As we fly through the badlands, the air turns blazing hot. "Home sweet home… not," I mutter. Then I notice dark, billowing clouds on the southern horizon. Thunderheads… hopefully they stay over there. The only thing worse than a badlands dust storm is a badlands thunderstorm.
"There it is," Vernicia calls, looking at our safe house. "Wait, its barrier is down. Why would they do that?"
"Maybe they left," I reply. "Good for us, right?"
As we land in front of it, I promptly activate my gauntlet's comm. "Kit here. We're at the safe house."
"Good," Diantha replies. "We just arrived ourselves. We're on the roof."
I look up at the roof. "Hm? I didn't see you there."
"Where are you guys?"
"In front of the entrance."
"I… wait, Kit, you dummy! We're at different safe houses," Dia yells.
"Hey, don't put it on me! You didn't notice either," I retort.
"I get it," Marc nods. "There have to be at least three or four in the area, if we consider that most of you had never met each other until recently."
"Huh…"
"We're on our way. Rurin, take the lead," Dia says.
While they head over, I calmly wait on the roof. I would have kicked down the door so we can wait inside, but Marc wants to salvage the door's panel for something.
I glance at the storm in the distance. if it gets any closer, I'll just take the initiative, I guess.
A bird lands next to me, regal-looking and round. Then it starts preening its feathers with its curved beak.
It always fascinates me how they do it. Even though my scales are bigger and tougher, maybe I can still…
Flappa-flappa, whump! The bird flies away, startled.
"What are you doing?" I hear Diantha behind me and immediately start to redden. "You're not a bird, doofus."
I hastily remove my hands from my wings. "W-w-we don't know that," I stammer. "I mean, we kinda do, but still! It never hurts to at least try."
Diantha leans down close, a sweet smile on her face. "Our scales aren't feathers. And we don't have beaks. Idiot☆"
I jump to my feet, now annoyed. "And what about it? I like birds! So what if I wanna fly in a flock and caw to the clouds? There's nothing wrong with that!"
"I know, I know," she laughs as I jump down to the ground. What's with this gal? The way Verni and Ru were talking, I was fully prepared to butt heads with her. I dunno, it's not like I wanted to butt heads, but…
I notice Marc staring at me. "What? You got something to say?"
"N-no. Well, yes," Marc admits. "Don't take this the wrong way, but… even ignoring the wings, your flight method is completely different from a bird's. In fact, the way your wing beats alternate… it's more like an insect."
"Gross," I grimace.
"Bugs aren't all bad," Rurin says. "We've already got the size advantage. Float like a dragonfly, right?"
"Shut up. I'll sting you," I grumble. "Marc, you done yet?"
He pops a shiny blue panel out of the door. "Haha! Got it. Alright, Kit, go ham."
"With pleasure." I fly up into the air. Glancing south, I gauge the thunderstorm – just my luck. It's coming this way after all.
"How'd you guys know Metacorp would come and seal off the mansion?" Rurin asks. "Did you see them or something?"
"Monty Kekuro told us," Vernicia says.
"Did he say anything about Cryos?"
"Still a work in progress, alas. I feel like we're constantly running in circles."
"Well, let's not resign ourselves just yet. The safe house awaits," Rurin declares.
Marc steps back from the door. "Here she comes."
I stoop in with a 400 KPH diving kick – SMASH!
The force blasts the steel door into the building, smashing into the inside wall.
After I skid to a stop, I check on my sandal. The wedged heel is cracked, but still walkable.
"Bleh," I mumble. Can't kick with this one anymore. I mean, I could, but…
"What did you expect?" Marc looks at me. "Though I'm surprised it didn't get completely destroyed."
"Now that's Youya quality." Vernicia nods approvingly. "Hey, you think Trav will ambush us at some point?"
"Don't jinx it. I haven't seen hide or scale of that guy since he went AWOL," I reply.
"I kind of miss him," she sighs. "I wanna bonk his helmet."
"Yeah…" With just the three of us, the crew doesn't feel complete. Though considering Diantha and Angelina, maybe I shouldn't complain.
Rurin returns from a side hall he was investigating. "As expected, no one is here."
Angelina is in the other hall. "The window, look at it. People, they broke in."
"What the…!" I incredulously glare at the round hole cut in the glass. "So we could've just – dammit!"
As we continue investigating the safe house, we all notice at about the same time – this whole place is completely empty.
"At first I thought they just packed up, but…" Marc opens another door. "There isn't even any furniture here."
"I guess bandits found this place and pilfered everything," Diantha shrugs. "Y'know, if the hole is anything to go by."
"They even stole the I-bots I had stored here," Marc says. "What are they going to do with a bunch of I-bots? They're specialized!"
"Free parts, maybe?" Vernicia shrugs. "You'd think they would have at least run into some traps."
"The traps did activate! That's the weird part. Were the mechanisms broken or something?" Marc checks something behind a wall. "What the…? They're just gone. Now that I think about it, there weren't any turrets on the outside walls. No way they stole those too…"
"Impressive," Vernicia notes.
"Hmm…" Marc enters a room near the end of the corridor. When I follow him in, he's unlocking a hidden storage unit in the room's side wall.
The unit's door hisses open. Nothing is inside.
Marc tosses up his hands, irritated. "It's official! This was a huge waste of time," he yells.
"Well, what about the other safe house? The one Dia and Angie were at, I mean," I suggest.
"What makes you think that place fared any better?"
"Don't knock it 'til you try it," I state. "I'll tell the others."
As we fly, the thunderstorm draws closer, covering the entire south horizon. Here's hoping it blows through quickly.
Soon we land at the other safe house – Gen 4's home. Surprisingly, this one's barrier is still active.
As we walk through it, the turrets activate and immediately begin clicking rapidly in our general direction. it's kind of funny, watching their vain efforts.
"Just what is going on here?" Marc wonders, walking to the front door. "Huh… door's unlocked, too."
"Signs of battle, we have them here," Angelina reports, looking inside.
"Hmm… fire damage?" Marc touches a scorched wall.
"A fireman, maybe? Not as much stuff was stolen, looks like," Diantha observes.
"Definitely a fireman," Vernicia mutters. "But here's the question – who was he fighting? And was he attacking, or defending?"
"The supply pantry shows signs of recent use." Diantha closes a door. "Also, how do you know it's a he?"
"Oh, I know he's here." Vernicia points down the hall. "AREN'T YOU, HAL? COME OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU, HOTHANDS!"
"Hey! People are sleeping. Well, one person," a dude's voice echoes. "The other is out right now. And don't call me hothands."
"Why not? You shoot flames from your hands, don't you? Where are you?"
"In the med room. Oh. I guess it's fine now; she just woke up," Hal replies.
The med room's location confirms a suspicion I've had since we first arrived here: the layouts of these safe houses are almost completely the same. I guess it makes sense if they're all for aeronauts.
Hal is just as Vernicia described – tall, bulky, peachy, dark eyes, dark hair, scarred all over. Of course, having faced Crano Mathis myself, I'm honestly surprised he isn't an amputee.
The gurney he's standing in front of shifts. "Just who are you talking to," its occupant wearily says.
Hal moves out of the way, revealing a stately-looking woman with a black bun, sharp yellow eyes, and pale skin. Her body is almost completely covered by her damaged grey cloak. "Aha… aeronauts," she says, carefully sitting up.
As she looks me over, her calculating gaze seems to go through me. Or maybe past me? But she's still observing my body… it's almost like she's looking at my stats instead of me. Just who is this woman?
She leans back on her pillow. "Are you Hal and Jetta's friends?"
I snap to attention. "No, Sir! I mean, Ma'am. But we aren't enemies either, I think!"
Vernicia jabs me with her elbow. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing! Nothing." I smooth down my dress and sleeves. "So, what happened here?"
"Allow me." Hal steps forward. "The day before you guys blew up Metacorp HQ, our boss Benson Burns sent me and Jetta on a high-priority cleanup mission. Well, Jetta isn't actually a fireman, now that I think about it, because she isn't a man. She's a girl. So it would be firewoman, I guess? Firegirl? Firelady? Hum, it doesn't roll off the tongue as well. I get why they'd stick with 'fireman' for the common term, though some would maybe argue–
"Hey. Hal. The story," Vernicia says.
"Oh, yes." Hal clears his throat. "So we were sent to investigate the wrecked House of Steel and destroy any evidence that the boss deemed relevant or dangerous, then we were to investigate the safe houses to see if they needed to be put under like the previous ones. And I was thinking, safe houses? How come we never got any of our own? The most we got were these tiny bunkers–"
"Hal, you're getting off topic again," Verni sighs.
"Wait! They send YOU guys for damage control?" Marc sounds flummoxed.
Hal nods. "We firemen are the 'cleanup-executor specialist biotools' if I recall, so you probably aren't incorrect. So when we got to the building that collapsed, we investigated like we were supposed to. Jetta found this storage chamber, which had a bunch of orb things in it; but only one of them was occupied. When I busted it open, I found this lady here. She was hurt in the explosion apparently, so she locked herself in… metastasis, right?"
"Yes. I'm glad you actually remembered," the woman nods.
"There were more pods in there?" Marc starts to look stressed. "I only saved the ones containing the Gen 4 aeronauts. If I'd known–"
"Calm yourself. I was fine," the woman cuts him off.
"Ah hah ha… of course," I weakly laugh. Thanks for reminding me, lady… I'd ruined our relationship with Gen 4 before I even knew they existed.
Diantha leans over to me. "Guilty conscience?"
"You're right to call me an idiot," I moan. "With how much destruction my plan had caused, it's a miracle any of you had survived… what was I thinking? What I did was basically fratricide!"
Diantha whaps the back of my head. "Dummy."
"Ow. You want me to live with this guilt?"
"Did you forget our little talk? I wouldn't be surprised if you did," she tells me. "We just need to keep moving forward."
I fall silent. She seems genuine, somehow. Is her constant teasing because she's actually cool with me? It's so confusing.
"Hmm… Vernicia, was it? Your potential is… perhaps you should look into becoming a summoner," the woman observes.
Vernicia looks over. "Eh?"
"Mami's a master healer," Hal explains, "so her word on affinity is as reliable as they come."
The woman gives him an annoyed look. "That's Master Lee, as I'm sure I've told you at least twice before."
"Oh yeah. Master Lee." Hal looks back at her, unperturbed. "Hey, if you're a master, does that mean you have apprentices?"
"Of course," Lee sighs. These two somehow remind me of a queen and a chatty squire who doesn't know his place but isn't really a threat so they keep him around anyway. "I shan't divulge any names, however. It's dangerous territory, especially if you aren't registered with the AWMASC."
"The what? Err, never mind," Rurin mutters.
"Anyway, after we dug her out, we drove her out of there. Apparently, she was injured, but with her self-healing you wouldn't have noticed she had even been touched," Hal continues.
"Of course they'd give you a vehicle," Marc says. "Where is it?"
"Oh no, they didn't give us one," Hal clarifies. "I mean; did they forget or did they just expect us to walk the whole way there? Luckily Jetta found this weird car thing just sitting there near the ferry dock, so we went ahead and used that. Saved us a lot of time."
"Wh – you stole my Tetrider?!" Marc points at him. "You didn't do anything funny to it, did you? Is its energy cell still charged? What about its tires? Where'd you park it?"
"Jetta's got it right now," Hal replies. "She's better at driving it than me, so it'll be fine. Probably."
"Probably?! I built the Tetrider with my own two hands. You guys better not have gotten it wrecked!"
"Hey, at least those thieves didn't nab it," Hal shrugs. "If it weren't for our efforts, this whole place would probably have been cleaned out."
"Yes, they were a big help," Lee agrees. "Though I still say you shouldn't have sealed off the armory."
"What, and give them an even bigger advantage? They were clearly experienced fighters," Hal replies. "Not letting them have more weapons was the least I could do to save all this stuff."
"How long have you guys been here?" I ask.
"Here specifically? We found Master Lee last week," Hal recounts. "Then the three of us went to the nearest safe house. We were expecting a fight, but it was abandoned for some reason. Actually, that means we should mark this place to go under, huh. Almost forgot."
"Do that after we leave," Lee chides. "I swear, Jetta does all the remembering for you. Hopefully she returns soon."
"Uhm, hey. You didn't completely seal off the armory, did you? 'Cause I'd really love to have a new weapon," Rurin says.
"Seconded," Diantha calls. Angelina also raises her hand.
"I only sealed the latches, so I suppose it won't be too hard," Hal figures. "They stole the power saw, though. Maybe we can find something in the engineering room in the back."
"So when you say 'they'…" I look at him.
"This pair of thieves that attacked us a couple of days ago," he confirms.
"Aha," I nod. So it was thieves after all. "Wait, pair? As in, two?"
"Yeah. What, you know something about 'em?"
"You're saying… that two people cleaned out an entire safe house?"
"They did?" Hal looks curious.
"Yes! There's another safe house just like this one down south, and it was empty!"
"Sounds like them," he nods. "All the front rooms here are spotless. They're really quite thorough."
"Somehow, that doesn't seem natural," Diantha mutters. "Where did they put it all?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Hal shrugs.
"Aha." Lee begins to get off of her gurney. "I sense Jetta's presence approaching. Come along, Hal."
"Aww, what? Don't tell me we've gotta train more," he complains.
"You should be grateful, boy." Lee points at him. "Any other prospective apprentice would kill to be in your place."
"Isn't that because they actually want your tutelage…?"
"That's enough out of you! We have a lot to cover today." She starts pushing Hal towards the back.
Around this time, a female fireman comes down the hall, humming to herself. Her skin is more pinkish than peachy, and she's lean and almost Hal's height, with dark purple hair and orange eyes. No scars, though.
"Whoa. Hello, everyone," she says, stopping in front of us. "Short, short, short, hot, short, and short. Cool. I'm Jetta Nichols."
"This way," Lee calls.
"Oh, we're starting already?" Jetta moves past us, looking sheepish. "I'll, uh, be in the back, I guess. We can do introductions later, I hope."
Soon Lee and the firemen are in the training hall. A Do Not Disturb sign hangs over the door's window.
"So much for that, huh," I mutter.
"Seems cute enough," Diantha decides as we disperse. "She has my approval."
"What?" I give her a funny look.
Diantha heaves a sigh, hand on her forehead. "If only your mind were as sharply spellbinding as your fit," she says.
"That… sounded like an insult," I mutter, crossing my arms.
"Well. Take from it what you will."
Rurin walks up to us, carrying a big metal thing.
"I found a portable laser cutter," he announces. "It… oof! Should be enough to do the job. Real hefty, as you can see, but that means it should be really powerful. Now, which way is the front…"
"We need to cut metal, not lasers," I impatiently tell him. "Wait, can lasers even be cut?"
Diantha boops my head. "You use the laser to cut the metal."
"Huh?"
Angelina gestures at the laser cutter. "Gimme, gimme."
"Hm? Okay. I'm pretty sure this is the front," he says, handing it to her. "It should be at full charge already."
"Right." She holds it against the armory's door and clicks a few buttons.
K-K-K-K-KZAK! Sparks fly as the melted metal latches are cut.
"Oh! It does work," Rurin says. "Honestly I wasn't sure."
K-K-K-K-K-K-KZZAK! A moment later, the steel door calmly swings open.
"Hey, not bad," Vernicia says, taking the laser cutter. "Whoa! This thing's like fifty kilos!"
"My strength, I'm quite proud of it," Angelina nods.
The Gen 4 safe house has a much bigger armory than ours. I guess there are some differences after all. But while the rest of my comrades look through the various weapons, I stand at the entrance, gazing at my gauntlets.
I know I've been wanting ranged options, but… maybe I'll be fine with just these bad boys after all. I bet I can make my crosswave slash go farther if I practice some more. Or maybe a new type of attack…
"Perfect timing, aeronaut girl," Lee says as she approaches me, and I immediately stand at attention. "Join me. We'll have a walk and talk."
"Y-yes ma'am," I reply, trying not to salute or bow. "My name is Shurikit Lars."
"At ease, lass," she tells me. "Lars, was it? Now that I look at you, I can see your mother's intensity in your glare… as well as your father's resolve."
At ease, at ease… "So what's your story? Why were you at A-Tech?"
Lee and I start walking down the hall. Outside, the sky is dark as the thunderstorm blasts through this area. I hope they didn't leave the Tetrider outside, or there'll be hail to pay. Heh.
"Well, you should know I'm actually with Neocon," Lee tells me. "It was originally a hardware manufacturer before we joined the operation, and its founder was my husband, Bertram."
"Oh! I remember the aquanauts talking about him," I say. "Wasn't he killed, though? Um, terminated."
"It happened just before I hid the aquanauts in the submarine mansion," she recalls. "He and Atticus had a falling-out of some kind that ended with the top brass pulling their financial support from Neocon, so we had to close most of our operations. Then his flare sigil detonated, our AE was relocated, and… that was that."
"So, you don't know how things got to that point?"
"I only know the end result, alas. But I don't think the aquanauts were the catalyst – they aren't powerful enough for him to feel threatened."
For some reason, Jim flashes into my mind. "I feel like being quick and elusive is underrated nowadays."
"Looking at you… maybe the true nail in the coffin was when our daughter suddenly went missing." Lee looks thoughtful. "Torvalt had performed an unusual procedure on her, and no one, not even the other aeronauts, knew where she had gone."
"Um… the thing with the mist, right? The Ikiryō procedure."
Lee blinks. "How do you know about that?"
"It's kind of weird, actually," I nervously confide. "Apparently it was supposed to be a failure, but nope, it worked on me! And Macy too, I think. It's all starting to make sense now."
"You… know my daughter as well?"
"Yeah. I met her a couple of times. Erm, but only as a ghost. I have no idea where she really is," I disclaim. "But when she first saw me… right, she said I found Mac's enchantment!"
Lee exhales after a short moment. "I see. I was wondering why your aura felt more… ethereal than the others. Show it to me."
"R-right now?" I fidget nervously. "I… uhm, I've never shown it to anyone before."
"No time like the present, yes?" Lee clasps my hands. "I'm experienced in spirit-type dealings, so you'll be in good hands. Which reminds me, that dark-haired girl with you."
"Uh, Vernicia?"
"Yes, her," Lee nods. "I'll ask her about it later, I suppose. And there was also something about the Adams boy as well, but I sense that's a bit of a can of worms… Well, one thing at a time. Now, your power. Display it!"
This woman! How is her mind in so many places at once? Nono, I gotta focus. I feel like it'll be really bad if I disappoint her. "Um… gimme a moment here." I scrunch my face in concentration, then realize I'm all out of sorts.
"Is something wrong?" Lee asks, releasing my hands.
"I can't get out of here while I'm wired like this," I tell her. "I-I mean, I've only succeeded when I was, like, relaxed. And kind of tired. And lying still. At night. Sorry, I'm just making excuses…"
"Hmm. I see. Don't worry about it, then," Lee says, and I exhale in relief. "I just got excited; no need to feel pressured. HAL! JETTA! BACK INTO YOUR STANCES!"
"Huh? Aren't they…" I trail off, looking down the hall where the firemen are, somewhere. Is she watching them? Is this the power of a master?
"Once upon a time, I regularly visited with Joseph and his wife to discuss matters menial and confidential," Lee continues. "I was an important friend to them, you see."
"Joseph's wife…" He never once mentioned her to us, except on the day of his death. "What was she like?"
"Stoic, yet demure. And she held such a burning fury within… I wonder where she is now," Lee reminisces. "I haven't seen either of them in over a decade."
"Uhm… about that," I reply. "Joseph is dead."
Lee stops, her gaze forlorn. Then she sighs and keeps walking. "That's a shame. I can only assume it was the work of those cursed sigils Atticus concocted."
A terrifying thought occurs to me. "You don't have one too, do you?"
"Hmph! He ended up employing other methods to keep me silent," Lee scoffs. "He must've known I wasn't worried about triggering it."
"Master Lee, I've seen those things go off," I tell her. "Crakoom! Instant kill! How can you not be worried?!"
"Yes, the blast would annihilate any mage with average resistance," Lee nods. "As for me… well, you could say I'm min-maxed."
"Huh?"
"Perhaps you don't play games like those? Basically, the first rule of being a healer is that you can't support others if you go down first. As a vanguard, you'd do well to remember this." Lee shakes her head. "I digress. What were we talking about?"
"Um, wait. Why are you telling me all this?" I ask.
"You're on a journey, aren't you? JETTA! HAL! FIFTY MORE REPS, BOTH OF YOU! The other aeronauts have deigned to follow you. Are you not proud to stand as their leader, Shurikit?"
I twirl a ponytail. "W-well, a little. I guess you aren't wrong."
"Keep your head up, lass. Your friends are still in the armory. They all trust you."
"Haha… thanks," I smile. "You're a way better pep talker than Rurin."
"I was a mentor as well as a teacher. I like to think it comes with the territory," she replies, walking back towards the firemen's training room.
Meanwhile, I make my way back to the armory. Outside is dark as night, with hailstones shattering against the walls and reinforced glass.
"Bleh. Hail now usually means… a freeze next," I mutter to myself, entering the spacious, weapon-filled room.
"Hey, try out these daggers," Diantha says, holding up a pair of shiny blades.
"I told you, I wanted another sword," Vernicia replies. She's holding a needle for some reason. "My black one's still good, but it can't do anything against heavy armor."
"Hm… It is a nice sword."
"Right? I read somewhere that you can upgrade weapons at a smithy. Maybe I should look for one." Verni holds out the needle and it suddenly disappears. Am I seeing things?
"You sure you'll be okay?" Rurin is looking at Angelina's chosen weapon, a large-caliber chargebolt rifle. "It's as big as you are tall."
"Concerned? The laser cutter's weight, I liked it," Angie says. "And energy weapons, I'm good with them."
"It's like thirty kilos, though… well, whatever. Hey Dia, are you also stronger than you look?"
"Nope." Diantha inspects a hand cannon. "My deed is speed."
"Hmm… pistols, rifles," Marc mutters, looking over the other firearms. "Or maybe something else?"
"Hey Ru, you still want a polearm? I found this energy pike you can use," Vernicia calls.
"Oh, let me see." Rurin tests its weight, then activates the weapon's charged tip. "Hey, nice."
"Good. This, it'll do," Angelina nods, slinging the rifle over her back. Its long barrel drags on the floor, however. "Hmmh…"
"Ah, let me help. I know my way around a chargebolt rifle," I say, walking to her. As I adjust its strap and show her how to change the barrel's length, I continue talking: "It's been a while for me, but you should definitely be careful with its kickbacks. The recoil kept knocking me over during my training with one."
"Good. I mean, for me. Like that, I do."
"It's so big, though. You sure it won't get in the way of your wings?"
"Positive. Skyrucking, we did a lot of that in the past. But, um, the only one who liked it, I think it was me."
"Yes! Nerbo rounds." Marc starts loading his pack with ammo.
"No special swords here at all," Vernicia groans. "Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place… should I just find a different weapon? What do you think?"
"Me?" Rurin glances over at her.
"Uh, never mind."
I absently start playing with my vibroblades, turning them on and off. Ideas for ranged attacks float through my brain, but none of them stick.
"I just noticed," Marc says. "Your blades don't seem to be material."
"Oh yeah." I reactivate them, taking a closer look at their glimmering, transparent surface. "Apparently they're magical."
"Don't be silly. The 'blade' is actually composed of some kind of hyper-fluctuating wave field," Marc explains. "I bet if you looked at it under an electron microscope, you'd see a blurry rush of particles. And obviously it would disperse when you deactivate them. Whoever designed this was definitely a genius."
"Huh? Um, sure." Macy didn't strike me as a genius, but then, I know basically nothing about her.
"Who's Macy?" He asks.
"Quit that. Shut up," I retort. He's so quick to deny magic, then turns around and reads my thoughts like it's normal? This guy, I swear…
"Hey, Diantha, you want this burst gauntlet? It's got six intensity settings," Vernicia calls.
"I found something better. Pick one!" Diantha holds up a tiny, dull-looking blade and a black hilt.
"I like black," Verni decides. Dia tosses the hilt over. "Uhm, what is this exactly?"
"I trained with it once a while ago. It's a laser sword," Diantha explains.
Marc perks up. "A laser sword?! THE laser sword?"
"What do you mean, the?" Vernicia activates it – a thin, rigid rod springs out, then a flat, glowing yellow blade materializes around it. "Ohh. Neat."
"No way… the secret prototype was here the whole time?" Marc looks excited. "None of the reports I read ever mentioned it was still in storage! And trust me, I've read ALL of the reports."
"Here, though? Like, of all the places to hide a prototype," I say.
"One of the other groups probably developed it," Diantha figures. "I heard from our keeper once that the safe houses are used as storage for side projects.
"Ahem… 'personal closet for all the random shitty junk they don't care about anymore'," Angelina quotes. "Very irritable, she was."
"Well, one man's trash is an aeronaut's treasure. What's your knife thing, Dia?"
"An iceblade. Kinda like Kit's weapon, but ice. See?" She holds up the knife thing, and frozen energy forms and expands over the tiny blade until it's full-sized, almost a meter long.
"Its power source must be similar to Rurin's ice gun, but congealed instead of projected," Marc figures.
"Something like that," Diantha shrugs, then equips a battle targe. "Alright, I'm good to go."
"Sword and shield? I respect it," Vernicia nods. "Though, um…"
"I know what you're thinking. You can't block attacks with your wings if you're using them to fly," Dia states.
"Well, I know that, but…"
Hal and Jetta enter the armory, looking tired.
"We're here, guys," Hal grunts. "Ugh, I'm beat. Hey Jetta, you want a weapon?"
"I'm… a fireman," Jetta yawns. "I am the weapon. Ugh, I need a nap."
"Weather's great for it," I wryly mutter.
Marc watches as Lee drifts back to the med room, presumably to rest on her gurney. "What kind of tech do you think she has to float like that?"
"I dunno," I shrug. "But it isn't too farfetched, is it? She's a master healer, after all."
"Like a doctor?"
"I… guess so." I twirl a ponytail. "It's weird. I always saw you as the super nerd of the group."
"I'm still a super nerd. Every problem can be solved with proper practical application."
"Even my being an aeronaut?"
"What? That isn't a problem," he replies. "Humans have dreamed of flying for eons, ever striving to emulate the majesty of the soaring bird."
"Ohh! I love birds."
"You're ahead of the game in that regard," he assures me. "So don't worry so much about it! Just, uh… keep doing the do. That you do."
"Kinda ran out of steam there," I note.
Marc looks away, his face turning slightly red. "Y-you know what I mean."