The next morning, as the wet breeze began to blow the flames of their camp away, their nostrils were greeted with the pungent scent of something brewing that made not much of an appetite.
Ardine was the first to notice. He arose from using a bushel of leaves as a makeshift pillow, which did not serve its purpose very well. After he arose from his position, he wiped the drool off of the borders of her lips and groggily stood up. The shift in gravity instantly awakened his brain, gaining sufficient energy to now open himself to whatever was brewing in the midst of the morning.
Lyn awoke as well, along with Alfaic who rested beside her. He entered Lyn's combat suit and yawned loudly, greeting the other trio. "Morning. Decent sleep." He said.
"Rise and shine, desert dwellers," Claire's voice was much more energetic than the combined energies of the three. She was seen using a ladle to stir a clean pot with an unknown combination of water, fresh herbs, and recently caught meat under a fire, ensuring that its contents did not burn. The heat provided from the fire to cook the stew served as a settling warmth to the rest of the group who had just awoken. "It isn't much, but it's breakfast."
"It smells absolutely rev-" Ardine began until Alfaic summoned himself back again, presumedly looking into Ardine's eyes with his sudden appearance. "Rev... riv... riveting. It smells absolutely riveting," He corrected, remembering that a child was trying her best to cook for them. "What are you making?"
"Slug Stew with Yellow Root," Claire said, inhaling the aroma of the strangely textured concoction. "This breakfast should lift up your spirits and your energy for the droids, today. We should make it by twilight, if we eat this. Now, who would like to sample?"
"I don't have a mouth, but if I did, I'd really love to give it a try." Alfaic said.
"Shut up, Alfaic." Ardine muttered quietly as he stood beside Lyn.
"Claire," Lyn called her by her official name. "You making this is greatly appreciated."
"See, someone values my creation," Claire droned on, looking at both Ardine and Alfaic with glowing innocent puppy eyes to appear cute and endearing. "Unlike you boys. You don't have any taste. Lyn, have a taste."
Lyn kneeled by the stew and held up a copious amount of liquid and slug meat from the pot. The texture and color of the soup was a silver goop, almost reminiscent of melted ore that blacksmiths would use to craft weapons and armor. Her eyes tinged by the acidity of the slug stew, but she chose to eat it anyway. Claire's white eyes looked into Lyn's as her face was strangely blank, without a single reaction.
"It's good." Lyn said.
"Well, this is Lyn we're talking about." Ardine said, crossing his arms.
"Would you have faith, old man?" Claire continued. "See, Lyn actually understands the Qliphosian taste. I may not have been with my parents for long, but I do distinctly remember their recipes. We Qliphosians have powerful stomachs, we do."
"Yeah, I can tell." Alfaic muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"I suddenly feel invigorated," Lyn continued, supporting Claire's dubious and monstrous creation. "Blade, if you had a mouth, perhaps you could try it. But Ardine, you can definitely eat it."
"I think I'd rather-" Ardine began, before watching Claire's innocent sweet white eyes again. "Rather... eat it... fine. I'll try it."
Ardine kneeled beside Lyn and Claire, holding up the ladle and scooping up more vegetables than the slug's meat. The two of them passionately watched as Ardine took slow, shallow breaths as he held it up to his lips to sample it. After sipping through each of the ingredients mixed together, Ardine clenched his teeth and lips together, desperately trying to not make a drastic shift in his facial expression to express his absolute disgust. He rotated his tongue around his mouth to clear the specks of sediment from the water, and the rid himself of the slug's bitter taste.
"Mmm-hmm," He muttered without opening his mouth. "It's nice."
Claire smiled as she stood up with Lyn, turning around to find the green sack containing her dress. As she did, Ardine's face surrendered itself to the pungent aftertaste, drooling out the rest of the stew from his lips and spilling some of the ladle's stew on the ground as soon as Claire turned back. Alfaic chuckled in secrecy.
"This dress that I retrieved from the house was one of my favorites," Claire said, admiring and blushing at the green sack while she untied it. She unveiled a light blue blouse with a snowflake-themed embroidered black skirt. The seams were intact, and its fabric was still in pristine condition ever since its original creation years ago. "Every now and then I'd think about wearing this dress if I was ever lonely."
"It's beautiful," Alfaic complimented. "Who made it?"
"She was an elderly woman with a very big heart who raised me for a while, years ago," Claire identified, gazing off into the distance with the trees. "She would always tailor beautiful dresses and bring me bouquets of flowers every week from the forest, just to see a smile on my face. And then she made me this dress, and I remember wearing it almost every day, even though it got dirty often when we traveled together. But now, she's gone."
"Hmm, exquisite fabric, neatly embroidered, and still in stainless condition," Ardine said, examining the fine details of the dress. "But... why a snowflake pattern?"
"I always wanted to experience snow for the first time, but I never did," Claire said. "Just another one of those dreams that stayed as dreams. But the old woman always cared about what I wanted, and she made it come true, like this."
"That's sweet," Alfaic said. "Wonder how a dress like that would look like Lyn. Sadly, that's a dream too."
Claire giggled and looked up at a floating Alfaic. "Well, that should be no problem. I can just make one for her when I get the chance."
"Wait, you can make that?" Alfaic's voice boomed loudly.
"Surprised?"
"Yeah, well, it's just that... you're so young."
"Well, did you think I would just pass up the opportunity to make such beautifully rare dresses without learning how to?" Claire asked, folding the dress away and tying it together in the green sack to keep it safe. "Age doesn't always quantify talent. That's what I've learned from her, at the very least."
Ardine approached the stew's flame and extinguished it by kicking tuffs of grass and dirt underneath it. He scanned the distant surroundings to gauge the time of day. "How much further until we reach our destination?" He asked Claire.
Claire stood up from her kneeling position and carried the green sack over her shoulders like a backpack. "Still a while to go, I'm afraid," She admitted. "We need to cross the beach west over to the Gapwood again, and take the trail for several miles."
"No time to lose, then," Ardine said. "I'd consider myself adventurous, but I never would imagine-"
An alarming rustling sound came from several bushes behind their camp. Lyn was the first to notice. She pointed the noise out, prompting Ardine and Claire to retreat down several inclines down to shelter behind some rocks. Alfaic re-entered Lyn's armor and waited in secrecy, in case there was Rot danger.
However, the person who emerged from the brushes were armed guards from Gietha. They approached with their spears held by their hips.
"Reinforcements?" Ardine's voice emerged questionable. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trailing us this whole time."
"You all weren't difficult to track," One of the guards in charge said, approaching the camp with a blank, yet concerned expression. "We are from the wasteland, after all."
"What are you all doing here?" Lyn asked.
"Ah..." The guard's voice trailed off as his eyes loosened up. He looked at Lyn directly, about to say something directly to her, but he hesitated, believing that his next words would be a vital mistake. Yet he didn't hold back, believing it was in her best interest to admit the truth. "I came to deliver a message, bearing a request. It's from the high overseer."
"The overseer?" Ardine said. "Rare he'd want something from us at this time. Then again, he did pull you aside for a conversation earlier."
"What does he want?" Lyn asked.
"He wants... Alfaic," The guard said. "Orders are that we retrieve him and return him to Gietha."
Lyn, Ardine, and Claire all exchanged perturbed glances at each other. The request didn't bear any resemblance of common sense. It didn't cross their minds as to why he would have requested such a thing, considering how they only had met several weeks ago without any other reason to pursue.
All beyond their thoughts, Alfaic conjured himself out of Lyn's combat suit and floated beside them.
"Now, hold on, there has to be some kind of mistake," Ardine began. "Why would he want him? He's always been beside Lyn."
One of the guards shrugged. "He didn't say why," He said, to no avail. "But orders are orders."
"That doesn't make any sense," Ardine continued. "And if he were to go, Lyn would be unarmed. How is she supposed to defend herself if the Rots come?"
Lyn stepped forward, defending Alfaic from the guard's unknown request. "Blade doesn't leave my side." She affirmed, in a serious tone.
"No, he comes with us," The main guard's voice became stricter with each additional request. "The law in the Bountiful Sands demands so."
"Since when have you followed the law?" Ardine asked. "You're all mercenaries turned lawful guards. Why are you listening to-"
"And since when is listening to the new order of our law considered a crime?" The guard intervened, approaching Alfaic who began to hover slowly backward without a single word being uttered; Lyn had noticed it as well, how he had remained silent ever since she had arrived. "It comes from the high overseer. He expressed great concern over his safety."
"Blade is safe right where he is," Lyn continued to defend him. "Stop this."
"Step back. What are you doing?" Ardine asked.
"Step aside, both of you!" The main guard yelled, pressing her way forward. She stepped forward to seize control of Alfaic by the handle, but Claire stepped in, despite her short stature appearing nothing but unthreatening. He extended her left palm forward, holding it against the guard's face as she stopped moving.
"The sword stays, right here," Claire's voice emboldened itself, despite her knowing Alfaic only for a few short days. "Now back off."
The guard smirked at Claire. "What do you plan to do to me, Qliphosian?" He asked as Ardine approached the two of them. "Kill me for following orders?"
"Oh, but I'm just a refugee," Claire stated. "I couldn't give a fuck about your orders."
Ardine pinned both the guard and Claire's shoulders with his hands, tucking them tightly to break them apart. Alfaic flew beside Lyn, hiding behind her head. She didn't know how to react; the Giethan Guards have been her ally ever since she had met her months ago, making her unable to determine the best course of action. She glanced up at Alfaic once more, realizing he continued his pattern of silence.
"That's enough, both of you," Ardine commanded with his voice connected to the threat. "Let's talk about this. Surely the overseer's words doesn't overwrite ours."
"I'm done talking, Ardine," The guard said, shoving him back while staring into Claire's eyes. He then glanced over at Claire's left hand continuously pointing it toward his face as some kind of deadly weapon. "Go ahead then. Touch me."
Claire's eyes widened.
"Let the world around you know what kind of monster you are." The guard's voice darkened.
"W-What...?" Claire whispered to herself, backing away from the guard while clutching her left arm with her right.
Another sudden rustling sound could be heard from a short distance away from the two groups. This time, the accompanying rustling was met with a slow thumping sound, ramping up in volume with each additional entry. None of the individuals present knew what was in store for them, with the exception being Claire; however, she was too frozen in sudden fear to react in time.
All of them watched as a battle droid emerged from one of the nearby big shrubs where the guards came from, armed with a laser cannon and retractable laser sawblades armed within its gauntlets. It was exactly as Claire had remembered it, only, the sign of wear and tear with age began to show its effect on the bold colors of the past. As its single eyed vision light began to react alarmingly to the presence of the group, it reared up its laser cannon, charging it for an immediate blast without conscience.
"GET DOWN, NOW!" Ardine hollered, tackling Claire out of the way as soon as the droid locked eyes with hers. Claire slumped backward, held tightly under Ardine's grasp as the two collided into Lyn. All three of them descended down the dirt incline below the camp, falling under moderate speed to escape the droid's presence. The laser blast sent rubble and ruin skyrocketing upward in a cloud of dust and smoke, blocking the vision of the guards. The three guards panicked and retreated beneath a nearby tree and boulder, plotting their next course of action while staring down the cliff the three descended from.
As Ardine toppled down the cliffside protecting Claire with his life, Lyn managed to grab on a boulder jutting out of the middle section of the cliff to reposition herself. She hung with one hand, dangling off the boulder until she clung to smaller rocks with her feet. The battle droid's vision sensor detected her as the only living thing after a quick sweeping scan, rearing its laser cannon back again for another fire.
"Blade!" She called, but there was no response nor support from Alfaic. "Blade?"
She released her grip on the boulder, tumbling down the cliff behind the others as the droid missed another shot from its laser cannon.
Ardine and Claire reached the bottom of the short cliff, both grazed with scratches and muck. Splotches of dried blood and dirt scattered through Ardine's skin, staining his body upon contact with the sharp rocks by the cliffside. Lyn tumbled and landed beside them, slightly further away than them.
After they had reached the bottom, Claire opened her eyes and was shocked to see Ardine embracing her tightly to act as a body shield from their chaotic descent. She could not believe he had risked his life to safe hers from the droid's piercing fire. After they remained together for several seconds, Ardine's worn-out arms had exhausted its use, releasing Claire slowly as he struggled to remain barely conscious.
"Hey, old man!" Claire shouted, shaking his flank. "Don't you dare die on me!"
"I'm... good, I'm good," Ardine repeated as he opened his dirt-ridden eyelids. "Are you... okay?"
Lyn immediately bolted back up and dashed for cover away from the battle droid who met them on ground level. She looked down at her combat suit and she exhaled in disbelief of being unable to summon Alfaic, which would lead to their woeful demise.
A quick peek out from her tree that she hid behind cover was almost a deadly mistake; the laser cannon struck near the side of her cheek, but Lyn pulled back in time to dodge it. She continued to hide behind it as the droid began making its route to her position, stomping through the dirt with its mechanized feet.
Before the droid could slam its fist against the tree to burst it into pieces, a solid penetrating bullet struck the droid's wrist, severing the gauntlet holding the droid's laser sawblade. Ardine had fired the shot, holding onto a nearby tree for balance after his descent with Claire drained his stamina and made him groggy. Still, he mustered enough bravery and vigor to fire the shot.
Lyn caught the gauntlet and immediately attached it to her arm, retracting the laser sawblade out like an energy blade. She sliced through the droid's legs from behind, sweeping through the dirt before meeting the droid's Rot influenced chest plate up close. She jabbed the sawblade through the center, melting the insides of the corpse piloting within with extreme heat to destroy its power source. After digging the blade through the droid's fleshy core, she ejected her wrist out and witnessed Claire diving from above a tree to finish the job.
Claire precisely took the opportunity of the opening and landed on the droid's shoulders, stabbing it through the singular oracular lens that provided the droid's perfect vision. She stabbed it repeatedly as the droid collapsed to the dirt, defeated and destroyed for good. She pulled herself off of the droid and dropped her folded blade on the grass, seemingly haunted by the reignition of her past memories. Her face appeared as if she had seen a ghost.
Ardine, who witnessed Claire's fears take control of her, rushed forward despite being previously impaired by the fall. "Hey, hey," His voice was that of a concerned father, seeing their daughter pained by a tortuous affliction of dark emotions. "You're okay, you're okay. It's over."
Lyn landed behind Ardine and Claire, examining her combat suit carefully; she could sense Alfaic's presence within her, but still bewildered as to why he did not conjure himself. "Blade?" Lyn voiced out. "I know you're there."
Ardine's words seemed to calm Claire, releasing the tension in her shoulders. She pulled herself up from the dirt with the support of Ardine, trying to wipe away the grotesque muck from her arms and shoulders. Without a word, Alfaic conjured himself out of Lyn's combat suit, still not speaking a word to the group despite the sudden possessive request from the overseer's undetermined plans.
"What are you doing?" Lyn asked. "I needed you, and you hid from me."
"I'm sorry," Alfaic briefly said. "Just... sorry."
"Is this about-"
"Yes, it is," Alfaic answered for her. "I'm... really sorry."
Claire and Ardine were clueless about the secret of their conversation. "What is this all about?" Ardine asked. "Why does the overseer want you?"
"I don't know myself..." Alfaic said. "But... I'm assuming it has to do with a certain... defect about myself at the moment."
"A defect?" Ardine asked. "Can you explain?"
"It's... certainly hard to. I mean, I'd love to, but I don't know if I really can. It all has to do with... a certain someone... and I can't quite describe it, but... there are moments where I feel as if I'm out of my body, drifting from my life into someone else's body. The tethers from within my consciousness drag me out, and I... become soulless." Alfaic attempted to explain, although he realized he did an extremely poor job in doing so.
Ardine and Claire came out with blank stares among the entire explanation.
"For that reason, they want Blade," Lyn said, grabbing Alfaic by the handle and holding him by her side. "And for those reasons, we cannot let them."
Ardine nodded. "Makes sense. I couldn't see a world where he wasn't by your side, Lyn."
Claire calmed herself after the attention began to fixate on Alfaic, making her more aware of her conscious ability to reason with herself. "Okay," She spoke to herself. "I'm okay. And for whatever reason, we can't let the sword get to them. That means…"
"It's treason," Ardine summarized. "But for a good cause."
Claire approached the destroyed battle droid with the others, examining the remains of the Rot's influence upon it, as well as Lyn's sawblade attached to her wrist. Her eyes came up blank once again, having a blank slate attached to her emotionless expression.
It was thrilling to see something that had haunted her for so long finally destroyed, but she knew the truth about how many there were.
"So, this is a Qliphosian droid," Ardine began, kneeling down to examine the remnants of the machine. A wave of pungent rotting flesh from the droid's chest plate entered Ardine's nostrils, forcing him to jolt his head away to avoid the scent. He took notice of the droid's pauldrons, finding a connection between the retrieved plate in similarity of color and size. "What the hell did they do with them? Why do they have... that coming out of their chests?"
"It's... the Rot," Claire's voice deepened at the admission of the fact. Her statement prompted Ardine to twirl his entire upper torso to face her, stunned by its unbelievable circumstance. "Qliphos stuffs the corpses of its civilians inside. That's how they move, act, and think like humans."
"Fucking hell..." Ardine was absolutely rattled by her statement, prompting him to slouch back against the dirt with his head drowned in bewilderment and sorrow. He remained quiet, for it seemed his mind was stuck on something else separate from the topic of the droids. "Using your own people... as war machines? That means..."
He failed to finish his statement. Lyn, Alfaic, and Claire stood beside each other, giving Ardine space to think about the unknown that he pondered unwillingly. With Qliphos still a short distance away, the four eventually continued on, knowing of the dangers that awaited them. They would be ready, for it was life or death.