Upon hearing Weiwu's words, Zee's eyes—much like her twin's had just hours prior—hyper-focused on the captain, narrowing with a terrifying intensity. Everything else in the world, from the blood-stained dirt to the towering steamstrider, faded into a meaningless blur.
"You... you know where..." she trailed off, her breath hitching as she found herself entirely unable to finish the sentence.
Spinning around, she frantically grabbed Larkin's arm. "We need to go now! Come on, let's get back in the steamstrider and get to the city quickly!" she demanded. Without waiting to hear another word, she turned and made a mad dash back toward the vehicle's heavy side door.
"Hey, wait! You do not just get to leave!" Weiwu ordered sharply.
At his command, several soldiers who had been warily inspecting the vehicle from the outside instantly stepped into her path, lowering the shafts of their weapons to block her way.
"Why are you stopping us?!" Zee snapped, whirling around to glare at the captain. Her expression twisted as hot tears of anger and sheer, desperate frustration welled up in her eyes, her usually suppressed emotions suddenly volatile and ready to explode.
"Zee, just stay calm for a sec," Larkin told her gently, holding out a placating hand.
"Stay calm? Larkin, we know where he is now! After a whole month, we finally have something! And you're telling me to stay calm?!" she cried in absolute disbelief. She turned fiercely back to the soldiers blocking her way, shoving against them. "Get out of the way! Let me get in!" she screamed.
Weiwu watched the chaotic scene unfold with a mixture of deep concern and utter bewilderment. "Again, saying 'he' right after asking for 'her'," he muttered under his breath, before shifting a hard stare back to Larkin. "Just why can't you all make up your minds on who exactly you are looking for?" he demanded.
Larkin let out a heavy, bone-weary sigh. "It's just really complicated, alright? I don't really wanna have to explain it. But Weiwu, I know why you're stoppin' us. You don't fully trust me. I get it. I wouldn't trust me either after last time. But I ain't up to nothin', I promise," he swore, his voice taking on a desperate, raw sincerity.
He motioned toward the frantic, tearful girl. "Look at her. Does that look like someone that has a grand scheme? Does she look like someone I'd bring with me if I had any plan on stealin' somethin' or doin' somethin' like last time? Please, just let us through. Just this one time."
Before Weiwu could even process the plea, Larkin suddenly dropped heavily onto his knees in the dirt.
The sudden movement snapped everyone's attention directly to him. As Weiwu's eyes widened in sheer shock, the proud driver bowed completely forward, pressing his forehead firmly into the grime of the road.
"You know me, and you know I don't do stuff like this," Larkin's muffled voice trembled against the earth. "But the person we're tryin' to get to is that important to all of us... so please, just let it go this once."
A heavy, stunned silence fell over the blood-soaked checkpoint. The surviving soldiers, Zee, and Ercale all simply stared down at the kneeling thief, completely taken aback by the sudden, raw display of utter submission.
"Larkin..." Zee whispered softly. The frantic, volatile desperation that had just been boiling over in her chest slowly began to drain away, anchored by his plea. Even Ercale, watching quietly from the sidelines, offered a slow, silent nod, holding a rare modicum of genuine respect for the older man's willingness to throw away his pride.
Weiwu stared down at his old acquaintance for a long, quiet moment. Eventually, he broke the heavy silence with a profound, exhausted sigh. "For the Emperor's sake, stop bowing and get up off the ground," the captain grumbled.
Larkin slowly pushed himself up from the dirt, brushing the grime from his knees as he looked at the armored officer. "So... are ya lettin' us go?" he asked hesitantly.
Weiwu gave a stiff, weary nod. "Yes... Yes, I am. So just quickly get back in your giant steamwagon and... just get out of here," he said, bringing a gauntleted hand up to aggressively rub his tired eyes.
"Thanks for this, Weiwu. I owe ya one," Larkin replied, his voice thick with genuine relief.
Weiwu just waved him off dismissively without looking back. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get out of here already," he muttered. Turning on his heel, the battered captain began the slow march back toward the ruined garrison, raising a hand to motion for his tense soldiers to stand down.
The guards immediately stepped aside, lowering their spears and blades to clear the path to the heavy side door. Zee gave Larkin one last, deeply appreciative look before hurrying back inside the plush passenger cabin, with Ercale stepping in silently right behind her.
Larkin did not waste another second. He climbed up into the driver's cabin, his hands immediately flying across the brass control panel. With a roaring hiss of venting steam and the deep, rumbling churn of the powerful engine, he threw the heavy levers forward, driving the hulking vehicle away from the checkpoint.
They finally had a solid lead. And though Larkin wasn't nearly as visibly emotional as Zee about it, a fierce determination burned in his chest as he pushed the Mark IX as fast as the road would safely allow.
"We're comin' to get ya back, Xain," Larkin muttered fiercely under his breath, his hands gripping the brass steering controls tight. "We're gonna bring you back to your senses."