Xanarken’s pod beeped and the lid slid open, and the frail-looking man who’d been residing within abruptly rose from the stasis-fluid he’d been suspended in. The mask over his face was ripped away, the interface on his head pulled off to plunge back into the pod, and Xanarken coughed and heaved, trying to catch his breath. He put one thin hand against the front left side of his core, and tried to catch his breath.

The sound of fluttering was rather annoying, but he knew Etienne would show up sooner rather than later, and he turned his dark eyes towards the Fifth, “You can leave.” He said, voice raspy from centuries of disuse.

“But-”

“I won’t say it again.” Xanarken argued, “I’m fine.”

“Rylen tried to send me away, too. I won’t be bullied into patient abandonment when I can see with my own damn eyes that you’re not fine.” Etienne countered, and approached anyway. As soon as she was next to the Fourth’s pod though, Xanarken snapped to her wrist and grabbed her; it was a surprisingly tight grip, considering the man’s muscles had withered. Etienne looked at her limb, horrified as her mantle shifted and buckled, “Xanarken, what are you-”

“I said I’m fine, Etienne.” He said with no uncertain level of seriousness, “Don’t touch me.”

“…Okay…” She answered quietly, and spread her fingers out in surrender. Xanarken let her go, and she hovered a few paces away, “Sorry.”

The Fourth just grumbled quietly as the Fifth took her leave again, and he tried to draw in a few pained breaths. His hand remained on the side of his stomach, but he finally started to feel a bit of relief as the pain subsided, “…Fucking Hell…is this what Rylen felt like? God almighty…all she did was elbow me…” He winced. With one final breath though, he put back the breathing-mask, waited for it seal around him, and then lowered back down into the stasis-fluid. Hands went up to find the neural-interface crown, and he pulled it back into place above his head. With a deep breath, he opened up the overlay again, and reconnected to his mantle.

It took a moment, but when it finally formed at pod-side, the Eidolon turned and spent a moment making sure nothing else had come loose. Nanotech-arms dipped into that iridescent fluid, checking on every tube and cable attached to his partially-atrophied but immortal flesh. Satisfied everything was where it ought to be, he reached at the last to adjust the crown over his head, centering it so the cerebral pegs that touched to his skin were settled back into the grooves they’d made from such prolonged placement. The lid was put back into place, and Xanarken set his hands to the glass, staring down at himself, …I haven’t come out of it like that since we realized we didn’t have to anymore. I’ll have to be careful not to get too close to her again.

.

Ren wouldn’t stop running until the Memorial was completely out of sight, and she fled straight-up a vertical wall to the top of a park-bordering building. It was just as well that she was going to stop there anyway, since her vision started to darken at the peripheries, and a strange sound – like raging water – filled her ears. Her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed forward, going shoulder-first into the gravel that lined the roof-top. Struggling to regain herself, she rolled to her stomach, and tried to get her hands under her shoulders as a disturbingly-cold feeling washed through her.

Furion was quick behind her after that, hefting himself up the building’s siding the same way she had, only to launch himself further without realizing she’d stopped until he spotted her below his arc. He landed on one of the domed roof-top greenhouses, and hastily slid down, pulling the woman over and against his lap, “Ren!”

She was completely dazed, disassociating all over again. The nanotech that she wore – her dress-blacks – and the color in her hair all seemed to dissolve in fits and starts, coming back together, only to fizzle again like a broken radio-signal. The only other time he’d seen nanotech behave that way was when Rylen had been impaled-through during the Sterling Rose incident. Worse still, he could see subtly-darkened veins trailing outward from her blackened eyes, and she went completely limp.

“REN!”

His voice was distant and distorted, as though she was hearing it from deep under water. The deafening roar from before was completely washed out, leaving her in uncomfortable quiet…but she was sure she could still move around somehow. Eyes went up, seeing light above the ‘water,’ but it was getting smaller and smaller as the seconds wore on.

“The only reason you’re in control is because I allow it.” Scyrexian’s voice boomed, and it coiled like a great serpent in the deep, “Surrender, and make it easier on yourself.”

Ren could hardly believe what she’d heard; the voice was so clear, not just a whisper at the back of her mind anymore. She could feel herself turning around – the light above her moved as her perspective shifted – but she was sure she could see the beast hiding in the dark below her, like a leviathan stalking prey. She faced it adamantly, “If you could take-over that easily, you would’ve done it already! You’ve had hours of opportunity already and you didn’t do shit!”

Scyrexian bellowed madly at her, shaking the entirety of whatever realm it had pulled her into, “Know your place, you blind and impertinent thing.”

“You’re not going to do to me what you did to Ianori!” Ren argued back, “You’re not going to hurt anyone else! Not one more!”

Red eyes blazed in the abyss, scorching in their brightness and painful to behold, “You’ll be lucky if I don’t rip them all apart with your own hands when I’m done. Surrender!”

“NO.” She yelled, hands over her ears and eyes clenched shut, “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!”

Scyrexian raged all the more, thrashing in the void violently…but it never rose higher than it already was. Ren could feel the endless power radiating off of it like a terrible heat, but something was stopping it from swallowing her whole.

“…Shut…up…” She whispered in pain; Furion held her close, though that didn’t stop him from wondering if she was talking to him in that moment, “Just…shut the…Hell…up…”

The fractious writhing settled as Scyrexian’s roars diminished into threatening growls, though even that seemed to vibrate through that endless space, and Ren could feel it go straight through her with terrifying ease. Those massive red eyes narrowed, and the oily miasma weeping off of them narrowed into thin tails, “Your time is running out, child. You will lose this fight.”

“You’re…nothing but a liar.” Ren answered, and started kicking, determined to breach the surface before she drowned in its wrathful gaze, “If I have to keep you here for the rest of my life…then so be it… Never forget that you’re the one trapped inside of me, not the other way around!”

Scyrexian watched her silhouette shrink away from it as she rose towards that glimmer high above, but instead of seething in its fitful fury, it just…kind of rumbled a low, disturbing laugh to itself, completely unheard by the woman as she escaped.

Ren gasped loudly as she sat upright, and wretched terribly as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes and lungs stung, but that pain quickly faded, and she reached up with her right wrist to wipe the spit from her chin. She cleared her throat a few times, and finally opened her eyes - her completely normal green eyes - and turned where she sat.

“…Ren?”

“F-Furion…” She managed, and coughed again.

The Captain shifted in place to look at her squarely, and reached his hands forward to cup around her face. He turned her left and right, stunned at the sight of her, but found that everything had returned to how it should be, “…Are you good? What the Hell was all that just now?”

Ren looked around as well as she could, and Furion finally let her go again, “…I… I think I told Scyrexian to go fuck itself…”

“Your tech was freaking out. I was freaking out. Your eyes were starting to do that thing like with the afflicted where the light comes out, but it was dark red and gross like when it was happening to Ianori… Are…you…good…?”

“I think so…” She nodded, and put a hand over her heart, feeling it beating at a normal pace beneath her skin. The sense of anxious dread was gone, too, and she looked around that roof-top space, “…I…feel better than I have in days, actually…”

“If it’s all the same to you, we’re not going back to where Lugios is.” Furion said, and pulled the Dame into a tight hug, “I told him to leave you alone before I came after you. You’ve got to make sure you do the same for him. You were right to not want to come to the Memorial; you’re not safe around each other. Not for now.”

“…I know.” Ren answered quietly; her heart hurt to admit it, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

.

Not knowing what to do or say, Gabriel stared out over the park, wondering what just happened. To his surprise, Ravan carefully approached on his left side. He heard her try to get his attention, and cast a glance her way.

“…I’m sure she didn’t mean that to look the way it did.” The Fafnir commented, “She’s always spoken really highly of you.”

“I know…” He answered, only to shake his head, “Um…that she didn’t mean it to look like that, I mean. Rylen is-…er, Lord Rylen…is right over there, and… Gods, I can’t talk all of a sudden.”

“Were you two close?”

Gabriel just cleared his throat and took a step back, “…I think…I should make my way to Trazad. I’ve probably overstayed my welcome with the Sixth at this point.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Ravan watched with a sigh as the Vice turned away, all-but retreating from the lingering despair of the proceedings. She turned to the duo behind her, “…That was weird, right?”

“These days, I don’t know what counts as weird anymore.” Jense answered, arms crossed as he, too, watched the pseudo-Eidolon depart, “Honestly, after finding out Ren and the Captain are a thing, that was probably the most normal thing I’ve seen in weeks.”

“You are so right, brother.” Corbin agreed easily, “I long for the days when love triangles were the strangest thing we had to deal with.”

Ravan made a face at them, “…You think that’s a love triangle?”

“Yeah, absolutely. What else could it be?”

“…A love chevron?” Jense suggested contemplatively, “A triangle would imply that all three points are connected and I’m almost-certain they’re not.”

“…I can’t believe you two are saying stuff like that at a funeral.” Ravan scoffed at them.

“I’m so numb, I’m not even sure I think it’s funny.” Corbin shrugged, and turned on a heel to start heading for the park exit, only to pause a few paces away, “…I dunno about you two, but I’m shipping out tomorrow. Feeling bad about wanting to get back to work is probably the only thing I’ve actually felt for the last week.”

“…I’m going, too.” Jense agreed, “Where did you get assigned?”

“The Guardian. Captain Greenseer.”

“Lucky…she’s probably the next-best thing to the Aegis. I’m heading to The Ward with Captain Hernandez.” Jense answered, and they both looked to Ravan, “You?”

“The Buckler. Captain Landon.” She answered sullenly, “…They’re on deployment in the way-far north. It’s…not ideal.”

“You three better not leave without saying goodbye.” A fourth voice commented, and all three turned to spot Lequerion there with his youngest, “It’s bad enough you’re all already thinking about deploying again. Doesn’t anyone take leave around here?”

Jense and Corbin were practically at attention for the man, “Captain!”

“I don’t want to hear it.” He says dismissively, “I haven’t been your Captain in years.”

“Sir!”

Lequerion just stared at them, and looked to the third – and nonreactive – Fafnir, “…How long have you been with the team, kid?”

“…Seven years, sir. Almost eight.” She answered, “…I was with The Buckler before.”

“Ah, so you’re basically going home, then.” Lequerion noted.

“It’s a new Captain and a new crew, for the most part, sir.” Ravan explained, “Familiar halls, but no familiar faces.”

“I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.” The elder Rydell commented, tapping his thumb on his son’s shoulder where the teen was glued to his side, “In any case,” He turned to speak to all three again, “This wasn’t something I was expecting to have to talk to you about so soon, but if you’re all going to leave already anyway, then I guess now’s as good a time as any. The reason you’re being dispersed like this is because Lord Rylen expects you to look for recruits.”

“…He wants us to poach people?” Corbin was surprised, “Isn’t that unethical?”

“If we want to rebuild the Fafnir, we can’t wait for another formal application-phase to roll out.” Lequerion answered, “You’re envoys for the Aegis, and you’ll be looking-out for skilled warriors while those ships go out on exercise. You also need to assess if you can see yourselves working together. Normally, the compatibility factor is something the Captain looks-out for, but there are a lot of extenuating circumstances these days, and it’s going to be a team effort this time.”

“…How do we explain why so many of us suddenly ended up dead?” Ravan wondered, “I know there was some…shall we say, sanitized language used to explain the state of the Aegis. …But us? Nothing was said about us…”

“Lord Rylen doesn’t want you talking about it. At all.” Lequerion explained simply, “Never forget that the Fafnir are an elite unit, and its missions are considered classified for the most part. You owe an explanation to no one, and you’re under orders to keep quiet.”

“Do you know what happened, sir?” Corbin wondered, “You’re a civilian now…yet it seems like you know exactly what happened.”

“Not entirely as such; former Captains still have some clearances. Enough-so that if, say, another Captain wanted to divulge details in an effort to get a second opinion…”

“Ah…”

“I don’t have access to the archival footage, though.” Lequerion noted, “So what I know is just what came from your Captain’s retelling. And…speaking of whom…”

All eyes turned in the direction the former Captain was looking, and were relieved to see Furion returning with Ren in tow finally, even if neither of them was heading in their direction. Seth wasn’t about to wait around for an invitation, and peeled off to go after them, “See you guys later!” He hollered, weaving through the remnants of the crowd until he disappeared.

Lequerion looked to the trio, “Guess that’s my cue. Remember, don’t leave without saying goodbye first!”

“Yessir!” Corbin and Jense both answered; Ravan stayed stoic and quiet.

Seth ducked and swerved until he made it to the side of the thoroughfare, where it was a little clearer to run a straight line along the road-side barrier. He kept an eye on his brother through the forest-like congregation of mourners, until the barrier finally ended and he could hop out onto the grass. It was a straight-shot after that, and Seth tore across the field to catch-up, “Miss Ren! Furion!”

Ren glanced up, and barely had time to let go of Furion’s hand before Seth barreled straight into her, “Seth!”

“Why’d you take off like that!?” He berated, “You’re honestly the worst about leaving without saying something first…”

Furion made a face at the teen, and reached his hands under Seth’s arms, lifting him up like a cat, “She had good reason.”

Seth dangled for a moment, but then flailed to get free, only to find it wouldn’t be so easy, and finally went limp, “…Ugh…fine.” He grumbled, and Furion set him back down again, feet steadying themselves on the walkway. He turned slightly to see the pair over his shoulder, “Still, it was super rude… And at a funeral, no less, where saying goodbye is the whole point.”

The dressing-down only continued as Furion started to corral them forward, and – still watching from the proverbial shadows – Kourin kept half an eye on them. Her eyes narrowed slightly on the teen, I wonder who that is? Looks just like the Captain, only…fun-size? She quirked her head to the side, but then dismissed the thought and pulled up the overlay on her glasses. Hidden beneath her barrier, no one could see her typing a message to her cohort, [Have you been able to get the Fafnir personnel files yet?]

A few seconds passed before she got an answer, [Yeah. Incoming.]

Images of the core-dossiers came up on Kourin’s sights, and she narrowed her eyes at the Captain’s image, …Furion…Rydell. Same last name as the guy that Laurier despises… She looked at the image skeptically, but then pulled her glasses down a little to look over the rims at the little group – just as Lequerion had finally caught-up - and realized the three of them looked similar, Oh…Furion must be a nepo-baby. That’s papa Rydell right beside him. But who’s the kid? She typed at Phexides again, [There’s a third Rydell here, I think. The former Captain and someone far younger, not even old enough to be a Knight.]

[That’s probably Setharion Rydell, the former Captain’s youngest son.] Phex answered, and sent a photo of that profile as well, [He’s actually a full Knight already, even though he doesn’t turn 18 for another 7 months. …Apparently Rylen has taken him on as some kind of apprentice. I can look further into it if you want.]

[Yeah, good idea. He’s hanging out with Scyrexian’s newest host.] Kourin replied, and leaned back against the tree she sat by, contemplating for a moment. She then went back to the profiles she’d been sent, singled-out Wing Commander One, and continued typing, [This is the one it took. Ren Nibasai.]

[You’re sure?]

[It turned her eyes black for a second, and literally shushed me while I walked by. It saw right through my cloaking.] Kourin answered, still baffled by it, [Gabriel’s right here, too. Or at least he was, until leaving a minute ago.]

[Wasn’t Scyrexian supposed to take him as a host? I thought that was the whole point.]

[Yeah…I dunno. You should see him though. He’s like…6ft tall now or something. Kinda hot.]

[He was literally a child the last time we saw him. I can’t believe you’d say that.]

[What? It’s not like I thought he was hot back then.] She leered at the messaging window, [In any case…put a pin in Nibasai. For whatever reason, Scyrexian didn’t make a move here, and now the two of them are going their separate ways. We should keep tabs on her and make sure we know where she goes.]

[Not Gabriel?]

[…That ought to go without saying.] Kourin grumbled, and pushed up to stand, [He hangs out with Xanarken though, so he’ll be much easier to track. We should let Tallus know at some point that we’ve got things handled on this side.]

[I’ll call him. What about you?]

[I got what I came for, so I’m coming back now. We’ll leave Agartha tonight and be ready for when Scyrexian swaps.] She answered, and closed the window before pulling the glasses off her face. She put them carefully away and took one last look out into the field where the Rydells and Scyren were still walking away, …You’re a strange critter, Scyrexian. I hope there was a good reason for why you didn’t migrate earlier. This whole thing is making me antsy.

Seth had finally gotten through with all his scolding by that point, and was contented to just walk with the group as they made their way towards the public streets. When they finally got to the park’s gates though, they were surprised to find a certain duo there waiting.

“…Iresha?” Seth said aloud, and quickly walked forward to meet with the Prince where he stood on the sidewalk, next to a rather obvious Sargonian vehicle, “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, hi, nice to see you, Iresha, I’m so glad you showed up when you did to pry me away from all these stuffy adults.” The older teen said dryly, “Didn’t anyone tell you?”

“…Tell me what?”

J’ard answered that question, “Lord Rylen reached out and asked me to bring the young Prince here to collect you. …His Royal Highness explained the reasons, although I would have phrased it differently.”

“Oh.”

Iresha reached forward to grab Seth by the shoulders and pushed him back and forth, “You gotta come. I’m bored out of my gourd.”

Seth was just baffled, “…You know this was a funeral, right?”

The Prince blinked, then released, and cleared his throat against his hand, “…Ah, ahem, I see.”

J’ard offered a wary smile, “I was wondering why there was so much going on here. I hadn’t heard about any deaths though. I apologize for our mutual disrespect.”

“It’s fine… I could probably use the distraction anyway.” Seth shook his head, but glanced back at his family, “Can I go, dad?”

“You’re in good hands with J’ard, so…sure.” Lequerion nodded, and crossed his arms casually, “No sense keeping you around all us stuffy adults, after all.”

“Okay; thanks.” The young teen turned and gave a wave to the group, “I’ll see you guys again later, maybe?”

“Just go have fun, Seth.” Furion shooed him off, “No one would ask you to spend all of your time grieving. I know it’s not in your blood to linger anyway.”

Ren stayed mostly quiet, and just waved, “Cya later, Seth.”

Iresha all-but shoved the youngest Rydell into the vehicle, and followed after, pulling the door shut behind him. As Seth reoriented himself with the vertical plane, the Prince kept a hawk’s eye on J’ard, watching him go around to one of the other doors. At the last moment, he flicked the locks, and the entire vehicle became inaccessible, “We gotta ditch him.”

J’ard’s words were mumbled and impossible to understand from inside the vehicle, but both teens were sure he was asking the obvious.

“Aren’t you supposed to be more careful? I mean, you’re a royal and all.” Seth wondered, combing his fingers through his hair to set it back to normal.

“You know that the only reason he was picked to follow me around is cuz I’m afflicted, right?” Iresha countered, “I don’t need a minder making sure I don’t use my Limitless. I know what I’m doing. He’s also way too formal, so if anyone around here is a stuffy adult, it’s him. I have an idea…” He leaned towards the forward row of seats, “Take us up! J’ard can find his own way.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.” The Sargonian driver answered, and immediately did as bid. The vehicle lifted straight up, then out as it left the street-side, joining into the flow of traffic higher in the air.

Seth flipped in his seat and watched J’ard vanish – stunned; Lequerion thought it was hilarious – out the rear window, “…I can’t believe you did that.”

“Perks of being a royal, right?” Iresha was rather proud of himself, “Now, if it’s true that I just plucked you out of a funeral – and if it’s true that this was done at Lord Rylen’s request - then it’s apparently my solemn duty to cheer you up, so…where are we going? What’s your favorite place in this city?”

Seth turned around to sit forward again, and after a moment of thought, gestured his hand forward to dismiss his funerary-blacks, and replaced them with far-more-casual garb, “My favorite place would probably bore you to tears…but I know somewhere you might actually like.”

“That’s the spirit.”