For the second time in as many days, Gabriel found himself waking up with no idea how much time had passed.  This time, for a mercy, his head wasn’t stuck between a strange man’s legs…he was comfortably in a bed, in a dimly lit room, and was surrounded by the pleasant, familiar hum of a Luminary SkyFortress.  He heard the gentle tap of a book being set down nearby, then saw the shadow of a well-known outline.


    “…Watching over me while I sleep, huh, Xanarken?” He mused tiredly; his head still hurt, but at least it was relegated to just the back of it, where he could only presume he’d had some kind of reconstructive surgery in the interim.


    “I guess I can’t help myself.  You had me really worried.” The Eidolon answered, and moved closer to sit on the edge of the bed.  He reached over and pet that blonde-haired head, “After everything settled down, Seth couldn’t stop gushing about how cool he thinks you are.  Apparently, you left quite the impression.”


    “How’s Ren?  Did she…  Did she make it?” Gabriel deflected.


    “She’s doing fine.” Xanarken answered, and turned where he sat so he could more-easily see his mediator, “Seth is heartbroken that all his data is gone, but he’d gladly trade it all over again to help save her life.  And your tie helped, a little bit.” He huffed a quiet chuckle.


    “So, I was right…  That’s a relief.” Gabriel leaned back into his pillows, but after a deep breath, he wiggled to rise up onto his elbows, and then sat back against the head of the bed, “What about the Fafnir guy that was in Kitez with him?”


    “Sir Issak?”


    “Didn’t he go by something else?”


    “Ah, right...Ianori, I believe.” The Eidolon recalled, “Captain Rydell made the decision to leave him behind.  There’s…something peculiar that happened to him, and it was decided that bringing him back to the Aegis – and, moreover, the process of doing so – was too dangerous.”


    Gabriel’s gaze turned down in contemplation; the memory of the void scar tearing open the sky, and the sight of Ianori’s body being hurled out as if in a spider’s cocoon, was suddenly fresh in his mind…and so was the vortex he saw beyond it, “There was so much going on out there in such a big hurry, it’s hard to remember all the details…  One moment, Seth is asking to borrow my affliction to do some research, and the next, all Hell had broken loose.”


    “I believe it.”


    “I wish I could easily describe what it was that I saw.  The Exclusion Zone was right there…  Getting so close to the scar made my affliction activate on its own, and it was like a whole other world was being revealed to me.  There was this enormous cyclone of energy writhing and twisting around in the sky above the Zone…  It’s like I could literally see the reason for why that place is so screwed up.” Gabriel explained, “…What’s really out there?”


    “Who knows?” The Eidolon shrugged, “This world still holds many secrets.  We’ve only been here 350 years…we’ll be uncovering its mysteries for many centuries more.”


    “Yeah…”


    “How are you feeling right now?  You want to take a walk?”


    He looked up, and nodded, “Yeah.”


    The medical ward of the Aegis was a spectacle of modern technology; not entirely unexpected for the home-base of the Luminary Council’s most prestigious and elite warriors, but still impressive.  Wearing his standard-issue patient costume, Gabriel followed beside his Eidolon, feeling the odd sensation of the ‘grippy’ texture under the bottoms of his slippers as they made their way down the long, brightly-lit hall.  Xanarken led him straight out of the medical ward though and into an adjacent section; the stasis-hold room.


    Within, there were 15 total cryo-pods, capable of sustaining the lives of every Fafnir – and their Captain – should they all somehow go down at the same time.  They were lined-up in two rows of seven, with the final pod perpendicular to – and between – the feet of the last set, up against the wall.  Gabriel assumed that would be the one for Captain Rydell if it came to that, but Xanarken guided him right up to it, and within, he saw the hibernating visage of his trainee.


    That shattered left arm had already been debrided and prepared, and looked now as though it had been purposefully and deliberately amputated, with clean-cut edges that followed the contour of the major muscles there.  The whole unfortunate stump was capped with a negative-pressure dressing, keeping it – for lack of better terms – vacuum-sealed until her coming surgery.


    “Without going into too much gruesome detail, the reconstructive surgeons here are just waiting for the last bits of her new arm to be finalized, then they’ll get right to the transplant.  Once that’s done, they’ll wake her up, and with any luck, she’ll come to.”


    Gabriel set his hands onto the glossy surface of the pod; it was cool to the touch, and fogged around his warm skin, leaving the imprint of his palms and fingers when he lifted them back again.  He let out a sigh, “…She fought so hard.  I had no idea she had that kind of strength in her.”


    “Fafnir Knights aren’t just specially-trained fighters with super-suits.  They’re…enhanced, through gene editing, to make them stronger, faster, more durable…and every other thing you can think of that would make them perfect spec-ops combat soldiers.” The Eidolon explained, “They would be formidable even without their armor.”


    “How does the nanotech suit compare to the real one?”


    “It’s roughly 30% of the full potential.  A lot of the oomph comes from its flight capabilities and plasma-based bladed weaponry.  The nanotech version simply doesn’t have the ability to replicate that.  It’s basically the equivalent of a powered-down armor.”


    Gabriel turned to look at Xanarken with a stunned expression, then back to Ren, “…She did all that with only 30% of the armor’s potential?  Sheesh…  She’s really strong…”


    “What exactly happened?  Gabe…”


    “Didn’t Seth tell you everything?”


    “He speaks with the experience of a 17-year-old First Wing cadet.  I need the report of a Knight-Mediator of the Fourth Wing.  What happened?”


    Gabriel went quiet as he thought back on it all, and crossed his arms as he considered his words, “…Then you basically know the details of the void scar situation itself.  After all that, the former Magistrate we were going to stay with told us to flee in his car, since we were all already in it.” He looked up, drew a breath, and then went back to Ren’s pod, and put his fingertips on the edge of it, “We got a good distance away, but Ren still felt like we were in trouble.  Rightly so, I guess.  She had Seth transfer his personal nanotech supply over to her, and used it to make that temporary armor.  I…can’t remember the other Magistrate’s name – Regulus something-something – but he had this crazy-looking four-armed mecha that he used to catch up with us.  It was so quiet, I had no idea it was right on top of us until Ren got up on top of the car and told me to hit the brakes, and the whole damn thing went flying out from overhead and went up the highway.  Regulus tried to get us to stop and surrender without a fuss, but Ren wouldn’t have it.  She launched at him with a speed and ferocity I didn’t know the human body could produce.”


    Xanarken huffed a laugh, “Rylen is quite proud of them.”


    “I can see why…” Gabriel looked at the Eidolon, and directly into those vivid purple-blue eyes, “She took that whole thing on by herself so the rest of us could get away.  We were trying so hard to put-off the inevitable, giving the Fafnir time to find us…but, in the end, the Magistrate overpowered her, and he caught us…  All I could do was pitifully agree to our surrender…”


    “You all came out of there alive, so you did your job.”


    “Ianori didn’t.”


    “He’s alive…after a fashion.”


    “…Hmph.”


    Xanarken reached a hand up to set on the mediator’s shoulder, “Gabe, against a man like Regulus, coming out alive was probably the best-case scenario.  People say he was ousted from his position as Kitez’s top general back when the kerfuffle with the former Fafnir Captain happened, but the truth is…he wanted to move into the Conclave of Magistrates, because he knew he could be given authority over the entire Kitez-Sargon border.  As angry as Kitez was about everything back then, he was – in his mind – right to seek that post, because now…he has supporters that all feel the same way he does.”


    “You mean the Duchess.”


    “And half the current Conclave.”


    “So, then what do we do to get Ianori back?” Gabriel wondered, and turned around to lean against the pod, arms crossed, “Regulus has a singular hatred for the Fafnir.  He’ll be hard-pressed to give a captive one back to us.”


    “It kind of depends on how Captain Rydell’s report goes over.”


    “What do you mean?”


    “Let me show you.” He suggested, and lifted his hands to manifest a data-nodule; it coalesced over the Eidolon’s palm the same way it had over Gabriel’s own when he gave restricted information to Ren during their previous mission.  Gabe held his hand out to receive it, only to pull back again reluctantly.


    “Don’t worry; you’ve got your beans back.  There was no point waiting.  You’re online and everything’s already been transferred to the new I.D.”


    “Oh…” He stammered, and reached out again.  To his relief, the data moved over as expected, and Xanarken spread both of his hands out in an arc.  From the gesture, a video-panel opened between them, flashing ‘Sensitive Data – Do Not Share Without Authorization’ on the top left.  Thereupon, Gabriel witnessed the last few minutes of the rescue mission from Captain Rydell’s perspective; pertinently, the conflict that took place between the three present Fafnir…and their former ally.


    Eyes went wide in confusion and horror, “What the…Hell happened to him?  What even is that?”


    “Seth told us about how inorganic material became twisted when he put it into the void scar, but organic material came out changed.  This…appears to be what happens when a living person goes in, rather than just a tree branch.” Xanarken answered, watching as well, “From what those three said about the way it fought…it had the strength and skill of a Fafnir, but there was something wrong about it.  A kind of uncanny valley situation, like something else was wearing Ianori’s skin, and used his skills, but…oddly.”


    “He was catatonic from the moment he came flying out of the rift,” Gabe elaborated, “When I got too near to it, I could hear it whispering, like hundreds of people all speaking in a hushed tone at once.  Lots of hissing-sounds.  Ianori was making those same sounds, if he spoke at all…but one word seemed prescient; Scyrexian.”  He looked away from the panel; the Fafnir had triple-teamed the transfigured man and shoved him into the second cell, and he thought that was essentially the end of it, “Towards the end of our escape-attempt, that creepy ooze was coming out of his eyes, and he asked Ren to help him…but after that, all the shit with the Magistrate happened, and I didn’t see Ianori again.  Being in the void gate changed him.  I…feel like something might have come back with him.”


    “That’s what we’re thinking as well.”


    “What do we do…?” He wondered, seeing the last parts of the clip unfold; Furion had grabbed Ren, and was following Donivan down to the launch-bay for their final departure.  He puffed an annoyed breath as he spied the visage of the Magistrate for a split-second before the footage ended, and the video-panel closed, “How do we get him back?  How do we even help that?”


    “Mr. Gabriel?” A familiar voice sounded; both men looked towards the door, and spotted Seth there – wearing the simple grey uniform of a Knight-Cadet with the white coat of the First Wing’s scholar division, and had a pair of glasses again, “You’re awake!”This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Gabe pushed off the pod and turned towards the approaching teen, “Yeah, I…  Ah, never mind…how are you holding up?”


    Seth didn’t shy away from formalities – or the presence of the Eidolon – and threw his arms around Gabriel’s torso.  Arms went up in surprise, and Gabe looked at the Fourth, only for Xanarken to smile and do nothing to save him.  Seth squeezed tight for several seconds before finally letting go, and looked up, “I…I’m doing okay.  Nightmares, mostly, but I’m getting help for that.  What about you?  From what I was told, Magistrate Regulus really did a number on you.”


    “Compared to you?  After you were so worried about him finding out you’re a Rydell?”


    Seth nodded, but took a step back, “Well, I did faint…probably a couple times…  I don’t think he had any fun with me, so he didn’t bother for long.”


    “Ah…  I guess that makes sense.” Gabe pulled his arms around himself again, “I’ve only been up for a half hour or so.  Haven’t had much time to find things to complain about yet.  Xanarken was bringing me up to sp-“


    “OH MY GOSH I’M SO SORRY, LORD XANARKEN SIR!” Seth suddenly blurted, and was bowing frantically towards the Eidolon.


    Gabriel mentally staggered, “…eed?”


    “It’s okay, I’m not going to scold you for ignoring me.” Xanarken mused, and pet the teen’s head, “I’m much more relaxed than my brother.”


    Those green eyes lifted, practically sparkling, “Are you really brothers!?  For real-real!?”


    The Eidolon chuckled, “Not by blood, but…in every other way, yes.”


    “Seth, you really shouldn’t be asking the Eidolon such personal questions; it’s inappropriate.” Furion’s voice was suddenly added to the mix, and the Captain – in his full normal regalia, with the wide silver pauldrons and cape of his rank, and the dark blue colors of the Sixth - approached with a polite head-bob towards each of the men, “Lord Xanarken.  Sir Gabriel.”  He then clasped his brother’s shoulders in his hands and pulled the teen back a few paces, “Sorry about that.  He’s excitable.”


    “I don’t mind.” Xanarken shrugged with a wry smile, “Right?”  He turned to his second.


    “I don’t either.  It’s kind of refreshing.” Gabriel agreed, then hesitated to go on.  He couldn’t help but look at the two brothers – Seth was barely Ren’s height at 5’5”, but Furion was almost a foot taller, towering over the teen.  They looked nearly the same otherwise; those jade-green eyes, the pale blonde hair and light complexion, though Furion kept his bangs even longer than Gabriel himself did, and kept a long skinny ponytail out the back, under the rest of that short, upward-spiking do.  Gabriel shook his head lightly to regain his train of thought, and looked at Seth again, “…As I was saying, Xanarken was getting me caught-up on what happened.  I just…saw the footage of the rescue.  I never thought the words would be coming from my mouth, given my unfortunate first encounter with the Fafnir Knights all those years ago, but…  Thank you, Captain Rydell.  You and your Fafnir saved us, and for that, I’m grateful.”


    Furion was surprised – the mediator was nothing like who he thought the man would be – but nodded, “…Yessir.”


    Gabriel turned back towards the pod, “I had only just found out who Ren really was a few minutes before she was forced to reveal it anyway.  She…made me reconsider what I thought about the Fafnir.”


    The way Gabe had his hands on the edge of the pod made a tense pit grow in Furion’s chest, and he stepped around his brother to go onto the pod’s opposite side, “…She was always one of the best.  She earned every accolade that came with the rank of Wing Commander One, and deserved every ounce of respect it gave her.  I’m surprised she waited until the 11^th hour to tell you.  …Sir.”


    Gabe was confused by the subtle tension, but dismissed it as post-trauma-brain hypersensitivity, “Well, that was mostly my fault…  I’m afraid I don’t have a good history with getting to know my trainees very well.  I’ll have to change that when she wakes up and comes back to things.”  He looked at Ren’s face again, “I suppose I owe her that much after she put her life on the line to give us time.”


    Xanarken stepped up beside his mediator then, and tapped the back of the man’s shoulder with the front of his own as he leaned in, “We still have much more to get caught-up on, Gabe.  Let’s not hover over the poor woman.”


    “Oh…yeah, sure.”  He turned towards the two Rydells, “Thanks again.  Excuse us.”


    “Sir.”


    “…Mr. Gabriel…!” Seth blurted as the pair got to the door.  Gabe looked back, and the teen took a step closer, “Would it be okay if I…sent you a friend request?  You don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to, of course!”


    “No, that’s alright, go ahead.”


    “Really, sir!?” Seth was practically gushing; tears welled in his eyes from the happiness.


    “Don’t forget what I said about the formalities.” Gabe waved as he turned, and followed Xanarken out, “See you later.”


    The young blonde squirmed where he stood, and immediately pulled up his overlay to do just that.  Once the request had been sent, he gestured both hands downward to hide the HUD and looked back at his older brother, “Whew, I’m so relieved…  I’ve been working up the courage to ask him that this whole time…”


    Furion quirked a brow, “You’re not just trying to hook him into your research again, are you?  I think he’s a bit out of your league to have on speed-dial.”


    Seth’s face went red, but he waved his hands back and forth adamantly, “N-no, that’s not it at all!  I actually like him!  You know, as a person!”


    “Hm…  You’d be one of the few.” The Captain turned towards the cryo-pod, and used his gloved fingers to rub away the foggy fingerprints that the mediator had left on the lid, “Still can’t believe this situation…”


    “What’s not to believe…?” Seth asked, and joined his brother in looking on solemnly at his friend, “She went toe-to-toe with a giant war-robot.  I’m more surprised that she lived.”


    Furion’s eyes drifted towards the door again, but then came back, “Sir Gabriel doesn’t have a great reputation for being…personable, to say the least.” He explained, “You’d do yourself a favor by not getting too close.  He probably doesn’t share your enthusiasm for friendship.”


    Seth could feel himself deflating where he stood, “That’s so mean…!  You’ve barely ever even been in the same room as him before, but you have such cruel things to say!”


    “We live in different worlds.” Furion finished, “Just be careful.  There’s a reason he was chosen as Ren’s safety-net when she left.”


    .


    The eyes of every soldier and support-staffer in the Aegis’ mess hall was wide and stunned as the Eidolon of the Fourth Wing went through the lines like any other grunt, but, the man was following his proverbial son around, and had to hover.  He did, however, find the gawping to be a bit funny, “I’m probably ruining everyone’s day by being here.”


    “Ruining?” Gabriel echoed as he grabbed an assortment of snacks from the options on offer, and set them each on a plastic tray, “You probably made their day.  How often do folks in the lower ranks get to stare at an Eidolon up close?”


    “I am quite disruptive, though.  Everyone feels like they have to stop what they’re doing to salute as I go by.”


    “You did decide to follow me instead of just letting me meet you back in my room.” The blonde retorted, “Dare I wonder if you don’t sometimes enjoy mingling among the commoners with me.”


    “Maybe I could be less conspicuous.” Xanarken mused, and began to dissolve his mantle right there in the grub-line.


    Gabriel balked, “What, no, where are you going!?  You can’t just leave me here like this!”  He complained, watching that nanotech dust fade into the air.  The Eidolon’s voice lingered as he laughed, only for a new mantle to manifest; this time, however, it was shaped like a cat – a big, grey and white Himalayan - and it sat gingerly on the mediator’s shoulder.  Gabriel sighed loudly, and leaned his head to squish against the odd-feeling fake-fluff, “This doesn’t help at all.  No one is going to believe that I just have a random-ass cat aboard a SkyFortress, never mind that I can keep balanced on my damn shoulder.”


    Xanarken rubbed his fuzzy body against the man’s head, as any cat-like creature might do when being affectionate, “I’m enjoying myself.  Don’t ruin it.”


    “You’re so annoying sometimes.”


    Purr purr purr…


    And…another cat appeared, manifesting on Gabriel’s other shoulder; this one was a Russian blue, with bright orange eyes.


    Gabriel groaned, “Jeezus, not you too.”


    Purr purr purr…  The new cat licked a paw and wiped its ear patiently.


    “I’m being ganged-up on.  I need an adult.”


    The looks he got from those who’d seen the whole thing happen made it clear that no such adult would be coming.


    Every step back to his room – with a plastic tray of food in his hands, fuzzy slippers on his feet, and a pair of felines perched on top of him – was torture.  It was even worse when the door finally closed behind him and both Eidolon started laughing at his expense, and even fist-bumped at one another as they reformed in their usual affect.  Gabriel just set the tray down on the small table opposite his bed, and roughly sat down, “Yeah, yeah…have a good laugh.  Not like anyone was going to try and make small-talk with me anyway.”


    “That is entirely your fault, Gabe.” Xanarken pointed out, and moved to retake the cushy seat he’d been in with his book earlier.


    Rylen, of course, leaned against the back-rest of it, and crossed his arms with an amused look on his face, “Honestly, it’s never not funny when we do that.”


    “How does anyone take either of you seriously when you pull pranks like that?” Gabriel pointed a fork at them as he unwrapped it from the cloth napkin-roll.


    “What, am I not allowed to join in the teasing of my proverbial nephew?” Rylen looked sarcastically hurt, and pressed a hand to his chest.


    “No one believes you’re my uncle for a second when you look like a weird vampiric dark elf, Rylen.”


    The First Eidolon stared for a moment, then snapped his fingers, and his dark visage transformed into a peachy-pale variant of himself, lacking the pointy ears and teeth, and with simple grey hair instead of that molten silver, “Better?”


    Gabriel looked up at him and immediately wretched, heaving off the side of his chair to catch his breath, then looked back again, “No, absolutely not, go back.  That’s horrifying.”


    Rylen shrugged up his shoulders with a puff of a laugh, and retook his normal image, “Suit yourself.  I am only trying to be accommodating.”


    Gabe could only mutter a few curses under his breath as he went back to look at the food he’d brought back.


    “Anyway…it’s good to see you awake again,” The First Eidolon continued, “Xanarken told me you woke up and that he showed you how the mission ended.  I am deathly curious though…”  He spread his hands out and loaded the same video-panel that had been shown before, but he wound-back the footage to far earlier in the mission.  There was a moment – from Donivan’s point of view – where the Magistrate’s mecha was visible, and Rylen zoomed-in on the amputated metal arm, “Explain.”


    “What?” Gabriel stared, a mouthful in his cheek.


    “Dame Ren didn’t have access to any of her former arsenal while using that temporary armor.  How, then, pray tell, did any of you come into possession of a weapon that could cut clean-through solid metal?  Moreover…”  He fast-forwarded through Donivan’s recording until near the end, after the fight with Scyrexianori, and to the moment he had burst into the trio’s cell to punch the entity into unconsciousness through a rather unusual hole in the wall, “That.”


    “What?” Gabriel asked again; Xanarken looked worried, “So I used my affliction to try and help?  What’s the big deal?”


    Rylen dissolved the panel, and crossed his arms, only to gesture at the mediator with one hand before wedging it back between arm and ribs, “You were never able to get a good handle on your abilities even when you had J’ard around trying to help you focus.  You know as well as the rest of us how dangerous it is.  In your efforts to save Dame Ren, you could’ve just as easily killed her yourself.”


    The blonde went quiet; his appetite was already lost, and he set the fork down, all that food now wasted, “I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing…”


    Xanarken nudged his brother with an elbow lightly, “Rylen, you don’t have to come down on him like a brick…  He just woke up.  This could’ve waited.”


    “It’s the first time I’ve used it in years…  Give me a break…” Gabriel protested, “And it’ll probably be another several years before it happens again…  I can’t just keep it stamped-down forever.  It comes out now and then when things get crazy, whether I like it or not.”


    “All the more reason not to use it on purpose when you feel the urge.” Rylen countered, and stared at that despondent look on Gabe’s face, “Look, I know you meant well, and in the end, you did do some good…  But as someone who was born with this condition, the potential for it to get out of control is just…  It’s too high.  It’s too much of a risk.  You were already out there helping with a feral void gate…we don’t need you accidentally opening a bunch of your own.”


    “I’ve literally never been able to-“


    “Rylen, seriously-“ Xanarken interrupted, “He’s not Caeros.  It’s not the same thing.  He doesn’t even have the ability to open gateways…it’s just, separating things.  In this case…it was an arm from the body of a mecha, or a section of a wall.”


    Gabriel had fallen quiet.


    Rylen could feel a shiver go down his spine, “I hate it when I hear that name.  It always gives me the creeps.”


    “You’re not responsible for what happened that day.” Xanarken continued, his voice calmer again, “You’ve been carrying around that guilt for over three centuries.  It’s done, and in the past.  Just…let it go.”


    The First stayed silent for a few seconds, but then sucked in a breath and pushed off the arm-rest, “You know as well as I do that I can’t.  I was the one who pushed Caeros to use his power to take us off-world, and it’s my fault we ended up here, stranded, with no idea where we are.”


    “It hasn’t been all bad.  We’ve adapted, and overcome…we’re doing well here, in spite of the circumstances of our arrival.” Xanarken countered, “Besides…if not for what happened back then, we’d have been dead a long time ago, and we wouldn’t have been able to witness the civilization that’s grown from our efforts.  Take the good with the bad…and try not to make Gabe take on the burden of your guilty conscience because you’re worried he’ll create a second calamity.”


    “Fine…” Rylen grumbled, and turned those orange eyes to the sullen mediator, “Tomorrow, the Duchy’s flagship will be arriving on the border.  Xanarken is taking point on the talks.  You should be there to observe and offer counsel about what happened, in case the Kitezans try to twist the truth.  Whatever happens, and no matter how well or badly it goes, I’ve no doubt that our contentious relationship with Kitez will change forever afterwards.  Hopefully, it won’t be a complete disaster.  …Until then.”


    The Eidolon dissolved his mantle without another moment’s hesitation, leaving Xanarken alone with his chosen son, “…So much for being able to take my time easing into that topic.” He looked over at that dour expression, “Try not to be offended by him.  He’s just…paranoid about such things.”


    “I wish I understood better why he’s so scared.  You’ve told me what you remember, but it just…always sounded like it was an accident.  That the disaster, and the fleet crashing afterwards, were unintended.  I can’t get rid of this curse that I have…  Why can’t someone just help me learn how to control it better?  You said Caeros was basically inventing the wheel as he developed his skills.  It doesn’t have to be that way with me…” Gabriel lamented, “I don’t want to have to keep pushing people away because of him…”


    Xanarken sighed as he pushed up from the cushy chair, and stepped closer to pat Gabriel’s shoulder, “…You would’ve just…had to have been there.”