Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

???: New Los Angeles

“We’re working as hard as we can, how many times do I have to tell you this?!”

“Then work harder! Do you even see that giant tree in the sky?! We need to figure out what the hell’s going on, now!”

“Chausson, calm yourself!” Nagi finally intervened in the argument between Chausson and the FrontierNav Operations Manager Kristy. “I understand that tensions are high, but we must keep our cool. Now, it’s likely because of the sudden change in topography that FrontierNav is scrambled, am I correct?”

“Most likely.” Kristy heavily sighed, turning to face the well of error messages decorating the screen behind her. All around the Administrative District, BLADE soldiers and Skells were scrambling around in chaos, trying to desperately fix everything that was broken, which truthfully felt like everything . “As far as we can tell with nearby probes in Primordia, FrontierNav itself isn’t busted, which is a silver lining. But that just means that all this noise in our maps and communication has to be some sort of external disruption. Worst case, we might have to completely rework the ether channels acting as communication between the probes just to work around them, which even I’m not sure how long that would take…”

“Damn it!” Vandham scowled, tapping his foot impatiently. “Everything’s gone to shit after that light showed up. Forget the FrontierNav, there’s a brand new continent to our north with a giant tree growing right smack dab in the middle of it, and the oceans turned into goddamn clouds with giant creatures wandering through them! And don’t even get me started on whatever the hell that robot is on the horizon! If that thing’s that big from here, who knows how absolutely gargantuan it is when it’s on our ass? I don’t care what either of you say, I’m mobilizing BLADE to get out there and figure out what the hell’s going on firsthand!”

“And how are you going to communicate with them without FrontierNav?” Kristy interjected. “No matter what, we have to take this slow! What if all the new things out there are filled with Xenos, and we go running in all decked out in military wear? And what if they have more firepower than we do?!”

“Then we head to Sylvalum first and grab the Xeno Relations Squad! That’s what Hope and her team are meant to do! Problem solved!”

“No, problem not-! ”

“Enough!” Nagi raised his voice, the authority within it silencing the two. “Now is not the time for the top brass to be arguing amongst themselves. Kristy, I understand your concerns, but we cannot afford to wait and do nothing until FrontierNav is up and running. If nothing else, the Ganglion are still a threat, and could take this opportunity to attack. But at the same time Jack, we cannot send our forces out so brazenly. Like Kristy said, it’s possible more Xenos are out there, and they may not be friendly.”

“And sending all of our troops out at once would terrify the civilians within New Los Angeles as well.” Chausson interjected. “Their safety should be at the forefront of our minds.”

“Precisely.” Nagi nodded. “As such, I propose this: We send three teams to each of the five continents we have established control in, and rendezvous with all dispatched squads. A Pathfinder will be on each team and check on every data probe along their path, establishing a fresh ether channel for it to connect to FrontierNav and reestablish communications bit by bit. Am I correct in assuming that would be a faster approach to getting everything working as it did?”

“Most likely.” Kristy said thoughtfully. “The ether in the air is all kinds of messed up, but I think we can get it figured out soon enough. Soon as we do, building a new channel won’t take much time on my end at all, and even less to sync the probes manually to it.”

“Then after all of BLADE is gathered together, we exchange intel and figure out how to approach… that. ” Chausson finished, pointing towards the ominous plant climbing high into the air. “...I hear no better ideas. We’ll move forward with that. I trust there aren’t any objections?”

“...Tch. Fine.” Vandham scowled. “It’s as good a plan as we can get with all this shit. Least that black fog’s gone, for now that is… I’ll get to work building the teams and-”

“Ooh, I’m impressed big man! Pinned you for the prideful, arrogant type…”

Immediately, Nagi and Vandham turned towards the sound of the voice, looking up to the nearby building where a woman leisurely sat, clad in extravagant red armor and a flowing black cape, a full helmet shaped like an X adorning her head. “Intruder!” Vandham shouted. “Soldiers, fall in!”

“Right!” All BLADE soldiers nearby rushed in at once, ranged weapons aimed directly at the strange woman, who seemed completely unperturbed by the response.

“Oh my!” The woman raised her hands in mock surrender, the smile on her face clear to hear. “What did I do to deserve this kind of pushback?”

“When you invade another’s home, this kind of response is far from unwarranted.” Chausson scowled. “If you truly wished to talk, merely knocking at the front door would have sufficed, Xeno.”

“‘Xeno?’ Ah, that must be what you call those from outside your colony. I was right to come here myself, this is all so interesting! ” 

As soon as she finished talking, the woman transformed into purple mist, disappearing from view. “Where the hell did she go?!” Vandham exclaimed, but his question was soon answered by a sudden presence showing up behind his back.

“Your weaponry is all so strange, too…” The woman mused, completely ignoring the massive BLADE commander behind her as she gleefully scrutinized the flabbergasted soldiers. “So many shapes and sizes, and so many more ways to rip enemies to shreds! I’ll have to sample some of these for the war effort back-”

“I would be more than happy to give you a demonstration of our armory’s capabilities.” Nagi interrupted as he lifted his sword to her neck. “Although I should warn you, it may not be the experience you’re hoping for.”

“Ooh, I like your attitude~” The woman slowly turned her head to look Nagi in the eye, bringing her hand to the side of her helmet, where it disappeared completely and revealing a white-haired woman with blood orange eyes, a gash filled with purple energy running across her face, and an x shaped hair ornament humming with the same energy. She gave a wide smirk towards Nagi. “Though you should know, I’m quite a big deal back home. Attempting to kill me here would mean making an enemy of Moebius, and trust me, you wouldn’t want that one bit.”

“We are not in the business of making any more enemies, that is true.” Nagi responded, narrowing his eyes. “But at the same time, we have little patience for those who believe they can waltz in here without any consequence. I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, so long as you follow our terms. I trust that’s a fair trade, Miss…?”

“X.” The woman’s smile widened. “Sure, I’ll play nice from now on, promise. Besides, I have much I want to find out about your colony! Please, don’t hesitate to tell me everything~.”

???: Alcamoth

“Look at ‘em all, scuttling around down there like a colony of Antols. Guess they ain’t too sure what happened either, eh J?”

“I’m more impressed by the size of the wings on their heads. Not even Eunie’s wings are nearly as large as they all have!”

Standing atop the massive glass dome of the strange Keves Castle look alike, the two Moebius partner’s D and J stared down into the vast expanse below. Their orders from the top were simple: They were to explore these new landmasses that suddenly appeared around Aionios and, if any colonies were around that looked to be neither Keves or Agnus, subjugate them by whatever means necessary.

And of course, D’s eyes were immediately drawn to the massive figure standing on the horizon, looking suspiciously like a rock formation near Agnus Castle. Including the massive sea held behind it akin to the Erythia Sea, along with the Keves Castle replica right where the Agnus Castle would have been, J was, suffice to say, very confused. He understood well enough that whatever that not-Annihilation Event was messed everything up royally, but a whole new landmass filled with similar, but not quite right locations and landmarks? It was all so… strange.

And he found himself especially intrigued by the people who live in this massive colony…castle…whatever it may be. There was of course the aforementioned wings growing from their head, far larger than any Kevesi he had seen, even more so than the Queen’s robot. But even putting that aside, their homogeneous silver hair, and their clothing that looked far more impractical and…show-off, for lack of a better term, was just captivating. Clothing like that wouldn’t help them in any battles, and they all certainly weren’t in positions of power like Consuls, so why is that their standard form of dress? J wanted to learn more.

“Say, Z gave us permission to do ‘whatever we deem necessary,’ didn’t he?” D said, turning towards J with a smirk.

J frowned. Of course, in order to actually learn more, he’d first have to convince his partner to not kill everybody right off the bat… “We don’t know for sure if these people are part of the cycle yet or not, D. If we go through and kill all of them permanently, then Z will not be happy with us. First, let’s try to get them to trust us. Then, once they’re part of the Endless Now, we can have all the fun we want.”

D clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Fine, fine. Can’t have any fun until the job’s done, I guess… Well, you’re the Kevesi native! Where do we go to meet the big brass in this copycat? Have them submit, the rest are sure to follow!”

“We were both in Keves Castle not too long ago, you know.” J shook his head, but still obliged him. “But if the throne room’s in the same location as Keves Castle, it would be…somewhere around there.” He finished, pointing towards the top of the central tower. “Shall we go see if they’re home?”

“Of course.” D smiled, the two Moebius activating their helmets and teleporting towards their destination. Within an instant they appeared in an extravagant gold room, lined with kneeling soldiers, all with massive white wings growing from the back of their heads. In the very back of the room, right where the “Queen of Keves” would normally sit, two other winged individuals were in the midst of conversation, one a snide woman in red and silver armor that revealed far too much skin to be practical, and the other a younger man in royal silvers and blues, though his position in the center told J that he was the one truly in charge around here.

“...priority is to make sure the Homs and Nopon are safe within this moment of crisis.” The man continued from whatever he was saying before their intrusion. “Do not let these sudden changes to the world deter you! No matter what, the High Entia will-!”

“Your Highness, intruders!” The woman finally noticed their presence, eyes widening as the soldiers scrambled to their feet.

“What?! Who goes there?!” The man frowned, locking eyes with J in astonishment.

“Now, now!” J tried to defuse the situation, completely unbothered even as the myriad of soldiers in the room aimed weapons at him and D. It’s not as if they could really do anything against the might of Moebius, after all. “Rest assured, we come in peace. We just wish to offer you-”

“There is a way to establish peaceful negotiations, of which showing up uninvited into the royal throne is not part of it.” The man narrowed his eyes. “Such actions show arrogance, that you believe us lesser than yourselves. And I will not tolerate such disrespect to me and my people! Now leave, or bear the full might of the High Entian Royal Guard!”

“Tsk.” J clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was expecting some hostility, but this much…?

“Heh, negotiations are breaking down already?” D chuckled, taking an ominous step forward. “Looks like talking ain’t gonna work, like I thought.”

“I don’t need to hear any ‘I told you so’s,’ D.” J sighed exasperatedly. “Well, so long as we don’t kill any of them, Z won’t have much to complain about. Let’s ‘go wild’ as you’d say.”

“Now you’re talking!” D sneered, before the two Consuls transformed into their Moebius forms, much to the shock and horror of all the soldiers in front of them. “We’ll show them what true power looks like! Bring it on, we’ll rip you all to shreds!”

???: Indoline Praetorium

“Remember, allow me to-”

“Take care of all the talking, yeah yeah…” Dickson grumbled, finishing his silver-haired companion’s sentence for him. “You’ve said it multiple times already. I know I got a foul mouth, but I ain’t stupid!”

“Don’t take it too personally, Dickson.” To his left, the massive leader of the Hidden Machina Village Miqol responded, who decided to join them after taking them all in Junks to the small winged Titan. “This is simply Alvis’ forte. If anybody can dissuade a ruler’s open hostility, it’s him.”

“...Am I really the only one that’s treating this situation with the proper amount of concern?” Dickson frowned. “The entire planet’s bloody different!”

“All the more reason to make sure we are on friendly terms with these new people that apparently exist within them.” Alvis responded as the group made it to the top of a pearly white set of stairs. After a few more steps, they slowed to a stop in front of the man they had seen a projection of within the Mechonis, scrutinizing them with suspicious, distrusting eyes.

“You are now in the presence of Praetor Amalthus.” Their escort coldly informed them. “Remember your position when you address him. We will not take kindly to any disrespect sent his way.”

“But of course.” Alvis smiled, turning and bowing towards the Praetor. “Praetor Amalthus, we are honored that you are willing to speak with us, despite how completely warranted an attack on the Mechonis would have been from your perspective.”

“A decision I hope I don’t come to regret.” Amalthus said. “To whom am I talking to?”

“My name is Alvis, a Homs employed by the royal High Entia family as a seer. To my left is Dickson, a Homs from Colony 9, and to my right is Miqol, leader of the remaining Machina people.”

“I see.” Amalthus nodded. “So you are all representatives of the people from this…Mechonis, you called it?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple. Miqol once lived within the Mechonis, but has since been forced to move to another home upon its previous arm, which was severed long, long ago. Meanwhile Dickson and myself live upon the Bionis, the counterpart to the Mechonis that has been at war with it for eons. We were in the middle of a battle with the man who deemed himself ruler of the Mechonis before a black fog appeared, followed by a blinding light. And then, we were here.”

“A story that we can corroborate as well, since that too happened to us…” Amalthus mused. “Which would leave me to believe that, however this may be, we are not from the same lands.”

“Yes, it seems that somehow, our worlds have-”

“But I cannot believe that you have no connection to Alrest, especially with that symbol upon your chest!”

“...This?” Alvis lifted his necklace, the red cross-shaped jewel glistening in the light. “This is merely an heirloom passed from one seer to the next among my family. It has little more meaning than-”

“To you, perhaps it might not hold much meaning. But here in Alrest, I assure you it means much, much more.” Amalthus’ eyes narrowed in suspicion. “As such, I cannot allow you in particular to leave, not without a thorough interrogation.”

“Yeah, that ain’t happening!” Dickson finally spoke up, reaching for his weapon. Which of course, prompted the stationary guards nearby to prep their weapons in turn.

“Dickson, calm yourself!” Alvis frowned. “Your Eminence, I assure you, we do not mean any-”

“Seems I arrived at a bad time!” As if things couldn’t get worse, another voice suddenly made itself known, one neither Alvis nor Amalthus seemed to recognize.

“Who dares?” Amalthus roared at the sudden intruder.

“Do forgive my intrusion.” The stranger mockingly bowed. The man was garbed in red, silver and gold armor and black cape with a purple core embedded in his chest, a rectangular shaped helmet covering his head entirely. “I assure you, I did not intend to interrupt such important discussions. My name is V, and I come here to offer…you…”

However, V trailed off as he looked up, and locked eyes with none other than Alvis. Immediately, his pompous and haughty demeanor immediately changed, and he let out a gasp of shock, taking multiple nervous steps backwards. “I-I-I-It can’t be…! You…how are you…?! ”

“Guards, detain that man at once!” Amalthus shouted with a swing of his arm, after which all the soldiers moved in towards the intruder.

“Th-This isn’t good…” V stuttered. “I need to report this to Z at once. Alpha…h-he’s returned…!” As soon as he finished talking, he vanished into a mess of purple sparks, disappearing just as quickly as he appeared, and leaving everyone within the chamber completely in shock.

“‘Alpha?’” Dickson muttered, turning to Alvis in suspicion. “That bastard seemed to recognize you. Have anything you want to share?”

“I know as much as you do.” Alvis shrugged. “Whoever that was, I have never seen him in this life.”

“Uh huh.” Dickson scoffed.

“Well, that was quite the scene!” Miqol spoke up, turning to face the Praetor himself. “That man may not have been with us, but I’ll apologize for his rudeness on his behalf.”

“...No need.” Amalthus frowned. “We will find whoever that was, and make him do so himself. Nobody invades upon holy ground so brazenly without receiving divine punishment, courtesy of the Architect.”

As some of the guards ran out of the chamber in search of the mysterious man named V, Amalthus once more turned to face them, and more specifically, Alvis. “But that interruption merely confirmed my suspicions. I know not if you truly are this ‘Alpha’ he mentioned, but at the least, he was terrified of you. Which tells me that I too, must be wary. As such, I cannot allow you to leave, not until I deem you no threat to our very world.”

“...I understand.” Alvis frowned, raising his hand to stop whatever protest Dickson was about to give. “I shall comply with whatever I must to prove my intentions to you. Whatever proof you need to show that we are not enemies, but in fact allies in figuring out how to bring back the worlds we once had.”

“We shall see.” Amalthus said. “Your fellow representatives are free to leave, should they wish. I am certain they are anxious to check in on their people.”

“Of course.” Alvis nodded, turning to Dickson and Miqol. “Do not worry about me. Go and find Shulk and the others. Egil is still at large after all, and we do not have time to waste.”

“I’m not worried about you. ” Dickson scoffed. “But this man…something ain’t right. Keep your wits about you.”

“Like always. Now, off you go.”

“Very well.” Miqol said, turning and bowing his head to Amalthus. “We thank you once again for your hospitality. When next we meet!”

With that, Dickson and Miqol left, led by the same escort who brought them here. Alvis turned back to face Amalthus, a small smirk on his face. “Now then…what do you wish to know, Your Eminence?”

???: ???

“...iora…”

“Nngh…”

“Fior…!”

“...Who…?”

“Wake up, Fiora!”

“...Whuh?!”

With a gasp, Fiora sat straight up, only to immediately wince and clutch her head in pain, a sudden migraine shooting through her temple. “Ow, ow, ow… Where…?”

“Easy there.” The familiar voice from before rang through her mind. “Even though your body’s mostly mechanical, that doesn’t mean you can be reckless. You must still take care of yourself.”

“I know, I know.” Fiora muttered, rubbing her temple in annoyance. “The lack of headaches could’ve been one of the few upsides I gained when I got this body, but sure, leave that inconvenient part of being a Homs intact…”

“...I understand how much you despise your current situation, and I apologize-”

“I didn’t mean anything by that, Meyneth.” Fiora immediately cut off the other soul currently sharing her body with a sad smile. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. Besides, I’m fine, promise!” Fiora slowly looked around her, taking note of one fact immediately: She was not in Mechonis Core, and there was nobody else around. “Meyneth, do you know what happened? Last I remember we were fighting Egil, and then…”

“...That bright light suddenly emerged, and blinded you.” Meyneth finished Fiora’s sentence. “And then, we woke up here, in this foreign place. Unfortunately, I know as much as you do in this situation. I do not have any satisfactory explanation to give.”

“So even you don’t know what happened, then?” Fiora mused. Slowly pushing herself to her feet, she began to take in her surroundings. Not that there was much to take in. The mechanical girl looked to be in some sort of decrepit building, with hard, metal-like floor underneath her and piles of rubble on all sides, no doubt from the worn and desolate ceiling above her. Small, scattered holes decorated both the ceiling and floor, where she could make out at least one other floor both above and below, though she highly doubted their contents were any different than to what currently surrounded her. Any potential windows to the outside were obscured by rubble, save for one door-shaped hole, though she couldn’t make out any significant details beyond it. “...Do you think Shulk and the others are somewhere nearby?”

“...I do not know.” Meyneth responded, almost seeming distracted as she spoke. “I would like to believe they are, but given how much we don’t know about our current predicament, there is very little we can be sure of.”

“Yeah…” Fiora muttered. “...Still, I know that they’re fine. They’re all strong, stronger than I’ll ever be, so if we’re okay, then they’re okay too! And if we were transported outside of Mechonis Core, then that probably means Egil was too, and the Bionis is safe for now. So let’s go find them, and go save Egil from his destructive path!”

“...Indeed.” To Fiora’s surprise, Meyneth still sounded distracted, barely even acknowledging Fiora’s exclamation.

“Meyneth? Is everything okay?”

“Y-Yes, I am fine.” Meyneth stuttered. “Forgive me, it’s just…this place feels so incredibly…familiar.”

“Hmm…” Fiora hummed. “Does that mean we’re on the Mechonis then?”

“No, this is definitely not the Mechonis. But then… N-Never mind. Don’t mind my musings. Let us go and seek out your friends, shall we?”

“...Okay, if you say so.” Fiora lightly frowned, but decided not to push the matter further. After quickly making sure her swords and drones were still functional, she walked towards the exit to the room, and walked out to face whatever the outside world held. But what was outside that desolate room was something that Fiora, even in her wildest dreams, could never even begin to imagine.

When she first walked out of the room, she was faced with another wall, one that possessed evenly spaced holes where she assumed doors were meant to be placed. Each one was blocked by rubble, but her attention was quickly taken to the side when she heard and felt a violent wind blowing past her, informing her that she was in some sort of small, tunnel-like opening within this structure that was much larger than she initially thought. So, she walked towards one of the open ends to see what lay beyond, and immediately, her expectations were completely and utterly shattered. “W-Whoa…” Was all that Fiora could possibly even utter at the sight in front of her. 

The first thing she took note of were the buildings. Specifically, the sheer number of them, and how absolutely massive they were. No matter where she looked, there were metal towers that took up the same area as half a district in Colony 9 and stood taller than the highest point of Alcamoth, which until this point was the tallest structure she had ever laid eyes on. Some of them were so tall that, were she to stand at the very top and look down, she would have more of a vantage than she had looking down to the Hidden Village from atop the Distant Fingertip on the Fallen Arm. 

And the most insane part to her was that it wasn’t just one or a few buildings; buildings of these sizes were countless in number, stretching far to the left and right, and even continuing far, far into the horizon, where she couldn’t even make out when they stopped. No artificial place on the Bionis and Mechonis even came close to matching this borderline jungle of metal in scale, and to say it was overwhelming to her would be an understatement of the highest degree. “This…this is insane…! Are all of these buildings?! This place is ginormous! Way bigger than Colony 9, and even Agniratha! I can’t believe people could live in a place like this!”

However, her excitement quickly waned as she took control of her shock, and paid attention to what the rest of the environment looked like. Thick storm clouds hung above, violent lightning and thunder echoing across the entire expanse. In the distance, multiple tornadoes were shooting down from the stormy sky, mercilessly tearing through the endless concrete jungle, and rubble flying both within the storms, and throughout the sky. By all accounts, this massive colony was completely and utterly abandoned, and it was very likely nobody lived here anymore. “...I wish I could’ve seen this place in its prime, instead of like…this. I can’t even imagine the kind of people that used to live here. Were they like us? Maybe the Machina? Or maybe even the Giants that used to live on the Bionis, like that Giant Zanza that was kept on Prison Island?”

“...” Compared to Fiora’s melancholic awe at the abandoned wasteland in front of them, Meyneth was completely quiet, and Fiora could feel something nagging at the soul of the Mechonis.

“...Meyneth, you know you can be honest with me, right?” Fiora spoke to her partner within this mechanical body. “There’s something on your mind, yeah? What is it?”

“I…” Meyneth began, but hesitated. “...Forgive me Fiora, but might I ask we take a detour, before regrouping with your friends?”

“Um…sure?” Fiora cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Shulk and everyone else are more than capable of handling themselves, so we can hold off on finding them a bit. But where are you wanting to go? Do you know this place?”

“W-Well…” Meyneth hesitantly responded. “...I promise, I will explain everything in due time, Fiora. But what I can tell you is that what we see in front of us shouldn’t…no, cannot possibly be reality. But if this is somehow the place I believe we are, then I must head to a certain place. And if, by some miracle, we find them there, then…”

Meyneth trailed off at that point, leading to an impromptu silence. And even though there were a multitude of questions burning within Fiora, she not only had complete faith and trust in the kind soul implanted within her, but also made a promise to herself to make sure Meyneth’s wishes were made reality. “...All right. Let’s go, then!”

“Truly…?” Meyneth uttered in surprise. “Thank you, Fiora. I understand that this is a selfish request, but-”

“Enough of that, Meyneth.” Fiora cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You are far from selfish. You’re wanting peace between two Titans that have fought for countless years! You wouldn’t do anything that wouldn’t aid that cause. I trust you! I know you won’t lead me astray. And besides, if these ‘them’ you’re talking about at that place can help us bring peace between Bionis and Mechonis, even a little bit, then it’ll be completely worth it! So lead the way, Meyneth!”

“...Heh.” Meyneth let out a fond laugh. “Very well. Once you take the stairs to your left down to the ground floor, make a right and begin walking down the path for about 100 meters.”

“You got it!” Fiora replied cheerfully, before turning away from the destructive landscape and making her way carefully down the decrepit stairwell. After a few tense minutes of climbing down the rickety well, with one close call where a loose stair fell down as soon as Fiora placed her weight on it, the mechanical girl finally made her way onto ground level. After taking a bit to recollect herself, she continued down the center of the massive path, following Meyneth’s directions as she went.

“Take a left here.” “Continue straight through this curve.” “A slight right a few meters ahead.”

Meyneth’s directions were clear and concise, and delivered with no hesitation. The only times Fiora could give directions like that were when she was directing somebody in Colony 9 to her and Dunban’s home, which opened up many questions she had for Meyneth. Mainly, if this place wasn’t Mechonis like she claims, then how is she so familiar with this absolute labyrinth of buildings climbing high into the sky and pathways wide enough to comfortably fit twenty people standing side by side? But, even though her questions were constantly gnawing at the back of her mind, she trusted that Meyneth would explain everything when the time was right. 

So, instead of voicing her questions as they traveled, she began to take in the strange colony that they were snaking their way through. The buildings were even more unbelievably huge when she was standing right next to them on ground level, climbing so high that, even if she craned her head in an attempt to see the top, she probably wouldn’t be able to. However, something that was much more interesting right now was the pathways constructed in between the massive structures. In particular, she was immensely curious as to why they were so wide. Sure, Colony 9 had some large paths built to transport the military vehicles in and out easily, but most of the roads were made only for walking. Were vehicles that commonplace in this colony? Those military vehicles were so loud, though… Can’t imagine how anybody got a wink of sleep if they constantly have to hear those passing by. Or maybe-

“Fiora, hide!” Meyneth’s sudden shout rang through her head, completely pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Hah…!” Fiora gasped, before quickly darting behind a large pile of rubble nearby. Slowly, she peeked her head out from behind her hiding spot, and glanced at the… thing that was standing in her path.

The creature turned its head towards Fiora’s direction, its pupiless eyes glowing menacingly with blue light as it surveyed the disturbance. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to see her, and soon turned its head away from her. The disturbing creature stood on two legs like a Homs, though its appearance was anything but. Its skin was sickly gray and draped around its skeletal frame, nare a hint of muscle underneath the rotting outer surface. In the patches that its skin failed to cover, crystal-like growths jutted out horribly, glowing with an intense blue light. Its right knee sported a large spike that could bludgeon any monster, and its left hand completely warped into a four-pronged claw-like appendage, significantly larger than its Homs-like right arm. From its head, gray tentacles grew from its scalp, slithering back and forth as it moved, sending shivers down Fiora’s spine.

After a tense moment, the creature finally began to stalk away, practically limping as it dragged itself down a side road, and soon, out of Fiora’s sight. A few seconds after it was gone, Fiora let out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. “W-What was that thing…?!”

“...A sin I had long thought buried.” Meyneth muttered. “And now, it too has come to haunt me once more. Though, if they are here, then that likely means the place we are looking for also exists. A small comfort if ever there was one.”

“...” Fiora remained silent for a moment, taking in Meyneth’s words. “Meyneth-”

“I am fine, Fiora.” The goddess quickly interrupted with a lie, making clear that she does not want to talk about it. “We must continue moving, while the path is clear. We don’t know when that…creature will come back, or if it will be alone next time.”

“...Yeah.” Fiora frowned, before standing up, and continuing on her way.

The rest of the trip was completed in silence, save for Meyneth’s curt directions given whenever a course correction was needed. While Fiora herself was physically revolted and terrified by the horrific creature they had run into, the Homs could tell that seeing that thing had a much, much deeper effect on Meyneth, on a level much more personal than Fiora had had. As she and Meyneth were two souls sharing the same body, but possessing different minds, they often felt the physical reactions to the strong emotions the other might be feeling, yet cannot understand where those emotions are coming from without a conversation. To feel Meyneth’s melancholy so strongly as if it was her own, yet to have no understanding as to what it means, and knowing that she was not going to receive an answer right now were she to ask, was a hard pill for Fiora to swallow. What was it about that creature that caused Meyneth to feel so…remorseful?

“We have arrived.” Meyneth suddenly spoke up, and Fiora brought herself out of her musings to look directly ahead. She found herself standing directly in front of a massive doorway that led to the inside of a black colored tower, though the doors themselves were bent and horribly disfigured on the outside of the building, leaving the inside completely open to the elements. 

Above the door, Fiora could make out a worn-out symbol, one she did not recognize. The symbol was simple, with two tear-shaped objects colored crimson sitting next to each other, though completely mirrored along both the vertical and horizontal directions. Underneath the symbols were a set of six strange characters, paired together almost as if it was in writing. Now that she thought about it, there were occasional metal sheets that they passed on the way here that had similar characters drawn on them. Was it a language this colony once used? “What’s that say? It’s not like the language of the Bionis or Mechonis at all.”

“Vector.” Meyneth replied.

“What was that?”

“That’s what those characters spell.”

“You mean, you can read this?”

“...Yes, I can. This was the headquarters of a group called Vector Industries, a group that I am intimately familiar with. Or rather, was, before… Never mind. Let us head inside. There is something I must check the condition of in this building, and if we find what I think we will in there, then what that entails…”

“Got it.” Fiora nodded, before stepping inside the massive building. “Let’s find the ‘something,’ then. Shouldn’t be that…hard…” The Homs quickly trailed off as she finally made her way into the spacious main room (save for the scattered piles of debris), and looked up. And up. And up. The ceiling just kept climbing and climbing, and all along the way, separate decrepit canopies hung along the huge perimeter every few meters up. “...U-Um, do you have an idea where to start looking…?”

“Heh.” A small chuckle escaped from Meyneth, the goddess slightly amused by Fiora’s awe. “It must be intimidating, being within a skyscraper like this for the very first time. What we’re looking for is actually not above us, but rather, below. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like power is running to this building anymore, so we will have to use the less desirable path down. Head to that doorway slightly to the left on the back wall.”

Fiora nodded, before heading in the direction that Meyneth directed. Soon she ended up at what looked to be another stairwell hidden past yet another decimated door, only this time it seemed to crawl endlessly both up and down. At the sight, Fiora couldn’t help but pout lightly. “Yay, so many stairs…”

“We’ll only be going down. Just like last time.” Meyneth reassured the Homs. “Although, on our return trip…”

Fiora groaned. “Hah… Well then, no time like the present, I suppose.” And with that pitiful rally cry, the mechanical woman began her descent down into the depths of the building once home to the mysterious Vector Industries, and towards whatever Meyneth hoped to find there.

???: ???

Light. Floating. Weightless. And above all, nonexistence.

She did not exist, yet simultaneously, existed everywhere all at once. She knew nothing, yet at the same time, comprehended everything as if it was a part of her. She was nothing, yet she was everything at the exact same time.

“...ere…!”

But suddenly, something strange began to happen. She began to hear. And then, the sensation of touch climbed up her…feet? Yes, feet. Slowly, she felt the pressure of force climbing up from her feet, into her legs, then into her torso… All things that, though she did not possess prior, feels only natural to her now.

Little by little, the paradox that was her existence only moments prior began to fade from both mind and soul. Senses such as hearing, touch, taste, and smell quickly took control of her, and her attunement to the world quickly vanished. And just as quickly as this transition occurred, her previous existence was completely forgotten, not even a fleeting memory of what she once was, or wasn’t, remained in her new, empty mind.

Slowly, the new being opened her eyes for the very first time, and with it, gained her first memory. A memory of staring at an astonished human male with dirty blonde hair and stormy gray eyes, who was staring right back at her. His mouth hung open in shock, and for a few moments, the two of them simply continued to stare at each other. Even as faint sounds of voices began to grow closer, not a word passed between them.

It was then that…something began to fill into her mind. Where it came from, she wasn’t sure, but she instinctively knew that it was real, and incredibly important. Images of annihilation filled her mind, and before she even realized it, she was speaking to the human male, in a language she somehow knew he would understand. “Human of Earth. I come bearing grave news. A war is approaching your planet, one that will completely annihilate it and all living lifeforms on it. I have come to aid in your survival.”

“W-What…?” The man finally uttered out, before shaking his head violently. “No, never mind that now! Who, and what the hell are you?!”

“I am an ally. As for who, well…” She mused for a moment, before…a name appeared unbidden in her mind. “You may call me…”

It was then that Elma’s eyes opened, and her dream ended. With a small groan, the commander slowly sat upwards, grimacing at her aching back and rubbing her head to fight back the quickly rising migraine. “Ugh… What…what happened…?”

Her dream completely forgotten, Elma slowly rubbed the sleep out of her crystal-like eyes, letting her thoughts fall back to what had happened moments prior. In one moment, she was crossing blades with the Black Knight - with Cross, she reminded herself. Cross, who was well and truly alive, even after she had seen firsthand his…

The commander slapped her cheeks, trying to clear her mind of that whole mess. She could think about Cross, the Black Knight, all of that later. First and foremost, she needed to know as much as possible about her current situation. Letting out a shaky breath, Elma pulled herself to her feet, taking a look at her surroundings.

Only for her to nearly fall back onto the ground again in shock. “W-What…?! What is this?!” The BLADE commander shouted, stumbling backwards until she hit some sort of wall.

The expanse she saw in front of her, despite how different it was from her memories, was still exceedingly familiar to Elma. Which was exactly why she had to be seeing some sort of illusion. This place couldn’t possibly be left in such a desolate state, because this place doesn’t exist anymore. But no matter how much she rubbed her eyes, or gave her system a shock with a violent pinch or shake of her head, her environment remained the same; Decrepit skyscrapers, rubble-filled roadways with the all-too familiar painted white and yellow stripes, and the various aluminum signs strewn about, filled with text and names of places that Elma knew were long since destroyed…

And yet, here she was. Standing in the middle of a city that should no longer exist. “This…can’t be real…” Elma muttered in disbelief. I watched the Earth be destroyed with my own eyes! The planet itself exploded, leaving nothing in its wake! A-And yet…

Slowly taking a step forward, Elma placed her hand slowly on the rubble next to her, taking note of the purposefully shaped natural material, and what little elements of its structure she could make out. “This is most definitely concrete, with steel rebar supports within it… No other Xenos we’ve seen develop structures in such a way, only humans. But what that means…it just can’t be correct! Humans hadn’t developed civilizations on other planets by the time Earth was destroyed, so the only place to have human city ruins…”

Elma trailed off, as she slowly wandered away from where she woke up, stepping onto the asphalt roadway while taking in the harrowing and impossible setting she found herself in. Even despite everything she knew, all the facts of the world that she had to accept, her senses and, most importantly, her gut, was telling her that everything she was seeing was real. There were no ether illusions, if such a thing existed, at play here, everything was too immaculately desolate over such a wide area for the city to be fabricated. Even down to the way the unkempt asphalt had cracked and broken down over what looked like centuries made complete sense within the realm of the natural world, especially with what looked to be roots or vines of some kind breaking free from the ground at various places. If this were an illusion, then whoever cast it would effectively be a god, able to create a second reality that adheres completely to the rules of nature.

And speaking of changes to the city she once knew, there were two things Elma noticed besides the ruins that it had become that did not line up with her memories, both of which she could see when looking up to the sky. As far as she could see, thunderous storm clouds blanketed the entire sky, not a single crack in the veritable fortress of clouds to be seen. Even where tornadoes would come spiraling down in the distance from above, the natural light of the Sun never once broke through the sea in the sky, casting the land in an eternal shadow that was only broken by bolts of lightning and what little light emanated from above the thick clouds.

But what was much more alarming to Elma wasn’t the constant storm from above, but rather what did manage to breach past it. In the distance, climbing high, high into the sky, was a massive green trunk belonging to some sort of plant. Or…was it actually multiple vines, intertwining around each other as they climbed upwards into the sky? She honestly wasn’t too sure at this point. What she did know is that, whichever it was, the plant’s diameter was ginormous, likely bigger than the White Whale was long. Multiple metropolises could fit within the land space it occupied, and that wasn’t even taking into account how high it climbed into the sky. Due to the sea of clouds above hiding the top of the plant from view (although there was a small hole surrounding its trunk where the plant breached through the maelstrom), she couldn’t fully gauge just how tall it was, but she knew at roughly what altitude storm clouds of this magnitude typically formed. If it was growing well past that point, then it was likely a contender for the largest organism in the entire universe, and by far the largest she had ever laid eyes on…

“A plant growing to that immense size likely would’ve taken centuries, even multiple millennia…” Elma mulled to herself with a frown. “If this really is somehow Earth, then there is no conceivable way that that plant could grow to such a size within the few years it’s been since we’ve left. But everything about the layout of this city that I’ve seen lines up with my memories of this place, besides its destroyed state. If I remember right, where that plant is should’ve been where-”

“OW! Spark…!”

Immediately, Elma pulled out her pistols, turning to the left where the shout of pain came from. She dashed towards the sound, turning the corner of the block, where she saw something horrific. Within the large plaza she had just walked into, three figures looked to be locked in combat. One was a humanoid Xeno that looked to be female with waist length silver hair, gray armor with red and black highlights, and most striking of all, cat-like ears protruding from her head. In her hand were two ring-like weapons glowing with yellow energy, the girl grimacing in pain as she swung them at the two other figures, practically dancing backwards as she fought.

But the two creatures she was fighting were, for lack of a better term, demonic. Sickly gray skin with crystal-like rocks protruding out of their skeletal bodies, tentacle-like protrusions from its head which reminded her of Ganglion, and claw-like appendages in place of what should’ve been their left arms. Whatever the hell they were, they were clearly aggressive towards the Xeno woman, teaming up on her as she tried to fight them off on her own.

Elma grit her teeth, before dashing towards the fight. Even if she was hoping for one of her squadmates, or even…Cross…she wasn’t going to sit idle while someone was in danger. Bringing her pistols into the air, she slid to a stop right in between the Xeno woman and the monsters. “Violent Streak!” She shouted, before letting loose a barrage of bullets right into the Ganglion-like creatures. They screamed in agony, being forced backwards by the force of the bullets breaking through their gray skin.

“What the…?!” The cat-eared woman exclaimed in shock. Once Elma’s magazines were empty, she holstered her pistols and pulled out her two swords, turning her head to look back at the stunned Xeno. “W-Who are you?!”

“Elma.” The alien woman responded with a small smile. “Bet you have a ton of questions right now, but save them for later. Those things aren’t down yet.” Sure enough, the two unnerving creatures managed to pull themselves together, standing up straight as their blank glowing eyes stared at the two Xenos. Even while riddled with bullet holes, no blood flowed out of their wounds, causing a small shiver to run down Elma’s spine. It was like these things weren’t even alive… “Care to help me out?”

“...Okay.” The cat-eared Xeno said, before brandishing her disc weapons, taking a step forward to meet Elma. “Name’s Mio. I’ll distract them and give you an opportunity to find a weak point to exploit. Let’s take them out in one fell swoop!”

“Right!” Elma said, before the two women dashed towards the creatures, their dual weapons in hand. While the BLADE commander slid on her back, slashing her swords at the creatures ankles while dodging their sporadic, almost thoughtless attacks, Mio jumped into the air, swinging her disc blades downwards and putting two gashes in their chests and chipping away at the crystal protrusions slightly, causing them to shriek in response. Whether it was from pain, anger, or something else, Elma wasn’t sure. There was something incredibly eerie about these things that made her feel very, very uncomfortable being around them.

All the more reason for her to look for a weak point to finish them off quickly. Thankfully, the two of them were too preoccupied with Mio, the silver-haired girl expertly dodging and weaving every single attack, almost like the entire fight was a dance. Quite unorthodox, but it was an impressive sight, she had to admit. Tearing her eyes away from her impromptu partner, Elma scanned the rotting bodies of their enemies, frowning as she saw something alarming. The bullet holes from before had all but closed up, their grayish skin stretching unnaturally around the wounds and sealing them, as if they hadn’t even been there in the first place. Even the gashes at their legs were beginning to heal, just like Mio’s…

Elma’s eyes widened. Mio’s attack at their chests, specifically the crystal-like protrusions, were not healing in the slightest. In fact, their lusters were fluctuating, the bright blue fading ever so slightly before lighting up once more. It wasn’t much to go off of, but in battle, trusting your gut got you far, Elma had come to learn. Dashing towards the exposed back of one of the creatures, she brought her swords up into the air. “Shadow Strike!” She yelled, before bringing her blades down right on top of the creature’s crystal in its right shoulder, shattering it in one strike.

“UUKAAAARRRRRRRRIIIIIIII!!!” The creature let out a blood curdling cry, turning its head towards Elma as the chunks of crystal clattered to the ground. Almost angrily, the creature whipped its body around, reaching its claw-like limb towards her in an attempt to grab her. But before it was able to do so, the light in its eyes faded, and it fell to the ground in a lifeless dull husk.

“Aim for the crystals!” Elma shouted at Mio, turning her head towards the Xeno, only to come face to face with the other creature, its claw swinging down on top of her. Gritting her teeth, the commander managed to bring up her swords, crossing them to defend herself from the attack. The claw crashed against steel, and Elma’s knees began to buckle under the force. Despite not having any significant musculature, its strength was immense. She wouldn’t last much longer in this clash-

“Butterfly Blade!” Two blades of yellow light slashed horizontally through the creature’s chest, cutting clean through the crystals within. Immediately, the creature’s eyes dimmed, Elma moving out of the way before its lifeless husk fell forward in a heap, landing on the ground with a thud.

“Thanks for the assist.” Elma said with a smile, sheathing her swords after scanning the area to make sure they were safe. For the time being, it seemed they were, but she couldn’t be certain that would last.

“I should be the one thanking you.” Mio responded, before her ring shaped blades dissipated into thin air. “You saved my skin, finding me when you did. I would’ve been a lot worse off without your help.”

“We’ll call it even, then.” Elma said, only slightly distracted by the fact that matter had seemingly disappeared in the blink of an eye. “Neat trick with your weapons. Something you learned on your home planet, I’m guessing?”

“Oh, can you not do that with your Blade?” Mio tilted her head in confusion. “I’ve heard of some soldiers who’s Irises malfunction for whatever reason, but it’s exceedingly rare. Guess it happens to those from the City, as well.” Mio paused for a moment, her eyes boring into Elma, seemingly taking note of her crystalline blue hair and eyes and her abnormally pale skin. “You… are from the City, aren’t you? You don’t look like you’re from Keves or Agnus, at least. You also fought a lot like Gray with your guns. Were you trained by him?”

“I don’t know who this ‘Gray’ person is, sorry to say.” Elma responded. “And I’m from New Los Angeles on Mira, but I doubt that’s the same city you’re talking about.” Elma paused for a moment to mull over all of Mio’s words so far. “...Looks like you might not realize what’s happening here. If I were to hazard a guess, on your home planet a white light emerged out of nowhere, and next thing you knew, you ended up here. That sound right?”

“...That’s exactly what happened.” Mio frowned. “So you were also swallowed by that light? That light you mentioned suddenly showed up in the middle of a…very important battle, and then…I was here. All alone.” Mio looked around at their surroundings, her frown deepening. “This place looks similar to parts of Maktha Wildwood, but it’s too different. There’s not nearly enough forest around to be the same place. Do you have an idea where on Aionios we might be, Elma?”

“That’s the thing.” Elma responded. “We’re probably not on your home planet of Aionios at all. Just like I’m not entirely sure this is Planet Mira, either.”

“What?!” Mio exclaimed with wide eyes. “H-How can we not be on Aionios?! Beyond Aionios, there’s just…nothing.”

Elma frowned. “...I’m starting to get it. I’m surprised your world hasn’t figured out space travel, considering you have the technology to seemingly fold matter, but I digress. Aionios, the planet that you’re from, is not alone in the universe. There’s tons of other planets out there that have life on them, with different cultures, livelihoods, so on and so forth. I’m originally from a planet called Earth, not Aionios, though nowadays my new home is a planet called Mira. Things like Irises, Keves, Agnus, those are all terms that don’t mean anything to me, because I’m not from Aionios. Make sense?”

“...” Mio said nothing for a bit, looking down to the ground while she seemingly mulled over Elma’s words. “So…somewhere out there, beyond Aionios, there are other people that are living their lives? A-Are they also under the control of Moebius? Forced to constantly fight an endless war for their amusement, constantly being reborn purely to die again, to never experience life as it should be, like growing past ten terms, falling in love and creating new life, everything?”

“Ah…” Elma’s jaw held agape after hearing Mio’s woes. An endless war, constant death and rebirth, not even being able to fall in love…? Just what kind of world is this Aionios? “...No wonder you had no concept of a world beyond your own. I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of life you’ve lived. If it’s any comfort, know that this Moebius you’re talking about does not exist anywhere else. I can’t say everything’s perfect on other planets, far from it. There’s tons of strife, grief, wars, and more that still exist… Still, there’s also plenty to love as well, and that makes going through all the horrors worth it. That’s how I feel, at least.”

“That’s…good.” Mio gave a small, sad smile, reaching her hand down and touching the blue and pink crystal on her chest tenderly. “I’m glad that others don’t have to suffer the same eternity that we have been forced to live. At the very least, now I know for certain that the world we’re fighting for, that fighting against Moebius, is the right thing to do. So thank you, for telling me about all of that. Can’t say I understand everything, but I hope I will, in time.”

“Of course.” Elma smiled. “I hope for their sake none of those Moebius bastards ended up here. If I run into any of them, I’ll give them what’s coming to them, you can count on that.” After saying that, Elma’s smile fell, before she turned to look at the ruins around them. “...Though it’s probably too early to talk about anything like that. Our first priority should be finding our respective comrades, and figuring out how the hell to get back home.”

“Right.” Mio nodded, turning to observe the ruins as well. “Unfortunately you are the only person I’ve run into here, but I would guess others have found themselves here besides us. I’m pretty sure this isn’t Aionios, though it does look similar to part of the Pentelas Region. Does it look familiar to parts of your world?”

“...Not my current one, anyway.” Elma responded. “The area is eerily similar to a place from the previous planet I called home, Earth. But Earth…it no longer exists.”

“...Oh.” Mio muttered. “I-I’m sorry to hear that…”

“Don’t worry about it. Our new home has its charm, and it’s even allowing us to heal the wounds left by Earth’s destruction, a little at a time. Regardless, since Earth’s gone, that means that wherever we are cannot possibly be it.” She ignored the slight doubt inside her as she said this. “It might be our new home planet Mira still, potentially a part we have yet to discover. Since we can understand each other just fine, that adds credence to that theory. Still, there’s part of me that thinks-”

“UKRKRKRKRKR!!!”

The two women immediately turned to the right, drawing their weapons as they did so. Mio’s brow furrowed in annoyance at the sight in front of them. “...How many are there, do you think?”

“...At least twenty. Likely more.” Elma responded, tightening her grip on her pistols. In front of them, a veritable militia of the same creatures from before glared at them, piling up at the entrance of the ruined plaza. Just like the ones from before, no emotion could be gleaned from their faces, but it was clear what their intentions were. Their demise. “We made a decent team before. Ready to push ourselves to the limit?”

“We don’t have much choice, do we?” Mio responded, leaning forward in preparation for battle. “I’ll distract as many as I can, you focus on targeting their crystals. It doesn’t matter how many there are. Their fates were sealed the moment they stood before us!”

“Heh. I knew I liked you.” Elma smiled, before taking a step forward. “Let’s go, Mio!”

“Right!” The cat-eared Xeno shouted back, before the two warriors ran forward, meeting the ruinous creatures head-on.

???: ???

“There really are too many stairs…” Fiora exasperatedly muttered, looking downwards at the spiraling set of stairs crawling downward and downward below her. Unlike the countless times she had done the same before though, she could finally see a bottom in the darkness, meaning she only had a few left before the end. “How deep underground are we by now? If this staircase were in Colony 9, it feels like we would be hitting the Bionis’ ankle right about now.”

“That may be a bit of hyperbole, but I cannot deny the sentiment.” Meyneth replied. “While this seems far too much to you and to me, for the people who once ran this place, having an area this deep underground was a necessity for them. Both for keeping secrets from prying eyes, as well as retaining public relations as best as possible. Though the latter effort ultimately proved useless…”

“Hm…” Fiora hummed in thought, continuing to walk down the decrepit metal stairs. Looking closely at their state, the damage to the structures around her didn’t seem to be caused by the passage of time. Instead, the destruction in this well seemed to have been caused by some kind of creature, maybe even multiple, based off of the gashes of claw marks and dents in the stairs from some kind of weight slamming into them. The railings themselves were even bent and crushed at points, almost like a large creature was using them as leverage to climb free. So far Fiora had not run into any other living beings besides that one creature outside (which she wasn’t even sure could be defined as “living…”), but she desperately hoped she would never run into whatever monster, or monsters, that caused this.

After a few more minutes of silence, only broken by the clacking of her steel boots echoing through the chamber, Fiora’s foot finally landed on solid ground, signifying the end of her journey. “Finally…” Fiora sighed heavily, dejectedly looking up at the rows upon rows of steps that she had just climbed down. “Please tell me there’s another path we can take once we leave. Preferably one that doesn’t require me to climb all that height we just came down…”

“Not one that still functions, unfortunately.” Fiora could practically hear the pitying smile in Meyneth’s voice. “If it’s any consolation, the ones we might find down here could help your ascent tremendously. Though there is no guarantee of anything at the moment.”

“If they can, I’ll more than gladly let them take me back up. I have had enough stairs for this life, thank you!” Fiora bemoaned for a bit longer, before walking towards the only thing of note at the bottom of the stairwell, a destroyed wall that seemingly held a steel door, which was now cast haphazardly to the side, frame and all. “...Seems like something broke through here…”

“As I feared.” Meyneth murmured. “Take care as we continue, Fiora. It’s possible more of those same creatures from before are around here. I would prefer it if we can avoid conflict with them, but still, be prepared for the possibility.”

“Got it.” Fiora responded with a frown, before pulling out her swords and slowly stepping through the destroyed hallway, and into the ruins that followed. Whatever destruction she observed on the way down here paled in comparison to the carnage she just wandered into. Barely functioning lights in the ceiling flickered and sparked in and out of existence, giving her the briefest of glimpses at a pure white hallway absolutely covered in broken glass from empty rooms on either side of her. Rooms with the same gashes and dents in the walls that she saw in the stairwell, though much more numerous and, if she were to wager a guess, much older as well. It was almost like those adjacent rooms had no obvious entrances, instead only walls upon walls of glass, like people were meant to observe whatever may have once been inside. It felt incredibly eerie, not helped at all by the decrepit state of the area.

When Fiora turned a corner only to see yet another hallway of the same nature, she frowned. “I’ve been keeping quiet up until now, but this…this is really unsettling, Meyneth. I need to know. What is this place? And why is the destruction here so much more…feral?”

“...” Meyneth said nothing for a poignant moment. Right as Fiora figured she would remain tight lipped for the time being, she slowly spoke up. “...Of course. You deserve that much after humoring my selfish request for so long. I will try to explain to the best of my ability, but having a full understanding of everything here would require a much longer conversation, one I want to have with everyone.”

“...Okay.” Fiora said, frowning at the feeling of melancholy leaking profusely out of Meyneth’s soul. “If it really is too much to handle right now Meyneth, we don’t need to-”

“I’ll be okay.” Meyneth cut her off. “Like I said, you deserve what little explanation I can give you.” The goddess paused, seemingly collecting herself, before continuing. “...Vector Industries, the creators of this structure, once held vast amounts of  social power due to their advancements in science. Many breakthroughs in knowledge at the time were more often than not spearheaded by their efforts, and with every success, the rewards they reaped were bountiful. But, with every success and advancement they made, there were also just as many failures. Failures that, in order for them to keep their influence, needed to be hidden away.”

“So…those failures were hidden down here? Deep below the building they made?” Fiora asked. “Strange, you would think we would’ve heard about this ‘Vector Industries’ in history lessons if they were so influential… Oh, but since you know so much about them, they must’ve been Machina. That’d explain why I’ve never heard of them until now.”

“The truth is far more complicated than that unfortunately, but I will save that explanation for a later time.” Meyneth said, causing Fiora to frown. Just how little about the world does she know? “You are correct that this place was created to hide their ‘failures,’ though it’s sadly not as harmless as a storage area for failed concepts. From their perspective it was, but in reality, the two major ‘failed experiments’ they were keeping down here were ones that highlighted the corrupt, unethical, and…inhumane side of their continual advancements in knowledge. We have actually seen one of these ‘failures’ already.”

“We have?” Fiora cocked her head to the side, turning yet another corner in the hallway distractedly. “Where was-”

“UUURRRAAAAAA!!!”

“Hah!” Fiora yelped, jumping backwards instinctively and pointing her swords at the sudden roar and violent thumping right in her ear. After a brief moment with her heart pounding in her ears and her chest heaving with laborious breaths, the bio-mechanical Homs slowly lowered her swords, realizing that she was not in any immediate danger. But even though her life was not being threatened, her shock and horror at the sight in front of her remained. “W-What…is this, Meyneth?”

In front of her, separated only by a thick plane of glass was yet another one of those gastly creatures that she had barely managed to avoid running into on the surface. The monster roared and pounded against the glass, trying to reach her with all of its effort, but to no avail. But it was not alone in the empty cell it was trapped within. Its constant pounding roused its imprisoned brethren, numbering around a dozen. Soon all of them lined up against the glass pane and pounded against it, yet the pane was able to withstand their strength, keeping Fiora safe. Slowly, the blonde woman turned around, only to see a mirrored scene, with a dozen more of the same kind of creature on the other side, barricaded by thick glass that kept her safe from their wrath. “T-There’s so many of them…”

“...Too many.” Meyneth said, her tone infused with guilt. “What you’re looking at is the shame of Vector Industries, the black mark on their reputation that they tried, and failed, to keep hidden from the rest of the world. These ‘monsters,’ which they came to call Guldos. Something they did to cruelly take away what little humanity these people had left after they transformed them into these…these…amalgamations!”

“You mean…” Fiora’s eyes widened even further, slowly walking forward through the undamaged hallway, observing how…mindless these so-called Guldo’s actions were. Never once deviating from their vain attempts to reach her, not even seeming to realize their efforts aren’t working like most creatures would. Her stomach dropped in horror, realizing just what Meyneth was implying. “These creatures were…p-people…?!”

“...Yes.” Meyneth’s voice choked ever so slightly at the confirmation. “At the height of their reign, after a certain artifact was discovered, Vector Industries felt as if they had the knowledge and means to achieve immortality. Without even questioning the ethics of such a possibility, nor the ramifications were they to fail, they decided to run experiments on unwilling people, those who knew nothing about the tests that were about to be run on them. Most were awaiting treatment for other life threatening conditions, only to be transformed into what you see before you. Yes, they are by definition immortal, unable to die via age or disease, but at the cost of their entire being…”

“N-No…” Fiora muttered. “So, they’re all…?”

“As much as it pains me to say this, the Guldo are in essence mutated, walking corpses, with no drive, will, or anything other than pure instinct leading their movements. The people they once were are no more, kept down here purely in a vain attempt for Vector Industries to avoid any consequences for their horrendous, unforgivable actions.”

“...” Fiora said nothing for a bit, casting her eyes down to the floor to avoid looking at these Guldos-no, these people. People who’s futures were unjustly robbed from them by forces who, while their goals were noble, the methods were inhumane and unjust, robbing innocents of the happy lives they deserved. “...Is there truly nothing we can do for them?” Fiora muttered, already knowing the answer. After all, she already knew what the answer was for the same question posed to herself.

“...The only thing we can do is free their souls from this torment.” Meyneth said. “They can still be killed by destroying those crystals jutting from their bodies.”

“...I see.” Fiora frowned, before finally bringing her eyes back up to look at the Guldos once more. People whose plight she sympathized with deeply, their bodies mutated beyond recognition for the sake of another person’s own lofty ambitions, the humanity they once had ripped from them without a second thought. Put back together like patchwork, their souls trapped in a body that wasn’t really their own anymore. 

Only, instead of losing who they were in the end, trapped in a never dying body for all eternity…she was given a second, far shorter life as herself, in a body that would inevitably fail her in time. “...I really do have it lucky.” She muttered, gritting her teeth, clenching her metal fist tightly.

“UAAAARRRR!!!”

As the Guldos continued to pound on the glass beside her, Fiora turned her eyes away, doing her best to not look at the suffering souls as she briskly walked down the hall. All the while cognizant of Meyneth’s poignant worry. “Fiora-”

“This fate is too cruel for them, Meyneth.” Fiora interrupted the goddess. “What Egil has done to me and so many other Homs is also horrible, but…at least we still eventually die. Not forced to suffer mindlessly in foreign bodies for the rest of time. At least we still have sentience, a sense of purpose. This Vector Industries is far, far crueler than Egil ever will be. Though they are long gone, I will never forgive them for what they’ve done to these people.”

“...Indeed.” Meyneth said. It was clear that the goddess had more she wished to say, but thankfully she decided to stay quiet. Evidently Fiora’s mood was not very receptive at the moment. “If you continue down this hallway, we should reach our true destination shortly.”

“Right.” Fiora nodded, before continuing down the path, passing by even more rooms of Guldos, all mindlessly pounding on the glass as she walked by. While there were a good amount of rooms-no, cages-intact, the amount that were completely destroyed and subsequently empty far outnumbered them. She supposed that meant that most of them had escaped to the ruined city above. The sheer amount of these people turned monsters there were made Fiora’s blood boil. They had ruined the lives of so many people, and for what?! Fiora was a kindhearted girl, but if there was one thing she could never forgive, it was those who would toy with the lives of innocents without a second thought, making light of the weight of life.

After a few more twists and turns, the mechanical girl slowed to a stop, staring at what looked to be a thick metal door, painted in black with the Vector Industries symbol proudly displayed on it. “This is it, then?” Fiora questioned, taking a few breaths to calm her rage, just a little bit. There were a few scattered dents in the steel, no doubt from some escaped Guldos from ages ago. Yet the door seemingly withstood all of that force, not even partially pushed off its hinges or loose in any way. “Doesn’t look like we can force our way through… I had no idea doors this ginormous could be made…”

“Further proof that what is beyond here was something Vector Industries wanted to keep from seeing the light of day.” Meyneth replied. “Allow me to take control, Fiora.”

“Sure thing.” Fiora nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. With a lurch that, while all too familiar, still felt strange every time it happened, the Homs felt her consciousness “slip” into the back of her mind, swapping places with Meyneth. And then, Meyneth opened her eyes, allowing Fiora to see once again, a mere passenger in their shared body.

Walking forward, Meyneth stepped to the side of the door, pulling open a metal panel that revealed another sheet of metal, filled with a myriad of buttons with characters not too dissimilar from the ones Fiora had seen around the destroyed colony. Above the set of buttons, a display similar to the ones she had seen in Agniratha blared to life with a flickering blue light, filled with a sea of characters that the Homs had no hope of reading. “Power still appears to be running down here…” Meyneth mused. “That’s good. That should mean they’re still functioning.”

“Functioning?” Fiora questioned. “You almost make it sound like they’re Mechon or something… They...aren’t like Guldo, are they…?”

“Not at all.” Meyneth replied. As she spoke, she brought both hands up to the set of buttons, and with an impressive amount of speed, began to purposefully slam away at them, as if it was second nature. “They’re living beings, though not in the conventional sense.” She pushed a few buttons in a particular sequence, causing the display to disappear with most of its characters, save for a few: Ye shall be as gods

As soon as they appeared, the entire hallway rumbled, before the massive metal door screeched into action, sliding to the side and opening the path forward for the pair sharing one body. “That…doesn’t make any sense.” Fiora muttered, tilting her head (well, figuratively…) in confusion. “How is something unconventionally ‘alive…?’”

Meyneth walked forward into the dimly lit room once hidden from them, which ended up looking near identical to the halls they had wandered through, save for two large capsules of some kind lined up in the middle of the room, sleek black with the Vector Industries symbol plastered on the sides as well. Tinted glass covered the top, giving a faint look at what could be inside of them, though Fiora and Meyneth were too far away to make out what. “Hmm…” Meyneth mulled over Fiora’s question. “Let’s see… If I were to compare it to anything, I would say they would be almost opposite existences to you. Whereas you are a biological being that was modified with mechanical components, they are mechanical beings, more akin to Mechon than Machina, augmented with biological components.”

“...I’m not following.” Fiora muttered. “So…they started as machines, but they’re also…living beings? How did they gain life then, if they weren’t alive in the first place…?”

“...Yes, that might have been a bit too much to comprehend at once.” Meyneth replied, before finally stopping in front of one of the capsules. Tentatively, the goddess ran her hand along the top of the capsule, a sad, almost tender smile on her face. “I’ll save the full explanation for later. It doesn’t really matter at the moment, anyway.” Pulling her hand away from the capsule, she walked over to the wall in between the two containers, where another set of buttons with characters was embedded into it. Another display blared to life, and Meyneth’s fingers began to speedily push at the buttons in a sequence that Fiora could not follow. “Regardless, it would be best to have them introduce themselves to you. They are rather…unique individuals, but I hope you will get along with the two of them. They will be invaluable partners for you.”

Finally, Meyneth’s fingers stopped, as one word appeared on the display: MAGDALENE. Immediately afterwards, the display disappeared, and the top of the two capsules hissed open simultaneously, steam spilling out and onto the white tile floor. However, beyond the thick mist of steam, Fiora thought she could make out slender hands reaching out simultaneously from both capsules at once. “...It’s as if nothing’s changed…” Meyneth muttered to herself, frowning as two feminine silhouettes began to sit up in the steam.

“Meyneth?” Fiora questioned.

“...I shall return your body to you now, to allow you to introduce yourself to these two.” Meyneth replied. “You will be their Master this time around, after all.”

“W-Wait, I’m gonna be what?!” Fiora, in the middle of her protest, was suddenly swapped with the soul of the Mechonis, gaining control of her body once more. The Homs blinked, her mind rapidly adjusting to the sudden shift in her existence. “Meyneth, hold on! ‘I’m their Master?!’ What does that-”

“So, you are my Master?”

“Wah!” Fiora yelped in surprise at the sudden monotone voice. Turning her head to the right, her eyes widened at the woman suddenly standing in front of her. Striking light blue hair draping down her back and framing her pale skin, white armor with red and black highlights covering her torso with gloves and boots running up to her forearms and thighs with a visor strapped to her forehead, and most strikingly, a beautiful crystal not too dissimilar to the crystal growths on the Guldos embedded in between her collar bones. The woman stood there unmoving, her dull and emotionless eyes boring into Fiora’s gaze expectantly. “W-Who are you?” Fiora eventually asked, shifting uncomfortably under the woman’s scrutinizing stare.

“I am the Kosmos Obey Strategical Multiple Operation Systems.” The woman robotically recounted, her face not even shifting in emotion as she spoke. “Otherwise known as KOS-MOS. I ask you again; are you my Master?”

“Again with this Master question…?” Fiora muttered. This woman, KOS-MOS, was definitely…unique. She looked like a Homs, but her behavior and voice made her feel slightly…off. “I’m not your Master, or anybody’s, for that matter. You’re one of the people in those capsules, right? All I did was open it for you. W-Well, not me, but-”

“Ha, so it is you!” A voice shouted from behind her, before a visceral humming could be heard rapidly approaching her from behind.

Instinctively, Fiora rolled forward, ducking low right before a massive blade of ether swung horizontally right above where her head once was. Quickly recovering, Fiora unsheathed her blades and steadied her feet in a crouching position, her heart beating rapidly in shock as she locked eyes with her attacker.

“Heh. You got good reflexes, I’ll give you that, Master .” Her attacker, another woman of similar build to KOS-MOS, only with dark skin and white hair, her clothing and armor black with purple and gold highlights, and the crystal in her chest split into three small orbs. Interestingly, the woman also wore a short skirt around her waist, as well as rounded glasses framing her blue eyes. In her hands was an absolutely massive scythe, a full head taller than the woman herself, its blade seemingly made of pure ether energy. The woman smirked haughtily. “Even if I was holding back. Outside of that, I can't say I’m too impressed. You have some modicum of skill, but it’s nothing compared to-”

“That is enough.” KOS-MOS interrupted, before strange gold cannons materialized out of nowhere into her hands, aimed directly at the dark skinned woman. “Placing our Master in danger is unacceptable behavior, and should be punished accordingly.”

“Oh ho?” The white haired woman laughed, her smile widening as she readied her scythe in her hands, squaring up against KOS-MOS. “Picking a fight, are we? Well come on then! I live for this! Let’s-!”

“Stop it right now!” Fiora shouted, dashing forward in between the two women, raising one sword to each of them. “There’s no need for us to fight each other!” She turned her gaze to the scowling dark skinned woman. “...Isn’t that right? You did say you were ‘holding back.’ Was…that all a test for me?”

“...Hah! And it looks like you’re decently smart, too!” The woman replied after scrutinizing Fiora’s unflinching gaze, before her scythe disappeared into a myriad of motes. She relaxed her stance, flipping her hair flamboyantly. “That look in your eyes is quite nice. I’ve seen enough. You're far from fitting for someone of my calibur, but you’ve proven yourself adequate enough. I’ll allow you to be my ‘Master’ for the time being.” She turned to glare at KOS-MOS, who had yet to lower her cannons. “Got a problem with that, KOS-MOS?”

“...Negative.” KOS-MOS responded, before her cannons dissipated away. “So long as you bring no more harm upon Master, I shall not have reason to conflict with you.”

The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Aren’t you an eccentric one…” She mumbled, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“...Glad everything’s fine now…?” Fiora hesitantly said, sheathing her swords. They weren’t at each other’s throats anymore, at least. Though she wasn’t too happy with the tense atmosphere that remained. “Guess I should introduce myself. I’m Fiora, a Homs from Colony 9. And you are…?”

At Fiora’s question, the white-haired woman smirked. “I am T-Elos! The sole complete being, and embodiment of complete order. You would do well to remember my superiority to you, ‘Master.’”

“Er…okay.” Fiora hesitantly nodded. Might as well humor her a little bit… “Though again, I’m not your ‘Master.’ I’m just a girl from a colony at the foot of the Bionis, not much more than that…”

“You were the one to awaken us.” KOS-MOS replied. “Thus, you are our Master. And we shall serve you until we cannot any longer. That is the role we were created for.”

“‘Created for?’” Fiora questioned. “Who told you that? And why?”

“How can we know?” T-Elos scoffed. “It’s not like we got any memories or stuff like that. It’s just what we are.”

“W-Wait, you have none?!” Fiora exclaimed. “But you were able to tell me your names. Surely you must remember where you come from, at least! Why you were in those capsules!”

“We do not.” KOS-MOS said. “Only information necessary for us to aid our Master remains in our minds. Everything else is unneeded for our purpose, and thus expunged.”

Fiora frowned. “...Meyneth, what’s going on? Who are these two?”

“...They are Vector Industries’ magnum opus.” Meyneth finally spoke up, having kept quiet this whole time. As she spoke, her voice carried a mess of muted emotions, something that Fiora felt so poignantly, yet could not make complete sense of. “KOS-MOS and T-Elos, autonomous androids that are able to function for near eternity, using similar technology used for the immortality experiments that created the Guldos. The crystals in their chest are what give them life, refined and reworked from the crystals that created the Guldos.”

“...I see.” Fiora frowned, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “But…there’s more you’re not telling me, isn’t there? Meyneth, why do they-”

“WARNING. WARNING.” Fiora was cut off by the room suddenly lighting up red, a loud siren blaring through the room and causing all three bio-mechanical women to turn their attention to their surroundings. “BIOMETRIC SCAN FAILED. ACTIVATING EMERGENCY DEFENSE PROTOCOL. ALL STAFF, EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.”

“Biometrics?!” Meyneth exclaimed. “When were those installed?! Fiora, we need to leave, right now!”

“Right!” Fiora said, before turning to face KOS-MOS and T-Elos. “Come on you two, we need to-!”

“RGRGRGRRRR!!!”

But before they could even leave the room, a grotesque, familiar figure stepped through the door frame. Then another. And another. And before Fiora knew it, the entire hallway that led to their single escape option was filled with Guldo, all growling angrily at them, on the verge of pouncing on them. “Hostiles detected.” KOS-MOS helpfully said, turning her head to Fiora. “Master, requesting permission to engage.”

How did the Guldo manage to escape?! Fiora thought, brandishing her swords. “Wait…is this the defense protocol that voice mentioned…?” Fiora grit her teeth. Even after everything they’ve been through, the Guldo are still being used by Vector Industries, being treated no different than weapons against intruders. She turned her attention to KOS-MOS, only just now realizing that the blue haired woman had asked her a question, but before she could answer…

“Finally, some bloodshed! Come and get me, you bastards! I’ll slice you all to ribbons!” T-Elos shouted gleefully, before summoning her scythe and dashing headfirst into the storm of Guldo, a maniacal smile on her face as she unflinchingly sliced through the closest one. The creature screamed, before its two pieces fell to the ground, and the damaged crystal growth faded in luster.

“Wha- T-Elos?!” Fiora exclaimed, staring at the white haired, battle-crazed woman in shock. “H-Hold on, don’t just rush in without a plan!”

“Hahaha!!! I live for this! I’ll take you all on!” T-Elos proclaimed, before the purple blades of ether materialized around her armor like before, and her visor closed over her eyes, the woman completely ready for battle.

“T-Elos!” Fiora shouted, but her words were not reaching the android. “Gah…does she have a death wish or something?!”

“Master.” KOS-MOS spoke once again, stepping in front of Fiora to stare into her eyes expectantly. “Hostiles ahead. Permission to engage?”

“Why do you even need…?” Fiora began, but decided it wasn’t worth it. One’s way too trigger happy, the other won’t act on her own… Just what have you gotten me into, Meyneth…? “...Fine, KOS-MOS. Permission granted. Let’s free these people from their suffering, and get out of here.”

“Understood.” KOS-MOS replied, before her visor closed over her eyes, and the golden cannons from before materialized in her hands. “Initiating combat. Main objective: Subjugation of all hostiles.”

“Right.” Fiora frowned, before the two of them ran forward, ready to engage the enemy. “...One last time Myeneth. Is there really no chance for the Guldos to become people again?”

“...If there were, I would’ve done so long, long ago.” Meyneth replied sadly.

“...All right.” Fiora said with a frown, before looking forward with resolute eyes. “KOS-MOS! T-Elos! We’re taking all of the Guldos out. Let’s end these people’s suffering, here and now!”

“Really?!” T-Elos excitedly responded, already slicing through her fifth Guldo, killing it on the spot. “Haha! You’re even better a ‘Master’ than I thought! Let’s rip ‘em to shreds!”

“Understood.” KOS-MOS monotonously said. She slid to a stop while Fiora kept running to T-Elos’ side. “Providing suppressive fire.”

“Hah!” As ether bullets rained down on the Guldo from behind Fiora, the Homs sliced through a distracted Guldo’s crystal, putting its soul to rest. With a frown, she forced herself to look away from the sickly corpse falling to the ground. It hurt her so, so badly to do this to these people, but she was certain it was nothing compared to the pain they must’ve been under for who knows how long. For their sake, she can fight back the bile (be it biological or mechanical, she wasn’t sure) that was building up in her throat as she did this.

Fiora dashed forward, sliding up to T-Elos’ back and swinging her blades through another Guldo in tandem with T-Elos cleaving through three at once. The white haired woman turned around with a wild grin towards the Homs. “About time! Come on, ‘Master!’ Show me why you can call yourself that!”

“Like I keep saying, I’m not your Master!” Fiora growled, cutting through a Guldo to enunciate her point. “I don’t know why you two keep calling me that, but I’m-!”

“Master, duck.” KOS-MOS’ monotone voice interrupted, one of her cannons aimed directly at Fiora’s head. The Homs immediately complied, lowering her head right as KOS-MOS fired a barrage of bullets into a Guldo that had attempted to attack her, blasting it away, life fading from its eyes.

“A little more warning would be nice, KOS-MOS!” Fiora shouted, standing back up straight, glaring at the blue haired woman.

“Apologies, Master.” KOS-MOS replied simply, casually moving towards Fiora while firing more bullets into another Guldo. “I will provide more warning in the future, as per your request.”

“That’s not what I want you to… Whatever!” Fiora, now flanked by T-Elos and KOS-MOS, stared down the remaining Guldo. Already so many of their corpses dotted the floors, and yet so many remained. “It’s endless…! How many of them could possibly be left?”

“Scanning…” KOS-MOS said, craning her head in all directions. “...Scan complete. Twenty-three hostiles known as ‘Guldos’ standing within a few meters of our current position. Seventy-eight congregating approximately one kilometer above us with more appearing sporadically, as well as two unknown humanoid ether signatures detected.”

“It was just hyperbole KOS-MOS, you didn’t need to-” Fiora started, but stopped after her words finally sunk in. “Wait, two unknowns? Are you sure about that?!”

“Affirmative.” KOS-MOS replied. “Unable to recognize ether signatures. Shall I identify them as hostiles?”

“N-No, of course not! Those might be friends of mine!” Fiora said. “And they need our help. We can’t afford to waste any more time. KOS-MOS, T-Elos, lend me your strength! Let’s finish up here, and go help our allies up on the surface!”

“Yes, Master.” KOS-MOS replied. “Mission objectives updated. Let us proceed, Master.”

“Hmph, at least you’re aware of how powerful I am compared to you!” T-Elos grinned. “Fine, so long as I get to fight more and more, then I’ll lend you my aid. You better keep up, because I’m not going to slow down one bit!”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” Fiora said. “Let’s go, then!” She shouted, running forward with her two new, strange comrades, slicing down every Guldo in their path as fast as possible.

???: ???

“Ngh! Damn!”

“Elma!” Mio shouted, slicing through yet another of the creature’s crystals, before running towards her comrade. With a flash of light, her gray and black Moebius armor disappeared before Teach’s familiar coat draped over her body, his Blade in hand. “Rank Splitter!” She shouted, thrusting the staff into a monster’s chest. As it fell to a heap on the ground, soothing ether fell upon Elma’s form, healing the gash on her arm.

“Thanks for the save.” Elma grunted, standing up. Before Mio could reply, the radiant woman suddenly aimed her pistols behind Mio, firing off a couple of shots right into a creature that had snuck up on them. Gritting her teeth, Mio turned around, her outfit changing back to M’s armor before finishing the job with a slice through its crystal.

Elma’s back pressed up against Mio’s, the two scanning the surroundings. “How many of them are there?!” Mio frowned frustratedly. “Every time we take out one, two more pop up out of nowhere!”

“Something’s not right about all of this…” Elma huffed. “These monsters don’t seem to possess a form of higher thought, or some kind of hivemind based on their uncoordination. They shouldn’t be able to function as a group this size, it’s infeasible. Something else is at play, but what…?”

“Are you saying something’s attracting them?” Mio grunted, slicing through one of the creatures that wandered a bit too close.

“Either that, or something’s forcing them here.” Elma grunted back, shooting one down as it charged at her. “Whatever the case, it doesn’t make things better for us.”

“Of course not…” Mio frowned in annoyance. She realized she was sounding like Eunie right now, but Queen’s ears, she didn’t have the time for this! Well, she guess she does now, being Moebius and all, but that's besides the point! 

She had just spent three painful months having to sit back and watch complacently as Noah, Sena, Taion, and all her friends suffered behind bars, agonizingly waiting until “her” Homecoming came at the eclipse. Not being able to reach out and let them know that she was okay, or stop Noah from futilely beating against the metal bars until his knuckles were bloody, and even having to act despondent to the whole thing in order to convince N as well… She hated it all, hated seeing her Noah in so much pain, hated seeing how sad and cruel M’s Noah had become, and how he was trying to make her Noah exactly like him…

And now, after finally being free from that torment, she was wrenched from them yet again by that strange light that engulfed them all. At first she had thought it to be an Annihilation Event, but when she woke up here, she knew her friends were also here in this strange land, somewhere. She’s not going to let all her suffering end here, at the hands of these creatures. No, she’s going to fight, and fight, and fight as long as she needs to, until she, Noah, and everyone else are reunited!

“SHURRRR!!!” Mio and Elma quickly broke away as another one of the creatures lunged at them, only to immediately be cut in two by the two women’s blades. Immediately after, the rest of the beings followed suit, crashing on top of the warriors all at once. The two jumped into action once more, a dance of swords and discs cleaving through crude rotting flesh and glowing crystals. Yet again, Mio found that individually, the creatures did not pose much threat with their weakness known, but the true challenge was their sheer numbers. With Noah and the rest of the Ouroboros, they probably could handle themselves just fine, but with just her and Elma, even though she was an extremely capable soldier… The two inevitably found themselves overwhelmed.

“Gah!”

“Elma!” Mio whirled around just in time to see one of the creatures sink its claw into Elma’s shoulder, one of her swords clattering to the ground as her grip loosened. She tried to dash forward, only for three more monsters to jump in front of her, forcing her to stop her charge and jump back to avoid their attacks. “Hold on, I’m coming! I’ll-gah!”

Mio’s surroundings suddenly whirled around as a creature from behind her managed to grab her ankle, pulling her into the air and slamming her on the ground. All the air in her lungs burst past her lips, and her vision began to blur as the faces of the vile creatures began to loom over her. N-No… Come on, get up! I’m not letting it end here! I need to be at Noah’s side! Get up, get up, get-!

She didn’t even finish her thought before a massive purple blade of ether sliced the creatures surrounding her in two, their lifeless corpses raining down around her. Her eyes widened in shock, slowly sitting up just in time to catch a white-haired woman garbed in black and purple swinging an absolutely massive Blade through the creatures attacking Elma, a maniacally gleeful smile on her face. “Hahahaha! Ah, so many weaklings to crush!” She turned towards the congregating creatures, Blade at the ready. “Come on, come on! Give me your best shot! I’ll slice through you all!”

Without even checking on the two she just saved, the woman dashed towards the crowd of creatures, her maniacal laugh ringing through the air as a maelstrom of decaying body parts followed in her wake within the crowd. “W-Wha…?”

“KOS-MOS, you go help the blue haired woman!”

“Yes, Master.”

As a woman with crystal-like hair not too dissimilar to Elma’s ran over to help said woman up, Mio’s vision was suddenly taken up by the concerned frown of a girl around her age with short blonde hair and green eyes, a concerned frown on her face as metallic hands grabbed her shoulders. “Hey, are you doing okay? Can you stand?”

“I-I…I think so…” Mio responded, slowly pushing herself to her feet, with the kind woman helping her along the way. The Agnian shook her head, clearing her vision and finally getting a good look at their saviors. “Who are you?”

“The name’s Fiora!” The blonde girl next to her smiled, her green eyes shining with a kindness Mio couldn’t help but trust. She looked like a Kevesi soldier, especially with her abundance of metallic parts, but at the same time, something seemed quite different. Before she could ponder further, Fiora turned and motioned one of her twin blades towards her blue-haired partner. “That’s KOS-MOS helping your friend there, and-”

“Come on, come on, come on! Give me more, more, more! ”

“...That’s T-Elos…” Fiora sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Sorry, she’s a bit, er…eccentric.”

“I…can see that.” Mio distractedly responded, watching the white haired woman cleave through the monsters they were struggling with like they were nothing. Even with all her memories of her previous lives thanks to M, she had never seen anybody fight with as much ferocity as T-Elos. It’s a good thing she was an ally, at least she hoped… She tore her eyes away from the carnage, her and Fiora making their way over to the two blue-haired women. “Elma, are you all right?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.” Elma smiled, though she couldn’t quite fight back the pained expression as she leaned against KOS-MOS for support. “It’s just a small cut. Give me a bit, and I’ll-”

“Analysis proves contradictory.” KOS-MOS interrupted with a cold, robotic voice. “Ether levels significantly down for all three allies. Activating Hilbert Effect Refrain.”

“Hilbert what?” Of all of them, Fiora was the one to exclaim in surprise at her friend’s words. KOS-MOS’ eyes were obscured by a visor falling over them, crystal purples adorning her body as the core at her chest glowed vibrantly, a massive pulsing of warm ether energy blasting out and around the three women. The effects of the ether were immediate, and before she knew it, all of Mio’s built up tension and fatigue had been washed away. Looking at Elma, her wound had also closed, leaving her as fresh and combat-ready as when this battle had begun.

“W-Whoa…” Mio muttered in shock. “That’s some Art you have, KOS-MOS! I feel so much better, thanks!”

“No thanks are necessary.” KOS-MOS replied, letting go of Elma as the BLADE commander stood up straight. “I was simply following Master’s orders and protecting you as allies.”

“Master, huh?” Elma raised an eyebrow at Fiora.

“Don’t ask…” Fiora muttered with a sigh.

Elma shrugged, taking a step towards the remaining horde of monsters with her Blades raised. “Well, not like I care too much. Thanks for the save Fiora, KOS-MOS, we owe you one. I’m Elma, and that’s Mio. We’ll save the rest for later. Anything you guys know about these things that could help us out?”

“Only weakness I know about are the crystals growing around their body. That’s what gives them life.” Fiora frowned, stepping in line with Elma, and Mio falling quickly in suit behind her. “They’re called Guldos, and…they were once people, now transformed to immortal husks.”

Mio’s eyes widened while Elma’s breath hitched in her throat. “W-What?!” Mio exclaimed. “That’s…!”

“Which is why I want to free all of them from their suffering, if we can.” Fiora’s brow furrowed, turning to look at her two new allies. “Can I ask for your help with that?”

“...Of course.” Elma frowned. “We’ll make sure none of these Guldos are left standing when we’re done with them. If nothing else needs to be said, then let’s go! Engage!”

“Right!” Despite all three of them originating from completely different areas, the three women dashed forward in unison with their dual weapons poised and ready, while KOS-MOS stayed behind, summoning cannons into her hands and providing cover fire. Weaving through the myriad of decaying corpses of Guldos-no, of former people, Mio had to remind herself-left in the wake of their final ally’s rampage. She really should’ve noticed the similarities sooner, Mio cursed herself as she cleaved through another Guldo’s crystal. Even putting aside their human-like shapes and movements, the corpses as they laid on the ground had reminded her of something before, and only now did she realize what it was: the countless husks of fallen soldiers scattered across all of Aionios. She couldn’t hold back the frustrated frown as she danced through the quickly thinning Guldos alongside Fiora and Elma. Elma said so before, but even worlds without Moebius can still be…so cruel. Mio dejectedly thought for but a moment, before shaking herself out of those harrowing thoughts. …Even still, I can’t let myself be swayed. It’s because we want to prevent these kinds of tragedies that I and the rest of Ouroboros choose to fight Moebius. We won’t let our Moebius-free future become like this! And I promise, we’ll free all of you from your suffering, right here and now!

“Fiora, on your left!” Mio shouted, dashing right past the blonde and swiping through a Guldo’s core that was dashing up towards the blonde. As she was recovering, she noticed another Guldo running forward as the one she killed fell to the ground, only for Elma to appear right in front of her, riddling its core with bullets.

“Gun Drones!” Fiora shouted, and from her back, multiple drones flew from where they were docked on her back, almost like a Levnis. They flew around her shoulders, shooting at any nearby Guldo as they began to circle them in tandem with KOS-MOS, thinning the crowd as the three sliced through those that came too close.

“Hiyah!!!” Mio shouted as she weaved under a Guldo’s claw, cleaving through its core. “Hah, hah… All right, who’s-?”

“Ha ha ha ha ha!!!” Mio looked up, only to see T-Elos standing nearby, her Blade’s hilt slammed into the ground as she scanned their surroundings. “What, is that all of them already?! Come on, this isn’t nearly enough to satisfy me!”

“It’s…already over?” Mio said to herself, looking around to see that, indeed, there was nothing but a sea of gray husks dotted across the battlefield, with only the five women standing in their wake.

“...No.” Elma’s eyes narrowed, her and KOS-MOS turning around and facing one of the massive buildings surrounding them. “There’s one more coming. And it’s a big one.”

“What do you-?” Fiora was cut off when the entire ground shook, and something well and truly gigantic rounded the corner. It was unlike any of the other Guldo from before, with a torso utterly dwarfing any of them in size, standing upon massive arms as its severed legs hung in the air, and a huge claw glowing with ominous ether energy. 

“URKRKRKRKRKRKR!!!” Immediately the monster roared, its claw glowing as it aimed it towards the party.

“Hit the ground!” Elma shouted, an order which Mio and Fiora immediately complied to, right before a beam of ether pierced the air above them, cleaving through the nearby building with ease. 

“Is everyone all right?!” Elma shouted as everyone recovered from the attack.

“Yeah.” Mio nodded. “That was too close…”

“What even was that?” Fiora replied. “It was like a blast from a Face Mechon… We’re going to have to play this-”

“You’re mine!”

“T-Elos…!” Fiora’s exasperated moan went unanswered as her bloodthirsty friend dashed forward, leaping into the air and swinging her scythe at the massive Guldo. The blade sliced through its claw, but the beast merely roared and smacked her aside with one of its massive arms, sending her flying to the side. Its body then began to glow, and within an instant, its severed limb regenerated, looking none the worse for wear.

“It's healing too?!” Mio exclaimed. “It’s got insane ether manipulation. We need to take it out quickly!”

Elma nodded. “We’ll have to destroy its core in one go in order to make sure it stays down. Fiora, can you tell KOS-MOS to lay down continuous cover fire?”

“Yeah.” Fiora turned to the blank-staring woman to the side. “KOS-MOS, you heard her! Keep that thing busy, and don’t let up even a little!”

“Roger. Engaging.” KOS-MOS nodded, and a hail of ether blasts assaulted the massive Guldo, causing it to roar in pain.

“Let’s go!” Elma shouted, the three dashing towards the creature. “Fiora, go check on T-Elos. She’s our best bet at destroying its core in one go. I’ll focus on keeping that claw in check. Mio, I’m counting on you to keep its attention!”

“Leave it to me!” Mio replied. The three of them split up, Elma wrapping around behind the Guldo, Fiora making a beeline towards the rubble T-Elos was buried underneath, and Mio dashing directly at the creature. “Gemini Strike!” The blades on her rings expanded outwards, humming with ether energy as she threw them at the bullet-ridden monster, slicing one of its limp arms clean off.

“SHKAAAAA!!!” It roared, turning its head away from KOS-MOS and turning all of its attention onto Mio. Its arm predictably grew back and it swung at her, but KOS-MOS’ fire focused on the limb, tearing it to shreds and slowing it down enough for Mio to easily dodge it, moving to its dangling legs and slicing them off.

With another roar of pain, the Guldo suddenly jumped backwards with surprising speed, slamming onto the ground and aiming its glowing claw right at the Agnian offseer. But right before it could blast her to bits, a shadow jumped up into the air behind it, gleams of light reflecting off of clean steel. “Shadow Strike!” Elma shouted, her two swords cleaving through the appendage where it flopped and writhed on the ground uselessly. 

Mio moved in right as Elma landed on the ground, the two of them taking their weapons and slicing through its two limbs holding it upright. The Guldo fell to the ground, where KOS-MOS’ bullets laid into it, preventing it from getting right back up. “Master!”

“Now, T-Elos!”

“Yes! Pay for that blow against me with your life!” T-Elos bellowed, her and Fiora jumping over Mio and Elma before T-Elos’ her scythe cleaved the monster in two vertically, splitting its core in two.

“Now, Sword Drones!” Fiora shouted, the extrusions on her back humming with energy before flying off her body, blades of ether flying around her. She dashed forward, swinging the swords in her hands in tandem with the swords floating around her, slicing and dicing the remains of the creature into bits until finally, the light faded from its body, and it was reduced to a lifeless husk.

“Hah…” Fiora let out a heavy sigh, falling onto her rear as the drones docked onto her back. “I feel far more drained than normal…”

“Tch, it’s done already?” Mio turned to face T-Elos, a clear look of disdain on her face. “That wasn’t nearly enough to unlock my full capabilities…”

“S-Sorry to hear that…?” Fiora replied with a frown.

“Do you require me to carry you, Master?” KOS-MOS asked, her Blades dissipating as she made her way to Fiora’s side.

“No, that won’t be necessary, thanks.” Fiora quickly replied. “Just…a lot’s happened, and I haven't really had a chance to rest.”

“Tell me about it…” Mio sighed, plopping down right next to Fiora and giving her a smile. “Too much has happened to me and my friends as well. But thanks to you all, I’ll be able to get back to them in one piece.”

“Glad I could help!” Fiora smiled back.

“So, Fiora.” Elma joined in on the conversation, sitting down in front of Mio and Fiora. “I suppose it’d be too much for me to hope that you’re from this place?”

“Sorry, I’m not.” Fiora frowned.

“Figures.” Mio frowned as well. So her and Elma’s, what did she call them, worlds weren’t the only ones, huh…? “Big fight, black fog, then a bright light, and now you’re here?”

“That’s right. So it happened to you guys, too?”

“Yep. Which I guess means none of us know where we are.” Mio sighed, looking up to the ominous cloudy sky above them. Noah, everyone…please, don’t be too far away. I…I don’t want to be separated from you any longer, not after those three months…

“Well, I might not know anything, but…someone else with me knows something.”

Mio’s ears immediately perked up, and she turned to face the mechanical girl. “Really?!”

Fiora nodded. “It’s a long story, but this body I have is shared. Me and someone else named Meyneth. And Meyneth seems to know this colony well. She’s asleep right now, but when we both woke up here, she could navigate it really well. She even led me to where KOS-MOS and T-Elos were kept hidden, along with…where all the Guldo were kept.”

Immediately, Mio’s ears drooped. That’s right, those monsters we just killed, they were all… The Agnian slowly stood up, turning to face the pile of husks they left in their wake. “Mio?” She heard Elma ask in concern, but Mio didn’t turn to face her.

Instead, she pulled back a piece of her armor, where she felt the warm, familiar grasp of Noah’s– her flute. And with it, she would do whatever she could to give these poor souls rest. I don’t know if you all had anything like offseeing, but…I hope you’ll accept this, wherever you are now. It’s the least I can do for you whose true deaths were delayed for so long.

With that thought, she slowly brought the flute to her lips, and began to play. The baritone tune that Noah had taught her felt like second nature as it filled the air, washing over the dead and living alike with a somber presence. Everyone, even the irreverent T-Elos, simply stood by in silence, simply…watching her, and listening.

No motes flew into the air. There were none to be had in this world, or at least in these people, it seemed. But even though nothing visibly happened, as her song came to an end and she finished her duty…she could feel it. A small comfort in her heart, as if it was those people thanking her for giving them peace. When they had first been assigned together, Taion had indifferently noted that offseering probably did nothing for the dead, in reality. She couldn’t refute him at the time, and in all honesty probably couldn’t now, but at the very least, that feeling in her right now, even if it wasn’t really the dead thanking her, made her feel like she had done all she could for them. And that…that was enough.

They were finally at rest, and their mutated husks put down. Letting them and the living know it was time to move on…that is what she is here to do, as an offseer.

“...That was beautiful, Mio.” After a moment, Fiora spoke up, her and Elma walking over to the Agnian with a wistful smile. “Was that some kind of ceremony? For them?”

Mio nodded. “Where I’m from, it’s my duty to play for the soldiers we lost in the war. To…send them on. I don’t know if it works the same here, but…”

“Even if they don’t have the same kind of ceremony for their dead…” Elma started. “After interacting with so many different kinds of people from so many different kinds of planets, everyone wants their dead to be respected. And that’s what you did.”

“...Thanks.” Mio smiled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to derail the conversation like that.”

“No need to apologize.” Fiora replied. “You did what you needed to do.”

“Indeed.” Elma nodded. “Now then. All of us have comrades to get back to, but as things stand… I think it would be better for all of us to stick together for the time being.”

“Agreed.” Mio replied. “We don’t know what all is out there. Better to have each other's back, yeah?”

“Right!” Fiora smiled. “Oh, I should probably wake Meyneth up. If anybody knows where we should head next, it would be-”

“Master, enemies approaching.” KOS-MOS suddenly interrupted, her and T-Elos’ visors falling over their eyes once more.

“What?!” Immediately the three of them got to their feet, weapons drawn and turning to face…

“UKRRRRRRR!!!” “AKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!” “SKRAAAA!!!”

…Three more of the gargantuan Guldos, making their way towards them. “No way, there’s more that size?!” Mio exclaimed. 

“Just one of them took a coordinated effort to take down…” Elma scowled. “And we’re all low on energy. Okay everyone, we’re splitting up. Mio and Fiora, you-”

But before Elma could finish giving her plan, a voice rang through the air, halting the Guldo in their tracks.

“Monado…”

“Shulk…?!” Mio noticed Fiora’s eyes widen in recognition. But she wasn’t given a chance to inquire further.

“BUSTER!!!!”

“Gah!” All five women were blasted away as a wall of darkness completely consumed the Guldo, the violent force sending a shockwave that shook the entire plaza. What few buildings were still standing began to crumple under the force of the downright malicious energy, drowning out the roars of pain of the Guldos within the epicenter as it climbed high into the air, practically cutting a hole into the very world itself. After a few moments, the energy dissipated, and once more the plaza was filled with an eerie silence, save for the ominous crackling remnants of the massive attack.

“N-Ngh…” Mio groaned, slowly pulling herself to her knees and looking around. Dust littered the air, making it hard to see anything, but where it was thickest was where the Guldo once were, the smoke in the area making it impossible to see what kind of carnage was left in the wall of energy’s wake. “What…was that?”

“I…I don’t know.” Fiora muttered to her side, where she was being helped to her feet by an already recovered KOS-MOS, T-Elos standing on the side and scowling towards the smoke. “I thought it might be somebody I know, but that energy…it was so much… darker. ”

“The smoke’s beginning to clear.” Elma said, grabbing Mio’s arm and helping her to her feet as well. “Be ready for anything!”

Mio grimaced, anxiously watching as the smoke began to dissipate. But instead of seeing the two massive Guldos that were there, there was instead…nothing. Not even husks. It was as if they had never existed. Instead, what was there was a massive crevice, like a sword had cut through the very land itself, leaving a permanent scar that would never be healed.

But then, a figure began to emerge from within the scar. The first thing Mio noticed was its Blade. A massive black and gold sword casually draped across their shoulder, its roundish hilt glowing with pink ether lines running through it, while in the center a purple, cross-shaped crystal sat. 

But as she followed the strangely shaped blade portion across their shoulders, she finally took in the figure slowly moving towards them. A masculine form covered head to toe in black and gold armor, not too dissimilar to the standard battle armor of Agnian soldiers. His black hair was short and jagged, and his sharp features paired with his stormy gray eyes caused an unconscious shiver to run down her spine. But most striking of all was the same cross-shaped crystal on his Blade embedded into his chest, framed by a regal gold plate.

The man came to a stop a few meters away from them, an eyebrow cocked in suspicion as he scrutinized them all. “Well, well, isn’t this something… Wasn’t expecting anybody else to be down here in the Land of Morytha, much less strangers.”

He pulled his sword off of his shoulder, pointing it towards them before it exploded with dark ether energy, humming ominously with pure power. “Now…who the hell are you all?”