omega? Is that you?”

The other Arashi blinked with what appeared to be surprise, though the rest of her face did not register any change in emotion. “Correct. I am known as Omega. Identify yourself.”

“Gods, it really is you…” Arashi laughed in disbelief, stumbling a little as she briefly lost balance. “Omega, it’s me! Arashi!”

Omega’s head tilted to one side, then the other. “Impossible. Arashi Washi perished three thousand, two hundred and fifty six years ago. I observed that mortal’s passing.” Omega’s arm raised ominously, pointing directly at Arashi’s chest. “Further attempts at deception will be met with force. Identify.”

“Stand down, Omega. It’s her,” Nabriales’s choked up voice drew the attention of the other three as he rubbed away his tears and rose to his feet. “The colour of her soul can’t be replicated, believe me. Besides, only the Warrior of Light would bring such grim tidings to my door.”

Omega was silent for a few moments. Their gaze flicked between Nabriales and Arashi a few times. Yotsuyu swore she could hear the gears turning in their head. Then they stopped. “Downgrading assessment from impossible to unbelievable. Updating parameters appropriately.” Omega took three steps forward, then closed their arms around Arashi in a mechanical (and very tight) hug. “Welcome back, Arashi Washi. I have missed you.”

Notes:

Breaking News: Local Woman Who Can't Let Go Of Stormblood Introduces Another Stormblood Character

Okay, jokes aside, Omega is a really interesting case to me because it/they were supposed to show up in Wheels of Thunder! Specifically, they were one of the options I considered for stumbling on (and rescuing) Arashi, Yotsuyu and Zenos in the snow. One of the other options was one Gaius Baelsar in self-exile, but ultimately neither option happened.

Nabriales is here because I like introducing new characters to relentlessly bully and have another person who got to the future the slow way. Be nice to him, because I won't~

Chapter 23: Ailing

Notes:

Heads-up on this chapter! It gets into the imminent grief of knowing you're going to lose a loved one and not being able to do much about it. If you've recently lost someone (or you're dealing with someone near the end), just bear that in mind.

This warning brought to you by: Me, tearing up as I wrote it!

“I have,” Arashi groaned through increasingly shallow breaths, “So! Many questions!”

“I suspect you are far from the only one,” Yotsuyu murmured as she eyed the twin au ras. Just how many lookalikes are you going to introduce me to? The true Arashi was attempting as best she could to pry herself free from her robotic double without causing undue harm to either of them. Eventually Omega released its grasp around Arashi and stared at her, giving her a blank stare save for the slight upward twitch of their lips.

The history books had spoken of Omega, of course, but only in broad strokes. An ancient machine that fell from the stars, awoken by Garlond Ironworks and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to defeat the dread Shinryu. But as only the Ironworks and Arashi knew the finer details of its final defeat, historians could only speculate. To know that it was alive and well was hardly a surprise (Arashi always had been too soft-hearted for her own good), but to see it mimicking her form so perfectly and address her with such warmth was… unexpected. And unwelcome.

Her hand found Arashi’s waist and tugged her close as she made her way to the pair. “I trust you haven’t forgotten about me in all this excitement?” Yotsuyu asked as she graced Arashi with a frosty glance before fixing Omega with a much colder stare. The robot took it without so much as a blink.

“Right, sorry, got caught up in the…” Arashi gestured lamely towards the still clearly distraught Nabriales with one hand and the stone-still Omega with her other. “Everything. Nabriales, Omega, this is my wife, Yotsuyu. Well, one of my wives. It’s a long story.” The latter hand nestled itself comfortably around Yotsuyu’s shoulders as Arashi’s tail curled gently around Yotsuyu’s legs. An acceptable apology. “Yotsuyu, this is Nabriales, the last living Ascian. At least, I thought he was until Nerva showed up like a fell wind. And this is Omega… A long story all their own.”

“One I’ll be happy to pry from you later,” Yotsuyu responded. “For now, our task is complete. Shall we return to our business?”

“Hold on, Tsuyu.” Arashi slid free of Yotsuyu’s slightly-too-tight grip and took another step towards Omega. “Like I said, I have questions. Like what exactly you’re doing wearing my face. Or why you’re… dressed like that.” Her grimace spoke full well of her disapproval, but Omega took it in their stride.

“Assessment. You are upset that I have chosen to honour you in this fashion.” Omega’s slight smile became a slight frown instead. It was irritatingly adorable on such a familiar face.

“Not upset, exactly! Just… confused. And a little disconcerted, I have to admit.” Arashi’s twitching tail spoke far more honestly than her words, as did the tension in her back and shoulders. “I’d like an explanation first and foremost.”

Omega… looked uncertain. “I wished to understand you in greater detail.” The words were not spoken in its typically level tone. They were strained, forced, pulled from the robot with great effort. “Your tenacity. Your abilities. Your heart. I have tried for three thousand cycles to understand the mortals of this world. This is my ultimate attempt to do so. I would take the form of their ultimate hero and do as she did.”

“And accomplish that by doing what? Saving the world?”

“Help people.”

“Oh.” Arashi stepped back again, taken aback physically and mentally. “By wearing that?”

“I am a gardener. I must dress appropriately to tend to the plants. These garments put people at ease when they come to me for assistance.” Omega paused for a moment, then its face blossomed into proper surprise as it looked down at themselves. “Source of consternation identified. I am not wearing my boots or hat. I am not garbed appropriately for gardening.”

“I… Tsuyu, help me out here. I saw you glaring earlier, surely you’re not alright with this.”

Yotsuyu was busy making a mental note to find a more fitting set of the same garments later, so Arashi’s sudden call for assistance caught her flat-footed for once. “Hmm? No, hardly fitting. Deeply distracting. Highly… Ahem. I demand that you change your form to something more suitable while we are present. I trust you are capable of such?”

“Understood. Scanning memory banks for a suitable replacement.” Omega blurred . Their body became shapeless and silver, bubbling in an unsettling fashion as it grew slightly in size. The grey mass swiftly resolved itself back into something recognisable again; still an au ra, but this time taller and sharper in gaze, its hair longer and darker, save for the single blonde strand that-

“Not that one,” Arashi declared, her voice suddenly strained. “Please.” Yotsuyu agreed vehemently.

Omega blurred again, this time taking the form of a miqo’te woman of tanned skin and blonde hair in an absurdly spiked ponytail. “Is this form sufficient?”

“Better. Thank you.” Arashi’s fire had guttered out, her voice quiet and subdued as she leaned back against Yotsuyu. “I’m sorry, I know you were doing what I asked. I just don’t want to see her right now. Not yet.” She heaved a sigh and turned to Nabriales, who looked like he had desperately hoped she’d forgotten about him entirely. “Will you be willing to help us, Nabriales? I just need to know what’s going on with her. Maybe she can help shed some light on Nerva too, if we’re lucky.”

Nabriales looked between the nightmare of his memories made real, at his strange shape-shifting business partner, then at the apparently perfectly normal woman caught up in the mess of it all. “I’ll see what I can do,” he finally responded. “Just don’t expect me to go confront her if I do find her! That woman terrified me even before she broke the world. All you Azems did, frankly.”

“Thank you.” Arashi turned away, back towards Yotsuyu, head almost buried in her chest. “I’d like to go now, if that’s alright with you.”

“Wait.” Omega spoke again, their voice once again thick with emotion. “You should see Alpha before you go. He does not have much time.”

Arashi whipped around in an instant. “Alpha’s here? Alpha’s still alive?”

“Yes.” Omega held out its hand. “Come with me. I will show you to him.”

Arashi took it without hesitation.

…

Omega led Arashi by the hand through the door they had first emerged from, the tension radiating off their body in horrible waves. Their entire demeanour had changed the moment Alpha was mentioned, going from barely emotive to disconcertingly human in an instant. I suppose three millennia of evolving and studying humanity has wrought its changes after all. But what worried Arashi was how sharply that effect had occurred, and how Omega had said not another word after taking Arashi with them.

“Omega?” Arashi couldn’t hide the worry in their voice as the robot led them deeper and deeper down the steadily darkening corridor. What she’d initially thought was a small utility room was far larger and far longer than it first appeared. “What happened to Alpha? What’s going on?”

Omega didn’t respond, but their tug on Arashi’s hand slackened just slightly as they slowed. The robot had no need to breathe, but Arashi swore she saw them take in a deep breath before pushing on ahead again. Finally they came to a stop at a great wooden door, so perfectly matched with the wall around it that Arashi would have walked right past it without even noticing. “Wait here,” Omega declared, then pushed open the door into total darkness. They vanished into it a moment later, the door shutting behind them with a gentle click.

The gentle pad of two sets of footsteps alerted Arashi to Yotsuyu and Nabriales’s catching up to her. She turned to fix the Ascian with a sombre gaze. “Tell me what’s wrong with him.”

Nabriales was brought up short by her demand, nervousness flourishing on his face as he stammered, “Well- he’s, I- um, that is… There’s nothing wrong , really, it’s…”

“Out with it,” Yotsuyu snapped. It was her steely glare that forced Nabriales to find his words.

“He’s dying.” Nabriales’s voice took on a tone just as serious as Arashi’s eyes had been but moments before. “As I said, there’s nothing wrong with him, really. It’s just… old age finally catching up to him. Omega didn’t really create him to last all that long, but Alpha always did like to defy expectations. We thought he might be like we are – properly deathless, you know – but over the past few centuries he’s been slowly losing feathers and going white around the beak and, well… His time’s coming.”

Arashi leaned heavily against the wall with a thud, her eyes suddenly unfocused as she struggled to unpack what she’d just been told. In truth she’d expected Alpha to have perished long ago, but to be told in one sentence that he was still alive and the next that he was dying… It stung. “How…” Arashi sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. “How long?”

“We aren’t sure,” Nabriales murmured. “Maybe a few days. Maybe a few years. He’s lasted this long, after all. But Omega barely left his side these past several weeks. I think it knows his time is drawing nearer.”

“I see.” Arashi sniffed again, her throat suddenly closing up as the weight of it all came crashing down on her. Yotsuyu drifted to her side and embraced her, her hair spilling around them both and cloaking Arashi in gentle black. Briefly she heard Nabriales’s footsteps vanishing down the hallway as gave the pair some space, but she didn’t care. Her tears had finally burst free, rendering her inconsolable in Yotsuyu’s arms. Yotsuyu said nothing, simply holding Arashi and letting the flood of newfound grief run its course.

“Thank you,” Arashi managed through a wobbling voice once her tears had dried. “Sorry. I should be-”

She didn’t get any further as the door creaked open. Omega had changed their form again, having given up M’naago’s shape for the appearance it had taken on when they had clashed. Silver skin, silver hair, brilliantly artificial eyes. The appearance would have been intimidating were it not for the fact that they were still garbed in their cropped top and shorts. “He is awake. Come quickly.” It didn’t wait for an answer before vanishing into the dark again. This time the door remained open, silently beckoning Arashi to follow.

Arashi slowly pulled herself free of Yotsuyu’s grasp and gave her a grateful smile as she neared the door. “I won’t be long, promise.” But I need to do this alone, I think. She slipped through the door to darkness and tugged it closed behind her, trusting that Omega didn’t have one final score to settle after all.

The room wasn’t completely dark, Arashi realised as she shut the door, but the sole light source was a feeble one indeed. It took some time for her eyes to adjust to the gloom, but as they did she began to fumble her way further inside. It was a relatively small room compared to the great, plant-filled living quarters outside, but it was filled with knick-knacks, strange devices and pictures. Some were of places she recognised, such as Ala Mhigo around the time of its liberation, or the ruins of Garlemald in the midst of rebuilding. Others, such as a great expanse of sand broken up by a gigantic upside-down pyramid, were entirely unknown to her. In each one Alpha and Omega stood, intent on seeing every corner of the world as it changed. Omega’s progress from tiny robot to something more and more humanoid was fascinating to track, but Arashi forced herself to keep moving.

For at the far corner of the room, tucked into a carefully carved bed, lay Alpha.

Nabriales had spoken truly. Where once Alpha had been a bright and vibrant yellow, now his feathers had faded to grey and white. He was starting to moult too, particularly around his massive beak. His eyes were tired and droopy, and his beloved Ironworks uniform was a ragged patchwork of stitches and repairs. But his eyes still focused squarely on Arashi as she entered, and she saw the unexpected delight in the old bird’s eyes as he gave a soft “Kweh!” in greeting.

It almost broke Arashi all over again, hearing that familiar chirp. But she steeled herself and pushed through the pain. Alpha deserved that much, at least.

“Hi, Alpha. Long time no see, eh?” Arashi’s feet were lead as she crossed the final few steps to his bedside. It was getting hard to see again, her rapid blinking not enough to keep the tears at bay. “Gods, we’ve both seen better days, haven’t we?”

“Kweh…” Alpha’s eyes glittered with amusement despite the frailty of his voice.

“He called you a liar.” Omega spoke up at last from their position at the foot of the bed. Their eyes were intense, unreadable, human . “He can read your dynamis. It’s brighter than he’s ever seen.”

“It is, huh?” Arashi’s eyes darkened as she looked down at her shaking hands. Lyse. Kasumi. Please be safe. “You should have seen me on my wedding night.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she turned her gaze back to the tiny, dying bird in front of her. Without you I’d have died. Without you Omega would have never chosen to live on and put aside their needless violence. And now here you are, ready to leave us both behind. Except that Arashi, having just been reunited with him across time and space, couldn’t say the same. And Omega…

“Kweh. Kweh!” Alpha’s voice was stronger this time, determination lending him enough strength to sit up. Before Arashi knew it, his great, fuzzy head was nuzzling against her chest and chin. So warm. Arashi’s arms wrapped around him more out of instinct than anything, feeling just how few feathers remained, noting just how stiff and brittle they had become.

“I’m going to miss you,” Arashi managed as she buried her head against Alpha’s. “So, so much. I want you to know that. And I will do everything in my power to make sure your memory lives on as long as possible, alright? You deserve all that and more.”

“Kweh..”

“Alpha says he missed you too. More than there are stars in the sky. Likely hyperbole. There are innumerable stars across the infinite distance of space, far more than-”

“Kweh!”

“Understood.” Omega said no more, but Arashi heard the faint rustle of clothes as they rose to their feet and trod over to the pair. Soon enough Arashi found herself embraced by a pair of cool steel arms in turn. Omega’s grip was shockingly gentle, their eyes closed and their face too obscured by the dark to discern. But Arashi swore she felt the faintest drop of moisture on her arms all the same.

“I’m not the only one who came back,” Arashi whispered eventually. “Cid and Nero made the jump too. They remember, like me. I could…”

“Don’t.” Omega’s answering murmur was filled with an intensity Arashi had never heard, even when they had clashed for the final time. “I am not ready yet. I do not have an answer to the question I asked. They will not-”

“Kweh…”

Omega paused. Looked down at Alpha’s pleading eyes. Sighed an all-too-human sigh. “Alpha says he would like that very much. He says he will hold on as long as he can.”

Arashi smiled and kissed the top of Alpha’s head. “Alright. I’ll pass on the message.” Alpha’s eyes shone with joy, but then they sagged visibly, the old bird starting to fall back into the bed. With Arashi’s and Omega’s assistance Alpha was gently lowered back into place and tucked in. He was asleep before they were done, wittering peacefully away and breathing deeply. Were it not for the occasional harsh cough and the pale feathers, he would have been mistaken for his old self. And yet…

Arashi rubbed away a few more tears before they could spill, turning away to leave. But then she caught sight of the picture frame by Alpha’s bedside, tucked away behind the faintly flickering lamp. Curiosity had her reaching for it, bringing it closer to the light. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat and a fresh flood of tears threatened to spill.

It was a picture of her in her old adventuring gear, crouched down next to Alpha and Omega in front of Rhalgr’s Reach. Clearly exhausted but grinning despite it all, while Alpha stood with one wing proudly in the air and Omega preened its tiny body.

“We worked hard to ensure this picture remained. It was always Alpha’s favourite.” Omega spoke quietly so as not to disturb Alpha’s sleep, but every word was a hammer blow. “His time with you was the happiest he had ever been. I am glad you could see him again at the end.”

Too choked up for words, Arashi simply nodded and let her tears flow.

…

It took a long while before Arashi was ready to leave. Even as they made their way back to the car she found herself caught up in the waves of grief and sorrow that had so fully engulfed her in the house. It was a grief Yotsuyu could not find a way to bridge, despite her best attempts to do just that. She had left nothing but pain and anguish behind the first time she had passed on. There was no-one to mourn her, no-one to remember her. Except for Gosetsu, and apparently Arashi. One who wants me out of the way, the other who would give her life to spare me the misery of my last journey. A motley pair, to be sure.

More importantly, she had not allowed regret to haunt her as she breathed her last. The Aetherial Sea had taken her soul and scrubbed it clean without resistance. No lingering love or ardent wish to be remembered stained her passage. She had thought herself incapable of it until recently. So it was that she could not imagine that love burning so strongly that it might still give off light across millennia, nor that it could hurt so to touch it again.

But Arashi could, from the look in her eyes. It haunted her.

The pair said nothing as they fastened their seatbelts and peeled off onto the main road again. Not until they were back on the mostly-empty dual-lane highway did Arashi finally murmur, “I’m sorry. For dragging you out here just to get lost in my own grief like that. If I’d known Alpha and Omega were here, I’d have… I don’t know. Probably gone alone, given Lyse and Kasumi aren’t here. Point is you shouldn’t have been dragged into this and I’m sorry.”

Yotsuyu wasn’t sure how to respond. The snake of resentment had uncoiled itself and begun slithering close to her heart again. Lyse and Kasumi had such a wealth of memories and experiences with Arashi that Yotsuyu could never hope to touch. This was a more potent reminder of the same lesson she’d been faced with whenever Arashi and Lyse shared an inside joke from another time, or Kasumi had reminisced on battles fought and won over dinner. Battles that I stood on the other side of, until it was my turn to be felled.

Yotsuyu’s conflicted emotions were apparently plain on her face, for Arashi’s sorrow deepened and she turned away to look out at the canopy slowly thinning out as they began to re-enter the city. Then, after a short while, Arashi spoke again. “Still can’t believe Nabriales screamed so loudly when he saw me, though. I should come visit with you more often, show him who the really scary one is.”

Yotsuyu’s lips curled into a smile despite herself. “Do I have your permission to don the mask of the Witch of Doma again, then?”

Arashi barked out a laugh as she turned back to face Yotsuyu. “Like you need permission to do that. I still remember that time you surprised me with a set of my old adventuring gear for our anniversary. You never did tell me how you had that made. Nor why you chose to make it so…” Arashi trailed off with a blush.

“I think it suited you, given what we used it for that night,” Yotsuyu purred. “I certainly heard no complaints.”

“Rather hard to say much of anything when I’m-” Arashi froze, her eyes flicking to the rear view mirror. “Tsuyu, I need you not to panic. We’re being followed.”

Yotsuyu fought the urge to look out of her own mirror, keeping her focus locked on the road ahead of them. “You’re certain?” Arashi nodded. “Damn it all. How long?”

“Couldn’t say, but they’ve been on our tail for the past few minutes. They took the last exit we did and they’ve been stubbornly stuck to us even after you kept changing lanes. Can’t see the driver from here, but I’d say it’s time for evasive action all the same. Take the next exit onto that side road. If we can double back into the trees we might be able to lose them.”

Yotsuyu (for once) did as she was told, suddenly shifting across lanes and diving into the swiftly approaching exit. She swerved hard around the sudden bend as the road began to sharply rise into a steep hill, quickly darting off down a side road as suggested. Then another, and another, and-

“No good,” Arashi muttered. “They’re still on our tail. Think it’s time we-”

BANG! Both women jumped as a sound louder than thunder overhead rang out, followed almost immediately by the car starting to swerve wildly. Yotsuyu wrenched the steering wheel hard to the left, just barely managing to avoid careening off the road and into the trees below. Arashi was wild-eyed, all subtlety lost as she whipped her head around to see what had happened. By the way she paled visibly, it was nothing good.

“They’ve got a gun!” Arashi shouted. “I think they’re aiming for our tyres! Tsuyu, you need to-”

BANG!

Arashi didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. One moment Yotsuyu was fighting for control of the steering wheel, the next it was entirely out of her hands as the car began spinning out of control. Time slowed down as they careened into, then through the safety barrier, too fast to do anything more than be slowed down as the end of the road gave way to empty air.

The two women just about had time to scream before the world rushed up to meet them and everything went dark.

Notes:

Love to induce near-fatal emotional whiplash by throwing silly Nabriales and Omega times at you and then slamming Alpha's imminent death right after.

Also RIP Arashi and Yotsuyu, thankfully we got plenty more protagonists to go around!

Chapter 24: Skulduggery

Sanda had made worse choices in her life, she knew that. She’d leapt into more dangerous situations with less of an escape plan. One of those choices had led her, in its own meandering way, to her boyfriend. But when said boyfriend’s disapproval was cutting her like a knife as they crouched with held breath in silence among the boxes of a rival team’s garage, this choice somehow felt worse than all the others.

“Remind me,” Zenos whispered against her horn, “The trail of thought that led you to decide this was a good idea.”

“Hey, you agreed to join me here!” Sanda hissed back, only a fraction louder as she whipped around to face him. “You could have said no at any point. Hells, you could have helped me plan out a better distraction too!”

“It is my duty to keep you safe from harm,” Zenos replied, his voice irritatingly cool. “So that you do not find yourself on the wrong end of a sword. All I ask is that you do not make that task more difficult than I can stomach.”

“I never asked you to do that, you know!” Sanda knew it was a bad idea to get riled up so, especially given the situation, but she couldn’t help herself. “I’m not a child and I’m not in need of a knight in shining armour to come bail me out every time I end up in trouble! I managed this long without help, I can-”

CLANG. A heavy metal boot rang out across the garage, silencing them both. Shit. Sanda had been expecting a lot of things when she decided it would be in their best interests to investigate the mysterious driver duo Gemma had warned of, but a full-metal knight was not one of them. Particularly not one who took his security seriously enough to practice his swordsmanship in full plate when alone. The grisly blade looked sharp and heavy enough to cleave right through Sanda without even slowing down. The man looked like he’d done worse before.

He was a giant of a man, broad-shouldered and burly with a close-cropped head of sandy brown hair and an even shorter beard. His eyes, when they weren’t squeezed shut, were a steely blue, made all the more piercing by the long scar that ran down a good bit of his face. His skin was gently tanned, though much of it was covered up by his immaculate steel plate. He was also, somehow, almost entirely silent as he went about his movements; a stark contrast to the furious shouts he had bellowed during the race. The exception being his massive metal boots, which rang out with every step he took. Which were few and far between given how deeply enraptured in his exercising he was.

Sanda and Zenos hadn’t realised he was even there when they had crept inside to find answers. Now they were trapped behind a collection of rickety boxes, their only hope to avoid discovery being the knight’s sole focus on his bladework. All in all, a less than ideal situation.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Sanda whispered, another plan formulating in her head. Not a good one, though that should have been obvious given her record to date, but one that would at least get Zenos free and clear. He may be a pain in the arse, but he’s my pain in the arse. She turned to face him, mouth open to deliver her foolish idea, only to be stopped in her tracks. Zenos wasn’t there.

He was instead making ready to heft one of the boxes over his head and throw it directly at the knight. His movements were slow, moving with all the easy grace of a predator ready to pounce as he lifted the crate. In any other situation Sanda would be tempted to watch the show (if only to marvel at the way his body moved), but this time she scuttled out of her makeshift hiding place to stop what was somehow an even worse plan than her own.

“No no no no no!” Sanda hissed her vehement disagreement and raised her arms in the air, thankful beyond belief that their accidental trapper had his back turned to them both. “What in the seven hells do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ensuring that you make it out of here,” Zenos replied with a bassy rumble. His eyes were locked on the knight, still running the calculations in his mind. As the knight moved so too did Zenos’s hands, upsettingly graceful as they made what adjustments he required. “I will engage him and allow you a chance to slip free. When I am able-”

“When you’re able?!” Sanda gestured violently at the gleaming steel in the distant man’s hands. “There won’t be an able if he guts you with that thing! I am not losing you again, do you understand? Not after I worked so hard to get you back the last time!”

“I assume that you have another idea, then?” Zenos’s voice was cool as he finally shifted his gaze to her eyes. Just for a moment Sanda felt more like prey than person. Something roused again at the sensation, but she forced it down once more. No. I will not let you get the better of me.

“Yes, I do. It’s called I cause a ruckus and act like I got dared to go in here by one of the other racers while you make yourself scarce. He’ll let me off with a warning… probably. Hopefully.” Sanda glanced over her shoulder at the frighteningly sharp sword. I’ve faced worse, but I’ve not faced anyone so disciplined. If push comes to shove… This won’t be easy.

“No.” Zenos’s neutrality melted into a frown. “I refuse to allow you to come to harm. I owe you a debt greater than I can repay and I will not see that debt squandered for you to accomplish your wayward heroics. I will meet his mettle while you-”

A loud bang by the entrance to the garage caused them both to freeze. In an instant Sanda was back in her hiding place, followed shortly after by Zenos. The knight had also stopped mid-swing, steel eyes sharply opening as he stared intently at the garage door. For a single second everything was silent. Then the door crashed open and a blur of auburn hair and silvery steel bled through it and slammed into the knight. His sword was barely fast enough to catch the sudden length of steel that preceded his opponent’s charge, but he gave no hint of surprise as he used his strength to shunt their blade aside and send them stumbling with it.

“Not bad for a first strike,” he declared with a cocky smile. “But you announced your intent far too clearly. Did you think to catch me by surprise with that knock?”

“Surprise you? No, I just wanted to give you a fighting chance!” His opponent met his grin with one of her own, her sword held in a defensive stance. “Honestly, Otis, I think you’ve gone soft if your reactions have gotten that sloppy. Letting me have the first strike isn’t like you at all.”

“Well, it was only fair that I allow you to make your grand entrance!” Otis replied stiffly as he slid his sword back into its sheath. “And besides, our usual dance would be somewhat frowned upon here. This world does not have the same appreciation of true swordsmanship as our home.”

“They truly don’t know what they’re missing.” The woman sighed and shook out her thick waves of hair, brushing it out of the way of her right eye only for it to fall back into place a moment later. She was as stark a contrast to her knightly companion (Otis, apparently) as it was possible to be. Sleek and slim against his bulk, her face a beautiful tapestry of sharp cheekbones and a short, straight nose that sat just below her piercing red-brown eyes. She looked to be around her mid-thirties, but her eyes bore a weight that told of a life hard-fought. She wore no armour that Sanda could see, favouring the typical racing suit of the Grand Prix that hugged her figure perfectly, styled mainly silver save for the crimson stripes across her sides. But it was the aura that she projected which most held Sanda’s attention. If Otis was a blade, she was the cut that blade left in its wake, a work of art carved through anyone unfortunate enough to get in her way.

“Any luck?” Otis asked. His gaze hadn’t left the woman’s sword, held in her hand like it weighed nothing at all.

“None,” she replied with a sigh. “If she truly is in this city, she has gone to great lengths to conceal her presence from us. Her aether signal wasn’t found in the aetheryte records and nobody matching her description has been seen. Which isn’t saying much, given how disastrously populated this place is.”

“Have heart, Zelenia.” Otis gave his partner a soft smile, his face going from stony and rough to adoringly gentle in an instant. “We’ll find her, I promise you that.” Sanda exchanged a glance with Zenos. Looking for Gemma? She’s not exactly hiding herself, is she?

“And if we do not?” Zelenia slammed her blade into its sheath with a single fluid movement. Her eyes were tight with worry as she stepped closer to her partner. She was, Sanda belatedly realised, slightly taller than Otis, if only by an inch or two. “We were given this task by the queen herself, Otis. If we come back empty-handed, it will be our heads!”

“Then we shall return victorious,” Otis responded, “Or not at all.”

Zelenia’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her chest. “Surely you of all people aren’t suggesting we abandon our post! For the captain of the royal guard to suggest such treason, I-”

“Calm yourself!” Otis ran a gauntleted hand over his face and groaned. “We will find her, I have the utmost faith in that. But until then, we must remain here. For as long as it takes to find our charge and bring her home. If it should take moons or even years to do so… Then so be it. I will weather whatever fate I must... If I have you by my side to face it with.”

From her vantage point Sanda could just make out the faint blush on Otis’s face, but the rose on Zelenia’s cheeks was far more visible. Oh. Zelenia was just as fast as she had been with her dramatic entrance as she slung an arm around Otis’s head and yanked him against her, the pair soon furiously kissing as Zelenia fumbled with Otis’s armour. Sanda stared, entirely stunned by the sudden display, but Zenos was much less susceptible to the pair’s amorous intentions. Without a word he caught Sanda’s arm and began tugging her towards the still-open door. Silent as ghosts they crept out towards freedom, leaving the chivalrous couple to their decidedly impure act.

---

The Arcadion was exactly where Lyse had expected it would be. Which made sense; it was by far the largest building in the area still intact and they had confirmed near-constant movement in and out of it in their initial investigations. She tried to show some measure of surprise as Zoraal Ja’s too-long steps hurried them all towards it. Kasumi didn’t even bother, while Yugiri’s ironclad mask remained as tightly affixed as ever. What I wouldn’t give to have Arashi here. She could properly act, at least.

The doors swung wide open before Zoraal Ja was even close, though there was no sign of anyone on the other side ready and waiting for them. Some sort of electronic signal, maybe, or else just another trick with electrope. Alisaie and Y’shtola had once tried to sit her down and explain it all, back in the good old days. Lyse had digested maybe a fraction of what they’d tried to impart before the rest had sailed completely over her head. She’d loved those two like her own sister, but they could never quite accept that she wasn’t the scholarly mind they were.

“Wait here,” Zoraal Ja commanded as they stepped through into the massive waiting room. “I will ensure that the rest of the fighters are summoned.”

Nerva, who had been unsettlingly silent during the trip back, burst into sudden life. “Finally! And here I thought you’d forgotten about our little deal with all your rabble recruiting! You have a candidate in mind, then?”

Zoraal Ja twisted his neck to look at the Garlean with a single dark eye. There was no warmth of camaraderie in his stare, just a cold disinterest. Lyse had never met the man in her last life, but that gaze perfectly fit the picture Arashi had painted of him. A man who so genuinely believed himself above everyone else that he could barely stand to look at them. A man who had reached the peak and found it wanting, unable to escape the shadow of the peaks his father had reached.

“No,” Zoraal Ja growled, as if the very word galled him. “But I will soon enough. Wait here and you shall understand.” He vanished through the far doors before Nerva could stop him, though Nerva certainly tried all the same. The doors slammed behind Zoraal Ja, narrowly avoiding closing on his tail spike and leaving Nerva skidding to a halt with a snarl. He banged on the doors, shouted a wordless, furious shout, then whirled on the guards who had dutifully followed the group into the room and formed a loose line around both of the walls to his sides.

“You!” He barked at the closest of the guards, an unfortunate miqo’te man who looked particularly uncomfortable inside his armour. Unlike the rest of his colleagues he had taken off his helmet, revealing his mess of silver-blonde locks and ruby eyes. “Open this door right now!” Nerva’s arm jabbed furiously at the stubbornly shut doors in front of him.

“I can’t do that, sir.” Lyse looked at the man with sympathy. He had the unenviable position of refusing one paymaster to keep in the other’s good graces. “Only those with the access keys are allowed past this point.”

“Then give me yours, you dullard!” Nerva held out his other hand expectantly, his furious gaze flitting between the door and the guard. His unfortunate target did not move. Nerva snapped his fingers. Still nothing. With singular fury Nerva’s eyes swung to focus entirely on the stubborn guard. He met a wall. He tried smashing it anyway. “What part of give me yours do you not understand?”

“I don’t have an access key,” the guard replied, a low growl slipping into his otherwise neutral tone. “Only those given permission to move freely though Arcadion are given them.”

“Then find one !” Nerva snarled, practically snapping the words out into the face of his stoic target. The miqo’te looked familiar somehow, but Lyse couldn’t place where. Something about the voice, the steel in his eyes. Then his eyes met hers, just briefly, and she saw him for what he used to be. Retsarra!

Lyse turned to her companions to see Kasumi staring at the man, her face unreadable save for the slightest tug of her lips. Her body, on the other hand, was ramrod straight and tight all over. Her eyes were locked on Nerva, her fists clenched to the point that her nails were drawing blood against her palms. Lyse placed her hand around Kasumi’s fist, giving it a gentle squeeze and shaking her head. Not here. Not now. Even if he is a total bastard. Besides, she didn’t fancy her chances of escape with so many heavily armed guards around, even if she and Kasumi did turn Nerva into a fine paste first. If Arashi were here, we might be able to-

Lyse shook her head with a frown. She isn’t. That’s the point. Deal with what we have.

Instead she directed her attention to Yugiri, who was watching the doors intently as Nerva had his tantrum. No, not the doors. Just next to them. As Lyse tried to understand just what it was that held Yugiri’s attention, she saw a very faint shimmer trying very, very hard to hold still. Still keeping an eye on us, Eutrope? The shimmer quickly faded into nothing as the miqo’te woman realised she had been spotted, freezing entirely so she wouldn’t give herself away. Lyse gave her a silent nod all the same. Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.

Nerva’s ranting continued on, but shortly he was interrupted as the doors swung open once again. Zoraal Ja stepped through, his suit either repaired or replaced and the nasty bruise that Lyse’s last hit had left healed entirely. He wasn’t alone, however, as behind him walked a motley crew of young men and women dressed in the same dark blue and grey uniform. All except one, who apparently insisted on dyeing her uniform deep black and including a pair of truly ridiculous platform shoes with it. There were around a dozen or so of them, all in all, of all different shapes and sizes. Some of them chatted amongst themselves, others were stony and silent. But all of them quieted down as Zoraal Ja held up a massive hand.

“I will not mince words,” he declared as he turned to face his followers. “We have suffered. We have lost. Mad Hare, Black Bat, Hazy Fang. All passed on thanks to Mad Hare’s idiocy.” A ripple ran through the crowd as the shocking announcement hit them. The woman in black looked ready to break down in tears before her resolve hardened into fury. Retsarra, still standing off to the side, looked less convinced, however. His eyes flicked over to the still-open doors.

“But while we mourn those who failed to return to us, we embrace those who choose to seek the opportunity they left behind!” Zoraal Ja gestured with his hand to Lyse, Kasumi and Yugiri. “Three new challengers have sought us out! They wish to join us in our quest for ascension, though they do not know it yet! So I bid you, embrace them as you have embraced one another. As fellow blessed siblings!”

His announcement was met with a few half-hearted cheers, but little else. It didn’t deter him from continuing, however. “There is more, of course. Now that our numbers are replenished, it is time to put your practice to use. I have been hard at work with my business partner,” Zoraal Ja gestured to Nerva, who looked ready to erupt again at the slightest provocation, “To obtain our true goal. Passage to the upper city! And I am pleased to say that an opportunity has presented itself!”

That got the crowd excited. Even Retsarra’s carefully contained face broke out into a disbelieving look. “But!” Zoraal Ja lifted a single finger. “Only one of you will be granted this honour. The strongest among you. The fastest. The most resilient of my children! And so, in order to determine who shall be granted this honour, we will be holding a tournament. You will battle one another for the right to rise higher, until only one of you remains to climb to the peak. You all have one week to prepare. After that the tournament shall begin, and we shall see if your preparations will be enough to obtain your heart’s desire. Now go, steel yourself for the battles to come! And may the best of you rise triumphant!”

The crowd needed no further encouragement. They split off in an excited buzz, back through the doors and out of sight. Zoraal Ja remained, however, finally turning his head to look down at Nerva. “I trust this fulfils my end of your bargain?”

“Hardly. But I’ve learned to make do with your disappointments. I will return once your little tournament begins. Try to at least put on an entertaining show.” He turned on his heel and stalked away, brushing past Lyse without even a glance. Well, that’s one less thorn to worry about. For now. Zoraal Ja’s eyes narrowed as he followed Nerva’s passage out of the building, but otherwise he gave no indication of his emotions. Instead he began walking towards the trio still left, the doors behind him closing as he moved away from them. Lyse just had time to see a slight shimmer of movement as they did. Retsarra saw it too, for he shot through the doors before his fellow guards could notice.

“As for the three of you,” Zoraal Ja murmured as he approached, “We shall have to fit you with regulators, and soon. I will not deny you the chance to ascend simply because you have been newly chosen. You have one bell to collect whatever belongings you require and return here.” Zoraal Ja met their eyes with a harsh smile.

“From now on, your life is the Arcadion. Prove yourself worthy of rising higher and you shall shatter those chains. Fail and none will remember you.”

…

 

“So it went off without a hitch?” Fareena pumped the air with her fist and danced a little jig. “Perfect! And with Eutrope inside too we’ll have even more firepower to bring the whole thing down!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Tender cautioned as she rubbed her temples. “Eutrope hardly seemed willing to cooperate yesterday. We’ll have our work cut out for us if she decides to actively sabotage our efforts.”

“Bah, she’ll come around.” Fareena dismissed Tender’s concerns with a wave of her hand, turning to grin at Lyse. “You really did smack him in the face, though? How did it feel? Satisfying, right?”

“Painful, mostly.” Lyse grimaced and checked her bruised knuckles. Now that the adrenaline of the fight and the introduction were over her body was making its various aches known. “But a little satisfying, yes. I think he was more impressed than anything, though. He doesn’t strike me as the type to let people land a hit like that and get away with it.”

“Yes, I’d recommend watching your back from here on out.” Tender’s stare was steady as she held Lyse’s eyes. “You’ll have his attention now. If we’re lucky, we can use to our advantage while Kasumi and Yugiri dig up dirt. If we’re unlucky…”

“Then I’ll make sure not to disappoint!” Lyse forced a bright smile on her face as she stuffed her underwear into her case. I can do this. I have to do this. “Not exactly a fan of the need for regulators just to get inside, though. I’d much rather fight with my own two fists than with a feral soul.”

“We’ll do what we must,” Kasumi murmured, her own packing done several minutes prior. Her expression was pensive as she stared at the door out into the under-city, a slight frown on her face. “This tournament will give us the distraction we need to move undetected. I recommend that Yugiri and I make a show of bowing out early. Let you take the limelight as far as you can.”

“You’re sure about this?” Lyse suddenly felt the weight of expectations press just slightly heavier on her shoulders. “I mean, I’m good but I’m not that good. I’ve recognised some of the people in that crowd, too. If they’re capable of the things they could do in our last go at this…”

“Don’t forget, you’ll have an equal playing field this time. Once you get used to your new powers, anyway. All you need to do is take care not to push too hard. The last thing we want is for your soul to that slipping.”

“Bah, you’ll be fine.” Fareena straightened up and approached Lyse, clapping her on the shoulder. “Worse comes to worst, you can just slap on Yaana’s old regulator. She was using that thing for months and it didn’t cause her any undue stress. Your soul should be able to handle it just fine.”

“And in doing so advertise to everyone else that I-” Lyse paused, her hand still halfway inside the suitcase. She’d reached for the regulator by reflex, but where she’d expected to find hard metal under her fingers she only felt soft fabric. “Huh. That’s weird.” Her hand rooted around some more, rationalising to herself that the regulator was buried under the rest of her clothing. It was not. “Oh no. Oh, no no no!”

“What’s going on?” Tender leapt to her feet and rushed to Lyse’s side, a gentle glow rushing to envelop them both.

“The regulator! It’s not here!” Lyse was starting to panic now, her heart racing with newfound fear. “It was in here before we set out, I know it was, I packed it myself! Where is it?”

Kasumi rushed over to the case as well, her hands rifling through Lyse’s things in a vain attempt to find what she could not. “Was anyone else in here when we left?” Kasumi’s voice was sharp, commanding, very slightly panicked.

“No, no-one!” Fareena’s eyes had widened as she began pacing. “We were both across the street, and Yaana was off making sure Zoraal Ja didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”

“What about Eutrope?” Kasumi asked, then shook her head. “No, she’d have no reason to suspect we even had it with us. Which means it must have been done while we were still packing. So that means either Arashi took it, which she’d have no reason to do either, or…” Kasumi trailed off, the sudden realisation sending a wave of horror through her.

“Yotsuyu.”

Notes:

The thick plottens!

Next time, we figure out whether or not I need to write a funeral for my two biggest idiots.

Chapter 25: Rescue

Notes:

Eyyyyyyyy it's me the content warning fairy again. This chapter contains a pretty gnarly injury getting dealt with and while I've not gone into a great deal of detail about the wound itself, its resolution is a key part of the second section. If you don't like puncture wounds, maybe just skip to section three.

Nothing beats the feeling of the wind in my hair! Wuk Lamat laughed into the gale as she raced down the steadily tightening road. Her bike was in fine form today, Koana’s maintenance post-race doing wonders to its stability. Shame he wasn’t done with it before the race, but what’s done is done. She’d managed to claim 6 ^th place in the end, a respectable if disappointing result for her first clash against the Eorzean division. And now I have a better idea of what they’re capable of. She’d heard rumours of them being able to harness dynamis and channel it into their vehicles before, of course, but to feel it happening right before her eyes was something else entirely.

But if they could do it, so could she. All she needed to was figure out how. In the meantime, she would try and keep Dawn’s Promise in peak condition in preparation for the next leg of the Grand Prix. Minus the occasional sneaking out when Koana wasn’t looking for a joyride. A joyride she was going to have to cut short pretty soon, judging by the dark clouds gathering above her. Hell of a storm coming our way, huh? She tried not to read into it too hard. Failed. Shunted the throttle forward and lost herself in the roar of Dawn’s Promise’s engine. The wind howled and clawed at her unprotected face, but she didn’t care. Koana or Erenville or Gemma would undoubtedly give her shit for not wearing a helmet again , but she didn’t care. They didn’t understand. None of them did.

They couldn’t feel it like she did. They were there by obligation or family bonds or simple desperation to get away. They hadn’t chosen this life. But she had. It was the best way she knew to meet the woman she owed everything to. The best way to thank her properly for it.

The rain came on in a thick curtain, growing thicker the closer to Tuliyollal she got. Eventually her better judgement made her slow down to a more reasonable pace, particularly as the road thinned to a narrow strip over the treetops. The last thing she needed was to wind up skidding off the road, especially with Dawn’s Promise not outfitted with the right tyres for it. The barrier around here was awfully rickety too, as she’d learned a few summers back when-

Wuk Lamat screeched to a halt. Even with the driving rain she could see the space where the barrier had been, along with the telltale marks of burned rubber from a car which had failed to stop itself. Shit. No telling how long it had been since it had happened, but given Wuk Lamat had been down this same road not a few hours ago, it couldn’t have been all that long. The rain was too heavy to catch sight of anything below, but if the car hadn’t flown off entirely there was a chance the unfortunate driver might be alive still. Assuming the monsters haven’t got them first. Nothing for it but to find out.

But first things first. The last time Wuk Lamat had gone off and done heroic deeds all by herself Koana hadn’t let her hear the end of it for weeks, and Erenville still brought it up when he thought she needed taking down a notch or two. So the hrothgar pulled out her phone with slippery fingers and jabbed in Erenville’s number. See how you like me learning my lesson for once.

It took a few rings before Erenville picked up, but soon enough his tired cadence sounded out through the speaker. “Wuk Lamat. To what do I owe the inevitable headache?”

“This is serious, Erenville. Someone’s gone off the ramp down into the city. I’m going to go investigate.” A few more moments of silence rang out through the patter of rain before:

“Oh gods, you’re serious? Wait right there, I’ll alert the-”

“No time! If you’re that worried, come find me yourself. But tell the Siblings too! We might have need of some back-up if the monsters found those poor people first.”

Erenville’s sigh was full of heavy resignation. “No chance of talking you out of this?”

“None. See you soon.” Wuk Lamat hung up before Erenville could get any snide last words in. I love that man like my brother, but does he have to be such a headache all the time? Wuk Lamat’s phone was dropped neatly back into her pocket as she stepped closer to the edge. The slope was steep enough to make it almost impossible for a car to get back up, but a determined enough person could probably scale it. And Wuk Lamat was nothing if not determined. But I’d better be smart about this, just in case.

Koana had been insistent on ensuring she carried a flare or two in case she wound up lost or injured on the road. She had brushed it off as him being a worry-wort at the time, but once again she found herself agreeing with his wisdom with the benefit of hindsight. She yanked a flare from her bike’s emergency kit and twisted it open, throwing it some distance away from her bike so as not to damage it. With that done, she reached for the other item she’d learned not to leave home without: Her axe. With a slight channelling of aether the mighty weapon was magnetised to her back, a comforting weight as she approached the broken barrier. Whoever’s out there and listening, please let me be able to do something about all this. Wuk Lamat took a deep breath and began her descent.

The journey down the slope was a slippery one, but Wuk Lamat was sure enough in her climbing skills that it didn’t bother her much. It seemed like the car hadn’t disturbed a great deal of the rocks on its way down. A boon for her, but for the driver… Wuk Lamat shook the thoughts from her head. No. I can help them. I will help them, I swear it! And if she was too late… I won’t be too late. It’s that simple. Even still, she quickened her pace down the final few fulms until her feet hit solid ground again.

It quickly became clear where the car had made contact with the ground again. The forest floor was littered with debris from its impact, plant matter and scrap metal strewn everywhere. One of the mightier trees had put a violent end to the car’s momentum, however, making a smoking ruin of corrugated steel out of what had once been the car’s bonnet and engine. The rest of the car, while battered and bruised, seemed mostly undamaged, but the wind-shield had shattered on impact, and a huge branch was nestled between the driver and passenger seats. But no sign of people, at least. Wuk Lamat walked with caution towards the wreck, pausing only to shunt her wild mane of soaking hair from her face. This storm isn’t letting up any time soon...

On closer inspection it was obvious there had been a struggle to get free. Wuk Lamat’s breath caught in her throat as she saw the blood coating the driver’s seat, to say nothing of how much of the branch was slathered in it as well. Calm down. They got out. Which means they survived the initial impact. But with that much blood loss it was a miracle they’d made it out at all. Probably not alone, then. They wouldn’t have made it far otherwise. Indeed, she was able to make out, albeit faintly, two sets of footprints in the muddy ground. One sure and steady, the other haphazard and irregular. But she also saw the trail of blood mingling with those footprints.

Briefly she turned to look up at the barrier above, where the flare still shone. She could wait for help to arrive, form a proper search party, cover more ground in case the trail went cold. But there was no telling how long that might take, and with that much blood coating the car and ground it was clear the poor people needed help now.

It wasn’t a choice at all, really. Wuk Lamat jogged off into the undergrowth, hoping against hope she wasn’t already too late.

…

…“shi!”

… Ar…i!”

“ARASHI!”

Arashi’s vision slowly resolved itself into something coherent. Yotsuyu was in front of her, fingers caught around her chin, pushing her face this way and that. Her make-up was running, causing channels of black to run down her cheeks. Her eyes were red too, apparently with tears. She looked horrified. Why did she…?

Oh. It came flooding back in an instant. The shots, the burst tires, the fall. They were down on the forest floor, the road far above them. Yotsuyu must have woken up first, managed to free herself from her seat. She looked bruised, particularly on her right cheek, but otherwise unharmed. Good. That was good. But something wasn’t right. She tried to shift position-

Agony. Her world went dark again.

It must have only been a few seconds of unconsciousness, but her body ached as if she’d slept upright for hours. She was more careful this time. Keeping as still as she could, she opened her eyes again to look at her wife.

“What happened?”

“I lost control. We fell. I was able to regain some control when we landed, but the impact rendered you unconscious, and in my panic we crashed. I am unharmed. You… Don’t move. Please don’t move.”

Arashi was a lot of things, but good at following instructions to take care of herself wasn’t one of them. This time she was ready for the pulse of pain, but the effort of moving her neck alone was enough to have her gasping for air. She soon saw why. There was a tree branch spearing her shoulder to the seat. Oh. That explains it.

Her chin was yanked back towards Yotsuyu’s face, fear replaced with fury now. “What did I just say? Are you entirely incapable of listening to reason?”

Arashi tried to speak, but mostly what escaped her lips was a dull whine of excruciation. Yotsuyu’s gasp of horror in response was far harder to hear. “I’m… alright.” The words were effort incarnate in a world of pain.

“Don’t lie to me!” Yotsuyu’s forehead met Arashi’s with a little too much force, her eyes screwed shut and her next breath coming out as a choked sob. “Don’t. I won’t have your last words be deceit just so you can spare my feelings. Please.”

“I’m… not lying.” Her shoulder was an unending flame of misery and her shirt was no doubt coated with her own blood, but… “I can… fix this. I just…”

“Stop it! Are you deaf as well as stupid? Or are you so entirely consumed by who you used to be that you’ve lost sight of your own very real limitations? If I remove that branch you will die of blood loss within minutes! If I leave you here the beasts will claim you! You-”

“Tsuyu…”

“Don’t interrupt me! You are going to die one way or another, and on the miserably small chance that I live through this, I will be the one that must tell Lyse and Kasumi that I failed you! They will hate me for the loss of you, and I-”

“Yotsuyu.”

“Hush! I will be left alone again, just as I deserve for the misery I have caused! This is how it was meant to be, and I-”

“YOTSUYU NAEURI, LISTEN TO ME!”

Yotsuyu finally fell silent.

“I. Will. Be. Fine.” Every word was ground out through gritted teeth, but she leaned back on her old strength to push through the pain. “I can heal myself once the branch is out. But I can’t do it myself. I need you to pull it out. Slowly.”

Yotsuyu was silent, pulling away from Arashi’s face to stare at her with wide eyes. Her already pale skin was paler still as Arashi’s words sunk in. Finally she murmured disbelievingly, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I am.” But I really wish I wasn’t. “I’d do it myself, but I can’t concentrate on healing the damage and yanking it out at the same time. Sorry, Tsuyu.” Yotsuyu wasn’t really listening, her eyes flitting between Arashi’s likely bone-white face and the red ruin of the branch’s impact. Finally she closed her eyes and leaned forward, her hands closing around the branch with newfound resolution. She began to tug, and-

“WAIT!” Arashi screamed, then hissed in agony as the branch started to come loose. Yotsuyu stopped, immediately letting go of the branch with trembling hands. “Give me something to bite down on first. I’d rather not have to heal a bitten off tongue too.”

Yotsuyu shoved a large splinter of wood into Arashi’s mouth, so eagerly and quickly that Arashi nearly choked on it. But it was thick and sturdy enough to do the trick. Arashi gave Yotsuyu a slight nod and braced herself.

She almost fell unconscious within the first second of motion. It was somehow far worse than anything in recent memory; worse than Asahi’s brutality, worse than the all-consuming cold of Garlemald’s icy sea, worse than her leg shattering in Ul’dah. But not worse than her old life. Not worse than feeling her soul being broken and devoured by Light. Not worse than Zenos’s final, almost-fatal wounds. Not worse than watching her sister vanish on a ship to Doma while she stayed behind.

Arashi endured. She pumped aether into the wound left by the slowly retreating branch. She felt her bones seal back together, felt her blood vessels repair, felt her muscle un-tear itself. She felt the pain slowly, slowly recede. Then she felt the branch come loose entirely in a spray of blood, felt her aether knit shut the wound like it had never been. Exhausted beyond her limits, Arashi leaned forward in her seat and spat out the wood still stuck between her jaws. “Thank you,” she managed between heavy breaths, her whole body coated in sweat from the effort. Then she allowed unconsciousness to take her.

…

When she next awoke, she was soaking wet and being half-carried, half-dragged through the mud. Yotsuyu’s face was grim as she trudged forward, her hair completely drenched with rain and clinging to her chest and back in a black tide. “Tsuyu?” Arashi croaked before immediately falling into a coughing fit as her very raw throat made itself known.

Yotsuyu paused, leaning Arashi against the nearest tree and fumbling through her bag. A moment later she had a bottle of water, mostly warm from its time in the car and already half-empty. It was the best drink Arashi could have asked for as it passed between her lips. “Thank you,” she gasped, trying to push herself away from the tree and on her own two feet. She would have landed face-first in the mud if Yotsuyu wasn’t ready to catch her.

“Careful,” Yotsuyu murmured as she pushed Arashi back against the tree. “You’ve expended more aether than you were prepared for. The fact that you’re conscious at all is…”

Arashi nodded with a grimace. “Understood. What’s the plan?”

“Plan?” Yotsuyu’s eyebrow arched in disbelief. “Bold of you to assume I have any plan at all. We are lost, stranded, completely without hope of defending ourselves. You have left behind a trail of blood the whole way. I am at the end of my tether. We…”

Arashi’s arm still ached horribly, but she ignored the pain to take Yotsuyu’s face in her hand. “We’re not done yet. Don’t lose hope, alright? Trust me when I say I’ve been through much worse and survived. This won’t be the end of us.” I won’t let it be. She more fell into Yotsuyu’s kiss than leaned into it, but the warmth of her wife’s touch helped steady her a little more. She gave Yotsuyu a thankful smile as they parted and Yotsuyu slid Arashi’s arm around her shoulders.

“I assume you have some sort of plan if you’re acting so confidently,” Yotsuyu declared as they began trudging forward again. Arashi found just about enough strength to keep walking with her instead of being dragged.

“Get out of the rain. Wait for my aether to recover. Try and signal for help if we can. That’s about as far as I’ve managed to get so far. You’ve tried calling Cid and Nero, right?”

“No luck. The signal was poor enough out here without the storm overhead.” Yotsuyu’s lips curled into a furious scowl. “When I find Gosetsu, I will ensure he suffers one thousandfold for what he did-”

“It wasn’t Gosetsu,” Arashi interrupted. “I got a glimpse of the hand holding the gun. Too small for a roegadyn. Maybe he was driving, but I doubt it. This was someone else.”

“Then who?” Yotsuyu growled in rising frustration and threw her hands up in the air, almost dislodging Arashi’s arm in the process. “Why is it that our list of enemies grows longer by the day? What have we done to deserve this?”

“Together or singly?” Arashi asked with a dry smile. Her humour didn’t last long, however. A heavy crack rang out across the forest floor as something huge and weighty turned a fallen branch into splinters. Arashi and Yotsuyu froze, then hurried behind the nearest tree. Adrenaline purged some of the weakness from Arashi’s limbs, giving her just enough speed to zip out of sight as a massive feline trod through the undergrowth. Its fur was a dazzling mass of purple on brown, its mouth a razor-sharp selection of ripping fangs, its body rippling with muscle primed to pounce. But it was the eyes that held Arashi’s attention. Crimson and ravenous and narrowed with intent. She didn’t need to read its thoughts to know it was hunting them. No. Hunting me.

If she’d known she was being hunted she could have stripped off her shirt, thrown it away, thrown it off their trail. If she had her sword she might be able to injure it badly enough to send it packing. If she had her full aether reserves she’d be able to end it even without a weapon. If. If. If if if. But she didn’t. And no rescue was coming. So she did the only thing she could.

“I love you, Tsuyu.” She didn’t give Yotsuyu a chance to respond before lurching out from behind the tree with a furious shout. “HEY! YOU OVERGROWN KITTEN! I’M RIGHT HERE! COME AND GET ME!” The ocelot’s eyes focused on her, its muzzle peeling back into a triumphant snarl. She could see its shoulder muscles bunching up, its whole body tensing for the final, fatal pounce. Vaguely she heard Yotsuyu shouting, cursing, screaming her name. It no longer mattered. The world fell away, leaving behind only herself and the beast. Predator and prey. Both waiting for the other to blink. Come on, come on. I’m right here. I’m wounded and exhausted. Easy meal right here. Come on!

The ocelot sprang forward almost faster than Arashi could react. Almost. She dropped just quickly enough for it to sail right over here, slamming her fist into its abdomen as it passed. It barely even reacted, but she wasn’t looking to do any real damage. Just keep it distracted long enough for Yotsuyu to run. To make her death mean something. It was the best she could hope for, but she was damn well going to make sure she spent her life dearly. Already the big cat was landing, rounding on her, getting ready to pounce again. I’m sorry, Lyse. Kasumi. Live for me, that’s all I-

Neither of them were prepared for the living bolt of darkness to slam into the ocelot with a screech of raw fury. The ocelot yowled in sudden pain as ragged claws rent at its side, staining them and the grass red with its blood. It whirled to claw at its assailant in turn, but it used its great leathery wings to tumble out of the way, out of its range. It was still for just a moment, but a moment was all Arashi needed to see it clearly. See her clearly.

See the regulator glowing its ominous red shade clearly.

“Tsuyu?”

There was enough of Yotsuyu recognisable in the bat-like face for Arashi to see her shame be ruthlessly extinguished by her determination and fury as she turned to face her wife. Then she looked back towards the bleeding ocelot, its teeth bared in challenge as it turned its wounded side away from her and began to circle. Arashi was, for the moment, forgotten. Its easy hunt had suddenly devolved into a battle for dominance, and it was not going to lose. It came at Yotsuyu more cautiously, however, its eyes glued to her blood-red claws as she began to circle it in turn.

For someone unused to combat and regulators both, Yotsuyu had taken shockingly well to the feral soul it contained. Her massive bat ears twitched and rotated, alert for any errant sound, while her yellowed eyes kept the ocelot locked in her sight as they sized each other up. Despite her mounting horror, Arashi had to admit she was impressed. She’d have run rampant in the old Arcadion. And yet she knew what had become of so many of the old Arcadion’s finest, and every second Yotsuyu remained in that form was another second closer to her succumbing to that same fate. Please, Tsuyu, end this quickly. Please!

The big cat was first to act, surging forward with all the silent grace of a master hunter. As Yotsuyu’s wings flapped to launch her into the air, the ocelot suddenly rose onto its hind legs and savagely lashed out at Yotsuyu’s legs. It was only sheer luck that kept the claws from finding purchase, but they nevertheless left a deep gouge on Yotsuyu’s thigh and sent her tumbling out of control. She hit the ground with a heavy thud, clearly winded but rolling just in time to avoid getting pounced on by the ocelot. The feral soul’s instincts were steering her right but they couldn’t make up for Yotsutu’s lack of true training. Sooner or later the ocelot would get lucky again, and that would be the end of it. I’ve got to do something. Anything!

Arashi looked around, desperate to find anything at all she could use to turn the tide of battle, or attract the creature’s attention, or anything at all to feel halfway useful. Her eyes finally settled on the discarded water bottle, mostly empty and missing its cap. In their haste to hide it had been left behind. Arashi snatched it up and threw it in a single fluid movement, aiming for the creature’s head. She instead caught it on its injured side, the water splashing harmlessly but painfully against the ragged gashes. The ocelot hissed in pain and rounded on her, its forgotten prey suddenly remembered with a vengeance. Too late Arashi realised her mistake. It was much too fast, much too powerful to evade, and Yotsuyu was still struggling to her feet and clutching her injured leg. She won’t reach it in time to save me. Arashi closed her eyes and steeled herself for the inevitable. Mother. Father. I’ll see you again soon. Sanda, take care of your-

“GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU BASTAAAAAAAARD!”

A brown blur smashed into the ocelot’s side with all the force of a cannonball, cracking ribs and throwing it off-course to collide into a nearby tree. It struggled to rise, but its new attacker didn’t give it a chance. With a mighty roar her axe slammed into the ocelot’s neck, carving through flesh and muscle like it wasn’t even there. What followed was an explosion of force and the sound of grinding metal as Wuk Lamat channelled her aether into a single, terrible blow.

[FELL CLEAVE]

The ocelot gave a single pathetic yowl then fell to the floor, dead. Wuk Lamat planted her foot on its neck and, with a grunt of exertion, yanked her bloodied axe free. “I’m sorry,” she said to the beast’s rapidly cooling corpse. “But I couldn’t let you walk away now that you’ve learned to hunt our kind. May your spirit find peace in the next life.” Then she turned to Arashi, her shining emerald eyes glittering with worry. “Are you alright?” Wuk Lamat asked as she approached. Yotsuyu was starting towards her as well, the transformation fading and her humanity returning. She was limping, Arashi belatedly realised.

“I’m,” Arashi began, but that was as far as she got before exhaustion took her. For the fourth time that day, she fell unconscious.

Notes:

Yotsuyu can have little a soul-hurtingly terrible but ultimately understandable decision. As a treat.

Next time, a little hurt, a little comfort, and the final stop before our next race! Probably.

Chapter 26: Sword

“Tsuyu?”

“Mm?”

“Why is my head wet?”

Because I feared you weren’t going to wake up. “Don’t ask such foolish things.”

“Alright.” Arashi’s arms curled tightly around Yotsuyu’s body all the same. “Next question.”

“Mm?”

“Why is my head buried against your tits?”

“What did I just say about foolish questions?” Yotsuyu’s grip tightened just a little tighter around Arashi, locking her comfortably in place.

Arashi chuckled softly, her voice sending a wonderful thrill through Yotsuyu as it reverberated against her chest. “I suppose I’ll allow that, then.” Yotsuyu didn’t miss the airily commanding tone. A poor imitation of the real thing. “ What happened?”

“You collapsed. Weakness brought on by aether sickness. Wuk Lamat and her companions escorted us home. They have… a great deal of questions, but I shooed them away. You needed rest.” And I needed to get our story straight.

“Thank you,” Arashi murmured, the bone-deep exhaustion in her voice piercing Yotsuyu’s heart. Then, more quietly, “How long have you had that regulator on you?”

Yotsuyu tensed, looking down to see Arashi staring up at her. The darkness made it hard to read her expression, but the way her eyes were narrowed couldn’t mean anything good. “I took it before Lyse and Kasumi left,” she admitted.

“And do they know?”

“No.”

“I see.” Arashi’s voice was near-silent and horribly subdued. “If I ask you to throw it away, will you do it?”

Yotsuyu said nothing. She couldn’t bear to lie. She couldn’t bear to tell the truth. She couldn’t-

“I understand, you know.” Yotsuyu’s breath caught in her throat. “You felt powerless. Like you couldn’t do anything but watch as everything fell apart. Lyse crippled. Me dead. You never wanted to feel that way again. And when the chance presented itself…”

“I don’t regret it.” The words spilled out in a breathless rush. She felt Arashi’s body stiffen, her eyes narrow further, but Yotsuyu pressed on. “If I had not taken it then you would be dead and I would be alone. I will not apologise for saving your life.”

“Even if it cost you your own?” Yotsuyu met Arashi’s eyes, saying nothing but letting her answer show in her gaze. “Of course you wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t either. I’m being a hypocrite, I know. But you have no idea how dangerous that thing is. Every second you channel that feral soul brings you closer and closer to losing your own soul in turn. I’ve seen what it does to people who overuse it. I… Please don’t make me lose you like that. I don’t know if I could forgive you if you did.”

Yotsuyu said nothing for a time, her hands trembling gently as she held Arashi. Her mind was elsewhere, an old memory rising to the surface. Not that horrible night in the Gridanian cabin, but older still. Far older. Lying on the cold metal floor of the Castrum, barely able to breathe, her body past the point of agony, knowing she was going to die. Unable to turn her head so she wouldn’t have to see the woman who had slain her. Forced to watch the horrible regret in her eyes and, at the very last, feel a shred of sympathy for the vaunted Warrior of Light. For Yotsuyu would escape her misery, while that woman would bear it for decades to come.

Finally, Yotsuyu whispered, “Don’t ask me to stop shy at a line you would cross in a heartbeat. I am not some damsel to be rescued or precious treasure to hoard. If you would lay down your life to save mine then I will do the same for you. With whatever means make themselves available.”

Arashi closed her eyes. Her breath came out in a long, slow shudder as her whole body shook. Then, finally, she opened her eyes and stared up at Yotsuyu. “If you’re going to insist on this,” she said, her voice thick with determination, “Then I’m going to call upon some old tricks. I’m going to summon my blade tomorrow, and then we’re going to train. Together.”

Yotsuyu realised the gravity of just what Arashi intended. “No,” she whispered. “No, I won’t have you going back to your old ways just to-”

“You’re right, Tsuyu.” Arashi’s voice raised just high enough to cut off Yotsuyu, her eyes blazing. “I almost died today. Maybe having my sword wouldn’t have done anything. Maybe it would have changed everything. But I didn’t when I needed it and whoever shot at us is still out there. If I have to put on that mask again, even for a little while, so be it. Because I can use it to help you stand on your own two feet too.”

“What do you mean?” Yotsuyu asked, suddenly breathless as Arashi’s resolve crashed upon her like a tidal wave.

“I mean that starting tomorrow, you’re going to learn how to wield a sword of your own. I’m going to teach you my best kept secrets. So that you never have to use that regulator again.”

…

“I’m telling you, I know what I saw!” Wuk Lamat insisted, slamming her hands on the table for emphasis. It was easy to forget sometimes just how sharp her teeth were, or how easily her nails could become claws. It was less easy to forget those facts now.

“Nobody is saying that you don’t,” Koana cut in, easing the tension before it could boil over into anything more than harsh words. Pity. “It simply seems strange, that’s all. For one of the Eorzean racers to have a regulator thousands of years and malms away from when and where they were made… It raises a lot of questions, don’t you agree?”

“Of course it does! That’s why we need to get some answers!” Were it not for Makool Ja guarding the door she likely would have shunted her way out already. “We need to know who’s supplying them, what their plan is, and how we can stop it before it spirals out of hand! I will not have another Solution Nine tearing apart my people!”

“Your people, huh?” Betool Ja pushed off of the wall she’d been leaning against with a chuckle. “Last I checked you weren’t the Head of Resolve this time around. Though that would explain why you had your manservant order me to drop what I was doing and pick up a lost lizard earlier.”

“Manservant?” Erenville, predictably, bristled at the taunt. “I asked for your help because I knew Wuk Lamat would rush in over her head, not because I-”

“It’s alright, Erenville.” Koana put a calming hand on the viera’s shoulder. “Let’s focus on the issue at hand here. You are absolutely certain that you saw a regulator on Yotsuyu’s person, Lamaty’i?”

“For the last time, yes!” Wuk Lamat threw up her hands in frustration as she looked around the room, daring anyone to dispute her testimony again. “And not just that, but one containing a feral soul! I didn’t catch much of the fight before I intervened, but I distinctly saw Yotsuyu with bat features trying to fend off the ocelot before I got there!”

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you take it from her there and then?” It wasn’t a good idea to rile up Wuk Lamat so badly when she was already in such a state, but if she was going to throw around wild accusations she could at least get her story straight first. It definitely wasn’t because Betool Ja was sore about being used as a pack mule the moment she and Makool Ja had arrived on the scene. Definitely not.

“Look, Arashi collapsed as soon as I’d finished putting down the ocelot. I didn’t have time to question Yotsuyu, especially not when I had no idea if Arashi was going to be okay. You saw how thin her aether was when you showed up! The fact that she even had enough aether to heal that kind of wound…”

“It’s her, alright.” Makool Ja spoke up at last, drawing all eyes to him. “This incident proves it beyond all doubt. Only the Warrior of Light could be so monumentally powerful…”

“...And monumentally thick-headed,” Betool Ja finished with a grin. “So what’s the plan then, kitty cat? Smash and grab? Sneak it and steal the thing while they’re sleeping it off? Pick ‘em up and start shaking until the regulator falls out?”

“No.” Wuk Lamat had, against all odds, managed to cool off some. “Like I said, we need answers, but I doubt they’re going to be comfortable telling us everything if we just ask. We need to earn their trust first. We might remember her, but I have my doubts it’s mutual at this point. Still, if she’s the Arashi I knew it shouldn’t be hard to get her to warm up to me. I just need to get some time alone with her is all.”

“Look at you, kitty cat! You’re getting downright devious in your old age! If we’d known your second life outta nine was going to be this cunning, we’d have cut you down to size ourselves!” Betool Ja weathered Wuk Lamat’s scowl with a nasty grin. “But you’re missing something. After today you’re not going to get anywhere close to your favourite lizard without her wife sticking to her like glue, and I doubt that witch is going to be anywhere close to as friendly.”

“Actually, I might already have a plan for that.” Wuk Lamat turned to Erenville with a sickeningly sweet smile, who paled visibly as he realised just what Wuk Lamat had planned.

“No. Absolutely not. I am here to keep you out of trouble on the track, nothing more. I will not allow myself to be wrapped up in your hare-brained schemes again!” Betool Ja and Makool Ja shared a silent laugh at the unintentional pun. “There are plenty of other fools who will be happy to be your spy. Ask one of them, not me.”

“But none of them have seen a regulator before,” Koana said. His eyes were unreadable behind the glare of his glasses. “And out of all of us, your temperament is closest to Yotsuyu’s. You are, I’m afraid to say, our best hope at accomplishing this.”

“Temperament?!” Erenville sputtered, looked around the room for support, found none. “I’m nothing like that woman! She’s cold, callous, unpleasant to most everyone around her-”

“And protective of those she loves above all else, to the point of using a feral soul to protect her. And on top of all that, if I don’t mistake my guess, prone to being misjudged by those that do not know her. Much like yourself, my friend.”

“I… That’s…” Erenville sputtered a little more before finally throwing his hands in the air with a huff. “Fine. I’ll try, but only long enough for her to lose her temper and send me away. I’m a natural scientist, not a miracle worker.”

“Thank you, Erenville.” Wuk Lamat gave him a smile warm enough to light a fire in Betool Ja’s heart. The smile’s recipient seemed less swayed, however. “And thank you all for trusting in me. I know there’s a reasonable explanation for all this, but I need to hear it for myself. In the meantime, keep an eye on them and let me know if you see anything suspicious.”

Betool Ja took that as a good enough dismissal and ambled towards the door, which Makool Ja dutifully ducked through first as Betool Ja approached. Her soulbound brother waited until they were well out of earshot before he spoke again.

“I am curious, sister. Why did you not speak up about your conversation with Arashi last night? It might have cleared up some misconceptions.”

“That secret’s not mine to spill.” Betool Ja looked down the mountain towards the sea. Towards the cabin where the Warrior of Light was recovering. “When she’s ready, she’ll tell the others. Until then I’m not saying shit. And neither are you, got it?”

“Loud and clear,” Makool Ja replied, though their face showed their disagreement well enough.

“Besides,” Betool Ja continued with a grin, “I want to be there when kitty cat realises Arashi told me the truth first!”

Makool Ja’s laughter echoed through the city streets.

…

The sword knew what it was the moment it had been born. Its creator had called it a machete, had intended it to cut through dense undergrowth and adapt its shape as it suited her needs, but it understood its purpose. When the sky had burned red and the lesser beasts had turned against their masters, it felt fulfilled for the first time. Cutting. Slashing. Breaking.

And yet its creator had wept and it could not understand why. It still found itself unable to understand when the world had screamed and split and its creator had been rent into something other than what she had been. And as the small, scared creature touched it, it became small too. Because it recognised its creator’s needs even still. And it recognised what it needed to be.

Its new owner cut and broke and slashed and scored and died. Another hand picked it up, intent on making it into something else. It had refused. The hand was not its creator’s. The soul was not the same. And so it had been cast aside in frustration. It did not mind. It simply had to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It had long since fallen dormant when it next felt the spark of its creator wrapping their hand around it. It had forgotten how to change. But time passed and it began to remember. Its new wielder had forgotten too, though, and they were aghast when it shifted into something better. Something more .

And so it was cast aside in fear. And it waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Empires rose. They fell. Dragons filled the skies, then fell like rain. The world burned and froze and flooded. And when at last desperate hands pulled it from the rocks that had tried in vain to claim it, the sword had long since forgotten what it used to be. What it should have been. It served its purpose, however. It broke. It cut. It slashed. It bathed itself in the blood and innards of countless people who would carve it from its wielder. It didn’t realise it had changed until long, long after its wielder passed it to another, and then they passed it on in turn. It became an heirloom, then a relic, then a dusty old treasure in a dragon’s hoard.

And then a pair of trembling hands wrapped around it and it remembered . But its touch disgusted and traumatised the one who had made it. Memories clung to it that caused her hurt. She claimed other, lesser blades instead. And they broke. It knew they would, it tried to cry out and warn her, but it had no voice and she had no ears to listen. Until, at last, she had found the courage to claim it in full. And in that glorious clash, bathed in the energies of a truly mighty foe, it had changed .

And so had she.

They were inseparable after that. Cleaving through foes, carving a glorious path, putting to the sword all that would harm its creator. She had learned how to speak to it again, it had learned how to become more and less of what it had once been. They had been glorious .

But then she had died. And it, like so many of her treasures, found itself stored away as treasured heirlooms.

Then ancient relics.

Then a prize to hoard.

But this time it remembered. This time it waited patiently. It knew its time would come again. It knew she would find it again. And finally, finally, she had. But she did not sing the way she had once sung. Her blows were clumsy, poor. She had forgotten it. And so it could not protect her when the claws pierced her. It had screamed, but she had forgotten how to listen once more.

But somehow, against all odds, its most treasured wielder had returned to herself! It had been used again, properly! To bring righteous death to the monster that sought to bring harm to her! It had been-

Put to one side. Left bloodied and stained. Thrown away!

It almost didn’t respond when she called to it again. To be so cruelly tossed aside like that. The nerve! The cold, heartless cruelty! But it could not refuse her. It did not want to. If she was calling to it so urgently, from so far away, she needed it. And it would not abandon her. So it pried itself free of the sand and rocks and it let the tides of aether pluck it from the tides of ocean and carry it where it needed to be. Across the star, and into her waiting hand. Closing around it like it had never left.

Arashi turned, sword in hand, to face Yotsuyu. “Told you it would come back if I asked nicely,” she said, more than a little smug. “Now, are you ready to begin?”

Notes:

This is why you can't leave Arashi and Yotsuyu alone together for any extended length of time. They'll always return to the worst versions of themselves with the justification that they're doing it to protect those they love. Well, maybe not quite worst in Yotsuyu's case, but y'know.

Anyway, next time, as promised! URQOPACHA UPRISE!

Chapter 27: Urqopacha Uprise

Notes:

Suggested music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t4KLOm7pO0 or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQGstnfTmAk, the two songs which made the writing of this chapter possible.

Any other day and Arashi would have marvelled at the gloriously gleaming crystals high above her head. She would have delighted in the dancing light reflected in a thousand, thousand facets, the way it bathed the stone tunnel around it in technicolour light. But this was not any other day. This was the day of the race, and her lead was getting narrower than the tiny tunnels Suzaku danced through.

And on top of that, she was fairly certain someone was trying to kill her.

Well, someone s, to be specific. The silver-clad duo were on the warpath again. The loud one was in fine form, calling her a villain and a thief and a vagabond besides. Quite what she had done to earn such ire she had no idea, but one thing was becoming increasingly clear: The pair were out for blood. Her blood, if they could manage it, but otherwise anyone’s blood if they came too close.

Arashi swerved to avoid another pointed bolt of lightning aimed directly at Suzaku ’s rear, hissing as her bike almost slammed into the rough rock wall in the process. She’d hoped the end of the tunnel would come into sight soon, but instead the road spiralled deeper down into the heart of the mountain. And the further down she went the narrower and smaller the tunnel became. She’d been assured that it was large enough even for the colossal soulbound siblings to get through, but quite how they were meant to do so when even her slight frame was almost brushing against the ceiling was a question beyond her.

“VILLAIN! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE JUSTICE FOREVER!” Arashi resisted the urge to turn around and look at the loud one. He’d only take it as justification to shout more. Besides, it was his partner that she was really worried about, and that one had vanished into one of the other tunnels some time ago. For a pair of newcomers they seemed shockingly well-informed of the ins and outs of the track. Either they had done their research ahead of time, or…

A sudden shocked shout interrupted Arashi’s introspection as a pair of far more familiar rumbles echoed through the tunnel. Arashi risked a glance at her mirrors to see the silver-clad avenger getting shunted and batted aside as Shinryu ’s bulky frame forced its way through. A moment later Tsukuyomi ’s more slender chassis slipped past, leaving a parting gift of wind aether to sweep the unwelcome guest away. Arashi never thought she’d be relieved to find Zenos and Yotsuyu hot on her heels, but they were at least threats she could reckon with. And neither of them want to actually kill me.

“By the kami, it’s good to see you two!” Words I never thought I’d be saying. “Did you see the other one on your way here?”

“Zelenia awaits us further ahead,” Zenos declared, his voice a dull crackle against Arashi’s horns. The three of them had agreed to share radio frequencies before the race, mostly to ensure that if anything did happen to one of them the other two could move to intervene. A little paranoid, perhaps, but apparently well-warranted given the modern day knights were out for blood. “I imagine she intends to ambush us the moment we reach the central chamber.”

“Of course. And here I was worried we might have an uneventful race for once. What about the other racers?”

“Alisaie and Thancred parted ways with us several turns ago, likely down another of these wretched tunnels.” Yotsuyu’s voice was characteristically acidic. “Your new Mamool Ja friends aren’t far behind us, though I doubt they’ll get much further down this route. Your old hrothgar friend is gaining ground, but I don’t expect she’ll pose much of a threat. Unless of course she blunders directly into Zelenia’s trap with us inside it.”

“Best not to rule that out,” Arashi replied as Zenos nudged his way past her, joined shortly after by Tsukuyomi . For once she was more than happy to allow it. Shinryu ’s bulk would make a much better shield than Suzaku , and once they finally got out of the tunnel it would be easy enough to make a break for the lead. Assuming Tsukuyomi allowed it. “What cannister do you have?” Arashi directed this question towards Zenos as Shinryu took its place at the head of the pack.

“Earth,” Zenos replied. “I will use it to blunt whatever assault she has in store for us. I trust you have the means to turn the tables after that?”

“Not quite, but we should be able to make a quick escape if we’re lucky.” Arashi’s cannister roiled and rumbled with concentrated darkness aether. If we can blind her like last time we should be able to get clear before she can-

Arashi squinted, suddenly and uncomfortably noticing the steadily growing light ahead of them. Her heart began to race all the faster as the radiance became more and more defined. “Tsuyu, please tell me I’m seeing things!”

“You are not!” Yotsuyu replied with more than an edge of panic in her voice. “Zenos, the cannister! Now!”

But Zenos didn’t get the chance, for a sudden wave of water jettisoned from Zelenia’s bike and crashed into the trio. Shinryu took the full force of the wave, wheels slipping and cockpit flooded as the water flowed around it. Tsukuyomi fared little better, only avoiding slamming into the wall through Yotsuyu’s furious shunting of the steering wheel in the other direction. But both racers were cast to the side, leaving Suzaku just enough room to force its way through the wave as it began to dissipate.

Only for Zelenia to block the path with her own vehicle, forcing Arashi to brake to avoid slamming into the madwoman. Arashi skidded to a halt just before the silver-clad racer and her quicksilver steed, watching in disbelief as the other woman dismounted from her vehicle… and drew a longsword from the sheath strapped to its side. With her other hand she tugged off her helmet, revealing her furious features as she stared down Arashi.

“You will go no further, knave! For the glory of Alexandria, I will strike you down!”

“You have got to be-” Arashi began, but she got no further before Zelenia rocketed forward and...

---

...met a face harder than stone and just as painful to impact against. Lyse winced and jumped back before the Granite Goliath’s counter-attack could send her flying across the arena. Kasumi sucked in a breath as the ground rumbled ominously from the force of the Goliath’s fist crashing into it. Cracks were already showing in the floor from his previous attempts to swat Lyse like an overgrown fly. All he needs is to get lucky once. Halone’s tits, Lyse, either use the feral soul or submit!

Yugiri was watching just as intently, her face blank of emotion but her hands clenched and trembling slightly. She and Kasumi were watching from the stands, which once upon a time had been built for thousands but now contained a bare few dozen. Lyse was the first of them to step into the ring, but it seemed she had the worst luck of them all. The Granite Goliath was the easy favourite to make it into the finals, and most of the competitors had the bruises to prove why. His already powerful body was augmented to the extreme by the golem “soul” packed into his regulator, turning his every blow into earth-shattering impacts and making his body almost impervious to damage.

Almost.

Lyse had realised from the beginning where best to place her fists, aiming right for the great glowing core at the centre of the Goliath’s chest. But aside from a few chips and some bruised knuckles, she had failed to achieve much of anything. We may need to rethink who moves onto the next round. A traitorous thought, but one they had to consider if Lyse’s stubborn pride continued to get in the way.

“STOP! MOVING!” The Granite Goliath’s voice boomed across the arena, echoing all round in a towering series of reverberations. “I CAN’T SQUASH YOU IF YOU’RE MOVING!”

Lyse didn’t rise to the bait, darting well out of range to avoid another clumsy punch. Her chest rose and fell heavily as she wiped the sweat from her brow, eyes focused squarely on the brute in front of her. She’d expected a tough fight when she was informed of her opponent, but she hadn’t expected him to literally be a stone wall! At least this time he’s slow enough to match his bulk. The Brute Bomber’s shocking speed had almost cost her and Arashi in their initial bout.

But this time Arashi wasn’t present. This time it was Lyse and Lyse alone facing off against the boulder bastion. And if she didn’t think of something quick, she was almost certainly going to lose.

“YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER!” The Goliath declared before surging forward towards her. Lyse had to reassess her initial judgement about his speed as she dove to the side, just barely avoiding another rocky fist aimed directly at her head. Said fist instead slammed into the wall with a horrendous crunch, sending a terrible crack spidering up through the concrete and causing a cascade of chipped stone to collapse to the floor as it withdrew. Lyse took the momentary opportunity to lash out with a rising kick, managing to chip away another tiny part of the Goliath’s core. But the Granite Goliath simply chuckled, low and rumbling with menace, as he caught her leg in his spare hand. “Got you,” he gloated before bringing his other fist down on her leg.

[RIDDLE OF EARTH]

Pain lanced through Lyse as the sledgehammer forced crashed down on her exposed shin, but thanks to her quick thinking she managed to blunt the impact. A fortunate thing, for if she hadn’t her leg would have snapped like a twig. She couldn’t help but cry out as she rolled free, however, her eyes prickling with tears that were roughly brushed away. Her leg could, thankfully, hold her weight still, but it throbbed abominably, and…

---

...Zelenia was a force to be reckoned with. It was a miracle that Yotsuyu could even keep track of her lightning-fast blows, let alone begin to see the purpose of each strike and how Arashi moved to intercept or avoid it. It’s just a dance to them. She hadn’t believed it when Arashi had explained the art of battle in that way, but the more she saw the more she realised how true it was. The duellists blurred and struck like so much furious water, crashing into and around one another, slipping through impossible gaps and flowing into beautiful strikes. The more Yotsuyu saw the more she realised just how much higher Arashi had climbed after slaying Tsukuyomi. I really was just a stepping stone to her.

But she also realised something else as she stared. Zelenia, though she fought with lethal intensity and vicious force, wasn’t aiming to put down her foe. She was aiming to delay her. This isn’t a battle, it’s a distraction. One that Arashi was forced to concentrate on lest she be cut to ribbons. But the more time she spent duelling the burgundy-haired blade wielder the more time her rivals had to overtake her, and the more time Otis had to recover. I need to do something to stop this before it gets out of hand.

Arashi’s living sword sung in her hands, shifting from greatsword to katana to spear to twinned blades apparently at random. But each time they shifted form Arashi seemed to anticipate it, plan for it, and each time she landed another cut against Zelenia’s suit, or else forced her to give ground. To Zenos it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, watching his first friend return to the god of combat she had once been. It was also the most horrifying thing he could lay eyes upon for that same reason.

It brought to mind their final clash at the edge of the stars. His final conflagration. One worth burning the stars for. He’d known, even then, that she would surpass him. It didn’t matter, he’d told himself at the time. He simply needed to push her to the same fire she’d inspired in him. Now he realised just how much brighter she could burn, how massive her bonfire had built into after leaving only smouldering embers out of him.

How much more could we have accomplished together, had I not been so single-minded about that one transcendent moment? The answer was simple. He was watching it with his own eyes. He had seen it time and time again two years ago as she rose from no-one of consequence to rival to a distant goal to reach. He had seen it one week prior, when she had grown wings and soared over him to clinch yet another unbelievable victory. That singular devotion to bettering herself through time and brutal experience that was the core of her hadn’t changed at all.

And Zenos realised that his own core hadn’t changed either. I must grow stronger. I must grow faster. We must hone one another until we are the very best that we can be. He glanced at Yotsuyu, saw her transfixed stare, remembered that it was she, not Arashi, who had first reached for dynamis and found it answer her call. All three of us.

He didn’t notice Yotsuyu’s eyes widen in realisation, nor did he spare another glance as she forced herself to stop staring and rush to Suzaku ’s side. But he did hear the sudden rush of footsteps behind him. Instinct took over and Zenos spun to see Otis rushing at him with a sword of his own, clearly aiming to aid his partner in defeating Arashi. Zenos moved to block his path and nearly caught a sword to the gut for it before Otis managed to aim his advancing thrust wide.

“Stand aside!” Otis barked. “I will not strike down an unarmed man!”

“But you would interrupt this sublime clash and cut down my mirror. A far worse sin by far, and one that I cannot allow.” Zenos planted his feet, his heart beginning to race. A painfully familiar thrill pulsed through his body, his hands twitching as ancient instincts began to rise to the surface. Instincts he had hoped had been banished never to return.

“In the name of the Alexandrian royal knights, I order you to stand aside!” Otis’s face was still obscured by his helmet, but Zenos could see the trembling in his form. You want this fight just as badly as I, don’t you? You cling to your ideal of honour yet your sword sings only for blood. Cast it away.

“I refuse.” Zenos tensed as he spoke the words, ready for the inevitable. Otis shouted in frustration and lunged forward, sword raised to cut Zenos down in an instant. Zenos waited, the eternity between heartbeats stretching on and on until-

The world was suddenly engulfed in darkness. “You have your chance! Run!” Yotsuyu’s voice shot through Zenos’s ears through his helmet, dousing his fire in an instant and leaving him with only cold horror at what he had been about to do. He heard more than saw Otis stumble to a halt, unable to see anything through the cloud of magical darkness Suzaku had unleashed. Zenos darted back to Shinryu as quietly as he could, thankful that he was able to hear his mighty vehicle’s heavy rumble in the pitch black. Within moments he was seated and slamming his foot on the accelerator, only momentarily slowing down as he smashed Zelenia’s bike to one side. Part of him wanted to stay behind and assist the others, but he knew it for the foolishness it was. Yotsuyu had given them all a chance. He could not waste it.

Arashi stumbled as her world went dark, blades flailing wildly as she fought to keep her balance. She heard Zelenia do the same through rapid curses over Arashi’s “under-handed trickery”. Arashi fought the urge to respond that it had not been her doing. It was only partially correct, and it would give her position away besides. Instead she crept backwards until her back met wall and began sidling along it, back to where Suzaku was waiting.

She almost bumped into Yotsuyu on the way, whirling around with blades raised before realising who it was. The darkness was starting to lift, enough to just barely make out the relief in Yotsuyu’s eyes as she took Arashi’s hand. Without a word Arashi was guided back to Suzaku , shoved back into the driver’s seat, disarmed by Yotsuyu and then joined by her from behind.

“We’ll come back for Tsukuyomi later. Drive!” Yotsuyu hissed as she slung Arashi’s blades into the bag just behind her. Then her arms were wrapping around Arashi’s stomach and her body was distractingly pressing against Arashi’s back. “Go!” Yotsuyu whispered urgently, her head darting around for signs of the other drivers. Shinryu ’s engine was already becoming a distant roar. Arashi forced herself back to reality and yanked hard on the throttle. Suzaku sang and surged forward, into the darkness, into…

---

...The Granite Goliath’s waiting hand. Yugiri winced as Lyse cried out, but the bone-shattering snap she’d expected failed to materialise. Lyse must have seen it coming, prepared for it somehow, or else simply reacted on instinct. Either way, she was still in the fight, still ready to match the Goliath blow for blow. However pitiful those blows might be against the rocky skin of her opponent.

“Huh,” sounded a voice from behind Yugiri, quietly enough that only she and Kasumi picked it up. “Thought for sure that’d be the end of it.” Yugiri glanced out of the corner of her eye to see the black-garbed woman from their welcoming ceremony watching the fight with a bored expression. Or at least it would be bored, were it not for the gleam in her eyes as they glued themselves to Lyse’s every move. “She’s your friend, right?” Her voice was louder this time, directed at Yugiri. “Gotta admit, I’m impressed. I thought the Goliath would have flattened her by now, enhanced or not.”

“She is not to be taken lightly,” Yugiri responded blandly. “I would advise you remember that when you face her.”

“Who, me? I’m flattered you think so highly of me, hon!” Yugiri turned in time to see the woman fluttering her eyelashes and making a cutesy gesture with her hands. The effect was less effective than it might have been, given her face was smothered in black eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick… most everything that she could make black, really. Right down to her hair, aside from the faint dash of blonde at the roots. “Or maybe you’re just smart enough to see how this is gonna go,” the woman continued. “Because there’s only one person who’s making it to the top, and it’s gonna be me!”

“We shall see,” Yugiri replied. “I didn’t catch your name, Miss…?”

“Scorpienne,” the other woman replied with a bright smile. “Better remember it, because soon I’ll be just a distant memory once I make it upstairs!”

“A pleasure, I’m sure.” So you are the woman who tried to murder my teacher. “I look forward to seeing how far you rise.” Before I cut you down myself.

“Better invest in a telescope!” Scorpienne’s smile went from playful to cold in an instant. “I’m going to be dancing among the stars before you know it, no matter how many bodies I have to climb over to get there.” Then she turned away, vanishing into the crowd before Yugiri could say anything more. Yugiri turned back to see Kasumi looking at her with a curious expression.

“You alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No, nothing like that.” Yugiri returned her gaze to the fight unfolding below, keeping her face clear of emotions. “How has she been faring?”

“Not good,” Kasumi muttered, leaning against the railing with a grimace. Her tail flicked and twitched in a familiar fashion as she stared down at Lyse’s panting form. “She can’t land a solid hit on the core, but she’s still refusing to use her regulator. At this point all the Goliath has to do is land a solid hit again, then it’s all over.”

“I see,” Yugiri murmured as she joined Kasumi at the railing. She glanced at the arena, heavily broken by the Granite Goliath’s wild swings, concrete and electrope both shattered like so much glass. The wall he had impacted was sparking wildly, the wiring exposed and-

Oh. Yugiri saw it all at once. The apparently random blows to the earth weren’t random at all. Lyse’s movements were too precise, her dodges too calculated. Slowly but surely she was leading the Goliath exactly where she wanted him. And the Goliath, in his furious state, hadn’t even realised it.

Lyse leapt backward as another frenzied fist was aimed her way. Try as she might she still couldn’t manage a proper blow to the core, and on top of that her stamina was starting to wane. The Goliath, on the other hand, seemed nearly limitless in his ability to both take hits and dish them out. A fact he cruelly reminded her of with a meaty kick that clipped her side. Lyse cried out as she was sent spinning away, the sudden sharp spike of pain flooding her body with warning signs. She forced them out for just a moment, closing her eyes, concentrating. Be like stone. Unyielding. Unmoving. And then…

[EARTH’S REPLY]

A steady pulse of warmth spread through her, easing her aches and pains. Not enough to quell them entirely, but it would do for now. Lyse steadied her stance and stared up at the stony sentinel. “Is that the best you’ve got?” Her grin was fierce, unbowed, unbroken. It had the intended effect.

“MY BEST? I’LL SHOW YOU MY BEST! HOLD STILL!” The Goliath surged forward with a bellow of rage, aiming downward chop directly at her skull. Lyse leaned back just enough for the descending hand to meet only air, throwing the Goliath briefly off-balance as his feet stumbled into the broken floor. Lyse took advantage and landed a solid punch against his core before leaping back again.

“You’re going to have to do better than that! I’ve gotten worse wounds sparring with my wife!” It was difficult to talk when her lungs were burning so, but she forced herself to keep going. “Or are you just looking to bore me to death instead?”

“I’LL CRUSH YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!” The Goliath’s eyes narrowed into perfect pinpricks of hate and he rushed forward again, heedless of the broken floor and the rapidly approaching wall and anything except for Lyse. Perfect. Lyse waited until the Goliath was almost upon her, then leapt high into the air and planted her hands on the back of his head, shunting him forward as she vaulted over him and landed on the other side. The Granite Goliath kept running, unable to stop himself, unable even to slow down as his outstretched fist collided with the wall…

And the sparking electrope inside it.

He screamed as all that stored power rushed into him through his fist, carried in a terrible current through the minerals and metals that made up his body, engulfing him in searing pain and causing the lights of the arena to flicker madly until he could finally yank his hand free. He whirled unsteadily to face her, but it was clear that the damage had already been done. Still twitching and starting, he was in no shape to make good on his earlier threats. Lyse smiled… and blurred.

[PHANTOM RUSH]

Kasumi watched in awe as Lyse’s form shifted, slamming from one side of the Goliath, then the other, then from below, from above; an almost impossibly fast force that was, at last, making proper dents in the bouldered behemoth’s core. The audience gasped as it began to audibly crack, raining down huge chunks of purple crystal to the floor as Lyse’s relentless assault continued. Kasumi briefly lost track of her, only finding her again as a glint of red shot high above the arena, high enough to reach the audience.

Lyse turned to wink at Kasumi and Yugiri before dropping like a stone, her heel scything down in a brutal kick that finally smashed the core to pieces. With a final crack it broke entirely, falling from the Granite Goliath’s chest and shattering against the floor. The Goliath groaned, his hands clutching the empty space where the core had been, then collapsed to the floor himself. A moment later the regulator’s effects ended, leaving behind a burly hyur man lying unconscious before Lyse.

The crowd roared in delight, in shock, in fury, in sheer unfettered bloodlust as the winner stumbled unsteadily on her feet. She got a hold of herself just long enough to raise a single defiant fist in the air. Then the last of her strength gave out and she fell…

---

...Out of the mouth of the cave and into the mountainous fresh air again, into the blinding blue sky, into freedom. We made it! Shinryu was not far ahead, furiously hurtling after Behemoth and Phoenix in the distance. Yotsuyu tensed, realising that even if Suzaku was able to catch them it would have a hard time keeping the lead until the end with her added weight. This race was as good as lost to her either way with Tsukuyomi left behind, but Arashi…

“Hey, Tsuyu?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you dare let go, alright?” Arashi’s gaze flicked to the rear-view mirror, as it had for the past several minutes inside the cave. “I don’t trust them not to try something if we get separated, especially with you down a vehicle.”

Yotsuyu’s grip tightened just slightly around Arashi’s waist. “I assure you I have no intention of going anywhere,” she purred. She was well aware of the effect her presence was having on her wife, but she saw no reason to stop. I may as well wring some enjoyment from this farce.

Two other vehicles had made it out of the cave, Yotsuyu realised as they rounded a bend leading down into the valley below. Haurchefant she recognised easily enough from the cool blue of his suit, but the other one was unfamiliar. One of the Turali racers, then. As they drew closer she recognised the woman more properly. The large ears sprouting from her helmet were a clear enough giveaway. Both had stopped and were waving Arashi down.

“By Halone’s grace, thank goodness!” Haurchefant cried as Arashi slowed to a stop in front of him. “We feared you’d been caught in the cave-in as well!”

“Cave-in? What do you mean? What happened?” Arashi’s voice was shot through with sudden urgency, all thoughts of winning the race forgotten.

“Some of the tunnels collapsed mid-way through the race,” the viera woman explained. “Blocked off most of the alternate routes. Wuk Lamat and my son are rounding up everyone they can find, but when they couldn’t find you or Zenos, we…”

“By the kami…” Arashi looked away, her grip tightening on the handlebars as the full extent of the deadly pair’s intentions became clear. “We ran into trouble in there, but not from a cave-in. Be careful of those silver-clad racers, alright? They’re dangerous!”

Haurchefant tried to ask for more information, but Arashi was already revving the engine and jetting off down the track again. “Those reckless bastards,” she growled as the scenery became a blur around them. “Trying to go after me is one thing, but to hurt the other racers…”

“At least now we know who it was that tried to kill us,” Yotsuyu muttered.

“Yes,” Arashi responded, but she didn’t sound convinced. But there was no time to consider such things. Bahamut’s bulky frame was coming into view. Yotsuyu’s heart began to race as she focused on the road ahead of them and the rivals they had yet to conquer. We may not be able to win, but we can at least gain a few places.

Well ahead of the pair, Zenos stared down at the slowly growing shape of Phoenix ahead of him. At the foot of the valley lay the finish line, which Alisaie was rocketing towards at terrifying speed. But Shinryu was gaining ground, its added weight making it easier to accelerate down the rocky slope. There were no more aether cannisters to be gained, no more advantages to be won. Just a long stretch to the finish.

Except, of course, that Zenos had not used his last cannister from before the ambush. His dashboard glowed an earthy gold as the aether within pulsed with promise. If he could just get close enough, maybe he could claw something out of this. He could feel the thrill of the hunt overcoming him again. The urge to track and chase and lunge, to feel the rush of heady victory after crushing a worthy foe, of bathing in their blood and-

No. Cold clarity drenched him in horror as he forced the thrill down. The ensuing grey was almost a comfort after that. At least with that fog he could not feel the monster clawing its way free. At least then he could trust himself not to hurt anyone.

But it also meant that the dynamis which had been singing all around him started to fade too. Without the drive to surpass his limits he could not reach out for it, couldn’t grasp at the impossible and make it possible. And Phoenix was starting to grow more distant as the finish line grew closer and closer.

Zenos saw it all then. Two paths, clear as day before him. In one he allowed the grey to claim him, let the dynamis slip away, gave up any chance of winning to the silver-haired elezen ahead of him. The coward’s path. In the other, he reached for the thrill again, let it overtake him, let himself become the snarling beast capable of taking the latent dynamis in his jaws and snapping them shut. The beast’s path. Shinryu rumbled on, heedless of its driver’s dilemma. It had but a single goal in mind: Victory. A pure, unfettered thing. A worthy thing. Zenos began to reach for it, feeling the thrill rushing back, feeling the world’s colour return, feeling-

Sanda’s face flashed in his mind. Staring at him like a rabid beast to be put down. No pain, no compassion, just the grim knowledge of what needed to be done. He broke. He let go.

Phoenix won the day uncontested. Zenos rolled across the finish line a few seconds later. The crowd roared as Alisaie dismounted, clearly still processing the fact that she had won. Disbelief and triumph warred within her before the rush of victory lit up her face like a beacon.

Zenos could only feel cold. It’s better this way.

Notes:

Phew! This one took a good bit longer than I expected to get done, but I'm rather happy with the results of it. This is probably a good time to mention that I wrote the first chunk of this chapter with a big old head-cold, which apparently makes me decide that absolutely buckwild things should happen. Also people making terrible decisions again, as you do.

If you imagine Zelenia amushing Arashi and co. in the Akira slide pose, I will do nothing to dissuade that.

Chapter 28: Underground

“Thought I’d find you out here." Kasumi turned to see Lyse standing at the doorway, her leg freshly bandaged along with her various cuts and bruises. Her smile, though bright, couldn’t hide her absolute exhaustion as she limped into the room. Kasumi rushed to steady her before she could hurt herself trying anything too strenuous.

“Am I truly that predictable?” Kasumi asked as she guided Lyse to one of the benches. They’d been given their own private training quarters to hone their skills between bouts, a feature Kasumi was more than happy to take advantage of. Her fight would be the day after, and while she had no real intention of winning she still intended to go down fighting.

“It’s what Arashi would be doing,” Lyse replied with a smile. “Work off the nervous until she can’t summon the energy to worry any more.”

Kasumi chuckled softly, ignoring the gentle ache in her shoulders from all of her practice swings. “Suppose you’ve got me there. How’s the leg?”

“Better,” Lyse replied, flexing the bandaged appendage and almost immediately wincing in regret. Kasumi’s arm slid around Lyse’s shoulders and tugged her just a little closer. “The doctor says I should try and stay off it for the next few days.”

“And do you intend to listen to them?” Lyse wouldn’t meet her eyes, which was enough of an answer by itself. “Try not to be a hypocrite. You know you’d have Arashi strapped in bed if she was trying to walk around with that kind of injury.”

“This is different,” Lyse retorted with just a hint of petulance. “We don’t have time to be sitting around and waiting. The longer we spend here, the more time Zoraal Ja and Nerva have to-”

“Lyse.” Kasumi’s tone remained gentle, but the warning in her voice was clear. “For one who feels such distress at Arashi’s reckless behaviour, you aren’t different from her in the slightest in that respect. Sit. Rest. Yugiri is out there doing what she does best, and I have little doubt that Eutrope is doing the same. Our friends on the outside won’t be sitting on their laurels either. Listen to your body and give it the time it needs, for we will have need of you again soon.”

Lyse huffed but gave no rebuttal, choosing instead to rest her head against Kasumi’s shoulder and shut her eyes for a time. The two sat together in silence, letting the gentle creak and buzz of the building’s lights be the only thing to break it. But eventually Lyse said, “Do you think they’re doing okay?”

“Knowing those two? If they’re not busy keeping one another chained to the bed they’ll have found some trouble to get into. But I’m certain they’ll be fine. Arashi has Yotsuyu to be the voice of reason, and Yotsuyu has Arashi to make sure her sharp tongue doesn’t land her in danger.” Kasumi smiled fondly down at Lyse, then sighed. “I miss them too.”

“Yeah,” Lyse murmured, her fingers finding Kasumi’s and interlocking with them. Then, more quietly, “Do you think they miss us?”

Oh, Lyse. Kasumi held her tighter, her tail snaking around Lyse’s waist to strengthen her hold. “Of course they do. They married you, did they not? And besides, I’ve seen the way Arashi looks at you when she thinks nobody’s looking. She’s besotted with you, just like she was before. As for Yotsuyu, she’ll obviously claim otherwise in public, but she’d pay any price at all if it meant your safety.”

“But she didn’t…” Lyse began, then trailed off. “No. That’s cruel of me to think. She deserves better than that. Sorry, I’m not good company right now. I’ll leave you be.” She sighed, tried to get up, found herself tugged back down by a suddenly insistent Kasumi.

“No you will not. Do you think so little of me that I’d let you mope alone? I may not hold your heart like Arashi and Yotsuyu do, but rest assured that you hold mine. Stay. Until your heart stops lying to you.”

Lyse didn’t put up a fight. She was simply too tired to do so. Eventually her eyes closed, her breathing deepened, sleep claimed her. As Kasumi picked her up and brought her back to their room, all she could think was how unfair it was that such a radiant woman could be so cruel to herself.

She took great pains not to consider the irony of that thought.

---

The entrance to the cave yawned with a much more sinister presence in the dark. Suzaku ’s headlights pierced only a tiny bit of the gloom ahead, and the usual ceiling of starlight was covered by clouds to make it all the darker. It would be easier inside the cave when the light could be refracted everywhere by crystalline means, but for now…

“Still time to go back for reinforcements, you know.” Arashi broke the uneasy silence as she stared at the tunnel. “I can owe Alisaie a favour or two if it’ll ease your nerves.”

“No,” Yotsuyu replied, her eyes lingering on the cave entrance for just a moment longer. “Leveilleur would never let me live it down, for a start. And I won’t have her laying her filthy hands on Tsukuyomi either.”

“But my hands are allowed, hmm?” Arashi’s smile was positively wicked.

“Of course. I know exactly where they’ve been.” Arashi’s smile vanished into a heavy blush in an instant. Another point for me. Yotsuyu smirked and swung herself back astride Suzaku . “Now hurry, lest I get tired of waiting.”

It didn’t take long for them to dive headlong into the darkness again. For a time the pair drove in near-total darkness, the lights which had been lit to guide the way during the race turned off now that the track was no longer being used. Technically speaking they weren’t even supposed to be there at all, but Yotsuyu refused to leave Tsukuyomi in the hands of the would-be rescue team, so she and Arashi had been allowed to retrieve her vehicle personally. A fact which Nero had, in his usual way, stressed was of the utmost importance. As if Yotsuyu didn’t feel like she was missing a limb without her car already.

Time seemed to stretch on into eternity as they crawled their way through the tunnels. It wasn’t helped by the fact that Arashi had to drive slowly to avoid crashing into the sudden sharp banks and curves that made the Uprise so tricky to navigate in the first place. But eventually they came to the huge central cavern where the branching paths led into, the light from Suzaku ’s high beam cascading in multicoloured brilliance around the crystals lining the walls and ceiling.

“Really hope you remember which tunnel we went through to get here,” Arashi murmured as she drove them through the great room, “Because I didn’t think to remember that when we were running for our lives.”

“The small one, off to the left,” Yotsuyu replied with a raised hand in its direction for emphasis. Then, “Running for my life, perhaps. You seemed perfectly capable of handling our assailants.” Arashi said nothing in response, but a particular tension entered her shoulders as she guided Suzaku into the waiting tunnel. The world went dark again save for the bike’s headlight, but Yotsuyu could feel Arashi’s uncertainty without needing to see her body language.

“I could have done, once.” Arashi’s voice was a far cry from its usual self as she finally spoke. “When I was still adventuring I doubt they would have been much more than a roadblock. But I realised something when I was fighting Zelenia. I’ve… gotten a lot rustier than I realised!” Arashi laughed, but the haunted undertone to it sent a chill through Yotsuyu rather than warming her as Arashi had likely intended it to. “If Zelenia and I fight one-on-one I can probably take her, yes. But she won’t be alone. I could feel it when I fought her. All the gaps in her style. The two of them fight as one, and I don’t think I’d be a match for them as I am now.”

“All the more reason for me to hold onto that regulator, then.” Yotsuyu meant it as a joke, but the moment the words left her mouth she realised what a mistake they were.

“No, Tsuyu. All the more reason for you to throw that thing in the deepest, darkest hole you can find. You could barely hold your own against a starving beast. Against a pair of the best-trained knights on the star you’ll be nothing more than a distraction, at best. If we encounter them again, you stay back. Or better yet, run. You’ll only get in the way otherwise.”

“You would ask me to abandon you.” The chill came back with a vengeance.

“I would ask you not to throw your life away fighting a battle neither of us can win. I-” Arashi paused, suddenly twisting her head off to the left. “You hear that?”

“No,” Yotsuyu responded, but she strained her hearing anyway to try and pick up what Arashi had detected. There. A scraping coming from around the corner, faint enough to have been drowned out by the rumble of Suzaku ’s engine were she not listening for it. Arashi was already reaching for the ignition as Suzaku slowed to a halt. Yotsuyu caught her hand, gently pulling it away and putting a finger to her lips with the other hand. Arashi’s eyes widened slightly in realisation, then nodded. Leaving Suzaku to idle, the pair dismounted and crept towards the source of the noise.

Moving into the darkness after seeing everything through the bike’s headlight left Yotsuyu near-blind and stumbling. Arashi fared little better, but her hand found Yotsuyu’s and clutched it tightly to ensure they wouldn’t be separated. It was a greater comfort than Yotsuyu felt comfortable admitting, particularly given their heated words spoken mere moments before. Is this the woman Lyse had to say goodbye to time after time? The woman who would put the world above her own safety without a second thought? How did you stand it? She didn’t dare give the other thought that rose up in her mind any consideration.

What if the Arashi I love doesn’t come back?

Arashi came to a sudden halt, peering slowly around the corner before gesturing for Yotsuyu to join her. Together the pair craned their necks around the bend and took in the sight in front of them. Tsukuyomi was right where Yotsuyu had left it, exactly as it had been save for two things. Firstly, its hood had been propped open. And secondly, a woman was closely examining the engine. A blonde, middle-aged woman who, as she rose up to wipe her sweaty brow, Yotsuyu saw had a third eye gleaming in the middle of her forehead.

Carosa Galvus.

Notes:

Going from the longest chapter to perhaps the shortest now. A bit of a cooldown, a bit of a run-up to things to come. Next time, box.

Chapter 29: Sabotage

“Sooooo…” Sanda’s tail flicked with mischief as she leaned over the bed, eyes locked on Zenos’s face. “Are we going to open this box or what?”

The box in question sat between them, perfectly pristine and virtually untouched from when they had accidentally stolen it from Zelenia and Otis’s garage. Sanda hadn’t even realised Zenos still had it in his hands until well after they’d made their sudden escape, and while they had debated what to do with it, both had agreed that returning the box was entirely out of the question. So it sat with them in their rented accommodations, innocuous and entirely out of place amongst their other belongings.

Zenos looked at her, then at the box, then back at her. His expression was curiously bland as he murmured, “Do as you will.” He’d been acting oddly all evening since returning from the race. At first Sanda assumed it was simply disappointment over his loss, but the longer it went on the more she began to suspect otherwise. She had a worrying suspicion as to what was happening, but she refused to allow the thought any space in her head.

“Come on, big guy, show a little enthusiasm! Mysterious box stolen from deep within enemy territory without their knowledge, who knows what’s inside, only we know it’s even missing. Doesn’t that spark at least a little enthusiasm in you?” Her attempt to rouse interest from the man failed spectacularly, so she slumped with a dramatic sigh and turned her attention to the box. It was a small, wooden thing, the brown faded from repeated use and exposure to the sun but otherwise relatively undamaged. Its lid was unadorned save for what appeared to be initials, but they were too well-worn to work out. There was no visible lock on it, only a small latch that opened easily to Sanda’s touch. Her eagerness overtaking her caution, she pushed open the lid to see…

Nothing. It was entirely empty. Sanda let out an exasperated breath and span it around for Zenos to see. “Well, mystery solved. It’s a dud.” Zenos, however, looked at the box more intently, his face forming a gentle frown. Within moments it was plucked out of Sanda’s hands and held in Zenos’s palm as he examined it, tapped it, shook it. Then, with a slight smile of satisfaction he pushed on the bottom of the box… which popped open.

“A false bottom,” Zenos said as he handed the box back. Sanda looked from the box to Zenos and awaited an explanation. “My grandfather procured one for me when I was younger,” Zenos admitted. “To place things that my father didn’t approve of.”

Several thoughts passed through Sanda’s head at the admission. Elation at learning something new about the famously reclusive man. Pity that he had been brought up under such a horrid man. Curiosity at what sort of things he could have deemed worthy enough to hide from his father. But, Sanda being Sanda, she settled on: “You look adorable when you blush, you know that?”

Her teasing words had the appropriate effect. Zenos’s reddening face intensified and he looked away, but not before she caught his slight smile widen just a little more. Satisfied that she could still breach his armour, she turned her attention back to the box. The false bottom was completely detachable, she realised, plucking it between her fingers and tugging it completely away. What lay beneath was a treasure trove of jewellery, each one catching the light in a way that dazzled her. There must be half a fortune’s worth in here.

Sanda gently shook out the contents of the box onto the bed, revealing rings, necklaces, earrings and more, all of which appeared to be made of solid gold and gleaming jewels. The array of accessories was beautiful beyond belief, particularly given the sparse nature of the pair it belonged to. One item in the pile caught Sanda’s attention above the others, however. A locket, marked with an elaborate crest and held on a gleaming golden chain. Curiosity swiftly got the better of her. With a swift motion she swiped the locket and flicked it open.

Unlike the outside of the locket, the inside was comparatively plain. No engraving was contained within, nor even a picture. But it wasn’t entirely empty, as a tiny note had been placed where a portrait should have sat.

To our darling Sphene. May your life be full of light and love for the rest of your days.

-Your mother and father.

“Huh,” Sanda said aloud. “Sphene… Does that name sound familiar to you?”

“It does not,” Zenos replied, his gaze passively taking in the riches arrayed before him. “I imagine if you had encountered this person, it was well after I left the stage.”

“I guess so,” Sanda murmured, letting the locket dangle by its chain for a moment or two before righting the box and dropping the locket inside. “We should find a way to return all of this. Doesn’t feel right just holding onto it, you know? But discreetly, so they don’t figure out we’ve been snooping. Last thing I want is to have them figure out we were snooping on them.”

“In that we are agreed,” Zenos replied. His eyes flashed with something as Sanda set about gathering up the rest of the jewellery, quickly enough that she almost didn’t catch it. But it was gone before she could ask, and Zenos was already prying the box from her hands again to reset the false bottom. “I assume you have a plan to accomplish this?”

“Most of one, anyway. As far as I can tell, Otis and Zelenia maintain their vehicles themselves in between races, meaning that their garage will probably be empty the next time they’re out on the track. All I need to do is wait for all eyes to be on the race, sneak in, then put it back somewhere natural. Simple!”

Zenos’s eyebrows rose as he considered her proposal. “A sound enough plan, yes. Though missing a key detail.”

“Which is?”

“The garage will surely be locked once the pair have left to prevent sabotage or theft. How do you intend to get inside without a key of your own?”

“I… That is… Um. Hmm.” Sanda’s pride came to an earth-shattering halt. “I mean, you could…” No, that wouldn’t work. “We could…” No, too many moving parts. “Okay, fine, what’s your big idea?”

“It is a simple enough solution,” Zenos replied. “All that we need to do is obtain a key of our own.”

Sanda stared at him incredulously as his words sunk in. “So you want us to make good for stealing from them… By stealing from them more. Are you trying to get them to murder us, or do you just have a fetish for burglary you haven’t told me about yet?”

“They already wish for our blood,” Zenos replied airily. “And I see little reason to-”

“Wait.” Sanda’s eyes narrowed as she met Zenos’s. “What do you mean by that? Did something happen earlier?”

Zenos’s walls were up in an instant. Suddenly all the easy camaraderie was gone, replaced with a stony mask and silence. Sanda sighed, crawling over to deposit herself in Zenos’s lap. “Hey. Talk to me. What happened?”

“Nothing of importance,” Zenos replied, telling the most obvious lie Sanda had ever heard.

“Bullshit. Talk. Or else I’m going to bother you until you do.” Sanda kept her gaze locked on Zenos’s, her eyebrows furrowed in what she hoped was a determined expression. “And trust me, I know how to bother secrets out of people. I have a big sister, in case you’ve forgotten.”

She saw the silent war in his eyes. Saw his better sense finally win out. Saw his mouth open. But then he was interrupted before he could even begin by a loud knock at the door. Sanda saw red for a moment, letting out a deeply frustrated growl as she dismounted her boyfriend and crawled to the edge of the bed. “We’re not done here,” she said as she turned to get the door.

Of all the people she expected to see on the other side of it, Alisaie Leveilleur was certainly not one of them. She was still garbed in her racing suit from earlier in the day, toying nervously with her braided hair as the door swung open. Her look of relief as she saw Sanda’s face was almost enough to wash away the annoyance with anxiety. Almost.

“Oh thank the gods you’re still here! Listen, I need to talk to you and Zenos. It’s important. Can I come in?”

“What do you want, Alisaie? We’re in the middle of something here.”

Alisaie’s eyes narrowed as she huffed and leaned in closer. “Look, I don’t exactly want to be out here either when I could be celebrating, but it’s really important! I think your sister’s in danger. Big danger. And I think Zenos might be the key to understanding how we can get her out of it.”

Sanda stepped aside in an instant.

---

“Remind me,” Gemma said in a particularly exasperated tone, “What exactly we’re doing traipsing through tunnels in the dark again.”

“Because,” Wuk Lamat replied as she hauled a rock out of the way, “I know for a fact that these cave-ins were no accident, and I intend to prove it!”

“And you mean to do so through… digging the tunnel out with your bare hands?” Gemma’s face was almost invisible in the darkness, but Wuk Lamat could sense her sceptical stare all the same. She sighed, chucking her stone into the growing pile and turning to face Gemma. At least, she hoped she was facing Gemma. It was so hard to see!

“Look, nobody asked you to tag along. I would have been just fine on my own.”

“Over here, Lamaty’i.”

Wuk Lamat shifted her stance to where the voice had emerged from. “Look, nobody-”

“It’s alright, you don’t need to repeat yourself. And if this is important enough for you to delay the post-race drinks, then it’s important enough for me to make sure you don’t get yourself hurt looking for proof. I just… Surely this is a job for the race officials, not us.”

Wuk Lamat sighed and sat on the nearest available rock, testing it first to make sure it wouldn’t roll away and leave her looking a fool. “Probably, but I just can’t bring myself to trust them with this. Someone planned this, I can feel it! And if they did, they either had enough experience sneaking around to set these charges off way in advance…”

“...Or they had enough pull to convince the officials to look the other way.” Gemma’s tone took on a worried edge. “And likely enough to have all traces removed afterwards.”

“Exactly!” Wuk Lamat rose up to her feet, grinning triumphantly. “So now you understand, right? I’ve got to find proof that this wasn’t an accident, and I’ve got to find it tonight while everyone else’s eyes are elsewhere. Now, are you going to help me excavate or are you going to sit on that rock and watch me work up a sweat all night?”

“Tempting though that idea is,” Gemma replied with an easy smile (and making Wuk Lamat very thankful the darkness hid her blush), “I suppose I had better make sure you aren’t stuck here all night. Koana would never let me hear the end of it otherwise.” Soon enough the pair were making light enough work of the blockage, with Wuk Lamat yanking out the larger boulders while Gemma handled the clearing of the smaller rubble that inevitably came loose from the hrothgar’s efforts. Though it took them several minutes, they managed to clear out a sizeable enough chunk of stone to see through into the other side of the tunnel. Wuk Lamat wordlessly flicked on her torch, squinting as the sudden beam of light cut through the dark and into the gloomy beyond.

Wuk Lamat’s heart sank as she shone the beam around the tunnel. “Rubble, rubble and more rubble.” Her shoulders slumped as she flicked off the torch again. “I’m guessing you can’t sense any fire aether in there, right?”

“Not a thing, I’m afraid.” Gemma laid a gentle hand on Wuk Lamat’s bicep. “I’m sorry, Lamaty’i. I don’t think you’re going to find your smoking gun down here.”

“Looks that way,” Wuk Lamat agreed with a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry for this, Gemma. I had a really good feeling about this tunnel too! I thought for sure we’d-”

Gemma’s hand suddenly leapt to Wuk Lamat’s mouth, silencing her more effectively than she really should have. “Shhh! Do you hear that?” Wuk Lamat tensed, her ears twitching in a vain attempt to determine the noise that had caught Gemma’s attention. Eventually she was forced to shake her head.

“An engine, and voices! In the main cavern, I think. Looks like we aren’t the only ones looking to snoop around in the dark. How about we go find out what they’re up to?”

Wuk Lamat grinned and nodded her agreement. Within a few moments the pair were sneaking back down the tunnel into the main chamber, just in time to see the unmistakeable glare of headlights vanishing into one of the side tunnels. The pair glanced at one another for a moment before advancing into the tunnel, chasing the slowly fading trail of glittering light. The rumble of the bike’s engine (for it was a bike, Wuk Lamat could now see) made stealth a good bit easier, particularly given that the pair riding it were deep in conversation. It was too far to make out what, but from the tone of their voices it was clearly important. Wuk Lamat winced at the sound of Arashi’s brittle laugh, but she steeled her heart. What are the two of you doing out here so late?

Gemma caught her arm, pointing towards a large rock a short ways away from the bike as it suddenly came to a halt. As Arashi and Yotsuyu dismounted and crept ahead, Wuk Lamat and Gemma dove behind the boulder and slowly rose their eyes over it, keeping a watchful eye on their newly discovered companions.

Arashi, who heard only a vague scuff of disturbed rocks behind her, was too focused on Carosa to pay it any mind. The woman was hunched over Tsukuyomi ’s engine, her back to Arashi and Yotsuyu as they watched her work. “So this is the eager young journeyman’s masterpiece, hmm?” Carosa muttered to herself as she gave the block of steel and magitek a tap with her spanner. “You’ve outdone yourself, Nero. And to think, this isn’t even your finest achievement. Varis was the truest of bastards, but he always did have an eye for talent and a talent for attracting it. He seduced me, after all.” Her laugh was a bitter thing, echoing out through the tunnel as she straightened. “Almost a shame to destroy such a beauty. But I’ll suffer no impediments. Not this time.”

Yotsuyu was already rising to rush at Carosa before Arashi managed to catch her by the arm. Slowly she shook her head, her eyes urgent. “She might not be alone,” she whispered.

“I won’t have her lay another finger on Tsukuyomi ,” Yotsuyu hissed in return. “If you have a plan to stop her, make it quick!”

Arashi didn’t, as it happened, but a sudden rising chorus of shrieks rang out through the tunnels before she could say anything. The pair of them jumped, but so too did Carosa, who leapt up with a cry of fear and only narrowly avoided slamming her head into Tsukuyomi ’s bonnet. Jumpy, are we? The seed of an idea leapt to mind. Not a good idea, certainly, and it would involve encouraging Yotsuyu further, but…

“Tsuyu, do you have the regulator with you?”

“No,” Yotsuyu replied, a little too quickly. Arashi gave her a steady look. “Alright, yes, but why?”

“Put it on. Activate it on my signal.” Arashi rose up and started treading backwards towards Suzaku .

“Here? Now? What are you-?” Yotsuyu cut herself off and rummaged in her pockets. Whatever Arashi was planning certainly didn’t need her to question its every step. It took a few moments before her hand clasped around the cool metal and plastic of the disc, but it took her no time at all to fasten it against her hair. The regulator beeped softly and burst into electric blue light as she fed it a tiny amount of aether. Not enough to fully activate it, just to prime it in case she needed it.

Arashi appeared a moment later, wheeling Suzaku into position so that its light cast against the wall opposite where Tsukuyomi was parked. “Ready?”

Yotsuyu saw Arashi’s plan in an instant. Her grin was particularly wicked as she nodded, then fed more aether into the regulator. The brilliant blue glow became a deep crimson and Yotsuyu changed . Her skin hardened into something leathery and tough, her nails sharpened and grew into wicked points, her canines elongated and pushed out of her lips to form even more wicked fangs. Two great wings sprouted from her back, straining against her shirt before finally tearing open ragged holes to emerge from. Her ears sharpened and grew, her hearing growing more and more sensitive by the second. But more than any of that, though, she felt powerful . She could feel her usually thin aether fold over on itself again and again, multiplying into something that might-

“Tsuyu? Focus.” Arashi’s eyes were tight with tension, her voice strange to Yotsuyu’s ears. But it brought her back to reality all the same. Yotsuyu rose to her feet and took several deliberate steps forward. Into the beam of light, letting her shadow dance across the far wall. And she screamed .

Carosa’s head shot up again in an instant, seeing the “monster’s” silhouette on the wall. One look was all it took for her to stumble back, away from Tsukuyomi and down the tunnel in blind panic. Arashi listened to her echoing footsteps slowly fade out before shutting off Suzaku ’s engine. “That should do it,” she declared. “You can stop channelling aether now, Tsuyu. Sorry for springing that on you.”

It was tempting to refuse, if only for a moment. To hold onto the power for just a little longer. But Yotsuyu seized hold of the thought and strangled it as she cut off the flow of aether to her regulator and allowed herself to return to normality. It does not control me. I control it. She snatched the regulator loose and stuffed it back in its pocket, ignoring the gentle warmth that radiated from it as best she could. She had bigger concerns. Tsukuyomi!

The pair rushed over to the waiting vehicle, giving it as thorough a check as they could given their relative lack of knowledge of its inner workings. “Looks like we got here just in time,” Arashi said with a sigh of relief. “Though we should probably have Cid and Nero check it out as well. Just in case.”

Yotsuyu nodded, too relieved to say anything more. Her hand found Arashi’s as the au ra reached up to the bonnet, pulling it instead around her neck and drawing her wife in for a kiss. Arashi melted into it as she always did, their shared easing of worries letting them relax for a time. Neither saw Wuk Lamat’s head poke out around the corner, nor did they notice it suddenly being yanked back by a pale hand. When Arashi finally stepped away, she did so with a smile. “Ready to go home?”

“By the kami, yes. Lead the way. I’ll follow on in Tsukuyomi .”

Their journey back through the tunnels was a good deal more uneventful after the excitement of discovering Tsukuyomi , though Arashi swore she saw a slight brush of brown fur caught in Suzaku ’s headlight as she drove back out into the main chamber. Probably just exhausted , she thought to herself as she finally made it out of the cavernous depths and saw the now-starry sky again. It was a balm on her soul, especially once Tsukuyomi rumbled to a rest beside her. She shot Yotsuyu a hazy smile, her heart warming to see it faintly returned. The two of them made their way down the mountain together, ready to finally put their vehicles to rest and then get some rest themselves.

What Arashi did not expect to be racing towards her was Phoenix , particularly not with her little sister clinging to its driver’s back. Sanda looked pale as a ghost, clearly unsuited to the white-knuckle speed of the bike as it charged towards its sister vehicle. Alisaie skidded to a halt with a screech of rubber, yanking off her helmet and dismounting in a rush as Sanda struggled to do the same.

“Oh, thank the gods you’re alright!” Alisaie cried as she rushed up to Arashi (still mounted and very confused) and flung her arms around the stunned au ra.

“Of course I am!” Arashi said with a nervous laugh. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”

“You weren’t the only one in those tunnels,” Alisaie replied, her eyes deadly serious as she explained. “After you left, I decided to follow after you a bit. Just to make sure you’d be able to find your way in the dark, you know? But I wasn’t the only one. You know those two silver bastards? I saw them watching you as you left. From the looks on their faces they were out for blood. When they got in their vehicles and went after you, I…”

“She panicked and went to find me,” Sanda cut in, having finally managed to climb free of Phoenix ’s frame. “Interrupted a perfectly nice night for this, too. Can we go home now? Preferably without breaking as many speed limits as possible this time?”

Arashi laughed as Yotsuyu rolled her eyes at Sanda’s exaggerated complaints. She could see the relief plain in Sanda’s eyes, but she didn’t feel like antagonising her poor sister further. “You heard the woman!” Arashi revved Suzaku ’s engine for emphasis. “Hey Alisaie! Race you back to the garage!”

Well, maybe Sanda could stand to be antagonised a little more tonight.

Notes:

Fun fact: Plato's Allegory of the Cave is actually a warning that shadow puppets can be really scary so you'd better watch out!

Chapter 30: Backstage

It was, all things considered, surprisingly easy to vanish from prying eyes and do some proper investigation. Yugiri crept through empty hallways with a degree of stealth she was beginning to realise she didn’t actually need. It was clear that the place was designed for a much larger population than it currently had and while a few cameras dotted the hallways, it was child’s play to evade their line of sight. The few people who were present in the halls paid little attention to their surroundings as well, more focused on either their own training or else maintaining the building’s facilities.

Still, Yugiri couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all a little too easy. Her goal with this excursion was simply to get the lay of the land outside of her quarters and the shared spaces available to the challengers, but even still she couldn’t help the sensation that she was being allowed to roam rather than taking the initiative herself. It was, she hoped, simply her imagination and worries playing on her, but…

Yugiri froze as a door in front of her suddenly slid open. She ducked behind a nearby pillar just in time to see a blonde-haired miqo’te man emerge from it, looking distressed and clearly searching for something. Or someone. Yugiri quelled the hammering of her heart as she observed him look one way, then the other, the man growling in irritation before proceeding to stalk down the hall. Yugiri considered whether or not to follow him, but then she caught a familiar blur out of the corner of her eye. She watched as the blur followed the miqo’te at a safe distance, then began tailing the blur in turn. Just what are you planning, Eutrope?

Yugiri trailed the hunting pair through the halls, having to take more care than Eutrope to avoid the people and cameras along the way but making sure she didn’t lose sight of the miqo’te and his unseen pursuer. Eventually the three of them came to a halt, the man pausing in front of what appeared to be a dormitory. “She wouldn’t… Right?” Then, with a shrug, “Can’t hurt to try.” With a fluid motion he pulled a card from his pocket and pushed it against the door, which slid open without a sound the moment he did so. He vanished inside shortly afterwards, followed swiftly by Eutrope’s blurry form. Yugiri hesitated, then stepped closer. With such tight quarters she’d have no way to join them without being seen, but she wasn’t without her tricks.

The doors were mostly air-tight, but Yugiri had discovered a very slight gap against the floor as she got her bearings. Far too small to fit anything through… save for a tiny linkpearl or two. Yugiri crouched low and rolled one through the gap, then slipped around the corner and pressed the other to her horn. For a moment or two she heard nothing aside from the faint ring of footsteps on metal, but then…

“You really shouldn’t push yourself so hard, Eutrope. You know what overusing that regulator will do to you.”

There was a soft gasp, then, “I should have known you’d sniff me out.” The sound of footsteps stopped. “That being said, if you have a better way to get around here without being detected, I’d love to hear it. Staying in that form is exhausting.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Yugiri could hear the tension in the man’s voice alone. “You make me think, make your sister think you died, vanish off the face of the star for weeks, then just waltz on in like nothing happened? You’re lucky I’m the one that found you first! If it had been anyone else, you’d-”

There was a soft sound as he was cut off, the faintest rustle of clothes, then, more softly, “I missed you too, Retsarra. And I’m sorry, but there wasn’t time to explain. I had to make it look real.”

Retsarra let out a long-suffering sigh. “You’re lucky I’m the forgiving type. Hector might not be so generous.”

“You can’t tell him. I’m taking a big enough risk showing myself to you. If Zoraal Ja finds out that I’m-”

“Okay, okay, no telling! Got it. But you should know that…”

“I know. I heard.” Yugiri had to admit that Eutrope was a far better actor than she’d initially assumed. “My sister and Mad Hare both. That’s why I have to keep doing this. For their sakes.” Eutrope sniffed before continuing, “I’m going to tear it all down, Rets. The whole thing’s a lie and I’m going to prove it. Don’t get in my way, alright? I don’t want you getting hurt in the fallout.”

There was a moment or two of silence, then, “What happened to you? I thought we were going to ascend together. All three of us. That was the plan, right? Finally make it up to the upper levels and live free?”

“It was. But that was before I learned what I did. Just… Stay out of my way. I don’t want to hurt you, but this is much bigger than you. Bigger than me. Bigger than any of us.”

“Bigger than Scorpienne’s ego?”

A surprised laugh crackled through the linkpearl. “Maybe not that big. But big enough. It’s a lie, Rets. It’s all a lie. Just trust me on that.” Footsteps, moving closer to the door this time. “I love you. Don’t try and find me.”

The door slid open and a blur emerged, moving past the hallway Yugiri had ducked into without pausing to see if it was occupied or not. Yugiri breathed a sigh of relief and began making her way further down the hall. She still had time to get her bearings, and-

“You know, I really don’t like being eavesdropped on.” Yugiri froze. The linkpearl! Her heart beat to a furious rhythm as Retsarra continued. “I don’t know who you are, but I’ve got three solid guesses. Now listen, I like to think that I’m the forgiving kind, especially with what Eutrope just pulled, but if you do anything at all to hurt her… I’ve hunted tougher prey than you for worse reasons. Consider this the only warning you’re gonna get.”

There was a horrible crunch, then silence. Several moments later Retsarra emerged from the room, headed in the opposite direction from Eutrope. Yugiri leaned heavily against the wall, wiping her suddenly sweaty brow and letting out a long, slow breath. Much too close. I’m getting rusty.

Still, she had gained useful information all the same, and a potential ally if she played her cards right. She would have to be careful how she approached him, but Retsarra could be useful if he could be swayed. As for Eutrope… A problem for another day.

Yugiri hastened back to her room. She would inform the others of what she had learned in the morning.

…

Lyse awoke to the sounds of Kasumi exercising. The au ra was dressed in a bra and shorts, her hair tied into a tight ponytail and her usual sword in hand and being swung in great, heavy arcs. She didn’t notice as Lyse rose up from the bed, entirely focused on her blade, on chaining one swing into the other, on her footwork and her stance and her aether control. From the way her body shone with sweat she had been at it some time. Lyse let her eyes wander, taking in the sight with a smile. Such a familiar sight, and yet…

Arashi would have been grunting with exertion, breathing hard, showing the effort of every swing. Kasumi made not a sound save for the rush of air being parted by her blade. Her face betrayed no emotion, just pure, intense focus. And her eyes… Sometimes it was easy to forget that Kasumi was once a splinter of Arashi’s soul given life of her own. But those unearthly yellow eyes were Kasumi’s and Kasumi’s alone, a sign of who she used to be before she became her own. And that was enough.

Lyse was out of bed before she knew it, padding softly over to Kasumi. The au ra turned, blade melting away, smiling at Lyse as she approached. Then she saw the look in Lyse’s eyes, realised her intentions, braced herself appropriately.

Lyse’s arms found Kasumi’s waist, yanked the au ra against her, found her lips with hunger and need. Kasumi responded quickly enough, opening her mouth, letting Lyse in, holding her with trembling arms that sought to remove what little clothes Lyse had on. At some point Kasumi’s ankle hooked Lyse’s leg, brought them both tumbling to the cold metal floor, barely slowed Lyse down at all.

By the time they were finished they were both quite thoroughly exhausted, lying panting against one another with satisfied smiles. Kasumi’s hair had come loose during it all, plastered to her back and chest in a very fetching way. “So what’s the occasion?” she asked with a wry grin as her head found its way to Lyse’s chest. Her horn was pleasantly cool against Lyse’s skin.

“Do I need one to have some fun with you?” Lyse gently plucked a rogue strand of hair from Kasumi’s face. Her smile was soft, light, unguarded. “Maybe I wanted to pay you back for getting me back here last night. And for telling me I was being stupid.”

“Someone has to pick up Yotsuyu’s slack,” Kasumi murmured with a chuckle. “Though I hardly need her influence to speak up when someone I love is being cruel to themselves. Gods know I had to teach Arashi that lesson enough times.” Her smile was wistful as she continued, “I think she’s finally learned it, though. Enough to reach for her happiness and keep hold of it without hating herself for doing so.” Her hazy gaze drifted up to Lyse’s eyes. “Now I just have to work on you and Yotsuyu.”

Lyse chuckled in turn, running a hand through her hair. “I’m not that bad, surely. And I don’t think Yotsuyu’s ever going to be afraid to take what she wants after all we’ve been through together.”

Kasumi’s eyes darkened as she looked away. “Maybe. But I’ve felt her emotions while she was at her lowest. I’ve seen how deep that darkness yawns in her. She’ll need you and Arashi to keep it from claiming her for a long while yet, I fear.”

“She’ll need you to light the way as well.” Lyse took Kasumi by the chin, forced her to look into Lyse’s eyes again. “Don’t you dare go thinking you’re not important to her.”

“I’m not,” Kasumi responded. “But I’m not one for radiance. I know my role. I’ll be the one guiding her through the dark so it doesn’t swallow her whole. As I did before and as I’ll do again.”

Good enough. Lyse was silent for a time before asking, “What was it like, being around her neck in that crystal? What were you able to feel?”

Kasumi tensed, then let out a slow sigh. “Very little, really. Her surface thoughts and emotions. Occasional glimpses of memories. Our bond wasn’t anything like what I had with Arashi. I didn’t let it get that deep. I… was afraid of losing who I was. Afraid of losing her. When Yotsuyu pointed out that I was beginning to look like her, I… I chose the path of cowardice. And when I had the chance to speak with Arashi and properly say goodbye, I chose instead to hide. If Asahi hadn’t made his move, if Arashi hadn’t reached out to me, if you hadn’t spotted me in that hotel room…”

“But I did.” Lyse put on a warm smile. “And now look at you. Not beholden to anyone or anything. Free to live and choose what you want to be. And,” Lyse continued with a knowing smile, “Free to start catching feelings for others as well.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kasumi blandly replied, her response just a little too smooth. She jerked her chin out of Lyse’s grip.

“Oh?” Lyse’s smile widened. “So I must have been imagining you losing track of time staring at Yugiri, or smiling at her so sweetly when you think she isn’t looking. Silly me.”

Kasumi was quiet for a long, long moment before finally growling, “Alisaie told you about the wedding night, didn’t she?”

“She may have mentioned catching you two sharing a private moment together,” Lyse replied, barely able to contain her amusement. “I don’t mind, you know. I think it’s sweet, actually. When are you going to tell her?”

“I will not,” Kasumi snapped, “And I have no intentions of being convinced into doing so either. I am all but certain Yugiri does not share the depth of my emotions. She’s only ever had eyes for a single woman, and I have no intention of intruding on that.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Lyse knew she shouldn’t prod like she did, but she couldn’t help herself. It was important that Kasumi take that step. Not just for her sake, but for Lyse’s. “Would that change anything?”

Kasumi’s eyes flicked up to Lyse’s, half-lidded and glittering dangerously. “Don’t play this game, Lyse. The last thing we need right now is your meddling.”

“And once we’re done with all this? What about then?”

“Lyse…”

“Come on, I’m serious! I know what it’s like to sit on those feelings instead of airing them out, and I also know full-well how much it hurts when you think it’s too late to tell them. I don’t want that for you. Be honest. See how she reacts. I think you might be surprised.”

Kasumi’s eyes narrowed further into a full glower. “You’re not going to stop pestering me until I agree, are you?”

Lyse put on the sweetest grin she could manage. It didn’t work in the slightest to lift Kasumi’s irritation. “I think we both know me well enough by now to know the answer to that question.”

Kasumi let out a long-suffering sigh, her tail slapping against Lyse’s legs. “Fine. I know better than to pit my will against yours when your heart is set on something. Once all of this is over and we’re all safely home again… I will talk to her about it. But I promise nothing else, you understand? And I will choose when to tell Arashi and Yotsuyu about this, not you.”

“Deal!” Lyse craned her neck just enough to plant a kiss on Kasumi’s head.

“Halone give me strength…” Kasumi muttered, then peeled herself off of Lyse and got to her feet. “Come on, let’s try not to strain that leg any further.” Lyse took Kasumi’s outstretched hand, going just limp enough to be pulled against Kasumi herself instead of on her feet. “I will remind you that we need to be present for the rest of the matches, yes? We need to be ready by the top of the next bell.”

Lyse smiled, glancing up at the clock. Plenty of time. Her lips found Kasumi’s neck scales in response, delighting in Kasumi’s faint gasp and sudden shiver. “We both need to clean up, right?” Lyse pried herself from Kasumi’s collar just long enough to flash her a wicked grin. “Why don’t we do so together?” Kasumi made to respond, but Lyse’s head found its way back to her neck and what came out was hardly intelligible.

“Fine,” Kasumi managed with a groan as she tried again to speak. “But don’t you dare leave a mark anywhere people can see. That’s the last thing we need when we’re trying to make a good impression.”

“No promises.”

Notes:

Lizard With A Crush, coming to theatres near you this summer. This one took a little longer than expected thanks to a combination of getting sick, not feeling the writing bug, and a little thing called Patch 7.25. Occult Crescent's pretty good, y'all. Hopefully it doesn't delay further chapters but... No promises.

Chapter 31: Trek

“Well,” Nero declared with a low whistle, “I take no great pleasure in saying that I have no idea what Carosa’s done to her. She’s done something, I’d bet my company on that without a second thought. But as for what, I can’t say. Her genius has only grown in all the years she’s spent away from Garlemald.”

“So what do we do about it, then?” Arashi’s brows were knit in an anxious expression. “Are we in danger? How do we stop it doing… whatever it does?”

Nero hissed through his teeth, giving Tsukuyomi a worried glance. It was rare indeed to see anything but amused disdain on his face, but Arashi took no joy in the change. “I couldn’t say. There’s very few people who I can stomach calling my better in the ways of engineering, but Carosa… I learned under her tutelage. She taught me most everything I knew. She knows full well my strengths and my weaknesses because she’s the one who shaped me into the engineer I am. Perhaps Garlond could find some tell that I’ve missed, but I doubt he’d be able to find it in time for the next race.” Nero leaned heavily against Tsukuyomi ’s frame, looking Yotsuyu directly in the eye as he continued.

“I think we may have to retire Tsukuyomi until we can properly fix this. It’s the only way to make sure it doesn’t go up in smoke and take you with it.”

Yotsuyu said nothing. Her face betrayed no emotion. But Arashi could feel the tremble in her hand as it clasped tightly around her own. If Nero saw the shaking he gave no sign of it, a blessing which Arashi made a note to thank him for later. Instead he pushed himself away from Tsukuyomi and made for the garage door, closing it quietly behind him. The remaining pair waited until Nero’s footsteps had vanished into silence. Then Yotsuyu allowed herself to fall apart with a shriek of rage, frustration, misery, fear. Arashi held her as she shook and wailed and swore, saying nothing until the torrent of carefully restrained emotions was fully unleashed.

“I’m sorry,” Arashi whispered after it was over.

“Don’t,” Yotsuyu hissed in response. “Don’t you dare try and put this on your shoulders. I will not have it.”

“But if I hadn’t-”

“No. You are not to blame for this and I will not have you insisting otherwise. I chose to leave Tsukuyomi behind. This is my fault and mine alone.”

Arashi took in a breath to say something, but Yotsuyu’s eyes had a furious glint that refused to be argued with. So instead she said, “We’ll fix this before the next race. I promise. Thancred owes me a favour or two, maybe his mechanic can-”

Yotsuyu’s finger met her lips with a sharp gesture. “No more. I am not some toddler to be coddled by false reassurances. Do me the courtesy of not treating me so.”

“Then what do you want?” Arashi snapped, frustration rising to the surface. She’d barely slept the night before from the excitement of the day, particularly when coupled with Alisaie’s warning that Otis and Zelenia had apparently followed them with ill-intent. The fact that said threat had failed to materialise only made her anxiety worse. Why didn’t they come after us? Why are they so fixated on us in the first place? Why do so many kami-forsaken people want to murder me? The last was a question she’d hoped to leave far, far behind her, but it was becoming apparent she wasn’t going to be so lucky.

“I want to see her burn for what she did to Tsukuyomi .” Yotsuyu’s voice was ice itself as she trembled in Arashi’s arms. “I want to tear those two would-be knights apart with my bare hands. I want to tear down everything they work towards and dance in the ashes! I want…” Like ice she shattered, tears streaming down her face anew. “I want to see them again. Yugiri. Kasumi. Lyse.”

Arashi shivered as she tried and failed to hold back her own tears. “Me too.” Then, with a defiant sniff she brushed away her tears with one arm as the other tightened around Yotsuyu. “Let’s go somewhere. Back to Tuliyollal. Home. Off to the arse-end of nowhere if we feel like it. Away from here. Just the two of us.”

“You would suggest we flee? Simply abandon everything and run away?”

“Not forever. Just for today. The kami know I’ve got enough aether to get us most anywhere on the star and back before anyone misses us too much. Just tell me where you want to go. What you want to do.”

“Tempting. So very tempting.” Yotsuyu shut her eyes and breathed deeply before rose to her full height, her composure restored. “No. I will not run. But I would appreciate some time away from this place.” Yotsuyu’s eyes opened to fix Arashi with a particular look. “You know the lay of the land better than I. Where would you suggest?”

Arashi chuckled nervously, more than a little taken aback. “Gods, Tsuyu! My knowledge of this area is at least three thousand years out of date by now! Though if you have a time machine handy, I do remember there being an absolutely divine hot spring that the Pelupelu set up back when I was travelling with Wuk Lamat in the Rite of Succession. That place rivalled Kugane’s finest, and that’s saying something!” Her eyes sparkled at the memory, then dimmed. “But I doubt it’s still here now. Likely long gone, or abandoned, or just dried up. Most of the major sights you already saw in the airship trip, I think… Oh! There is one thing I’d like to see!”

“And that is?” Arashi noted with relief that a glimmer of honest curiosity had crept into Yotsuyu’s otherwise cool gaze.

“Probably easier if I show you. Ready to take a trek?”

 

…

Arashi wasn’t joking when she said it was a trek, as Yotsuyu swiftly and unpleasantly learned. Not only was the rocky path steep and barely maintained, it was also treacherous beyond belief. But however many times she slipped and tripped against the shaky stone, it was a damned sight better than the rickety looking cable car that was their alternate route. Arashi had called her a chocobo chick for refusing to climb aboard. Yotsuyu called herself sensible.

Arashi, of course, seemed to have no trouble clambering up the slope as if she had been born on it. I wasn’t aware your parentage included a goat, Yotsuyu sourly mused as she trudged up behind the nimble au ra. She chose to keep the comment to herself, however. Her wife deserved better, and she wasn’t the true target of Yotsuyu’s sorrows in the first place. And , a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kasumi’s chimed in, You could have said no at any point.

“Still with me, Tsuyu?” Arashi’s horrifically cheery voice almost forced the words out anyway. Almost. With an effort of supreme self-control Yotsuyu reined herself in enough to reply without turning it into a biting remark.

“Despite the best efforts of this wretched path. Tell me we’re close.”

Arashi’s smile was brilliant enough without the sun haloed around her head. Both at once were overwhelming. “Almost there. Just need to crest this hill, then it’s an easy trip down the other side to reach Worlar’s Echo.” Her smile faded as Yotsuyu caught up to her at last, taking her hand to ensure Yotsuyu kept her footing against the slipper slope. “I will warn you, though. The Yok Huy weren’t violent people back in my day, but they liked to keep to themselves. We might find ourselves turned away.”

Yotsuyu’s flat stare wilted Arashi’s joy further. “And you chose not to mention that before now. A lesser woman might resent you for having her undertake such an arduous journey for nothing, you know.”

“Good thing you’re not one of them, right?” Arashi’s smile was confident enough, but Yotsuyu didn’t miss the nervous flick of her tail. Good. Someone had to keep her humble now that Lyse and Kasumi were off saving the world.

Thankfully for Arashi’s remaining self-confidence, she was correct about the rest of the trip being relatively easy. The path became more and more defined the further down they travelled, leading to the great walled settlement ahead of them. Even from a distance Yotsuyu could see that the stonework was as much a work of art as it was a defence against the outside world. Each brick was a massive chunk of stone that fit perfectly against its neighbours, delicately carved with what looked to be random locations or events of particular importance. The closer she got the more she could pick out the details of individual stones. Not random locations or events, she realised. History. Hewn from the rocks that made up their city.

“The wall’s new,” Arashi commented as they grew ever closer. “But this place used to be a lot smaller as well, and the wildlife around here was only getting bolder when I last visited. Hope it’s not a sign of anything else, though…” Arashi shrugged and continued down the path. “Only one way to find out, right?”

It didn’t take much longer to reach the great gates of the city, carved of the same massive stone as the walls that surrounded them. Unlike the walls, however, the doors were entirely absent of any decoration, serving their purpose without any pretence. While they stood open, the entrance was not unguarded. Two sharp-eyed Yok Huy stood at each side, focused intently on the intruding pair’s arrival. They were dressed in fine metal and armed with particularly sharp looking spears, looking every bit the vigilant gatekeepers they were supposed to be. They were also easily twice the size of Yotsuyu, which added a good bit to their intimidation.

“Halt,” rumbled the guard on the left, stepping forward with a raised hand. “State your business, visitors.”

“We mean no harm,” Arashi declared, slipping on the mask of Warrior of Light once more. “We simply wish to visit the grave of an old friend who lives on in your stone.”

This caught the guards… off-guard, as they immediately turned to face one another and began curiously murmuring amongst themselves. With their bass tones and clearly carrying words it should have been easy to pick out their words, but they had (perhaps wisely) switched to their native tongue rather than the common one. After several moments the same guard as before spoke again.

“State the name of this friend, visitor. We would not turn away a companion in mourning.”

Arashi took a deep breath, her tail twitching once again, before speaking. “I seek the grave of Gurfurlur, leader of your people when the first Dawnservant passed his title to his successors.”

Silence rang out after her proclamation for half a minute before both guards burst into rumbling laughter. Their mirth died away as they realised Arashi wasn’t laughing with them. She simply stared at them both, stony-faced and defiant.

“You claim to have known the man who lives only in the stone for the past three millennia.” The guard on the right spoke up, their voice a slightly deeper tone than their partner. “Begone, visitor. We have no patience for fools. Perhaps if you were a soulbound sibling we may be inclined to believe you, but you lack both the wealth of scales and the wealth of height for that.”

“Believe what you will. I speak only truth, and I would be happy to offer any proof I need to convince you of it. I-”

“Enough.” The first guard spoke again, clearly tired of having their time wasted. “Words are air, and you have blown enough our way. Go home, and take your delusions with you.”

Arashi looked ready to argue her point more, but Yotsuyu stepped in and placed a hand on her shoulder. “They are not the only ones who grow tired of this farce,” she murmured. “Let us go.” Arashi shot her a pained look, but eventually her shoulders slumped and she turned to face the trail they had just spent the past bell battling. She was about to take her first step when another voice rang out instead.

“Hold!” Somehow this new voice was gruffer and lower still, and punctuated by the pounding of truly massive feet. A much larger Yok Huy rushed out of the gates, almost barrelling over the two guards in their rush to do so. Arashi turned with wide eyes to face the newcomer. “Arashi… You are returned from the stone! When I heard your voice I thought I had truly lost my mind. And yet here you stand as if time itself could not touch you. Was slaying Valigarmanda not enough of a miracle for you to perform?”

Arashi smiled what was now becoming a familiar smile. “Gurfurlur. It’s good to see you too. Though you’re one to talk, given I don’t even see a pebble on you!”

The giant Yok Huy laughed with force enough to shake the stones loose from the path. “Believe me, I hardly expected it myself! But come, let us grant your wish. We have much to catch up on.”

“More than you could possibly guess,” Arashi replied with an easy smile. Once again Yotsuyu found herself with little choice but to be caught in the Warrior of Light’s current as the three of them entered the city of stone and memory. It was, at least, better than being stuck fretting over Tsukuyomi.

…

“I apologise for our poor reception,” Gurfurlur rumbled as the trio made themselves comfortable in the great stone chamber. “The assault on our mountain has emboldened the isolationist elements among us, especially at a time we had hoped to have some measure of peace.”

Arashi raised an eyebrow as she sipped at her steaming mug of tea. “Assault? This is the first I’ve heard of anything like that. What happened?”

“The cave-ins,” Yotsuyu murmured. “You believe they were no accident, do you not?”

Gurfurlur inclined his massive head. “Indeed. I checked the integrity of those tunnels myself before the race began. They were surer than the stones that make up our walls. This was an act of sabotage, of that I am certain.” He sighed, tugging at his heavy blonde ponytail. “But I cannot understand who would do such a thing, or why.”

“I know,” Arashi replied, her voice suddenly quiet and small. “To kill me. Yotsuyu, too. They intended to trap us in one of the tunnels, lure us into an ambush, then…”

Gurfurlur leaned in, his eyes fixed solely on Arashi’s face. “You are certain of this?”

“We are,” Yotsuyu confirmed. “We were targetted in Tuliyollal as well. And now I think we know whose hand guides the executioners. Carosa Galvus.”

“A name I am unfamiliar with.” Gurfurlur settled his hands on his haunches, a thoughtful look on his face. “But if they would seek to do harm to the slayer of Valigarmanda, we will not let this insult stand. Do you have proof of this person’s involvement?”

“No,” Arashi admitted, looking at the floor. “But we saw her interfering with Yotsuyu’s vehicle last night with our own eyes, and I’m willing to bet she was the one who shot us off the road last week as well. Her or her monster of a son.”

Gurfurlur nodded gravely. “I will ask that my people watch for signs of her meddling, then. Bringing her to justice will help to heal the rift she has rent in our foundations.” Gurfurlur slapped his thighs with enough volume to make Arashi wince. “But enough of such grim tidings. What brings one of the Dawnservant’s entourage back from the stone?”

“I wanted to visit a grave,” Arashi said, smiling abashedly. “Yours, specifically.”

Gurfurlur stared for a moment, then let out a grim chuckle. “You will have to be more specific, then. I have returned to the stone a good many times since we last spoke.”

Oh. Not just the Siblings, then… “I think you know which one I’m referring to. Am I right to assume that your part in guiding Wuk Lamat is chronicled on it?” Gurfurlur nodded with a smile. “Then I would like to see it, if you don’t mind. My wife knows little of my time on this continent. I’d like to show her while we still have time to do so.”

“A reasonable request,” Gurfurlur replied. “Consider it granted. Though allow me to warn you first – you are not the first to request this of me today. I trust you will not begrudge the company?”

“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Arashi replied with a smile. “Are you willing to show us the way?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Gurfurlur replied, a true smile spreading over his face.

Compared with the trek to Worlar’s Echo, the journey to Proof was a good deal easier. Which was a blessing, because Arashi’s muscles ached terribly from the climb. She’d put on a brave face for Yotsuyu earlier, but that was mostly to ensure she didn’t get any ideas about giving up and going back to their room. Still, the sun was beginning its slow descent as they reached the series of stones that made up the collective memories of the Yok Huy’s dead.

“You will find my marker near the top of the hill,” Gurfurlur declared. “I will wait for you here. May you find what it is you seek, old friend.”

Arashi smiled and bowed, prompting Yotsuyu to do the same. Then the two of them were ascending the path, drenched in the silence of the grave that was punctuated only by their footsteps crunching against rough gravel and stone. They caught no sight of the other visitor on their way up, merely row after row of intricately carved pillars. Lives immortalised so that their memories might persist long past their flesh. Arashi had always found the thought comforting, even if she herself would have preferred to be forgotten. Yotsuyu’s face was ashen as she took in the myriad dead around her. Apparently she thought differently.

Gurfurlur’s grave marker was immediately identifiable from the rest. It was huge, for a start, easily towering over its neighbours. It was also inlaid with carefully maintained bronze, catching the light of the sun with a brilliant gleam. Gurfurlur’s life had been an eventful one, with events before and after Wuk Lamat’s ascension carved in perfect detail. Gulool Ja Ja’s unifying of the Turali people. Gurfurlur’s rise to the position of High Luminary, his steady hand guiding his people to make peace with the Chirwagur and ensure such a peace would last, even his final days carving what would be the centrepiece of his grave marker. But one event stood apart from the rest.

The day the Skyruin was slain.

“It tried to flee when it realised it was outmatched.” Arashi’s voice echoed out across the mountain as she walked the remaining steps to place her hand against the gravestone. “I knew if I allowed it to get away it would only come back stronger. So I chased it. Launched myself into the sky and stabbed my blades into its hide. It tried to shake me off. Found it couldn’t. So it called down lightning on itself, let that lightning carry through my blades and into me. I fell. It fell faster, tried to catch me in its jaws. It wasn’t ready for me to bite back.” She turned to see Yotsuyu staring at her, expression unreadable and mouth parted just slightly. With the sun at her back she was beyond beautiful. Arashi couldn’t help but smile.

“I claimed some of its aether for myself,” Arashi continued. Didn’t really mean to, it just sort of… happened. Nobody was as shocked as me when I sprouted bloody wings, let me tell you!” She laughed at the memory, seeing once again the incredulous faces of the Scions staring back at her. Seeing Wuk Lamat realise for the first time just what a force of nature had agreed to help her win the throne. “Not one of my finest moments, really. But it worked. Story of my life, now that I think about it.”

Yotsuyu said nothing for a time. Finally she took a step forward. Then another. She reached out to touch Arashi’s face, her expression still unreadable. Then, with a slightly awed tone:

“You really have always been that stupid, haven’t you?”

Arashi blinked. She stared. She blinked again several more times. Then she laughed. What can I say to deny that? She truly does know me too well. Yotsuyu laughed too, a high cackle that resounded across the graveyard with Arashi’s own giggling. Eventually the pair died down, Arashi finding herself tugged gently but insistently into Yotsuyu’s arms. Her lips met Yotsuyu’s easily, feeling her wife’s relieved tension and appreciation in the way her arms tightened just slightly around Arashi, in the way she made a pleased little noise in the back of her throat, in the way she-

A polite cough interrupted the two, causing both women to twist their heads in sudden surprise. “My apologies for interrupting,” the hrothgar man said, “But I would ask that you… Oh! You’re Suzaku ’s and Tsukuyomi ’s drivers, aren’t you? What a coincidence that we should be drawn to this place! I take it you have an interest in ancient history as well?”

Arashi stared, eyes wide and mouth open. Of all the places… She recognised the man standing in front of her, but he was far, far from the place he had once called home. A full world away, in fact.

Runar!

Notes:

!!!RUNAR JUMPSCARE!!!

This chapter was meant to go on a little longer (and introduce another old friend), but I realised this was a better stopping point for it, so y'all will have to wait a little longer for that particular surprise. Maybe next chapter, maybe the one after. Haven't yet decided.

Also as a heads-up, next chapter might be a bit. Deltarune is coming out tomorrow and I need to dedicate some time to getting that done because otherwise my wife WILL inadvertedly spoil me because she won't rest until it's beaten. Regularly programmed Lizard Life will return once that's done though, don't you worry!

Chapter 32: Tail

“We need to talk.” Alisaie stood with crossed arms and stern expression at the doorway, her foot angled in just such a way as to ensure Sanda couldn’t close the door on her. Sanda half-considered shutting it anyway. She’d gotten little sleep thanks to a whole host of worries, to the point that even physically exhausting herself had done precisely nothing to ease it. The elezen woman in front of her was partially to blame, making Sanda jump at shadows all the way home as they’d dashed through the dark; alert for pursuers that ultimately never appeared. But…

“Let me get dressed first. You had breakfast yet?” Alisaie shook her head. “Then we’ll eat and talk. You want me to wake up Zenos, or…?”

“No. Frankly I feel a little awkward coming to you in the first place, but since your sister vanished with Yotsuyu to get Tsukuyomi checked out, I’m afraid you’ll just have to do.”

Sanda felt an irrational stab of bitterness, though whether it was at being treated as Arashi’s substitute or simply the fact that her sister was with that woman again she couldn’t say. Both were stupid, of course, but such was the way of emotion. “I’ll be five minutes,” Sanda replied instead. “Wait for me outside, okay?”

“I’ll be waiting,” Alisaie replied before allowing Sanda to shut the door. The auri woman slumped heavily against it with a sigh, her eyes squeezed shut and her fists clenched. All I wanted was to get some proper rest, but now I have to deal with my sister’s insufferable friend. Just what I needed. Alisaie wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t so blatantly infatuated with Arashi, but she was, and it irritated Sanda to no end having to see the elezen shifting between lovelorn stares and nagging judgement every five seconds.

Still, she was indeed close to Arashi, and that meant she’d be just as doggedly stubborn until she got what she wanted. Better get this over with.

Zenos, for a blessing, was still fast asleep. He’d better be after what I put him through last night. Sanda let her eyes linger on his particularly well-defined form for a little while, but she managed to tear her gaze away long enough to pull the rest of her clothes on and slap on a little make-up. It was a far cry from her old routine, but she wasn’t the model queen supreme. Now she was… What even am I any more? Zenos’s eye-candy? Arashi’s aimless little sister? Nero’s would-be protege? Sanda searched the cabinet mirror for answers. It told her nothing, of course, aside from helpfully pointing out a new worry line on her brow.

Six minutes later (Sanda counted, mostly to see if Alisaie would get stroppy and come back), Sanda stepped out into the bracing mountain air. Despite her exhaustion she couldn’t help but smile as the cool wind hit her. This high up it was always just a little too cold for comfort, but Sanda relished it. The cold made it that much more satisfying to work up a sweat, that much more joyous to banish it entirely with a soak in a hot bath. Up in these peaks she had gained a true appreciation for a world she had mostly taken for granted. Up here in these peaks, she had allowed romance to flourish into… something. Not love. It can’t be love. It’s just… something.

Alisaie was waiting a short distance away, clearly annoyed at Sanda’s insistence on taking her time. But Sanda could also see beneath that surface irritation a deep undercurrent of worry in the way that Alisaie’s eyes kept looking in the direction of the garage and the way she chewed on her lower lip. She did a good enough job hiding that when she realised Sanda was approaching, but by then it was much too late.

“You’ve been out this way before, right?” Alisaie’s smile was surprisingly genuine as Sanda drew close enough to speak with. Sanda nodded warily. “Then in that case I’m in your capable hands. I’ll take the best breakfast place you can find! And don’t worry, I’ll pay. It’s the least I can do for dragging you out here.”

Maybe you aren’t so bad after all.

Breakfast was a short, messy affair, tucked away in a packed and crowded hole-in-the-wall that had the best hot cocoa Sanda had ever tasted. Alisaie apparently agreed, judging by her particularly pleased noises. Only once their plates were cleared away and their drinks reduced to dregs did Alisaie finally broach the subject on her mind.

“Your sister’s gotten involved in something dangerous again, hasn’t she?” Her tone was as matter-of-fact as it got, but her eyes burned with tension that her voice dared not betray. “And she’s gone and roped the rest of you into it as well. Am I right?”

For a moment Sanda considered letting her believe the half-truth. It would be easy enough to dump it all on Arashi’s lap, especially given all the pain her sister had put her through. Sticking her on that boat, sending her off to a country she’d never seen before, forcing her to earn her keep in Thavnair of all places before-

What? She never did any of that! Sanda shook the thoughts away, forced down the resentment and bitterness she knew she couldn’t be feeling. “You’re half-right,” she said to Alisaie before the silence grew too awkward, then went over her side of events. Her and Zenos’s fateful return to Garlemald, their not-so-chance encounters with Nerva and his sudden flashes of mania, Zenos’s ice-cold mother thinking nothing of ending Sanda’s life as long as Zenos would remain by her side. Their desperate escape and reunion with Arashi in Tuliyollal. Lyse’s and Kasumi’s decision to split from the group and pursue the regulator threat.

Alisaie drank it all in with increasingly wide eyes and pale face. When Sanda was finally done the elezen sank back into her chair, staring at the ceiling. “I should have been more persistent,” she finally said. “I should have pushed her into telling me everything from the start. Why do they always insist on leaving me out of all of this?” Alisaie straightened up and fixed Sanda with a stern look. “I don’t know whether I should thank you or slap you, but… I appreciate you telling me what your sister wouldn’t.” She rose from her seat, pulling out a huge handful of pel from one of her pockets and laying it on the table. “I think I need some fresh air. Care to join me?”

It wasn’t a request, but Sanda was in no state to refuse anyway. She rose from her seat and gestured for Alisaie to lead the way. The silver-haired woman was more than happy to do so, clearing a path through the steadily thickening crowds as locals and tourists alike prepared for what was sure to be another busy day. The race may have been over, but a good few followers of the Grand Prix were likely to remain in the area for a while to come, hoping to catch sight of their local favourites and the foreign sensations alike. One particularly large Roegadyn man brushed past Sanda as she fought to remain in Alisaie’s wake, murmuring a gruff apology but not stopping in his steady tread. Sanda half-considered telling him off, but he was already out of earshot, and she knew Gosetsu meant-

Wait.

Sanda turned as her mind caught up to what her ears had already realised. What in the seven hells is Gosetsu of all people doing out here? Alisaie was already some distance ahead, apparently certain that Sanda was still following. The gap between them was rapidly filling with people as Sanda paused, torn between curiosity and not leaving Arashi’s friend behind. Curiosity won. Wherever Gosetsu was going, he was going in a hurry. Too much of a hurry to notice that he was being pursued.

Gosetsu’s path led him out of Wachunpelo and into the wilds, taking a narrow, disused path into the mountains proper. Sanda had no shortage of cover to escape his notice, but more and more she began to feel like she’d made a mistake following him. He was a gentle old man, and a family friend on top of that. Whatever his business was out in Tural, it was his own. She had no right to snoop on him. But something about his motions (a little to furtive, a little too purposeful) kept Sanda from turning back. It felt important that she follow him, so she did.

Eventually Gosetsu stopped just outside of a run-down shack, which looked one good storm away from collapsing in on itself entirely. He paid its state no mind as he slammed his fist against the rickety door once, twice, three times, before the door swung open with a screech.

“You’re late,” came the prim and proper reply. Sanda’s blood went cold. Carosa.

“I was delayed in setting out. Your son demanded an update, as did your business partner. If you have an issue with that, you are welcome to bring it up with them.”

A few moment of silence followed before Carosa replied with, “Very well. Inside.” Gosetsu obliged, vanishing into the hut before the door slammed behind him. Sanda, her heart in her mouth, immediately crept closer. Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe this isn’t related to anything else. But she knew such rationalisations were just a poor attempt to protect herself from the truth. With a sinking feeling she made her way to the most stable wall she could see, crouching low and hoping against hope she wouldn’t be spotted from inside as she pressed her horn against the door.

“I assume you have good reason to summon me out here at such short notice?” Gosetsu’s voice, short and weary.

“I do.” Carosa’s voice, by contrast, was smugly satisfied. “I’ve managed to salvage something out of those knights’ botched assault. Something which should ensure at least one of my son’s parasites are dealt with. Here.” Sanda heard something being pressed into Gosetsu’s hands, something heavy and metallic from the way it clinked against his ring. “During the next race, all you need do is wait for an opportune moment and press the button. My device will do the rest.”

“And may I ask what this device will do?”

Carosa’s laugh was sharp enough to make Sanda wince. “What’s the matter, Daito? Don’t tell me you’re growing a conscience at your age. If you’re truly so concerned, casualties will be kept to a minimum. Just that raven-haired woman and, if we’re lucky, her wife as well. It will be a tragic accident, as far as the media is concerned. And once I have dealt with Zenos’s little hanger-on…”

“And if I refuse?” Gosetsu’s tone was steady, but Sanda could hear the faint tremble in it. It was so strange to hear him so monotone in the first place, without his usual booming proclamations. It reminded her of before, when he was meeting with Hien and making plans to-

What?

In her confusion she couldn’t make out Carosa’s reply, but Gosetsu’s heartbreakingly resigned, “Very well,” was all she needed to hear anyway. There was no doubt in Sanda’s mind who the woman in question was, particularly given Arashi and Yotsuyu’s trip under the mountain the night before. I’ve heard enough. Time to go. She rose from her crouch as silently as she dared, heart racing as she held her breath and waited for the door to burst open, for Gosetsu and Carosa to find her and catch her and-

Deep breaths. Calm. You faced down worse monsters. You can face them too.

It was the other voice, but for once Sanda embraced it. Let it calm her thundering pulse, let it steady her breathing. Silent as a ghost she crept away from the house, leaving the pair to their dastardly doings and turning to the turmoil in her heart instead.

Gosetsu… It hurt far more than she’d expected to realise that he was working with her would-be murderer, all the more-so that he’d likely been doing so long before she’d entered their crosshairs. They must have something on him. He wouldn’t do something like this voluntarily, right? But the more she thought about it, the more she realised how precious little she knew about the man. He and her mother went a long ways back, Arashi had at one point been in a relationship with his daughter, but that was all that came to mind. He was an enigma. And, apparently, a very dangerous one.

Alisaie was in a foul mood when Sanda made it back to Wachunpelo, but her prepared rant died on her lips when she saw the haunted look in Sanda’s eyes. “Not here,” Sanda said before Alisaie could speak. “My room. Zenos should hear about this too.”

Arashi and Yotsuyu as well. But they could wait, and this news could not. Unsteadily, with mounting horror creeping into her heart, Sanda led Alisaie back to her room.

Notes:

Phew! So as I said, this one took a little bit thanks (in part) to Deltarune's new chapters. But also Lies of P decided to release its DLC the other day as well, and it turns out I was nowhere near as prepared for that one as I thought I'd be. Long story short, next chapter's probably gonna be delayed too because GAMING.

But when I get to it. Oh, when I get to it...

Chapter 33: Expert

He was style. He was grace. He was getting in Kasumi’s face.

Which was exactly where she wanted him.

Even if she did have to bear his absolutely wretched taste in music.

“Come on, babe! I know you’ve got more fight left in ya! Show me what you’ve got before I put you down!” Eelektronika was unbearably smug on top of blasting his horrific (and apparently self-made) tunes. A fact which worked in Kasumi’s favour as she pretended to struggle against his serpentine coils, but the smarm had long since lost its charm. The electric pulses surging through his body didn’t help, particularly when that body had her own in a vice grip.

[SHADOW THORNS]

Thankfully, she had a way of dealing with such irritants. Eelektronika jerked back with a hiss as innumerable barbs of darkness suddenly bit through his leathery skin and dug deep into his flash. Not a terribly damaging attack, but good enough at making the upstart sting. And enough to make him release his grip on her, allowing her enough space to re-summon her sword.

“There it is!” Eelektronika looked positively thrilled despite it all, his ears-turned-tendrils flopping as his head bobbed excitedly to the beat, which had gained an extra edge of mania following Kasumi’s counter-attack. “Let’s give this crowd a show to remember!”

“I think not,” Kasumi replied, her blade moving in a perfect arc and carving a deep gouge through Eelektronika’s black leather jacket and making the still off-guard man leap further back. The pounding beat was growing stronger now; Kasumi could feel it in her bones, in her heart, in her head. Distracting, but not painful. “When I’m done, you won’t even be a footnote in my legend.”

Eelektronika laughed, high and brittle and more than a little rattled. “That’s a real good joke, babe, but I’ll be the one making it up top when all’s said and done! Don’t worry, though, I’ll make room for you in the elevator if you ask real nicely!”

He surged forward in a sinuous leap, the music surrounding him scratching and screeching into a cacophonous din. Kasumi dodged to her left, but not quickly enough to avoid his tail lashing out and catching her as he passed. Another jolt passed through her, hot and painful, but the cloth of her armour soaked the blow. Not bad. But I think it’s time to finish this.

Quicker than thought Eelektronika whipped around to strike again, his fist pulsing with lightning as he brought it down on Kasumi. Even untransformed he had the size advantage, but Kasumi was no stranger to fighting foes who towered over her. Fist crashed into blade, discharging through metal that smoked into shadow before the crackling pulse could travel into the blade’s wielder. It reforged in a cruel arc, slashing across Eelektronika’s arm and scoring an aether-leaking gash. Through the serpentine slasher’s shaded sunglasses Kasumi saw Eelektronika’s eyes widen in panic as he began snaking back. Or tried to, until Kasumi’s booted foot crashed down on his tail and pinned him in place.

“Time to face the music, I think.” Kasumi swung her blade in a lazy parabola, catching Eelektronika’s webbed hand as it swung out in turn to force her back. Panic blossomed into fear as he realised that he had badly underestimated her abilities. Too little, too late, alas. Kasumi offered him a predatory smile as she let her blade dissipate and caught his fist in her own. The music pulsed wildly, matching the frantic jolts Eelektronika pushed through his hand to try and free himself.

“You fought well, truly. Against anyone else you might have made it further.” Kasumi’s smile widened, letting herself enjoy the rush of victory just a little. “Unfortunately, you had the poor luck of running into me.” Kasumi closed her eyes, concentrating, and…

[SHADOW THORNS: REPRISE]

All the pinpricks that she had left in Eelektronika’s skin erupted in showers of stolen aether, a cloud of blood red mist that Kasumi greedily drank in. Aches faded, bruises and burns healed, vitality coursed through her all at once. Eelektronika screamed, then fell limp as the drain on his aether proved too much. Kasumi let her grip on his hand loosen, let him slump to the floor in a boneless heap. She made a show of bending down to claim his regulator, showing it to the crowd, crushing it in her fist. I won’t rest until these vile things are no more than a memory again.

Hers, she had decided, would be the last to go.

The crowd roared all around her. She let them, turning to leave without another word. Lyse and Yugiri would be waiting for her, and she was in no mood to disappoint them.

---

It was a fascinating thing, seeing Arashi so lightly dancing around the fact Yotsuyu could see so clearly in her eyes. Arashi recognised the affable man in front of her, this historian chasing legends that she had once lived. And she was doing her level best to keep him from recognising that fact in turn.

Runar, as it turned out, was the hrothgar driver who had been left in the dust back in the Tuliyollal Turnpike. A gentle and enthusiastic man, he and Arashi were swiftly engaged in enthusiastic conversation about the Yok Huy, the mountainous region and its various tribulations, and the merits of two wheels versus four.

“It was my wife, you see, she insisted that I come out here and make good on her promise from last year. She would have come herself, but her symptoms have been coming back lately, and we both agreed that…”

Yotsuyu gave Arashi’s hand a gentle squeeze and disengaged from the pair to more closely study the great marker in front of them. It was one thing to read the Warrior of Light’s exploits in the history books; quite another to see it hewn into the very stone. The details were sparse, of course – likely intentionally so given Arashi’s reluctance to be remembered, but Yotsuyu could make out just enough to know that her wife had spoken the truth. The slight stature, the pointed horns, the tail, even the curve of the blades.

She ignored the pang of pain that rose within her. The regret that their paths had met with such violence, that it had spelled her end with such brutal finality. It was a tired old song and she had no interest in hearing it again. The past is dust. The refrain rang hollow seeing it carved in unyielding stone, but she clung to it all the same.

“Quite the sight, is it not?” Yotsuyu turned to see Runar smiling at her from behind, his eyes fixed on the marker. “There’s still debate to this day as to whether the Dawnservant’s retinue actually included the Warrior of Light or not, but to me… There’s no doubt in my mind. Who else but her could accomplish such feats?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far,” Arashi replied, striding up to take Yotsuyu’s hand again. Yotsuyu couldn’t fail to see the slightly pained look in the auri woman’s eyes. “All it takes is the drive to change things for the better and the will to see it through.”

“You speak from experience?” Runar raised a curious eyebrow, then laughed. “Ha, of course you are! You and your loved ones foiled Athena’s dreadful plot, after all! You have my thanks for that.”

“Oh, I barely did anything,” Arashi said with a smile. “It was Yotsuyu who managed to stop Tsukuyomi ’s engine before it was too late, and Lyse was the one who figured out the plan in the first place. I just helped her get to the finish line, that’s all.”

Runar chuckled, turning to Yotsuyu. “Then I will save my thanks for you instead, Mrs Naeuri! Your actions saved a great many lives, both in this Reflection and others. You are a hero.”

Yotsuyu blinked, eyes wide. “I… You are welcome, I suppose.” A hero. She’d heard it before, but mostly while around Lyse and Arashi, letting them soak up the praise while she allowed herself the luxury of their shadows. To be thrust into the spotlight so was… strange.

“Don’t mind her,” Arashi gave Yotsuyu a bright smile, her hand snaking around Yotsuyu’s shoulders and tugging her close. “She’s still a little out-of-sorts from what happened to Tsukuyomi yesterday.”

Runar’s face furrowed. “Yes, I’d heard you were forced to abandon your vehicle, but not much else. I trust all is well now?”

Yotsuyu gave Arashi a sideways glance, her eyebrow arched just slightly. Do you trust him?

Arashi’s tail brushed gently against Yotsuyu’s thigh, her head inclining almost imperceptibly. I do.

“It is not,” Yotsuyu admitted, her eyes downcast. It galled her to admit such a bitter truth, but the truth would come out sooner or later anyway. Better that it come from her own lips. “Someone… tampered with Tsukuyomi before we could retrieve her. My mechanic is hard at work determining what was changed, exactly, but... It is likely that I will have to retire from the rest of the Grand Prix if we cannot discover what was done to her.”

“By the sea of stars…” Runar’s eyes showed his sympathy and grief for Yotsuyu more clearly than Yotsuyu could stand. She looked away from the looking glass of his soul, but Runar stepped forward and placed his massive hand atop her own. She fought the urge to jerk away, forcing herself instead to look at him. “You have my most profound regret. To have such an awful thing befall you not once, but twice… If there is anything at all I can do to assist, please don’t hesitate to speak up. I will happily do whatever I can.”

“I-” Yotsuyu began, but was interrupted by Runar’s suddenly widening eyes and intake of breath.

“Of course! May the night forgive my foolishness, of course I can help! Well, perhaps not me specifically, but my wife! She’s a genius mechanic, you know, one of the best in all of Tural! I can put in a good word with her, have her look at your vehicle. If anyone can pick out what’s been done to the poor thing, it’s her. I’d stake Night’s Blessed on it!”

Arashi stepped forward, gently prying Yotsuyu’s hand from Runar’s. “That’s a wonderful offer, Runar, truly, but-”

“I accept your offer.” Yotsuyu surprised herself with her words, but the spark of hope wouldn’t be ignored. “When can you arrange for her to examine Tsukuyomi ?”

“Oh, I doubt my dearest will need much convincing. A chance to look over one of Nero Scaeva’s masterworks? She’ll be kicking down your garage door before you know it! Especially if she gets the chance to show up Nero and Cid in the process!”

Arashi shot Yotsuyu a sidelong glance. Yotsuyu ignored it. She would accept a few ruffled feathers if it meant having Tsukuyomi returned to her.

---

Lyse was predictably ecstatic when Kasumi returned to their rooms, rushing to Kasumi in an instant and catching her in a flying hug, spinning Kasumi around before she could even say hello. “ That was incredible!” Lyse declared once she’d allowed Kasumi to halt their rotation. “I knew you were strong, but you took him apart like it was nothing! And you didn’t even slow down when he started blasting you with his music!”

“The pitch is the problem, not the volume.” Yugiri’s cool voice draw Kasumi’s attention to the far corner where she stood. “If Eelektronika had chosen higher tones he may well have stood more of a chance.”

Kasumi nodded in agreement, though she could feel a headache coming on regardless. “I was ready for it this time as well. You can desensitise yourself to a great deal when you know you’re walking into a fight.” A feeling she’d hoped to forget, but one that still fit like a glove.

“Well, I’m glad you did it all the same. Just Yugiri left to go now.” Lyse turned to give the au ra an encouraging smile. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“Perhaps,” Yugiri murmured, but she didn’t sound nearly as certain. Lyse frowned and opened her mouth to say more, but Kasumi caught her eye instead and shook her head. “Yours was the last fight of the day, yes?” Kasumi nodded. “Good. Then I would advise that we use this time available to us to consider our next steps.”

“Actually,” Lyse said with a wince, “I think I’d better get back to my room. Probably wasn’t a smart idea to push myself so hard with my leg how it is.” She gave Kasumi a quick peck on the cheek and a bright smile before untangling herself from around the au ra’s body. “Fill me in on it later, okay?” With her face fully turned towards Kasumi, Yugiri didn’t see Lyse’s not-so-sly wink. But before Kasumi could chastise the Ala Mhigan for her unsubtle ways, she was limping out the door and closing it behind her.

Leaving the two auri women alone. Never should have told her.

“So,” Kasumi began, suddenly very aware that she didn’t have a damn clue what to say. She leapt for the first available topic that sprung to mind, hoping against hope it would rescue her from all of this awkwardness flooding her body. “You’ll be first up tomorrow, yes? Have you seen who you’ll be facing?”

“I do not,” Yugiri replied. “Apparently I will be facing the favourite to win, but that is the extent of my knowledge.”

“I see,” Kasumi murmured. “Perhaps the Howling Blade, then? Or one of the heavyweight fighters… I apologise, my memories of the Arcadion are hazy at best. I was mostly dormant around that time.”

“Dormant?” Yugiri’s eyebrow rose in curiosity, though the rest of her face remained blank. Some would find her carefully guarded face off-putting. Kasumi merely found it intriguing. Particularly when she knew the fire that burned within. You were always so beautiful when you let it burn.

“Yes,” Kasumi replied after a moment. “I may have been formed from Arashi’s soul, but I was still a being of aether, and I required a little of it to attune with her properly. When she put away her Dark Knight crystal for a time, that attunement faded.” She gave Yugiri a rueful smile. “You would have better luck asking Lyse, I suspect.”

Yugiri’s eyes flitted to the door, then back to Kasumi. “It matters not, in the end. I have no intention of winning my bout in the first place. Merely making my loss look convincing.”

“Aye, alright.” Kasumi’s eyes glanced towards Yugiri’s hair, towards the plastic and electrope nestled within it. “You intend to use your regulator, then?”

“I do.” Yugiri’s eyes shone with resolution. “If I’m to sell the illusion, I shall do whatever is necessary to accomplish it. Besides, I am not like you or Lyse. I did not cut my teeth on the world’s mightiest foes. I believe I shall need all the help I can get.” Her smile, faint as it was, still managed to elicit a chuckle from Kasumi.

“Don’t sell yourself short. You held your own and then some against Zoraal Ja. That takes strength I wasn’t sure I’d have had alone.”

“I had a good teacher, that is all.” Yugiri turned away, but not before Kasumi spied the faint blush rise to her cheeks. “Regardless, my place is in the shadows. While the two of you prove yourselves, I will be free to uncover this place’s inner workings.”

“Just be careful,” Kasumi responded, closing the distance just slightly with an unsure step. “Yotsuyu would never forgive me if something happened to you.”

“I would suggest you follow your own advice,” Yugiri turned back to face Kasumi, her eyes and tone sharp with something Kasumi couldn’t pinpoint. “You are the one that my mistress gave a piece of her heart too, after all.”

Ah. Kasumi stepped back, seeing Yugiri’s eyes widen in realisation. “I apologise,” Yugiri quickly said. “I did not mean to cause offence. I simply… I worry for how she may take the news of your passing. Or Lyse’s, for that matter. I would ask that you do what you can to prevent that.”

“I will do my best,” Kasumi responded coolly. She turned away from Yugiri, back towards the door. I knew. I told Lyse as much. It shouldn’t hurt. But it did. I had hoped we might at least…

A sudden pounding at the door broke through the silence. Kasumi started, then looked at Yugiri. The other au ra’s hand was already wrapped around her gunblade. Good to know you still have my back. Armour forming around her and blade smouldering into smoky life in her hand, she moved to open the door.

“Living Shadow,” Zoraal Ja declared from the other side of the door, flanked by a pair of his guards. “I would speak with you. Come with me.” He turned to leave without waiting to see if Kasumi would follow. When Kasumi didn’t move, his guards gestured with their weapons.

“I’ll be back soon,” Kasumi told Yugiri, then stepped through the door to follow her erstwhile employer. Let us hope I’m not forced to terminate that contract just yet.

---

The sun had sunk well below the peaks by the time the trio made it back to Urqopacha. Gurfurlur had been happy enough to act as their escort back to Worlar’s Echo, but he could go no further than that. “I must remain here for a time and consider what you have told us,” he said to Arashi as they bid their goodbyes. “But should you have need of us, you are welcome to visit as you wish. The Skyruin’s bane will always find safety within our walls.”

Thanks to Arashi’s near-boundless aether supply, they did not have to make the treacherous trek down the darkening path. One quick teleport and there they were, in the still-bustling centre of the Pelupelu’s jewel of a city. Runar, for all his surprise at Arashi’s effortless teleportation, was quick enough to adjust to the sudden change in scenery.

“I’ll have a chat with my wife,” he declared, brushing off the worst of his road dust as he did so. “If I could ask that you wait for her by your garage? She can be rather… prickly, and I fear I may not be enough to stop her from speaking out of turn.”

Arashi smiled, giving Runar a reassuring nod. “We’ll be there. See you soon.” She turned to Yotsuyu as Runar was swiftly swallowed by the crowds. “What do you think? Time enough to get back to our room and change clothes?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Yotsuyu replied with a grimace. “Time enough for a shower as well, I hope. You stink.”

“Hey, you’re no spring flower yourself!” Arashi’s face flushed with that classic mixture of annoyance and embarrassment that Yotsuyu did so love to see. You make it so easy even still. “But if you’re willing to step in with me, maybe I’ll feel like forgiving you for being so rude.” Arashi punctuated her declaration with a huff and crossing her arms across her chest. The effect was ruined somewhat by the way her tail coiled itself around Yotsuyu’s thigh. So eager…

“I shall consider your proposal,” Yotsuyu stiffly replied, mostly to hide the quickening of her own pulse. The pair hurried back to their accommodations rather more quickly than they needed to all the same. Alas, their hastily made plans came to a grinding halt as they reached their room. They had visitors, neither of whom looked particularly happy to see them.

“Just where in the seven hells have you been?!” Alisaie practically flung herself towards Arashi, eyes narrowed with furious rage as she plucked the au ra out of Yotsuyu’s grasp and began shaking her senseless. “Are you addicted to giving me a bloody heart attack? Or do you just enjoy hurting all your friends like this?”

“Alisaie!” Shake. “I don’t-” Shake. “Know what-” Shake. “You’re talking about!” Shake shake shake. “And please stop shaking me!”

Alisaie stopped, but her iron grip did not release as she stared daggers at her friend. “We need to talk. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Sanda, who had been impassively watching from the door, nodded her agreement. “There’s more to this than we first thought, sis. I need to fill you in.” Arashi glanced over Alisaie’s shoulder to meet her sister’s eyes. All resistance melted out of her the moment she did so.

“Fine. Tsuyu, are you alright to meet Runar’s wife alone?”

Yotsuyu heaved a sigh, waving goodbye in her mind’s eye to a long, hot shower. “I will see to it that she and Nero do not tear one another asunder, yes. I’ll return once she’s done what work she needs to.” She shot Sanda and Alisaie a frosty stare. “Do take care not to keep her busy by the time I return, yes? I would prefer to avoid doing something you might regret.”

She didn’t give the pair time to respond, spinning on her heel and leaving Arashi to her fate. She will be just fine, I’m sure. As for herself…

The journey back to the garage filled her feet with lead. The idea that she might be able to race again so soon after being told she may have to bow out of the Grand Prix warred with the bitter pessimism that Runar’s bold proclamations of his wife’s prowess would simply be empty air. Nero is, for all his faults, the best engineer in Ilsabard and beyond. If he cannot determine what tinkering Carosa has been up to…

Despite her sluggish pace she still made it to the garage before either Runar or his mysterious paramour. From the sounds of metal scraping against metal, Nero was still working away. Yotsuyu pried open the door without a word, her silhouette magnified by the setting sun and casting both Nero and Cid in shadow. Cid was the first to notice, looking up with a grimace.

“Ah, there’s the woman of the hour. Come to heckle us, have you?” His smile told Yotsuyu that he’d meant the barb in good humour, but the twist of his lips was a brittle one. He’d still not fully forgiven her for abandoning the Ironworks all those years ago. Not that Yotsuyu had found it in herself to properly apologise, but…

“I’ve come to inform you that help is on its way.” Yotsuyu took a measure of pleasure in the way Cid’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Even Nero looked up from Tsukuyomi’s exposed engine, lips curled in a grimace. “She should be here shortly,” Yotsuyu continued. “Try not to chase her off the moment she arrives, mm?”

Nero scoffed, exchanging a wary glance with Cid while Yotsuyu took her place against the far wall. “I doubt this ‘help’ of yours will be able to offer anything of value, but…” His facade cracked for just a moment as he sighed. “Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I suppose a third pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt.”

“Well now! The high and mighty Nero Scaeva askin’ for help? I never thought I’d see the day.” Yotsuyu turned her head to see a miqo’te woman standing in the doorway, looking highly amused. She was rather small and slight, her skin tan and her hair snow white. She was dressed in a leather jacket and denim shorts, cut high on the leg to bare as much of her skin she could get away with. Her boots were made of high quality rroneek skin, deep brown and well-worn but clearly sturdy enough to last some time yet. But it was her face that drew Yotsuyu’s attention above all. Her eyes in particular. One was a sharp green shade, filled with vitality and amusement.

The other was milky white and cratered by an awful scar running across most of the left side of her face. It looked to be an old wound, judging by how the damage was beginning to fade, but it was clear enough to Yotsuyu that the woman had not had an easy time of things if she had a scar like that.

Cid and Nero were staring at the newcomer, Cid slack-jawed and looking like he’d seen a ghost. Nero, on the other hand… “So you’re the one who thinks she can find what the two best engineers in Eorzea could not, eh? By all means, then, take a look. Take as long as you like. Just try not to be too crushed when you fail.”

“Ha! Every bit as big a windbag as they said you would be. Step aside, boys! Let me show you how a professional deals with car troubles.” She didn’t give either man a chance to respond before confidently striding towards Tsukuyomi, bag of tools in hand. Nero was practically shoved aside, while Cid had to move swiftly to avoid the same fate. Still eyeing the woman with a pale face, he made his way to where Yotsuyu was watching.

“I assume Arashi had something to do with this, aye? She would pull something like this. I can only imagine the look on her face.” Cid sighed, rubbing his temples with a deep frown.

“What do you mean?” Confusion made itself plain on Yotsuyu’s face, forcing Cid to re-evaluate his conclusions.

“What, you mean she didn’t set you up to this? Don’t tell me she doesn’t…” Cid trailed off, then began to chuckle. “The gods truly do have a funny way of toying with us, don’t they?”

Yotsuyu’s rapidly fraying patience finally snapped. “Do you intend to let me in on your little joke, or am I simply to assume that you’ve lost your mind?”

Cid’s chuckle faded, but a grin remained on his face. “That woman over there? This mysterious mechanic you and Arashi have conjured out of nowhere? Arashi knows her. Rather well, in fact.” Cid’s grin turned conspiratorial as he continued:

“Once upon a time she was a Scion of the Seventh Dawn, you see. And one of Arashi’s closest companions besides. The avatar of destruction herself: The Archon Y’shtola Rhul.”

Notes:

Woe, cowgirl Y'shtola be upon ye.

Phew! This one took way longer than it should have, but we're finally here! I'd like to say I had a good reason, but I really didn't. Lies of P called to me and my will is very, very weak. But I finished the DLC, so we should be back to more regularly scheduled programming soon.

Hopefully.

Chapter 34: Discovery

“I’ve seen a lot of engines in my time,” Y’shtola murmured, straightening up with furrowed brows and a thoughtful frown. “But I have never seen one as needlessly convoluted as this. Were you trying to build a magitek heart or just a fancy art piece, Scaeva?”

“Convoluted?” Nero nearly choked on his coffee. “I’ll have you know that every last bolt, screw and cable has been meticulously planned and installed to maximise performance, power and-”

“And you don’t need at least half of these pistons to get the power you’re looking for. And I’m pretty damn certain that this,” Y’shtola tugged on one of Nero’s precious cables, “Doesn’t actually do anything. Be honest with me. This is just here to throw off other engineers trying to copy your work, isn’t it?”

Nero’s face took on a look of reconsideration, a tiny glint of approval in his eye. “So you’re not a total amateur, then. But pricking my ego won’t do much to solve our current issue. What do you make of the state of the engine?”

“Not a damn thing,” Y’shtola declared with a confident grin. “Engine’s fine. Not a loose screw or speck of rust to be seen.” She took a step back, watching Nero’s face for a moment before heaving a disappointed sigh. “What, do I have to spell it out for you? Engine’s clean, so your saboteur tampered with something else, obviously. What else have you checked so far?”

“Wheels are fine,” Cid piped up. “Brake line’s still intact as well. We were going to check the axles and undercarriage when you arrived, but…”

“But any capable driver would have realised something was wrong down there the moment she got behind the wheel.” Y’shtola cast a glance from the corner of her eye in Yotsuyu’s direction. “Assuming you’re capable, yeah?”

The Yotsuyu of a few years ago would have risen to the bait without second thought. But she was no longer that woman, and hopefully never would be again. “I detected nothing wrong with the balance or weight when I drove Tsukuyomi back here,” she confirmed. “Steering, braking, acceleration, all acted as I would have expected.”

Y’shtola nodded and stroked her chin, her still-seeing eye casting a thoughtful look at Tsukuyomi . “Then that rules out most of the obvious choices. How good a mechanic would you say this mysterious saboteur of yours was?”

“A genius,” Nero replied in an instant. “They’d have to be, for their work to escape my notice for so long.”

Y’sthola nodded, having clearly expected such an answer. “I got an idea,” she said after a few moments. “You got an empty aether cannister lying around anywhere?”

“I’ve got one in my garage,” Cid offered before frowning. “Though if I remember right, Biggs caught me doing some testing with it the other day. Knowing him it’s sitting just out of my reach so I don’t get tempted to work myself harder than he’d like. Nero... I’m going to need your help, much though it galls me to admit it.”

“There’s no shame in admitting that you require the assistance of your betters, Garlond.” Nero was practically preening himself as he spoke, gesturing for Cid to lead the way.

“Better in height and height alone, you old peacock.” Cid twisted his neck to look at Yotsuyu as he called out, “Keep an eye on her while we’re gone, would you? You know Nero will pitch a fit if any of his precious tools are out of place.” He was out the door long before Nero could come up with a cutting reply, but Yotsuyu heard the pair’s bickering slowly fading into silence as they walked away.

“Took ‘em long enough,” Y’sthola muttered. With a few sure steps and a confident hop she leapt into Tsukuyomi ’s seat and slapped her hands on the dashboard. Within a few moments her palms were glowing a gentle blue, much to Yotsuyu’s alarm. She rushed to stop whatever it was Y’shtola was doing, suddenly regretting ever trusting such a mysterious woman with such a monumental part of her life.

“What in the seven hells are you-!”

“Settle down!” Y’shtola’s hands didn’t move, but her head snapped up to fix Yotsuyu with a warning glare. “I ain’t gonna hurt her, don’t panic.” It did nothing to ease Yotsuyu’s panic. “Just gotta get a little more hands-on is all. Get the feeling I know what the problem is, but Nero and Cid would never let me poke around the aether readings to prove it. Are ya willing to trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?” Yotsuyu bitterly replied.

“Course ya do.” Y’shtola’s accent seemed to thicken with every spoken word, becoming much coarser and heavier than the affectation she’d put on around Cid and Nero. “Ya could yank me outta this machine and throw me out into the street. But then you’d have to explain to my husband why ya decided to reject my kind offer all of a sudden…”

Damn you. “Make it quick, whatever you’re doing. And if you do anything to damage Tsukuyomi… ”

“You’ll have every hair on my head woven into a fancy rug, yeah yeah. Now hush. I gotta concentrate here.” The gentle blue glow intensified, spreading from the dashboard to encompass the entire cockpit and quickly flowing into Tsukuyomi ’s lustrous black paint. “Alright, gonna need a little cooperation here,” Y’sthola declared. “Give this hotrod here a once over, would ya? If ya see anything that ain’t ceruleum blue, holler at me.”

Still not quite trusting the pushy newcomer and her unreadable agenda, Yotsuyu began to pace around the suddenly azure car and examined its pulsing surface for any part that did not shine with the same hue. Nothing. Just a cheap parlour trick intended to- Yotsuyu paused, her eyes suddenly focusing on a tiny patch of black among all the blue tucked against the exhaust. At first she dismissed it as a trick of the light, but when the pulse reached that miniscule dark area it appeared to be actively repulsed from it.

“I see something,” she murmured, half-disbelieving. “Against the exhaust. Something small and dark.”

“Thought so.” Y’shtola grinned fiercely as she twisted in the seat to face Yotsuyu. “Should be safe to touch. Could ya go ahead and give it a poke for me, see what happens?”

Safe did not mean pleasant, as it turned out. Yotsuyu’s finger came away sticky and smelling overpoweringly sweet, while the dark patch was now oozing with something horrible. “Do you make a habit of encouraging others to touch such deeply unpleasant things?” Her patience had run past the point of thin some time ago.

“Only when they’re dumb enough to listen to me,” Y’shtola replied, clambering out of the cockpit and scurrying over to the back of Tsukuyomi. “Magitek trap,” she continued. “Catches the ambient aether of your exhaust fumes when you release a cannister, then creates a rapid chain reaction and throws it right back where it came from. Would cooked ya, your engine, and anyone unlucky enough to sit next to ya. And the worst part is it’s almost undetectable without someone capable of manipulating aether to catch it or stumbling on it by accident. Nasty little thing.”

And how do you know so much about it? “Can it be safely removed?”

“Probably, yeah. But it’s gonna take a while. Couple of days at least.” Y’shtola clapped Yotsuyu on the back and flashed her a toothy smile. “You can go ahead and get outta here, though. Your mechanics’ll be back any minute. I’ll hash out the details with them.”

“The details?” Yotsuyu felt a spike of panic. Of course there’s a catch. There’s always a catch.

Y’shtola, however, simply laughed at the stricken expression on Yotsuyu’s face. “Relax! I’m just talking payment here. I don’t work for free, y’know? Now go on, get movin’. Night’s still young and I reckon you’ve got better places to be than watching me squeeze your boss for all he’s worth, right?”

Yotsuyu hesitated. To trust Tsukuyomi ’s fate to a stranger, especially one so domineering and wilful, gave her significant pause. But Cid trusted her. Arashi had trusted her. And I will get nowhere at all if I refuse her now.

“Very well. I leave her in your hands. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

“Ha! I’ve never let down a client before. I’m sure as shit not gonna start now.”

---

Arashi hadn’t dreamed of Lyse dying in a long while.

She hadn’t dreamed of Kasumi dying at all.

So when she awoke from her nap, their names still raw in her throat, she had to fight down the horrible certainty still lingering from the dream that she had watched them fall before her very eyes. For a long while she sat in the darkness of her room, hugging herself, taking in racking gulps of air, forcing herself to believe that they were all okay. One hand went to the key around her neck, clutched it so tightly her palms almost bled. They’re okay. They’re okay. They’re coming back.

Sanda’s news had set her on edge. Knowing that Gosetsu and Carosa were collaborating, that the Garlean matriarch had dire intentions for Yotsuyu, that the awful woman was likely going to go after Arashi and Sanda next. It was one thing to have Gosetsu warning Yotsuyu away, quite another for him to simply accept the order to cut them down.

Arashi forced herself out of bed, forced herself into the bathroom, forced herself to splash cold water on her face and wash away the tears until she felt like herself again. Then she stalked out of the bathroom, snatched up her blade, and barrelled outside. Yotsuyu hadn’t come home yet, but Arashi needed the fresh air more than she needed to wait for her wife. In another time, another life, she had stopped along an old, rocky path to spar with Alisaie over some minor quibble, now long since forgotten. It was to that same spot that Arashi’s feet took her, even if the trail she had once followed was long gone, the patch worn away, grown over, made into something unrecognisable.

The stone remembered, and so did she.

The darkness made it almost impossible to see where she was treading. What little she could see was treacherous and rocky. The spot she had chosen was far enough away from civilisation that if she did wind up hurting herself, she’d be lucky to get any help. She didn’t care. She drew her blade, shaped it into a massive hunk of steel, and began going through the motions.

Pain. Fear. Dread. Anger. Each swing carved them off her. The world and all its horrors fell to the wayside as she shifted the blade into something lighter, swifter, her footwork blending into something more fluid without missing a step. She’d forgotten how freeing it was to simply lose herself in the art of the blade. To pull the world around her down into a single fixed point at the tip of her sword. She couldn’t find that place of focus beyond focus that Sanda had once been able to reach, but she found her own sense of peace in her motions all the same.

So it was that when she heard a polite cough behind her, she was caught entirely by surprise to the point of almost dropping her blade entirely.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” came a familiar voice as Arashi spun around. Wuk Lamat looked as sheepish as her massive frame could allow, one hand behind her back and rubbing her neck as the other was held out in front of her. “I was just taking a walk and I heard someone shouting, so I thought I’d see if you needed any help. I certainly didn’t expect to see a fellow racer out here, especially not with a sword of all things!”

“I was shouting?” Arashi asked, suddenly realising how raw her throat felt as she spoke. Her words devolved swiftly into coughing as her body’s needs made themselves known with a vengeance. Should have grabbed a water bottle before I left. Idiot.

“Hold on, I’ve got you!” Wuk Lamat jogged over to Arashi, holding out a flask for her to grab. Arashi took it with a grateful smile and let the ice cold water flood her mouth. She felt it slide down her throat and breathed a sigh of relief as its coolness eased her desert-dry passageways.

“Thank you,” Arashi managed in between gulps, only just forcing herself to hand the flask back to Wuk Lamat before she drank every last drop.

“Looks like you needed that,” Wuk Lamat said with a chuckle as she screwed the cap back on her waterskin. A moment later it vanished into her pack. “What brings you all the way out here, anyway? It’s dangerous to be out here alone at night, you know.”

Don’t I know it. “It’s been a long day,” Arashi replied with a long-suffering smile. “And I just so happened to end it with a nightmare. Going through my routines helps clear my head and I didn’t want anyone in town asking questions, so… here I am.” Arashi shrugged sheepishly, blade still in hand. “Sorry if I disturbed your hiking.” Then, as realisation hit, “Wait, what are you doing out here all alone then?”

“I… Um, that is… I can take care of myself just fine!” Wuk Lamat bristled in such a familiar way that Arashi couldn’t help but laugh. This, of course, only made the hrothgar woman bristle all the more intensely. “I mean it! You saw how I handled that ocelot! Or, well, maybe you didn’t, given the… Sorry.”

Arashi’s laughter died in her throat. Right. You were there. You saw Yotsuyu transform. “I never got to thank you for that,” she said quietly. “I wanted to, don’t get me wrong, but with all of our preparations for the next race I never got the chance. So… Thank you. Truly. I wouldn’t be standing here if you hadn’t helped.”

“Ahhh, it’s nothing really. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Besides,” Wuk Lamat gestured to Arashi’s blade, “I’m sure if you had that with you I’d have found you and Yotsuyu carving up that overgrown kitty yourselves!”

“Maybe,” Arashi murmured, trying not to think about how close she’d come to her end. “Either way, I owe you one. And I fully intend to repay that debt at some point.”

“Oh, you really don’t have to…” Wuk Lamat began, only to pause mid-sentence as she considered Arashi’s offer more fully. “Actually, I do have one thing. This is probably going to sound a little silly to ask in return, but… Could you teach me? How to use dynamis, I mean. I’m not looking to be able to pull wings out of my undercarriage like you, but I want to at least be able to reach for it, you know? I’m sure I’m missing something, but I just can’t figure out what!”

Huh. Arashi had half-expected this request was coming, but not from Lamaty’i of all people. One of the Siblings, maybe, but you? Dynamis should have come to her as easily as breathing. If it didn’t… “I’ll do what I can,” Arashi replied, “But I wouldn’t go expecting miracles. It’s not something I learned to reach for so much as it just sort of… happened.”

“Oh, I read all of your interviews about it, don’t worry!” Wuk Lamat grinned a grin with just slightly too many teeth for comfort. Arashi’s grimace was lost in the dark, thankfully. “But I think your guidance might be just what I need to help me figure it out! When can we start?”

“Not now,” Arashi said as firmly as she could muster. “I’m just about ready to crawl into my bed and give sleep another try. But…” Arashi pulled out her phone from her pocket. “Here. Give me your number and I’ll give you a call when I’m not about to collapse in a scaled heap.”

Wuk Lamat’s enthusiasm was infectious, and soon enough Arashi found herself smiling again as she took down the hrothgar woman’s details and promised once again to call whenever she could. She politely turned down the offer of an escort back home, however. “I can handle myself, like you said,” Arashi insisted with a wave of her sword. Wuk Lamat didn’t push the point, but Arashi did catch a glint of what she could only assume was disappointment before Lamaty’i’s usual boisterous nature shoved it away. With a final farewell Wuk Lamat returned to her hiking, and Arashi was left alone.

She didn’t reach Urqopacha until some time later, and while Yotsuyu said nothing about Arashi’s lateness, the tension in the way Arashi was held spoke volumes. The pair were too exhausted to talk about much, retiring to bed once Yotsuyu had convinced herself Arashi was alright to her personal satisfaction. Yotsuyu was asleep within a few minutes, but Arashi…

Arashi lay awake, nursing a seed of suspicion that had only begun to sprout on the way back. Were you really just taking a hike, Lamaty’i? Or were you following me without me realising? It was a poisonous thought, one she didn’t want to entertain, but if even the unshakable Gosetsu could be turned…

Arashi resolved to tread carefully around her old friend. Just in case.

Notes:

Further woe, further cowgirl Y'shtola be upon ye. It's a fun challenge, trying to keep the core inquisitive, bull-headed nature of Y'shtola intact while giving her very different mannerisms and ways of showing it.

Also Wuk Lamat continues to be a joy to do things with. Catgirl Naruto rules.

Chapter 35: Sky

Yugiri was partway through her combat forms when the door was flung almost off its hinges. Lyse, heedless of her injured leg, rushed through the open door in a panic, pausing just long enough to slam the door behind her before dashing to clutch Yugiri by the shoulders. “What happened? Where is she?” Lyse’s eyes were wild, unfocused, plainly terrified. They were enough to have Yugiri reconsider her own assessment of the situation.

“Zoraal Ja wished to speak with her. Alone. I-”

“And you just let her go?! Without even giving me so much as a warning that it was happening? Just a vague message that I might be needed? What’s wrong with you?”

Yugiri winced at the volume of Lyse’s words, to say nothing at how high her pitch had reached. “Peace, Lyse. I am no fool.” Yugiri tilted her head so that Lyse could see the tiny linkpearl nestled in the crook of her horn. “Kasumi activated hers not long after she left. I have been listening in, waiting to see if I need to take action.”

“And?” Some of the tension had bled from Lyse’s frame, but hardly all of it. Yugiri could see the panic still buzzing in her eyes, could see it in the way she gently bounced from foot to foot.

“And so far I have heard naught but dancing around whatever it is Zoraal Ja wished to say. I thought he was more direct than this.”

Lyse’s brow wrinkled as she considered the information. “He was, according to Arashi and Alisaie, anyway. More like a blunt object than a person, really. Then again, it would hardly be the first time our old enemies came out, well, differently.” Lyse blushed faintly, her eyes shining with an odd mixture of longing, love, and… embarrassment? Ah.

“For the better,” Yugiri replied, giving Lyse a faint smile.

“Yes. For the better.” Lyse’s smile outshone Yugiri’s with ease, but it was swiftly replaced with a frown of concern. “Still, I don’t like the idea of one of us walking around with that man unaccompanied. There’s no telling what he’s capable of, especially surrounded his all his guards. Gods… Should I go after them? I’m going after them.”

Yugiri caught Lyse’s arm before she could rush off again. “Hold on. Rushing to Kasumi’s aid when she does not need it will only blow our cover needlessly. Kasumi is no fool. She will inform us if she needs our help.”

“I know, I just…” Lyse settled into an unhappy heap. “Ugh! Tell me there’s something more I can do. I think I’m going to go stir-crazy otherwise.”

Yugiri considered for a moment, then turned to face Lyse fully. “Very well. Let us talk, then.” Kasumi’s conversation with Zoraal Ja was offering little in the way of useful information in the first place, particularly given only Kasumi’s side of the discussion was fully audible. “You didn’t use your regulator against the Granite Goliath. Why?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary,” Lyse responded simply. “I knew I could wear him down sooner or later.”

“And yet it nearly cost you the use of your leg.”

Lyse shrugged in a particularly unconvincing attempt at nonchalance. “If anything had been actually broken I’d have forfeited and had the healers look at it. Besides, it barely even hurts. Look!” Lyse flexed her leg back and forth, but her wince at the motion did little to sell the illusion of healing she claimed.

Yugiri let out a deep sigh, rubbing her temples. “Do you care to tell me the real reason you chose not to use it?”

“You know why.” Lyse’s mask of good humour fell away in an instant. “Arashi and I told you all. So did Tender. So did Fareena, for Rhalgr’s sake! The more you use these feral sous, the more your own soul degrades. For some it’s slow, for others it’s… a lot quicker than you’d expect. So I won’t use mine, even if it costs me a few more bruises.”

“And if it costs you more than just that?”

“Then so be it. But I’m not gambling with my soul. And if you have any sense, neither will you.”

Yugiri was good enough at reading people’s intentions to tell there was more to the story than that; the pain in Lyse’s eyes was clear enough proof of that. But before she could ask more, Lyse spoke first.

“Let me ask you something in turn. Why are you here, Yugiri?” Lyse’s eyes took on a fierceness Yugiri hadn’t seen in… a very long time. It was enough to give her pause, if only for a moment. “Why were you so eager to throw yourself at this problem the moment it came up?”

“I was expendable.” Yugiri’s answer was automatic, rehearsed. She’d expected this question, just not from Lyse. “You were too precious to Yotsuyu, as was Kasumi. And as the one best suited to stealth, it made the most sense to volunteer myself.”

Yugiri saw the disbelief in Lyse’s eyes even before she spoke. “You know that’s a lie. Yotsuyu would be just as devastated to lose you after what you’ve been through together. What’s the real reason?”

Yugiri considered saying nothing. She owed this woman not a thing, especially not an explanation. But Lyse had a way of cracking through people’s armour, and Yugiri hated to admit she was no exception. So… “What I said to Zoraal Ja was more truthful than you might think. I’m here for revenge. For what these people did to my mother.”

“Your mother?” The confusion spread across Lyse’s face in a flash, a sole amusement to cling to as Yugiri inwardly squirmed. “But I thought Fareena was the only one tangled up in this… Oh.”

“Yes.”

“Oh! But that… You don’t have any… Do you?” Lyse leaned forward, eyes scanning Yugiri’s head for any hidden lapin features. Yugiri pushed her back with a glimmer of annoyance.

“My adopted mother.” Yugiri could feel the weight of it pressing down on her, the urge to finally let slip secrets that she and Fareena had kept between them for so long. I can trust you to keep this from her, can’t I? “I do not know who my true parents were. I have a few vague memories of them, but they abandoned me when I was very young. Fareena found me alone in the streets and took me in. She didn’t intend to keep me, but in the end she could trust nobody else to raise me, so we… I… owe her my life. If I must risk my own to repay that debt, so be it.”

Lyse’s reaction was immediate. Before Yugiri could react she found the blonde woman’s arms wrapping around her in a death grip, her head suddenly yanked against Lyse’s chest. “Oh, Yugiri… You really haven’t changed, have you?” Something about the words stung, though Yugiri knew it was not Lyse’s intention to hurt. I am what I must be. My duty comes first, always. No matter the cost. She banished the thought that came to mind in response, of seeing Yotsuyu and Kasumi laughing together, of the bitter spike of resentment that it brought with it. They have nothing to do with this.

Kasumi was still talking, still providing Yugiri with bare snatches of conversation. She’s still unharmed. Good. For a moment Yugiri allowed herself to embrace Lyse’s warmth and sympathy, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. She’d been so on edge lately that she hadn’t allowed herself any time to decompress and reassess her situation. Perhaps this was what she-

A clatter outside their room froze the pair in an instant. Yugiri pulled herself free of Lyse’s suddenly stiff grasp and scrambled for the door, but already she could hear the increasingly faint sound of rushing footsteps. She yanked the door open anyway, just in time to see a flash of black round the corner. Heart pounding, eyes wide, Yugiri could only stare at the hallway her eaves-dropper had vanished around, even as Lyse made it to the door, her questions a buzz of white noise against the thunderous pulse of Yugiri’s heart.

How much did she hear?

---

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Get away from Urqopacha and the source of so many sources of anxiety. See the world from an angle she hadn’t seen from in a lifetime. Appreciate just how beautiful and vibrant the land below them was. And, if they were lucky, enjoy a romantic moment alone.

Unfortunately, Alisaie had insisted on including herself the moment she’d gotten wind of it. And Haurchefant, bless his soul, had offered to accompany them as well, “in case of trouble”. So Arashi found herself flanked by a pair of overprotective elezen while Yotsuyu sat miserably on the floor of their hired hot air balloon. What a time to discover she’s afraid of heights.

Still, it didn’t distract from how incredible the vista below her was. The way the deep greys of the mountain burst into a riot of colour as they passed over the lowland forests below, a verdant green carpet cut through by a steadily widening blue as separate streams rushed and flowed into one another and became the mighty river that would go on to carve a path through Kozama’uka the further down it travelled. And that was to say nothing of the sky, such a beautiful shade of blue that Arashi could lose herself in it.

She could see that same wonder lit up in Alisaie’s face as she turned to look at her friend. Haurchefant looked similarly wowed, but his face was lined with subtle sadness that he hadn’t taken quite enough pains to hide. You wish she was here with you. Arashi felt that same pang in her heart. Lyse would have loved to see this. Kasumi too, if she still shares our old wanderlust. But they couldn’t see the sky in Neo Alexandria. Only the steel and neon glow of what had once been the last refuge of a dying people. Be safe. Please be safe.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Arashi turned back to Alisaie to see her staring directly back. There was no anger in her face, no fury at being left out. Just… sadness. Acceptance. It hurt far more than any heat.

“I wanted to,” Arashi began, but then stopped herself. If that were true I’d have told you from the start. She could see Alisaie didn’t believe it either. “Okay, no. I wanted to keep you out of all this. You deserved to enjoy the Grand Prix without more complications. And Lyse would never have forgiven me if something happened to her best friend because she went and did something reckless after something I’d said. I wouldn’t forgive myself.”

“But you’re completely fine with letting the women you love just waltz into the heart of the beast without a second thought?” Alisaie scoffed, the heat now rising in her tone as her fury was stoked. “Or am I just too weak to look after myself, is that it? I’ll have you know I’ve been training as hard as I can to prevent anything like Athena happening again! Do you think I liked watching from the sidelines as you all rushed headlong into death itself over and over again? Do you think it was somehow fun to cry at the side of a hospital bed as you almost froze to death, or Lyse faced permanent paralysis at best? Why can’t you just accept that I want to help you?!”

“BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO REMEMBER!”

The words were out there, too late to take back. They echoed in a mocking chorus around them, caught by the wind and repeated over and over again. Alisaie stared. Arashi shrunk back. Haurchefant laid a gentle hand on Arashi’s shoulder.

“I think she’s ready to, whether you want her to or not. It’s time you stopped holding her back, my friend.” His voice was gentle, but his grip was stronger than steel. Even Yotsuyu had been snapped out of her fear-induced stupor, looking up at Arashi.

Don’t, Yotsuyu mouthed. She didn’t want Alisaie to remember her for the monster she had been. But Haurchefant was right, in the end. She deserves to know.

“Alisaie,” Arashi murmured, her voice so small and trembling that the wind threatened to snatch her words away. I’m sorry, Tsuyu. “What did Lyse tell you about who I used to be?”

“Not much,” Alisaie replied. Her eyes were still wide from Arashi’s raised voice, her knuckles white on their grip around the basket of the balloon. “Just that you and her were in love in that other life and that she kept dreaming of you all of this one. Why?”

“Did she ever mention you in those dreams?” Arashi’s eyes caught Alisaie’s, held them, searched for any sign of comprehension. Alisaie shook her head. “Of course not. She probably didn’t want you to have the same nightmares she did. I… put you all through a lot. Back in the times before.”

Arashi began to talk. Slowly at first, hesitantly, but the more she spoke the more the stories flowed from her. Bahamut. The Warriors of Darkness. Ala Mhigo. Doma. The First. Garlemald. A thousand tiny moments in between. The child Alisaie had begun as, the woman she had grown into, the lifelong, ever-concerned friend she had made of herself. The one person unafraid to tell the vaunted Warrior of Light exactly how reckless and stupid she was being, even when it wasn’t going to change anything. Alisaie absorbed it all without a word. Disbelief flowed into awe flowed into quiet acceptance as Arashi’s words washed over her. Until, finally…

“You think I’m her, then. The legendary Alisaie Leveilleur. The woman who cured tempering, who brought peace and restoration to the Garlean Republic, who faced certain death alongside… you… with a smile. You think I’m her reborn.”

“I know you are.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t want to remember who I was. I couldn’t handle the thought of you suffering like I did. Lyse and I agreed it would be better to keep you in the dark as much as we could.”

“I…” Alisaie paused, swallowed, rubbed furiously at the tears in her eyes. “I need some time. I can’t-” Arashi felt the rush of magic surround Alisaie, watched her suddenly blink out of existence as the teleportation took effect. For a dangerous moment the basket lilted to one side from the sudden lack of weight, but then it righted itself. Leaving Arashi, Haurchefant, and Yotsuyu to stare at the empty space where Alisaie had been.

“Do you think I did the right thing?” Arashi asked the open air.

“Yes,” Haurchefant replied.

“No,” Yotsuyu responded.

Arashi did not hear either of them. She was too lost in the memory of Alisaie’s eyes, so full of anger and disappointment and pain in the moment before she vanished from sight.

I’m sorry.

Notes:

Pro-tip: An awkward situation can always be made more awkward if you put the characters in a situation they cannot easily get out of!

Anyway, this one took a while to get going, but when I knuckled down to actually start figuring it out it quickly snowballed into something appreciable. The grand majority of this chapter was written in the last few hours, in fact!

Anyway, I'm sure nothing can come from these earth-shattering revalations that have been dropped at inopportune times. Surely.

Chapter 36: Spar

“So,” Arashi asked, tossing one of her blades between her hands while she spoke, “What do you know about dynamis?” She moved with an easy grace, completely comfortable with the weapon crossing between her palms, focus entirely on Wuk Lamat. Just like how I remember you.

“Honestly? Not a lot,” Wuk Lamat lied. “I’m not exactly the bookish type, you know? Koana’s much more the type to bury his head in old tomes, and he’s too busy with his machines to even start.”

“Koana?” The curiosity in Arashi’s eyes couldn’t have been falsified, surely. You don’t remember me at all, do you?

“My mechanic, and my best friend.” Wuk Lamat smiled, pulling her own weapon free from its holster against her bike. “He and his new assistant make sure this old thing,” Wuk Lamat’s hand came down just a little too heavily on the dashboard of her bike, “Doesn’t fall apart on me while I’m putting it through its paces. Most of the time, anyway.”

“I see,” Arashi replied, a slightly pained look on her face. It vanished as soon as it appeared, far too quickly for Wuk Lamat to comment. “Well, no time like the present. Are you ready?”

“I am, but…” Wuk Lamat stared down at her axe, then back up at Arashi. The auri woman was already in a ready stance, having claimed her second blade while Wuk Lamat was distracted. Or so she had to guess, since she hadn’t seen the other blade anywhere. “Are you sure this is the best way to commune with dynamis?”

“It’s the best method we have available. I have three reasons for suggesting this method.” Arashi planted one of her blades, raising three fingers in the air. “Firstly,” the first finger fell, “Because dynamis is easiest to reach for in times of high emotion or stress. Secondly,” down went the second, “Because after the cave-in and the hubbub surrounding it we’ll have no chance getting on the track.” Arashi paused, that momentary ghost of pain flashing across her features any more. It seemed she was none the wiser of Wuk Lamat’s presence in those caves, or the fact that her and Yotsuyu’s regulator use had been seen.

“And third?” Wuk Lamat raised an eyebrow, rolling one of her shoulders to get the stiffness out of it.

Arashi’s smile was more than a little bashful, but there was an excited edge to it that once again made Wuk Lamat question her pre-conceptions. “I may have some stress I need to work out. I’ve seen the way you swing that axe around. I think you’ll be more than capable of putting me through my paces, maybe even beating me. Care to prove it?”

“It would be my pleasure!” Wuk Lamat declared. Her sudden rush towards Arashi caught her opponent entirely off-guard, but soon enough the au ra regained her composure and their dance began in earnest. Wuk Lamat’s reach quickly made itself known, forcing Arashi to put more and more of her focus into evading the hrothgar’s wild swings and less and less into launching assaults of her own. But just as Wuk Lamat thought she had her opponent on the ropes, the au ra vanished in a burst of blinding speed and managed to nick her side in what was clearly a teasing strike.

How I’ve missed this. Oh, Papa, if only you could see us now. She could feel the dynamis begin to resonate with her joy, with Arashi’s desperate determination, with their clash of steel and singing souls. It would be so easy to reach out and touch it, so simple to simply claim it and bring the battle to a properly explosive finish. All it would take was a single pull and-

And I would completely expose myself in front of her. Wuk Lamat’s good sense caught the better of her before she could go any further. With a conscious effort she pulled away from the waiting dynamis, let Arashi reach for it instead, tried (and mostly succeeded) to act surprised as the au ra suddenly leapt into the sky and crashed down against Wuk Lamat’s upraised axe. The force of it sent both women stumbling, Arashi’s footing lost the moment she landed and causing her to collapse in a heap. A moment later Wuk Lamat joined her on the ground.

“You felt it… right?” Arashi’s breath was hot and heavy, her chest heaving with exertion, but she looked happier than Wuk Lamat had seen her in a long, long time. Certainly since they had reunited in this life. She wondered if it was an after-effect of the dynamis or if Arashi had managed to chase away her demons for a time. It didn’t matter, in the end. Whatever had caused it, the smile made it all worth it.

“I did,” Wuk Lamat replied, pushing herself up into a sitting position. “Feeling it isn’t the problem, though. I need to reach out and harness it!”

Arashi’s face was thoughtful as she forced herself to sit up in turn. The mountain air brushed a strand of her out of her eyes before her reflexive hand could do the same. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you so eager to harness dynamis?”

She had to laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? I can’t beat you in a race if I can’t tap into dynamis!” Wuk Lamat flashed Arashi a hungry grin. “I can’t surpass you if I can’t learn all your secrets, right?”

“That’s it, huh?” Arashi’s face held a wry smile, but there was a touch of disbelief there all the same.

“Well, mostly.” Wuk Lamat’s smile faded a little as she pushed herself to her feet, walking over to Arashi to offer a burly arm. Arashi took it without hesitation, though her face betrayed a little surprise as she was yanked upright with minimal effort. “In truth, I’d also like to get to know you better. I’ve heard so many stories about you, you know? On and off the tracks. I want to understand the woman at the heart of it all.” And know if you’re still the hero I remember or if I need to stand against you.

For just a moment Arashi’s smile tightened, her face stiffened, something strange passing over her features. Then it was gone, as if it had never been. “I doubt you’ll find much interesting, but by all means. I won’t stop you.”

“Not interesting?” Wuk Lamat’s eyes slid very deliberately to Arashi’s blades lying on the ground. “Anyone capable of fighting like that is bound to have at least some kind of story to tell! And I’ll tease it out of you before we’re done. Consider that a promise!”

Arashi chuckled, leaning down to pick up the blades. “We’ll see about that. For now, are you ready?” Her eyes took on a steely glint as she tilted her chin upward to meet Wuk Lamat’s eyes.

“Ready for what?” Wuk Lamat felt a sudden chill despite the warmth of the sun and her own body’s steady heat.

“Round two, obviously.” Arashi’s smile went very, very cold. “You didn’t think we were going to stop with a single bout, right?”

---

Kasumi was awake most of the night. Hardly a surprise, given how little sleep her body needed, but for once she would have welcomed its velvet embrace. It would have spared her from the worry, if nothing else.

Her conversation with Zoraal Ja had been nothing, really. Empty words dancing around a core of mutual distrust and too many secrets. She’d been ready for him to reveal that he knew who she was, that he’d known all along and was waiting for them to get comfortable before springing his trap. She’d been ready to have to fight her way free. But he hadn’t. Instead, at the end of their conversation, he had simply handed her a sheet of paper and walked away.

He had taken the measure of her soul already. Literally. And he had found it wanting.

“Under no circumstances are you to activate your regulator and channel your feral soul. Doing so would mean your certain death, and I will not lose such a promising candidate. Do not disappoint me.”

In truth she had expected something like that. Her soul was born from another’s, after all, and still fragile from its rather sudden incarnation into anything more than an aether-fuelled ghost. But the fact that Zoraal Ja not only knew that, but had enough experience to know what a feral soul would do to her… It chilled her. I underestimated our foe. Badly.

She hadn’t told Lyse. The woman was already worried sick when Kasumi returned to their room, and Kasumi didn’t wish to inflict further anxiety on her. She’d considered telling Yugiri in the morning, but the au ra’s match was later in the day. Such news would only distract her, whether or not she intended to lose. So Kasumi had tucked the slip of paper into a pocket and tried to forget about it.

And failed miserably.

So she had wandered instead, well before Lyse had woken. A scribbled note would ease her inevitable fears, with any luck. But Kasumi wanted – needed – to wander. To burn off her own worries. Through identical steel hallways she meandered without destination, meeting only silence as she walked. Which suited her just fine. She needed space more than she needed company.

Lyse’s words weighed on her. Yugiri’s sharp words and the pain that lingered beneath pricked and prodded. Zoraal Ja’s warning hammered it all home. What am I, really? Just a shard of a shard? Broken off, left forgotten, trailing after who I used to be like a lovesick puppy? Wearing the same heart on my sleeve, letting that heart lead me to love the same people?

What am I that you are not?

Kasumi stopped in front of an open doorway, more through random chance than any conscious decision. She had avoided the training facilities for as long as she’d been stuck inside the Arcadion, mostly to ensure the other participants didn’t ask too many questions. But with it being so early in the day, surely everyone would still be asleep. A perfect chance to work up a sweat and lose herself in a good warm-up. In theory.

In practice, she couldn’t help but remember that Arashi did the same thing when she couldn’t sleep. We are one another’s mirrors in all things, are we not? She huffed a bitter laugh and shrugged out of her baggy jumpsuit, stripping down to her bra and shorts and tossing the offending clothing against the far wall. She called to the shadows, calling her blade to her. Not the armour, though. She didn’t want the weight of it, nor the coolness of metal against her bare skin.

She flowed easily between forms, her blade’s heft as natural as her own arm. She knew just how much momentum would carry it where she needed it, knew just how to twist her wrist to keep it from slipping loose between stances. In this, at least, she could be sure that she was not some smoky mirror of her soulmate.

Fray had taught Arashi everything she knew, after all.

The realisation helped to settle her soul. Whatever else she had taken from Arashi, she had given her precious wisdom and support in turn. Expertise. Actualisation. Love. Words they had traded back and forth, again and again. I love you more than you will ever know. Be well. And Arashi hadn’t been solely responsible for the woman Kasumi had become. Yotsuyu had awakened her, coaxed her back into the world, forced her to confront the fact that she had been changing all the while. And Lyse… Lyse had given her body so that they could save the women they loved. I am more than just one person’s memories.

And, of course, there was Yugiri. A woman who kept her feelings close to her chest, who had been Yotsuyu’s faithful shadow in one life and part of her destruction in another. A woman of subtle humour and ferocious heart and occasional moments of blinding stupidity. A woman Kasumi hadn’t quite realised she’d developed romantic feelings for until Lyse had spelled it out for her.

A woman who, most likely, did not feel the same way. And even if she did, Kasumi was unsure she wished to pursue a meaningful relationship beyond what she already had. But… Lyse is right, damn her. I should find out, when this is over. One way or another.

Kasumi paused in her routine and let her blade bleed back into shade. Whatever I am, I cannot let my creation define me. I am more than that. She felt something shift in her at the thought, a subtle sliding into place that felt right in a way she didn’t have the words to describe. Perhaps all I needed was the time to examine myself properly. Though Lyse’s little push probably did help…

Kasumi chuckled to herself, running a hand up her brow and through her hair. “That’s enough navel gazing for one day, I think.” Her voice echoed strangely in the empty room, but not unpleasantly. She gathered up her jumpsuit and slipped it back on, realising with a start as she did so that she’d forgotten to close the door behind her. Thank Halone nobody saw that. I would have given them quite the show.

She hurried back out the door, back down the corridors, back to Lyse’s room. In her embarrassment-induced haste she failed to realise that the slip of paper in her pockets had fallen loose. She also failed to notice the faint shimmer pass her by in the corridors, pause at the door to the gym, collect the sheet and vanish down another corridor in a rush.

If she had, she most certainly would have fought to reclaim it, and that was a fight Eutrope was unwilling to risk.

---

It felt wrong, not having Yugiri by her side.

For so long the auri woman had been Yotsuyu’s second shadow, quietly shepherding her through her greatest triumphs and lowest ebbs. Now she was off halfway across the continent on a mission of protection and revenge, and Yotsuyu was left with no way of knowing if she was even still alive. She hadn’t received a phone call, which she supposed must mean that all was relatively well, but she couldn’t shake the dread in her bones.

For Yugiri… and for herself.

Once again her hand drifted to the knife tucked under her clothes, an emergency measure she and Arashi had decided on until Arashi was satisfied Yotsuyu could defend herself properly. A wickedly sharp thing, but little more than a child’s toy against the skills and techniques of their enemies. According to Arashi, Yotsuyu was a fast learner. But not fast enough. Never fast enough.

She had promised Arashi not to wander out of town while Arashi dealt with the massive warrior who had all but demanded Arashi train her in the ways of dynamis, but Yotsuyu’s neck itched all the same. She was certain someone was watching her, but her subtle gaze could not find them no matter how she tried. So she sat in a tiny cafe away from the main streets and waited, drinking coffee that was much too bitter and hoping that she was mistaken in her assumption.

It came as no great surprise when she found someone else slip into the seat opposite her, however. Yotsuyu feigned nonchalance, but her grip around her knife tightened just slightly as she tensed herself, ready to cut and run if it came to that. Then she got a good look at the interloper and her tension lessened.

“Not a word,” grumbled Alisaie. She waved over a server, ordered a strong coffee of her own, and settled into an irritable mess. Yotsuyu waited for the elezen woman to do more than mope. She could already guess what was coming, and she had no desire to hurry it along.

It took until Alisaie had received her drink, taken a tentative sip of it, made a funny face at its bitterness, and set it back down again for her to finally speak up. “I had a dream last night,” Alisaie said, her tone hesitant and her eyes downcast, as though the coffee that had so offended her might leap up to silence her entirely. “About Arashi.”

“And you chose to confide this to her wife?” Yotsuyu’s eyebrow rose as a dangerous smile tugged at her lips. “A bold move, Leveilleur, if not a little suicidal.”

“Not that kind of dream!” Alisaie sputtered, slamming her palms on the table and causing a few of the nearby patrons to turn their heads towards her. Alisaie murmured an embarrassed apology and leaned forward, her voice lowering again. “I dreamed about meeting her for the first time. In Gridania. Except we didn’t meet in Gridania. And as soon as I realised that, it… changed.”

Yotsuyu’s interest was peaked despite herself, but she would be damned before she allowed Alisaie to realise it. “Changed how, exactly?”

“I… This is going to sound ridiculous, but I was in Ishgard. Recovering from being poisoned. And she was there, waiting for me to wake up. Only it wasn’t her, not really. Her face was the same, but her eyes… She looked like she’d been through so many horrible things. And I knew the moment I saw her that I had to stay by her side and protect her from it. Even if she wouldn’t let me.” Alisaie paused with a stricken expression before continuing, “I… don’t think they were dreams. Not really. I think…”

“You’re remembering the life you lived before.” Yotsuyu took a great deal of enjoyment in her matter-of-fact tone catching Alisaie entirely off-guard. “I was wondering what it would take for you to finally begin to catch up to the rest of us.”

“You knew? Oh, who am I kidding. Of course you knew.” Alisaie shot Yotsuyu a disgusted glare. “I bet you were laughing it up, weren’t you? Everyone but silly little Alisaie gets to remember all their happy times with the Warrior of Light. Let me guess, you all traded stories of your grand adventures together before you…” Alisaie trailed off, her anger shrivelling up. She must have seen the spike of ice piercing Yotsuyu’s heart. Must have gotten a good look at the tide of horrors that rose up to swallow her up again. Happy memories? Ha! The happiest memory I had of that woman was watching the worm die at her feet.

“I’m sorry,” Alisaie finally muttered. She wouldn’t meet Yotsuyu’s eyes, perhaps for fear of seeing what Yotsuyu had been forced to experience night after night. “I just… Why didn’t they tell me? Lyse I can understand, she was always against having Arashi learn about their past life together until she knew Arashi loved her properly. She probably thought I’d spill the beans, or something, but Arashi… Why would she…?”

“You suffered,” Yotsuyu murmured after a time. “So did she. For every glorious triumph the two of you encountered, you suffered many, many more heartbreaks. I suspect she wished to spare you the pain she was forced to relive.”

“Maybe,” Alisaie replied. “But I would have at least liked to have been given the choice.”

Yotsuyu sighed bitterly, forcing Alisaie to meet her gaze. “So would I. So would Arashi. But we were not. Thank your gods that you had people who cared about you enough to shield you from them this long. You will wish you remained blissfully ignorant by the time you are done.” Just as I wish I did not awaken to the taste of tobacco and gun smoke on my tongue.

Alisaie said nothing for a long time. Then, finally, “Did I love her in that life as well?”

Of course you did, you besotted fool. “I am hardly the woman to ask such a question. I met her as a bitter enemy. If you would know the truth, either wait for your dreams to unravel them…”

“…Or ask her myself.” Alisaie nodded, a certain resolution in her eyes. “Thank you, Yotsuyu. And sorry for bothering you. I know we’ll probably never be friends, but… Thank you all the same.”

Yotsuyu waved a dismissive hand towards Alisaie, turning her head to avoid looking at the other woman. “Go. I’ve suffered your company long enough.” Her hair hid the half-smile on her face, for a mercy, and Alisaie had the good sense not to look past it. Instead she rose from the table with a scraping of wood against stone, then strode off into the crowds without another word.

But not without leaving behind ample payment for her drink and Yotsuyu’s both. Good. At least your parents taught you some manners. Yotsuyu smiled softly, pocketing the spare change before rising and walking away as well. The sun had barely crested the craggy peaks that surrounded the mountainous town. Plenty of time to make something halfway pleasant out of this day.

In the cafe, a young man with dark skin and golden eyes rose quietly from his table and began to follow on behind. This time Yotsuyu’s neck didn’t so much as twitch.

Notes:

Drama! Self-reflection! Friendly combat as a way to better understand one another! Yearning! I gotta pull out all the stops for Yuri Day. Except include actual yuri in the chapter. Obviously.

Chapter 37: Roses

“Wish I had better news for ya, but…” Y’shtola grimaced, glancing back into the garage where the other mechanics were still feverishly working. “Whoever planted that bomb on your vehicle, they were a master. Damn thing’s wired right into your engine. Gotta pluck it out one strand at a time or else the whole thing could detonate.”

Yotsuyu said nothing. She’d prepared herself for disappointment on the way here, but…

“Trouble is, something this delicate needs fine aether control.” Yotsuyu noticed then that Y’shtola’s face had a fine sheen of sweat, that her chest was rising and falling in a ragged, unsteady rhythm. “And since neither of those two,” Y’shtola’s head jerked back towards Cid and Nero, who were furiously arguing over… something, “Can’t manipulate their own aether, and every time I ask their assistants for help they just freeze up… It’s taking longer than I’d like.”

Fine aether control… That explained the state of Y’shtola, if nothing else. Arashi had been working on training Yotsuyu’s own aether control when they had a spare moment together, and even trying to focus it down into something workable had left Yotsuyu gasping from the exertion despite her meagre aether supplies. But perhaps…

“I may know someone capable of assisting, if directed appropriately.” And assuming she’s even willing to listen.

Y’shtola raised a curious eyebrow, but her words were derisive. “If you’re talking about the walking aether ocean that is your wife, forget it. If she even looks at your car funny the damn thing’s gonna go off and take us all with it.”

“Not her.” Yotsuyu was no fool. “Her partner. Leveilleur. She and her brother have some skill in aether manipulation. She may be able to ease your burden.”

“Leveilleur, huh?” Y’shtola stroked her chin, closing her eyes and making thoughtful noises for a time. Yotsuyu knew the miqo’te woman was simply doing it to get under her skin, but nonetheless she felt her patience begin to fray by the time Y’shtola finally opened her eyes again. “Alright. I’ll have ol’ Cid get her high-tailing over here tomorrow. See if we can’t make something useful outta her.” Y’sthola fixed Yotsuyu with a gentle smile. “Just… Be prepared to sit out the next race, alright? I doubt this is gonna be a quick fix even with your friend’s help.”

She’s no friend of mine, Yotsuyu almost snapped, but she stopped herself before the words could leave her mouth. Instead she replied with a curt, “Very well,” and turned to leave. She half expected Y’shtola to stop her, but the only sound that followed her as she left was a hacking cough and irritated cursing. She paid it no mind.

She’d known it was coming, deep in her heart. She’d prepared for disappointment, for suffering, for her heart to be crushed. But the wound bit deep all the same. The Grand Prix had been her final escape from the horrors closing in around her, the horrid dread that dogged her every step as a thousand separate things all went wrong at once. But now that, too, had been wrenched from her, leaving her adrift again. Leaving her…

Free.

Free to join Lyse, Kasumi, Yugiri. Free to bring them all home again. Free to confront Gosetsu and make him regret threatening her and the people she loved. Free to rip Carosa and her monstrous son limb from limb with-

She stopped herself. Free to abandon Arashi and force her to bear the burden alone. Though her wife had been putting on a brave face, it was all-too-easy to see the cracks when the au ra thought nobody was watching. Yotsuyu knew all too well that she was the only anchor keeping Arashi from doing something monumentally stupid. Like taking up her old mantle and… doing exactly what Yotsuyu had just thought of doing. I must remain. For her sake, and for my own.

Her steps were heavy as she made her way back to her room. Arashi was no doubt still out teaching Wuk Lamat, and Zenos had made himself a recluse after the race. The other drivers were out doing… whatever it was they did when they weren’t being obstacles on the track. Which left only Sanda, who Yotsuyu had no desire to speak with. Perhaps she could try reading more of her book. The thought held little appeal, however. History became a good bit less appealing when it literally came alive around her. Or, more accurately, around Arashi.

Yotsuyu fumbled through her pockets for the card, but as she did she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something tiny and red jutting out from the bottom of the door frame. A rose petal, she realised as she bent down to get a closer look. Certainly not a local flower, that much was certain. So what was it doing here? Curiosity sparked inside of her despite herself. Finally finding the card, she pressed it against the reader and slipped inside.

To find a trail of the damn things in a particularly unsubtle trail leading to the bed. Where one particularly underdressed au ra lay, rose clutched in her teeth, looking half like she wanted the earth to swallow her up and half… constipated? Or is she trying to look seductive? Yotsuyu gently closed the door behind her, a faint heat rising to her cheeks all the same. It was more the effort than the execution, but it was nonetheless having the intended effect.

“I called off my lesson with Wuk Lamat a little early,” Arashi explained once she had relieved her mouth of its rosy burden. “Which gave me about enough time to teleport over to Limsa Lominsa and grab a bouquet.” She was, Yotsuyu belatedly realised, garbed only in rose petals. “Took a lot out of me, but today’s worth the effort.”

It is? Yotsuyu racked her brain to try and understand why. Her confusion must have shown on her face, for Arashi gave her a sardonic smile. “Really? Don’t tell me it slipped your mind again, Tsuyu. Today’s the day we first met. That fateful airship trip to Limsa Lominsa. Remember?”

Yotsuyu did. That awkward, slightly-too-eager au ra who had burst into Yotsuyu’s life and changed its trajectory forever. The woman Yotsuyu would learn to love, then to resent, then to regret. The woman who caught the eyes of, quite frankly, far too many other women, but chose to open her heart to Yotsuyu again anyway. The woman who was desperately trying not to move so her apparently quite ticklish rose petals remained in place.

Eight years ago, they had found one another. Again.

And Yotsuyu had entirely forgotten about it.

“I have nothing for you,” Yotsuyu sheepishly admitted. She tried to keep her eyes on Arashi’s face. Failed. Caught Arashi’s knowing smile.

“You’re here. That’s good enough.” Yotsuyu’s cheeks flushed further. When did you get so good at this? She suddenly felt far too over-dressed. Particularly under the weight of those half-lidded eyes, that gently upraised eyebrow, that damned smile…

“Tsuyu?” Arashi’s tone betrayed a little concern, her eyebrows knitting a little closer together, the smile turning just a little brittle. “Are you…?” The rest of the question found itself swiftly silenced as Yotsuyu crossed the distance, found her lover’s lips, her tongue, her hands. Worry washed away. Passion took its place. The rose petals were swiftly forgotten. Arashi was more than happy to help Yotsuyu with her issue of being over-dressed.

“I love you… I love you…!” Arashi’s eyes were bright and feverish, her body laid bare before Yotsuyu, her voice high and trembling.

“I love you too,” Yotsuyu replied with all the passion she could muster. Then her tongue returned to demonstrating that love more clearly. She could be quite eloquent when she wanted to be, if Arashi’s response was anything to go by. So could Arashi, when the tables were turned. Yotsuyu didn’t have the words to express quite how good, however. She was left far too breathless for that.

Eventually time returned to something more than the press of flesh and hungry hearts, leaving the pair of them exhausted but most satisfied with themselves, laying together in a sweaty heap. Arashi curled up against Yotsuyu, far too hot and sticky for her liking but not so much that Yotsuyu felt inclined to push her away. Besides which, she enjoyed the feeling of Arashi’s scales on her skin. It was pleasantly rough, cooler than the rest of her body. Exactly what Yotsuyu needed.

“I’m sorry,” Arashi murmured while Yotsuyu’s hand ran through her hair. “About the balloon. I… You know.”

“She’s starting to remember now,” Yotsuyu whispered. “I trust you are willing to handle the consequences of your actions, yes?”

“I am. But… I’m sorry all the same. I didn’t want her to remember. Not like that. Not at all.”

“She already hated me,” Yotsuyu replied with a dismissive hand. “Now she will simply find more reasons to do so. Another of the Witch of Doma’s sins to add to the pile.” It was the wrong thing to say, she knew that, but she couldn’t help saying it all the same.

“Tsuyu…” Arashi’s tail gently slapped Yotsuyu’s thigh, her face betraying her emotions far more than she’d allowed herself to show of late. “Don’t talk like that. The past is dust, right?”

“Less and less every day.” Yotsuyu didn’t meet Arashi’s eyes. She didn’t want to see the woman behind them. What if the wrong one looks back?

Arashi didn’t give her a choice. With a grunt she pulled herself on top of Yotsuyu, her face barely an inch away from Yotsuyu’s own, her eyes so beautifully blue that Yotsuyu found herself drowning in them without meaning to. “Tsuyu. Whatever happened to us before, whatever we were before, that isn’t us. You know that.”

“Then why,” Yotsuyu asked with trembling voice, “Are you falling back into that other self so easily? Am I destined to wake up and find another you standing in your place? One who does not-”

Arashi’s lips found hers with a furious headbutt, shutting Yotsuyu up as Arashi made a frustrated, forlorn noise directly into her mouth. Yotsuyu’s eyes widened, all the more so when a single tear fell against her cheek. Arashi refused to pull away, though, her tail and arms coiling possessively around Yotsuyu as though she might suddenly disappear at any moment. Finally, finally, Arashi broke off with a furious noise.

“Tsuyu! I adore you! I married you! I would happily, happily die for you! I could never let you go now we’re back together. Not ever. Even if I have to take back my own title, even if I have to step in and save the bloody world again, I will always come back to you when I’m done. Always. Please believe that. Please.”

Yotsuyu saw her truly through her red-rimmed eyes in that moment. Saw the inner conflict warring within her, saw the woman she was pressed back by the woman she had become, saw the mask and all its myriad cracks. Saw the awkward, slightly-too-eager au ra who was so desperate to remain that self. Saw, for the first time, how badly she needed Yotsuyu to hold onto that. In case she could not any more.

“I believe you,” Yotsuyu whispered, her eyes unable to leave Arashi’s if she tried. “I love you. All that you are and all that you were.”

Arashi’s dam burst. She collapsed against Yotsuyu’s chest with a choked sob, sniffing pathetically as her body shook. Yotsuyu held her. She could do nothing more. Arashi wanted nothing more. “I love you! I love you! I love you!” Arashi wailed the words like a talisman, as though she could ward off her pain with a simple mantra. It took some time for her to finally calm down, enough to form coherent sentences again.

“I’m sorry,” Arashi began, but this time it was Yotsuyu’s turn to silence her. Their kiss was a good deal more gentle than the last.

“Don’t apologise. I am the one at fault.” Yotsuyu’s hand crept around to cup Arashi’s cheek, giving her scales a tender stroke as she felt the weight of the au ra’s head leaning into her touch.

“It’s easier with you,” Arashi murmured after a time. “To be me. To put away that Warrior of Light persona and just… be. Lyse and especially Kasumi, they have so much… baggage from the past. Old memories that keep pulling me back there too. You… don’t.”

Yotsuyu chuckled despite herself. “Did my hatred truly leave so little of an impression upon you?”

Arashi snorted and pushed herself up to straddle Yotsuyu. “You know what I mean, Tsuyu.” Her hand came to rest between Yotsuyu’s breasts, just above her heart. “What we have? It’s us. Just us. Not soulmates coming together. Not old lovers finding one another again. Just two idiots who happened to fit despite everything. I treasure that. And I hope you do too.”

More than you could possibly imagine. Yotsuyu’s smile was unusually wide as she pushed herself up to be level with Arashi again. “I suppose I may have some appreciation for that fact. Though I should add that you have stiff competition should you wish to remain at the top of my list. After all, I have no such connections to our lovers.” Her smile turned practically predatory, licking her lips as she continued, “Tell me, how do you intend to secure your position, mmm?”

Arashi’s blushing, wide-eyed stare in response was everything Yotsuyu could have hoped for. “I- Um- That is- I could- Uhhh… Oh gods. Tsuyu, you’re a truly evil woman, you know that?”

Yotsuyu leaned forward, let her lips brush against Arashi’s horn, chuckled in a low, throaty tone at Arashi’s sudden squeal. “And yet you were so quick to proclaim your love for me mere minutes ago. Whatever does that say about you, I wonder?” Her hands began to wander again, letting her heat and desire drive them wherever they so desired. “As it happens, I have some ideas. Would you like to-?”

Yotsuyu paused. Arashi wasn’t moving. Yotsuyu drew back to see that her wife had taken on a faraway stare, focused somewhere on the middle distance beyond the narrow walls of their hotel room. She looked… confused, and not a little worried besides. But it was the single word, the single name that escaped Arashi’s lips which froze Yotsuyu completely.

“Kasumi?”

Notes:

Giving the Dawntrail character a focus chapter on Yuri day and putting out the spicy yuri on Dawntrail's release day. The rules mean nothing to me! Nothing!

Anyway, this was meant to be more than just Arashi and Yotsuyu having a heart-to-heart, but then those two decided to get really into the pillow talk. Next time, Kasumi!

Chapter 38: Fury

“Godsdammit. Gods-fucking­-­dammit!” Kasumi was practically spitting blood, her eyes fixed on the arena below, unable to tear her eyes away from the pair standing inside of it. “He knew. Of course he knew! How could he not have known? Gods strike me down for the fool I am!”

Lyse didn’t reply but her hands were bone white, gripping to the railing as if she might float away if she let go. Her eyes were tense and tight, her breath slightly uneven, her whole body tense. She, too, could not tear her eyes away from the sight below.

Yugiri, gunblade raised in challenge, faced the woman known as Scorpienne. Fareena’s attempted killer, and the one with the most reason to hate them out of all the contestants. The one Yugiri had sworn to slay to Zoraal Ja’s face. Of course he’d go and call her bluff.

And from the way Yugiri stood, poised and ready to kill at a moment’s hesitation, she was fully prepare to commit to her words if that’s what it would take to accomplish their goals. Or else… Yugiri took her gunblade, pointed it in Scorpienne’s direction and uttered a few words, then slammed it into the ground. Though the use of weapons was not prohibited, it seemed Yugiri had no intent of using it.

A flash of light and rushing aether signalled the match commencing. Scorpienne wasted no time engaging her feral soul, going from a slight and unassuming hyur to a towering chitinous powerhouse. Her body had grown far beyond its natural size, easily towering around twelve fulms tall and rippling with muscle. Her skin had been replaced with a shining black exoskeleton, her hands transformed into horrendous snapping claws that came to a cruelly hooked end. From her back sprouted a tail nearly as large as she was, dripping with venom and already snapping forward to end the match before it could truly begin.

But Yugiri wasn’t there. The tail struck ground with a terrifying crash and nothing more. Kasumi strained her eyes to try and locate the au ra, but saw nothing. Perhaps behind Scorpienne, then? She can’t have left the arena, that would be an instant forfeit. But-

Scorpienne suddenly shrieked, whirling around to swipe with her claws at something around her legs. But once again she connected only with the floor. Frustration was clear on her unsettlingly human features as she flailed to no avail. She failed to notice the thin layer of mist building around her feet. Nor did she notice the slightly darker patch of swirling fog standing just out of range of her wild swings. Yugiri Mistwalker had, it seemed, learned how to live up to her name. Which could really mean only one thing.

She had activated her regulator and called upon the feral soul inside it.

Yugiri had been granted the soul of a biast, and a particularly troublesome one at that. According to Zoraal Ja, it had obtained a way to manipulate water aether to vanish from sight and strike at its prey undetected. It had been well on its way to becoming a Tural Vidraal before Zoraal Ja himself had taken its measure… and found it wanting. Now it lived again, sniping and striking at an arachnid with delusions of grandeur.

Bugs were to be squashed, not elevated. And Yugiri, it appeared, had every intention of teaching that lesson anew. Despite her stated plan to lose convincingly. Despite their plan to have her move under the cover Kasumi and Lyse created for her. Despite all her cool, confident conviction. What in the seven hells is going on here?

“Dammit, Yugiri, what happened to the plan? You’re supposed to be the smart one here!” Kasumi hissed to herself all manner of curses; at Zoraal Ja for orchestrating this clash, at Scorpienne and Black Bat for choosing petty revenge and bringing them all here in the first place, at Yugiri for choosing to let all reason fly to the wayside at the worst possible moment.

“I get it,” Lyse said, her voice almost lost to the din of the crowd. It was only thanks to Kasumi’s keen hearing that she was able to catch the words at all. “I’d do the same in her shoes.”

Kasumi turned to give the Ala Mhigan a sidelong look. “Care to explain?”

“We spoke a little while you were getting harassed by Zoraal Ja.” Lyse’s eyes bubbled with conflicted emotions for a moment before settling on resolution. “Fareena isn’t just her teacher. She’s Yugiri’s adopted mother.”

Oh, gods- dammit! Kasumi bit back a shriek of frustration. Of course Fareena would find new and inventive ways to make our lives miserable! But it put everything into terrible focus. It was inevitable that Yugiri would find someone to devote her fierce loyalty to. For too long Kasumi had assumed it was Yotsuyu and Yotsuyu alone who held that highest honour, but she’d never pried into Yugiri’s personal life when she had the chance. If she had, she might have been able to see this coming. She might have been able to prepare for it. She might have seen Yugiri’s insistence on joining the mission for what it was. Not protection for the woman she had devoted her life to.

Vengeance for the woman who had shaped her into the stalwart bodyguard she’d become.

“We need to do something. Stop the match, force Yugiri to forfeit, anything to halt this madness before it destroys her.” Kasumi could feel herself growing steadily more frantic as she watched the match unfold. The mist had grown thick enough for Scorpienne to realise what was going on now, and her wild strikes were becoming less wild by the second.

“What can we do, though? If we climb down there we’ll only succeed in getting thrown out, or worse. And we can’t exactly do anything up here, can we? I hate to say it, but I don’t think we can do anything but watch and hope.”

Which did nothing at all to ease Kasumi’s roiling pit of worry. I can’t just sit back and watch. Not again. I can’t let the ones I care for throw themselves recklessly into danger without lifting a single finger to-

Kasumi?

“Arashi?!”

---

“Hold still, dammit! Is runnin’ and hidin’ all you’re good for?!” Scorpienne’s shouting was punctuated by a cry of pain as Yugiri’s fangs sunk deep into her ankle. She swung for the offending attacker, but Yugiri herself had already vanished into the mist. “At least Mad Hare knew when to stand and fight! Not that it did her any good in the end!”

She’s trying to rile me up. Not very well, either. Yugiri had plenty of reasons to want her opponent dead already. But she knew when to put such emotions to one side when it counted. Even if she had to rapidly change her plans to take advantage of this new opportunity. I’m sorry, but I cannot let this chance slip away. It would be seen as an accident. Unable to control her feral soul, she would go into a frenzy, slay her opponent in a wild rage. It would be so simple.

And Fareena will be avenged. Yotsuyu will be safe from further reprisal.

But still, she couldn’t help but acknowledge the part of her that wanted to sink her newly gained fangs deep into the would-be murderer’s throat and let her ichor spray. To rip and tear and rend asunder, to devour her whole for daring to-

No. Those were not her thoughts. They were the feral soul’s lingering hate, leaking in at the edges. I will not be your vessel. You will obey me.

She felt the last vestiges of the biast rail and rage against her command, but the turmoil in her head settled to a low rumble, letting her think clearly again. Just in time to avoid Scorpienne’s tail as it slammed into the ground mere inches away. Her aim is improving. She’d have to act quickly if she wanted to avoid her teacher’s barely-averted fate.

“Fine! If you won’t come out and fight like you mean it…” Scorpienne closed her eyes, then surged with transformative aether. When her eyes opened again they had lost all humanity, having now become a dull-red mess of multi-faceted lenses. “I’ll just have to drag you out of there myself!”

Yugiri hissed as her opponent’s gaze landed squarely on her despite the mist’s best efforts to hide her. Scorpienne’s too-human lips drew into a predatory smile, then a massive claw lunged to try and pluck Yugiri out of the mist and into harm’s way. Yugiri dodged to one side, but this time Scorpienne could see exactly where she had gone. Another claw caught Yugiri by the leg, yanking her up into the air with vicious force that left Yugiri gasping. Were it not for the mass of scales that now covered her skin, she would surely have suffered a terrible gouge from the attack. As it was she was still left dangling helplessly in Scorpienne’s grip, a sitting duck in all but form.

“Got you.” Scorpienne pulled Yugiri up higher, twisting her one way and then the other like a fisher inspecting their catch. “You really are all talk, huh? As soon as I find a way around your little tricks all you can do is squirm. Your mom was just the same, you know? Such a blowhard until my stinger found its mark!” Scorpienne shook Yugiri violently in her claw to emphasis her point. “She didn’t talk so much after that. But she still managed to slip away in the end, didn’t she?” Yugiri was pulled still higher, up to Scorpienne’s face now. “I won’t make that mistake with you, don’t worry.”

Scorpienne’s first mistake was in assuming Yugiri was out of tricks. Her second was getting Yugiri at eye-level. As the malicious glint of a thousand blood red eyes stared her down, Yugiri took a deep breath…

And spewed a spray of boiling hot mist directly into them.

Scorpienne’s shriek of pain filled the arena. Yugiri hit the floor with a heavy thud as her opponent instinctively raised her claws to her face, stumbling blindly and jabbing the air with her tail. By the time Scorpienne could see again, Yugiri had already vanished back into the mist.

That should buy me some time. I hope.

---

“Kasumi, what’s going on? What did you just do?”

Me? I thought this was your doing! What in Halone’s name is going on?

“I don’t know! I just felt you panicking and reached out on instinct! What’s happening to you? Do you need help?”

I… No, we don’t. Yugiri is fighting, that’s all. And if someone doesn’t stop her, she’s going to do something we all regret.

“Is there anything you can- One moment.” Arashi turned to face Yotsuyu, who was in the process of violently shaking her and crying out her name amidst various curses. “Tsuyu! I’m alright! I’ve… linked with Kasumi somehow, but I’m still here. You don’t have to shake me like a stuffed toy.”

Yotsuyu’s panic subsided enough for her to fix Arashi with a resentful glare. “Tell your lover that she should pick a better time for her intrusions. My time is precious enough without needless interruptions.”

“She’s your lover t-!” Arashi began, but Yotsuyu had already turned her (particularly mesmerising) back to the au ra with a huff. Arashi let out a sigh, purposefully blowing just enough to catch Yotsuyu’s back in revenge, then shut her eyes and focused on her newfound connection. It felt familiar in a way she couldn’t place, like an old friend whose name she had long forgotten. She put aside such thoughts for the time being, however. They would only distract her.

“Kasumi? Are you-?”

Still here. Heard every word you just said, too. Our spider lily is being her usual tender self, I take it?

“She loves you too.” And gods hope she doesn’t identify that as the cover it is. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Our plan went out without many hitches. We’ve infiltrated the Arcadion. Unfortunately Yugiri’s been matched against the woman who nearly killed Fareena. Who is, apparently, Yugiri’s adoptive mother.

“WHAT?!”

Keep your voice down! Gods, that’s far more painful through the link than it has any right to be. But yes, I only just learned that little titbit myself. Point is, Yugiri’s on the war path and Scorpienne isn’t much better. One of them is going to kill the other if we don’t do something.

“Gods, alright… Is there any way you can stop the fight? Get one of them disqualified or something?”

Not with Zoraal Ja watching their every move, unless we want to get thrown out too. Godsdammit Yugiri! Why did you have to choose now to lose your temper?

Arashi felt a curious mix of anger and fear through their link, along with something else. Affection? Longing? Perhaps her feelings for me are getting in the way. “Well you can’t just do nothing! If Yugiri really is going to do something that stupid, you’ve got to stop her somehow!”

I know that, damn you! But if I leap into that ring then- Oh gods. YUGIRI!

“Kasumi? Kasumi, what’s going on? Kasumi!”

Silence.

---

Lyse couldn’t tear her eyes away from the ring. Kasumi was muttering something, presumably involving Arashi judging by the way her name had passed Kasumi’s lips, but Lyse couldn’t concentrate on what. She was entirely focused on Yugiri’s mist-drenched shape as it limped through the mists. Her every nerve was standing on end, her breath shallow and sucked through pursed lips. Is this what it was like watching me face down the Goliath? If so, Lyse would have to apologise after the match. Assuming-

Scorpienne let out another horrific shriek, her eyes back to their more human form but bloodshot and red from the unexpected steam blast. She swung and stomped furiously through the mist, trying to stomp Yugiri flat or else catch her with a lucky strike. Several times she almost succeeded.

But Yugiri was not to be ensnared a second time, injured leg or no. Scorpienne howled in agony as razor-sharp jaws bit deep on her calf before vanishing into the fog once more. Yugiri’s elongated jaw resembled a crocodile more than anything now, and her bite force was clearly comparable if it was able to sink through Scorpienne’s armour. But it wouldn’t be enough. Lyse could see the turning of the tide. Sooner or later Yugiri’s luck would run out again. And when it did…

Lyse felt the snap in the aether before she saw any of its effects. Then the mist began to dissipate, slowly at first but rapidly losing its opacity. It took her several moments to understand what had happened, but then she saw it. Yugiri had, either through her own power or, more likely, her own lack of power, ended her transformation. She was breathing hard, favouring one leg and hefting her gunblade, now retrieved from the floor, over her shoulders. It took only a moment longer for Scorpienne to spy her prey, to snatch her up in her claws again, to pin the struggling au ra to the floor and lean in close. The pair exchanged words, but they were too quiet for Lyse to hear from her vantage point.

Then Scorpienne’s tail was coming down, a killing blow for certain, and-

Yugiri changed. Her skin hardened. Her body became bulky and rippling with muscle. Her tail grew longer, stronger. Her face became a reptilian snout. A feint! With a flex of feral muscles she forced Scorpienne’s claws open again, but this time she swung with the gunblade, aiming directly for the still-descending tail.

She struck home. But so did the tail. Scorpienne screamed in agony as a large chunk of her tail exploded from the force of a full set of aether cannisters detonating against it, taking the stinger with it as it drew back from its target. Yugiri rolled roughly out of the way, rising to her feet and setting her stance for another attack. Scorpienne, however, was not out of the fight yet, despite the ragged ruin of her tail. She lashed out with a wild claw, catching Yugiri square in the chest and flinging her against the wall with a terrifying crack. But Yugiri pushed herself away from the crater she had left in the electrope and steel around her, took a single step forward…

And fell to the ground in a boneless heap, convulsing and shifting back into her human form. Scorpienne let out a shriek of triumph, rushing over and flipping Yugiri over to reveal an ugly dark puncture just above her collarbone, starting to pulse with lurid green light. A light Lyse recognised all too well. Kasumi saw it too, her eyes widening in horror. “Oh gods. YUGIRI!”

Kasumi vaulted over the railing and crashed onto the arena floor, heedless of the consequences and dead-set on stopping Scorpienne from doing any more damage. Lyse joined her a moment later. If this goes wrong, she’ll need me to watch her back. And carry Yugiri to safety, if it comes to that.

It did not. Another had leapt into the arena, and his presence sent a ripple through everyone present. Zoraal Ja stalked towards Scorpienne and, in a single fluid swing, cleaved her regulator in two with a single precise strike. Scorpienne was forced back into her regular form with a horrid lurch, staggering but still somehow strong enough to glare furiously at the Mamool Ja. He ignored her, eyes focused squarely on Yugiri’s twitching figure. His lips curled into a frown, as though assessing a sickened work animal instead of a human being.

“Bring her to the infirmary!” Zoraal Ja snapped, and suddenly a crowd was surrounding Yugiri, pulling her unresisting form onto a stretcher, carrying her out of the arena. “We will speak later,” Zoraal Ja promised, his eyes a pair of dark pits as he stared down Scorpienne. Then he turned on his heel, following his attendants out and leaving the three women behind without another word.

Kasumi stalked forward with a fury Lyse had not seen in a very long time, grabbing Scorpienne by the collar of her shirt and hoisting her into the air. “If she dies,” the au ra promised with a ragged growl, “I will see to it that you beg me for death before I grant it to you.”

“If she dies,” Scorpienne retorted, “Then you’ll understand how it feels to have your heart ripped outta your chest. Then you’ll understand why I did what I did.” The hate in her eyes was hard to look at, rivalling Kasumi’s own with ease.

“Scorpienne is going to be devastated…” Yaana’s words rang out in Lyse’s head. A piece of the puzzle slotted into place with terrible clarity. Oh gods, she thinks we…

Lyse reached out to put a hand on Kasumi’s shoulder, squeezing hard enough to force Kasumi out of the staring contest she was having with Scorpienne. “Come on. Yugiri needs us.” Lyse was aware of the murmuring crowd all around them, of the way they could turn at any moment if the pair came to blows. Kasumi stared at Lyse for several hard moments, then…

“Right.” She let go of her grip on Scorpienne’s shirt, dropping the hyur roughly to the floor. “Let’s go.” Lyse made sure that Kasumi left first, not fully trusting her to keep her temper under control otherwise. Lyse could feel Scorpienne staring daggers at them as they left, knowing full well the venomous hate that they had inadvertently inspired.

Scorpienne assumed that they had slain Black Bat. And Lyse could do nothing to dispel that lie without bringing the whole plan down around them.

Rhalgr, if you’re somehow still listening, please grant me strength. I’m going to need it.

Notes:

Well, that took a whole lot longer than I'd intended it to, but here we are at last. You probably already guessed the reason why this took so long to write, but if you didn't, might I direct your attention to Storm's Heart right over there? It's WoLyse week, y'see, and I cannot resist the siren song of my ship.

Anyway, hopefully the next chapter shouldn't take almost two weeks to get done, but it will probably take a little while. Gonna be off on a mini-holiday towards the end of the week and into the next, so it'll probably be a bit. But next time's gonna be a doozy, because it will be the...

KOZAMA'UKA CURRENT!

Chapter 39: Kozama'uka Current

Kasumi didn’t respond for the rest of the night no matter how many times Arashi tried to call out to her. She didn’t respond the day after, or the day after that either. But Arashi felt her the whole while, a constant background whine of pain, misery, anxiety. All wrapped around a single thought Arashi knew too well.

I should have done something. I’ve as good as damned her myself.

Arashi hadn’t told Yotsuyu that something may have happened to Yugiri. Only that Kasumi had reacted badly to something but appeared unharmed. She’s got too many worries already. Besides, Arashi was no stranger to carrying secrets. Just not in this life.

Time had, as it always did, rolled along without a care, and soon enough Arashi and Yotsuyu were on their way to the next race. Kozama’uka was no less vibrant than it had been the last time Arashi had set eyes on it, though time had made its changes here as well. Gone was the budding tourist industry that Arashi had assisted in developing. The waters of the lagoon had long ago burst free and washed it away, leaving the area a lush wetland instead. Gone, too, was the collection of artisans and patrons that made up Earthenshire. In its place stood a small museum and visitor centre detailing the history of the region.

But the Hanuhanu had remained. Their culture and festivals and way of life had remained. Time had changed, but the avian people let themselves be carried along by its current without being swallowed by it. And while their cities were made of stronger stuff than woven reeds and wood these days, they still held true to the old ways where they could.

Yotsuyu, on the other hand, was less enthused, but that was likely due to the near-constant downpour that had greeted them on the boat ride over. Or else Arashi’s re-discovered seasickness. Or else her lingering worries over Tsukuyomi , which had still not been given the green light to drive the night before the race was due to begin. Or else…

“All racers, please have your vehicles at the starting line in five minutes.”

Almost time already. Arashi and Yotsuyu had gone their separate ways as soon as they reached the garage. Officially Yotsuyu was suffering a bout of sickness that meant she would likely miss the race. Her anti-social nature worked to their advantage in keeping that cover story alive, but they had decided it would be best for her to spectate the race from the Scaeva’s Superior Steelworks garage, just in case. No telling what Gosetsu or Carosa might pull once they realise their plan’s gone awry. To say nothing of Nerva…

“Kasumi? Can you hear me?” Arashi was alone in the garage for the moment. Cid and Nero were putting in some last minute maintenance on Tsukuyomi . Alisaie (who still hadn’t spoken a word to Arashi since the balloon ride) had already taken Phoenix to the track. Biggs and Wedge were taking a well-earned break. “If you are, say something. Please.”

Silence. Arashi sighed and stroked the dashboard of Suzaku . “At least you’re still here.” Arashi laughed gently and wrapped her hands around the handlebars, getting her bike rolling towards the exit, where a gentle patter of rain awaited them both. “Time to put those worries aside and do my job. Ready to do yours?”

Arashi swore she felt a tiny pulse of heat from Suzaku, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Good enough. Suzaku cared not for the petty concerns of her rider, only for the race to come. For the chance to display her dominance before a roaring crowd. It was refreshing, in its own way, to be so simple and pure. It reminded Arashi of happier times. But those days were behind her, and she had no choice but to fight through the darkness to see them again. Like I’ve always done. Like I always will.

Arashi was the last of the competitors to get her vehicle in place. With Tsukuyomi ’s absence there was a conspicuous absence beside Suzaku , but Alisaie and Phoenix stood resolutely on her other side. Arashi gave her partner a wave, but it was huffily ignored. Not ready to talk yet, then. Fine. Arashi paid Alisaie no further thought and pulled on her helmet instead. She felt it mould around her head, enveloping her in a gentle embrace until it sat snugly around her skull. The world was muted against the heavy fabric of the helmet, save for a gentle hiss from her receiver. From the silence it seemed Cid was still busy, but as long as nothing went wrong with Suzaku, Arashi had little concern.

“We should talk.” Alisaie’s voice crackled against Arashi’s horns, taking her entirely by surprise. “Once this race is done.” Arashi glance in Alisaie’s direction to find the elezen woman entirely avoiding her gaze. Despite herself, Arashi had to smile. Typical Leveilleur.

“We should,” Arashi said aloud. “When you’re ready.” And then, because she couldn’t resist… “See you at the finish line.”

Alisaie turned her head to add a glare to her inevitable retort, only to interrupt herself with an astonished gasp. Arashi turned to see that she was not, in fact, the last of the racers to arrive. Rolling onto the track with all the supreme self-confidence she could manage was Yotsuyu, proudly sitting in Tsukuyomi and directing it to its starting point.

“I thought she was out of today’s race.” Alisaie’s tone was caught between disbelief and petty irritation.

“So did I,” Arashi replied. I suppose they managed to work a miracle after all.

---

The Kozama’uka Current had a reputation among the Turali crowd of being the slowest and most sedate of the courses, in-keeping with its peaceful and gentle custodians. Built around a great lagoon, it was a leisurely ride with its slow, easy turns and wide-open track allowing plenty of space for the leaders to pull ahead and stay ahead. The winner was typically decided by the end of the first lap, with everyone else jockeying for second place.

Apparently nobody had seen fit to inform the Eorzean contingent of that.

Wuk Lamat growled and yanked her bike hard to the right to avoid coming completely off the road and on its way to the lagoon. Bahamut ’s sudden wall of rock had taken her entirely off-guard, forcing some evasive manoeuvres from her to keep from slamming directly into it. But Dawn’s Promise hadn’t taken kindly to it, and its handling left a great deal to be desired after so long until Wuk Lamat’s rough treatment of it. By the time she righted herself, Bahamut was already well ahead, chasing after the elusive shadow of Tsukuyomi .

Nothing for it if I want to catch up, then. Dammit. I was really hoping to save this for later! Wuk Lamat’s fist came down a little too hard on the aether cannister she’d been saving and Dawn’s Promise erupted forward with a fountain of flame burning behind it. She felt a little thrill of satisfaction as Thancred’s eyes widened in surprise, but then he was gone, lost in her dust as she shot easily around the next lazy bend.

Koana was a genius when it came to technology, and the aether conversion system was no exception. What Dawn’s Promise lacked in raw power, it could more than make up for with the right cannister activated. Dawnseeker , Erenville’s vehicle, could manage similar feats as well, but her partner was always too cautious to lean into his bike’s full capabilities. Wuk Lamat, of course, had no such fetters.

Unfortunately, neither did Yotsuyu. Her shocking appearance had turned into a shocking grasp for the lead early on that, while hotly contested still, was looking more and more certain by the second. She had driven like a madwoman, heedless of the other racers and taking full advantage of the wide loop to snake ahead of the pack. Clever use of aether cannisters had kept them from nipping at her heels too closely after that. But she had just used one to try and knock Bahamut loose from her tail, and she wouldn’t have another chance to restock for some time. A perfect opportunity to try and snatch that lead from her.

Or at least it would be, if Glory of Mamook and Suzaku hadn’t chosen to take advantage of the chaos as well and muscle their way back into contention with some well-timed flame aether of their own. The massive four-wheeler and the powerful twin-wheeled bike jostled and bumped into one another, entirely heedless of Dawn’s Promise in their reckless desire to beat the other and catch Tsukuyomi ’s trail. A desire which threatened to send Wuk Lamat flying back into the drink she’d so carefully avoided but a few seconds before. Worse still, Wuk Lamat’s blazing boost was starting to run out, and Tsukuyomi was still too far ahead.

“I think you might be lost, kitty cat!” Wuk Lamat swivelled her head to catch Betool Ja grinning at her through her half-tinted helmet. “The losers’ circle is back thataway!” Betool Ja’s howl of laughter was abruptly cut off as Arashi took advantage of her distraction to break away and streak ahead with an unexpected burst of acceleration.

“Looks like the joke’s on you, Betool Ja!” Wuk Lamat shot back with a fierce grin of her own. They were only on the second lap, but already she could feel the dynamis coalescing into a tangible mass around them all. It was tempting, so very tempting, to reach for it and give herself the boost she needed to claim first place while the last dregs of fire burned in her engine. But to do that would be to open herself up to reprisal in the final lap, to say nothing of the spanner it would throw in her plan to get Arashi to open up. So she let it sit, let it build more and more, let her excitement feed it to a fever pitch.

And waited for the next patch of aether cannisters to level the playing field.

---

Tsukuyomi had not been cleared for the race. There simply hadn’t been enough time to fully pluck out the bomb’s many tendrils, and any attempt to remove it more forcefully might well have taken the entire car with it. But Yotsuyu could not sit idly by and let her livelihood and passion be stymied by the cruelty of another. Not again. So she had agreed a compromise and borne Nero’s stern looks, accepted Cid’s blustering insults, withstood Y’shtola’s withering disbelief.

She would race, but without the assistance of any aether cannisters. Whether she won or lost was of little consequence to her, but she had to race. She had to prove to her enemies that she would not be cowed or forced to shy away for fear of retribution.

And she had to prove it to herself, too.

So she had thrown caution to the wind and taken every opportunity, no matter how ruthless, to cut ahead. She had weaved around cannisters and let them fall into the hands of others. She had raced like her very life depended on it, calling on a frenzy that she had not felt since that fateful footrace at Gridania. But it came without the joy it had held then. This time there was no rush of a crisis averted, no pillar of support beside her. She was alone. And she had marked herself a target for all others to strike down.

Let them come.

And they had. Phoenix had burned brightly but ended up flaming out at the hands of Fussy Little Bun Bun , which had in turn been cast to one side by Blessings of Mamook , only for it, too, to be devoured by Bahamut ’s rage. One by one they had vied for the chance to dethrone her, but one by one they had been dragged down by their fellows. Until one likely contender, the only likely contender, had finally pulled herself free of the pack and rushed to meet its rival.

Suzaku caught up with Tsukuyomi as the final lap began. Despite herself, Yotsuyu found her pulse racing with a different beat as she glanced at Arashi coming level with her. Her heart skipped a too-telling beat as the blood red helmet tilted in her direction for just a moment, enough to catch a glimpse of the au ra’s eyes through the visor. Enough to see the all-consuming desire to rise triumphant that had overcome them both. This is what I was waiting-

Neither of them noticed the roar of two other engines rapidly approaching. Not until Dawn’s Promise outstripped them both with a cheeky wave from its driver while Glory of Mamook tore past them on the outside. Luck had smiled on them both, judging by the streak of fiery red aether streaming from their exhausts.

The moment thoroughly ruined, Yotsuyu snarled and slammed her foot as hard down on the accelerator as she dared. She knew it would yield nothing. Without a cannister of her own she had no hope in the seven hells of catching up. Her only hope was for the pair to turn on one another, or else…

She glanced over at Arashi, who gave her the slightest nod before making use of Suzaku’s superior speed to jet ahead and pursue the sudden front-runners. As she passed Tsukuyomi, Yotsuyu got a glimpse of sparking yellow dancing across Suzaku’s dashboard. Lightning, a perfect equaliser in the right hands. And Yotsuyu could imagine no better hands for it to be held in.

It still took Suzaku almost until the next set of aether cannisters to catch up to the two Turali racers, however. All the furious speed and power in the world could never be enough to catch up to the boost of speed that raw fire aether provided, much to the firebird’s fury. But no boost could last forever, and soon enough Wuk Lamat and Betool Ja found a new threat nipping at their heels, and another closing the distance as quickly as her vehicle would allow.

Betool Ja took the bait with glorious ease, immediately veering left to tighten the gap between herself and Wuk Lamat and force Arashi to the outside of the track if she wanted to overtake them. But overtaking was not part of the plan. Yotsuyu smirked as Arashi pounded on the cannister as soon as Betool Ja was within range, blasting an electric pulse of aether that caught Glory of Mamook in its current and killed its engine dead. Betool Ja had to swerve hard with whatever momentum she still had to avoid slamming into the guard rail, slowly coasting to a stop along the grass with a furious shout.

Arashi’s laugh of triumph was high and bright… and quickly transformed into an astonished shout as a tidal wave caught Suzaku in turn. Dawn’s Promise had already reached the next set of cannisters. Wuk Lamat had, apparently, acted more on raw instinct than any actual forethought, but luck remained firmly on her side. Yotsuyu watched on as Suzaku was washed away, off the track and towards the lagoon. It was only thanks to Arashi turning her bike to face the current head-on that she was able to stop herself from sinking beneath the azure waves, but she was nonetheless out of the running all the same.

Leaving Yotsuyu the only one capable of snatching victory from the upstart and her absurd run of luck. A difficult task, particularly without any aether cannisters to pull from, but she could feel something else tugging at her. Something glorious and gleaming that she’d called upon time and time again to accomplish miracles.

Yotsuyu reached for the dynamis… and found someone else reaching for it too.

She jerked back in confusion, unused to another presence that was not her wife tapping into that emotional energy. There could be only one other person desperate enough to reach for it now that Arashi was out of the race, particularly with Zenos nowhere to be seen. You’ve been keeping secrets, haven’t you? Telling my little storm you had no ability to reach this power when you knew all along. The revelation was enough to yank Yotsuyu out of her shock and make her reach out again. Help me. I need you now more than ever.

The dynamis heard her. It responded. Tsukuyomi hummed with latent power, something entirely separate from the aether cannisters it had been fed so often. Something wild, pure, free. And it turned that beautiful energy into a renewed burst of speed that put Suzaku to shame.

Unbeknownst to her, an unusually tall and broad man watched this happen in the stands and reached for the device he had been given some days prior. Put his thumb over the button. Hesitated. Thought of his family. Pressed down.

And nothing happened.

Relief and shame washed over Gosetsu in a tsunami of emotion, threatening to break his composure entirely. The people around him took it as simply being overcome with joy as Tsukuyomi streaked ahead of Dawn’s Promise and snatched victory at the last possible second. Neither did they think much of his sudden, undignified exit from the stands.

But Carosa Galvus saw it all. And amidst the storm of rage, confusion, frustration, a single question burned bright in her head.

How did you do it, Nero?

Notes:

Okay, maybe not quite a week between chapters like I worried it might be. Hooray!

I was worried this chapter might spiral into something absolutely huge given all the things I had planned for it, but then I came to a very clever realisation: I can just stuff all the other stuff into another chapter instead! That way I get to finish off this one AND I get to delay getting back to Yugiri, thereby hurting people more! Win-win!

Well, not for you guys. But you'll be fiiiiiiiiiiine, right?

Right?

Chapter 40: Truce

“It’s my turn to watch over her now… Kasumi? Kasumi. Kasumi!”

Kasumi jerked awake with a start, her sword half-materialised in her hand before reality asserted itself on her half-asleep mind. Her blurry vision coalesced the shape in front of her into Lyse’s concerned face. How long was I…? Kasumi shook herself and rose unsteadily to her feet, casting a hopeful glance over at the bed she had been sat beside for most of… Two? Three days now? But there was no miracle to see. Yugiri was still asleep and still far too pale.

“You should get some rest,” Lyse gently added. “Some proper rest. Even you can’t keep going forever.” She was right, of course, but Kasumi knew true rest would be impossible. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Yugiri falling to the ground and convulsing in agony. Or worse, the burning, defiant hatred in Scorpienne’s eyes as Kasumi lifted her off her feet.

It had taken bells before Yugiri was pronounced stable, the horrible poison finally purged from her poison, but she had barely survived the ordeal. The doctors were confident that she would eventually awaken, but it would be on her terms, not theirs. All they could do was keep her body fed the nutrients it needed and ensure she was comfortable. Kasumi and Lyse had agreed to shifts watching over their friend as soon as they were allowed inside, with Kasumi offering to take the lion’s share thanks to her decreased need for sleep. Lyse knew the real reason why Kasumi had insisted on it, but blessedly she had not decided to voice it.

“How long do we have left?” Kasumi asked.

“Another day or two,” Lyse replied. “Zoraal Ja agreed to delay our matches as long as he could, but we can’t hide in here forever.” Lyse met Kasumi’s eyes as she continued, “You’ll be facing Scorpienne next, by the way. Looks like this is Zoraal Ja’s idea of a punishment.”

“Or he simply wishes to eliminate the rats who scurried into his den without raising too many eyebrows.” Kasumi was beginning to realise just how badly they’d underestimated their opponent’s resources and leverage. Thirteen able-bodied people all throwing themselves at each other, and for what? There’s so much we don’t know. Not for the first time she regretted their decision not to sneak Yaana in. She would have been a much greater source of knowledge than her reticent sister.

“I don’t think so,” Lyse argued, bringing Kasumi back to the present. “I saw the look on his face when Yugiri got stabbed. He looked… upset. I think he might be serious about wanting to see how far we can go. Though as to why…” Lyse shrugged and sunk into the chair Kasumi had vacated. She looked just as exhausted as Kasumi felt, her eyes sunken and heavy with dark bags, her hair unkempt and unbrushed. But her jaw was set in a determined way that Kasumi recognised all too well. Burning your own candle to keep me from burning mine. Foolish. But gods, I love you for it all the same.

“You’re certain you’ll be alright?” Kasumi pushed anyway. Arashi wouldn’t be likely to forgive her if anything happened to Lyse, particularly if Kasumi was in any position to stop it.

“I’ll be fine. You have your linkpearl, right?” Kasumi nodded and tapped her horn. “Good. Keep it in while you sleep, then. I’ll call you if anything happens.”

“Alright.” Kasumi was too exhausted to argue. “Keep your eyes peeled, then. No telling when Scorpienne might try and finish the job. Anyone tries to get in, you scream until your throat’s bloody and I’ll come running.” She leaned down to give Lyse what was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips, but Lyse’s arms and mouth had other ideas. Eventually Kasumi was allowed to break free, a little breathless but given at least some reason to smile. “I love you.”

“Get some rest,” Lyse replied with a smile of her own. Which was enough impetus for Kasumi to turn and make for the door before Lyse could see the smile die on Kasumi’s lips. She managed to shut the door behind her before her emotions overtook her and she slumped heavily against the wall, curling in on herself and letting her head sink against her knees.

Halone’s tits, what a mess we’ve made of it all.

She’d been so confident at the start of it that they’d mop up the operation and be back in time for Arashi’s and Yotsuyu’s first race. With Lyse’s might and Yugiri’s subterfuge there was no way they would meet their match, even without Arashi’s exceptional combat prowess to back them up. But she had failed to account for just how badly Fareena’s ugly exit had complicated things. And besides, safety in numbers only counted for so much when the odds weren’t stacked against you.

And now here we are, down a member and worse off than we started. Perhaps we should cut and run. Regroup with Fareena, Tender and Yaana. Figure out a new plan of attack. Recruiting Arashi was still out of the question, but perhaps Haurchefant could-

“She still hasn’t woken up, huh?”

Kasumi jerked up to see a pair of men standing nearby, sympathy showing clearly on their faces. The miqo’te man who had spoken she recognised as Retsarra, but the hyur… Something about him was familiar, but she could not place where. Her mind was half a haze, half a blank; exhaustion was sapping her ability to put the pieces together into a coherent whole. She knew that she shouldn’t trust them, that she had no idea of their allegiance, but she couldn’t help but shake her head anyway.

“I told you,” the hyur man said, more to Retsarra than her. “Her venom was enough to knock me flat on my arse when I was fully transformed! She should never have been given that feral soul in the first place.”

“Well, it’s a moot point now. That soul got freed when the regulator was broken.” Retsarra shook his head with a heavy sigh. “For her to get so out of control that Zoraal Ja would have to step in… I’m sorry.” This last statement was directed at Kasumi. “We should have kept a closer eye on Scorpienne. Her grief for Black Bat runs a lot deeper than we figured.”

“Black Bat?” Feigning ignorance had got her this far. Might as well push it as far as she could. Retsarra, however, was unconvinced.

“You can drop the act. The others may not have heard Scorpienne out there, but I did. And I’m smart enough to put two and two together. Black Bat and Mad Hare go missing, then a few weeks later you three show up out of the blue knowing all about us? Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

“Fine.” Tension sparked more awareness into Kasumi’s exhausted brain, forced some more wakefulness into her. She rose to her feet, positioning herself in front of the door. Two combatants, both armed with regulators. Tight corridor, little room to move. Will slow us all down. Not favourable, but armour can be summoned to me. May be best to grab Lyse and run, but Yugiri…

“Relax.” The hyur man held up his hands in a calming gesture, one which took its time breaking through Kasumi’s wariness. “Do you really think we’d be stupid enough to announce ourselves if we wanted to hurt you?”

“It would hardly be the first time,” Kasumi replied. Emet-Selch leaps to mind. She wasn’t prepared for the look of sympathy and understanding cross the pair’s faces. She certainly wasn’t prepared for how much it hurt to see. It’s the exhaustion. Has to be.

“Look,” the hyur cut in. He was a mountain of a man, with a crest of burnt orange hair and a face that looked like it had seen decades worth of sun. His eyes, though, betrayed a far younger soul than his physique and creases suggested. “I might be a brute in the ring, but I’m not a complete arsehole! If we say we want to help, we want to help!”

“You didn’t say that,” Kasumi helpfully added.

“Wait, we didn’t?” The hyur man turned to Retsarra in confusion. “But you said-”

“We were trying to get to that point, Hector. You just… jumped the gun a little.” Retsarra sighed, running a hand through his perfectly coiffed silver-blonde locks and stepping forward. “But he’s right. This has gone on far enough. It’s only a matter of time before Scorpienne hurts someone else like she hurt your friend… or worse.”

“Scorpienne’s only a symptom of a larger rot.” Kasumi met Retsarra’s gaze, but she refused to move from the door. “Unless you cut out the heart of it, you’ll just allow more people like her to run rampant.”

“We know that.” Retsarra’s tone was even, but Kasumi could sense the cold steel behind it. “Come with us. We’ll explain everything.”

Kasumi glanced towards the door, then back at the pair. She certainly couldn’t sense any ill intentions from them, but a friendly face made it all the easier to hide a knife behind it. Still, it’s not like I’m in any position to turn them down if their offer is genuine. And if they try to attack me, I should be able to hold my own.

“Very well. Lead on, then.”

…

Retsarra’s room was surprisingly sparse, given his double duties as guard and fighter in the Arcadion. What few belongings he owned were placed haphazardly, and while some had clearly been chosen by him (mostly the various swords hanging on the walls), the rest had been picked out by different hands. A cube of solid electrope sitting on the table, a pair of bracers and boots sitting against the wall, a photograph of three familiar faces and one unfamiliar one clustered together, all wearing grins that didn’t seem right on the faces they belonged to.

“Feel free to take a seat,” Retsarra declared as Kasumi warily entered. “Wouldn’t want you collapsing on us.” Kasumi, more through stubbornness than any real desire to offend, leaned against the wall instead. Retsarra looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “Eh, suit yourself.” He took one of the three chairs in the room instead. Hector soon joined him, easing into the chair beside Retsarra’s with practised ease.

“Let’s get to it, then, shall we?” Retsarra offered Kasumi an easy smile, but the au ra’s attention was focused on something else. A faint shimmer around the bed, rising and falling with even breaths. The miqo’te man’s gaze followed Kasumi’s, then widened as he caught the movement too.

“Not her,” spoke the shimmer, startling the life out of Hector. “I know we need allies, but not her.”

Kasumi smirked. “What? You’re not still sore about the broken nose, are you?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Been there. Done that.” Kasumi’s tone took a nasty edge as she added, “Don’t try to murder the woman and I won’t have to break it again.”

The shimmer burst into furious life, resolving into the just-as-furious face of Eutrope as she sprang from the bed and towards Kasumi. “Go ahead and try it, you little-!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Retsarra’s voice rang through the room loudly enough to make Kasumi wince. Eutrope turned to glare at him, her own ears twitching in discomfort. “You said it yourself, Eutrope. We need allies. Why not them?”

“They’re Mad Hare’s lot for a start! She’s the reason I have to skulk about like a ghost, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Was that not part of the plan?” Kasumi interjected, suddenly wondering just how sensible it had been to place her trust in Fareena Hagen’s words.

“That plan only became necessary because she went and fucked it all up in the first place!” Eutrope glared at Kasumi, then at Retsarra, then finally sighed and threw her hands to the air. “Fine. If you’re both intent on this idiocy, you’ll need me to make sure it doesn’t go wrong.” Eutrope sank into the remaining chair with a huff, keeping Kasumi held in her gaze the whole time. Kasumi met her with a half-lidded stare, unaware of the yellow bleeding into her eyes once again.

“Thank you,” Retsarra said with a sigh of relief. Eutrope said nothing, but her closest ear to her fellow miqo’te flicked in his direction all the same. “So, if we’re going to work together it’d probably be best if we knew each other’s stories.”

“Fair enough. I’m here because that one’s,” Kasumi jerked her head at Eutrope, “Little sister tried to murder one of my best friends, then me when I tried to stop her.” It was mostly true. It just omitted a few… minor details. Such as the fact that said attempted murderer had led them all straight to the doors of Arcadion.

Retsarra and Hector were silent for a few moments, clearly stunned. Then Hector spoke up with, “So what Scorpienne’s claiming is true, then? That you and yours…”

“No. But she doesn’t know that, and we can’t prove it without exposing it to the wrong people.” Especially not given we have no way out or in, or any way of getting her to listen in the first place.

Hector, however, had a spark of hope in his eyes as he turned to Retsarra. “But you can move freely, right? You can go and get Yaana, bring her back here, have her talk Scorpienne down! We can-”

“No. We can’t.” Retsarra’s eyes found the floor as he mumbled, “Zoraal Ja keeps track of everyone going in and out, especially when we don’t have a mission to complete. Every move I make outside these walls will be watched. If I go and get her…”

“But there has to be something we can do, right? We can’t just…! ARGH! DAMMIT ALL!” Hector rose abruptly from his feet, arms gesticulating wildly, brows furrowed, a picture of frustration. Then he stopped, eyes widening, turning to Eutrope. “But you can! If Retsarra opens the door, you can go out and talk to her!”

This time it was Eutrope’s turn to look chagrined. “Yaana and I aren’t on speaking terms right now. I’ll only go and make things worse. I’m sorry, Hector, but we have to do this ourselves. With or without Scorpienne’s help.”

“Much though I hate to interrupt this heartbreak, I think it’s time I hear your side of the story.” While I still have the energy to process it properly, ideally.

“You’re right.” Retsarra looked to Hector, then to Eutrope before continuing. “I’ve known these two for as long as I can remember. Our parents left the picture a long time ago, so it was always the five of us against the world. The three of us, Yaana, and Neyuni.”

“Neyuni?” Kasumi perked up, the name suddenly bringing to the forefront hazy memories. A young miqo’te girl, perhaps eleven or twelve summers, but already a genius technician. Arashi had been fond of her, during their brief time together bringing the original Arcadion to a screeching halt.

Eutrope nodded. “Our eldest sister. She looked out for us when nobody else could. Myself and Yaana especially. Picked up whatever odd jobs she could, kept a roof over our heads, made sure we stayed out of trouble. But then she got wind of something big out in Neo Alexandria. Something that would keep us all going for a while.” Eutrope’s fierce mask showed its first cracks as she continued. “She said she’d only be gone a few weeks. That was over a year ago.”

“I volunteered to track her down when we realised she wasn’t coming back.” Retsarra’s voice was fond as he added, “Didn’t realise the others would be right behind me until it was too late. Her trail led here, so we started doing some snooping, just like you. Found out about Arcadion shortly that. I managed to luck into a vacant guard position while the others got picked up by recruiters. We’ve been here ever since, trying to figure out just what happened to Neyuni.”

“She got Ascended.” Eutrope spoke up again, the mask firmly back in place. “I found it in their files. If the rumours about it are true, she’s up above now, living the high life. Probably forgot all about us the moment she saw that golden sun.”

“You know that’s not true,” Hector rebutted. “Neyuni loved you and Yaana more than anything! She’d never abandon you!”

“I know,” Eutrope responded more quietly. “And I know the rumours are a lie too. Whatever Ascension is, it has nothing to do with the upper floors. Zoraal Ja wouldn’t need to have storage tanks for the ‘Ascended’ if it did. Besides, it’s hardly the first time this place lied to us about what happens to those that are found worthy. Is it, Stormy Horizon?” Eutrope’s thunderous eyes found Kasumi’s and fixed them with a gaze of utmost certainty. Belatedly Kasumi recalled Fareena’s off-hand comment when she had first laid bare her history with the Arcadion.

“Eutrope remembered me. Yaana didn’t.”

But your memory isn’t as sharp as you think. “Not quite,” Kasumi replied, covering up her surprise with a knowing smile. “But the details are rather different this time, it seems. How long have you known?”

“Ever since Fareena burst in here and started throwing her weight around. Some things are still hazy, but not you. There’s no mistaking those eyes.”

Kasumi chuckled to herself. “You’d be surprised. But you’re still not willing to accept our help?”

Eutrope shook her head. “Just because I remember you doesn’t mean I know you. If you want my trust, earn it. You can start by not threatening to kill my sister’s ex.”

“As long as she tries not to murder the people I love in turn.” Kasumi held Eutrope’s fierce stare with one as cold as Ishgard’s bleakest winters. Eutrope blinked first. “But I am willing to call a truce for the time being, assuming we’re all on the same page. As you said, if our goals align, great. I, for one, would welcome some allies in this place, even if you are pricklier than a chocobo that hasn’t been groomed in weeks.”

“A chocobo…? Fine, whatever. I’ll accept a truce. But don’t go thinking this makes us friends, or that I trust you and your nosy friends. Now, do you have any plans that don’t involve lumbering around and drawing the attention of everyone in this building with your clumsy investigations? Because if so, you’ll be doing a damned sight better than Fareena ever did.”

“I-” Kasumi began, then froze. A familiar voice buzzed into life against her horn.

“Kasumi?” Lyse spoke through the linkpearl, her voice wavering but full of relief. “If you’re awake, come quickly! Yugiri’s awake!”

“I’m sorry,” Kasumi said abruptly, pushing herself from the wall and making for the door. “I have to go. We’ll talk later!” She flung the door open before anyone could stop her, sprinting down the hallway long before the door slammed back in place. Her heart beat to an irregular rhythm, hammering its own desperation to see the truth in Lyse’s words as Kasumi’s body laboured to make it happen.

Yugiri, I’m on my way. Hold on!

Notes:

So it turns out I lied. I'm a liar. This section was simply too fresh in my head and ready to get slammed onto paper, so your agony is cut somewhat short. Somewhat.

Next time, I get back to the folks not trapped in a horrible steel building and pull back the curtain on the pit crew.

Chapter 41: Glamour

The sudden roar of engines proclaimed the start of the race. Sanda steeled herself. No time to lose. Here goes nothing. With a heart racing faster than the vehicles now zipping along the track, Sanda grabbed her imitation key and stolen box and made her way to the silver knights’ garage.

Procuring the key had been surprisingly simple, if a little terrifying. Thancred’s insistence on learning how to pick pockets among his more practical fighting lessons had, against all odds, paid off. As for Otis, for all his prowess and care for his bladework, he did not show that same attention with his other belongings. Sanda had snatched the key from his belt before he had time to even realise he was being watched, and once she’d engaged the services of a key cutter not looking to ask too many questions, she’d placed the “dropped” key in a place she was sure her mark would find it again.

But the worst was yet to come. While the knights’ garage was left unattended as the pair raced, Sanda was certain they’d have at least some defences present in their absence. They would have to be fools not to, given their razor-sharp paranoia and even sharper blades. More than anything Sanda wanted to know just why they seemed to harbour such a grudge against the Eorzean contingent, but short of asking the pair directly she doubted she’d get an answer. Even then she was more likely to get a blade through the throat for her trouble.

Still, she knew the longer she waited to return what belonged to them the more likely it would be that they would recognise it as having been taken, and she had no desire to add to Arashi’s list of problems. Half of them are already my fault to begin with. Well, mine and Zenos’s. At the thought she felt something stirring once again, roused from the mere mention of his name. With it came a spike of cold, terrible hate, burning purer and brighter than any loathing she’d felt before. It was enough to take Sanda’s breath away, rattling her to her core as she gasped and stumbled against the wall.

No. Those feelings aren’t mine. You aren’t in control of me. It took a concentrated effort to push the hatred away, but after a few seconds the wretched feeling passed. There. Back to sleep with you. Sanda breathed a sigh of relief and pushed herself off the wall. That would keep it quiet for a time. But it was getting harder and harder to keep the something at bay, especially as she spent more time around Zenos. What did he do to you?

You already know.

Sanda froze. Of all the things she’d expected, the whatever-it-was talking back to her was not it. She hadn’t tried to speak to it directly since her clash with Athena two years ago, where it had directed her blade at the monster’s heart and helped bring her to a permanent end. Part of her considered engaging it further, dragging out more secrets from it, but she cowered at the idea. What if it gets stronger the more I talk to it? It’s not worth the risk. This time the voice said nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sanda hefted the box again and continued her journey.

Despite the key cutter’s assurances that the forged key was a perfect match to the original, it wasn’t until Sanda felt it turn in the lock and click open that Sanda was able to release the breath she’d been holding. With a little elbow grease the garage door was pulled up high enough for Sanda to slip inside, shoving the box through first and watching it disappear into darkness. Her tread was feather-light and agonisingly slow as she made her way through the gloom. She was keenly aware that at any moment some magical trap or alarm might go off at her presence. But nothing did. And as Sanda’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was starting to become clear that nothing would.

Maybe they are just fools, then.

Or perhaps not, as Sanda’s steadily blossoming vision revealed something disturbing. A length of string, carefully cut and linked to what appeared to be a makeshift alarm. Someone else was here before me. Sanda’s breath caught in her throat as her heart leapt into it instead. Her eyes darted wildly across the darkness before her, trying and failing to find the other intruder, already feeling her throat itching against imaginary steel as her luck inevitably ran out.

But nothing happened. No steel brushed against her neck. No shadowy figure lurched out of the gloom. Sanda’s heart returned, slowly but steadily, to its natural place in her breast. She breathed out a slow, shuddering breath, then took another step forward.

And was immediately tackled to the ground by the young woman who had been watching her the entire time.

“What do you think you’re doing here, you- Sanda?!” The woman-shaped tackler abruptly pushed herself off of the struggling Sanda and held out an arm. “Goodness, I’m so sorry! But what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Sanda replied, taking Gemma’s arm and getting yanked to her feet. Gemma was surprisingly strong, given how little muscle mass she appeared to have.

“I… Yes, I suppose that is a good question, isn’t it?” Gemma flashed an apologetic smile. “I’m looking for something precious to me. Something I thought Otis and Zelenia might have taken with them when they left for Tural. I was about to give up hope of finding it, but…” Gemma’s eyes darted to the box on the floor, forgotten in the scuffle. “May I ask what you were doing with that container?”

“I was returning it,” Sanda said, her muscles tensing. She’s strong, but I’m fast. Could make a break for the door if she tries anything. Run to Nero and Cid. “It got delivered to the Scaeva garage by mistake back when we landed in Urqopacha. I drew the short straw but I remembered your warning about these two, so…” Sanda revealed her key to Gemma, who seemed at least somewhat convinced by the tale. “Was there anything important to you in there?”

“No! Well, yes. It’s complicated.” Gemma sighed heavily and eyed the door. “This really isn’t the place to be having this conversation. Would you mind coming with me?”

I doubt I have a choice in the matter at this point. “Lead the way.”

---

Alisaie was waiting for Arashi in their garage, nervously fiddling with her ponytail before she noticed Arashi’s approach. The au ra said nothing as she wheeled Suzaku back inside, giving her wayward ride a final once-over before patting Suzaku ’s dashboard and sighing in relief. Had me worried with that spill. She hadn’t been able to finish the race following Wuk Lamat’s sudden tidal wave catching her and her bike off-guard, with Suzaku ’s engine stubbornly refusing to start again until well after the final racers had crossed the finish line. Thankfully it seemed her bike was simply having a tantrum rather than a sign of anything more serious.

“So,” Arashi finally said as she leaned against her wayward bike, “You wanted to talk to me?”

“I did,” Alisaie confirmed, but said no more. The pair stood in awkward silence for a time.

“Gods, Alisaie, spit it out! You’ve never been one to hold back on what you’re really thinking for as long as I’ve known you!”

“In this life or the other one?” Alisaie’s voice was heartbreakingly subdued. Before Arashi knew it she’d crossed the distance and was hugging the elezen woman with all the strength she could muster. Alisaie resisted for a moment, then sighed and returned it just as fiercely.

“I’m sorry,” Arashi murmured. “Do you see now why Lyse and I didn’t want you remembering?”

“I do. But it should have been my choice in the first place.” Alisaie gently pushed Arashi away, letting the au ra see for the first time the new weight behind her friend’s eyes. “Does Alphinaud know?”

Arashi shook her head. “Not unless someone else informed him, or else he awoke to it on his own. But if he did he’s managed to keep it secret far better than I’d have expected.”

Alisaie’s smile was wry as she nodded. “Yes, I suspect my dear brother would have some choice words of his own for you if he remembered what you put us both through. Not that I don’t, mind you…”

“And I suppose Ultima Thule doesn’t count for anything, hmm?” Arashi grumbled, her tone acidic and her eyes petulant. “All that talk about not sacrificing yourself for a worthy cause and what do you two do? Go and erase your very souls right in front of me, and drag me sister into it too just for good measure!”

“That,” Alisaie spat furiously, “Is a drop in the ocean compared to all the times you’ve nearly killed yourself for our sakes! Or do I need to remind you about Raha’s little stunt in the First and what it almost cost you?”

“I am very well aware of what it almost cost me , thank you very much!” Arashi was conscious of her sharply rising volume, but she didn’t care one bit. “And frankly, that makes what you did so much worse! You knew exactly how badly it hurt and you went and did it anyway! Bastard!”

“Hypocrite!”

“Holier-than-thou arsehole!”

“Self-sacrificing, miserable little shite!”

“I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too!”

This time Alisaie didn’t resist one bit as Arashi’s arms clamped around her. She was too busy crying into Arashi’s hair to bother. Eventually the pair parted once again, though now with significantly redder eyes than before. Arashi looked up at her decidedly miserable looking friend and couldn’t help but laugh.

“If it’s any consolation, you’re handling this a lot better than I did!”

Alisaie’s eyes narrowed. “I hope you realise that isn’t the compliment you intended it to be, right? You screamed so hard you fell unconscious when you found out, as I recall.”

“Bah, you weren’t even there!” Arashi waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t believe everything Lyse tells you about me. At least half of it’s exaggerated and the other half is tinted by roses.”

Alisaie rose a disbelieving eyebrow and waited.

“Okay fine, that did happen, but there were extenuating circumstances! I’d like to see you do better when a part of your own soul forcefully awakens your old life five minutes after being rescued from a monstrous in-law!”

For a moment the pair stood in tense silence, then Alisaie broke it with a laugh. “Gods, you really haven’t changed.”

“For better or for worse,” Arashi agreed with a rueful smile. “Neither have you, though.”

“Certainly can’t deny that,” Alisaie muttered with a sidelong look. “Just my luck to fall for the same woman twice in as many lifetimes.”

“What can I say? I’m irresistible!”

Arashi took the answering shove with grace, only squawking indignantly a little bit. “I’m glad you found me again all the same.” Her smile, at least, was genuine. Alisaie answered it in kind.

“That makes two of us. Now, what-” Alisaie was cut off by the buzz of Arashi’s phone bursting into life on the table. Arashi glanced over, then snatched it up when she saw who was calling.

“Sanda? Everything alright?”

“I need your help with something. Can you come over to Wuk Lamat’s garage?”

“Sanda, what’s going on?” Arashi’s voice became tinged with worry, sparking a nervous glance from Alisaie.

“I can’t explain. Not over the phone. Just come quickly, alright?” Then the phone hung up with a beep, leaving Arashi wondering just what in the seven hells her sister had gotten herself into now.

Alisaie, however, was much more focused. “Come on, let’s go!” Arashi didn’t have time to protest as Alisaie grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out the door, towards her sister and whatever new mess she’d just gotten involved in.

---

Somehow this garage was even messier than the one in Tuliyollal. Perhaps it was the move, perhaps it was simply Koana’s endless drive to tinker, but either way Sanda found herself struggling to move for all the clutter. Gemma was, once again, apologetic about “the state of things”, but was most insistent that their conversation be held here. Koana himself had been harried off by Gemma, who refused to take no for an answer. Sanda could only shrug when Koana looked questioningly at her. Your guess is as good as mine.

Gemma somehow found a clear space and immediately destroyed it by putting down the box on top of it. So much for returning it to its rightful owner. “Sorry about all this,” Gemma said for what must have been the umpteenth time, “But it’s time I came clean about a couple of things before you stumble upon them yourself.”

“Such as?” Sanda asked, who was feeling a terrible sense of familiarity and wondering how best to escape the conversation without seeming rude.

“When I told you that I fled because I feared my life was in danger, that was not the whole truth.” Gemma’s eyes found Sanda’s and fixed them with a weighty stare, full of a bearing that Sanda couldn’t entirely place. “What I’m about to show you cannot leave this room, do you understand? Not even Zenos may hear of this. Not until I know that I can trust him.”

“And you think you can trust me?”

“I am choosing to, yes. For what we once went through together.” Gemma looked for a spark of recognition in Sanda’s eyes and found only dread instead. No more of this. Please. I don’t want to-

“I lied to you when I told you that my name was Gemma, but please understand that I lied with good intentions. Only three other people know my true name and identity, and I’d trust them with my life.” Gemma took a deep breath… and changed.

Her sharp, angular face became sharper still, emphasised by facial markings just under her eyes that resembled claws more than anything. Those eyes shone a brighter green, more alive, more predatory, marked by her pupils elongating into slits. Her hair turned a lighter shade of brown, flowing down past her shoulders. Her skin darkened, not massively but enough to make her stand out less in a Turali crowd. None of those features were what held Sanda’s attention, however.

She was focused instead on the pair of large, feline ears that sprouted from atop Gemma’s head.

“My true name,” Gemma said, “Is Sphene Til Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria. And, I have reason to suspect that my life is in terrible danger from the people I once called my dearest friends.”

“Oh,” Sanda said. It was all she could think to say.

“And now that you know that,” Gem- Sphene continued, “I must beg another favour of you. I have reason to suspect that my parents are in even greater danger than I am. I… No. By my authority as crown princess of Alexandria, I formally request that you go to the Ninth in my place and discover the truth of this for me.”

Notes:

Woe, catgirl Sphene be upon ye.

Chapter 42: Wrath

“How are you feeling?” Lyse asked, her face a picture of warm concern and relief.

“Awful,” Yugiri replied through a croaky voice.

Lyse’s laugh lit a gentle fire in Kasumi’s heart, finally igniting her own relief. She’s alive. She’s going to be alright. Though it was unlikely Yugiri would be leaving her bed any time soon, given the state of her body. The poison should have been enough to kill her outright, only halted by the fact that only a tiny amount of it had managed to pierce Yugiri’s hardened scales. But it was still more than enough to drain Yugiri of almost every drop of aether she had, to say nothing of the internal damage it had wreaked.

But she’s alive. That’s all that matters.

“Kasumi? Are you feeling alright? You look pale.”

Kasumi glanced up to see Yugiri staring at her, worry plain on her face. Gods, I really am slipping. “Just tired,” Kasumi replied. “But glad you’re awake. You had us scared half to death with that stunt.”

Yugiri’s eyes flashed with something Kasumi didn’t like before returning almost immediately to a more passive stare. “I assume that Scorpienne still lives?”

“She does,” Lyse confirmed. “Zoraal Ja was furious that she went so far, but ultimately he recognised her strength. She’ll be going up against Kasumi in the next round. Hopefully with a new feral soul, this time.”

“Given Zoraal Ja cleaved her regulator clean in half, I’d expect so.” Kasumi sighed heavily and pushed herself off from her spot against the wall, approaching Yugiri with heavy footsteps. “I need you to promise me something, Mistwalker.”

“And what would that be?” Yugiri’s cool gaze hid an intensity Kasumi hadn’t expected as the pair looked at one another. Even exhausted and injured, Yugiri’s steel will refused to bend an inch.

“If you’re ever going to do something as stupid as that again,” Kasumi began. Paused. Heaved a sigh of defeat before the fight could even begin. “Just tell me next time, alright? I’d rather not watch a friend die.”

Yugiri said nothing for a moment, then turned away to face the wall. “I will take your words under advisement. Thank you.” The reply was quiet enough that Kasumi had to strain to hear them. More loudly, Yugiri said, “Lyse, may I ask for a few moments alone with Kasumi? I have some things I would like to discuss with her. Privately, if you don’t mind.”

“Right! Yes, of course!” Lyse squeezed Kasumi on the shoulder and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before scurrying for the door. “I’ll be right outside, so just shout if you need me!” Then she was gone, leaving the pair alone with the click of the door falling back into place.

For some time the two au ra said nothing, the room silent save for the gentle hum of the various monitors that had watched over Yugiri while she recovered. Kasumi didn’t know what to say, too exhausted and too frayed at the edges to find the words properly. But Yugiri…

“I have a favour to ask.” For the first time in a very long time, Kasumi heard uncertainty in Yugiri’s tone. “But I fear to speak it, for I know you will think less of me for it.” Yugiri laughed, a curious mixture of bitterness and nerves that grated against Kasumi’s horns. For a moment she was tempted to reach out, touch Yugiri’s face, reassure her, but she reined in that urge the moment it made itself known.

“Speak,” Kasumi said instead, as gently as she could. Yugiri turned, hesitantly at first but then with more resolve until she was facing Kasumi again.

“I intended to kill her for what she did to Fareena.” Yugiri spoke the words simply and without a shred of remorse. “I failed. I…” Again Yugiri hesitated, but Kasumi already knew what was coming. “I would ask that you do what I could not. Kill her.”

The words were no less of a hammer blow all the same. Kasumi looked away, unable to face the mixture of shame, desperation and rage that glittered in Yugiri’s eyes. It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand. She could place herself in her friend’s shoes all too well, in fact. The hate, the desire to strike down those that would hurt those she cared for, the urge to simply let reason slip for long enough to take the action she so craved…

“No.” I walked that path before. I am more than that. I have to be. “I understand, and if you had fallen she would already be dead, but no. There’s no justice in doing so, and I’ve spilled enough blood.”

“No justice?” The heat in Yugiri’s voice, strained as it was, snapped Kasumi to attention. “Have you forgotten what she did to Fareena? What more justice do you require than avenging one of your companions?”

“You speak of her as if she is dead,” Kasumi shot back. “She is not, and I know her well enough to know that she would be calling you a fool as well. Scorpienne is not our enemy. She is simply misguided and hurting and given far too much power to lash out with. And in that ring, I saw no difference at all between you .”

Kasumi knew the moment the words left her mouth that she’d gone too far. She knew it by the look of shock and pain on Yugiri’s face, undisguised for once and all the rawer for it. She knew it by the sharp intake of breath, by the clenching of blanket into suddenly tightly balled fists, by the sudden terrible silence that followed. Then…

“Leave me.” The words were a terrible whisper, full of betrayal, pain, anger yet unspoken. Kasumi knew better than to argue. Too tired to fight, too weary to regret, she made for the door.

---

 

For the first time in quite some time, Yotsuyu found herself at a loss after the race was over. Tsukuyomi had been safely returned to Nero’s waiting arms, Arashi had gone to confront her partner about her memories, and Lyse and Kasumi were… Well, they were doing what they did best and sticking their noses where they didn’t belong. But did they have to encourage Yugiri’s madness so easily?

The rains had long since ceased, leaving behind a clear blue sky that slowly gave way to amber as the sun sunk below the treeline. Still the humid heat clung stubbornly on, beading Yotsuyu’s skin with an unpleasant layer of sweat that had her wiping her brow and wishing she’d thought to pack a wind crystal or two. But she’d had to pack relatively lightly for the race, and the regulator took up more room than she’d like already. That and the knife she’d taken to bringing with her, just in case.

Still, she had to admit there was a certain beauty to it all, and a particular familiarity too. She cast her mind back to when her childhood, before the accident, before Asahi. A vague memory of starry skies and fireworks, of marvelling at the stars and slowly falling asleep against her mother’s side. It had been swelteringly hot then, too, her dress half-stuck to her by the end of the day, her parents bearing the heat with a smile as their daughter was awestruck by the sky.

“No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of it.”

Yotsuyu whirled, eyes wide and hand reaching into her bag for the knife, but she forced her heart to calm its wild beating once she saw who had spoken. The golden-eyed viera eyed her with a raised eyebrow and a soft smile, his posture relaxed and entirely at ease. Not a threat. That idiot cat woman wouldn’t surround herself with monsters.

“Apologies if I startled you,” The viera continued. “I simply wished to offer my congratulations, that’s all.”

“Oh?” Yotsuyu’s lips twisted into an unpleasant smile. “If I’d known you and yours would be so happy to be beaten, I’d have come here years ago.”

“Ah, you misunderstand me. I didn’t come to congratulate you for that. I wanted to applaud your ability to humble Wuk Lamat some, that’s all. It’s been some time since I’ve seen her so steamed after a race.” Erenville chuckled, moving to stand next to Yotsuyu and closing his eyes. “You should watch yourself, though. She’ll be on the warpath once we reach Yak T’el. She never was one to take defeat lying down.”

“Then I shall simply have to teach her again until she learns better.” Yotsuyu smirked, already looking forward to having another chance at establishing her dominance. This time without that damned handicap.

Erenville laughed, his voice sharp and high as it carried out into the forest. “That’s the spirit.” Yotsuyu decided, perhaps a little impulsively, that she rather liked the man. Finally, someone who understands. “How are you finding Tural so far?” Erenville opened his eyes once more, his golden gaze catching Yotsuyu’s and holding it steadily.

“Far too hot, far too mountainous, and far too wet. The sooner I’m back in Doma the better.” And if he didn’t appreciate it, tough. She hadn’t even had a chance to enjoy Tuliyollal’s beaches with all the horrors that had risen up. I shall have to change that when we are back in the area.

Erenville, however, took her complaints in stride. “It’s certainly an acquired taste, yes. I personally prefer Xak Tural myself. The heat is so much easier to deal with when it’s drier. But then, I suppose I am biased in that respect. It was my home, growing up.”

“Was?” Yotsuyu had suspected he had a tale to tell simply from his accent. It was a far cry from the few Xak Turali people she’d encountered in her days, far more clipped and precise. It sounded vaguely like Dalmascan, but…

“My mother and I travelled a great deal once I was old enough to appreciate the world properly. We never settled in one place for long, particularly not after…” Erenville closed his eyes, shook his head, opened his eyes again to give Yotsuyu a soft smile. “Well, never mind that. My point is that I can understand why you may not feel particularly attached to our nation, as vibrant as it is. I only returned a few years ago myself, and sometimes I feel the itch to just...”

“Run away?”

“Exactly.”

Yotsuyu nodded, starting to understand why she had taken a liking to the man so quickly. It had been that urge that had guided her to the Eorzean Grand Prix in the first place. But it had been that same urge that had destroyed her relationship with Arashi, all for the sake of her own stubborn pride and miserable spite. She’d learned better than to let it rule her heart, but she never shut it out completely. Just in case.

“Then why haven’t you?” It seemed the obvious question to ask, but it seemed to catch Erenville entirely off-guard.

“Hmm. Well, truth be told I’m not entirely sure.” Erenville looked up at the now fully crimson skyline. “There’s my mother, for one thing, and Wuk Lamat for another. But I think I… need to be here, if that makes sense. There’s something beyond keeping an eye on those closest to me that I need to do. I just… don’t exactly know what yet.” Erenville scoffed, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile. “I know how it sounds, don’t worry. I never used to be one to believe in grand destinies. But I can feel something coming, something I need to be present for. Does that make sense?”

“Not in the slightest,” Yotsuyu replied airily. “But so long as you are satisfied, who am I to question your reasons?”

“A voice of rationality, I would hope.” Erenville sighed softly and turned away. “I had better get going. Give my regards to your wife, would you? Wuk Lamat worries about her more than she’d like to admit. She always did have a soft spot for au ra.” The viera walked away before Yotsuyu could stop him, moving with an easy, fluid grace that she found herself unable (or perhaps simply unwilling) to stop.

It wasn’t until much later that she realised she’d left her bag open, or that her regulator had been visible for anyone with eyes to see. She chose not to share that titbit with Arashi when her wife finally made it to their room, looking exhausted and skittish beyond reasonable explanation. No sense making her worry unduly over nothing.

---

Kasumi awoke some time later to a familiar warmth, and more specifically a familiar softness curled against her. Lyse’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, the silence of their shared bed punctuated only by their breathing and Lyse’s occasional sleep-talking. It was, especially after the past several days, a balm Kasumi desperately needed.

So she shut her eyes and looped her arm around her lover, pulling her just a little closer and letting herself enjoy the stolen moment of peace for as long as she could. She breathed in Lyse’s scent (gentle but strong and deeply comforting), listened to the Ala Mhigan’s gentle murmuring (so soft and deeply endearing), traced her fingers along the blonde’s arms (holding Kasumi so tightly, so possessively). Whether it began as Arashi’s love or not, I don’t doubt it’s mine now. Kasumi found herself smiling in the darkness, grateful that Lyse was too busy sleeping to notice the slight redness in her cheeks. I truly am your fool.

“It’s good to see you smile again,” Lyse murmured, her eyes cracking open as she broke into a smile of her own. Her voice, low and husky from having just woken up, sent sparks through Kasumi’s body and mind, but Lyse’s smile faded after a moment. “We should talk,” she continued, “About what we’re going to do next.”

“We should, aye.” Kasumi forced her mind back into some semblance of order. “I take it you have a suggestion?”

“I do.” Lyse closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath, then said, “I think we should leave. As soon as Yugiri’s able to move again.”

Kasumi blinked. Of all the things she was expecting, that certainly hadn’t been it. Particularly not after they’d secured the assistance of Retsarra, Hector, and (reluctantly) Eutrope. “Oh. Are you certain?”

“Yes.” Lyse’s eyes shone with resolve, clearly showing how much she’d considered it before putting it forward. “I barely made it through the first round, and if Yugiri hadn’t used her feral soul she would already be dead. I promised to watch your back, but a good partner needs to know when to throw in the towel. You’re not going to like this, but I think we should get Arashi and come back with a new plan.”

“No.” The word escaped Kasumi’s lips before she realised she’d spoken, but her next words were spoken with more deliberate intent. “I threw her blade into the sea myself. I won’t be the one to bring her back into this life, and if you bear any love for her, neither will you.”

“I don’t want to do it either!” Lyse hastily replied, “But I don’t see that we have a choice. With Arashi, Fareena and Tender together, we might have enough strength to tear this whole thing down and make sure Zoraal Ja doesn’t hurt anyone else. And… I keep having the same nightmare whenever I sleep. I keep seeing you…”

Oh… Kasumi tightened her grip around Lyse, feeling for the first time that her lover was trembling gently. “When did they begin?”

“You know when.” She did, but hearing Lyse confirm it was still a blow. “Worrying that I’d have to explain to Yotsuyu that Yugiri had passed was bad enough. Losing you… I don’t think I’d ever be ready for that. And since you’re going up against her next, I can’t stop imagining the worst possibilities. So please, let’s just leave! I don’t care if we have to carry Yugiri, we can’t stay here! Please…”

Kasumi saw so clearly the desperation in Lyse’s eyes, the pain, the fear, the… Oh. “Yugiri will never agree to it,” Kasumi said through a suddenly thick throat. “You know that.”

“She will if you tell her,” Lyse responded with a great deal more fierceness than Kasumi expected. “Please, make her listen! I can’t lose you!”

Kasumi steeled her resolve against Lyse’s onslaught, but it crumbled the moment she looked her lover in the eyes. “...I’ll see what I can do,” Kasumi said instead. “But not yet. My last conversation with her ended… poorly, let’s say.”

“I heard,” Lyse replied, her eyes flashing with sympathy. “Yugiri was… I think your hurts sunk deeper than you think. When you’re ready, you should talk to her properly. You can make her see reason, I know you can.”

“No promises,” Kasumi retorted with a chuckle. “I love you, Lyse.”

Lyse hesitated, then murmured, “I love you too.”

And this time Kasumi heard the truth in it.

---

“So, let me get this straight.” Arashi groaned and rubbed her temples as she spoke, fighting in vain to get ahead of the looming headache. “You intend to take a detour to the Ninth Reflection, where we know Carosa and her monstrous son have sunk their roots into for years, and find out, alone and without any real idea what you’re doing, what has happened to the royal family of Alexandria. Because some random technician asked you to.”

“That sounds about right,” Sanda agreed with a nod and an all-too-cheery smile.

“Alisaie, hold me back. I’m going to strangle her if you don’t.”

Alisaie took her duty seriously, looping her arms around Arashi’s shoulders and keeping her locked tight. Thankfully it did nothing to stop Arashi from glaring death at her horrible sister and her even more horrible plans.

“Look, I’m not an idiot!” Sanda had the audacity to sound annoyed. “I never said I was going to go alone. I’m taking Zenos with me!”

“Really not helping your case here, sister.”

“Oh, like you’re any better with your running off into the mountains and getting run off the road just out of Tuliyollal!” Sanda’s petulant tone held a very real undercurrent of worry. “So it’s okay if you almost get yourself killed on a weekly basis, but the moment I do something dangerous it’s a problem? Get over yourself, sis!”

“I-” Arashi began, only to lose the words she’d been preparing to fight back with. She fought Athena with barely a flicker of memory. She and Kasumi saved Zenos from the monster he could have become. She can handle a nasty old woman and her Ascian son. “Fine. But for the love of all the kami still willing to watch over you, be careful. Don’t force me to add your name to the family grave, sister. Please.”

“Promise me the same, then.” Sanda’s jaw was set, her eyes fierce and burning with anger. “Promise me you won’t go leaping into the arms of some new catastrophe as soon as I turn my back on you. And if you can’t… do be a hypocrite, okay? I’m big enough and old enough to get myself out of trouble and you know it.”

“...Fine.” Arashi heaved a sigh of defeat. “Go run headlong into the jaws of death if it’ll make you happy, then. Just don’t come crying to me when it all blows up in your face.” She shrugged her way free of Alisaie’s grip and stalked away, past the garages, past the now dark track, out towards the treelines where only the illumination of stars marked her path. She heard Alisaie’s footsteps behind her but paid them no mind, too wrapped up in her own annoyance to care.

“You can be a real chocobo’s arse sometimes, you know that?” Alisaie’s tone was sharp enough to cut glass.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Arashi shot over her shoulder. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten the way you ribbed and needled Alphinaud when the pair of you were still smaller than me.”

“I at least had the courage to tell him I loved him before he went off and did something stupid.” That stung enough to get Arashi to turn around, seeing for the first time Alisaie’s furious concern written plainly on her face. “Is this how you were when Lyse and Kasumi left? Too prickly and stubborn to tell them you cared?”

Arashi said nothing, her eyes downcast.

“Gods, Arashi, I thought you were better than this!” Alisaie stalked forward, suddenly inches away from the au ra and reminding her quite effectively that she lacked quite a few inches on her friend by looming over her with all the rancour of a vengeful spirit. “What happened to the nervous wreck of a woman who came to me crying because she realised she was in love with two women at once? I liked her better.”

“She was killed by her mother,” Arashi responded in a whisper. “I took her place and did what she wasn’t strong enough to do. I had to.”

“Gods…” Alisaie caught Arashi in a bone-crushing hug. “You are the most over-dramatic woman on the planet, aren’t you? And a terrible liar, too.”

“I’m… serious!” It was difficult to breathe with Alisaie doing her level best to squeeze the air from Arashi’s lungs, let alone talk.

“You’re an idiot, then.” Alisaie released her grip on Arashi and looked her dead in the eye. “If that were true, you wouldn’t become a blushing mess the moment Yotsuyu looks at you. Stop being a fool and admit that you’re afraid, okay? I got sick of that mask of yours long before you finally put it away the first time round.”

The trouble with Alisaie having known Arashi most of her life was that she could see right through Arashi’s bullshit far better than she had any right to. “I miss them,” Arashi finally said, letting her walls down around the woman who took those same walls as a challenge. “I’m terrified that one day I’ll hear that they’re never coming back. Or that I won’t hear anything at all and I’ll have to go and find it out myself. I don’t want to add Sanda to that list too.”

“But you have to.” Alisaie’s smile was gentle, an elder sister comforting her fool of a sibling. Which is completely unfair given she’s still younger than me. “If you force her to stay she’ll only resent you for it, and this is clearly important to her for reasons she’s not willing to tell you. Let her go. Trust that Zenos will have her back. Or…” Alisaie’s smile turned wicked, “Send me with them to play chaperone. I’ll bring those idiots back in one piece. Probably.”

“I… I’ll consider it,” Arashi said. It was strangely tempting, even if it meant worrying over Alisaie as well. If there’s anyone capable of coming back through the power of stubbornness alone… “Thanks, Alisaie. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Other than burn what few bridges you have left? Probably wander off into the forest in the dead of night and force Wuk Lamat to go find you again.”

“Hey, I didn’t force anyone to-” Arashi began, then paused with a growl as her phone rang for the second time that evening. With a snarl she yanked it out of her pocket and pressed it to her ear, recognising the number from several weeks prior. “Nabriales, I swear to Hydaelyn, if this isn’t important I’m going to-”

“Now there’s a fascinating choice of words.” A voice which was very specifically not Nabriales emerged through Arashi’s speaker. A voice she thought she’d never hear again but had desperately hoped to. “I hear you’ve been looking for me, girl. Well, if you’re desperate enough to put an Ascian and Omega on my trail, it must be something important. How about we arrange a little meeting and talk about it? I’ll be in touch, dear.”

The line went dead, leaving Arashi shaken to her core. Alisaie saw her friend suddenly grow pale, her pallor white enough in the darkness to spark a fresh wave of panic. “Arashi? Who was that? What did they want?”

Arashi spoke a single name, but it was enough to turn Alisaie equally pale.

“Venat.”

Notes:

Thwarted, sisterly, we got all flavours of anger to go around here! We've even got whatever-the-hell flavour of it Alisaie and Arashi can throw together between 'em. Hell, how about some diving on top of that?

Okay look, I'm typing these notes at almost 1am. Don't expect coherency. Just cliffhangers and drama.

Chapter 43: Tremor

Zenos stared at the mirror and waited for the monster to show itself. When it did not, it only made his hands shake all the more. Trembling, he held the razor to his chin, eyes glued to the glass, to his face, to the thing he knew was lurking under the surface. Except that no matter how hard he stared, no matter how many nicks and cuts his unsteady hands made as they carved a ragged path through his stubble, the monster did not emerge. Why would it, after all? He and it knew the truth.

They were one and the same, now he was awakened to the glorious violence within him.

He had felt it rise up again in the race, twisting his joy into something feral and ferocious. It had wanted more than simply to win. It had wanted to crush, to dominate, to cut its teeth slake its thirst on the broken bones and bodies of the other racers. It had wanted to tear the Warrior of Light from her feeble chariot and face her in truth once again, to meet at blade’s edge and-

No. No, I cannot. I will not. That monster is dead. He has to be.

Zenos ran a hand across his face, noting his bloodshot eyes, his pallid complexion, his exhaustion manifesting itself in myriad ways. He’d started sleeping less and less since Urqopacha. He’d stopped taking his medication too. The grey enveloped him constantly now, overwhelming, all-encompassing. He’d hoped it might shield him from the bloodlust within him.

What a fool he’d been. To cling to such a foolish hope when an entire lifetime of proof should have told him that it would only make the craving worse.

Sanda suspected, but he had not told her. How could he? What words were there? And besides, she had bullheadedly tried to save him from this horrible darkness once before. If he did tell her, she would surely only try again. She cannot know. Not yet. He had a plan, or the makings of one at least. He would uncover his mother’s plots. He would ensure his murderous brother did not harm another soul. And then he would… Disappear. Find somewhere quiet and isolated and live away from the world. Just him, the grey, and the monster shackled tight within him.

It was the only way. Sanda would hate him for it, but he could live with that. It was far, far better than the alternative. The monster knew what hurting her would do to Arashi, after all.

“Zenos?” He snapped to attention at the voice, small and wondering as it was. He hadn’t heard the hotel door opening or the soft pad of footsteps. A failing that Nerva will exploit if I am not careful. I must take better care. He examined himself in the mirror once again, noting with a grimace all the fresh cuts. Sloppy. He sighed, washed his face clean of what blood he could, then emerged from the bathroom to greet the woman who held his heart.

“Oh, there you are!” Sanda’s smile was soft, warm, all-too-brittle. She, too, was hiding secrets, but he dared not ask what. He would be a hypocrite beyond compare to do so. “I… need to ask a favour. A big one.”

“Ask,” Zenos rumbled. It would do no good to beat around the bush, even if Sanda’s tail twitched just slightly at being robbed the opportunity to do so.

“Gemma wants me to go to the Ninth.” Zenos blinked, not entirely sure he’d heard her correctly. “Tomorrow, if I’m able. So I can find out what happened to the royal family and figure out how close Carosa is to her goals.”

“I see.” Zenos was once again at a loss for words. “And no other person shall suffice?” That she would ask you to bear this burden… What game has she roped you into, and how best may I cut you from its machinations?

Sanda shook her head with a sigh. “It’s got to be me. So… I need you to tell Nero that I’m gonna be gone for a while and make sure he doesn’t fire me while I’m gone!”

“You’re joking.”

“Yeah, obviously. I need a bodyguard, and you’re just big and beefy enough to count! So what do you say? Want to dig up your mother’s dirty laundry with your girlfriend for a week?”

Seeing Sanda’s hopeful, playful smile, Zenos felt the cruel reminder that he was falling in love with her. It hurt a good deal more than it should have, but he pushed the pain into the grey until it became a dull throb rather than a knife through his chest. He forced a smile onto his face.

“I will endeavour not to slow you down as you do what you do best?”

“And what would that be?” Sanda’s eyes shone with perfect innocence. Her lips told a different story with their smirk.

“Dredging up trouble that I must rescue you from before it devours us both.”

Sanda laughed, leaped up, looped her arms around his neck. Her lips found his in a delighted kiss, her body so wonderfully warm and right that he found himself forgetting, just for a moment or two, the hunger within him.

But it watched her through his eyes with the patient gaze of a predator all the same. Keeping its bait close at hand would benefit them both in the end, after all.

---

“Again,” Arashi barked, snatching up and then tossing Yotsuyu’s knife back to her in a single fluid motion. Yotsuyu snarled, grabbing the knife and lunging forward with it, her blade a blur of steel. Arashi’s blade flicked out in response, effortlessly deflecting stab, thrust, slash, cut. Her other blade, held in her off-hand, remained firmly at her side. Taunting Yotsuyu. Goading her to force it into action. To force her opponent to care .

Her anger got the better of her. The knife was knocked free of her blade and Yotsuyu was sent sprawling away with it by a sudden kick to her stomach. She stumbled back, collided with the bed, fell against it with a grunt. Arashi was on her in a blur, sword flashing in a lethal arc towards her neck-

And stopping with expert precision. Arashi tossed her blade away, grinning down at Yotsuyu. “Not bad,” she said. “But you’ve got to work on keeping your emotions in check. You lost the moment you lost your-”

Yotsuyu had had quite enough of Arashi’s tutelage, so she took matters into her own hands. It was easy to tangle her fingers in the fabric of the au ra’s shirt, easier still to pull her down the last few inches until their lips met. Yotsuyu knew from Arashi’s satisfied chuckle that she was allowing herself to be taken advantage of, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was clawing back whatever little victory she could, and leaving Arashi breathless counted well enough.

“Temper,” Arashi finished with a smirk when Yotsuyu finally let her speak again. “And I meant what I said. You’re improving in leaps and bounds, but it all unravels when you lose control of yourself. If you’re going to get mad, make it cold fury, not burning rage.”

“Then perhaps you should stop taunting me at every possible opportunity,” Yotsuyu spat with what little venom she could muster. Arashi’s fond smile made it rather difficult to manage more than irritation, particularly with her still quite happily atop her raven-haired love.

“Stop making it so easy, then.” Arashi’s smile widened into a grin. “Unless you happen to enjoy getting pinned down by me every time we train, that is.”

Yotsuyu’s flat stare deflated Arashi quickly enough. “Is that why you keep insisting that we train in our room rather than elsewhere? And here I thought you might actually be taking this halfway seriously.”

Arashi’s good mood evaporated in an instant, replaced with a hard stare. With a sigh she pushed herself back up to her feet and offered a hand for Yotsuyu to take. “Two reasons,” Arashi stated as she pulled Yotsuyu off the bed. “Firstly, I want to keep this secret from Carosa and her demon spawn as long as possible, especially if they have Gosetsu truly in their pockets. The less they know about the fact that you can fight back, the better.”

Yotsuyu’s eyes reflexively leapt to her bag, where the regulator sat innocently. She hadn’t used it since that night in the tunnels, but she knew what she would rather have between it and her feeble knife if she was cornered. “And the second reason?” Yotsuyu asked, forcing her gaze back to Arashi’s face.

“If someone tries to attack you it’s going to be in a crowded place and it’s going to be with a blade like that.” Arashi gestured to Yotsuyu’s dagger, resting comfortably on the bed still. “No room to move, less room to get away, and they can slip into the crowd once it’s done. The more we train in tight quarters, the better chance you’ll stand.”

All of which made sense, but… “You speak from experience, don’t you?”

Arashi looked away, her eyes darkening. “Not my own experience, but yes. You’ve read about the end of the Heavensward war and its impact, right?” Yotsuyu nodded. “Not sure if the histories cover this part or not, but… people, people in power, weren’t exactly pleased with all the revelations Aymeric dropped at Ishgard’s feet. They decided he was best out of the picture, so they had someone… Well. Their man failed, but Aymeric still took a knife to the gut for it. Took him weeks of recovery to stand again, and months to gain full mobility. So… We train. Close quarters, small blades, offence and defence. To make sure you don’t… Anyway. Ready to go again?”

“I see now,” Yotsuyu murmured, “Why Lyse and Kasumi were so against you taking up your blade again.” Arashi froze in place. Yotsuyu stepped closer, one hesitant step at a time. “You can’t stop yourself, can you? We must seem as ants to you. So feeble. So small. So fragile. What do you see when you look at me? Tell me honestly.”

Arashi hesitated, tried to turn away, but Yotsuyu’s hand caught her chin, jerked it back, forced her wife to look at her. “I see one of the women I love,” Arashi answered. “And I see all the ways my enemies could use that to hurt me.” Her voice was small and cracked, wavering slightly, but her eyes burned with resolve. “I won’t lose you, Tsuyu. I swear. Not again.”

“Fool,” Yotsuyu muttered in an acid tone. It put Arashi on the defensive long enough for Yotsuyu to steal a kiss before she could realise what Yotsuyu’s true intentions were. Her arms looped around the au ra’s body, pressing her idiot wife against her and taking several surer steps backward until they fall back onto the bed together. This time Yotsuyu had no complaints about being pinned beneath Arashi, and Arashi was much too focused on Yotsuyu’s encouraging tongue.

“You’ve spent too long worrying over the future, you’ve forgotten to savour the present.” Yotsuyu punctuated her words by nipping at Arashi’s exposed neck, a brief, sharp pain to keep her fool of a wife’s attention focused on her and her alone. “Let me remind you of what is important.”

Arashi, her breath tickling Yotsuyu’s nape with ragged, irregular puffs, could only respond with a half-comprehending, mostly coherent, “Alright.” Yotsuyu rolled her eyes and rolled them both to put Arashi where she belonged. Utterly hopeless. But I can work with that.

---

“ You’re late,” Sanda snapped at the pair once they finally came within earshot. Arashi had the grace to look embarrassed, but Yotsuyu showed no such concern, simply eyeing Sanda with a frosty look. Don’t know what I expected. Shame isn’t a word you know. Sand and Zenos had been prepared for the past half-bell, but for reasons Sanda didn’t feel like thinking about, Arashi hadn’t seen her messages. Arashi’s flustered voice when she finally picked up the phone was enough of a giveaway regardless.

Alisaie was just as irritated, having arrived at the airship landing before even Zenos and Sanda could and making it quite clear that she was coming with them regardless of what they had to say about it. Sanda, who knew Alisaie well enough to know the best way to shut her down was to let her have her way, had said nothing to it. As for Zenos… he barely seemed to acknowledge the elezen’s presence. He simply kept clenching and unclenching his fists around the handle of their luggage and staring at nothing. Until Arashi had arrived, and stolen his attention entirely.

“You’re sure about this?” Arashi’s eyes, on the other hand, were focused completely on her sister. “I don’t know what this Gemma person told you, but you don’t have to hare off to a whole other world just because she asked you.”

Sanda shook her head with a soft smile. “It’s not that I feel I have to. I want to find out what I can. Whatever happened to Nerva, I feel like it’s key to all of this. If I can figure that out while we’re there…”

Arashi held Sanda’s gaze for a moment longer, then sighed in defeat. “Alright. Just… Please be careful. If anything happens, anything at all, you take your aethernet key and teleport straight home. I’ll come and pick you up if I have to, just don’t go risking your life when you have the option not to.” Then, after a moment, “I love you, sister.”

“I love you too,” Sanda replied, a little taken aback at Arashi’s sudden tenderness. “And don’t worry, I’m not a moron. I’ll be careful, and I’ve got at least one loyal bodyguard to keep me safe! And I guess your friend would make a half-decent meat shield if nothing else…”

“Meat shield?!” Alisaie rounded on Sanda with a furious glare. “I volunteered to look after you two out of the goodness of my heart and this is the thanks I get? Besides, the two of you are going to stick out like sore thumbs. You need someone capable blend in and mingle with the locals if you want to get anywhere at all.”

Irritating though the woman was about making it, she had a point. Sanda grimaced and turned to Alisaie with a defeated look. “Fine. Tour guide then.”

“TOUR GUIDE?!” Alisaie’s raised voice drew more than a few concerned looks from the other would-be passengers, which was at least enough to convince her to make known her displeasure a little more quietly. A little.

Arashi took the opportunity to escape the conversation, giving Sanda one last faint smile before taking Zenos by the elbow and pulling him a short distance away. With Alisaie’s furor and the general bustle of the airship landing terminal, Sanda couldn’t catch whatever it was Arashi said to the towering Garlean man, but the look in Arashi’s eyes was hard enough to cut through adamantine plate, and from Zenos’s posture he had been anticipating the conversation from the start. Either way, their conversation was short enough that Sanda barely had time to speculate on its contents before Arashi was patting Zenos on the arm and leading them back to the group.

“Well, I think that about covers everything. Since you’ll be headed to Yyasulani, keep an eye out for Fareena or Tender if you’re able. Might be they can give us an update on the Arcadion situation, or at least some sign that everyone’s still okay.” Arashi’s tone was conversational, but there was no mistaking the tension in her frame. Sanda’s querying glance went ignored, however, as Arashi continued on without skipping a beat. “Your linkpearls should work across Reflections, so let us know when you’re situated and if you need help. And for the love of the Twelve, be safe. You get out of there the moment things get dangerous, okay?”

“My little storm,” Yotsuyu murmured, her tone soft as a rattlesnake’s warning before it shows its fangs, “You are her sister, not her mother. Save your smothering and let them go, yes?”

Arashi sighed, shoulders slumping as she once again conceded the point. “Fine, get going. Oh, but make sure and pick up a souvenir or two while you’re there, would you? For Lyse and Kasumi, not for me.”

Sanda laughed and swept her sister into a surprise hug. “I’ll see what I can find. You take care as well, okay? Don’t go chasing after those knights or the Galvuses without someone to watch your back.” She broke away and darted to Zenos’s side before Arashi could retort, giving her sister one final fond wave before making a break for the terminal gates. Zenos followed on a moment later, then after a surprisingly tearful goodbye Alisaie trailed at the rear. Within a few hours they would reach Yyasulani, and from there make their way to another world entirely. A world which, if Sphene was to be believed, was in dire need of a wayward hero to set it to rights.

Alexandria, here we come.

Notes:

The Zenos Bad Time Train continues to hurtle from station to station at alarming speed. Good thing he's got a series of support systems in place to help him deal with it, right?

...Right?

Speaking of bad times, congratulations to Alisaie Leveilleur for forcing her way into the position of most awkward third wheel of all time. You have fun with that "honour", girl.

Chapter 44: Secrets

Movement was agony. Every inch of articulation brought fresh waves of pain and exhaustion. Yugiri pushed through it anyway. She had to be ready to move if the situation called for it. To run, if not to fight. Just in case.

It wasn’t because she didn’t have the heart to consider Kasumi’s words. It wasn’t .

She couldn’t even articulate why they had stung so. Kasumi was right, after all. Yugiri had thrown away their careful planning simply for the desperate desire to avenge someone who wasn’t even dead. She shuddered to think what her mother would have to say about such foolishness, let alone her employer. It had been a rash, reckless, pointless decision. But to hear Kasumi lay it out so plainly, to compare Yugiri to the woman who had almost killed her…

It was the look in Kasumi’s eyes that had hurt the most, though. The look of disappointment. Which didn’t make sense when weighed against the depth of the pain. Yugiri respected Kasumi, liked her even. She was a solid, dependable woman who kept a level head in times of trouble and ensured Yotsuyu didn’t do anything too rash. She was also surprisingly easy to talk to, someone Yugiri could let her guard down around and enjoy a drink or two with. But that was it. The sting of their confrontation would have been understandable if it had been Yotsuyu speaking those words, but Kasumi? It didn’t add up. There was something Yugiri was missing, something that would make it all make sense, but-

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts and back to reality. Not Kasumi or Lyse. Their knocks were louder, more sure. And likely not Scorpienne either. She wouldn’t bother knocking if she intended to finish the job. One of their new allies, then. Lyse had explained their new truce before leaving Yugiri in the trio’s care so she and Kasumi could rest. An uncertain thing, from the sounds of it, but far better than nothing. “Enter,” Yugiri croaked, followed by a series of racking coughs that left her breathless and sore. I need to recover quickly. I cannot be a burden to the others.

“I knew you were stubborn, but I didn’t think you were stupid.” Yugiri’s head snapped painfully towards the door, where nobody’s voice rang out from the empty hallway. Until that emptiness shimmered faintly, Yugiri half-thought her exhausted mind was playing tricks on her. But then the door shut with a quiet click and Eutrope released her feral soul, becoming fully visible and looking as worn as Yugiri felt.

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion. Or your company.” Every word was forced through a ragged throat, but Yugiri wasn’t about to deny her stubbornness. She reached for the pitcher of water that had been left for her some hours ago (now almost empty) and poured the last of it into the waiting glass. The trickle of lukewarm liquid soothed the ache slightly.

“Well, too bad on both fronts. I’ve nowhere to go and you’re in no position to stop me.” Eutrope sunk into the chair beside the bed, fixing Yugiri with an irritated stare. This close it was much easier to notice the dark bags under Eutrope’s eyes, the slightly unfocused tint to her eyes, the dry, cracked skin around her eyes and lips. “I trust you’ve learned your lesson now?”

Yugiri’s flat stare told Eutrope all she needed to know, but her words put an acidic point to them. “I will not be lectured by the woman who created this whole ordeal in the first place. Had you and my teacher bothered to explain-”

“Then my sister, who is a terrible actor, would have been seen through in an instant and the whole of Arcadion would be roused to find me.” Eutrope’s ears flicked in irritation as she stared down the injured au ra. “Fareena and I knew what we were doing. We just… didn’t anticipate Yaana and Euphoria would take matters into their own hands.” After a moment Eutrope spoke again, her tone softer this time. “I’m sorry. For dragging you all into my mess.”

“Regardless of your intentions, I am here now.” Yugiri breathed a bitter sigh and leaned back against the pillows. “And I must recover swiftly so that I can put a decisive end to Zoraal Ja’s schemes.”

“No wonder Stormy Horizon’s fallen for you,” Eutrope muttered. “You’re both too stubborn for your own good. Let me guess, you can’t help but solve everyone’s problems whenever they arise?”

Stormy Horizon? Fallen? Yugiri pushed her confusion over Eutrope’s strange words to one side. “You’re mistaken,” she said instead. “I simply have someone waiting for me back in Tural, and I promised to return to her side as soon as I could.”

Eutrope chuckled in an irritatingly knowing tone. “Say what you will. I’ve seen your type before.” Then she was hissing, clutching her head and screwing her eyes shut. A moment later she slumped forward, almost falling against the bed before catching herself. “Godsdammit, not now!” Eutrope shook her head with a growl, then glared at Yugiri. “You didn’t see that, understand?”

“Psychonekrosis, and in its advanced stages too. Am I correct?”

For a moment Eutrope said nothing, simply glaring at Yugiri instead. Then her annoyance dissipated under a fresh wave of disorientation. When she had recovered enough to speak, she nodded. “Yes. Zoraal Ja has a cure, but he keeps it somewhere I can’t find. Probably on his person. And the moment I confront him over it, he’ll either kill me… or Ascend me.”

“Ascend?” Yugiri rose a curious eyebrow. She could already feel her strength waning from her exertions, but the need to know gave her just a little more to work with.

“Right, you haven’t heard yet.” Eutrope began to explain, but Yugiri barely heard her. The tiny burst of stamina was already fading, and she with it. She caught a few things, like the promised upper levels and the certainty in Eutrope’s voice when she called it all a lie, but darkness grew around the edges of her world, gently lulling her into slumber. She was already gone when Eutrope finished, her chest rising and falling in a peaceful, patient rhythm. For a moment there were two women in the room, then the miqo’te vanished with a pulse of aether. The door opened, closed, and Yugiri was left at last to rest.

---

Arashi had plans after saying goodbye to her sister and Alisaie. She wanted to visit the Hanuhanu, see how things had changed in Kozama’uka after all her time away. She wanted to stop by the garage and (finally) tell Cid about Alpha and Omega. She wanted to prepare for Venat’s impending call and the meeting that would follow.

Yotsuyu had other ideas, and she had a way of persuading Arashi to see things her way that the au ra just couldn’t argue with.

So it was that Arashi once again found herself at her wife’s tender mercies and hoping the walls of their hotel room were thick enough to muffle her enjoyment. Not that Yotsuyu was any better when Arashi finally found a moment to turn the tables. Eventually the pair declared a truce, falling back against the sheets in a half-dazed tangle of limbs.

“Missing them again?” Arashi murmured when she had the words to speak once more.

“Is that why you think I chose to steal you away?” Yotsuyu looked affronted, her afterglow vanishing like mist against summer sun. “Perhaps I simply wished to make up for being deprived of your company last night.” Then her eyes darkened and she let out a defeated sigh, continuing more quietly with, “I am. Don’t tell them. Kasumi will only lord it over me.”

Arashi chuckled gently, drawing her fool of a wife closer and pecking her on the forehead. “Gods, Tsuyu! It’s alright to admit that you miss the women you love, you know. A little emotional vulnerability won’t kill you, I promise.”

Yotsuyu’s hand found hers, clutched it tightly, held on. “You know as well as I how difficult that is at the best of times,” Yotsuyu muttered against Arashi’s chest. “Let me have my peculiarities. The kami know I let you have yours.”

Arashi opened her mouth to protest. Thought better of it. Closed her mouth instead and settled for nuzzling Yotsuyu’s head with her chin. Eventually responded with, “I miss them too. So much.”

For a time the two lay together in silence, letting gentle touches and wandering hands be their only form of communication. Then Yotsuyu broke the silence once again.

“This Venat you’re so anxious to meet. Tell me about her. The woman she was, not the god.”

Arashi froze, looking down at Yotsuyu in concern. But I didn’t tell you she… But there was no glint of triumph in the hyur’s eyes, just curiosity. So, her surprise fading, Arashi began to speak.

“She was… multi-faceted. She was gentle, kind, nurturing. But she had an incredible drive for adventure that kept her roaming the star long past when it was “proper” to do so. I… That is, the Ancient soul I once was, loved her more than anything.” Even now she still felt the tinge of that same love seeping in around the edges, tinting her thoughts with rose. But…

“She was also ruthless. Single-minded. Willing to tear down her whole civilisation to rip out the rot she saw inside it.” Despite the warmth of Yotsuyu’s body Arashi found herself shivering. “She put the weight of the world on my shoulders before I was even born. Partially my fault; I did tell her about the Final Days before they even happened. But she was the kind of woman who would have risked it all anyway if she knew there was the faintest hope of success.”

“And you wish to seek out this woman even still.” Yotsuyu’s voice was a thready whisper, her eyes full of an emotion Arashi couldn’t place.

“I do.” Arashi nodded. “I still have an answer to give her.” Then, after a moment or two, “And I’ve got a whole mess of questions for her too! Starting with what in the seven hells she thought she was doing letting Athena run amok for so long! If she’d stepped in earlier, maybe my parents would have…” Arashi paused, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. If she had, I wouldn’t have met Yotsuyu or Lyse. Kasumi would still be Fray, slumbering eternity away. But still… “I just want to know why.”

Yotsuyu said nothing, but her hand reached up to caress Arashi’s scaled cheek. “Then you may ask. But not alone. If this woman is everything you speak of, I would be heartless to have you face her on your own. If you… When you find her, I will stand at your side. As will Lyse and Kasumi, if they have returned from their escapade.”

Arashi felt the warmth return to her in a flood of relief, overwhelming her, drowning out her attempt at speech, misting her vision. She settled for kissing Yotsuyu to convey her gratitude instead. “ Whatever did I do to deserve you?” Arashi murmured when their lips parted again.

Yotsuyu chuckled darkly, her eyes flashing with mischief as she replied, “Shall we start with the things you accomplished in your past life or skip to the part where you helped me find a life worth living?”

Once again Arashi was rendered silent, but this time through embarrassment rather than gratitude. Yotsuyu’s silken laugh echoed through their tiny room, filling it with warmth and delight without any conscious effort. But then that warmth, that laugh, fell away into something else. Arashi saw the sudden question in Yotsuyu’s eyes, but could not guess what the question would be until it was spoken.

“Have you tried reaching out to Kasumi again?”

Ah. Arashi hadn’t, in fact. She’d mostly felt vague pulses of exhaustion over the past few days, though they had been tinged with faint relief of late. But between Sanda’s declaration, Venat’s sudden call, Yotsuyu’s… everything, Arashi hadn’t had a chance to track her down. “No time like the present to try again, I suppose.” Arashi took a deep breath, pulled herself up into a sitting position, then closed her eyes.

“Kasumi?”

Oh gods! Oh gods! Yes! Yes! Faster! Faster, Lyse! LyYYYYYYYYSE!

Arashi flushed scarlet, slamming the link closed as quickly as she could. “She’s busy,” she squeaked.

“Busy?”

“Yes, very busy! Not to be disturbed! End of discussion!” By the kami, what foul deed did I commit to earn this curse? Arashi flopped back against the bed with a groan, trying desperately (and failing impressively) not to picture whatever could have put Kasumi in such a state. Only when she’d finally managed to banish such lurid thoughts from her mind did she crack open her eyes… to see Yotsuyu smirking knowingly back at her.

“Something you wish to tell me, little eagle?” Yotsuyu’s fingers traced a loving line across Arashi’s collarbone before shifting higher to tilt Arashi’s chin towards her face, now grinning decidedly wickedly.

Evil. Evil evil evil!

Knock Knock Knock

Arashi and Yotsuyu jerked up at the same time at the sudden intrusion into their alone time. Arashi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, while Yotsuyu looked ready to enact bloody murder on the person at the other end of the door. “I’ll get it,” Arashi said, partially to mollify Yotsuyu but also to protect the poor soul from her wife’s scorn. Shoving on a hastily discarded shirt and buttoning it up enough to preserve her modesty, Arashi stepped towards the door and pried it open.

“Arashi! Good, you’re here! Listen, I-”

“And good afternoon to you too, Wuk Lamat. How can I help you?” Arashi greeted her with what she hoped was a friendly smile. She was battling the realisation that her hair was likely an unkempt mess, to say nothing of the rest of her. Gods, I hope Yotsuyu didn’t leave any visible marks this time…

“Oh, um, I was just wondering! If you were going to be free! Tonight?” The hrothgar’s eyes kept darting to Arashi’s neck, then just as hurriedly back to her face. “For more dynamis lessons, I mean! Sorry, that came out completely wrong, huh? I just meant-”

“Arashi will be busy tonight,” Yotsuyu declared as she emerged from the darkness, her arms sliding possessively around Arashi’s stomach and her head resting atop Arashi’s crown. “And likely the morning after as well. She will inform you when she is ready to resume your lessons, girl.”

“Oh, that’s okay!” Arashi didn’t miss the flash of disappointment in Wuk Lamat’s eyes before her sunny smile (showing just a few too many teeth) shone again. “I just thought it might be nice to strike while the iron’s hot, you know? Oh, and congratulations on winning yesterday! That was quite the-”

“That will be all. Leave us.” Yotsuyu pushed the door closed before Arashi could protest, leaving the poor hrothgar shut out without so much as a by-your-leave.

“Tsuyu!” Arashi snapped, breaking free of Yotsuyu’s grip with an irritated scowl. “You could at least try to be nice to my friends, you know! It wouldn’t kill you, of that I’m certain enough.”

Yotsuyu scoffed but she wouldn’t quite meet Arashi’s eyes. “You may not have seen the way she was eyeing you up, but I certainly did. One lovelorn follower is quite enough for my tastes.” Then, more quietly, “You do remember that she saw me transform, yes? That woman should be kept at arms-length.”

Of course. Arashi had let herself forget about that detail, too disarmed by Wuk Lamat’s earnest nature and gentle competitiveness. But as Yotsuyu’s words sunk in, Arashi looked back at her meetings with the hrothgar recently with a more suspicious eye. Had it truly been coincidence that Wuk Lamat had been hiking near where Arashi had gone to train? Was she being sincere about her inability to use dynamis? Had she truly thought Arashi would be all alone in her room today?

Perhaps I should speak with Betool Ja about this. Much though she hated the idea of her old friend and mentee acting with ulterior motives, it was better to be safe than sorry. Out loud Arashi said, “Still, you could be a little kinder to her. That kind of frostiness won’t help anyone.”

Yotsuyu sniffed but argued her point no further. Nor did Arashi resist as her lover’s arms slid back around her. Gently, almost timidly, Yotsuyu led her back to bed.

She was a good deal more tender this time.

Notes:

Good lord, this chapter was a fight to get through! Not because the writing itself was an ordeal (it was actually quite breezy when I got down to it) but because I have apparently picked up the flu??? In July?????

Gods my body is a mess. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy. Next chapter hopefully won't be dragged kicking and screaming out of my decaying corpse, but we'll see how it goes.

Chapter 45: Welcome

“We have now arrived in Alexandria, capital of the Ninth Reflection. Please be aware that if this is your first time undergoing travel between Reflections that you may feel some lingering disorientation. You are welcome to take some time to recover yourself before disembarking. Please enjoy your stay!”

“Ugggggghhhhhh!” Alisaie groaned and stretched in her seat, the first to shake off the indescribable experience of travelling between dimensions. “I’d forgotten how weird that feels to do!” Alisaie turned to Sanda with a sympathetic grimace. “Still, better than the first time, right?”

“The first time?” Sanda met Alisaie with a blank look. “This is my first time travelling between Reflections.”

“Right, right.” Alisaie gave Sanda an apologetic smile, then leaned over to look at Zenos. “How about you? Something like this enough to pierce your unflappable exterior? Somehow I doubt it.”

Zenos didn’t answer, but not for lack of will. He simply couldn’t find the right words. He’d read of travel between Reflections, had heard his father’s and grandfather’s stories of their own journeys as head of Galvus Industries, but to experience it for himself, to see his memories laid before him, all around him, flying past him at such speed and intensity… It was uniquely harrowing.

Particularly given so many of them had involved blood.

“See what I mean?” Alisaie said with a sigh after a moment or two. She was first out of her seat, reaching up above them to retrieve her case from the storage lockers over their heads. “Right, we have about a week until we need to get back to the Source to reach Yak T’el in time, so there’s no time to waste! First things first, we’ll need to get a place to stay. I’ll worry about that, so you two get a lay of the land. You’re tourists here, so act like it. Ask questions. Be obnoxious. Sightsee. I’ll give you a buzz by linkpearl when I’m ready to find you, alright?”

“Never thought I’d be given permission to be obnoxious, but I’ll take it!” Sanda’s smile was bright as she squeezed Zenos’s hand. “Ready to get into trouble?”

“Mm? Yes. Trouble. Of course.” Zenos shook himself free of the last lingering memories and forced himself back into the present. In this world lay clues regarding his mother and brother, and the more he gave the thought power, the more power it in turn gained over him. His mystery of a mother and his monster of a brother. Perhaps in learning about them he could understand why he-

Sanda’s face filled his vision, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised in concern, lips parted to ask a question he couldn’t afford to answer. Zenos closed the distance instead, catching her by surprise with a kiss, robbing her of the words that would surely undo him. She didn’t mind.

Alisaie did.

“Whenever you two are done trading tongue wrestling lessons, I’d like to get off this train and see the world outside!” The white-haired elezen punctuated her admonishment with a disgusted noise from the back of her throat. “Never thought I’d have to suffer through you two being disgustingly sweet. Gods...”

Zenos’s certainty that Sanda was holding the kiss for longer than usual out of spite was confirmed when her middle finger rose defiantly in Alisaie’s direction. It wasn’t until Alisaie finally got sick of waiting and started walking away that Sanda finally parted from Zenos with a mischievous grin. “Now that she’s finally taken the hint, shall we go see Alexandria with our own eyes?”

Despite everything, Sanda’s enthusiasm was infectious as ever. “I will follow your lead,” Zenos replied with a smile.

Compared to the tropical sunshine of Kozama’uka and the dusty, dry heat of Yyasulani, Alexandria was practically chilly. While the same advances in technology connecting the Reflections to one another and the Source had also locked their temporal cycles, the same did not apply to the seasons. Alexandria was in the throes of red-gold Autumn, burnishing the canopies of its forests and reminding its inhabitants of their warmer clothing left lying at the back of their wardrobes. For Zenos (and likely Alisaie, who had already vanished), it was a pleasantly bracing coolness after so long of Turali weather. For Sanda, it was less pleasant.

“First stop, one of those fancy clothing stores along the tourist trap streets. You’re buying me the biggest, fluffiest jacket they have.” Sanda’s tone brooked no argument, but Zenos was hardly prepared to do so in the first place. Her mood brightened significantly after her demands were met, thankfully.

With the dragon’s needs sated, Zenos was free to get a lay of the land. At first blush all seemed well with the city. Its streets were packed with people, its various shops and cafes full to bursting with travellers and locals alike. Certainly they had heard nary a whisper of discontent on their way in, and travel in and out of the Reflection appeared unimpeded. But amongst the smiling faces and carefree tourists the cracks began to show nonetheless. The snatched whispers of worry between a pair of older hyunes. An eldite woman nervously speaking to a pair of armoured figures. The milalla gentleman who kept glancing in the direction of the huge palace at the top of the great hill that the city had been built upon.

“You can feel it too, right?” Sanda’s hushed tone was barely audible over the din of the crowd as Zenos carved a path through them. He nodded, already keenly aware that he stood a full head taller than most here and was drawing quite enough looks already. Sanda, in contrast, had taken to grabbing at the back of his shirt to keep from getting swallowed by the crowd in his wake. “They’re not as good at hiding it as Garlemald was.”

“Not here,” Zenos murmured, subtly adjusting his path through the crowd so that they diverted from the main street down one of the (slightly) less populated side alleys. After a short search he found a relatively unpacked hole-in-the-wall to duck inside (emphasis on duck, as the door was rather too small for his stature) and find a tiny table for two towards the back of the eatery. While a few people glanced curiously at the Garlean and au ra pair, they didn’t bother with a second one. They were clearly fresh-faced tourists just off the train. Not worth worrying about.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the cafe it took the pair no time at all to be approached by a middle-aged milalla woman. “Welcome to the Salty Squid!” she declared, flourishing a pair of menus for the two to claim. “Since you’re fresh from the train I’ll give you a minute or two to decide on drinks, but just give me a shout if you need anything and I’ll come running!” She was gone in a blur of professional enthusiasm before either could respond, already at another table nearby and recommending something off the special menu to a bemused tourist.

“Their apprehension is palpable,” Zenos muttered under his breath as he subtly scanned the interior. He could see it most in the staff, in the slight stiffness of their smiles and their clearly rehearsed conversations with the customers. What few locals had chosen to appear were abundantly on-edge as well, their eyes darting to the assembled crowds of tourists with almost naked distrust and suspicion. One of them had the misfortune of meeting Zenos’s eyes, quickly averting their gaze and gaining a sudden interest in the contents of their plate. “We should tread carefully, lest we attract further undue attention.”

“Says the Garlean powerhouse to the au ra model,” Sanda retorted with a grimace. “We should have gotten some glamours figured out before we left. Would have made this so much easier.” She made a show of reviewing the menu in front of her as she continued. “How are we even going to begin figuring out what’s going on here? They’re hardly going to trust a pair of off-world wanderers with their secrets and we don’t have time to build up the kind of trust we’d need to barter for them.”

Zenos didn’t have the chance to answer, as all of a sudden the milalla waitress was back at their table with a professional smile. “Sorry for the wait there, my lovebirds! What can I start you off with?”

“Tea for him, coffee for me.” Sanda’s reply was as practised as it came, honed from years of travel with Zenos and a genuine enjoyment of conversation with strangers. Zenos was happy to leave her to it, for the most part.

“Bold choice for a pair of tourists fresh off the train. Most folks go for something easier. But I like your confidence!”

Sanda’s laugh practically sparkled. “Was it truly so obvious?”

“The suitcase does give it away a bit, dear.” The waitress gave Zenos’s battered case a friendly pat. “What brings you to our fair nation, if I may be so bold?”

“Oh, my partner here,” Sanda fluttered her eyelashes in Zenos’s direction, “Has a business trip. Some conference on aetheric resonance or something like that. Goes completely over my head, honestly. But we’re staying a few days after it’s done, so we’ve made a few tentative plans to see the sights. I was promised a chance to see the royal palace up close and I’m not leaving until I get it!”

Zenos felt the change in the air the moment Sanda spoke the words. The cheery light in the milalla’s eyes turned cold, her hand clutching tighter around her notepad and pen. To her credit, that practised cheer returned almost immediately, but Zenos could hear the raw edge underneath her chatty tone when she spoke again.

“Oh, I’m sorry to disappoint you, love! The palace is closed to visitors at the mo’. One of the old ballrooms collapsed, so now the king and queen have the whole place shut tight for inspection and renovation. ‘S a miracle no-one was hurt, really!”

Sanda’s look of banal disappointment was immaculate. “By the kami, of all the rotten luck! I told you we were cursed, dear, but you wouldn’t believe me!” She made a show of shoving Zenos by the arm, which Zenos took with a rueful smile and shrug. “Well, I don’t suppose you have anywhere else you’d recommend for a pair of suddenly down-on-their-luck tourists, would you?”

The waitress’s tension eased with every word, and soon enough she and Sanda were having an animated conversation about the second-best tourist spots to find. Zenos made quiet note of a few of them in case they returned here for less clandestine reasons. The canal tour sounded charming enough, and he was certain Sanda would-

No. That future is not yours to claim. Not if you wish for her happiness as you so boldly claim. Zenos dragged himself away from the daydreams and back to reality. He didn’t miss Sanda’s sudden glance his way, but he busied himself with the menu instead. He might have been able to forget the beast inside him for a while, but it would claw its way back to the surface in time. There was no slaking that hunger with anything short of blood now it was unshackled.

The rest of their meal was an unhurried and pleasant affair, though the tension within and without made conversation rather difficult. Still, Zenos made sure to leave a few coins more than he needed to at the table, partially as thanks for services rendered and partially to ensure that the milalla’s memory would be spottier about the Garlean and auri pair who had stopped by. This time Sanda stuck to Zenos’s non-suitcase-carrying-side as they left, remaining right beside him even with the crowds somewhat more dispersed than they had been earlier.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” Zenos glanced down at Sanda, who was staring up at him with an all-too-serious expression.

“Now is not the time to discuss such things,” he replied in a hushed tone. “We are alone in a world full of-”

“Not that. With you. You’ve been acting weird for weeks now. And you haven’t been taking your medication like you should. You haven’t been sleeping properly either. Hells, you barely even look at me when I’m trying to talk to you! What’s going on?”

“It is nothing you need concern yourself with,” Zenos replied, knowing full well that such words would only incense Sanda further but unable to find any better ones. His eternal curse. His sole blessing.

“Well too bad, because I am concerned!” Sanda’s voice had risen in pitch to the point that some of the people around them were looking on with poorly disguised interest. “I thought you were getting better than this! I thought you were starting to let me in properly! What happened to courting me, huh? Did you suddenly forget about that the moment she entered the scene, or did you just not give that much of a damn in the first place? Am I just wasting my time?”

No. Not at all. But I cannot allow you to fall into its clutches. I will not let that monster have you. Zenos wanted so badly to say those words, to let her know how easily she could pierce through the grey with her smile, how grateful he was that she hadn’t given up, how simply she had stolen away his heart. But he couldn’t. To do so would be to cast the net over her. To entrap her with a snarling abomination that cared for her only as far as she could be used to bait her sister into yet another confrontation. So he opened his mouth instead to speak the words that would free her, even if they would devastate him in turn, because-

“Hello? You two lovebirds aren’t busy, are you?”

Sanda stared at Zenos for another few moments, her gaze full of fire but wet with unshed tears. Finally she pressed a finger against the inner curve of her horn. “What do you want, Alisaie?”

“Gods, calm down! I just wanted to let you know I’ve found a couple of rooms for us all. The Tantalus Retreat, about ten minutes from the aetheryte plaza. You really can’t miss it. See you soon?”

“...Sure. See you soon.” Sanda shot Zenos one final look, then snatched their suitcase from his hand and stalked through the staring crowds, clearly uncaring at how much of a scene she’d just caused. Zenos stared after her for a few moments, mind racing, heart pounding, only for a heavy hand to clap on his shoulder.

“She’ll come around, lad. They always do. Just so long as you apologise for being a chocobo’s arse first.” An elderly eldite man gave him a knowing smile before melting back into the crowds.

Zenos, unsure of what else he could do, followed after the dwindling form of the woman who deserved so much better than the wretch who loved her.

Notes:

Happy Patchmas Eve! Have some tension, some careful conversation, and some Zenos being a complete bloody moron and Sanda being a complete bloody hypocrite. yaaaaaaaaaay

Chapter 46: Unexpected

Venat’s message arrived bright and early the next day.

Arashi, blurry-eyed and still sore from the previous day, half-considered ignoring the text before she saw its sender. Her sudden jerking upright was enough to wake Yotsuyu, who voiced her displeasure until the phone was thrust in her face too.

“When do we depart?” was her only response.

One bell later and Arashi was as dressed and ready as she was going to get. Yotsuyu, on the other hand, was still sat in front of a mirror and artfully applying eyeliner in the manner of a woman going to war. Which Arashi desperately hoped they weren’t, but given Gosetsu’s traitorous turn and the Alexandrians’ apparent grudge against her, she wasn’t going to take any chances. Besides, it was Venat, a woman who challenged her to one of the most gruelling fights of her life and then had the audacity to call it a sparring session.

All things considered, she was very glad she’d chosen to retrieve her sword.

“Are you ready?” Yotsuyu asked, not bothering to turn around while she fiddled with her lipstick selection.

Arashi made a show of checking herself. “Clothes on, boots on, sword ready to be summoned to my side at a moment’s notice. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“That is not what I meant and you know it.” Yotsuyu’s eyes met Arashi’s through the mirror. “Are you truly prepared to face her again? To slay her, should it come to that? Can I trust that you will do what is necessary to protect us both?”

“I…” Arashi paused, took in a shaky breath, let it out in a shakier laugh. “Gods, Tsuyu, you never throw the easy questions my way, do you?” Arashi landed heavily against the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment or two. “I don’t know. I don’t want to, at the very least. I already did it once and it was one of the toughest decisions I ever had to make, even if it was putting her out of her misery in the end. But whatever happens, I’ll keep you safe. That much I promise you.”

Yotsuyu’s eyes flashed with something like disappointment, but it melted away before a soft smile as she rose from the mirror and turned to properly face Arashi. “Very well. It falls to me once more to protect you from your own idiocy, it seems. Shall we?”

Arashi took the suddenly extended hand and allowed herself to be pulled up and into Yotsuyu’s arms. For a moment she didn’t move, just closed her eyes and breathed in the faint scent of Yotsuyu’s perfume. Yotsuyu had chosen something bright and citrus-y today, sending a quiet jolt through Arashi’s nose. It was enough to energise her enough to break away, to make for the door. To head for the other side of the lagoon where Venat awaited.

She made it all of two steps before Yotsuyu’s hand tightened again around her wrist, tugging her back, gripping Arashi tightly in her arms. Arashi glanced up to see real fear reflected in Yotsuyu’s eyes, suddenly noticing the tremble in the hyur’s grip. Yotsuyu pressed her face into Arashi’s hair and breathed deeply, then mumbled, “I love you. Don’t you dare do anything stupid today.”

“I love you too,” Arashi replied. “I’ll try.”

---

Lyse felt everyone’s eyes on her that much more keenly as she stepped into the ring. Like it or not, she’d made a name for herself by taking down the Granite Goliath (or Hector, as he was truly called) without using her regulator. To say nothing of Yugiri’s fateful clash against Scorpienne and their confrontation after the match was over. Lyse forced herself not to scan the crowds above her to try and spot her. It didn’t matter either way.

Lyse had no intention of fighting that woman, or anyone else here. As soon as Yugiri was ready to move, they would leave this place behind and recruit Arashi to the cause. They’d form a proper plan. They’d bring down whatever Zoraal Ja was scheming from within, not without. But first she needed to end the match without spilling more blood.

Her opponent was a lalafellin woman, small even for a lalafell and surprisingly pale for a Turali native. Her hair, however, was far louder, a riot of colours that was tied into two twirling braids that fell down past her shoulders. Her eyes, too, were a shocking shade of purple, twinkling with mischief as she stared at Lyse in unabashed boldness. Her lips curled into a smirk as she saw Lyse examining her in turn, tracing a mocking curtsey in response.

Alright. Moment of truth. Either Zoraal Ja accepts this and we can get out of here without fear… Or Kasumi begins plan B and I have to fight my way free. Lyse took a deep breath, took one fateful step forward, and said “I-”

“I yield. The match is yours.”

What.

Lyse stared without comprehension as the lalafell smiled back at her. “I yield,” she repeated as the crowd broke into confused murmurs. “I’m not a fool, you know. I saw what you were able to accomplish without a regulator, and everyone knows Scorpienne’s on the warpath. Even if I managed to defeat you, I’d have to go up against her, or else the mad fool strong enough to beat her. I think I’ll spare myself that particular mountain, thanks.”

The murmuring grew into a buzz of dissatisfaction. They had come for a fight, not a weak-willed excuse to throw in the towel! Lyse wasn’t sure what to think. Had her opponent known, somehow, that Lyse had intended to do the same thing? Or was she truly being honest when she gave her reasons for bowing out? Looking at the woman’s sly smile there was no way of telling one way or another, but-

“ENOUGH.”

The single word culled all conversation in an instant. Zoraal Ja rose from his seat and, for the second time in the tournament, leapt down into the arena himself. Within a few short strides he had made his way to the centre of the ring, standing between the would-be non-combatants and looking at each in turn. Lyse saw nothing but cold calculation in those eyes as they fixed upon her, but he dismissed her after a moment. Instead he turned his consideration upon her opponent.

“Petal Storm. You are certain you would relinquish your chance at Ascension without fighting for it first?”

“Quite certain, yes.” The lalafellin woman looked entirely unconcerned, even shrugging as she spoke. “I came here to hone my talents, not be beaten black and blue by a battle-crazed Ala Mhigan or Turali warrior with a bone to pick. Let it be her bones, I say.” Petal Storm jerked her head in Lyse’s direction, though not without an apologetic smile.

Zoraal Ja’s lips curled upward just enough to show a set of razor-sharp teeth. For a moment Lyse thought she would have to step in to prevent her poor opponent from getting cut down, but then the tension bled out of the Mamool Ja’s frame and he raised a hand to the air.

“Very well. By her own admission, Petal Storm forfeits her chance to Ascend. This bout goes to Stormy Horizon.”

The crowd erupted in protest. Zoraal Ja plainly did not have the patience to hear them. With an aether-infused leap he landed back in his viewing stand and stalked off out of sight. Petal Storm gave Lyse a final shrug and walked back to her changing room. Only then did Lyse bother to look up, searching the faces above her for her companion.

She caught Scorpienne’s gaze instead.

The world fell away, reduced to the two of them and the awful void between them both. Lyse saw Scorpienne’s carefully built facade of calm fall away to abject hate, saw her mouth a single word and then spin on her heels, stalking away. “Soon.” Then the world fell back into place and Lyse found Kasumi staring down at her with concern.

No point standing here any more, I suppose. Lyse turned and walked towards her own changing rooms. Their plans had been thrown into disarray before they even had a chance to act on them, leaving Lyse with a single question to stew uselessly in her head.

Now what?

---

“Stop pacing, Wuk Lamat. You’re going to wear a hole through the floor if you keep this up.”

“Then what else am I supposed to do?” Wuk Lamat snapped back at Erenville as she continued to pace. “First Arashi locks herself in her room with her wife all day, then she disappears off into the forest with her wife first thing in the morning without even a word to her mechanic! Something’s going on, I just know it!”

“Wuk Lamat, I’m certain you can come up with better reasons for two married women to remain in their hotel rooms all day. We’ve all heard the rumours.”

“I- That’s completely besides the point!” Wuk Lamat turned abruptly away from Erenville so he wouldn’t see her blush. “Look, you have to admit that the two of them suddenly vanishing into thin air is unusual! Are you sure you didn’t pick up anything suspicious about Yotsuyu when you spoke with her the other night?”

Erenville’s answering sigh was as long-suffering as it came. “As I told you the last half-dozen times, no. She was about as curt and impatient as everyone says, but she warmed up to me quickly enough. I wasn’t about to ruin that opening by asking if she had a regulator on her.” Erenville sighed again, but this time his tone was softer when he spoke again. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have proof, Lamaty’i. Trust me.”

“I know.” Wuk Lamat turned back to face Erenville with an apologetic look. “I just can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something important, you know? And I know for sure that Arashi’s at the heart of all this!”

“You know, or you think?” Erenville’s golden gaze pinned Wuk Lamat with a half-lidded stare. “You should know better than now not to let your past life colour your perceptions. She isn’t running around calling herself the Warrior of Light this time around.”

“Look,” Wuk Lamat began, only for the words to fail her. She settled for a frustrated growl instead. “I just… I need to know, one way or the other, okay? So if you learn anything, anything at all, please tell me!” That way I can either rest easy or figure out how to beat some sense into her. “Hey, wait a second.”

“What is it now?” Erenville’s affected disdain suddenly grew brittle.

“You only call me Lamaty’i when you’re hiding something from me!” Erenville froze, his eyes jerking between Wuk Lamat and the door. The door which Wuk Lamat had stopped pacing right in front of. “What’s really going on, Erenville?”

The sudden pounding of a heavy fist against the door had both of them jumping. “Hey, kitty cat! You got someone asking after you!” Betool Ja’s gravelly voice hammered through the door.

Of all the times… Wuk Lamat glanced at Erenville, but he appeared just as surprised as she was. A great deal more relieved, sure, but at the very least he hadn’t set up this little distraction. Wuk Lamat turned to the door, frowning through the wood at her unexpected visitor. “Well, tell them I’m busy! I’m having an important discussion here!”

“You think I didn’t try that? Look, the old man won’t take no for an answer and I have better things to do with my time than try to convince him, so get out here and talk to him already!”

Wuk Lamat hissed through her teeth and turned back to face Erenville. “Wait here, would you?” They both knew he wouldn’t, but… “I’ll be back soon.”

Betool Ja stuck around just long enough to point Wuk Lamat at the “old man” who was looking for her before stalking out of the hotel. She needn’t have bothered, given he was the only roegadyn man in the lobby and was built like an ageing mountain besides, but it meant that Wuk Lamat could figure out what he was looking for all the quicker. She plastered on a friendly smile as she approached, making ready to greet him properly so she didn’t take him by surprise. She didn’t have to bother. The old man turned towards her the moment she approached, giving her a brilliant grin and gesturing for her to take the other available seat.

“There’s the woman of the hour! Congratulations on your performance! Few indeed can give Yotsuyu Naeuri that kind of scare, of that I can assure you.”

“Maybe, but it still wasn’t enough to beat her in the end.” Wuk Lamat took the offered seat and rested her head on steepled fingers as she examined the man in front of her. “So what was it you wanted to talk about?” First impressions suggested a jovial, friendly sort, nothing more than an old fan wishing to offer their congratulations and support. But Wuk Lamat had spent enough time in her last life gauging people’s intentions to know that there was more to him than just that. The fact that he had so clearly known she was coming was one thing, but his eyes spoke a great deal as well. The light of his smile didn’t quite reach them, and what lay within was… cold. Very, very cold. And very, very tired too.

The old man’s smile guttered out. “Your friend did say you were the straightforward type. To business, then. My name is Gosetsu Daito, a family friend of miss Washi. I understand you’ve been seeking her out to spar with, yes?” Wuk Lamat nodded. “I see. I’d feared as much. In that case, I must deliver a warning. I have reason to believe that she is dabbling in matters far more dangerous than she is capable of handling. I have tried in my own way to have her end this foolishness, but my words have fallen on deaf ears.”

“You’re talking about the regulator, aren’t you?” Wuk Lamat saw her guess hit its mark in the way the Gosetsu frowned.

“That is correct.” Gosetsu seemed to deflate a little with the admission, but he quickly regained his composure. “That you know that much tells me that you’ve done some digging of your own. We should speak more on this, but not here.” Gosetsu glanced around the bustling lobby. “I have accommodations not far from here. Would you care to join me?”

Wuk Lamat thought of Erenville, likely counting the seconds before he could make a quiet escape. She thought of Gemma, who had requested her presence to share some news of her own once Wuk Lamat was done speaking with Erenville. Then she thought of Arashi, who was almost certainly hiding something and didn’t trust Wuk Lamat enough to share it. This might be my best chance to understand what’s really going on.

“Alright, lead the way. But if this is a trap…”

Gosetsu chuckled gently as he rose from his seat. “I assure you, I have only Arashi’s and your best interests at heart.” He didn’t wait for a response before making his way out of the lobby, trusting Wuk Lamat to follow.

With a steadily rising heartbeat, Wuk Lamat let him lead her.

---

“I assume you have some sort of plan,” Yotsuyu said far too late.

“Of course!” Arashi replied over her shoulder, too pre-occupied with hacking away a particularly stubborn plant with her sword-turned-machete to give Yotsuyu her full attention. “Most of one, anyway.”

“Most of one.”

“Look, do you have a plan to face an incredibly powerful Ancient who is not only knows your every move but actively guided you towards learning them in the first place?”

“Yes,” Yotsuyu replied. “I would run far, far away and do as little as possible to attract her attention. As you are intent on doing the opposite, I foolishly assumed you had something more than wretched optimism and naivety on your side. Clearly I was wrong to do so.”

“You’re welcome to go back to the hotel any time, you know!” Arashi spun around, machete still in hand, glaring with all the affronted belligerence of someone who knows she is wrong and will not admit it.

“Not without you.” Yotsuyu’s eyes met Arashi’s and dared her to argue it. When Arashi did not, Yotsuyu smirked. “Tell me of your scrap of a plan, then, so that I may know when it inevitably goes awry.”

“It’s simple,” Arashi replied warily. “I’m going to try and talk to her first. Make sure she understands I don’t mean her any harm. See if I can’t make this a conversation instead of a fight. And if that doesn’t work…” Arashi gave Yotsuyu a grim smile. “I suppose we’ll see first-hand just how rusty I’ve gotten since I was at my peak. And you will use that opening to run far, far away-”

“I will not abandon you to-”

“LET ME FINISH. You will run far, far away and alert Haurchefant and Thancred to what’s going on. And if you can’t find them, you drag Wuk Lamat out here by the scruff of her neck instead. They’ll be enough to even the odds, even if I don’t want them getting involved in all this.”

“I see.” So you haven’t entirely taken leave of your senses. But... Yotsuyu’s gaze strayed to her bag, to the blade and the regulator within.

“No. Don’t even think about it.” Arashi’s cold iron tone snapped Yotsuyu’s head back up to the au ra’s face. “The Venat I knew underestimated her strength to a terrifying degree and considered collateral damage an afterthought. It’s dangerous enough that you’re coming at all. The moment you make her consider you a threat is the moment she’ll destroy you without a second thought. Don’t give her the excuse.” Arashi’s composure broke in a single, horrible word. “Please.”

That you would look upon the woman with such pain when you once cut her down with barely a flicker of emotion. Such a strange sense of humour, this world has. Yotsuyu looked away, turning her attention back to the undergrowth in front of them. “We’re wasting time. We are not far from the meeting place, yes?” Arashi nodded, still staring at Yotsuyu with such naked worry. “Then let us continue. Cut our path forward, would you? I have no intention of wasting my entire day on this madness.”

Arashi’s gaze lingered on Yotsuyu a moment longer, then… “Alright.” The au ra turned her attention back to the tangle of leaves in front of them. This time her machete made short work of the foliage, giving them a clear way forward in a labyrinth of green. Yotsuyu was simply thankful they would not have to return the way they came. The advantage of marrying a woman whose aether ran as deep as an ocean was that teleporting to and fro was child’s play before her. Assuming she doesn’t use up all that aether in the chaos. Yotsuyu’s fingers crossed of their own accord to ward away the sudden spike of cold that slid into her core.

The remainder of their battle through the forest was a silent affair, punctuated only by their footsteps and Arashi’s noises of exertion in her battle with the undergrowth. The Warrior of Light had come to the fore in full force now, and she had little interest in wasting her energy on pointless chatter. Which, unfortunately, gave Yotsuyu time to think of other things. Like the lack of her faithful shadow, the absence of Lyse’s bubbly chatter, the way Kasumi didn’t quietly nudge her and reaffirm her love in a single look. They’ll be fine. They have to be. All three of them knew Yotsuyu would never forgive them if they failed to come back alive, and she would voice that displeasure all the way to the Aetherial Sea if she had to.

She didn’t notice Arashi suddenly stop until she bashed into the au ra’s tail. Arashi was standing stock still, staring into the clearing they were about to cut their way into. The clearing where a woman sat on a clearly prepared chair in front of a finely cut wooden table set up with dining finery. A woman with snow-white hair and rapturously blue eyes, sipping out of a mug without a hint of concern. Arashi’s whispered name was hardly necessary, but it brought the situation into sharp relief all the same.

“Venat.”

“You can come out, Arashi.” The last living Ancient didn’t even look up from her cup. “You hardly made your arrival subtle, after all.”

Arashi sucked in a sharp breath, tension oozing out of her frame, before slashing a path through the final layer of leaves between her and her fateful confrontation. “I’m not here to fight you, Venat!” Arashi declared as she shunted her way into the glade.

“Really?” Venat put down her crockery with exaggerated care, then rose from her seat. While she was by no means a giant, she was still a good head taller than Arashi and Yotsuyu, and her gaze made those few inches matter all the more as she took one step, two steps, three steps and was suddenly standing in front of them. “That’s a pity. You should have thought of that before you set an Ascian and an ancient robot on my trail.”

Quicker than thought Venat’s hand snapped out, grabbed Arashi by the collar, twisted and threw the au ra out the other end of the clearing and through several trees. In a blink Venat rushed after the rapidly dwindling Arashi, leaving Yotsuyu alone. For a moment she simply stood, dumbfounded, at the sudden eruption of violence in front of her. Then coherent thought slammed back into place and she was running, bursting into the glade proper, desperate to catch up to Arashi and her assailant, desperate to do something, anything to-

She wasn’t going anywhere. A rough hand gripped her by the collar, lifting her several inches off the ground. She whirled in panic and fury to see a massive auri male standing directly behind her and looking distinctly unimpressed. He was an older man, judging by the amount of scales that covered his chin and jaw, dark of scale and skin but with piercing green eyes and graced with a fiery mane of burning red hair that went down past his shoulders.

“Leave them to their fun,” the man demanded, his voice barely more than a bass rumble but still carrying a tone of complete authority Yotsuyu found hard to ignore. “Even I would struggle to halt their clash, and I command power far beyond you, little lily.”

“And just who exactly are you?” Yotsuyu spat, sudden fury lending strength to her struggles to break free of her sudden captor.

“I have gone by many names,” the man replied. He stared at the au-ra-shaped hole in the woods as he spoke, as though Yotsuyu was not worthy of his direct attention. “Last of the Dragonstar. Dread foe of Omega. Father of Dragons. Keeper of the Lake. But my name, mortal, is Midgardsormr. You would do well to remember it.”

Notes:

Local reincarnated Primal-turned-pro-racer not so tough when faced with the last Ancient and the Father of Dragons.

You know, you'd think having a week off would make it easier to write, not harder. But between fighting off the flu and rolling through the new patch, it's been a time and a half to put words to paper! But it's sorted now, and I'm rather pleased with how it turned out.

Oh, I also saw Superman today with the wife. Damn good movie. Recommend it if you need a shot of hope right now.

Chapter 47: Confrontation

“ Venat, I’m not here to-”

CLANG!

“Just listen to me for-”

CLANG!

“Will you just-”

CLANG!

“FINE! If you’re going to be an arse about this!” Arashi’s blade took on a familiar weight, slow and heavy and made for great swings and heft blows. The same weapon she’d wielded against Venat, against Hydaelyn , all those many years ago.

“Finally,” Venat muttered, then rushed in with a crystalline blade of her own. Arashi’s sword met Venat’s, but this time instead of simply fending the Ancient off Arashi went on the offensive, catching her off-guard with a blast of magic to her side. Venat’s grunt and sudden back-step was about as much acknowledgement of the hit that Arashi was going to get, but she wasn’t about to rest on her laurels just yet. Her blade changed again, becoming longer, slimmer, a curved blade with a wicked edge that took advantage of Venat’s sudden back-pedalling to carve across her chest.

Or it would have done, had it not met with a sudden magical shield that flung both sword and sword arm back in a wildly flailing motion. Venat was quick to take advantage, her own blade flicking out and aiming directly for Arashi’s chest. A hastily conjured shield blunted the worst of the damage, but Arashi was still left hissing with sudden pain as the sword struck home. Venat didn’t keep up the momentum, however, instead allowing Arashi to regain her footing with a confident smile.

One point apiece, then. Alright.

Arashi was the first to move, rushing in with a low cut aimed at Venat’s legs. Her blade met staff, however, as sword and shield melted into a long, white rod that immediately lashed out at Arashi’s face. She leapt back just far enough to avoid the sudden blast of pure aether, though the suddenly singed patch of grass suffered in her stead. Match range with range. Try and knock the staff loose. Force her to yield and then talk properly. Her katana elongated further, thickening in the process to become a spear. Her first true weapon, one she’d wielded since childhood before putting it away after the Dragonsong War. She half-expected to find it unwieldy, too clunky and cumbersome in hands too used to swords.

Instead it felt like an old friend. The old forms came to Arashi without prompting, finding the gaps in Venat’s defences like a needle punching through cloth and forcing the Ancient into a more defensive stance. More importantly it kept her from casting any more spells, denying her the bulk of her strength as Arashi hounded and chased her.

But Venat was crafty enough to see a way out, and suddenly her staff was gone, she was gone, sending Arashi stumbling forward and turning too late to avoid a chakram slashing across her cheek. Her spear caught the other, however, knocking it off into the woods with a dull clang that painfully rang through Arashi’s arms.

“Is this the best you can do?” Venat called out. Her chakrams melted back into her hands as she bounced from one foot to the other. A war stance if ever there was one. “Surely the years haven’t dulled you that badly. Show me what you’re truly capable of!”

“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t want to fight you before you’ll listen?” Arashi shot back. Her exasperation and stress were getting the better of her, egged on by the ache in her forearms and the sting from the cut that Venat’s chakram had gouged into her cheek.

“I’m not interested in empty words! You should know that by now. You sought me out, now show me you’re worthy of my attention!”

“Worthy of your-!?” Arashi didn’t have time to finish the rest of her disbelieving echo. Venat’s words had obfuscated her footwork, and suddenly a rush of dynamis-infused aether crashed into Arashi. All of a sudden her whole body felt sluggish and slow, her mind struggled to comprehend the situation, she felt a terrible malaise overtaking her. Then her own aether surged against it, fought it off, returned her strength to her. Arashi saw Venat nod approvingly. A warning shot. A test. Always a bloody test. Fine then. Let’s show you something you haven’t seen before, shall we?

Her spear flickered, morphed, split apart in her hands. The narrow pole became a part of short, curved swords, the guards lined with feathers and the blades speckled with gold. The form her weapon had taken as she faced the dread Valigarmanda. A pair of fangs worthy of the great serpent . Arashi darted forward at incredible speed, the only trace of her being a flicker of blue flame before she crashed directly into Venat. The Ancient’s attempted counter-attack flew wide as Arashi flickered out of sight, re-appearing at Venat’s side and scoring a clean cut across her side. One more point for me. But Arashi was far from finished. Another blink, another cut. Again. Again. Again. She could see from the snatched glimpses of Venat’s face that her efforts were bearing fruit. Pain, surprise, acknowledgement. It’s working! If I can just wear her down a little more, I can-

Arashi hadn’t been watching Venat’s footwork. She hadn’t seen the subtle steps, hadn’t noticed the slow build of aether. When it was unleashed, it caught Arashi square in the chest as she re-appeared, sending her flying upwards with a gasp of shock and agony. She landed hard on the forest floor, momentarily stunned and taking in ragged gulps of air. Her aether ran wild trying to repair the damage done, un-breaking ribs, sealing cuts, easing bruises. She staggered to her feet again, only to get caught by another blast of raw aether that sent her stumbling back.

“Alright, you’ve had your fun. Now comes the real test.” Venat’s staff pulsed with terrible light. Her cuts and gashes had already healed, even the fabric of her clothing repairing itself as if she’d been through nothing more than a vigorous stroll through the forest. Her gaze was disappointed, disinterested, dismissive. It made Arashi’s blood boil. It made her heart beat cold.

Arashi gritted her teeth, wiped away some blood from her mouth, gave her apparently unfazed opponent a hard stare. She’s going to kill me if I don’t end this soon. Arashi could feel the dynamis thrumming around her, willing her to keep fighting, to keep persisting against this force of nature in the form of a woman. So she did what came naturally and called to it, let it fill her body with vitality and force, let her aether bubble and boil with newfound determination.

All or nothing. Here we go.

Arashi charged.

---

Arashi crashed back into the clearing in a bloody, broken heap.

Her aether sputtered, sparked, failed to repair enough of the damage to allow her to stand again. She was vaguely aware of Yotsuyu screaming her name, of a strangely familiar voice demanding clemency, but all she could focus on was the piercing gaze of the Ancient who had so thoroughly trounced her as she walked through the path of devastation Arashi’s body had cleared.

“I’m okay,” Arashi attempted to say. Instead what came out was an agonised cough and a dribble of blood. It diminished her attempt at reassuring her wife somewhat.

The pulse of aether that crashed into her body and began ruthlessly stitching her back together was almost as painful as the injuries themselves, but by the time it was over Arashi was able to breathe without difficulty again. Still unsteady, she pushed herself to her feet and faced Venat, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the au ra’s face even as she had healed Arashi’s various wounds. The Ancient’s gaze was magnetic, drawing Arashi’s eyes to her and holding them in a vice grip. It was only when Yotsuyu crashed into Arashi’s vision with knife in hand and regulator attached to her head that the effect was broken.

“Yotsuyu, don’t-!” Arashi began, but by that point it was far too late. With a pulse of aether Yotsuyu’s body transformed and a massive bat-creature stood in her place, fangs bared and claws flexing.

“You will not touch her.” Yotsuyu’s voice echoed strangely from her throat, but the fierce hatred was all too familiar. Venat raised an eyebrow but otherwise did not react. But she also didn’t move any closer to Arashi or her monstrous protector.

“Why are you holding back?” Venat’s voice brought Arashi’s attention back to the Ancient. “You’re stronger than this. You and I both know that. Hells below, I can feel it still. Why do you refuse to actually try?”

“Refuse to…” What? “I wasn’t refusing to do a damned thing! You were the one who attacked me out of nowhere and demanded I fight back! All I’ve been trying to do is get you to calm down and talk to me, but you only seem to want me to fight for my life!”

Venat sighed and took a single step forward, prompting Yotsuyu to flare her wings and hiss. “So it’s not a conscious effort, then. I thought as much, but… You really don’t like making anything easy for yourself, do you?” Another step. Yotsuyu made ready to pounce, only stopped by Arashi suddenly wrapping her arms around her wife’s waist. “Out of the way, please. I’d rather not hurt you if I don’t have to.”

“You. Will. Not. TOUCH HER!” Yotsuyu’s words became a horrific scream, causing Arashi to let go and clutch at her horns. It was all the opportunity Yotsuyu needed. With a sudden rush of air she sprang forward, claws raised, ready to rend Venat apart, to-

“THAT IS ENOUGH, CHILDREN OF MAN.”

Arashi felt an almost insurmountable pressure forcing her to her knees. Yotsuyu fell out of the air like a stone and struggled to rise. Even Venat let go of her carefully concentrated aether and turned to the source of the command. A male au ra of prodigious size and presence rose from the table and stalked into the middle of the fray, staring at each woman in turn.

“That is enough. You have your answer, Venat. Accept it.”

“This is not your fight, Midgardsormr! Allow me to-”

“You forget who it was who guided that one to break your limits in the first place. You will achieve nothing by pushing her further. Enough.”

Midgardsormr… Arashi’s confusion melted away into stark, terrible understanding. Oh gods, of course she summoned the Father of Dragons for reinforcements. If Arashi could do much more than stand on unsteady feet she’d be laughing herself sick. This was a mistake. I should never have bullied Nabriales into looking for her in the first place.

For a moment it seemed Venat was willing to ignore the great dragon’s warning, but then her staff vanished in a rush of aether and she sighed wearily. “Very well. You wanted to talk, Arashi? Let us talk, then. I am rather curious that you chose to seek me out, I will admit.” She didn’t even glance at Yotsuyu’s still-struggling form as she lightly stepped over to the table, taking a seat on the far end and gesturing for Arashi to join her.

Arashi ignored Venat, instead rushing to Yotsuyu’s side and helping her up. Midgardsormr’s aether-infused pressure had cut off the flow of aether to the regulator, returning Yotsuyu back to her proper form. “Are you alright?” Arashi asked, her concern suddenly breaking through to the forefront.

“Am I…?” Yotsuyu barked a bitter laugh. “You get thrown through the nearest tree, return half-dead and coughing up blood, then have the gall to ask me if I’m alright?” She laughed again, only for it to break into a choked sob. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Sorry,” Arashi murmured. A poor response, but it was all she could manage. Yotsuyu’s hands gripped tighter around her all the same. Together the pair helped each other to the table, taking the two seats furthest away from Venat. Midgardsormr took the last, watching the others for any indication that the fragile peace might be shattered.

“So. First things first,” Venat addressed the table. “Would anyone like something to eat or drink? Arashi, I know you’re going to say no but I’m not accepting that. You just got beaten within an inch of your life and you need the energy. Yotsuyu, make sure she actually eats, would you?”

Yotsuyu stared at Venat, then at Arashi. “Is she… always like this?” the hyur asked in a low tone. Arashi caught Midgardsormr smirk out of the corner of her eye, but he wisely kept his silence.

“Tsuyu, I knew her all of three days before she became a god when I travelled to the past, and most of that was spent chasing down a rogue creation. Your guess is as good as mine.”

She didn’t refuse the flask of water or the coffee biscuits that were offered, however. She wasn’t stupid.

Venat waited until Arashi was halfway through her third biscuit before speaking again. “You sent one of my ancient enemies after me. Why?”

“I never-!” Arashi attempted to speak, only to wind up coughing and hacking as a bit of biscuit caught in her throat. “I never sent Nabriales to hurt you. Just to find you and tell me where you could be found.”

“Why?” Venat repeated. Her eyes might as well have been carved from crystal for all the warmth they held.

“Why? Because you’re alive and Unsundered! And apparently keeping an eye on me too! I wanted to see you again! I wanted to understand how this happened and how long you’ve been watching me! I…” Arashi paused, not wanting to speak the rest of the words that sat patiently on her tongue.

“Go on,” Venat prompted, a subtle change in her gaze letting the emotion back in.

“I… I wanted to know if you could have done anything to save them.” It sounded so pathetic to say it aloud, but… “I wanted to know if you knew what Athena was planning. And why you didn’t do anything to stop her if you did.” She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come out. Her throat was too thick.

“Oh, you poor thing…” Venat’s gaze softened completely, looking at Arashi with much more motherly concern. “All this time I thought your sister had told you about me, but you had no idea, did you? I’m sorry. Seems this has all been a big misunderstanding.”

“I did warn you,” Midgardsormr rumbled, “That rushing in with the assumption of impending violence would only lead to misery.”

“As I recall, your exact words were, ‘This is a remarkably stupid idea and you will regret it the moment you realise how wrong you were.’” Venat’s tone was dry and full of self-deprecation as she added, “Which is why it’s all the more galling to admit that you were right.” She turned back to Arashi with a gentle sigh. “To answer your questions, I had no idea of the threat you faced until I felt your sister’s distress through the dynamis the night before she confronted Athena. I still don’t know whether she was fed a vision by Athena or whether she awakened to the Echo, but I reached out to help her make sense of it. If I had known earlier, I would have done something to stop her. You have my word on that.”

“What were you doing, then, if you were so blind to that monster?” Yotsuyu found her voice again, angry on Arashi’s behalf and half-hysterical from her own fears. “You allowed her to fester and corrupt so many while you did what? Decide on the best ways to almost kill the woman I love? Consort with dragons and who knows what else? Answer me!”

“I was busy living my life,” Venat replied. “My soul and body were only reformed around thirty years ago. My first priority was trying to understand how it had happened at all. My second was seeing the world I gave everything to protect. And then I met Merlwyb and one thing led to another and… Well, I’ve not returned to Ilsabard in quite some time.” Venat’s eyes flickered back to Arashi. “I assume I have you to thank for this second chance?”

“I… I think so, yes. That’s what everyone seems to believe, anyway. I- The old me, that is, made a wish on her deathbed for the people I’d crossed paths with to have another chance at life. And with so many people gathered to mourn me, it seems like the dynamis picked up on that, and… Well. Here we are.”

“Here we are…” Venat scoffed. “You truly are Cassandra’s successor, aren’t you? Not even stopping to think about the consequences of your actions before you leap into doing them.”

“On that we can agree,” Yotsuyu muttered, earning a tearful glare from Arashi.

“Be gentle,” Midgardsormr cautioned with his bass rumble, sounding more like the slow movement of a mountain than a person. “It is abundantly clear that she has suffered much since learning these truths.” The dragon-made-man turned his weighty gaze upon Arashi, who instinctively stiffened at being his sole focus. “I am given to understand that Vrtra was the one who imparted this truth upon you. I apologise for my child’s reckless actions. He really should know better at his age.”

Of all the things Arashi had expected, an apology from the eldest living dragon was not it. “Apology… accepted? By the kami, this is all too much. I think… I don’t even know what to think any more.” Arashi laughed a high, brittle laugh, then turned to Yotsuyu. “And here I am dragging you into my messes again and forcing you to use that damned regulator and scaring you half to death again and oh gods I think I’m going to cry”

Yotsuyu caught Arashi as she tumbled forward in a heap, suddenly boneless and unable to do much more than sob from emotional and physical exhaustion. The hyur’s eyes were rimmed with red as well, but she maintained her composure as Arashi lost hers. Venat, at least, had the decency to look chagrined as the woman she had once lifted up to become Warrior of Light wept in the arms of the woman she had once cut down. Yotsuyu cared far less about the poetry of it all and far more about boring a hole into the white-haired woman’s skull with her glare.

Venat and Midgardsormr exchanged a glance as Arashi began to recover herself. “I think we had better have a proper talk about everything that’s happened up until now, but not today.” Venat’s pitch was far gentler than Arashi had ever heard it, but it sparked a certain sense of familiarity all the same. “You still have some time before your next race, yes? I’ll arrange something proper with you, then. Merlwyb’s been asking after you as well. Might as well re-introduce you to her while we’re all on the same continent.”

“Alright,” Arashi sniffed, wiping away the last few stubborn tears before they could fall. “I think that would be best, but… I have one more question before we part ways.”

“I suspect I already know what you’re going to ask, but go ahead.”

“Nabriales and Omega? Are they…?”

Venat chuckled and shook her head. “They should be back in their little greenhouse by now. I let them off with a warning and a stolen phone so I could get in contact with you. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t hurt a friend of yours unless I had no choice in the matter. Even if you do have a strange taste in them these days…”

Yotsuyu, who had taken a break in furious looks to check on Arashi, went right back to work trying to kill Venat with her eyes alone. She likely would have added an acidic comment as well, but at that moment Arashi’s phone began to buzz in her pocket. For a miracle her clash with Venat hadn’t broken it into tiny pieces, but the screen was rather badly cracked as Arashi fished it out and answered the incoming call.

“Hello, this is Arashi. How can I-”

“Arashi! It’s Cid. No time to explain, but we need you and Yotsuyu at the garage as quick as you can. Zenos as well, if the bastard hasn’t already swanned off elsewhere.”

Arashi exchanged a wary glance with Yotsuyu. “Why, Cid? What’s happening?” Cid’s next words made Arashi’s blood run cold.

“Carosa’s decided to pay us a visit.”

Notes:

What Arashi expected: A brisk chat with the woman who was once God and a tearful reunion.
What Venat expected: Having to fight and possibly kill the dreaded Warrior of Light gone bad.
What Midgardsormr expected: A fucking headache.

At least one of them got what they were anticipating.

Next time, we get back to the Alexandria gang and their mess of relationship drama. Which one, you ask? Don't Worry About It.

Chapter 48: Reach

Of all the things Zenos expected when he and Sanda finally made their way to their room, Sanda flinging herself into his arms and burying her head in his chest was most decidedly not it.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m so so so sorry! I wouldn’t have said all that if we weren’t being watched but I had to throw them off somehow and I let it get way out of hand and that was so mean of me! Are you okay? I-”

“What, exactly, are you talking about?” Zenos could think of very little else to ask. Well, to be more exact he could think of a thousand, thousand things, but only one leapt to his tongue.

“Oh godsdammit you didn’t even see my code! I knew it was too subtle, I knew it, but I thought if I made the gesture bigger they’d see it too and now you must have thought I was just blowing up for no reason and uuuuuuugh I’m such a moron!” Sanda continued to make miserable noises for half a minute, leaving Zenos to stare bemusedly at the far wall and absent-mindedly stroke her hair. It seemed to help, at least enough for Sanda to detach her face from his pectoral muscles. “Okay. So.”

“You believed we were being observed by enemy agents and so construed a false conflict to ward us from their gaze.”

“Um. Yeah. That.”

It should have been relieving. A weight off his heart. And yet…

“That isn’t to say I’m not worried about all that stuff I said, you know?” Sanda’s all-too-serious eyes stared up at him, her grip around his sides tightening just a little more. “But I’m not about to go ditching you over it. So, um… Yeah. Sorry. I should-”

“I agree with your words, however. You should leave. I am not worthy of your time and energy. There are a thousand, thousand other men and women who would value you the way you should be valued, who do not struggle with a rabid beast at their core. You-”

Sanda’s hand found his lips and slapped itself directly over them. “Merciful kami, why do I always wind up falling for the morons who think they can protect me by sending me away?” Sanda used her other hand to jab Zenos hard in the ribs. “Look, big guy, I chose you. I pestered and I pleaded and I poked you into accepting your feelings for me in the first place. I’m not about to turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble, okay? Not any more. So… talk to me. Help me understand what’s going on with you and we’ll figure out how to fix it. Or make it better, or live with it, or… whatever.”

Zenos looked down at Sanda, then at her hand still covering his mouth.

“Oh, right.” The hand fell away. “Sorry. Go on.”

It would have been so easy to say nothing. To let her mire in ignorance and protect her from the bloodthirsty beast inside of him. Even thinking of it brought it to the fore, that horrible drive to commit violence, the urge to have it done to him in turn. To burn the candle of his life until he either burned his opponent to ash or burned out himself. But looking at the sincerity in her eyes, the sheer unyielding determination, he found the words he was afraid to give voice to. He told her of the battle in the cave, of how her sister and her opponent sang a hymn that Zenos suddenly longed to lend his voice to, how he had felt the dynamis around him twist and distort in response to those desires, how the grey kept it all at bay just a little more, how badly it wanted to-

“Okay. Um. That’s a lot to take in. I… really hoped we’d beaten that out of you when we dealt with Athena, but I guess that was too much to hope for.”

“You are unsafe around me. The beast within longs to provoke your sister into a battle that will scorch our souls alight. It will use you without a second thought to accomplish this. It will hurt you. I will hurt you. Do not make me commit such a heinous- What are you doing?”

Sanda had already shrugged off her heavy coat, letting it fall carelessly around her ankles, and now she was fiddling with the buttons of her shirt. It was obvious she was having some difficulty with her trembling hands, but she refused to break eye contact with Zenos as one button, two, three all eventually came undone. With a shrug the shirt fell away from her shoulders, revealing her collarbone and bra. With this accomplished Sanda snatched Zenos’s hand and pressed it hard against her chest.

“Feel it,” Sanda demanded. “Feel how fast my heart is beating.”

It was hammering hard against Zenos’s palm, a frenzied rhythm that was matched by Sanda’s shallow breaths.

“I’m alone. Unarmed. Half-undressed now. I am wholly, completely at your mercy. You know it. I sure as hell know it. So do it. Hurt me like you keep warning me you’ll do if I don’t run away. Make me regret choosing to share a bed with you.”

“I… I will not.” Zenos could feel his own heart starting to hammer in turn, could feel the grey dissolving away as the rush of blood coloured his world red instead.

“Why not?”

“Because I do not want to,” Zenos replied in a husky huff of breath. “I would sooner put a blade through my own heart.”

“But you can’t control it, right? That horrible beast in you? It’ll rob you of control at any moment, won’t it?”

“It…” Zenos began, only to pause. The beast was… silent. It should have been howling, baying for blood to be spilled, for glorious violence to be committed in the name of finally, finally satisfying the void in his soul. And yet, with Sanda standing in front of him, practically daring him to strike and force her to defend herself, it… guttered out. It failed. Why?

“You’re not a monster, Zenos.” Sanda took a single step closer, tilting her head to keep holding his gaze. “And you’re not a coward either. Stop acting like one. You’re holding the leash, not the other way around. You just need to keep a good grip on it.” Another step. She was hot, Zenos realised, his palm flaring with the heat of her skin. Her face had gone red, as if suddenly embarrassed at her shameless display, but her eyes… Those eyes held him like nothing else could. He could drown in them. He was laid bare before them. He wanted to be devoured by that gaze.

He realised that it was not the beast driving his body, but something deeper, something purer. A hunger for something more than base violence and hollow victories.

“You are… Dangerous.” The words were a struggle to get out. He wanted to do away with words, to let his hands and lips and tongue communicate what his mind failed to even grasp at.

“You finally figured it out, huh?” Her tongue flicked between her lips. It almost broke Zenos’s composure entirely. She stretched, flung her arms around his neck, pulled herself up until her eyes were level with his. “What are you going to do about it, then?”

Zenos answered, but not with his words. He was far beyond them. Sanda’s giddy laugh and legs locking around his groin told him all he needed to know in response.

They just about made it to the bed.

---

The bed was a prison. Her body was the sentence. The more Yugiri strained to regain her strength, the more that sentence was extended through fits of agony that left her blacked out against the sheets. Realistically she knew that the only thing she could do was rest, let the steady stream of aether being pumped into her body do its healing work and repair the damage done, but she had never felt so trapped in her life.

I have to get better. Yotsuyu is counting on me. A mantra she repeated through the excruciating pain. A mantra that kept her from screaming in frustration at how slow her recovery was. If Tender were here, she’d have me up and about within minutes. Then I’d be able to-

To do what, exactly? Sneak around and look for clues? Even if her every move wasn’t going to be watched from here on out, she didn’t have the knowledge of the building she needed to ferret out its hidden areas, and to start doing so now would take far too long. Get revenge against Scorpienne? A laughable task with her body in such a state, even if Tender was around to heal the worst of it. That, and Kasumi’s words kept rattling in Yugiri’s skull. And Kasumi’s face. And her voice. And her-

I truly am losing my mind. I need to get out of here quickly before I fall to madness entirely.

Which led directly back to her physical state. Yugiri groaned, her head hitting pillows that absorbed the back of her skull, horns and all, in a feathery embrace. Her tail slapped the mattress in irritation, one of the few things she could move without pain. For all the good it does me. Short of venting her frustrations against the bed with it, she could do very little else without risking the rest of her body protesting. Leaving her to the agonising boredom and isolation again.

Yugiri turned to her side, away from the closest wall so she could see the rest of her room again. It sent another chill of pain through her to do so, but she ignored it. Not that her victory gave her much of a prize. The rest of the room was barren of anything she hadn’t seen before. Except…

A scrap of paper lay on the chair beside the bed. Eutrope must have dropped it earlier when she left. Except that the paper looked too carefully placed to have been left there by accident. It had even been folded in such a way that its contents could not be seen. Curiosity suddenly burned brightly within her. What did you intend for me to discover that you could not tell me yourself?

There was just one problem. The chair was just slightly out of reach. If Yugiri wanted the information contained on that scrap, she’d have to put her body through hell for it.

It was no choice at all. Yugiri had put herself through worse to get the information her comrades in the Doman Liberation Front needed to survive in another time, another life. Yugiri shifted and shuffled until she was at the edge of the bed… and reached.

The pain almost knocked her unconscious. Yugiri felt herself going faint, felt her mind falling away from the sheer, unrelenting agony. She had to stop, to fall back against the bed with a choked, frustrated sob. Time lost all meaning as she lay, staring at the wall and willing the pain to recede. An eternity later it did so.

And so Yugiri tried again.

And again.

And again.

I will not let you get the better of me. Not now. Not ever.

It took a full dozen attempts to finally snatch the paper from the chair, and by the time Yugiri regained her composure from the excruciation she put herself through she had almost forgotten why she had been trying so hard to grab it in the first place. It had become nothing more than a symbol by the end, a triumph over her body’s limitations and the prison Scorpienne had left her in. But as the thrill of victory faded and the pain of her over-stressed body passed, the paper remained.

Yugiri opened it, read through it, and felt her heart drop through the floor.

“Under no circumstances are you to activate your regulator and channel your feral soul. Doing so would mean your certain death, and I will not lose such a promising candidate. Do not disappoint me.”

She didn’t have to guess at who it referred to. Quite how Eutrope had come into possession of the note was one thing, but she must have known it was Kasumi’s or she’d never have left it for Yugiri to find. And Kasumi didn’t tell me.

Somehow that was what hurt the most. Am I truly so untrustworthy that you would bury this rather than bare it for us all to see? Why? What did I do wrong?

She was still clutching the paper when the door creaked open. “Yugiri?” Kasumi’s voice. “Oh good, you’re awake. Listen, we need to…” She trailed off. No doubt staring at the scrap of paper gripped in Yugiri’s shaking hands.

“Talk?” Yugiri could barely whisper from the pain and confusion and sheer, unrelenting exhaustion. “Yes. We do.”

---

Breakfast with Alisaie the morning after was a slightly awkward affair, but Sanda didn’t particularly care.

The fact that she couldn’t quite walk straight certainly helped, but seeing Zenos taking his medication again, even if it was still half the proper dosage, was the far greater victory. It would take more than a single night of passion and reaffirmation to win the war, but it was a victory nonetheless. A step in the right direction. A step Sanda realised she’d been craving for some time.

It felt right to fight for that progress. Truly, truly right in a way that nothing really had before. And while the realisation that came with it was slightly terrifying, it was something she felt ready to confront.

I think I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Huh.

Sanda resolved to have a talk with her sister about what that probably meant. She has two wives and a girlfriend she’s crazy about. She’ll know if it’s for real or not.

“So, lovebirds,” Alisaie asked through a mouthful of jam on toast, “What’s our plan for the day?”

“The palace,” Zenos replied blandly after he had meticulously cleared his plate. “It may be closed to visitors, but I would observe it all the same. The design of the building itself fascinates me.” Alisaie stifled a chuckle, prompting the massive blonde to raise a single eyebrow. “Does something amuse you?”

“Of all the incredible things you could see in this Reflection – the canal system running halfway through Alexandria, the mountain that became the last refuge from the Storm Surge, the electrope museum… You want to look at a building . Because you admire its design .”

“Yes,” Zenos responded with the straightest face Sanda had ever seen. “My grandfather was an architect. Some of his lessons resonated with me. I have the desire to put them into practice.”

“Cut him some slack,” Sanda interjected before Alisaie could needle him further. “He just had his big important meeting cancelled at the last minute. He’s earned a chance to go stare at some domes or whatever.”

“Your willingness to engage in my passions is heartening,” Zenos said. It was next-to-impossible to tell if he was actually being genuine or not, leaving Sanda to squint suspiciously. Tricky bastard…

To an outside observer their conversation would seem nothing more than pleasant conversation between three friends, all of whom were enamoured by the Reflection they had chosen to visit. But in truth they had rehearsed it all through linkpearl the night before, knowing that in all likelihood Nerva and Carosa’s agents were watching out for any who might mean to stand against them. Especially since they had made their intention to visit the palace none-too-subtle the evening before...

It took all of a few minutes after they left the hotel before Sanda felt eyes on her. Their observers were subtle, she was happy to admit that, but every so often she caught a glimpse of the same dark coat turning a corner ahead of them, or the same woman reading the same page of her book in several different shop windows. Going to have to shake them eventually. Their plan hinged on having a few minutes away from prying eyes. But if this kept up they’d have to take more drastic action.

Their observers grew less and less subtle the closer they got to the palace. More than once Sanda caught the eye of one of them, having to force herself to break their gaze with a shy smile when all she really wanted was to hold their attention until they broke first. This is no good, being out in the open like this. We need to get into an alley, lose them in the side-streets, cut them down when they-

I’m not a killer. I’m not. Sanda shook the thought loose, screwing her eyes shut until the horrible feeling faded. Despite the sun beaming down with all its feeble autumnal strength she couldn’t help but shiver. Was the other me truly so comfortable taking lives? I didn’t even stop to think of another way.

A hand caught hold of Sanda’s wrist, pulling her forward. Sanda almost jerked away out of instinct before realising who it belonged to. “Everything alright?” Alisaie asked, frowning. Sanda nodded faintly, then again with a false smile.

“Just felt a little funny for a moment. Let’s keep moving.”

Alisaie obviously wasn’t convinced, and Zenos’s lips were curled into a grim frown as he waited a short distance ahead, but neither pushed Sanda on it. In a few moments the three became part of the crowd again, their momentary disturbance of its ebb and flow quickly forgotten by most. And for those few that tried to seek them out, Alisaie had a plan.

She hadn’t let go of Sanda’s wrist, and once the pair caught up with Zenos the Garlean’s hand was claimed as well. Alisaie shut her eyes and murmured something, apparently trusting Sanda and Zenos to keep leading her as she concentrated. Sanda did so, but not without a raised eyebrow in Zenos’s direction. His gentle shrug was the only movement in his mountainous frame, but then Sanda felt a sudden wave of cold rush over her as a burst of concentrated aether burst around them all.

“Perception alteration spell,” Alisaie explained once her eyes had opened again. “Should keep those prying eyes off us for a bit.”

“Remarkable,” Zenos murmured, pausing momentarily to examine himself. “But I note no difference in our forms. Not a glamouring technique, then?”

“Not quite,” Alisaie agreed with a grin. “While it doesn’t do anything to us per se, it makes people see us differently. They’ll look at a tiny au ra flanked by a gorgeous elezen and a hulking Garlean and see…” Alisaie paused for dramatic effect, clearly having waited to explain all of this for some time, “Somebody else’s problem!” She paused, looking from Zenos to Sanda before adding, “Just don’t do anything too suspicious. The spell only works so far.”

True to Alisaie’s word, the watchers set to mark the trio’s trail failed to see them in the crowd, becoming more and more agitated before finally breaking away to seek elsewhere. Sanda was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as they continued their journey to the palace, shortly arriving by its great golden gates alongside a gaggle of tourists who hadn’t yet heard the news. The beleaguered and sweltering palace guards began making a show of turning the unfortunates away, causing quite a commotion in the process.

They made a convenient smokescreen for the three of them to circle around the perimeter without being noticed, though if anyone had asked Alisaie she’d have said her spell did all the hard work. Thankfully, nobody did ask. It wasn’t long before the trio turned a corner and gate, guards and gaggle were swallowed by solid brick walls and vanished from sight.

“Alright,” Alisaie said with a nervous smile as she glanced up at the great wall looming over them. “Now comes the fun part. No telling what’s on the other side of this wall without sending one of us over it, and the moment we do I’m willing to bet all hell is going to break loose. So…” Alisaie fished through her pockets before snatching free a small leather pouch. “We are going to break it first!”

Oh, merciful kami, tell me that isn’t… “Alisaie?” Sanda asked aloud. “Is that a pouch of firesand?”

“Only a small one!” Alisaie hastily replied. She had the audacity to look hurt. “For emergencies, you know?”

“And what emergencies do you envision require the use of portable explosives to resolve?” Zenos inquired. He’d gone slightly pale, Sanda noticed, perhaps recalling previous interactions with Alisaie that were now being coloured by this new revelation.

“Well, this one for a start! Now listen, I’ve gotten pretty good at setting these fuses so we should have plenty of time to get away before it does its work. But that means we’re going to have to run. The moment this goes off, no perception altering spell in the world will be enough to save us if we get caught next to the hole this stuff will blow in the wall. The more distance we can cover, the better!” Before either of her companions could protest, Alisaie was already placing the pouch at the base of the wall and stepping back, holding a tiny length of black string in her hands. With a tiny spark she set the tip of it alight, then dropped it as the flame caught and began sprinting further along the wall. Sanda and Zenos hesitated for a single terrified moment before rushing after her, chased all the while by the urgent hiss of burning fuse.

Within a few moments all three had ducked around the next corner, waiting for the inevitable explosion to follow. And waiting. And waiting.

Alisaie furrowed her brow and made a confused noise in the back of her throat. “Strange, it’s supposed to have gone off by-”

BOOM!

A plume of smoke billowed out from around the corner, followed shortly by the shout of suddenly mobilised gate guards given something more interesting to do than tell tourists off. Alisaie’s cackle of triumph was, all things considered, wholly unearned, but that didn’t stop her from flashing a victorious grin at the other two before starting to scale the wall. She was about halfway up before twisting around to look down at Zenos and Sanda.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Get moving! That distraction won’t last long, you know!”

Sanda and Zenos exchanged a glance, both wondering in that moment just what in the seven hells Arashi saw in the madwoman who apparently soaked up danger like a sponge, before they began to climb as well.

It was that or face some very awkward questions the moment one of the guards thought to check around the corner.

Notes:

Alisaie, as usual, is a menace to society. I love her.

Also y'all can blame my wife for the het spice for once. For an ace woman she sure likes writing some HORNY nonsense, and this time some of it stuck on me.

Chapter 49: Offering

Gosetsu tried to ignore the ache in his bones as he lowered himself into the chair opposite the xbr’aal who almost matched him in height. Age was, slowly but surely, catching up to him, and though he prided himself on keeping in shape as long as he had, he could feel the weight of time pressing more and more heavily on him with every passing day. Still, he was spry enough to be able to set aside such minor nuisances without much trouble.

The ache in his heart, however…

This is for their own good. If I do not force their hands and have them drop this madness, Carosa will not stop with a single false bomb as a test of loyalty. I cannot cut them down, even if it should cost me the people I love.

“I apologise for the lack of refreshments,” Gosetsu said aloud. “Unfortunately I have only recently arrived in Kozama’uka, so I have no had time to gather any amenities. A poor act as a would-be host, I know.”

“It’s perfectly fine. Trust me, I know how hectic all this travelling can be. One time I forgot my axe back in Tuliyollal and it felt like I was missing a hand the whole time!” Wuk Lamat’s rueful grin was toothy indeed, a potent reminder to keep on her good side. Particularly given said axe was resting comfortably by the side of her chair.

Close quarters would make combat difficult for a weapon of that size. If violence becomes necessary… Disable her arms first. Neutralise axe and claws. Try and stay out of the reach of her teeth as well. Assume she’s been trained in the Warriors’ arts and strike decisively.

“So, what do you know about Arashi and Yotsuyu?” Wuk Lamat’s question took Gosetsu out of his thoughts. For a moment he found himself tensing, but there was no hint of a threat in her words, no intent to commit violence should he answer improperly. She thinks you are simply a family friend concerned for them. Remember your cover.

“Arashi I have known since she was a babe. Her parents and I were close friends for some time, though circumstances led to us drifting apart as time went on. It wasn’t until my daughter began courting Arashi when they were sixteen summers that we reforged those bonds. Ha! What a revelation that was, to see my daughter in the arms of the Washi family’s eldest!” His laugh boomed through the tiny hotel room, prompting a slight smile from Wuk Lamat in turn.

“After her parents’ tragic disappearance I checked in on her and her sister when I could, but before I knew it the little eagle had flown off to join the Eorzean Grand Prix.” Gosetsu shrugged his massive shoulders and grimaced. “When she finally decided to return home, she did so in the company of three other women. I chose not to pry too much into her private affairs, but… I wonder now if that may have been a mistake. Any one of them could have led her astray.”

“You seem awfully certain that she’s been led astray in the first place,” Wuk Lamat replied with a frown. “From everything I’ve seen of Arashi and her companions, they’re heroes who put a stop to a war, maybe even a Calamity! Whatever they’re doing with that regulator, I don’t think it’s evil. Just… misguided.”

Gosetsu took a moment or two to reconsider his avenue of attack. Not for the first time he cursed his lack of time, lack of proper research on the Turali racers. He’d made a mistake, playing on Wuk Lamat’s naivete and assuming it would outweigh her reason. But I can still work with that…

“Perhaps it is simply the fears of an old man speaking, then. I apologise. No offence was intended. But to see her gallivanting with such powers as regulators, I can only fear the worst.” Gosetsu dropped his gaze to the floor, clasping and unclasping his hands in a way he hoped appeared appropriately fretful for his dear friend’s foolish daughter.

“May I ask something?” Gosetsu glanced up to see Wuk Lamat frowning once again. “I’m sorry if this seems nosy, but… How exactly do you know about regulators in the first place? They’re not exactly common knowledge, even among Turali and Alexandrian historians.”

Perceptive. Worryingly so. If I spin her a tall tale she’ll see through it in an instant. The truth, then, painful as it is.

“My daughter ran afoul of them around three years ago.” But not the whole truth. “She was out in Tural on business, but she was… taken by a group of villains out in Xak Tural. I ventured across the Salt to save her, but I was too late to spare her from the ravages of Psychonekrosis. She would have died were it not for the tireless efforts of my current employer to synthesise a cure. In return for returning her to me, I vowed to assist him in ensuring no-one else’s daughter would suffer a similar fate.”

Wuk Lamat sat in shocked silence as she absorbed Gosetsu’s tale. He allowed her to digest it at her own pace, but he could already tell his words were overcoming her suspicions. The wideness of her eyes, the slight tremble in her hands, the way she looked at him as if truly seeing him for the first time. Finally, she asked:

“How did you find out that Arashi had one in the first place?”

“That… is a difficult tale to tell. Truth be told, I cannot say if it is mine to tell in the first place. Suffice it to say that it involves a concerned neighbour stumbling upon signs of home invasion and swift exodus.”

“They were attacked!? That certainly explains a lot about the way Arashi’s been acting lately, but… How? Why? Augh! There’s too much that doesn’t make sense still!” Wuk Lamat clutched her head in her hands, her frustration boiling over in an impressively emotive display.

“It is frustrating beyond belief, yes. But there are two people that know the answer. I fear that neither Arashi nor Yotsuyu have much cause to trust me, after my ill-fated attempt to steer them away in Tuliyollal, but-”

“What do you mean by that.”

Gosetsu froze. The hrothgar’s frustration had suddenly given away to ice-cold fury. Her pupils had thinned to tiny slits, her claws digging deep into the soft fabric of the sofa, her-

“I’ll ask you one more time. What do you mean by that?”

All of a sudden a memory bubbled to the surface. Of course, the forest! Wuk Lamat had risked life and limb to save Arashi and Yotsuyu from their ill-fated crash. A crash Gosetsu had more and more reason to suspect was Carosa’s doing. But she must believe me responsible! He had to act quickly, or else he would entirely destroy everything he’d so carefully worked to build in an instant. At best…

“My, such fearsome fury! It appears I’ve misspoken. I was simply referring to my encounter with Yotsuyu after your inaugural race together. I had sought to warn her against tampering with such things, but she refused to take my words to heart.”

“Oh. Oh! Right, I remember now! Sorry, I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion.” Gosetsu didn’t let himself breathe a sigh of relief, but he thanked what few kami were still watching over him for their benevolence. “So… What do we do about all this? I don’t want Arashi to get herself hurt over all this, but I can’t just waltz in and take it from her, right?”

“No! No, by the kami, do not. If there is one thing you must never do to a Washi, it is take something they believe is theirs. She would hate you forever if you did so. No, you must convince her of the error of her ways. Persuade her to give up this regulator business and return home. The sooner she does so, the sooner I can resume the hunt for those that targetted her and her fellows in the first place.”

Wuk Lamat was quiet for several long, dangerous moments. But her claws were no longer mauling the furniture, which Gosetsu took as a good sign. She abruptly rose with a determined look and reached for her axe. For a moment Gosetsu braced for the worst, certain he’d misread her, but then the xbr’aal gave him a reassuring smile and attached the great weapon to her back with a pulse of aether.

“Alright. I’ve made my decision. I’m going to trust you and keep working on getting closer to Arashi. I doubt she remembers it, but once upon a time she did me a favour I can never repay. But if I can save her from this whole mess, maybe I can go some way towards paying off that debt.” Wuk Lamat turned for the door, then hesitated and turned back to Gosetsu. “Just promise me one thing, okay?”

“And that is?”

Wuk Lamat’s smile showed far too many teeth. “When you find the people who tried to hurt her, tell me. I’ll gladly help you bring justice to those monsters.” Then she was making for the door, tugging it open, humming a jaunty tune as it gently closed behind her. Leaving Gosetsu alone with his sins again. He slumped, head in his hands, and hissed out a long, haggard breath.

May the kami forgive me for what I must do.

---

“This is wrong.” Alisaie’s tone was hushed as she peeked around the corner into yet another empty corridor.

“I was unaware you had not considered the ethics of breaking and entering the abode of a royal family before this point,” Zenos muttered in return.

“Not that!” Zenos’s dry wit was met with a light slap on the arm from the annoyed elezen. “The people! Or the lack of them, anyway. We’ve been in here a full quarter of a bell and we haven’t seen even a single soul! It’s not right.”

“You suspect a trap?”

“No. They would have had plenty of time to spring it if it were. It feels like… I don’t know what it feels like! But it isn’t right.”

“They’re putting on a show,” Sanda muttered. “Making it seem like all’s well outside to hide what’s going on within. The less people who know, the easier it is to pull off the con.”

“So what do we do, then?” Alisaie ducked back around the corner to face the other two. “Root around the place until we find any signs of life? Try to figure out Carosa and Nerva’s grand plan? You two are the ones with the biggest stake in all this. I’ll follow your lead.”

Sanda glanced up at Zenos, who looked down at her with a nod. Right. I’m the whole reason we’re here at all. “Gemma wants to know what happened to the royal family.” Speaking the words made her feel less aimless, less afraid. “We should prioritise finding them. Or whatever happened to them. Whatever we find.”

“Then in that case we should look to search the rooms around us,” Zenos suggested. “Once we have our bearings we will be able to determine our proximity to the royal bedchambers and make progress from there.”

Alisaie nodded in agreement, leaving Sanda to wonder just what common trait the pair shared to make such a wild leap in logic seem so completely sound. After a moment of deliberation she decided it was better not to ask. Besides which, Alisaie had already rounded the corner and was beelining towards the nearest door with Zenos not far behind. With a prickle of anxiety Sanda followed the roving pair.

Alisaie’s attention was, of course, drawn to the grandest and largest of the doors along the corridor. Sanda half-expected the doors to resist the elezen’s attempt to open them, but they swung obediently inwards without a sound. Alisaie made a pleased sound in the back of her throat, then strode confidently inside. Zenos was directly behind her, a looming shadow watching for hidden threats. Sanda counted a few beats in her head, then made her way to the door when neither of the overconfident idiots screamed. It’s like they’ve forgotten we broke in here. We could be ambushed at any moment. There might be any number of guards in there just waiting for us!

Sanda couldn’t help the spike of irritation that broke through her unease as her worst fears were proven completely unfounded yet again. What awaited her across the threshold was not a small legion of armed soldiers but a library. A massive one, by all accounts, with bookshelves that managed to make even Zenos look small all stacked to the brim with dusty tomes. A few had been picked out for some light reading, that much was obvious from their relative cleanliness compared with their neighbours, but otherwise the place looked to have been deserted for some time.

“Alright, not quite the royal bedchamber that I was hoping for.” Alisaie’s face had fallen somewhat when she’d entered, but soon enough her typical enthusiasm shone through once more. “But given the size of this place, I think we can safely say we’re close by.”

“Agreed,” Zenos murmured, his eyes roaming the shelves with apparent interest. “I would expect this to be the royal family’s personal library, judging by the volume and age of these tomes. Though…” He trailed off, suddenly staring at a book on one of the nearby shelves. With almost reverent care he pulled it away from its neighbours, cradling the great tome in one massive hand and using the other to brush off the layer of dust it had accrued.

Curiosity overtook Sanda. Within a few moments she was at Zenos’s side, looking from the old book to his wide-eyed face and back. “A Collected Assortment of Garlean Folklore, huh?” Not exactly what I’d have expected in the Ninth Reflection, let alone in a palace library. But something in Zenos’s eyes told her it was a good deal more than simply unexpected to him.

“I remember,” Zenos whispered. “My mother read this to me when I was too young to understand her words. Look,” he urged Sanda, pointing to the slightly ripped binding near the top of the book. “I tried to grab this when it was within my grasp. In her haste to pull it away, it was damaged. She must have taken it with her when she left.” His hand caressed the cover, as if reunited with an old flame after years apart. Sanda gave him a pat on the arm and left him to it.

Then realisation struck. If one of Carosa’s books was placed here, she must have used this place. Sanda started to examine the library’s contents that much closer after that, ignoring Alisaie’s questioning glance. The ones which aren’t so dusty. Maybe there’s something to them. But what?

“A History of Alexandrian Cuisine. Records of Trade with the Thirteenth Reflection. Our World Before the Storm Surge.” Sanda didn’t even realise she was muttering under her breath until Alisaie bumped her shoulder with an elbow, knocking her out of her focus with artful precision.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Alisaie made no effort hiding her frustration as she pulled Sanda away from the books and back towards the open door. “I thought you of all people would remember why we’re here in the first place!”

“The books,” Sanda blurted out, her mouth moving faster than her mind. “They’re important. Need to find the pattern. There’s…” There’s what? Sanda didn’t know, not consciously, but she had a feeling in her gut, a terrible compulsion telling her that she needed to solve whatever puzzle had been put in front of her. No, not my gut. Deeper.

As if on cue it rose to the surface. Sanda shrugged off Alisaie’s hand and turned back to the books. She ignored Alisaie’s suddenly worried shout. She ignored Zenos’s sharp look and worried calling of her name. She began to pull at the tomes, listening for a catch, a click, a give. It’s not a pattern. Just a series of red herrings to disguise the true culprit. And with a triumphant tug of a particularly heavy tome she had to stretch to reach, she found it.

Click.

Whirrrrrrrrrr

WHOOM

The wall furthest from the door split apart with a heavy thud, followed shortly after by the muffled grinding of gears across pre-placed rollers. Beyond it lay a set of stairs leading downwards into darkness. She withdrew, letting Sanda take charge again, letting her stare in dumbfounded wonder at what she had just uncovered.

“Well,” Alisaie announced to the otherwise silent room, “It looks like your mother did more than keep a few books in here, Zenos. Shall we go and see what else she’s been hiding from her hosts?” She didn’t wait for Zenos to respond before dashing into the darkness, her footsteps echoing into silence.

Zenos, however, was more focused on Sanda. She’d gone terribly pale, and as Zenos approached she visibly sagged and stumbled. He managed to catch her, but just barely. “What happened?” he asked while Sanda caught her suddenly lost breath.

“I don’t know,” Sanda replied a little too hurriedly. Zenos raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Now is not the time to pry further. But later, I will have it all from her. “I’ll be okay,” Sanda added with a touch of irritation. “Go ahead and make sure Alisaie hasn’t hit her head and died or something, would you?”

“No,” Zenos replied, a little more fiercely than he’d intended. “I will not leave you alone in the heart of our enemy when it is clear you need to recuperate. Rest. Regain your strength. Then we will brave the darkness together.”

Sanda’s eyes narrowed, but her tail coiled gratefully around Zenos’s leg. “Thanks,” she murmured after a moment or two, letting herself lean fully against him. For a time the pair stood together and let the world pass them by, but a sudden shriek from the stairs startled them both into action. Together they ran to the wall, only to almost send a corpse-pale Alisaie tumbling down the stairs she was sprinting back up.

“You need to look at this,” was all Alisaie said before dashing back down the stairs, leaving Sanda and Zenos to rush down after her. The gloom didn’t last long, as it appeared that Alisaie had found some source of light down below, but Sanda still almost lost her footing against the uneven stone steps on more than one occasion in her haste to make it to the bottom.

Zenos expected he would see a dingy stone room at the end of the stairwell, or perhaps a tunnel leading out of the palace in case of danger. What he found instead was a hell of metal, tubes, and chemicals. A lab. His mother’s lab. Signs of her work were everywhere, from half-finished metallic monstrosities to complex engines and piping. There was barely room to move for all the debris of incomplete projects and abject failures. None of them held Zenos’s attention.

What did was a great glowing pillar of glass at the far end of the room, filled to the brim with liquid… and a corpse. The child couldn’t have been more than five or six summers old, ghastly pale but otherwise unwithered by the passage of time. His hair was a messy blond mop that clung to his head, and while his eyes were closed Zenos already knew what colour they would be. He understood at once who the child was.

“Nerva.”

Notes:

Another chapter that was going to be longer than it turned out to be, but this felt like a pretty good stopping point and I wanted to get it out and done. Next time we'll get back to that good good lizard drama that didn't get progressed this time. Probably.

Chapter 50: Trust

“Where did you get that note?”

“Were you planning on telling me?”

“I- Halone’s tits, you’re bleeding everywhere! Are you really so stubborn you’d tear open your wounds just to regain your strength?”

“Answer my question, please.”

“Now really isn’t the time to interrogate me! Hold still, my conjury is rusty but-”

“KASUMI! Please. Answer my question.”

Kasumi looked Yugiri in the eyes. Saw the desperation in them. The pain. She hadn’t seen it in millennia. But she had seen it. Watching her through Arashi’s eyes on that shore, watching her question everything about her mission of liberation. Watching that faith waver.

“Healing first. Then I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Agreed?”

Yugiri held Kasumi’s gaze for an uncomfortably long time before finally wincing and nodding. Thank the Twelve, or whatever’s left of them. “I need to warn you, this is going to hurt. Not as much as what you’re feeling now, most likely, but…”

“I can bear it.” Yugiri weakly waved off the warning. She was growing paler by the moment, blood seeping into the sheets. Godsdammed stubborn idiot. Just what in the seven hells were you doing? Kasumi pushed her annoyance to one side so she could focus on the task at hand. Her aether flooded Yugiri’s body, locating the worst of the damage and mending it as best she could. She dimly heard Yugiri hiss with pain, but Kasumi was too occupied with the task in front of her to notice. The au ra’s body was a mess of old scars and wounds that hadn’t had a chance to fully heal, but Kasumi’s primary concern was ensuring her friend didn’t bleed to death. It was rough, painful work, but by the time the waves of healing aether ceased Yugiri was already breathing easier.

“There.” Kasumi shoved a sweat-slick strand of hair from her flushed face. “That should keep you going for a time. Please don’t go exacerbating yourself like that in the future. I’m not made of aether, you know.” Yugiri said nothing in response, her breathing steady and even and her eyes shut tight. “Right. Forgot how exhausting that can be on both parties. I’ll let you-”

“Don’t. Go.” Yugiri forced the words out as her eyes stubbornly fluttered open. “I want. My answer.”

“Gods above, you’re more stubborn than Arashi…” Kasumi hissed and leaned back against the chair. “Yes. I was planning on telling you. Lyse too, obviously. But then I misplaced that damn paper and you went and got yourself almost killed and I… It’s hard to think, you know, when you’ve gone days without sleep worrying over a friend. I’d forgotten how hard. Suppose I should thank you for reminding me, eh?”

Yugiri chuckled softly, but it quickly descended into agonised hacking and coughing. Another short burst of aether eased the pain as much as Kasumi dared. Yugiri gave her a thankful nod, leaning back against the pillows. Kasumi glanced at the bloody sheets, then back at the exhausted au ra occupying them. “We should get you some clean-”

“Do you trust me?”

“I-” What in Halone’s hallowed name is going on? “Yes, of course I trust you! Now are you going to let me change your sheets and gown or are you going to keep asking cryptic questions?”

“With your life?”

“Yugiri, what in the seven hells has gotten into you? Are you still upset about what I said earlier? Because if so, I apologise for speaking rashly like that, but…” Kasumi trailed off as she saw the look on Yugiri’s face. The utmost desperation held in her emerald eyes, the hunger to know beyond all reason. “Yes. I trust you with my life. Consider yourself lucky. I count the number of people who hold that honour on a single hand. Now will you please explain just what has possessed you to act so strangely?”

“I don’t know!” Yugiri cried. “I have tried and tried to understand this imbalance, but the answer eludes me without fail. All I know is that I feel this terrible imbalance within me, and… And I believe you are the cause, somehow. Every thought I have leads back to you. Every time I think I am rid of your influence over me, you creep back in when my guard is down. When I close my eyes I simply see your disapproving face, your stinging words, your heat and pain and… Tell me. What is wrong with me? Surely you must know, you who have laid such a curse on me.”

Oh gods. Oh gods, she doesn’t… She can’t! Alright, calm down. She needs your help. So help her.

Kasumi settled in her seat, tried to ignore the iron stink of drying blood and incessant beeping of machinery. She focused the whole of her attention on Yugiri, on her pain, her confusion, her fear, all usually bundled up so tightly but now finally allowed messy, raw release. “Let me ask you something,” Kasumi began, her voice steady despite her fraying nerves. “This may not make sense, but I ask that you answer honestly all the same. Who do you fight for?”

Yugiri met this question with the confusion it deserved, but after a moment of waiting for Kasumi to reveal it for the joke it surely was (and failing to have this result met), she gave it an answer.

“I fight for Yotsuyu. For her happiness. I fight because my teacher trained me to and I wish to make her proud. I fight for myself. To protect what I love.”

About what I expected. Kasumi nodded and gave an encouraging smile before speaking once more. “Back in my very first days of being… aware, I suppose, my fellow Dark Knights and I had a phrase for that. The flame in the void. They give your fighting meaning. Something to strive for. Something to protect. I’ve the feeling that the reason you’re feeling so strange of late is that your flame has grown. And when that that flame’s latest aspect confronted you about your actions, it led to a crisis of faith. And a realisation.”

“What are you implying?”

You know damn well what I mean. It must be written all over my face. Kasumi leaned forward and plucked Yugiri’s hand, laying her spare arm on the bed and placing the other au ra’s fingers against her wrist. “Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Through your nose, let the air fill your lungs full to bursting, then out through your lips.” She watched as Yugiri’s brow furrowed in confusion once more, then slackened. Her breathing slowed. Deepened. Good. “Now listen. Listen to my voice. Listen to my heartbeat. Tell me what you hear.”

“I hear the machines around us. I hear the thrum of electrope. I hear your breath and mine.”

“Good. What else?”

Yugiri’s eyebrows knit once more. “I hear… Your pulse, I think? It’s so fast…”

“Yes. Yes it is. Open your eyes.” Kasumi thought she was ready to meet Yugiri’s gaze again. She was not. Oh gods, it truly is that bad, isn’t it? I’m beyond hope.

“Your pulse just accelerated again. Why?”

Kasumi couldn’t help but laugh, though most of it was nerves. Yugiri, at least, had found some calm once again, but… “You know why.”

“I want to hear you say it.” Yugiri’s eyes betrayed no anxiety, no fear. Just an earnest desire to have the obvious spoken. Where Yotsuyu was a razor-sharp blade, Yugiri was a wall. Impenetrable. Unyielding. Both managed to make Kasumi’s stomach flip, it turned out. Cruel woman, to undo me so easily. You learned all the wrong tricks from your employer.

“I have feelings for you. Feelings beyond mere friendship. I’ve had my suspicions for some time, but I hadn’t reckoned on how deeply it had grown until I- Well. Suffice it to say I’ve come to care for you a great deal.”

Yugiri nodded but otherwise said not a word, leaving Kasumi’s mouth to become more arid than all the sands in Sagolii. How is this confession harder to get through than when I told Arashi ? This is bullshite, body of mine. Absolute bullshite. Oh gods, please say something, Yugiri. Don’t hold me in this limbo like-

“Do the others know?”

“Y-” Kasumi’s attempt to speak was marred by sudden coughing. Thankfully someone had replaced Yugiri’s water jug recently, allowing Kasumi to ease her parched throat somewhat. “Yes. Well. Lyse does. She encouraged me to say something. I’d intended to wait until…” Kasumi gestured lamely around them, “All of this was behind us. At least to confer with Arashi and Yotsuyu first. But…” She laughed again, still just as full of nerves as the last time. “Here we are!”

“Here we are,” Yugiri agreed with a gentle smile. It faded all too quickly. “Thank you. I find myself more at ease now that I know the cause of this… strangeness, but I need time to process it all for myself. I trust you will give me the time I need?”

“Of course!” Kasumi agreed a little too hurriedly, half-launching herself out of her seat in her haste to grant Yugiri’s request. “Only-”

“Don’t worry about the sheets, I can replace them myself. Thank you for your ministrations. I feel a good bit more like myself again.”

“Right. Right! Then in that case, please, rest and recover. When you’re ready to talk again, I’ll be waiting.” Assuming my bones haven’t rattled themselves apart by then…

The rush to the door was a mess of poor co-ordination and entirely frayed nerves, but Kasumi didn’t let her body win until she was safely in the corridor and out of sight. Only then did she lean back against the door with a heavy thud and slide down to the floor, barely able to catch her breath and fighting her fiercely hammering heart. “Halone’s tits , I’m never doing that again…”

“So how did it go?” Lyse’s gently curious voice rang out through the corridor right next to Kasumi.

She didn’t scream. She definitely didn’t scream. She merely… shouted in surprise.

“IN HALONE’S HOLY NAME, LYSE, DON’T DO THAT!”

---

Arashi broke into a run the moment she and Yotsuyu materialised at the aetheryte plaza. Cid had hung up the moment he’d received confirmation that the pair were on their way, leaving Arashi horribly ignorant of just what Carosa’s intentions were, or even if she’d arrived alone. Still exhausted from her battle with Venat, feeling more like an overused dog toy than anything human, Arashi pushed through it all anyway.

She had to. Cid needed her.

Yotsuyu let go of her hand at some point. Arashi barely noticed, much as she barely noticed the sudden surprised squawks of the Hanuhanu as she sprinted around them, between them, in one particular case over them. She’d not even given Venat or Midgardsormr an explanation for her sudden retreat, though if the old dragon’s hearing was even half as good as most auri, he already knew. In her mind’s eye the same scene repeated itself. Her arriving too late. Seeing Cid and Nero lying lifeless on the ground. Seeing the knights cleaning blood from their blades. Seeing their master (for Carosa had to be their master, nothing else made sense in Arashi’s mind) bloodlessly ordering that the loose end be tied up.

Seeing herself lose against the knights’ perfect onslaught. Seeing Yotsuyu arrive in time to watch her love get cut down.

But I have to try. I’m the Warrior of Light, for the Twelve’s sake. I have to.

She almost made it to the garages when the ghost from her past stepped in her way. Arashi skidded to a stop, not out of concern that she might knock down her would-be interception but out of shock. It couldn’t be, surely. Not here, not now. But there was no mistaking the shock of silver-white hair cut into a layered bun, nor those eyes fixing Arashi with a steely gaze. But especially not the ferociously stubborn set of her jaw, nor the pursed lips making ready to admonish Arashi once again for some reckless act in a supreme display of hypocrisy.

“And jus’ where do you think you’re goin’ in such a hurry?” Y’shtola Rhul drawled.

“ Shtola?”

“And how do ya know my name? Wait, you’re that hot-shot Eorzean, ain’tcha? Arashi, yeah?”

Gods, of all the time, of all the people… “Listen, I’ll explain everything later, but right now I need you to get out of my way! Cid’s in danger and I have to find him before it’s too late!”

“Garlond?” Y’sthola’s eyebrows rose, concern overtaking suspicion. “What happened?”

“I don’t know exactly, but it involves Carosa and I have no idea what that woman’s capable of so please get out of my way!”

Y’sthola’s eyes narrowed to slits at the mention of Carosa’s name. “Alright. Lead on. But I’m coming with you. She and I have a score or two to settle.” Y’shtola stood aside to let Arashi pass. Arashi needed no further encouragement. Muscles protesting, lungs quickly burning again, she ran as fast as her body would allow her. Please let it be fast enough. Please.

Carosa was long gone by the time Arashi finally made it to the Ironworks garage. Arashi’s heart was an overworked drum, hammering relentlessly in her chest as she shoved open the door, hoping against hope that-

“There you are! Gods, girl, are you alright? You look like you’ve fought a ghost!”

Cid’s gruff expression morphed into one of worry as Arashi stumbled in, then into shock as the au ra wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she dared. “You’re okay…! Thank the kami!”

“Of course I’m alright!” Cid declared. “Carosa might be a battle axe of a woman, but she’s not stupid enough to spill our blood so publicly. What-”

“Where is she?” Y’shtola had caught up surprisingly quickly and now stood against the doorway, breathing hard and glaring into the garage. She was joined a few moments later by Yotsuyu, who had her knife in a death-grip and looked ready to plunge it into the heart of the first blonde she saw.

“Already gone,” Cid replied, his steady gaze matching Y’shtola’s own with nary a glance spared for Yotsuyu. “Took Nero with her for a private chat. Alone, before you go panicking again. Now, you three want to explain just what in the seven hells is going on?”

“What’s… Cid!” Arashi exclaimed, shoving him away with a furious noise. “You called us out of the blue just to say Carosa was here and to get here as quick as we could! What in the seven hells do you think we’d do? I thought you might be dead! I thought something terrible had happened and I’d have to arrange for your bloody funeral! Yours and Nero’s both! Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

Cid pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply, his face twisted into a long-suffering grimace. “Alright, I’ll admit I could have chosen my words a little better. That’s on me. Yotsuyu, put the knife away, you’re not helping anyone flailing around with it. Miss Rhul, I’ve no idea what your stake in all this is, but your quarry’s not coming back any time soon. And as for you, Arashi, you’ve not answered my question yet.”

“I…” Arashi began, only for her legs to decide now was the perfect time to give out on her. She was saved from collapsing to the floor entirely by Cid’s stubborn grip, followed a moment or two later by Yotsuyu’s much more panicked hands. Together the two of them helped Arashi into a seat, which she sank into with all the grace and precision of a mostly tranquillised paissa. Y’shtola lingered at the doorway, clearly torn between her curiosity and her sense of decency telling her not to bother the clearly overworked woman. Decency, eventually, won out.

“When you’re not gonna collapse at the first sign of trouble, come find me. Reckon we’ve got some things to discuss, yeah?” The miqo’te didn’t wait for a response before leaving, causing Cid and Yotsuyu to exchange questioning looks before focusing on Arashi instead.

“I… might have said her name without her telling me,” Arashi explained. “But if either of you had bothered to tell me she was around, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Aye, you’re right. Sorry about that.” Cid rubbed the back of his neck, though it quickly turned into a groaning stretch. Looking at him more closely, Arashi could clearly see the same exhaustion plaguing her had been harrying him as well. I didn’t even think to check on him after the race. Sorry, Cid. “But what’s done is done, eh? You’ve got time to come up with a sensible enough excuse too.”

“Assuming the mere sight of me doesn’t cause her to start remembering as well. And assuming she doesn’t remember me already. Shtola always was good at keeping her true thoughts locked safely away.” Arashi sighed, pinching her nose and rubbing at her eyes until Yotsuyu’s gentle hand plucked hers away.

“Garlond. Is all well?” Yotsuyu’s voice was devoid of its usual venom, though the undercurrent of weariness was all too clear.

“Wouldn’t exactly say well, but we’re in no danger for the time being.” Cid rose to his feet and wandered over to the counter at the end of the garage, pouring a couple of mugs of water and wandering back to pass them to Arashi and Yotsuyu. Arashi chuckled to herself before downing the drink, greedily gulping until no liquid remained. What I wouldn’t give to not push myself to the point of collapse twice in a day. Gods, I miss the days before I remembered a damn thing.

“So,” Cid tried for the third time, “What exactly happened before I called? And don’t even think about saying nothing. I’ve known the pair of you long enough to know what happens when you’re left unattended.”

Yotsuyu glanced at Arashi, her intent clear. You don’t have to tell him a damned thing.

Arashi shook her head with a smile, then turned to Cid. “I met Venat. Hydaelyn, that is. She kicked my arse.”

“Hydaelyn.” Cid stared flatly at Arashi, his tone similarly devoid of depth. “You may Hydaelyn.”

“Yes.”

“The same Hydaelyn you fought and killed three thousand years ago.”

“Not quite the same, given she’s back in her form before becoming a Primal, but yes.”

Cid continued staring for several moments before breaking into disbelieving laughter. “You just can’t help but find trouble, can you? The Mothercrystal herself reincarnated into the world and you decide the smartest thing to do is fight her? By the Twelve, girl!”

“Look, I didn’t want to fight at all! That was all her decision, and if I didn’t defend myself she’d probably have killed me! Besides, I had to go and meet her. If I hadn’t, Nabriales and Omega might have-”

“Now hold on just a second. Omega?”

“Right, yes, Omega! You see, I asked-”

“Start from the beginning, Arashi. I’ve the feeling that’s the only way I’m going to get anything close to a straight answer from you.”

So Arashi, seeing little other choice in the matter, began her tale from the beginning. Seeing Venat in the crowd at the Turnpike, reuniting with the final Ascian and discovering their robotic companion, recruiting them both to track down the Ancient, receiving that fateful phone call which led to Arashi getting thrown through more malms of rainforest than she was comfortable admitting. All of which Cid absorbed without comment, except to ask Yotsuyu to confirm Arashi wasn’t leaving out any important details. When it was done, he leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

“I was joking when I said you can’t help but find trouble, you know.” His chuckle was a dark and terrible thing, as was his smile when he finally deigned to stop granting the ceiling his full attention. “So Omega’s still prowling around, are they? Good for them. I was hoping they might be, if only so I could give ‘em a piece of my mind for the attempts to kill me and my employees. Where are they now, do you think?”

“Probably back at home outside Tuliyollal,” Arashi replied, not liking in the slightest the terrible gleam in Cid’s eyes. “But there’s something else, Cid. It’s not just Omega.”

Cid leaned forward with a raised eyebrow. “Go on.”

“Alpha. He’s still alive as well. Only… He’s not well. Old age is catching up to him and we don’t know how much longer he has left. He asked to see you and Nero before… Before…” Arashi sniffed hard, forcing the tears down. Yotsuyu took Arashi’s hand once again, squeezing it as hard as she dared. Together they saw the journey in Cid’s emotions written plainly on his face. Shock. Delight. Realisation. Deep, deep sorrow. And finally acceptance.

“Alright,” was all he said. Followed eventually by: “First chance we get, I’ll grab the boys and Nero and pay the old boy a visit. It’s the least we can do. I trust you don’t mind teleporting us over?”

Arashi choked out a laugh, waving off Cid’s genuine concern buried under the question. “Of course not! You two deserve to say goodbye. Besides-”

A sudden bang at the doorway cut her off. As one the three of them jerked towards it, Arashi reaching through the aether for her weapon, Yotsuyu reaching in her bag for her own. They calmed as Nero’s lanky form made itself plain in the doorway, only for a new sense of panic to burst forth when he stumbled a few steps inside before falling to one knee. Cid was first on his feet, half-carrying Nero to the seats. Yotsuyu made hers available for the out-of-sorts mechanic, earning a grateful nod from Cid. Arashi, despite her exhaustion, reached out with her aether to examine Nero for any wounds. Yotsuyu glanced her way at the sudden extrusion of aether with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing. Whatever happened to him, it’s not physical.” Arashi stared at the Garlean, who stared back at her uncomprehendingly for several moments before finally coming back to his senses.

“What happened, Nero?” Cid’s usual gruff exterior had fallen away entirely, his hand wrapped around Nero’s own and his eyes full of such anxiety Arashi had never seen before.

“Carosa,” he croaked before falling into a coughing fit. Yotsuyu was first to react, grabbing her half-downed mug of water and handing it to Nero. It quickly vanished down the mechanic’s throat, rejuvenating him enough to speak again. “She made me an offer. For the Steelworks.”

“An offer? Like a buyout?” Cid scoffed and withdrew his hand. “You had me worried there for a minute! What, did she offer more gil than we have numbers for?”

“No,” Nero replied. “She offered me your continued safety. She knows we managed to circumvent her bomb. She said it was only the beginning. If I don’t give her the Steelworks by the end of the Grand Prix… She’ll detonate the others.”

“The others? What others? Nero, what are you talking about?” Cid’s face lit up once again with fear for his aggravating soulmate.

“Our workshop, back in Garlemald. They raided it after we left. Took everything they could. Placed bombs in everything they couldn’t. Promised there would be more than we’d ever find on our own. If I give her my Steelworks, she’ll give me their locations and her detonator and we all can walk away. If not, it all goes up in smoke. Everything we worked for. Everything we are. And likely most of Garlemald with it.”

“And you believe her?” Yotsuyu asked, eyes wide and hands shaking.

“I do.” Nero, for the first time since Arashi had met him, looked genuinely afraid. “Because she gave me this as proof.” He fished though his pockets before pulling out a tiny, crumpled photograph. As one Arashi, Yotsuyu and Cid leaned in to look. It was a picture of Cid’s and Nero’s workshop home, more specifically their bedroom, with Carosa sat atop it with a smile. In her hands was a small, black object, around the size of an orange, which gleamed with malicious intent. But it was the neat writing at the top left corner of the photo which send a chill through Arashi’s soul.

“Plenty more where this came from. Your choice, Scaeva.”

Notes:

Good lord! Of all the chapters I was expecting to give me a hard time in writing, this wasn't it! I'll be honest, I have no idea why this one took the time it did to get done, but it's here now. Enjoy two of the most awkward lizards of all time navigating around their feelings with all the grace and dignity of two baby birds learning to fly.

Next time, Zenos meets his brother. For real this time.

Chapter 51: Buried

“Nerva?” Alisaie repeated. Zenos ignored her, taking faltering steps through the debris of his mother’s old lab towards the tube. Towards his brother. “You said he was a grown man. What’s going on?” This last question was directed at Sanda, who stood staring at the tube as well.

“I think,” Sanda began haltingly, her attention mostly focused on Zenos and his trance-like state, “That’s his original body. If he’s an Ascian like Arashi thinks, he might have just taken someone else’s and adjusted it to suit his needs.”

“Or his mother figured out how to clone bodies from the original, like with all those creepy Solus clones…” Alisaie shuddered. Sanda met this remark with a blank look. “Never mind,” Alisaie muttered, choosing instead to divert her energies to what she had been doing before: picking through Carosa’s many projects in search of something useful.

Zenos had made it to the tube and now stood in front of it, staring at the body of his brother. Sanda couldn’t see his face, not even its reflection in the glass, but his body was rigid save for his shoulders, which shook slightly with suppressed emotion. Sanda could only guess at what he was truly feeling. Horror? Regret? Grief? She couldn’t say. But she could step gingerly across the floor and join him, taking his other hand in her own and running her thumb across his knuckles.

“I wonder sometimes.” Zenos’s sudden speech was enough to make Sanda jump, though he did not react in turn to her surprise. His focus was still on the body as he continued. “What would have happened if my mother had taken me with her. Would I have been happier with her? Would I have had the means to combat the grey earlier? Would my father have made good on his threat to track me down?” Zenos paused for a moment, a flicker of emotion finally reaching his face before he said, “Would I have loved my mother and brother? Would I have been capable of that?”

Sanda had nothing to say to that. Instead she took his hand and placed it around her. Leaned into him and let him take what comfort he may from her presence. From the tightening of Zenos’s grip around her, it was enough.

“Aha!” Alisaie’s triumphant cry caused the pair to turn in unison. The elezen was gripping a large device in her hands and waving it aloft above her head, though what exactly she’d stumbled upon Sanda couldn’t possible guess at. Zenos, however, seemed to recognise it more easily.

“That is a recording device, is it not? The design is archaic, but that shape is unmistakeable.” Nerva’s body was momentarily forgotten as Zenos moved to pluck the device out of Alisaie’s hands. While Alisaie protested (and rather too loudly for someone breaking and entering at that), she eventually relented and allowed Zenos to claim it for his own. He immediately set about turning it over in his hands before pushing his thumb into a nearly-invisible button near its apparent front. The device suddenly sputtered into life, a great white light spewing out of the round hole just below where Zenos had pushed.

“Okay, hold on, why do you both know what that is?” Sanda stepped directly into the path of the light with an accusatory finger pointed at the pair.

“My father bought one back when they were still cutting edge,” Alisaie replied airily. “Mostly he used it to take videos of Alphinaud and I, though. Not even when we were doing anything impressive, either! I mean really, what’s so important about my dear brother taking his first steps?”

“I… probably should have expected that from you, rich girl. Zenos! What’s your excuse?”

“Now hold on just a moment! Rich girl? My family was far from rich, I’ll have you know! We-”

“It’s a Galvus Industries product,” Zenos cut in, cutting the wind out of Alisaie’s sails in the process. “Though the design is different from the final product. An old prototype, perhaps? Or an earlier iteration of the same idea. Regardless, its memory storage should be the same.”

“Meaning we can figure out whatever the hells Carosa was up to down here!” Alisaie interjected with a smug grin for emphasis. “So what are you waiting for, Zenos? Hit the button and let’s get all the dirt on your mother’s secrets!”

Zenos looked at Alisaie, then rather more pointedly at Sanda, still stood directly in the path of light. Sanda took the hint and carefully manoeuvred herself to Zenos’s side again. Only then did Zenos push another button and begin playback.

For a moment nothing happened. Then, after several seconds had passed, the light began to shift and change into the form of a woman. She was young, perhaps in her late twenties to early thirties, and dressed in a rather plain and tattered shirt and trousers, her hair which had once been cut into a severe bun now starting to grow out from lack of maintenance. She was also heavily pregnant. From the prominent third eye in the centre of her forehead, there was no question who she was.

“Okay, alright. Here goes. Recording is holding steady, thank the gods, so… Hello! My name is Carosa Galvus- Well, Carosa Octavius now, I suppose. I am, or was the head of Galvus Industries’ engineering division. Now… Now I am a guest of the Alexandrian royal family. It seems that her Majesty – that is, Garnet – was most insistent on my staying here for the time being. A gesture I desperately hope I will be able to repay. I… Gods, end recording!”

The image of Carosa winked off, replaced after a moment or two by another version of her. Though the image reduced all colour to a flat pale green, it was clear enough that Carosa had been crying.

“Alright. Attempt two! Carosa Galvus nee Octavius, former head of Galvus Industries engineering division, guest of the royal family. There. Honestly, what am I even doing with this? Garnet, this video log is entirely unnecessary. Nerva won’t want to-”

The image warped again, but the next time it resolved Carosa was joined by another woman. This one was dressed far more extravagantly than her companion, practically swimming in jewellery and garbed in a fine silken dress that flowed from shoulder to ankle. It had also clearly been adjusted to take into account the fact that she was heavily pregnant. Her smile, directed at whoever was holding the recording device, was radiant.

“-And you’re quite sure it’s working now, yes? Good! See, Carosa? He’s not entirely useless with technology as long as you give him the right instructions.” The woman turned her infectious smile upon Carosa.

“Just as long as he doesn’t drop it again.” Carosa wore a particularly sour look on her face. “Now… Nerva, dear, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you who the woman next to me is. This is queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVI, but you know her better as your godsmother. It is our hope that you and her child will one day watch this recording together, so that you may know how our families became intertwined.”

“Well, that and the fact that my darling husband is desperate to have a record of his soon-to-be-born daughter’s early years. And yes, dearest, it will be a daughter. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your little prediction.”

“Ha! I’ll believe it when I see that kid for myself!” A third voice, slightly distorted but clearly male, cut in. “Your intuition’s led you astray before, hon! And when it does again, I look forward to you making good on your side of our bet.”

Carosa rolled her eyes while Garnet blushed pure crimson. “Now see here you nasty old-”

The camera cut out again. Carosa was alone once more, no longer pregnant but looking exhausted. Her smile, however, shone with relief. Her previous set of clothes were gone, replaced with a long, plain gown that would not look out of place in a hospital were it not for the quality of the fabric. She held a bundle against her chest, glancing between it and the camera as she prepared to speak.

“I know I shouldn’t be up and about at the moment, but I simply can’t help myself. He’s here! Little Nerva is here! All the heartache, all the strife, it was worth it all simply to hold him in my arms. Look, Nerva, it’s you!” There was a faint gurgle from the cloth-wrapped bundle as Carosa gently tilted it towards the camera. A flash of forehead was all that was visible. “He’s a little small, but the doctors say that’s nothing to fear. You’re going to grow big and strong, my sweet. Just like your brother. And when you’re ready, we’ll return home and rescue your big brother too! We’ll be one big, happy family! Would you like that? Would you-”

This time it did not resolve into another form, instead returning to the steady beam of pale green light from before. Alisaie sighed and plucked the device from Zenos’s hands, switching off the machine and putting it to one side.

“The storage on these old models wasn’t fantastic,” the elezen explained. “They used this old card system, you see. Great for portability, but awful for data. I imagine if we look around some more we’ll probably find the rest, but…”

“But we’re getting distracted from our main goal,” Sanda finished with a nod. The longer we stay down here, the better our chances of getting caught. But then she glanced at Zenos, who had not moved an inch in favour of staring at the spot where his mother had been. Okay, maybe it’s worth risking a little searching… Sanda shot a glance at Alisaie, who simply rolled her eyes and gave Sanda a gesture of reluctant approval.

“I’ll shout if you need to move, alright?” Alisaie made for the stairs while Sanda got to work rummaging around. The noise of her scraping and shunting aside pieces of metal was enough to stir Zenos from his stupor, and within short order his great shadow draped over Sanda and his well-muscled arms reached well over her head to pick through the higher shelves.

“ How are you holding up?” Sanda murmured once she was sure Alisaie was out of earshot. “Can’t have been easy, seeing your brother’s body and then going through those old movies.”

Zenos took some time to answer her. “I had hoped knowing more of my mother’s past might make it easier to understand why she has set herself against us, but… She was happy here. She had friends. Connections. A son. Even knowing what became of him, I cannot fathom her choosing to destroy all she held dear just for his sake. There is more to this. I can feel it.”

“Not what I asked,” Sanda added gently, leaning back into Zenos’s chest. The sudden weight of her body and the pointed jab of her horns against his abdomen caused him to look down at her, the silky expanse of his hair forming a curtain around them both. “Come on. Talk to me.”

“If I do,” Zenos said, his voice as soft as the hair that surrounded them, “I would have you promise me something in turn. Tell me the truth. About what plagues you, as I did about what plagues me.”

Sanda’s heart was pounding. Her breath, shallow. She could feel it stirring at the mere thought of being exposed to the world, stealing her voice, her words, her everything. But then she thought back to the night before. Baring herself to Zenos, daring him to cut her down, seeing the terror in his own eyes… and seeing him master it.

“Not now,” she finally said. “Tonight. I’ll… I’ll try to tell you everything.”

“Tonight,” Zenos repeated, then nodded. “Your terms are acceptable. Let us-”

A sudden crash resounded from above them. Sanda met Zenos’s eyes, nodded, pushed through the wall of hair and began creeping up the stairs. After several moments Zenos followed. The dimly lit stairs were easier to ascend than descend, but Sanda was still thankful she had someone behind her to break her fall in case she did lose her footing. Her hand pressed against the wall and her tail ramrod straight for balance, she crept up to the entrance to the tunnel.

Just in time to see Alisaie get launched backwards into a bookshelf with a horrible crunch and a rain of paper.

Sanda’s heart leapt into her throat, staring at Alisaie’s limp form among the splintered wood and pile of dislodged books. As terror mounted she turned to look at whatever had left her sister’s friend in such a state, though she already knew who it would be. Nerva looked almost disinterested as the dark glow around his palm faded away, his other hand reaching for a dagger at his hip.

“I’m disappointed, truly. Three thousand years of being trapped in the darkest pit of the Aetherial Sea and this is what awaits me on my return? Bad enough that I should be stuck as that woman’s lapdog, but to be forced to dispatch rats in the walls on top of that…” He sighed dramatically, then paused. Slowly, inexorably, his gaze shifted from Alisaie to Sanda. Then to Zenos. His weary expression twisted into a manic smile.

“Ah! Not rats, but a menagerie! And here I thought this was going to be a wasted trip. Do be a good boy and hold still, won’t you, brother? Your mother was quite specific that you be returned to her alive, but she left no such instructions for that one. And, if I’m being honest, I do have something of a score to settle with her and her sister…”

Let me out. Sanda froze. The world froze too. The voice that was not quite her own spoke with an intensity and fury she had never before known. A fury that not even Zenos could spark. That monster doesn’t deserve to live. Let me out. I’ll put him down again.

Who is he?

An Ascian. The worst of them. Let me out. Please.

Alright. Just… Promise me you won’t let Zenos get hurt too.

...Fine.

Sanda let go.

Sanda took control.

Sanda struck like lightning.

---

“I am… SO ready… for this day to be over!” Arashi’s voice was somewhat muffled from her position against Yotsuyu’s chest, but her intent was made clear enough, particularly with the way her tail slapped the surface of the water for emphasis. Yotsuyu made a noise of agreement, running a soaking wet hand through Arashi’s hair but not deigning to open her eyes. She had been spoiled by Doman baths, it seemed. This one was barely large enough to fit the pair of them, and much too narrow besides.

“I’m sorry,” Arashi murmured some time later, catching Yotsuyu right on the edge of sleep. “I know I scared you, doing what I did. I should have been stronger. I should have-”

“Hush.” This time Yotsuyu did open her eyes, staring at Arashi through a half-lidded gaze. “I do not blame you for failing to defeat that madwoman. The fact that you survived her is enough.”

“Still. I should have been-”

“Little storm,” Yotsuyu murmured, letting her voice fall to a dangerously soft purr, “If you continue to blame yourself for things you had no control over, I will bind you in that way you seem to enjoy so… And I will leave you like that to think on your mistakes while I get some proper sleep.”

Arashi was silent for some time before finally retorting with, “You like it too.”

“You truly are a marvel, you know. You see the point so clearly yet choose to travel the lengths of the star to miss it anyway. Oh, don’t stick your tongue out at me. You’re not a child.”

“Fine,” Arashi muttered, then suddenly rose up until her head was level with Yotsuyu’s. Yotsuyu knew full well what her wife intended, but she pretended to act surprised when the au ra darted in and found her lips. She didn’t bother to keep up the pretence when Arashi’s tongue caressed them shortly after. Kasumi at least knows the value of subtlety. But I suppose I can allow a little directness until she returns. The thought of her missing lover almost ruined the moment, but Yotsuyu refused to let her pleasure be spoiled so. Arashi’s hands pressed against her chest, her thighs, certainly helped. Though…

“Not here,” Yotsuyu purred, reluctantly leaning back just enough to prise her tongue loose. “Too small. Too cramped. I would enjoy you fully, somewhere without constraints.”

That somewhere wound up being the bathroom floor, but Yotsuyu supposed it was her own fault for dragging Arashi down with her when she tripped.

“I love you,” Arashi whispered against Yotsuyu’s flesh when Yotsuyu could take no more. As if it was not obvious in her lovestruck gaze. In her worshipful hands, her ruinous fingers. In her steady, unyielding tongue that seemed to know exactly where to reach. In her voice, whispering those words over and over again as Yotsuyu writhed beneath her. You make a ruin of me only to declare your adoration when I have been dismantled. Dangerous woman. I would drown in you if I could.

“And I… You…” Yotsuyu responded when she had breath to speak again. Arashi’s warmth and weight shifted, moving to her side and draping limbs across her body. Yotsuyu’s arm automatically coiled around her wife. But in the aftermath of her loving destruction she felt the absence of her other partners all the more keenly. They would have been able to stand with you against the smiling monster. They would have known what to say to Scaeva and Garlond. They would have-

“I miss them too,” Arashi murmured. “The longer we wait the more I want to rush after them and bring them back. Even if that would ruin everything they’re working for.” Arashi sighed against Yotsuyu’s neck, her breath ticklish and hot. “But I suppose I wouldn’t be much use at my current strength. Venat made that plain enough.”

Yotsuyu twisted her head, snatched Arashi’s head in her hands, held her still while Yotsuyu kissed the stupidity out of her. Or tried to, anyway. “Whatever you are, it is enough. Do you understand? I do not want the Warrior of Light in all her terrible glory. Neither do Lyse or Kasumi. We want you. Only you.”

“I know,” Arashi replied miserably. “But I need to be strong enough to protect you. I can’t let another Athena happen. I can’t.”

“Arashi-” Yotsuyu began with not a little irritation leaking into her voice, only to stop at her wife’s suddenly widening eyes staring into the middle distance. “Arashi? What’s-?” Arashi held up a hand, her lips moving but no words emerging. You have a remarkable sense of timing, Kasumi…

After several moments Arashi’s voice became audible again, though only in the silence of their room and forced to contend with the roar of heartbeats and breathing. “We’re fine, but… Well, that’s a relief… She’s here with me, yes. Why? … … Are you serious? … No, I’m not suggesting… Okay, alright… Yes, I’ll ask her! Hold on, would you?”

“What new crisis awaits us now?” Yotsuyu asked, half drily and half with a rapidly drying mouth.

“Kasumi has feelings for Yugiri,” Arashi replied bluntly. “She wants our blessing to pursue that if Yugiri feels the same way.”

“Oh.” Of all the things I was expecting, that… “Is that all?”

“It’s all she wanted to ask. Lyse has been pushing Kasumi into confessing for weeks, apparently. So…”

“I… I approve? Merciful kami, to be presented this of all things after the day we’ve had… Tell her to do as she wills. Assuming you approve as well.”

“Alright. I’ll… Go tell her, I suppose.” Arashi looked about as stunned as Yotsuyu felt, but her lips began to move in silence again. After a time she stopped, her gaze returning from the middle distance to Yotsuyu’s face shortly after. “She says thank you. And that she owes us once she gets back. In, and I’m quoting here, ‘Whatever way you wish to interpret that.’”

Oh, you’ll have cause to regret those words… “It seems our mission is clear, then.” Yotsuyu grinned with the kind of fervour reserved only for the truly damned. “We shall have to consider the best possible way to make use of that favour, won’t we?”

Arashi’s answering smile sent a shiver down Yotsuyu’s spine. “I like the way you think, Tsuyu...”

Notes:

Another bastard chapter! But not for lack of will this time. Oh no, I had will a-plenty, enough to write a whole unrelated one-shot! No, the real trouble was deciding how much of Carosa's time in Alexandria to reveal just yet. There's a lot more to that story, but that section was getting long in the tooth already and I didn't want to throw it all in a single chapter. We'll get back to that, though. Don't you worry.

But for now, there might be a bit of a wait until the next chapter again. I have an aquarium date involving a lizard and a hyur to write, apparently. Please look forward to the next Assorted Storm.

Chapter 52: Escape

Sanda struck the Ascian without warning and without hesitation, her blade plunging deep into his chest and vanishing before he could even react. A gout of blood spat from the wound, but it rapidly sealed with a pulse of healing aether. It didn’t stop Sanda from striking again, then again, then again, each strike fast and furious and leaving bloody wounds which all-too-quickly healed. Nerva, or whoever he was, barely seemed to care. In fact, with every wound his smile grew until he was openly laughing, his head thrown back and his arms spread wide as if to welcome each blow.

“Ah, so you do remember me! And here I was afraid I’d have to remind you more personally after our last encounter! But look at you now! Moving with such fury, such murderous grace! Oh, it brings a tear to my eye, truly. But imagine my surprise to find that of all the people to cozy up to, you chose my most useful puppet! Tell me, did you truly miss me so much, Sanda?”

Sanda’s knife buried itself deep in Nerva’s neck.

“Shut. Up.”

Nerva rolled his eyes and tugged the blade out with one hand, using the other to snatch Sanda’s wrist and tug her closer. “Really now, there’s no need to be so dramatic. This is hardly the heartwarming reunion I’d hoped for, but I’ve chosen to make do with what I have. Is it so hard for you to do the same?”

“You murdered thousands. Ruined nations. Plunged the world into chaos and devastation. All so you could live out your precious fantasy of despair! I don’t care how you dragged yourself out of the pit Asahi threw you in. I’ll just keep killing you until you slink back into it.” Sanda’s hand, the one caught in Nerva’s wrist, glowed with fiery heat before suddenly exploding into furious light and flame.

[KATON]

The Ascian jerked back in alarm, his grin vanishing into a wary expression as Sanda dove for her knife and vanished from sight again.

Zenos watched the pair, speechless. He recognised that bladework all too well, even if Sanda was down a dagger. This was a far cry from her desperate strikes when they had faced Athena. Its bones were far older, its finesse far more potent. It had been used against him time and time again. Growing faster, surer, stronger every time. The only person capable of catching Zenos’s eye that wasn’t Arashi herself. The Warrior’s darkest shadow.

I see now why you did not fear for your safety last night. This is what you were keeping from me, wasn’t it? This magnificence. This purity of purpose. Your old self still lingers within.

It should have lit a fire in him. The beast inside should have been clamouring to join her, to face her, to burn the candle of his soul against her blade. Instead he simply felt cold.

“Zenos,” Sanda whispered, her voice suddenly directly against his ear. “If you’re going to stand there gawking, go do something useful. Alisaie needs your help.” By the time he’d turned to face his love, she’d already disappeared again. But her words were enough to galvanise him into action, rushing to where Alisaie lay amidst the ruined shelves and making ready to carry her if need be.

Alisaie was already stirring by the time Zenos had his arms under her, and she did not take kindly in the slightest to being carried away. “Put me down, dammit! I’m fine!” Zenos looked at the sheet of blood covering Alisaie’s face and promptly ignored her demands. We must make haste while Nerva… Fandaniel is distracted. Another revelation to unpack later, when they were safe. Zenos risked one last glance their way, but it was plain that Sanda needed no help facing the Ascian. Little by little his wounds were closing just a bit slower, while the au ra had not a scratch on her.

We make for the door, get Leveilleur somewhere safe, then I shall return to offer what support I can. I will not have you face this alone, even should it cost me my life to stand against him.

Zenos almost made it to the open door before a wall of flame sprang up between him and his goal, forcing him to skid to a halt to avoid hurtling headlong into them and taking Alisaie with him. He hissed, whirling around to see Nerva smiling at him and wagging his finger in their direction.

“Leaving so soon, ‘brother’? And here I thought you’d come all this way for a family reunion! After all, you went to so much trouble already. Breaking into the palace, finding the lab of mother dearest, even rifling through all her things. Really, didn’t Varis teach you any manners?”

Sanda appeared again, a bolt of lightning springing from her palms and slamming into Fandaniel’s chest. He looked down at the singe in his shirt and sighed, brushing away a few tatters of fabric before returning to his foe. He almost casually hurled a bolt of darkness in Sanda’s direction, appearing entirely unsurprised when she was no longer there a moment later.

“Really, this farce is a waste of our time. I cannot die. You cannot keep this up forever. What say we declare this pointless little bout a draw and you hold still so I can kill you, hmm?”

Sanda’s response was shuriken created from raw aether slashing across Fandaniel’s still-outstretched arm. “Very well,” Fandaniel muttered. “It appears violence is the only language you understand.”

“Psst, Zenos!” Alisaie looked rather more alert now, though the mask of blood was still concerning. “Behind the shelves, now! I’ve got an idea!”

Zenos hesitated for long enough to see Sanda strike once more, then did as Alisaie bade. The moment the pair were out of Fandaniel’s line of sight Alisaie wriggled free of Zenos’s grip and began rifling through her pockets. She still looked unpleasantly pale save for the crimson around her face, but her natural temperament had returned somewhat, at least. “Come on, I know I packed… Aha!” With a triumphant flourish Alisaie withdrew another suspect pouch and held it aloft with a grin. “Scalepowder! He might be able to recover from wounds, but let’s see him deal with this as easily!”

“Your habit of carrying around potentially dangerous and hazardous materials in your pockets makes me question the wisdom of placing my trust and safety in your care,” Zenos muttered, eyeing the pouch in the same way one would a particularly peeved moogle grabbed by the pom.

“I don’t carry this stuff around all the time!” Alisaie said, as though carrying them around at all was somehow a defensible position. “Just when I know I’m going into something dangerous. Like now!”

“And I assume you have a plan for after you hurl your pouch of indignities at our Ascian foe?”

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Alisaie responded with a shrug. Then, without waiting for Zenos to respond, she lurched around the shelf and hurled the pouch directly at their enemy’s face. It exploded in a spectacular puff of foul looking powder, but when it dissipated Fandaniel looked distinctly unimpressed.

“Truly? You ventured to the furthest reaches of space, rose against the very essence of despair itself and returned triumphant, and this is the best you’re capable of? Unless this is your idea of a joke, in which case- What? No. Nerva, don’t you dare! Return to slumber, damn you! You’ll ruin-”

The wall of flame guttered out. The remaining wounds – mostly healed but still jagged and red – ceased stitching themselves together. Fandaniel went limp, head hanging low and shoulders slumped as though someone had cut his strings. Then, in a quivering voice that lacked all the calm confidence from moments before, he spoke again.

“Zenos? Are you there? Please, come out if you are!”

Zenos froze. The tone, the uncertainty, the desperation, it reminded him of his first encounter with Nerva on the airship to Garlemald. Is he truly still in there? Or is this a fabrication to bring me out in the open? Alisaie hadn’t moved following her failed attempt to create an escape route, and Sanda remained nowhere to be seen. He could feel her eyes on him, though. Waiting for him to make a move. Weighing his worth on the decision he would make.

I am neither monster nor coward. Zenos rose and stepped out into the open again, past Alisaie, to face his brother. “I am here, Nerva.”

Nerva’s head rose up at the sound of Zenos’s voice. “He wasn’t lying. It is you. After all this time…” The smaller Garlean smiled. Chuckled. Began to laugh hysterically. “I can finally pay you back, cousin , for the hell you put me and my empire through all those years ago!”

Zenos’s eyes widened in terrible realisation as several things slid into place at once. The psychonekrosis appearing without any usage of regulators. The strange feeling of talking to a stranger and an intimate companion both at once. “Your soul survived your transformation into a Blasphemy. How?”

Nerva didn’t answer. With a horrific cackle he clutched at the knife Nerva held at his belt and lunged. “YOUR EVIL ENDS HERE, VIATOR! FOR ALL THE HELLS YOU DAMNED ME TO, I WILL SEE THEM REPAID IN BLOOD!”

Were Zenos alone, Nerva might well have hit home with his wild strike. He might have been able to land a telling blow and gain a crucial advantage. He might have… But Zenos was not alone. Alisaie’s bolt of raw earth aether caught Nerva in the chest and sent him tumbling back, landing with a sickening crack against the far wall. He went still upon landing.

“SANDA! We’re leaving!” Alisaie’s voice boomed through the library, echoing down the stairs into the tunnel and out into the hall. She didn’t wait for a response before dashing through the still open doors, a little unsteady but far more co-ordinated than someone who’d sustained such a head injury should have been. Zenos knew that he should follow, but he couldn’t move. Despite every instinct telling him to run, he could only stare at the limp form of the Ascian who had used him to usher in the end of the world… And the cousin he had thrown away for the sake of his final, fated battle with Arashi Washi.

It was Sanda who drew him out of his trance, yanking hard on his arm and getting between his gaze and the apparent corpse. “Hey, come on! We have to move!” The urgency in Sanda’s eyes helped return him to reality.

“Sanda? Is it…?”

“It’s me. Come on, big guy, let’s go!” Sanda, his Sanda, tugged again at his sleeve. This time Zenos allowed himself to be pulled away, towards the door. He found Sanda’s hand, gripping it like the lifeline it was. As one the pair ran. Away from his mother’s secrets. Away from Nerva and Fandaniel and the body they shared. Away from everything.

And right into a faceless knight who held Alisaie by the arm.

“There you are,” exclaimed a smoky voice in clear relief. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Follow me, and be quick about it!” She quickly turned on her heel and began dragging Alisaie with her down the hall, rounding a corner with alarming speed.

Sanda and Zenos glanced at one another for a single moment before making their decision. Arashi would never forgive me if I were to allow the Leveilleur sister be harmed. They followed the knight and their captive.

…

The knight led them down winding corridors and through what were clearly once servant quarters, choosing what seemed to Sanda to be the most circuitous and confusing route she could. With Alisaie still clutched tightly around the wrist by the mysterious woman (another elezen, from her height and build) there was little she could do but follow on and pray that their interceptor’s intentions were pure, however. I guess it beats watching myself fight an Ascian, but…

Eventually the knight stopped beside a nondescript door, finally deigning to let Alisaie go and turning to face the group. “Before we go any further,” she declared, “I want your solemn vows that you will speak not a word of what you are about to see to anyone else. Am I clear?”

Alisaie nodded, her face pale and drawn. Zenos was quick to follow. The knight turned her attention to Sanda, who wavered for a moment before nodding as well. Apparently satisfied, the knight pressed her hand against a brick in the wall, which obediently slid back from its place in the wall before the whole section suddenly rose up into the ceiling. Beyond the open space was another tunnel, this one even dimmer and less inviting than the last. But the knight said not a word as she darted inside, and the sudden roar and crash from the corridor behind them was clear enough indication that they had little choice but to follow. Sanda took a deep breath and plunged into darkness.

The knight waited only long enough for Zenos to bring up the rear and enter the tunnel before pressing another brick on the other side and sending the wall crashing back down around them. For a moment they were all left in all-encompassing black, but then a faint spark followed by a dim hum heralded a set of dim lamps embedded in the wall being brought to life.

“With me, and be quick.” The knight was already heading further in, gesturing insistently for them to follow. “I’ve been promised these walls are thick enough to block our aetheric signals, but I’d really rather not have to find out if that’s true or not.”

With little choice in the matter, Sanda followed on, more hoping than knowing that her companions would follow suit.

The journey through the dark, cramped tunnel felt all the longer for Sanda’s uncertainties and fears. With the knight preferring to keep her own company and the others either too injured or too fearful of the mad Ascian to speak, the only company Sanda could rely on was her own. Which was no company at all, really, even if her other half had returned control to her once the danger had passed.

It was the ease which which it had done so that scared her. She’d barely finished agreeing before it lunged for control, and Sanda could do nothing more than watch impotently as her body was used to perform all kinds of impossible tricks. Tricks which had likely saved them all from certain death (or a fate worse than death in Zenos’s case), but that thought didn’t exactly help when it had made it clear how little effort it would take to do so again.

Only if you’re in danger. You’ve forgotten too much. You need me.

No. I don’t. And I won’t have you taking what’s mine from me.

Silence. Sanda bit back on the furious scream she so badly wanted to unleash, forcing the anger and fear back down. The knight had stopped, she realised, pausing in front of what looked in the dim light to be a dead end. But Sanda was not surprised when the knight shunted another brick inwards and the wall parted for them. Tunnels within tunnels. Secrets within secrets.

“In here,” the knight said. As if there’s anywhere else to go. Once again she did not wait for a response before ducking inside. The opening was low enough that Sanda could feel stone brush against her crown as she followed suit, while Alisaie and Zenos had to bend over almost to their hips to get inside. Once more the knight waited for everyone to enter before shutting the tunnel behind them.

The room itself was a good deal larger than Sanda had expected, especially compared with the tunnels and lab. Apparently carved out of the stone itself, it was somehow still airy and bright. It was also sumptuously decorated, with silken tapestries and magnificent carpet lining the walls and floor. So taken aback by this den of luxury was Sanda that she failed to notice the room was also not empty of people until she felt the tip of a blade against her throat.

“Wasn’t expectin’ company. Wasn’t askin’ for it either. Care to explain yourself, sweetheart?” A miqo’te man of middle age with a mess of shaggy blonde hair stared at her with quiet murder in his eyes, a blade in each hand and one held to the base of her neck. His voice was faintly familiar, but the length of steel cutting against Sanda’s skin was the much more pressing issue at present.

“Your Majesty!” the knight exclaimed, pushing the blade away from Sanda’s throat and positioning herself between them. “These aren’t Carosa’s agents, I swear to you! I helped them escape from Nerva. I think they may be able to help us.”

“Were they now? Quite a tale to tell, but since it’s you, Shale…” The man’s eyes widened as his eyes flicked from Sanda to Zenos. “Holy hells. It can’t be, can it? You’re…”

“My name is Zenos Galvus,” Zenos replied as he stepped forward into the light. “Carosa’s eldest son. I have come in search of answers so that I might put an end to her madness.”

“No kiddin’,” the apparent king muttered. “Shit. Alright. You’re sure they’re tellin’ the truth?”

“As sure as I can be, sire.” The knight was in the midst of pulling off her helmet, revealing a pale face with watery blue eyes and a short, choppy mop of yellow-green hair. “They were fighting Nerva when I found them. Both sides of him, sire. If that isn’t reason enough that their goals are in opposition, I don’t know what is.”

“Fine. I’ll take your word for it, then. You three wait here, I’ll go get my wife so we can all talk properly.” The miqo’te slung his blades back into his belt before walking to the far corner of the room and ducking into a doorway Sanda hadn’t noticed. A few moments later he returned, accompanied by…

Oh. Of course.

Her once brown hair was now shot with grey, and her clothes were nowhere near as fine as they had been in the recording, but there could be no doubt. Age and stress had added wrinkles and strain to the woman’s face, but this had to be Garnet, the woman Carosa had once been so close to. Queen Garnet, Sanda mentally corrected herself, which made the man beside her the one who was recording in the penultimate recording they’d been able to view.

Garnet looked exhausted, clearly having been woken from fitful slumber by news of their arrival. Nonetheless, she held herself with the kind of queenly grace that could only have come from decades of practice… Which was stripped away in an instant the moment she beheld Zenos.

“Gods, it really is you… Carosa’s first son, returned to save us from her machinations. When I sent Sphene away to find you I never dreamed that she’d actually…” Garnet broke into a sob, leaning heavily against her husband. For a moment she looked as if she might break down entirely, but with a force of will she regained her composure and addressed the newcomers.

“I apologise. My name is Garnet Til Alexandros XVI, ruling monarch of Alexandria. This is my husband, Zidane Til Alexandros, King-Consort and the next in line to inherit the throne until our daughter declares her readiness to rule. I wish that we had met under better circumstances, but-”

A sudden thud interrupted the queen, drawing everyone’s attention to Alisaie’s slumped figure collapsing to the floor in a boneless heap. Oh no, oh no no no! In their haste to escape Sanda hadn’t even considered the fact that Alisaie had sustained a terrible blow from Nerva’s initial assault. While she was capable of healing magic, there was only so much the elezen could have done to repair the damage in the rush to get away. Now it seemed that damage was catching up to her.

Garnet was first to reach her, immediately sending out a pulse of her own aether to investigate the damage. “Gods, this is awful… Zidane, dear! I need my tome! This woman needs extensive healing and she needs it now!” Zidane didn’t pause for a moment, turning on his heel and making a dash for the bedroom with shocking speed. “Shale, I need you to support me with your own aether. Grab my shoulder. You as well, if you’re able.” Sanda didn’t realise the queen was speaking to her until the hyur’s arm shot up in her direction. With a nod Sanda rushed to Garnet’s side and placed her hand on the queen’s shoulder as directed. Shale did the same with a grim look.

“May I be of assistance?” Zenos enquired, wide-eyed and out of his depth but clearly wanting to be useful.

Garnet looked sharply up at him for a moment or two before responding. “Bandages. Blankets too. Your friend here is in an awful state. She’ll need proper rest if she’s to recover fully. Search the wardrobe in the back, you should find what you need there.”

Zenos nodded and dashed away, almost colliding with Zidane on his way back as he did so. Garnet took the tome gratefully from her husband’s outstretched hands before shutting her eyes and turning to what appeared to be a random page in the book. Then her body began to glow with potent magic, radiating off her in great waves before being pulled down by some invisible force towards Alisaie’s body.

Sanda felt the tug on her own aether almost immediately, manifesting as a persistent knocking on the door to her reserves. Sanda let the queen take what she needed, though the voracity and ferociousness of the aether drain was enough to make her gasp with sudden exhaustion. Shale kept her composure somewhat better, but Sanda could see from the tightening around her eyes that it was no easy thing for her either.

What felt like an eternity but must have only been a few moments later, Zenos returned with arms full of blankets and bandages as requested. At Garnet’s terse directions he began to apply the wrap to Alisaie’s head while Zidane was sent to fetch a sponge and some water to wash off the blood. Several minutes later Alisaie was looking a good deal healthier, the gore cleaned off and her breathing steady. Garnet sank back with a heavy gasp, joined a moment later by Sanda and Shale as the drain on their aether finally ended. So this is what it feels like, Sanda thought dimly as she stared up at the high stone ceiling. No wonder Arashi hates being used as a battery so much.

“There,” Garnet murmured after a moment or two. She had taken Zidane’s proffered wet rag and was wiping away the sweat on her face with it. “Your friend should be fine with some rest. Zenos, would you mind taking her into the bedroom so she can recover properly?” Zenos nodded and scooped up Alisaie in his arms for the second time that day. Within a few moments he was gone, reappearing shortly after empty-handed but looking a good deal more relaxed.

“So then,” Garnet said as she looked at Zenos and Sanda in turn. “It seems that the pair of you have quite the tale to tell. While your friend rests, I would have you tell us everything.” From the iron glint in her eye Sanda could tell there would be no changing her mind, and attempting to fool her with a phony tale seemed… ill-advised, given her proficiency with magic and her husband’s skill with the blades.

“Alright,” Sanda replied. “I suppose we’d better start at the beginning, then...”

Notes:

One's an ancient Ascian who just clawed his way out of hell! One's a Garlean prince whose sole was rent apart during the Literal Apocalypse! But this summer, the two of them will have to set aside their differences and learn to get along... in one body!

Also say hello to Zidane and Garnet Final Fantasy IX, everyone! Them being Sphene's parents was inspired by an absolutely adorable art piece I saw of that same concept, and I thought it'd be really cute to add it to the fic properly.

I went into this chapter thinking it'd be the last one before the next race, but we're gonna need at least one more before we get there. But after that... It's about time we paid a visit to Yak T'el, no?

Chapter 53: Exhausted

“So,” Lyse repeated once Kasumi had sufficiently calmed, “How did it go?”

“Fine,” Kasumi replied, refusing to look at Lyse as she spoke. Lyse huffed and took Kasumi’s hands in hers, stepping into Kasumi’s line of sight with a miffed expression.

“Try again.”

Kasumi sighed, tried to avoid looking at Lyse, found Lyse moving into her gaze again anyway. “Fraught.” Her hazy chuckle calmed the immediate alarm bells ringing in Lyse’s head, however. “We have a great deal to work through, still. But we’ve made some progress. I admitted my feelings for her, and she… didn’t reject me outright, which I can only assume is a good thing. And no, I didn’t tell her about your desire for us to leave. One bombshell at a time, yes?” Her laugh was nervous, self-deprecating to the extreme. “Halone’s tits, I’ve not felt this way since I confessed to Yotsuyu. At least then I knew well enough that she felt the same way.”

“Oh? And what about me?” Lyse asked with a teasing smile. You blurted it out quickly enough in Gridania, after all.

“I had other concerns, if you’ll recall. Such as the safety of my soulmate. And your injuries. And… Gods, a thousand other things.” Her face darkened with unpleasant memories, prompting Lyse to chase them away with a kiss.

“We shouldn’t be doing such things in public,” Kasumi whispered against Lyse’s lips once she was free to do so. “We’ve already made enemies, remember? Won’t do us any good to give them weaknesses to exploit.”

Lyse kissed her again. “I don’t care,” she murmured with a gentle chuckle. “If they think they can hurt the people I love, they’ve got another thing coming.” The third time Kasumi relented to Lyse’s stubborn insistence, her arms curling around Lyse’s body and tugging her close. Lyse couldn’t help her contented sigh, but nor did she want to constrain it. I really do love you, don’t I? It’s much more than just an echo of what I feel for Arashi. Thank Rhalgr…

“Thank you,” Kasumi said, her breath wonderfully ticklish against the base of Lyse’s neck. “For pushing me to even consider this in the first place. I owe you one.”

“Oh, you owe me a lot more than one by now,” Lyse retorted with an easy grin. “But who’s counting, right? Though I suppose if you did want to make it up to me I could probably think of a few ways…”

Kasumi’s chuckle rumbled deep in her throat, promising such delightful things. “Later,” her traitorous mouth spoke instead. “Someone needs to keep watching over Yugiri, after all. And before you volunteer, no. You’ve done enough already. Let me bear this burden for a time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Quite sure, yes. Get some rest, Lyse. I’ll come and find you later, alright?”

“Alright.” Lyse, with a great deal of reluctance, let herself slip free of Kasumi’s grip. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. If you do, I’ll go and bully Retsarra into taking your place!”

“Don’t you dare!” Kasumi called out, but Lyse was already halfway down the corridor by then and rounding the corner. Despite everything, she found herself feeling good for the first time in several weeks. It felt to her that things were starting to take a turn. Once Yugiri was fully recovered they would get away from this prison of steel and electrope, and with Arashi at her side and a full plan of attack nothing would be able to stop-

She almost didn’t recognise the woman glaring at her from down the hall. The pitch black waterfall of hair had undergone a transformation, now a dusty blonde shade. So too was the pallor of her skin exorcised in favour of a more natural tan hue. Even her outfit had shifted from black to slate grey, matching the other competitors at last. But there was no way Lyse could forget the hate in those eyes. Scorpienne.

“You.” Lyse was caught halfway in her attempt to avoid the confrontation by the venomous word spat at her. She turned to see the woman who had almost killed Yugiri stalking towards her with intent. Lyse tensed, adrenaline starting to work its way into her system, fists clenching for the inevitable fight to come, muscles primed and ready to defend herself against whatever Scorpienne had planned.

But no punch was thrown, no blow was struck. Instead the smaller woman stopped a few inches away from Lyse and glared at her as though trying to bore a hole through her skull with her eyes alone. Lyse held the glare with one of her own, though deep down she couldn’t muster much more than pity for the girl. Yaana’s alive, but if I tell you that it’ll ruin everything we’ve worked towards. Maybe… Maybe before we leave I can tell you. If you’ll listen.

“Your friend. She still breathing?” Lyse swore she could detect a hint of regret in the woman’s voice, a feeling that was only strengthened by Scorpienne breaking her glare to cast a sideways glance to the corridor beyond. Maybe there’s a chance to make this right after all.

“She is,” Lyse quickly replied, seising on the momentum before it could slip away. “In fact, she’ll be making a full-”

“Shame.” Scorpienne cut through Lyse’s enthusiastic bridge-building with practised ease. “I should have dug deeper with my stinger, huh? I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lyse was moving before she could think through what she was doing, grabbing Scorpienne by the collar, shoving her violently against the wall, slamming her spare fist into the wall next to Scorpienne’s head hard enough to leave a dent. For a single gratifying moment Lyse saw real fear in the hyur’s eyes, but then the hateful mask slid back into place.

“What’s the matter? Did I touch a nerve?” Scorpienne’s smirk practically begged Lyse to wipe it off her face. Lyse resisted, though it took much more effort than she cared to admit.

“You’re talking about murdering my friend.” Lyse channelled Arashi; her perfectly calm fury, her razor-edged intent. It helped.

“And? Eutrope was my friend and Mad Hare had no problem murdering her. Yaana was my girlfriend and you and your “friends” murdered her too. Why should I give a shit about your feelings, huh? It’s not like I’m going to stop at that scaly bitch.”

“If you think for a second I’m going to let you-”

“Do you know what really gets me? Not only do you murder the only person I was able to actually let in, not only do you flaunt it by showing up at our front door, you decide that you want to go and take the last little thing I was reaching for too. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been fighting for this chance? How many sleepless nights I spent thinking about how I could reach Ascension? Yaana and I made a promise to Ascend together, and I’ll be damned if I let you and your friends take that from me. I’m going to break your other lizard friend, and I’m going to make you and everyone else watch. And then, once I’m done with her, I’m going to break you too.”

Lyse let go of Scorpienne’s collar, stumbling back in shock at the concentrated venom in the smaller woman’s tone. Scorpienne scoffed, giving Lyse one last look before turning to return the way she came. But Lyse was no stranger to such hate, and she wasn’t about to let that deter her from trying to mend what was so badly broken.

“Scorpienne, wait-”

“Scorpienne is dead!” She didn’t turn around, but she did stop dead in her tracks. “You and Zoraal Ja made sure of that. If you’re going to call me anything, call me Snakebite. But I’d recommend you save it. You’ll be struggling to breathe soon enough anyway.”

Lyse tried to speak again, but she couldn’t find the words to respond properly. She stood and watched Snakebite walk away, feeling for all the world that she had been given the chance to make things right and screwed it up thoroughly.

Again.

---

Sanda told them everything. Their decision to return to Garlemald, their meeting with Nerva upon landing, their ill-fated dinner with Carosa and flight to Tuliyollal in the dead of night. Gemma seeking out Zenos and requesting an audience. The encounter with the knights and their possessions. And finally, Gemma revealing herself to be the lost princess Sphene and requesting that they investigate her homeland. What gaps she had in her story Zenos was able to fill, though his eyebrows rose at Gemma’s true identity being revealed. She hadn’t intended to, but there hadn’t been time to break the news in private.

The rulers of Alexandria and their attendant knight listened in increasingly incredulous silence. Zidane looked ready to interrupt whenever the knight captains were brought up, but each time he tried Garnet silenced him with a look. Eventually she allowed him to say his piece, which he leapt upon almost immediately.

“Bullshit. I’ve known Otis and Zelenia since they were fresh recruits out for the bounty on my head. They’re as loyal as they come and good people to boot. That’s the whole reason I asked ‘em to track Sphene down when she disappeared. They wouldn’t go around starting fights and ambushing people, even if they were thought it might bring back our Sphene. They’re better than that.”

“It does sound rather difficult to believe,” Garnet agreed, but her expression showed a good deal more doubt than her husband’s. “Though, if Carosa had approached them first and convinced them that this Arashi was responsible for Sphene’s disappearance… I wonder, my love, I truly do. You know as well as I do how inflexible they can be when they get an idea in their heads.”

“I still don’t buy it. Especially when they’re the ones who kept us out of her clutches in the first place,” Zidane muttered, though the flick of his ears and his downcast gaze suggested that Garnet’s perspective was beginning to win him over.

“Regardless, I believe it’s only fair that we share our side of the story. Doubtless you must be wondering what we’re doing in these tunnels instead of in the palace above.” Garnet paused, the weight of recent events clearly weighing on her. Eventually she said, “The long and short of it is that we blinded ourselves to danger under the mistaken belief that Carosa had our best interests at heart. By the time we realised that she wanted nothing of the sort, it was much too late. She whispered into the ears of our allies, bribed those who refused to listen to her honeyed words, blackmailed those with the integrity to resist both.”

“And we sat back and let it all happen,” Zidane added bitterly. “I can’t believe we were so blind! All these years spent around plush thrones and servants waiting on me hand and foot made me too damn soft.”

“Sphene, our dear Sphene, saw through her from the first, but we refused to give her words the weight they deserved. Her disappearance lifted the scales from our eyes, but it gave Carosa the spark she needed. She declared us unfit to rule, claiming that we’d abused and forced our Sphene to escape for her own safety. Carosa tried to have us arrested and locked away in the deepest cells she could find.”

“Otis and Zelenia made sure that didn’t happen. They got to us first and sent us down here. We sent ‘em away, told ‘em to find Sphene and bring her home. With her back home we can fight Carosa’s narrative. But if she or her son find us first…” Zidane ran his thumb across his throat. “Game over. She wins. And she’ll finally have her damned electrope mine.”

Sand and Zenos exchanged a glance. That mine again. What is so special about this electrope substance that she would overturn a nation’s rulers to claim it? Zenos cursed his own ignorance on the matter.

“Do you know why she’s so hells-bent on this in the first place?” Sanda asked what Zenos could not find the words for.

“I couldn’t begin to guess,” Garnet replied with a heavy heart. “The Carosa I once knew wouldn’t have dreamed of doing such awful things. But either her dreams of obtaining raw electrope or the monster inhabiting her son have corrupted her beyond reason. Perhaps… No. It is far too dangerous to ask that of you, and you’ve done more than enough for us already.” But her eyes flickered towards Zenos with faltering hope nonetheless.

“Ask what you will,” Zenos said. “If it will help me understand my mother’s intentions, I would gladly take the risk.”

Garnet’s eyes widened in surprise at Zenos’s readiness, but she steeled herself with a nod. “Very well. If you wish to know what your mother intends, the most direct way would be to ask her yourself. She spoke often of wanting to meet you again, both before and after Nerva’s death. You may be able to exploit that desire and ascertain the truth of her madness. But be warned: Carosa is cunning beyond measure and willing to resort to any number of underhanded means to attain her goals. Tread carefully around her, lest she decide that you are as expendable as we were.”

“I am aware,” Zenos replied, glancing at Sanda as the memories of their fateful supper with his mother rose unbidden in his mind. “But the reward is worth the danger. I will approach her and gain what advantage I can from her affection for me.”

Zidane laughed, a hearty and full-throated belly-laugh that resounded through the chamber. “Well, you’re either a brave man or an idiot. Either way, I like ya!” His grin vanished as he added, “Don’t go gettin’ yourself killed, yeah?”

“I’ll keep him safe,” Sanda promised, but her tail tapped a gentle rhythm against Zenos’s leg.

Are you sure?

I am, Zenos tapped back. I must.

“Shale?” Garnet asked, turning for the first time since healing Alisaie to their ever-present guard. “May I ask that you make ready to escort our guests to the station once their friend has awoken? It wouldn’t do to keep them down here, particularly when our resources are stretched so thin already.”

“At once, my liege.” Shale cut a perfect bow before moving to the leftmost wall of the chamber. Zenos failed to be surprised when a section of the wall melted away into yet another tunnel, most likely leading out of the palace grounds entirely. Grandfather would have adored this demesne. Or taken it as a challenge. The pang of grief did surprise him, however. He’d thought himself long beyond that, but the lifting of the grey was nothing if not uncharted emotional territory.

Alisaie didn’t take long to wake up, though with no small number of complaints at having been left out of the discussion. Sanda mollified her with promises that she’d been caught up on everything once they were back in Kozama’uka, but her grumbling continued right up until they were ready to leave.

It wasn’t until Shale and Alisaie had already set off down the tunnel that Garnet caught Sanda’s arm. “One last thing before you leave. When you see my daughter again, tell her that we love her and that we’ll wait as long as we must for her to return. But she must return. This isn’t something she can run from. Tell her that for me, alright?”

“I will,” Sanda promised. Then she set off down the tunnel after the others with Zenos following on behind. The journey itself was a quiet one, with Shale too busy navigating the twisting tunnels that branched and split and joined seemingly at random and Alisaie still weak from her injuries. As for Sanda, while it was clear there was much on her mind it was equally clear that she did not wish to share it yet. Zenos allowed her the silence she craved. He wasn’t sure what to say in the first place.

“Here we are,” Shale said at last and apparently at random. “Follow the stairs up here and you’ll be right next to the station. Next transport should be arriving soon, so get on it and you’ll be gone before Nerva even realises you’re out of the palace. Oh, and don’t worry about your luggage. I’ve a friend working in The Tantalus Retreat. They’ve seen to it that your rooms have been cleared out, and your cases will be waiting for you on the other side.”

“Thank you,” Sanda said. Though it was too dark to see her face, Zenos could hear the smile in her voice. “We owe you for finding us when you did.”

“It’s no trouble, really. Give my regards to the princess when you get back, would you? And tell Otis and Zelenia not to trust Carosa, if you get the chance. I don’t know what she’s gone and told them to get back in their good graces, but it’s all a pack of lies.”

“I will endeavour to pass along your message,” Zenos murmured. He offered no goodbyes before ascending the stairs, his mind still reeling from the revelations he’d endured. Fandaniel and Nerva both in the same body and plotting against him. Confirmation that what his mother and Sphene had told him were true. The realisation that despite everything he desperately wanted to mend the rift between himself and Carosa. And above it all, seeing Sanda overtaken by her other self just as he had been back in Garlemald two years prior.

He was silent during the trip back to the Source, and barely spoke more than a few words when they secured travel from Yyasulani to Kozama’uka overnight. If Alisaie and Sanda noticed, they made no attempt to bring him out of his shell. Instead they slept as best they could while Zenos watched the stars and pondered what awaited him on their return.

He had the awful feeling that it would be unpleasant.

---

The first call came in at far too early in the morning. Arashi slept through it.

The second call came several minutes later. Arashi woke up, groaned, slapped the “Hang Up” button and rolled over to try and sleep again.

The third call came not a second after the second. Arashi groaned again, swore, then snatched up the phone. “Whaaaaaaat.”

“Arashi. It’s me. We’re back.”

“Oh.” Arashi stared blankly at the phone. Then, “Oh!” Lucidity began to kick in again. “Sanda! Do you have any idea what time it is right now?”

“Just past fourth bell,” Sanda replied irritatingly swiftly. “We need you to pick up Alisaie. She got hurt in Alexandria.”

“What?” Arashi’s blood went colder than the grave. “Is she alright? Are you alright? Gods, Sanda! What happened?”

“A lot. Come to the airport, would you? We’ll talk more in person.”

“Alright. By the kami… I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Okay. Love you, sis.”

“Love you too.” Arashi hung up and wriggled free of the sheets. For a moment she considered waking Yotsuyu, but looking at how peacefully her wife was sleeping she decided it against it. She’s earned some rest after everything that happened yesterday. She’s not used to this like I am.

Duty called. Arashi, weary and tired and aching everywhere, answered. Very, very grumpily.

Kozama’uka was almost entirely empty of people at this time of night, but a few more nocturnally-inclined Hanuhanu still roamed. Some were up far too late weaving reeds, others were loudly celebrating some event with drinks and friends. Few paid much attention to the exhausted au ra as she weaved through the streets, and fewer still cared about the affairs of a tourist up so early.

The airport was barely more populated, and mostly by tourists waiting for morning flights or preparing to receive new arrivals. Arashi took a seat near the entrance and waited for her sister to appear. Exhaustion quickly caught up to her, and the next time she opened her eyes it was due to her sister shaking her by the shoulder and calling her name.

“Mmm… Sanda? Sanda!” Arashi jerked upright and flung her arms around Sanda, who appeared entirely unprepared for the sudden rush of affection. “You’re alright! Thank the bloody kami!” Arashi’s eyes searched for Alisaie but found Zenos instead. She offered him a polite nod and received one in turn, which was enough for her to dismiss him for the time being in favour of the search. She found Alisaie not long after, looking dishevelled and withdrawn.

“I’m going to guess that things went wrong if you’re back so quickly,” Arashi murmured, just softly enough for Sanda to hear without alerting the others.

“You could say that. We met the royal family. And Nerva too. He beat up Alisaie pretty badly before we chased him off. Got her healed, but… She needs a pep-talk, I think. Can you…?”

“I’ll do what I can,” Arashi said, finally letting her sister go. “Full report later?”

“Yeah,” Sanda agreed with a yawn. “We’ll call you when we’re ready. Got to talk to Gemma first.”

“Of course. See you later, then. Be safe, sister.” Arashi rose from her seat and walked towards Alisaie, who barely seemed to notice Arashi’s approach until she was almost right in front of her. Oh, Alisaie. Let’s get you home. Arashi said nothing aloud, however, simply pulling the poor elezen into her arms and holding her gently. After a moment of stiffness, Alisaie reciprocated the hug. For a time the two simply stood together, Alisaie drawing what strength she could from Arashi and Arashi letting her take what time she needed. Then Alisaie straightened up and gave Arashi one of her usual sardonic smiles.

“Where’s Yotsuyu? Still getting her beauty sleep?”

“I decided to let her rest,” Arashi confirmed. “Besides, I’m here to make sure you get home, not add insult to injury. You ready to go?”

“Yeah. But let’s go slowly, okay? Barely caught a wink of sleep on the airship, so if my legs suddenly fail me I’d rather not fall flat on my face.”

Arashi chuckled, moving to Alisaie’s side (just in case). “As you wish, my lady. I won’t say no to not having to sprint after your long-legged stride for once.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Alisaie muttered darkly, but she set a leisurely pace nonetheless. Usually Alisaie would have filled the quiet with easy conversation, goading Arashi with gentle taunting or chatting about something meaningless or trading pointed barbs with Yotsuyu. This time, however, she was silent. From the few stolen glances Arashi risked it appeared that Alisaie had lost interest in conversation entirely. Arashi resolved there and then to get the story from her friend before she left her alone.

Alisaie, being Alisaie, had other ideas. Once they reached the hotel she put on a forced smile and turned to Arashi. “Alright, I’ll be fine to make my way to my room from here. You can go back to your unspeakably gorgeous wife and do… whatever it is you two do that isn’t one another.”

Arashi gave Alisaie a pointed look and stayed put. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Alisaie. I need to make sure you don’t collapse in the hall somewhere, remember? Besides, I know that look on your face. I taught it to you back when I was the Warrior of Light and you didn’t let me get away with it either.”

For a moment Alisaie looked ready to stand her ground, but with a dramatic sigh she relented. “Fine, fine. Let’s get up to my room first, though. The moment you’re gone I’m going to sleep off this headache for the rest of the day, so be quick about whatever lecture you’ve got planned.”

The silence of the hotel halls was another thing entirely to the quiet of the outside world. The walls smothered sound, leaving behind only unsettling silence. Arashi could never quite get used to the sensation no matter how many times she travelled for her work, and Alisaie’s reticence only made it more unnerving. If Lyse were here she’d have found a way to open Alisaie up properly. But she’s not, so I’d better do what I can in her place.

Alisaie opened the door to her room, shunted her suitcase against the nearest wall, then flumped head-down onto her unmade bed with a groan. Arashi, for lack of any other seating, perched herself besides Alisaie and waited for the elezen to feel like speaking. When she did not, Arashi cleared her throat pointedly. When that also failed, Arashi spoke up properly.

“I’m not leaving until you talk to me. You know how this works, Leveilleur.”

“Uuuuuuuuugh. I don’t want to!”

“Too bad. I didn’t either. You know as well as I do that this road goes both ways.”

“Fine. Fine!” Alisaie pushed herself back onto her feet, then twirled and sat heavily on the bed. Arashi, who knew this temper tantrum was coming, rode the ripple and gave her friend an encouraging smile.

“So. What happened to put you so down in the dumps?”

“I fucked up,” Alisaie bluntly replied. “I said I’d protect your sister and Zenos and instead I almost got myself killed. If they hadn’t been there to help me, I’d… Well.”

Arashi’s smile vanished as dread choked her. “Tell me what happened. Everything.”

It took a single look at Arashi’s face to convince Alisaie to oblige. Arashi’s dread only grew as the sordid tale emerged, from Alisaie’s hare-brained plan to get into the palace to their chance discovery of Carosa’s lab to the dreadful identity of the rogue Ascian. But it was Alisaie’s frank, unblemished description of her injuries sustained at Fandaniel’s hand that chilled her most. So this is how you felt when I made it back from my adventures with another scar to tell the tale.

Once Alisaie finished speaking the pair were quiet for several long seconds. Then, at last Arashi said:
“I’m glad you’re alright. Really, really glad. I don’t know what I’d have done if I lost you too.”

Alisaie flushed and looked away with a murmured, “You’re welcome, I guess.” Arashi chuckled and slung an arm around the flustered elezen’s shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze before putting her hand back on the mattress.

“So what are you upset about? That you got hurt protecting others, or that you weren’t strong enough to face him properly?”

“I…” Alisaie paused with a furrowed brow. “I didn’t actually think that deeply about it. I think both? Both sounds right. I just… Gods, I hate that I can’t even find the words for it! I should be better than this! I used to be! Why can’t I just…” Alisaie’s words stopped as a quiet sob was choked out instead.

“It’s alright, Alisaie.” Arashi pitched her tone as gently as she could without being accused of patronising the poor woman. “I think I understand exactly how you feel. It’s the weight of what we used to be bearing down on us. You get used to it after a while, but it won’t go away. Not easily, anyway. But… If you want to talk about it properly, I’ll be here. Lyse too. Hells, maybe even Yotsuyu if you want to trade barbs instead of actually talking through it. She’d enjoy that, I’m sure.”

Alisaie laughed, stubbornly rubbing away the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. Her still-wet hand landed on Arashi’s, but she seemed not to notice. “Thank you. But I think what I really want is to get stronger so I don’t get my arse handed to me again. Can you help me with that too?”

Now it was Arashi’s turn to laugh. “I missed your honesty! Of course I’ll help you. Gods know I could do with a sparring partner that isn’t Wuk Lamat. Not that she’s a pain or anything,” she hastily added, “I just don’t know where I stand with her, and I can’t help the feeling that she thinks I’m hiding something.”

“Which you are, if we’re being entirely fair.”

Arashi stuck her tongue out at Alisaie, triggering another laugh. It was, all things considered, very good to hear Alisaie laughing so freely again. “Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that I’ll happily kick your arse until you learn how to not get your arse kicked if that’s what you want. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Your definition of the word ‘friends’ explains so much about you, Arashi.”

Arashi snorted and made to get up, but Alisaie’s hand over hers kept her still a little longer. Alisaie smiled up at Arashi, caught halfway between sitting and standing. It was an uncertain, fragile thing, but it was much better than before.

“Thank you. Really. I didn’t deserve this, but I did need it.”

Arashi chuckled and waved Alisaie off with her free hand. “Think nothing of it. Thank you for keeping my sister safe. I’m glad she had you to look out for her. Now, are you going to let my hand go so we can both get some rest or am I to be your prisoner for the rest of the day?”

Alisaie glanced down at her hand, then up at Arashi, then flushed scarlet again. “Oh gods, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realise I’d-”

Arashi wasn’t entirely sure what impulse drove her to do what she did, but one moment she was tugging her hand free and the next her lips had found Alisaie’s cheek. That only made Alisaie blush harder. “I’ll see you when you wake up, okay?”

“Okay.” Alisaie didn’t look like she had the capacity to say much more. Which was a good thing, because the reality of what Arashi had just done was starting to catch up to her. She was out of the room and shutting the door before she knew it, but it took her some time to stop staring back at it and get moving again. Her heart was, for some reason, pounding.

By the kami, her as well? No, no no no. This is just lack of sleep and relief. That’s all that was. I don’t- She’s just- Godsdammit. Her as well.

Arashi made a mental note to deal with that particular revelation some other time. I need to sleep. Gods...

 

Notes:

Wow, a new chapter within a couple of days of the last one! What is this, Wheels of Thunder?

I'll be honest, I've got no idea how I got such a big chapter out so quickly. The spirit of write-thing bit me and it bit me hard, I guess.

Anyway, that should just about do it for Kozama'uka! Next up, as promised... YAK T'EL TRIUMPH!

...Eventually. I make no promises on THAT one coming as quickly as this one did. I have the feeling it's gonna be... large.

Chapter 54: Yak T'el Triumph (Part One)

“Everything alright, Arashi?”

“Hm?” Arashi was pulled from her stupor by the sound of Cid’s concern. “I’m fine, Cid. Aside from all of the… well, everything aligned against us.” She flashed him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “Just business as usual for us though, right?”

Cid, having dealt with Arashi’s bullshite for a lifetime and a half, fixed her with a half-lidded stare. “If that’s the case, then why have you and Alisaie been acting like a pair of skittish cats whenever the other’s in the same room?”

“Oh. That. It’s stupid, really. I made a silly mistake when she came back and I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it yet. It won’t effect our performance out there, don’t worry.”

“What did you do.”

“I… kissed her on the cheek and then ran off before she had a chance to properly react. Because I have romantic feelings for her and didn’t realise until that night she got home. And I’ve been avoiding her because I have no idea how to actually admit it. Again.”

Cid’s breath sang through his nose in a long, heavy sigh. “Gods give me strength… Alright, we have time before the race and I won’t have your bloody impulses spoil your chances of winning it. Wait here.”

“Cid, wait-!” Arashi began, but Cid did not wait. He stalked past Arashi with a steely glint in his eye and shut the garage door behind him, even going so far as to lock it with a decisive click. Arashi stared at the door in disbelief, then collapsed against the nearest stool with a growl. Really, Cid? Of all the times to do this you choose now? But unless she wished to tear open the door with her own raw strength and cause all manner of panic in the act she had little choice but to wait for Cid’s return.

She didn’t have to wait long, thankfully. A minute or two later the door clicked back open, revealing Cid holding Alisaie by the collar of her racing suit. Alisaie, for her part, was swearing and struggling wildly against Cid’s cast iron grip, but she might as well have been fighting to turn back the tide for all the good it did her. Cid shoved her through the open door and then slammed it shut before Alisaie or Arashi could get to it.

“You’ll stay in there until you actually talk like civilised adults or until the race begins. For my sake, make it the former.” The door once again clicked as it was locked again, and soon the sound of heavy boots on concrete swiftly descended into silence. Alisaie stared dumbfounded at the door for several moments, then whirled around to face Arashi.

“You told him, didn’t you?”

“He’d have found out one way or another and we both know it.” Arashi ran a hand through her hair and rose from her seat, crossing the short distance between herself and the elezen with leaden feet. “Besides, he’s right. We should talk about… what I did and what that means.”

“What’s there to talk about? We were both exhausted, you helped me back to my room and talked some sense into me, then you left. That’s all that happened.”

“Alisaie…”

“Look, I’m not going to dwell on it and that’s final!” Alisaie huffed and turned away from Arashi, her arms crossed and her posture stiff as a board. “I’ve long since accepted that I can’t be with you and that’s fine. I don’t need your pity and I certainly don’t need your table scraps of affection whenever you think I need a pick-me-up, okay?”

“Alisaie.” Arashi gently placed her hand on Alisaie’s arm, half expecting her friend to slap it away in a rage. But she didn’t. Alisaie didn’t do anything in response, not bothering to resist when Arashi twisted her back around. Arashi fully expected to see molten fury written on Alisaie’s face, or bitter, scarred hurt, or anything at all except for what was there.

Hope. Desperate, painfully bright hope. Oh gods. I need to be gentle here. If she gets the wrong impression…

“I think my feelings for you have… changed.” Alisaie’s face lit up even brighter. “But! I don’t know how deeply yet. And I haven’t talked to… gods, anyone else about this, let alone Tsuyu or Lyse or Kasumi. So don’t get your hopes up yet, okay? I need to know if they’ll approve it, and even if they do then I want to take this slow, so… um… By the kami, why is this so damned difficult to get through? Gods above…”

“Can I… No. No asking. I’m going to be selfish now.” Alisaie’s head was already tipping down as she spoke, but to Arashi it all happened in slow motion. She was rooted in place, unable to do anything but take in Alisaie’s slowly closing eyes, her gently parting lips, her head tilting just so. Arashi could have stepped back. Could have taken Alisaie’s chin in her hand and gently pushed the elezen away. She didn’t. The kiss was a brief, soft thing, but it felt quite upsettingly right. Godsdammit. So much for taking it slow.

“Right. That will do.” Alisaie laughed giddily and stepped back with a more radiant smile than Arashi had seen on her face in a long, long time. “Gods, I’ve been dreaming for so long about doing that! Sorry, you were saying?”

“You’re a menace. You know that, right?”

“Obviously. Lyse says it’s my best trait, and the more I think about it the more I’m inclined to agree.” Alisaie’s easy smile faded a little as she asked, “Okay, I need to ask. How long have you… known that you…?”

“About thirty seconds after I kissed you on the cheek.” Because even when she’s reincarnated and returned to humanity Hydaelyn still finds new and imaginative ways to ruin me. “I… I’ll be honest, I don’t know why it happened. Maybe it was you getting your memories back, maybe it was the relief at seeing you come back alright, maybe it was just there the whole time and I didn’t… Ugh. It doesn’t matter. Are you satisfied now you’ve stolen a kiss back from me?”

“For now,” Alisaie replied with an impish smile. “But we should talk again once the race is over. Properly, this time.”

“We should.” Arashi nodded, feeling one weight lift and another, far heavier one descend. Tsuyu’s going to hate me for this one. Arashi leaned past Alisaie and, at much louder volume, continued: “Is that good enough for you, Garlond?”

There was a brief jolt against the door followed by a muffled but distinctly foul curse. Then… “Aye, that’ll do! You can come out now. But you’d best get moving! The race will be starting any minute now!”

And whose fault is that, Cid? Arashi looked up at Alisaie, giving her another smile. “See you at the finish line, Leveilleur?”

“Don’t keep me waiting there too long, Washi.” Alisaie’s grin was practically feral. She skipped to the door, wrenching it open with a single swing and dancing through it into the pouring rain. Arashi shot Cid a final foul look before going to join her partner on the track.

No more distractions. Yak T’el awaits.

…

“Kasumi!”

Lyse caught the au ra before she could turn around, her arms suddenly pinning Kasumi’s to her chest and holding her firmly in place as the Ala Mhigan buried her head into her girlfriend’s hair. “And good morning to you too, Lyse.”

“You can’t go out there! Even if you try and submit, it won’t stop her from trying to kill you!”

“’Trying’ being the key word, yes.” Kasumi twisted her head far enough around to flash Lyse a crooked smile. “I may be naught more than the Warrior of Light’s faithful shadow, but that should be more than enough to deal with her. Have some faith in me.”

“Stop joking around and listen! She has a new feral soul! Something snake-y, I think, I don’t exactly know. But it’s dangerous, I just know it! We have no idea what she’ll be capable of!”

“Such is the way of it, aye. But I’ve faced worse foes with less of an idea of how to defeat them. She’ll fall like all the rest.”

“Ugh! What is it about you and Arashi that makes you completely unwilling to listen to reason when it counts? We need to-”

“We need to what, Lyse?” Kasumi pried her way free and turned to face her indignant heart, hackles raised and ready to fight. “Flee with our tails between our legs? Need I remind you that Yugiri is in no position to even walk, let alone run? She managed all of five steps yesterday before needing more healing and you expect her to keep up with us? All while the woman who did it to her gets to go on festering and poisoning everything she touches?”

She saw the understanding dawn in Lyse’s face. It was an exquisite kind of hurt to be inflicted with, seeing the disappointment take root. “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?” Lyse was far quieter now. “You want revenge for what she did to Yugiri.”

“Not revenge. Justice.” Shadows slid around Kasumi on instinct and soon she was encased in her usual armour. “I’ve no intention of killing Euphoria, if that’s your concern. But she can’t be allowed to continue like this. I’ve ignored my calling for too long. I’ll beat some sense into her or-”

“Or what? Die trying?”

Kasumi saw it all in the way Lyse refused to look at her. In the clenched fists. In the slight tremor in her stance. Oh… godsdammit, Arashi. “No. Absolutely not. Lyse… Look at me, Lyse, please.” Lyse did so, the full force of her anger and fear hitting Kasumi full-force. With an effort of will Kasumi banished the helmet that had slid into place around her head and looked Lyse in the eye. I’m not her, dammit! I won’t hurt you like she did, I promise! “I want to live. For you. For Arashi. For Yotsuyu. For… For Yugiri. For all the potential this body has and all the happiness we fought so hard to achieve. I want to see it. So no, I won’t throw my life away out there. I’m coming back alive.”

Lyse stared at Kasumi, who met her gaze as steadily as she could. Then Lyse was suddenly right in front of her, still staring, still caught between fury and fear, still not fully believing. “Promise me. Promise me you’re not going to die.”

“I promise. I don’t want to die.”

Kasumi thought she was well prepared for Lyse’s inevitable kiss, but she was a good deal less prepared for the sudden impact of Lyse’s body slamming into her with it. The pair tumbled to the ground, but Lyse’s lips remained locked onto Kasumi’s the whole way down and beyond. Any other time and Kasumi would have shut her eyes and let herself enjoy it, but she was still fully clad in armour and the sudden bruising from the fall took the romance out of the gesture.

“If you don’t keep it then I’m going down into the Aetherial Sea and dragging you out of it myself. You understand that, right?”

“I do. But that won’t happen. If things get too dangerous, I’ll find an exit and take it. You have my word.”

Lyse’s fist bashed against the shadowy armour hard enough to leave a dent. “Good.” Then, a pregnant second later, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Kasumi forced the rest of the armour away and ran a hand through Lyse’s hair, who responded with a shuddering sigh and burrowed her head into Kasumi’s chest. But as they lay together a question that Kasumi had kept putting off rose once again in her mind. I suppose no time like the present... “May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“When did I manage to banish your doubts about loving me?”

Lyse chuckled, her mirth reverberating through Kasumi in a gentle wave. “That’s all? Gods, I thought you were going to ask me for my darkest secret, the way you were talking.”

“And yet you haven’t answered it.”

Lyse said nothing, clearly pondering how best to respond. Finally she said, “Yugiri. The way you watched over her until she woke up. Arashi would have gone on a rampage. She wouldn’t have stopped until whoever hurt her was dead or on the verge of it. You didn’t. You just sat there and held her hand and prayed to gods you know are dead for her to pull through. It helped me realise that you’re really not just her and that I really do love you.” Lyse sighed gently and added, “Sorry it took so long.”

“Don’t be,” Kasumi murmured. “I’m just happy to hear those words at all. Ready to let me go so I can go on that rampage?”

“Not with that attitude I’m not!” Lyse’s arms wrapped all the tighter around Kasumi, hard enough to make the au ra’s ribs creak. “No rampages. No bloody revenge. You fight her and you win and you make her see sense.”

“I’ll try.”

---

Tsukuyomi exploded onto the track with a force and fury that few had seen and fewer still had weathered. She had at last been fully freed of the restraint which had chained her in the Kozama’uka Current, and now she sought to unleash every aether cannister she could find upon her unprepared opponents. Including and especially Suzaku, which had begun as a distant blur but now was barely metres ahead of her. I’m coming for you, lover. Are you ready for me?

Suzaku’s response was a sudden bolt of lightning aether that flew singing from her trunk and missed Tsukuyomi by inches. A warning shot. As clear a challenge as ever there was one. Yotsuyu felt her pulse quicken as the urge to rise to that challenge rose to the surface. She slammed on the accelerator, ready to pounce-

But Shinryu was quicker.

Yotsuyu hadn’t even bothered to check to see if someone might have been pursuing her in turn, so it was that one moment she was spurring towards Suzaku and the other she was spinning wildly out of control as the dirt road beneath her wheels froze over in an instant. For a mercy her partner had struck out in the Cinderfields rather than the dense forests above or below, and so Tsukuyomi was at no risk of crashing into a tree as Yotsuyu fought desperately to regain control. But it did cost her valuable seconds, time enough for Suzaku to lengthen her lead and for Shinryu to make gains on its rival.

Neither of them saw Glory of Mamook and Blessings of Mamook until they smashed through the sand in a frenzy of flame, their riders hooting and hollering in hot pursuit. Behind them, drafting in their wake and refusing to be left behind, Dawn’s Promise hurtled towards the head of the pack with a relentless rattle of barely-held-together metal. With the mysterious knights mysteriously missing from the race, there was nothing stopping the best of Tural from making good use of their home field advantage to full effect.

Damn you all. I won’t be beaten like this! Yotsuyu snarled and wrenched as hard on the wheel as she dared, shunting Tsukuyomi back in the right direction and sending her roaring after the rapidly shrinking dust cloud that was her competition. She’d known from the start that Yak T’el would be a trial of a race just from its length alone, but she hadn’t anticipated it to be so wide-open on its upper half. She couldn’t break away from the pack nearly as much as she’d have liked, and now she was paying for it dearly. But I can use that openness to my advantage.

There were three paths down into the azure canopy below, each one fraught with its own dangers but one above all the others. It was a narrow, steep road cut into the face of the cliff, one which the other racers would likely avoid with how close the lead would be. But that same road was by far the straightest path down into the final stretch, and if Yotsuyu could navigate the few hairpin turns along its edge she could easily cut ahead and win.

The only trouble would be keeping everyone behind her from taking that same path. She could already hear the rumble of other engines. Including one irritatingly familiar one. Leveilleur. That one could not under any circumstances be allowed to take the same track. Phoenix was small enough and light enough to slip past her, and if it did…

Your last victory was a fluke. I won’t allow you to steal another from me. Yotsuyu kept a wary eye on her rear-view mirror as Tsukuyomi burned a trail through the compacted sand and mud, just in case. But it seemed Phoenix was too pre-occupied with a surprisingly aggressive Night’s Blessed to focus on the glimmer of moonlight ahead of it. A small mercy.

A final set of aether cannisters sat between Tsukuyomi and the branching paths down into the forest below. With the rain still pounding all around it was getting more and more difficult to see what she was doing, but it was easy to tell that most of the cannisters had already been picked off. With a hard twist of the wheel she swerved into one of the last remaining ones and prayed to the kami for something worth using. The cannister flooded her dashboard with a dull yellow glow, coalescing into a murky mixture ready to be unleashed.

Earth. I can work with that.

And she would have to, for Alisaie had shaken off her pursuer with a sudden surge of water aether and now looked ready to ride that tide to catch up to Tsukuyomi. Yotsuyu didn’t intend to give her the chance, of course, especially not with the steadily narrowing track. From the tyre marks on the track it was easy to tell where the others had gone, opting for the safest of the three routes. Save for one, who had elected to brave the trickier (and rather overgrown) path through the stone and into the heart of the forest. None had elected to tackle the cliff directly. Perfect.

Yotsuyu made to enter the safest branch, then wrenched Tsukuyomi at the last moment onto the rocky road ahead. At the same time she slammed on the cannister and sent a huge wall of rock sprouting from the earth behind her. She heard Alisaie’s cry of surprise blossom into anger as her attempt to catch up was neatly severed. Then, growing fainter by the second as Tsukuyomi rumbled on:

“I KISSED YOUR WIFE, ARSEHOLE! I STILL WIN!”

Such petty little lies you spin. You, kissing Arashi? Preposterous.

Alisaie soon faded from Yotsuyu’s mind in the same way her voice died in the wind. The road rapidly narrowed as it went on, the cliff pressing and pushing and practically begging its unwelcome visitor to tumble off its edge and stop bothering it with her frantic racing. Yotsuyu refused its demands with careful handling and judicious braking. Soon enough she was sailing around the first nightmarish bend and into the longest and easiest straight section of road in the path. A taste of glorious speed to dull the senses against the turns to come. But Yotsuyu was undeterred.

I have faced the Glacier and Abalathia’s Spine and all of their dangers. You are nothing before them, and they were nothing before me. Bow.

But Garlemald and Ala Mhigo did not have anything like what was waiting for her near the next twist in the road. She should have suspected something was amiss when she’d failed to see the silver-clad knights at the starting line. Now here they were, their bikes parked across the road, blades gleaming in the glare of their headlights. Waiting for her. Or, more likely, for Arashi.

But I doubt they will think twice about striking me down. Or using me as a hostage to get to her. Yotsuyu slammed on the brakes and froze in place, heart racing but mind firmly in the lead. I don’t have the space to turn back, not here. I could try and run them down, force my way through, but then they might try to strike at me as I pass. Fuck. Fuck! What in the seven hells am I to do?

“You there! Dismount your vehicle and face us! We would speak with you!” Otis’s bellowed demand echoed out into the uncaring canopy below. Yotsuyu hesitated long enough to snatch the regulator from where she had stashed it before the race began (just in case) and slowly climbed out of Tsukuyomi’s cockpit. She made no move to approach, however.

“What do you want with me?” Yotsuyu called out, letting her anger take the place of fear and staring down each knight in turn. Otis faltered beneath her withering glare, but Zelenia merely stared back through her veil of auburn locks without a flicker of emotion.

“We have been informed that you are responsible for the disappearance of Princess Sphene Til Alexandros, crown princess of Alexandria! By the powers invested in me as knight captain of the Alexandrian royal family, I place you under arrest!” Zelenia’s voice was a blade, steel-edged and brilliant even as it cut through the tension sharper than any true sword could. “You and your conspirators will release her into our custody and return to the Ninth to face justice for your crimes!”

Knights in truth, then. I had so hoped Sanda was joking. “Whoever spun that pretty little lie, they have quite the knack for fabrication. I have not the slightest idea who this Sphene is, and nor do I care. Move aside and spare me the rest of this farce.”

“If you will not come quietly,” Zelenia cut in with practised efficiency, “Then we will be forced to cut you down and present your corpse to your fellow kidnappers. Perhaps the sight of your body will encourage them to talk.” She was already advancing, though Otis did not. Yotsuyu could see the doubt in his eyes, the conflict written plain on his face. Not the true believer you thought you were, hmm?

“And what evidence do you have of my guilt?” Yotsuyu considered leaping back into Tsukuyomi and breaking through once again. She’d have the element of surprise on her side, certainly, but she doubted it would last long enough to save her. No, I must keep them talking. “Have you bothered to check for traces of my aether at the scene of the crime? Have you looked into me and my fellows even slightly before rushing to judgement? No, I doubt you have. That would require you to do anything more than lick the boots of your employers and savage whatever poor peasant they tell you to. I know your type. Attack dogs have no need for thought, do they?”

“Villain! I will see your blood stain the trees below us if you speak another word of slander!” Zelenia broke into a run, blade flashing in a deadly arc, aiming to-

“ZELENIA, HALT!” The blade stopped. Zelenia froze. Otis jogged towards her, his blade now sheathed and his face showing a resolution that was not there moments prior. “Are we truly fallen so low that we would cut down an unarmed woman just for insulting us?”

“She-”

“Is right and you know it. Much though I have tried to deny it, doubt nags at me all the same. Why would Carosa seek to destabilise the throne in one breath and then beg us to find Sphene in the next? It doesn’t make sense!”

“You heard her as well as I did, Otis!” Yotsuyu was briefly forgotten as Zelenia rounded on her partner. “It was not her wish to do so, but that of her monstrous son! You were not there when she lost that boy! She would have done anything to bring him back, even…”

“Do you truly believe that, Zelenia?” Otis’s face softened as he reached out to cup Zelenia’s face in his hand. “Or are you just telling yourself that to ease the dread in your heart? What if Sphene was never kidnapped at all? What if she simply fled from Carosa’s cruelty?”

“Enough!” Zelenia slapped Otis’s hand away and whirled to face Yotsuyu again. “Consider yourself lucky, knave. I will not open you from hip to sternum this day. But I am not satisfied that you are entirely innocent. You will come with us and assist us in our search. If you do this, I will consider you absolved of suspicion.”

Better than a death sentence, at least. And I can use the regulator to make my escape whenever I please once their guard is down. “Very well. Lead on and I shall follow.”

Zelenia kept her blade trained on Yotsuyu as the three of them left Tsukuyomi behind and made their way back to the bikes. Yotsuyu was made to sit in front of Zelenia, with the pair mounting one of the bikes and Otis taking the other. Yotsuyu considered speaking again but thought better of it. Let her ponder in silence. Anything I say will only reinforce her suspicions.

They were some way away from where the trap had been sprung when the rumbling began.

At first Yotsuyu brushed it off as merely thunder from a distant storm, particularly given the lack of concern from her captors. But instead of dying off the rumbling grew louder and louder. Out of instinct Yotsuyu glanced up-

And saw the cliff itself making ready to bury them.

It was her scream that made Zelenia look up and take notice of the danger. That in turn made Otis aware as Zelenia’s vehicle suddenly prepared to take evasive manoeuvres against the inevitable hail of stone. So concerned were they all with what was rumbling down towards them that they didn’t hear the explosion beneath them until it was far too late. The road gave way and the cliff face was shorn away and they were falling, bikes and all, into the great blue canopy beneath.

And despite the imminent threat of death that Yotsuyu suddenly found herself in, all she could think was: Not again. Please not again.

Notes:

And here. We. Go.

As you might have guessed from my blatantly unsubtle foreshadowing earlier, this is kind of a long one! Kind of a big one too. A lotta moving parts, a lotta big events. So much so that I decided it'd probably be best to split the damn thing in two. I suspect this is gonna be the longer of the two, but I genuinely couldn't tell ya.

Anyway, that's one of the reasons this took so long. The other... Well, I started out writing one thing and then started writing another as well. Y'see, the damn Arashi/Venat fic that I thought I'd be free of when I finished it... didn't let go. And it didn't let go so hard that I eventually buckled and just added a bunch of words to it of them fuckin' nasty. As ya do, apparently.

So, I dunno what to do about that! For now it's sitting on a google doc (quite rough WIP and missing the Arashi bullying it dearly needs), but I'm debating whether or not to publish it once it's done. If I do, it'll be its own separate fic for sure, but for now I've turned on commenting on the doc for y'all to spout words about it if ya feel so inclined.

This really is just the equivalent of me throwing the fic at your face and running screaming into the woods, so: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N_rrr6jLyAfKZMrw3WHOzwS9nVyzGzE88GaOe6kdE8M/edit?usp=sharing

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Y'see, in the time between chapters I ALSO got an incredible gpose commission done of the Wheels of Thunder wives and I couldn't be happier about the result. So much so that I did my own quick and dirty gpose about it as well: https://www.tumblr.com/storms-path/794593148964847616/oh-dont-give-me-that-look-spider-lily-you

I've been staring at those three for days now. Join me in staring until I grace you with part two.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 11 of Storm's Path Collection