Chapter Text
Dan Heng exits Caelus’s room once his fellow Trailblazer falls into slumber. He shuts the door behind him, careful not to make a sound and makes his way back to his own room. He bumps into March on his way.
“You aren’t subtle,” she giggles. “What were you doing in Caelus’s room?”
“Shh.” Dan Heng places his index finger against his lips. “Any louder and you’ll get me in trouble with Stelle.”
The archer lowers her voice and follows her friend. “So? Are you gonna give me an answer or do I have to keep bugging you until you give in?”
“I’m afraid I can’t straightforwardly answer that, but I did do him a favor.”
March makes a face. “Dan Heng, that’s–”
“Before you cause a misunderstanding, I didn’t do anything vulgar.”
“Hahaha! I’m just messing with you~ Come on, let’s have breakfast. This isn’t the Overworld’s Goethe Hotel, but they still have free food!”
__________
Caelus is acutely aware that his eyes are shut, and as much as he tries right now to open them, it feels as if someone had placed a magic spell on his eyelids to prevent them from separating. He hears someone come into his room and lets out a groan when that person lifts the blanket off his body. It then hits the Stellaron host that, once again, he has no control over his body, and Caelus feels his hands rubbing at his eyes. His blurred vision clears up and he sees a beautiful woman with wine-colored staring at him, albeit her eyes are still censored out with a stark, black line.
“Come on sleepyhead,” she coaxes. “If you’re too slow to wake up, then there won’t be any breakfast left for you. This is why you shouldn’t be up all night playing video games with Silvy.”
He doesn’t respond. Or rather, he can’t respond the way he wants to. He isn’t able to voice out any of the usual suspects when one wakes up from a dream (within a dream) like “Who are you?” or “Where am I?”, so he just accepts that he’s in another lucid dream and gives the woman a nod.
Caelus sits up from the bed and stretches his arms. He follows the woman, and she leads him to a dining room where his twin and three others are gathered. Excluding his sister, the eyes of the people seated at the table are blurred out like the woman’s, and Caelus can’t seem to shake off the feeling that he knows them from another time somehow.
(Aside from the last time he had a lucid dream, of course. If anything, now he can’t remember if these familiar people had faces in his previous dream. It’ll be difficult for him to jog his memory of who’s who now.)
Stelle gives him a small wave and a bashful glance before looking down at her joined hands. Caelus pulls up the empty chair in front of her and feels his lips move, but no sound comes. Whatever he’s saying though makes Stelle smile in relief, and she reaches over to squeeze their hands together. The man who had been sitting with them rises from his seat to excuse himself, his face finally freeing itself from the censor. Caelus can feel the fondness lurking behind his picturesque sunset eyes.
The woman gives the twins a pat on both their heads. When Caelus turns behind him, he’s met with the beautiful, warm expression on Kafka’s face, and he feels himself smiling from ear to ear.
Would it be worth it to forever stay in a dream this sweet?
__________
As promised, after an hour passes, Caelus is woken up to soft knocks and a gentle voice at his door.
“Caelus? It’s time to get up.”
The male Stellaron host lets out a yawn and opens the door. Dan Heng greets him with a couple Tasty Nutrient Bars and a Rye Bread Soda. “My apologies, I already ate breakfast with the girls. What I have here for you may not be much,” the archivist admits, “but we don’t have much time to spare before meeting with Oleg. If this doesn’t suffice, I’ll pack more for you, or we can buy something later.”
“No, this is good,” Caelus says, accepting the food. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“Mm, let’s go.”
They meet up with March, Stelle, and Bronya in front of the hotel entrance, and Luka is with them as well. Stelle locks eyes with her brother and bumps shoulders with him, their smiles mirrored at each other. The Fight Club champion beams once everyone has gathered and leads them to a corner tucked away from Natasha’s clinic to meet with Oleg.
“So when did you get back?” Stelle asks.
Caelus chokes on the nutrient bar he’s munching on. “H-How did you–”
The older twin pokes his forehead. “You’re too honest. I had no proof that you snuck away somewhere last night, but you still fell into my trap. That’ll bite you in the ass one day.”
“A-Are you mad I left without saying a word…?”
“… No. I was just worried.”
Conveniently, as if the universe wants his twin to stew in her unvoiced thoughts, Luka has brought them before Oleg, and Caelus has to reluctantly put their conversation on hold.
“It’s good to have everyone back together,” the Wildfire chief chuckles. “Let me get straight to it: Regarding this ‘Stellaron’ and your current predicament in the Overworld, I’ve gone over both matters.
“The last time I saw Cocolia, she was an impressive young lady… I never thought that after becoming the guardian… All I can say is that I sympathize with your situation. Rest easy, Wildfire wont go behind your back on this.
“Your plan sounds a bit like the ravings of a drunken miner, but at least you’re offering a road forwards. We Underworlders haven’t had a road for a long time now, and you can see how things have become. I’m willing to give you guys a shot.”
“Don’t worry Mr. Oleg!” March pipes up. “We’ll make sure you don’t regret it!”
“Ravings of a drunken miner is a little harsh,” Dan Heng remarks, quirking an eyebrow.
“Maybe it is,” Oleg agrees. “But I think we need to set our sights on something a bit more realistic. You guys want to know the whereabouts of the Stellaron. Wildfire wants to remove the restrictions on the Underworld. In other words, Svarog is the target of both our efforts. If we can’t deal with the boss, we can’t deal with anything.”
“So we need to find a way to bring him over to our side,” Stelle concludes.
“Hmph, he wouldn’t understand,” Seele scoffs. “You’re forgetting Svarog’s a robot. It’d be faster to smash him to scrap metal!”
“We should make preparations for both approaches,” Oleg advises. “Of course, it’s better to settle matters through peaceful means. But if the situation changes, we must be prepared for armed conflict at a moment’s notice.
“Wildfire has tried many times to make contact with Svarog without success. He has no intention of engaging with us. At our current strength, it would be incredibly dangerous to use force. Svarog’s robots don’t fear sacrifice, and I don’t want to risk Underworld lives.
“But things have changed. Your arrival constitutes an ‘external variable’ for Svarog. I may not have the full picture, but perhaps you guys have an opportunity to sway him.”
“That would be best,” agrees Dan Heng.
Oleg lets out a hearty laugh. “Our scheme is coming along nicely! But I fear that Svarog isn’t the swaying type. You’ll have to understand when you get to his territory. Things never run smoothly down here.
“What about you, Miss Silvermane? You’re the only one here that isn’t compelled to do or die with Svarog. I’d like to hear your plan.”
“Well the Underworld is still a part of Belobog,” Bronya replies matter-of-factly, confidently (Caelus can feel the strong resolve backing her words). “If Svarog’s existence constitutes a threat to the people here, I will of course stand with you.”
Oleg lets out another round of hearty chuckles. “Excellent! An enlightened answer, young lady – and spoken like a true successor to the guardianship.
“Seeing as we’re all on the same side, there’s no reason to delay. Let’s go, I’ve arranged for a guide to take you to Svarog.”
“You’re not coming?” Stelle asks.
“Wildfire’s relationship with Svarog has been hostile for a long time,” Oleg explains. “Accompanying you would only lead to misunderstandings. We’ll be nearby, awaiting orders. If things go south, we’ll be there in no time. Seele, perhaps you and Luka can take out outsider friends the rest of the way?”
“Mm, we’re on it, boss,” Seele agrees.
__________
The point of contact Wildfire had so graciously sent to guide the Trailblazing crew is… adequate? … Maybe?
“Is it too late to recruit Hook as our guide instead of him? ” March groans.
“Well, I gotta say I’m a little upset at the thought of you choosing a toddler over your old buddy,” Sampo laments.
“We’re not buddies,” Stelle reminds.
“Ugh, alright, alright, don’t get started,” Seele scowls. “But let me ask you something: everyone in Wildfire knows the location of Svarog’s lair. Why do we need you as a guide?”
Sampo sighs wistfully. “My specialties in the field, perhaps? Wildfire may know where the base is, but have they ever been inside?”
“ You’ve been inside?”
“… No. but I’ve felt my way around the outside and picked up more than a few clues. You have my word.”
Stelle rolls her eyes. “Let’s hope you can walk the talk.”
“Hey, what are you trying to say?! Name me someone above or below ground that walks the talk like Sampo Koski. My legacy will prove that Sampo Koski was nothing but a willing and devoted servant of–”
“Ugh, enough!” March interrupts. “Jeez, we believe you, okay? Show us the way already.”
Sampo beams. “Great! Stay close.”
__________
“Sampo, are we there yet?” asks March.
“Do you have to ask every other minute, missy?” the shady businessman snaps. “Two more steps, just two more steps and you’re there.”
And two more steps later: “This is Svarog’s lair?” the archer inquires. “I thought it’d be cold and lifeless, turns out it’s pretty busy!”
Indeed, the area that Sampo leads them to is not what the twins had expected: atop snowy mountain plains, many vagrants and miners have pitched up their tents and are living in this refuge alongside Svarog’s robots. The living situation for the inhabitants is more harmonious than the group had expected.
“You know we’re still surrounded by snow?” Caelus teases.
“Oh, you know what I mean!”
“Many vagrants are staying here temporarily,” Luka explains. “Their homes were overrun by monsters.”
“But isn’t it dangerous for them to make camp right under Svarog’s metal nose?”
“No,” Seele answers. “Svarog may be ruthless, but he never attacks without reason. For those with no home, this is actually a safe place to be. If I hadn’t moved away when I did, I’d probably be where they are right now.”
Sampo ushers them to carry on ahead, though Caelus does so with his heart in a knot at the sight of the vagrants and minders shivering from the cold. The hushed conversations between the people here range from a variety of topics – from praising Svarog for settling the dispute in the mines to voicing gratitude for Clara delivering supplies to the settlement – fill his ears. Stelle takes her brother’s hand in hers and squeezes it to distract him from his squeezing heart. Soon, the group reaches a large, rusted metal gate.
“What a heavy gate…” March breathes. “Okay, watch this!
“OPENNNN SESAME~!”
…
…
…
“Is that a… secret code or something?” Bronya hesitantly asks.
“It’s an imaginary password that children like to use…” Dan Heng answers. “And I don’t think it’s going to be of much use.”
“In that case, Sampo,” Stelle says. “You should help us pry open that gate.”
“Whoa, whoa!” gasps the shady businessman. “Pry it open? In front of all these vagrants and robots? They have eyes, you know.”
“You could have just said ‘no, thank you.’”
The female Stellaron host walks to the plump control pad in front of the gate with a click of her tongue. She starts fiddling with it, and Luka curiously joins to observe her thinking.
“I’m sure there has to be an answer somewhere here,” Stelle mutters, rotating the gears willy-nilly. The gears occasionally light up a muted orange, and she catches on quickly that the orange glow means something – hopefully the answer she’s craving.
“Do you need help?” Luka asks.
“If you’re any good at puzzles.”
“Well, I do better in the ring, but I can try.”
Luka reaches over to turn a gear that Stelle had missed. With a dull chime, the cavities of the gears light up to fluorescent yellow, and the metal gate creaks open. The female Stellaron host’s eyes bulge with pleasant shock, and she turns to the boxing champion, sharing grins.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Luka replies. “You did the brunt of the work.”
“OPEEENNNN SESAME~!” Caelus and March shout together gleefully. Stelle isn’t the least bit surprised that they were waiting for their golden opportunity.
“Well, well,” Sampo chuckles. “Miss Stelle here figured it all out in one go.”
Though his comment is overshadowed by March’s enthusiasm, “Now to set the record straight with Svarog! Let’s get in there!”
Though said enthusiasm is also short-lived when the group dashes ahead to find yet another gate.
“A gate?” Seele asks. “Ugh… why is there another gate here?”
“It looks like this gate has a more complicated structure than the last one…” Bronya murmurs.
“Sampo, what is this?” Seele looks behind her, but she is met with a lack of the man himself. “Sampo? Where is he?”
“Ugh! Where did he run off to?” March scowls. “He was just here a second ago!”
“This isn’t the first time,” Dan Heng sighs.
A Spider automaton crawls its way over to the group.
“Is there another round of processing?” Luka asks.
“Don’t jinx it,” Seele groans.
“Visitors for Svarog detected,” the wandering robot reports. “Protocol initiating… Scanning… Verifying…”
“Careful, this one might have a few tricks up its sleeve,” Stelle warns.
Seele grins. “Are we gonna smash this one up? Count me in.”
“Certification failure,” the robot proceeds. “Subject has yet to achieve access permissions. Request rejected. Visitors must acquire access permissions from Miss Clara.”
“Clara?” March echoes. “The girl we saw at the Great Mines? What’s she got to do with this?”
“She’s Svarog’s family,” Caelus answers.
“Family, huh…”
“It may be a bit of a longshot…” Dan Heng says. “But where is Clara right now?”
The wandering robot beeps. “Obtaining audio data, please wait…”
“The energy core’s bearing component is broken…” comes Clara’s voice. “If we don’t repair it soon, the settlement will be pitch-black. Timmy, I’m going back to Rivet Town – maybe I can recover some usable components. You need to guard the gate while I’m gone.”
“She went back?” Seele gawks. “But we were just there.”
“Wait, you guys went sightseeing in another town?” March gasps.
“It wasn’t as fun as you think.”
“That town has danger lurking in every corner,” Caelus says. He looks straight ahead, ignoring the look on his sister’s face when she raises her eyebrow at him.
“Indeed,” concurs Bronya. “And that little girl heading into the Fragmentum herself… it doesn’t bear thinking about. Her strength belies her appearance, but even so…”
“You don’t look so tough yourself,” Seele giggles. “Well, let’s find her then. Svarog isn’t going anywhere.”
__________
When the group arrives in Rivet Town, Seele figuratively yanks them to the entrance to Natasha's storage room. A damaged Spider automaton – the one that Caelus remembers as Perkins – lies in front of them, brutally damaged with steam emerging from its broken parts.
“Isn’t that the robot that was following Clara around?” Bronya asks.
“These can openers all look the same,” scoffs Seele. “How can you tell them all apart?”
“Shh,” Caelus interrupts. “It… Perkins is about to say something.”
“Initializing self-repair module…” the robot reports. “Initialization failure… Clara… in danger… Must… protect…”
“What do you mean?” the male Stellaron host demands.
“Workshop… target… must be eliminated…” are the last words the robot utters before it shuts down for good.
Without a second to waste, Seele rushes to the workshop, the rest of the group trailing behind. A strange, black and red being – similar to the blue one that Seele, Bronya, and Caelus had run into at the orphanage – backs Clara into a corner. The monster summons an intense, blazing ball of flames in between its claws, and its target cradles her head to brace for impact–
“ Clara, run! ” Caelus screams, ducking in to swing his bat at the beast.
Said girl lets out a shriek as the fireball narrowly misses her. The Fragmentum monster roars and thrashes itself towards Caelus. March quickly casts a shield onto her friend, though it breaks the instant the creature slams its hand at its new target. The archer follows up with an icy arrow to its back, which gives Seele the chance to safely whisk Clara away from the scene.
“Caelus!” Stelle shouts. Her twin splits the bat into its two and flings one staff in her direction. The older twin catches it in one hand and uses the blunt end of her weapon to jab the Fragmentum beast from behind. Embers emit from the contact. Stelle hisses at the burn and jumps back, but at least the damage she inflicted is also taking a toll on the monster.
Luka hooks his mechanical arm at the being before it can counterattack. The monster groans carnally before firing back with a cluster of smoke and embers. Bronya brings Clara close to her, pressing a handkerchief to the little girl’s face while she holds her own breath to not inhale the contaminated air.
The Astral Express crew go into a fit of coughing, while Luka and Seele take their Wildfire bandanas and tie it around their faces. It does make it easier to breathe – if only marginally – but Luka does hook another punch into the beast, which gives Seele the opening she needs to slice at it. With a final cry, it dissipates into smoke.
The smoke clears, and so too do the lungs and tears of everyone else eventually. Bronya removes the handkerchief from Clara’s face once everything has settled.
“Are you okay, Clara?” Seele asks. “Are you hurt?”
“Th-thanks everyone,” she stammers. “I’m fine. Just a few scratches.”
“You shouldn’t be running around by yourself. It’s too dangerous. What are you looking for here?”
“There’s a fault with one of the energy supply units at the base. If I don’t repair it soon, everyone at the settlement will be affected. I knew there was a workshop in this town, so I wanted to try my luck here. I found all the components I need, but then I ran into a monster… You guys saved me – I’ll tell Mr. Svarog.”
Stelle clears her throat. “Actually, we were just about to pay him a visit.”
“Huh? What do you need to see him for? I can pass him a message…”
“I’m sorry Clara,” Luka says. “But this isn’t something you can just pass along to him. It’s really urgent and we need to see Svarog as soon as possible.”
“But Mr. Svarog doesn’t like talking to others, especially Wildfire…”
“I know, Clara, but this time we can’t avoid talking to him face-to-face. Can you take us to meet with him? Please?”
“Um… I know you guys are working hard for the people down here, but Mr. Svarog doesn’t trust human emotions. He only trusts his calculation results, so I can’t take you to see him… if Mr. Svarog had a fight with you guys, someone might get hurt. Even innocent bystanders.”
“Listen, kid!” Seele seethes. “You–!”
“Clara,” Bronya interrupts, kneeling to the child’s height and scooting closer. “You said it before yourself, right? Svarog’s duty is to protect the Underworld and preserve the civilization here. We have the same wish. Why would he refuse to cooperate with us?”
“I know Mr. Svarog. He isn’t affected by other people’s wishes,” Clara insists. “He only follows logical judgements. Terrible things are happening in this world… Mr. Svarog thinks that the Overworld will end soon.”
Her words render everyone speechless, but especially Bronya who’s breath hitches.
Clara continues, “According to his calculations, the strength of the Underworlders won’t be enough to prevent the disaster. His plan is to keep the Underworlers away from the disaster’s source so that they can survive longer…”
Seele grinds her teeth. “Isn’t that just putting us in a cage? It’s ridiculous – what difference does it make if our death gets postponed by a couple days? How is that better than putting up a fight?”
“See it as returning the favor, Clara,” Caelus tries. “Please.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I really can’t help you with this. If you don’t mind, I still have some important things to do. I’ll go back for now.”
“Clara!” Seele exclaims as she and the others watch the little girl run away.
“It’s no use, Seele,” Bronya says resignedly. “She’s made up her mind. I could tell from her expression. We will have to think of another way…”
“While we do that, why don’t we rest up for now?” Luka suggests. “We just fought a tough enemy, and we all breathed in some of that smoke. It’s too dangerous for us to keep going the way things are right now.”
The boxing champion takes the lead on his own advice and pulls two dilapidated chairs out for Bronya and Seele. Dan Heng brushes by March and the twins, nudging his head towards the workshop entrance – a silent request to chat. The three of them follow after their fellow Express crewmate, though Stelle is a little salty that she has to refuse Luka’s offer to schedule a friendly spar once they’re back in town.
“That was no ordinary kid,” March sighs. “So young and yet so… stubborn? No, intelligent?”
“She’s incisive and determined,” Dan Heng supplies. “… in sharp contrast to you, March.”
“… Did you really have to add that last part?”
He ignores her question. “It looks like we’ll have to get past Clara if we want to speak to Svarog.”
“Is there any other way?” Caelus asks.
Dan Heng shakes his head. “If we circumvent Clara and the gate, Svarog will only identify us as intruders. He’ll be even more likely to give us the cold shoulder.”
“Isn’t a robot’s shoulder cold to begin with?” March interjects.
“Clara mentioned Svarog’s ‘calculation results’ many times,” Dan Heng continues.
(Caelus has to suppress uttering a baffled, “How could you ignore March’s smooth joke like that?”)
“The strength of the Underworlders won’t be enough to prevent the disaster… Those were her exact words. For me, that’s our starting point.”
“You think Svarog’s logic has a hole in it?” Caelus asks.
“No, his calculation is correct. At its current strength, it is unlikely that Wildfire would be able to resolve the problems stemming from the Stellaron. However, that calculation didn’t take the present situation into account. There’s a new variable yet to be added to the equation.”
Stelle nods in understanding. “That would be us.”
“Precisely. If we can make Svarog believe in us, we can most certainly overturn the result of his calculation, and we’ll be one step closer to peace talks.”
“But how are we going to get him to do that? Showing him some pictures wouldn’t cut it, huh?” March asks.
Dan Heng nods, but a reassuring smile paints his lips. “There’s always a way. But first, we have to convince Clara. I assume she must be on her way back to the robot settlement. Let’s catch up with her.”