The Next Day

— Watedia, Ranth 13, 8054 —

“So… self-study again, huh?”

“That’s what it looks like…” Austin responded warily as he took a seat at his desk. Around him, the other Keys were preparing for another day of classes — but as with the previous couple of days, their typical instructor, Kaoné, was absent. In her place was a quick scrawl on the classroom’s whiteboard that read out, “self-study”.

“Uuuuggghhh…” Sky moaned in displeasure as she softly banged her head on her desk. “I can barely focus on regular lectures as is, how am I supposed to do anything in ‘self-study’?!”

“Perhaps if you had developed better study habits in grade school, you’d be fine,” Twy retorted while opening up one of her notebooks.

“Yeah, but…” Conrad spoke up from a few desks over, his head resting on his desk. He yawned loudly before continuing, “why study when you can just sleep? After all, sleep is good for you, too.”

“Not when you get too much of it, you lazy-ass,” Pierce countered. “…Though I have to agree, kind of. As a substitute for actual lectures, ‘self-study’ is useless.”

“Oh my god, you want lectures?!” Sky questioned incredulously.

“I won’t claim that lectures are the best way to learn, but at least they introduce something new,” Pierce retorted.

“Guess I can’t argue with that…” Spike muttered.

“I think we’re all missing the forest for the trees, anyways,” Phoenix interjected. “I mean, just think about it. Given everything that’s been going on, lately, how are we supposed to just keep on acting like everything is normal?”

An uneasy silence befell the classroom, as no one was able to come up with a response to Phoenix’s question.

“…Third day…” Kestrel eventually commented. “…How much longer?”

“How much longer will Kaoné be out, you mean…?” Twy questioned, and then passed Austin a wary glance. “Well…”

“…Hey, that’s right,” Spike remarked as he eyed Twy and Austin. “The two of y’all were trainin’ with Kaoné on Sundia evenin’, right? So y’all were the last to see her. Did she say anythin’ about where the hell she’d be goin’?”

“I mean…” Austin smiled uneasily. “She didn’t… not say anything…”

“What?!” Phoenix responded indignantly. “You’ve known all this time why she isn’t here, and you didn’t say anything?!”

“To be fair, she and Davídrius asked us to keep it a secret,” Twy quickly replied. “It was pretty serious…”

“Pretty serious, huh?” Pierce retorted. “So serious that Kaoné left immediately? Without warning us? Despite the whole Bleeder thing?”

“…Uh oh,” Conrad muttered. “Don’t tell me this is what I think it is.”

“…Wait…” Sky turned to look at her sister in alarm. “…Did Kaoné leave because of infection stuff?!”

Austin and Twy exchanged a wary glance.

“…Well, guess that cat’s out of the bag…” Austin said with a shrug of his shoulders. “…But, yeah. Apparently there was an infection sighting around some place called ‘Oasis Lake’.”

“It’s a large body of water in western Treséd,” Twy added.

“The infection… in Treséd…” Spike muttered.

“Timing…” Kestrel said.

“Yeah, this timing is hella suspicious,” Phoenix pointed out. “We get word of infection sightings three days ago, so Kaoné leaves. And then yesterday, Relia shows up here, all beat up, like someone tried to assassinate her, or something.” She looked around the room, at everyone else. “Does that not sound like someone’s trying to get rid of Tresnon’s best Chaotics?”

“I mean, yeah…” Conrad replied, “but also, it’s been three days since Kaoné left. If someone was going to use her absence to attack, then they’d have done it by now, right?”

“And the Black Suns reinforcements are supposed to arrive tomorrow,” Twy added. “I think that whoever wanted to attack has missed their window, by now.”

“Either that,” Spike muttered, “…or they attack today.”

Another tense silence filled the room in the wake of Spike’s utterance. Before anyone else could speak up, however, the creaking of the classroom door cut through the silence.

“Ack—!” Sky jumped in surprise, whipping around to look at the door, a fireball already in hand. “Who’s there?!”

“Uh…” Liask stopped, halfway through the door, as she looked at Sky in bewilderment. “…Just… me…?”

“Liask?” Pierce questioned in surprise. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have class?”

“Well, sorta, but…” Liask trailed off, her gaze moving to the whiteboard at the front of the room. Upon reading the words “self-study”, Liask’s chest heaved in an apprehensive sigh. “…So y’all are in self-study, too, huh?”

“’Too’…?” Conrad echoed warily.

“Explain,” Phoenix insisted.

“You didn’t notice?” Liask asked. “…I guess Kaoné’s been out for a few days, so that makes sense. But… the rest of the instructors are out, today, too.”

“Out? But… why?” Twy questioned. “Where are they? What are they doing?”

“They didn’t say. But a couple of Velocitechnic students did a quick run by the walls, and it looks like the instructors are helpin’ out the Defense Force. Guardin’ the walls, and stuff.”

“That doesn’t sound good…”

“Do they think Tresnon will be attacked, today?” Sky asked.

“I dunno…” Liask responded warily. “They didn’t say anythin’ to us.”

“Aw, man…” Austin groaned, and then passed Spike an irritated glance. “You just had to go and jinx us, didn’t you?”

“It was an obvious conclusion!” Spike replied defensively.

“It looks like we’re in for a tense day, today…” Phoenix muttered.

“But at least it’s just today… right?” Conrad questioned. “’Cause the Black Suns come tomorrow. Right?”

“That’s what we’ve been told,” Pierce replied, his expression grim. He then looked back to Liask. “…Hopefully, things will be fine. But just in case, maybe you should stick with your class. Or with Obra and Minilas, at least.”

Liask gave him a doubtful look. “…You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. Don’t worry about us; we can handle ourselves. We’ve seen combat, before.”

“’We’, he says,” Conrad muttered.

“It’s not like we’ve ever done well, either…” Austin pointed out.

“The point,” Pierce insisted, rolling his eyes at Austin before turning back to Liask, “is that other people could use your help more than us. Don’t worry about me, Liask; I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“Should study,” Kestrel said.

“It would be a good distraction…” Phoenix replied, “…if only I could actually focus on it!”

“Not a bad point, though…” Liask admitted, and then gave Pierce a resolute nod. “A’ight. I’ll head back. Be careful, okay?” She then turned around and left the classroom, leaving the eight Keys again the only occupants.

Austin watched the door close behind her, and then turned to everyone else. “…Here’s a question, though,” he said, “and… I really hesitate to ask. But if everyone’s expecting an attack, then… that means that any attack that does happen, won’t be that bad, right? Because we’re ready for it.”

“Let’s hope…” Twy responded warily, and then looked down at her notebooks. “…But for now, Kestrel’s right. Let’s try to focus on what we can actually do, right now. There’s no sense in wasting all of our time worrying…”

---

*

“Hey.”

“…Oh, Gavon,” Selind remarked, turning to look at the silver-haired marksman as he approached. “You’re finally here.”

“’Finally’, hmm?” Gavon replied, “so… it’s going to be one of those days, huh?”

“’Fraid so…” Selind muttered, her gaze moving from Gavon to sweep across their surroundings. Both currently stood atop Compound Tresnon’s protective walls; the beige buildings of the Compound stretched out to the shores of Mirage Lake behind them, while the sandy wastelands of Treséd spanned the full horizon in front of them. Clear, blue skies allowed the bright late-spring sun to shine down upon them, but its bright mid-morning rays merely made ever more clear the abnormally high presence of guards atop the Compound walls.

Gavon surveyed the walls himself, his expression neutral. “…You brought everyone out today, I see.”

“Well, with Kaoné gone, and Relia turnin’ up half-dead, you’ll have to excuse a gal for thinkin’ that some caution is needed,” Selind replied.

“True. Don’t mistake my statement for a criticism; I agree with everything you’ve done, so far. Given everything we know, a heightened alert for today is absolutely warranted. Although…” Gavon’s eyes turned to the left, where a handful of guards were slowly patrolling the walls. “…If you even called in all of the WCU instructors, then you must really be paranoid.”

“That was the decision of Davídrius and the instructors,” Selind countered. “I wouldn’t have gone that far, personally, but Davídrius has been anxious as all hell ever since Kaoné left.” She shook her head, a wary sigh escaping her lips. “He’d’ve had more confidence in the Defense Force half a year ago.”

“Half a year ago was before the Hunger’s Bane attack,” Gavon replied. “In the wake of that, I don’t blame him for being cautious. Especially when we have intel that the Bleeders are being backed by the SFC.”

“Were backed by the SFC,” Selind pointed out.

“Sure, and the SFC are a third-rate PMC, too,” Gavon added. “But they are still a PMC, with technology more advanced than most things I’ve seen here in Treséd. The Bleeders might be cut off now, but who knows what kinds of tech they got before that point.”

“Would any of that tech let them get through Tresnon’s shields?”

“I’d be quite surprised if it did… but I can’t confidently claim it’s impossible. You should always expect the unexpected, after all.”

“Bah. You can’t be paranoid all the time. You’d run out of energy!”

“Says the one whose been on these walls for twelve hours straight.”

“Hmph…” Selind snorted. “…You sure those Suns pals of yours are gonna show up?”

“On my word,” Gavon declared. “The Black Suns never abandon a contract, and Sector 1 never abandons its own. You’ll get your help tomorrow morning, I guarantee it.”

“Would sure be nice if they got here today.”

“I did request that they pick up their pace, but… well, you can only move through the Gate network so quickly.”

“’Course…”

“Hey, at least the incoming regiment is led by my superior, Master Colonel Sinstis Krydonin! She’s a real consummate professional, and an expert in Chaotic combat. With her and her troops here, the Bleeders won’t stand a chance — even if they had the entire SFC with them!”

“That’s great, but it only matters if they actually arrive before the Bleeders do.”

Gavon raised an incredulous eyebrow. “I see that Dean Wrikax isn’t the only one around here who’s anxious.”

“My daughter is in a coma right now,” Selind replied flatly. “So excuse me if I’m a little on edge.”

“…Right. Sorry,” Gavon apologized sheepishly. “…But, speaking of — I’m supposed to relieve you. Go take a break, visit your daughter. You’ll burn yourself out if you camp out on this wall for too long.”

“I haven’t been here for that long.”

“The shift logs claim you’ve been up here for twelve hours.”

Selind glanced over at Gavon, only to find him fixing her with a level stare. A moment later, she released a resigned sigh. “…A’ight, fair point. But I ain’t restin’ just yet.”

“If you aren’t careful, you’ll run yourself as ragged as your daughter,” Gavon insisted.

“Hey, you said it yourself: we only need to hold the fort for today.”

It was Gavon’s turn to sigh in resignation as he failed to come up with an adequate response. “…Well, far be it for me to tell you how best to protect your own home,” he admitted. “But at least tell me where you’re going, so I can send someone to save you when you collapse from exhaustion.”

“Ha, you think too little of me!” Selind remarked as she began making for the stairs down from the wall. “…But since you asked, I’ll be checkin’ on the shield generators. Gotta make sure they’re in proper shape, and all.”

“Quite paranoid, today, aren’t we?”

Selind shook her head dismissively while walking off.

Gavon watched her leave for a few moments before calling out to her. “Hey, Selind!”

“…What?” she responded, stopping and half-turning to look back at Gavon.

Once he had her attention, Gavon simply gave her a resolute nod. “…Be careful. Watch yourself.”

“…Thanks. Same to you,” Selind replied, nodding back at Gavon before turning around to continue walking, leaving behind the well-guarded walls of Tresnon.

---

A Half-Hour Later

The soft hum of an electric fan filled the air, the only source of noise in the small, sterile hospital room. While Compound Tresnon had plenty of basic medical equipment — largely due to Kaoné’s ability to fabricate it on the spot — the hospital was lacking in any large tools or equipment typically associated with a hospital, leading to a much quieter and emptier room. All that was present was the fan, mounted on the wall next to a window; a small sink and cabinet, holding a variety of important medicines and first-aid materials; a hospital bed, occupied by the unmoving, bandaged form of Relia; and a basic, uncomfortable metal chair, supporting the room’s sole visitor: Karísah.

Concern clearly played across Karísah’s face as she watched over Relia, and the many bandages around her chest, leg, and arms. An evening, a night, and a morning had now passed since Relia’s recovery from the drifting boat, but she had yet to awake even once. And through all that time, Karísah remained by her side, her Duratechnnism allowing her to remain perfectly lucid when any normal person would be starving and sleep-deprived.

But still, Relia refused to stir.

A quiet sigh escaped Karísah’s lips. Gently, she began to reach for Relia’s hand… but just before making contact, Karísah withdrew her hand. With a resigned sigh, she stood up from her chair and quietly moved over to the window, looking out over Compound Tresnon. While the hospital was only three stories tall, it was still one of the tallest buildings in the Compound — combined with its relatively central location, Karísah was just able to make out the Mirage Lakefront, and the endless blue waters of the lake beyond. And then, off to the east and west were the walls of Tresnon… the walls that she knew to be laden with Defense Force patrols.

“Ngh…”

“Relia—?” Karísah immediately whipped around, her attention focusing on Relia — just in time to see her head move, albeit barely. Quickly, Karísah returned to her chair and leaned in close. “Relia, you there…?”

“…Agh…” Another groan escaped Relia’s throat, her eyes still clamped shut, but her body finally moving under her own power — the first time since she had been recovered.

Upon seeing Relia in what appeared to be distress, Karísah quickly moved over to the sink and grabbed a small cup, filling it up with water from the faucet. She then crossed the room back to Relia, gently working her hand behind Relia’s head to hold it up to the cup of water. Karísah then slowly tipped the cup; while Relia didn’t yet seem to be fully conscious, she still readily accepted the water, swallowing it down without much difficulty.

Before long, Relia had drunk all of the water in the cup. Karísah released a sigh of relief, happy that Relia had recovered well enough to drink on her own. But just as Karísah made to place the cup back at the sink, Relia stirred again.

“…K… …Kari…”

“Hmm…?” Karísah returned to her chair, gently — but firmly — grabbing Relia’s hand in an effort to comfort her. “Hey, hey, Relia, it’s okay. I’m here…”

“Mm…” Relia groaned, her voice soft. “Wa… water…”

“More water? Alright.” Karísah began to stand.

“…N-no… …b… ble…”

“What…?” Karísah paused, turning to look back at Relia — whose face was scrounged up in great discomfort. Uneasily, Karísah returned to Relia’s side. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Ble… blee… …Bleeders… …at-attack…!”

“…The Bleeders attacked you…?” Karísah questioned.

“Ngh…” Relia groaned again, her eyes still clenched shut, but her body beginning to shudder and shiver. “…From… …water…!”

“What…?” Karísah responded uneasily, “I… I’m not sure what you’re tryin’ to say—“

Interrupting Karísah’s words was a sudden and blinding flash of light, originating from outside the room’s window. Immediately afterward, the lights in the room flickered, the fan struggled to continue moving air — and then, both died. Quickly, Karísah jumped to the window, attempting to search for the source of the bright light; but in its stead, she saw a massive wave of golden static fuzz sweep through the air around and above the Compound. And then, just after that, several large explosions went off at the Lakefront, followed by several large watercraft suddenly surfacing in the waters just short of the shores.

“No…!” Karísah quietly gasped, as several more explosions tore into the Lakefront — and a number of individuals leaped from the watercraft, flying through the air to alight on the shores of Compound Tresnon. “…It can’t be! Is that… the Bleeders…?!”