"C'mon, move!" Jase shouted, seizing Brandon by the upper sleeve and dragging the stupefied Aetherics professor toward the nearest Jet. He had a good idea of what was going through his mind. Jase had to fight off the temptation of the Augmentor Bow's awe-inspiring abilities. It was easier for him to ignore because he cared much more about Lumen.

One of the soldiers accessed his wristpad. The Jet's cargo ramp lowered. As soon as Jase saw the problem, the soldiers were providing the solution. The angle of the ramp would have emptied at least half the tank if they had pushed it straight up. Instead, Lumen had them gather around the back end and hoist it up as the front end rolled up the ramp. Water leapt over the edge here and there, but overall the strategy was a success.

Jase had to pull Brandon, who had fallen back into being hypnotized by the raging battle, up the ramp like a reluctant toddler. The cargo bay had plenty of extra seats. He threw himself and the professor into two adjacent. He looked to Lumen as he lowered the restraints over his chest. "Pilot, we need a pilot!"

"There is one," the Waterling replied. One of the soldiers took off toward the front of the ship. The rest positioned themselves around the tank at roughly equal distances apart. They were going to support it during flight. "Make us go dark. My Heartstone is low."

Jase concentrated as the ship hummed to life around him. Brandon had managed to lock himself into his seat, but he still had a crazed look about him. "What the fuck… what the fuck… what the fuck."

"Calm down, man," Jase said. "We're getting outta here. We're free. How long were you down here?"

He knew the answer. He just wanted Brandon to start talking. The professor eyed him with an uncertain look. "What was the last date you remember?"

Jase thought for a moment. His memories were still sluggish from the aftereffects of the sedative. "The twenty-seventh."

Brandon blinked as if doing several complex calculations. "Last I remember was the attack on Ridgemire. I've been trapped here since."

"So it's been a few weeks," Jase said, bracing against the sudden increase in gravity. His body jittered as the engines throttled up. More water sloshed out of Lumen's tank. They must have been ascending through the hangar ceiling.

"What'd I miss?" Brandon asked through gritted teeth.

"A lot."

"Thanks, super helpful. What about my son?"

"He's fine. Half the nation's been looking for you. We thought you were taken by Zandith."

Brandon flicked his wide eyes toward Jase. "You mean all this wasn't him?"

"Not as far as I could tell. From what Domrik has told me, he tends to work alone, with maybe a small support team."

"How did they get you?"

"Long story."

Their weight suddenly decreased, and their heads were pushed to the side as the craft turned and accelerated laterally. Water poured over the edge of Lumen's tank, soaking half the soldiers. Jase strengthened his focus on the cloak. He had no idea who would be watching, or if the Crimson Vein would be after them. He shouted to Lumen. "We're going to the ocean, right?"

The Waterling squirmed for a moment in his tank. Jase registered a brief spike of fear from Lumen's direction. "No."

"But that's where you came from!"

"The Greats will be looking for me. They cannot find me in a small-water."

"A what?"

Lumen took a few seconds to respond. "A lake."

"We're not dumping you in a lake!"

"Yes, we are. Safe from the Swarm."

"What is that?"

"Evil."

He spent the next quarter-hour questioning and berating Lumen to no avail. The ship tilted and slowed, spilling even more water on the supporting soldiers, who took the abuse like robots. The cargo ramp started lowering.

"We are here," Lumen announced. The men started pushing the tank to the start of the ramp. As soon as the first set of wheels hit the sloped surface, the enslaved men gripped their heads and started screaming.

"Wait!" Jase released his restraints and leapt out of his seat. Brandon was close behind him. They rushed after the rolling tank, then stopped when they spotted the expanse of water below them. Lumen clicked with glee as the tank plunged into the water and shattered. The ramp slipped out from under their feet, and as they yelled in surprise, the air ripped from the roar of Aetheric engines at full-power. The last of the drug's effects were blasted away by the shock of the frigid lake water.

Jase scrambled to the surface and gasped for air. The splashing next to him indicated Brandon doing the same. Jase spun around in a slow circle, treading water. They were roughly in the middle of a sizeable lake, though the details of the shores were blurred by darkness. "I think the closest shore is that way. Can you swim?"

"Of course I can swim!" Brandon growled as he started taking frantic strokes in the direction Jase had indicated. Jase caught up easily and kept pace with him in case he faltered. Halfway to the shore, he sensed an ominous presence around them, until he recognized Lumen's occasional click. The Waterling seemed to be circling them, almost in a mocking manner, as they swam for their lives. Eventually, the creature started leaping out of the water, sailing over them in all manner of directions. He even showed off different spinning tricks in the air. Jase was mildly entertained, for it provided a distraction against his stiff and aching limbs, but equally irritated that Lumen wasn't offering any help. On the plus side, he wasn't trying to stop them. Jase wondered if Lumen considered them his friends. Or if he was just playing with his food. Jase was thankful he had maintained a tight grip on the Aetherite crystal during the plunge.

The two humans reached the pebbly shore heaving for air. The unforgiving rocks stung Jase's back as he lay there, but he had no other choice. Standing was impossible at that moment. He simply gazed at the stars, picking out familiar constellations, as the deep and rapid movements of his chest wound down to a more easeful rhythm. He trialed the moment of an arm, and it felt as if it were covered in a cold, wet blanket. He could only imagine how the professor felt. He let his head roll to the side. "Can you stand?"

Brandon had his fingers clasped together over his rising and falling belly, his eyes closed, his mouth still agape. His face scrunched as he curled forward slightly, then he let out a deeper sigh as he relaxed. "Nah. Not yet. I've always hated cardio. It's always hated me back."

Jase had found the strength to sit up while Brandon spoke. He wrapped his arms around his knees, and when his gaze returned to the lake, he saw a peculiar round shape protruding from the water. At first, it looked like a smooth boulder, then he realized after seeing its subtle movements with the small waves that Lumen was watching them. Given that Waterlings completely lacked the ability to emote, Jase found his gaze unsettling. He sensed an undercurrent of worry and fear subdued by a surface of mild contentment.

"That Jet," Jase said, indicated the direction it had flown away. "What happened there? If they come back, you have nowhere to run… or swim."

Lumen whistled. "I forced pilot to crash into ocean. Full speed. No survivors."

Jase stood on unsteady legs, shivering as his wet clothes clung to his torso and thighs. He took small steps toward the gentle lapping of the lake, keeping the Aetherite out of sight. Lumen started retreating once he got within a few meters. Jase stopped and crouched. "You saved us. Thank you."

"Get me small fish."

Jase chuckled. "You want a treat?"

"No, hungry. Meal."

"I don't have fish with me."

"Get fish."

He sighed. "This is why you should have gone to the ocean. Aren't there fish in the lake?"

"Too tired to hunt."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You just jumped over us about thirty times."

"It was fun."

He sagged his head over his chest. He was too tired to try to reason with this difficult creature. The rustling of pebbles behind him drew his gaze back. Brandon was turning onto his knees, slowly making his way to his feet, rubbing his eyes and forehead with his palms. "Freezing my ass off. We gotta get outta here."

Jase stood, gazing at Lumen a few seconds more. When he turned away, Lumen spoke up. "Lightstone."

He looked at the glowing red crystal in his hand. It had most of its charge left. Lumen had his long, narrow mouth agape, the tiny white teeth standing out in the moonlight. Jase tossed it, and Lumen snapped it out of the air. After a few moments of doing something internally, he deposited a dimmer crystal onto the pebbles, then backed away. Jase approached it tentatively, then picked it up after seeing nothing amiss. It was slightly smaller than the one he'd given to Lumen.

"What just happened?" Brandon asked, rubbing his arms with his hands for warmth.

Jase shrugged. "They need Aetherite to survive. Not sure why."

"Get fish!" Lumen insisted, thrashing the water with his crescent tail.

"I'll have fish for you tomorrow," Jase said. "I promise."

Lumen seemed to be satisfied as he used his fins to push himself back into the lake. Jase called to him as he twisted away. "And keep yourself hidden! We don't know if there are other people around or how they will react."

He got no indication Lumen heard him, so he dropped the matter. The Waterling was smart, he had to remember. Smarter than himself and even Brandon.

Jase led the way, trudging up the nearest hill to get a better vantage point. Brandon shuffled along behind him, trembling from the cold. They navigated the pines and stood at the crest of the hill. A collection of city lights flickered in the distance, then Jase knew.

"We're on Mt. Vernai," he said, looking back. "That's Lake Vernai. I didn't recognize it in the dark."

"You've been here before?" Brandon asked, taking in the view.

"A few times," Jase admitted. "It's a good hike. You should try it."

Brandon shook his head. "You're not a good listener. I said I don't like cardio."

Jase shrugged. "Your loss."

Brandon shot him a look. "Let's just count our escape off this mountain as my hike."

"Right, I think I know a nearby trail."

They located the nearest trail leading to the lake, then took their time navigating its steep inclines and gullies. The mountain was deathly quiet at this time of night. Only the tops of trees whispered with the occasional breeze. Jase kept his eyes peeled for any potential predators. He knew he would be able to sense their energy if they were near enough, but with Brandon nearby, it was like trying to hear the birds chirping as a noisy truck passed by. It was still possible, but it required an intense focus to filter out the noise. Animals, being naturally more in harmony with nature, were more difficult to distinguish than humans, whose energy was almost always in incongruent with nature. Plants had their own energy as well, but perception of that fact required a level of sensitivity beyond what Jase could comprehend. The only reason he believed it was because of nature's well-known calming effect.

His gaze tracked skyward as they came across a long an narrow meadow sloping gently down the mountainside. They were treated to a particularly clear view of the dual-moon system, Traelin and Ikir, the daughter and son, respectively, of the mythical water goddess Lativa. the namesake of the water-dominated planet. At this time in their orbital periods, the silver semicircle of Ikir cast a partial shadow on the golden semicircle of Traelin. Their perennial dance had been the subject of some scientific debate. How did they form? Why were their colors so different? How long had their mutual orbit been in motion? Jase was disappointed that nobody ever ventured there yet. The sciences of Eredore and Sylga had been strangely focused on the Aether, nanotechnology, and other musings that were useful, but not as ambitious as breaking free from low-Lativan orbit.

The common explanation was that there was too much focus on war, that if sufficient focus was directed elsewhere, Trellendek would take that opportunity to catch up technologically and strike. Hence the ludicrous Eredore Guard budget. He believed the exact opposite. It was the focus on war that kept its unquenchable fire alive. Expanding their attention to something outside themselves would be a major step in the right direction, in the same way taking up painting would help a recovering addict. When the mind of humanity was not being productive, it was being destructive. It had no other choice.

Jase pointed to the moons after they crossed the meadow's halfway point. "You think we'd find Aetherite up there?"

Brandon took a moment to respond, shaking himself out of a reverie. "I don't know. I'd think not, but I'm not a geologist."

"You mean our sensors haven't been aimed in that direction?"

"Those moons are out of range," he said in an oddly objective voice. The fact was so obvious to Jase after the fact, he was embarrassed to have asked it, yet surprised the professor hadn't added an implied scoff. He seemed to be too preoccupied with something else. There wasn't enough mental energy to devote to becoming angry. He was answering on autopilot, hardly aware of his own words.

This insight piqued Jase's interest. "What's on your mind, prof— Brandon?"

He laughed giddily, as if he were on the verge of losing his mind. "Everything."

"Start somewhere."

"I think I was still tripping on the sedative when we got to the hangar," he said, folding his arms and curling into himself. "It couldn't have been real."

"The blue lights?" Jase asked tentatively, keenly aware of his precarious situation with regards to the heist. Brandon knew nothing about it, but Jase could easily incriminate himself if he revealed too much.

Brandon scowled. "Its gotta be some new tech. Some non-Aetheric energy weapon."

Jase raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's non-Aetheric?"

"Because of the Discharge Constant, the sole reason why everything Aetheric is some shade of red. C'mon, you know this. You were one of my best students."

"Were?"

"You can't be my student if I'm not a professor anymore."

"Why can't you teach?"

"Because I'm losing my mind!" Brandon blurted, wheeling on Jase, his arms gesticulating in the air. "Because I'm seeing shit that doesn't make sense. Because I'm having hallucinations. And when I get my brain scanned, they find nothing wrong. Conclusion? I'm—"

"Not going crazy," Jase cut in. "I happen to know Kelly. She said you have a partially active Vision Ember."

Brandon was horrified. "That's confidential patient information!"

"Not to people like me who have experience in that area."

Brandon put his hands on his hips. "You have experience with the Vision Ember."

"Yes, thanks to Domrik's mentoring and lots of practice."

Brandon rolled his eyes and started down the path again. "Nevermind."

"You hear voices, don't you?" Jase pressured, following him through the meadow exit and into a thick grove of pines.

"I said nevermind!"

Jase wordlessly put his hands up in surrender, even though he knew Brandon couldn't see it. Ten minutes passed before Brandon requested a break. They sat on the boulder but kept their gazes on their surroundings. Jase ran his thumb along the ridge of the Aetherite, contemplating its rough, imperfect texture. Every crystal was different, so it was useful to get familiar with its shape in the hand, just in case combat was needed. Aetheric manifestations tended to weaken if the source crystal was slipping around in one's grip.

"How did they get you?" Brandon's question came suddenly. He seemed to be more alert after their intense conversation. "You said it was a long story, but we got time."

Jase avoided his questing gaze. He wanted to lie and say that he had been abducted on the day of the attack like Brandon, but the professor wouldn't buy that. It was too coincidental. He needed something, and he needed it quick. "I uh… went searching for you, like a lot of other people did. I ventured into the Antiga Nature Preserve, saw something I wasn't supposed to see, and now here we are."

It was a bent, overly-simplistic version of the truth. When Brandon didn't ask a follow-up, Jase relaxed. He resisted the desire to gush about everything he had learned from Lumen and his memories. Any question Brandon asked on the subject of Lumen, the Augmentor Bow, or anything concerning the Crimson Vein carried the risk of uncovering Jase's involvement in a federal crime. He also had to hope the Brandon's Vision Ember stayed relatively dormant, or he would catch Jase's stray worries. Lying would be impossible then.

They continued their trek down the mountain, coaxed onward by the consistently plummeting temperature. They were mostly dry by then, but despite the lessened discomfort, they picked up the pace. The lure of returning to normal civilization grew stronger with every passing minute. They were jogging as they finally reached the trailhead. The stench of fresh tar assaulted their nostrils. A team of construction workers were repaving the parking lot. One of them drove a truck at a crawling pace, gently depositing the new layer of tarmac. An pair of portable floodlights had been erected to give them visibility. The glare cast the workers into silhouettes, forcing Jase to shield his eyes with an arm.

Brandon rushed past him, completely disregarding the glare, shouting and waving his arms. "Hey, hey! Do any of you have a wristpad? I need to make a call, now!"

One of the workers, presumably the manager, put up a hand and replied in heavy Sylgan accent. "Oy, get off the fresh lay. Footprints are not decorations!"

Jase looked down and took one long sidestep to the dirt bordering the parking lot. His shoes had left faint impressions, the outlines strengthened by the shallow angle of the floodlights. When he looked back up, Brandon had migrated to the dirt and was now having a calmer discussion with the worker, whose stunned expression exposed his revelation as to whom he had just berated. He was already unstrapping his wristpad as Jase reached them. As Brandon strode to a nearby bench and started dialing a number, the worker massaged his mustache as he gazed at Brandon's newly molded footprints. Jase smirked. The worker was considering leaving the shoeprints as they were. He was in the process of changing his mind on the latter half of his scolding. Jase couldn't blame him.

He sat next to Brandon just as a sleepy voice answered. "Hector."

"Hector! It's me. It's Brandon!"

"Brandon…" Hector slurred. "Brandon? Brandon! Oh shit! You're alive! Where're you at?"

"Send someone to…" He looked at Jase. "Where are we again?"

"Mt. Vernai," Jase said, raising his voice so Hector could hear. "Hi Hector."

"Jase?" Hector stammered. "You found Brandon?"

"Sure did, and a lot more. I'll explain when you pick us up."

"Hold on…" Hector's thumping footfalls came through the call. "Hey, wake up, wake up! It's Brandon! He's alive. Here."

The call switched to video. Marvain's ragged brown hair framed her sleepy face. It took her a few moments of squinting and blinking before elation cleared the fatigue away. Her hand clapped over her mouth as the edges of her eyes glistened. "Oh my… Brandon! I thought I'd lost you!"

Jase stayed out of Brandon's teary exchange with his wife and, eventually, his son. Marvain eventually acknowledged him and thanked him, prompting a couple enthusiastic pats on the back from Brandon. His genuine smile lightened Jase's heart. It was the first true expression of happiness he'd witnessed since the attack.

Before the call ended, he told Hector to message Domrik and Kelly and let them know he was safe. He couldn't wait to tell them what he'd learned, but the conversation would have to be confidential. He warned Brandon against telling anyone of Lumen's existence, for such knowledge of could prove extremely volatile.