Sincan found himself once more in the cockpit of Okshender. He looked around in the dimly lit cabinet, noticing how in certain areas it appeared to not fit in. It looked inorganic in a certain way, as opposed to the rest of the Gear, which had a certain sense of normalcy and regality to it. His mind drifted until a beeping noise sent him back into focus.

Why was he here on top of the clouds again? Oh yeah, that airship crash… The news had spread pretty far. What had caught Firil’s attention however was the fact that the airship looked strikingly similar to the one that had stolen the safe away. Her bossy attitude annoyed Sincan a bit, but for the sake of the mission he’d accepted what she asked of him and went over to investigate.

Sincan held up a small crudely assembled device. The source of the noise that had disturbed him. Jake had said that he would know when he was close to the people who had stolen the safe. He’d taken the earpiece Sincan had gotten off of Tox in order to craft this device.

“Okshender, I think we’re close. Try flying around this area.” The area in question was a suburban neighbourhood. Sincan couldn’t make out any details from the monitor as it was dark out. Figures, he had been flying a long way. The irritating noise from the device sped up as Okshender approached a laboratory. Directly above it, the noise became unbearable fast. Sincan didn’t mind, considering it meant that he had found what he was looking for.

They were hiding it in a private research laboratory. He felt as if he should break in there right now and get the safe out, but that would be reckless above anything. “Take us back, Okshender. I think we found it.” He left the location behind regretfully, noting down the name as he did. Okshender, for his part, was unusually silent. Jake had been tinkering with him for the past few days, so Sincan attributed his behaviour to that.

****

Firil held the coin in her hand and stared at in frustration. It was nearly night and she still had trouble perfecting the technique. What she had accomplished was improving the bond between her and her Wheel. A bigger pool to work with would be much appreciated when fighting. It was hard to improve said bond considering they had been on the run for months now, but these last few weeks had proven solace.

She looked at the coin and charged it positively. She then held it in a gloved hand and charged that positively as well. She pointed towards a target sat on a chair. The coin ripped free from her hands, veering off course and failing to hit the target she had hoped for. She sighed before walking over to pick it up again. Firil then picked up her target and took a bite out of it. Using fruit for practice was the easiest route she could have thought of.

Her clothes started blowing in the wind and she glanced up to see a giant Gear descending from the sky. Sincan had come back from his patrol earlier than she would have imagined. She looked back at the coin and gave it a negative charge, prompting it to fly into her gloved hand and stay there. She’d have to wait a bit for those charges to stop working.

Sincan hopped out of Okshender and landed on the ground in front of her. “It responded,” he said with a smile. Firil returned the grin and went to gather up the group from their positions. Kos from her bedroom, Jake from his tinkering station and Moris from the lounge. She left Nato as to not inconvenience him more than they already had. Chosh scuttled behind her as she called them to a meeting.

Jake noticed that Sincan was smiling and asked, “It worked?”

“It started beeping a lot around this one research lab located near Zonzara. The Jonzuan Ganver Research Institute to be specific. They weren’t very original.”

“So…what do we do now?” Moris asked as he turned towards Firil.

“The longer we wait, the harder we make the safe to track down… I think we should break in tonight,” Firil replied.

“Quietly?” Kos asked.

“If we can. If not, we always have Sincan to take the fall,” Firil answered.

“You’re beginning to think like your uncle, Firil,” Sincan remarked.

She ignored that comment as to not give Sincan any satisfaction. “They could have placed it there for safekeeping?” Moris said.

“Moris, I know you’ve never been inside one, but research institutes aren’t very safe places,” Jake said.

“That would mean what we’re hunting for is an unsafe,” Kos joked.

“I don’t think uncle would be so callous as to leave the safe somewhere like that. If you’re okay with that, I think tonight might be the night we get it back,” She stared at everyone one by one.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I don’t like being a criminal any longer than I need to be,” Sincan said in agreement.

“You needed to be one for more than 20 years? I wonder what kind of crime led to that,” Kos said.

Jake got up to go outside and left them to talk to each other. After a while, they all agreed to the plan, nervous excitement going through the group. They’d decided to leave Nato behind. His injuries would make him more of a liability than an asset if they were to encounter any problems along the way.

Jake walked back in after a while, wiping his hands with a small towel. “Have you decided?” he asked. “We’re going to go through with it. Maybe it was obvious, but I needed to know,” Firil answered.

Jake looked at them and let himself loose a little. “I…I’m proud that you’re choosing to do that,” he said, addressing everyone. “I can’t stop thinking about her… Hopefully, once this entire business is dealt with, I might be able to. So, thank you. All of you.” He then spun on his heels and left to go back to his room.

With that said and done, they prepared.

****

Moris stopped by Kos’ place and knocked on her door. “Come in.” Moris stepped inside the dimly lit room, watching Kos as she was organizing her belongings. “I’ve never seen you do that before,” he said.

“I’m trying to change some old habits.”

“Now of all times? I guess these are the lengths we need to go to make you work.” He stepped up beside her and started helping her. Her clothes were strewn about the floor, so gathering those up was a priority for him. “Any plans after we go back?” he asked her.

“…Maybe I’ll pick up a new hobby.”

“Good time for one…”

“And you?”

“I…guess I’ll go back to work, wherever I can find it. Don’t have much hope that I’ll be let back into the company, even if the terrorist charges prove to be false,” he said as he folded up another pair of clothing. He left the embarrassing things to Kos herself.

“…. We can pick a hobby together, if you’d like?”

“Really?” Moris’ eyes beamed up at her.

“Sure.”

****

Sincan sat next to Okshender. Even if they were friendly with him, he didn’t feel like he belonged with the rest of the group. “I avenged him, Ok. Right?”

“You did, young lad.” He sounded a bit different from normal. “You’ve got nothing more to regret now, young Sincan.”

“But then what do I do? I can’t go back to my job. I…. I feel lost.”

“Those are problems of the future, not for one burdened by the weight of the present, young Sincan. Ponder on what you would think would be the righteous course of action at a later time.” Sincan rubbed his against the brilliant white armour of Okshender. He had a point.

****

Jake worked and worked. Though a nagging feeling told him he should be with the others, he pushed it aside. He’d always had a one-track mind. If he couldn’t do something, he’d obsess over it until he succeeded. It’d caused him problems many times, but not as much as recently. So, he worked, until the creaking of his door alerted him to his unexpected guest.

Nato peered into his room. “Am I being a bother?” he asked.

Jake sighed. “No. No, you aren’t. Come in.” Nato took the offer and sat down on Jake’s bed, watching as the man worked on his little machines.

“I’ve been wondering, lately,” Nato said.

“Wondering what exactly,” Jake didn’t look back to address him. He pressed his soldering iron against the metal and watched it melt.

“You seem to be quite a bit older than them. Seniority like that would imply a more prominent role.”

“My manager herself wasn’t much older than me. Where did you get the idea that older people have more autho-oh…” He put the iron down on some metal wool and looked back.

“Volt Meyers taught me a great many things. I’m assuming this Vanessa Firil keeps mentioning did too as well?”

“Yes…”

“It’s painful to know I could have met the man again but missed it. There were so many things I wanted to tell him.”

“I did too. All we can hope for now is keep their legacy alive, Nato. We’re not magicians. We certainly aren’t the Drivers of old.”

“You’re right, I know. But it still hurts.”

****

Firil sat by herself, petting Chosh. The robulin helped her calm her nerves as she watched the sun slowly descend. Her breathing grew deeper the lower it got. Goddess, guide me.

****

Okshender remembered what modifications had been made. They were created to suppress the spirit within a Gear, make it more docile and accepting of commands. Okshender reminisced about the life he had led. He had been alive. “Hey, Ok.”

Okshender didn’t need to move his head to see who it was. Curious. “Are you there?” his pilot asked.

“I don’t think I can not be here, young Sincan. What do you need?”

“Just wanted to check if you were doing well.”

Okshender let out a laugh. He could do that, he realized. He would tell his pilot later, no need to trouble the man further when he already had a lot on his mind. “Yes, I am, my pilot.”

Okshender watched as Sincan’s friends filed out of the mansion, walking towards a van they’d been using since they came here. “Are you ready, young Sincan?”

“I don’t know, Okshender. As long as I have you there with me, I think I’ll be fine.”

“You cannot rely on one person, my pilot.”

“But you’ll always be there, won’t you?” Sincan said, knocking on Okshender’s legs with his fists.

“I suppose that is true…” Okshender replied. Firil shouted at Sincan to come over and he obeyed, leaving Okshender to wonder what he would do.

****

“We’re not taking you with us, Nato. That’s not negotiable,” Firil said. Nato stood tall in front of her, arrogant and unyielding.

“I barely have a scar left, Firil. It wouldn’t do to leave you when I spent so long trying to keep you safe,” Nato stated.

“And you have, thank you for that. But you’re no longer needed.”

Sincan held a hand up to her shoulders. “The more manpower we have, the better it will be, Firil. Just let him go.”

“But…. argh, fine. But if you pull another stunt like that again, Nato, I’ll be mad,” Firil said with a pout.

Sometimes she can be so childish, Sincan thought. They piled into the van while Sincan went back to his Gear. They loaded up all they would need and finally headed out. Goddess willing, they would also be able to make it back without a problem.