“Lairah!” Erika cried, stepping to the front of the group. “Why are you doing this?”
Lairah paused. Cocked her head to the side. Even with her mask, her surprise was evident. “You remember me?” she asked slowly. As if barely daring to hope.
“I do,” Erika said confidently. “You’re kind and gentle. Not… this!”
Lairah shook her head. “You knew only part of me,” she said softly. “I…”
“Lairah,” Erika said, and immediately Lairah looked at her. “Explain this. Where…” And Erika’s voice broke. Tears shone in her eyes. “Where are my parents?”
Roland looked between the two of them. He saw the sudden tension in Lairah’s posture. The sign of one caught at a crossroads. Struggling to make a decision. Then, Lairah’s hand came up to her mask. She gripped the edge of it. “Lady Eagle!” cried one of her followers.
Lairah raised a hand to quiet him. Slowly, she removed her mask, lowered it, and then let it go. She let it fall to the icy ground.
There was the face that Roland and the others had seen within Aîrchal. Hair like spun gold, done up in a simple, functional bun. Captivating, intense electric-blue eyes. In a soft, sorrowed voice, she said, “Would that I knew, little one.”
“What do you mean?” Erika asked, a tremor in her voice. “How can you not know?”
“They aren’t what matters,” Lairah said, regaining her composure. She fixed a resolute gaze on Erika. “What your parents were trying to do would have destroyed our greatest hope. They would have taken away the only thing we had left to live for! They have no idea what they would have unleashed. Please, Erika.” She held out her free hand, devoid of weaponized gauntlet. “I’m sure, with your help, we can convince them of what’s right, and join our peoples together once more.”
Erika hesitated — but it was here that Enrique stepped forward. “Tell us, then,” he said. “Tell us what our parents were doing, and why you and the rest of Reunion tried so violently to stop them.” Lairah opened her mouth to reply, but Enrique swiftly added, “Be specific. No vagaries, no hints. The truth, in its totality.”
Lairah didn’t immediately reply, but Roland saw the thoughts flickering through her eyes, searching for an answer that would satisfy.
One of her masked followers took a step forward, the ice cracking slightly under his feet, little puffs of steam gusting out. “Lady Eagle, that’s enough,” he said in a stern, clear voice. “Our orders —”
“Your orders are to follow my command,” Lairah said sharply. The one who had argued flinched back, and was silent. “Stand down, all of you!” Lairah continued loudly, her gaze sweeping over the other members of Reunion, as if daring them to question her command. No one did. Lairah’s striking blue gaze turned back onto the twins… and then to Roland. “You wish to help them too, don’t you? I know that our confrontations in the past have not been pleasant. I’ve given you every reason to doubt my motives and expect the worst from me. So please — just hear me out.” She looked back at Enrique. “I’ll answer all of your questions. If the truth will not satisfy you, then nothing will.”
But before she could continue, there was a clear tut-tutting sound from somewhere above. Everyone looked around, startled. It was Tsubasa who noticed first, pointing and saying, “There!”
Up on the high, cresting wave of frozen fire, gazing imperiously down at them, was a new member of Reunion. Tall and willowy-thin, he wore scarlet robes. His ornate mask was styled like the inquisitive visage of a sparrow.
“I should have known the youngster would fold her wings given the sparest hint of sentiment,” he said in a soft, reedy voice that nonetheless carried clearly across the Loch. “Emotions supersede your mission, do they? What a disappointment.”
Lairah’s eyes flashed with fire, and she shouted back, “The only disappointment is your endless arrogant pandering! You think yourself better than all of us, despite all evidence to the contrary!”
“Sharp words from a petulant, traitorous tongue,” replied the Sparrow coldly.
“Traitorous?” Lairah asked, brow furrowed with confusion. “What’s traitorous about trying to sway them to our side, rather than take them by force?”
But the tide was shifting. Roland could see it in the body language of the numerous armed members of Reunion, who were giving the Sparrow far more attention than Lairah. He looked aside to Tsubasa, who gave a tiny nod. She shifted her stance slightly. “Enrique,” she said softly, barely soft enough to hear. Enrique glanced at her, but didn’t turn his head. Clever boy. “Which way to the Intersection?”
“It’s past our ship,” Enrique said in a tiny voice, just enough for the others to hear. “But I don’t want Reunion finding it.”
“Neither do we,” Tsubasa said. “But I’m sure Roland can whip up an effective diversion. Can’t you?”
Roland thought about that for a moment. It wasn’t the plan he’d been leaning towards. But after a quick consult with Shureen and Vi, he nodded. “We have it handled. If we move swiftly.”
“Then let’s go!” Tsubasa said sharply.
They were all turning towards the rocky outcropping where the ship was hidden. Roland was starting to hum the first notes of Shureen’s song.
But Sparrow had them figured out. Another stern tut-tutting played prelude to several dozen scarlet-robed members of Reunion emerging from the rocks all around, blocking their path.
Tsubasa and Muirrach weren’t about to just stop dead in their tracks. Neither was Roland. Why would they? They’d fought this many numbers before and prevailed.
But the first gauntlets to open fire weren’t the ones in front of them, by the rocks.
They were the ones from the Loch. Behind them.
There was a sudden explosion, and Roland was tossed, turning end-over-end in the air, his consciousness slipping away.
——
Pop!
In an instant, they were somewhere else. Guinevere opened her eyes and gasped at the sight.
They stood upon a wooden dock, but it wasn’t situated over a body of water. This was a body of ice — and ice unlike any she’d seen before. Instead of the still, glassy surface of a frozen lake in winter, this was a dramatic, sparkling landscape of plumes and waves, arches and spirals erupting from the loch’s surface, all flash-frozen in striking glory.
“Welcome, friends,” said the Cat, “to Loch Reòsair.”
There were others gathered on the dock, but no one seemed perturbed in the slightest by the arrival of two Knights, a Sword Dancer, the Promised Queen, Ninian, Alice, three dogs, and an Akko out of thin air. Even guards stationed at a gate to the left gave the new arrivals only a cursory glance before looking away.
Impossible things happen every day in Wonderia, I suppose.
Guinevere strode to the railing, pressing her hands on it and leaning out, gazing at the marvelous sight. Loch Reòsair. She repeated the name over and over in her head, freezing this image into her mind. This was better than she could have ever hoped for, more amazing than anything she could have dreamed, when she’d planned her daring escape and her trip across Wonderia.
Nothing went according to plan once we reached Wonderia.
And yet… I don’t mind that one bit.
“It’s been too long,” Alice said beside her, letting out a nostalgic sigh.
“How long has it been since you last came here?” Guinevere asked.
“Oh, who knows?” Alice asked with a shrug. “Time is so… complicated, isn’t it? Hard to keep track of. Despite our best efforts to try, with watches and clocks and whatnot. Time’s nothing like clockwork makes us believe. Not at all.”
Guinevere stared at the child, this little girl who couldn’t be older than eight years old. There were innumerable mysteries surrounding her, but it was here, watching Alice watch the Loch and reminisce, that Guinevere felt like she was seeing who she really was for the very first time.
She was lonely. A girl whose sister had turned away from her, whose sister had…
“Who are you?”
“Yes, you’re you. But Alice… hmm.”
Whose sister had questioned her very existence. And Alice had been spirited away before she’d had a chance to really question Lacie, really push to understand what was happening.
Lacie was a cruel, horrible child. Guinevere was convinced of that. But she was also Alice’s sister. She might be the only family this little girl had.
We have more in common than I realized.
“What’s up, Guin?” Alice asked, looking up at her.
“Oh, it’s just…” Guinevere started, fumbling for an answer. “I…” She took a breath, steadying herself. “You’re not alone.”
There was a flicker of something in Alice’s big blue eyes. Something real. But then she painted over it with a smile. “Of course I’m not alone,” she said brightly. “I have all of you with me, after all! But thanks for the reminder.” She looked away, looking out towards a part of the Loch in just the right way so that Guinevere couldn’t see her face. “Sometimes I forget.”
“Where is the Intersection?” Sheena asked. “And how do we get to it? They aren’t letting anyone off of the dock.”
“The Intersection is on the far shore,” Tobias said. “And they’ll let us through. Come on.”
“Ooh, do you know the password?” Alice asked, hurrying after Tobias.
“Something like that,” Tobias said. He led the way to the guards, and waved as he approached. “Hey there, Terrance. I see you’ve been promoted to Captain? Congratulations.”
“Tobias?” asked the captain of the guard, a tall, armored feline man with white markings around his bright, curious yellow eyes. He broke into a grin. “It’s really you! Obsidian himself! How are you?”
“I’m doing well, thanks,” Tobias said. “Could we pass through the gate, please? We have urgent business on the far shore.”
“Ah, of course!” Terrance said, snapping a crisp salute. “After everything you’ve done… well.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Honestly, you don’t even have to ask. Whatever you want, Tobias. It’s yours!”
“Thanks,” Tobias said. He spoke clearly, but Guinevere could sense a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Terrance opened the gate and invited them through. Tobias thanked him again — and then shook Terrance’s hand at the Captain’s request — and they passed on through, the soldiers closing the gate behind them.
“You’ve quite the reputation,” Alice said, grinning up at Tobias.
“I just do my job,” Tobias said simply, without emotion. “Every Knight Jouerve travels to all sorts of places, aiding those in need. We all end up helping lots of people.”
“I see,” Alice said. She didn’t stop smiling up at him.
“It’s incredible,” Guinevere said softly, gazing out at the Loch as they walked the long trail around it. She looked down at Ava, who was walking close to Guinevere, using a light contact with her as a guide as she kept her eyes fixed on the Loch, her ears twitching with interest at every little cracking sound or puff of steam.
I never left Ars Moran. Not until we escaped together to come here.
I’m glad that when I finally got to see the world, it was together with you, sweet girl.
They chatted occasionally as they walked, with Guinevere eventually asking about the Loch itself, and Alice eagerly fielding her questions. The fact that the Loch wasn’t frozen water, but in fact, frozen fire was astonishing — and a bit frightening.
“Oh, it’s perfectly safe,” Alice said. “As long as we don’t touch the ice itself. It can be a bit volatile to physical contact.”
That wasn’t even slightly reassuring, so Guinevere and Ava made sure to keep a healthy distance as they followed the trail.
Everything was going quite well. The day was still early, the air was crisp and cool, the trail easy to walk, the sights breathtaking. Guinevere started daring to hope that they’d reach the Intersection and head on to their next destination without any complications.
That was, of course, the cue for an explosion.
A great fiery plume blasted up into the sky in the distance, somewhere on the far shore. Tobias instantly started running, Elliot and Sheena right alongside him. “Flynn, go!” he said, and Flynn gave a single bark and then sprinted on ahead at unbeatable speed.
“Hector, alongside!” Elliot commanded, and Hector bounded along right beside him, matching his pace.
“Looks like we’re taking up the rear,” Alice said, starting to jog after them, her trunk trundling along behind her.
“Ava, alongside,” Guinevere said tentatively, copying Elliot. But when Ava fell in beside her and matched her pace as they started to jog, too, Guinevere’s heart bloomed with warmth.
She, Ava, Alice, and Ninian held up the rear as the Knights and Sword Dancer raced towards danger at incredible speed. Part of why Guinevere held the rear with the others was because someone ought to remain to protect those who couldn’t keep up. But the other reason was, well…
Guinevere couldn’t hope to run as fast as Tobias, Elliot, and Sheena. She got the sense that Tobias was actually holding back so that Sheena and Elliot could keep up with him, but even then, they were all so incredibly fast, sprinting into the distance, vanishing around a bend, as if this was just what they did. Every day. Part of the job.
Guinevere, meanwhile, hadn’t ran a full-out sprint since she was a child — except for when she’d escaped her bedroom, and even then, it had been a playful run, not a full sprint. She got plenty of exercise, greatly enjoying dance and fencing, but running was not part of her repertoire.
And even when we ran from home, I got a sense of my speed. I may have excellent reflexes and sharp footwork on the dance floor or the sparring arena, but I’m a terribly slow runner.
Just another thing to work on.
But she didn’t take her slowness as an excuse to relax. Tobias, Sheena, and Elliot were a force to be reckoned with, but even then, the danger they were racing towards might be too much for them alone.
Guinevere would catch up, as soon as she could. And when she did, she’d be ready to do whatever she needed to do to help them win the day.
——
Roland blacked out in midair, but only for a second. Not long enough to spare himself the painful impact of landing on the rocky shore, rolling to a stop. His ears ringing, he staggered to his feet, singing a quick version of Vi’s tune. He didn’t need to be able to hear his voice clearly — he knew her and Kirin’s songs so well, he could feel them even when he could hear. A wall of wind rose up in defense of him and his companions, repelling several gauntlet-blasts.
But these weren’t enough to cause such a staggering explosion. So what had…?
Ah. Of course. They care nothing for ruining the beauty of this world.
One Reunion soldier had targeted the very edge of the Loch, blasting apart the frozen fire, eliciting a violent, devastating reaction. The scarred ice was crackling and still flickering with fire, gushing out steam as it worked to heal itself and patch over this new, twisted scar.
It wasn’t a surprise that Muirrach and Tsubasa were all right — they’d been farther from the shore — but Roland looked about frantically for the twins. They had been far too close!
And then he saw them, and his heart skipped a beat. They were a safe distance from the shore, unharmed — in Lairah’s arms. She knelt before them, holding them close. Her beautiful blue robes were scorched, the sleeve around her gauntlet completely blasted off, her hand only saved by the horrible contraption’s metallic armor.
But he didn’t need to fear that he’d lost the twins, it seemed. When Lairah rose, she let the children go. She looked at them, but no words passed between them before Lairah turned back to the Reunion soldiers arrayed on the Loch, her electric-blue eyes sparking with vicious fury.
“They will not be harmed!” she shouted, just as Roland’s hearing started to come back. Lairah glared up at Sparrow, smug atop his frozen wave. “We need them alive, you fool!”
“Resorting to base insults, are we?” Sparrow asked, like a parent wearied by a belligerent child. “I will deal with you when the mission is complete. They must be brought back with us. Alive. If they come to some harm because they won’t come willingly, that is their choice.”
“How can you be so twisted?” Lairah cried, raising her gauntlet, priming it and aiming straight for Sparrow. But she hesitated. And it was no wonder. If she missed even the slightest bit, hitting that wave could cause a massive chain reaction. This battlefield was too volatile — and Sparrow’s followers were largely stationed on the more dangerous ground, ironically giving them the greatest protection.
But the Reunion soldiers who had placed themselves between Roland’s group and their goal were on rocky ground, and required no such delicacy. Tsubasa laid into them with bold, acrobatic panache, kicking and striking with her tonfas in equal measure. Most blasts from gauntlets missed her speedy form, but the few times a shot was on target, she batted it back at its sender with a hearty tonfa-strike.
Muirrach had taken out several of the Reunion soldiers, but now was racing to the children to keep them safe.
Which made things fairly simple, Roland realized. He had their backs covered. Lairah wasn’t going to fight them. All he needed to do now was conjure up the right distraction, something to keep their foes from discerning their escape, and they’d be out of here in moments.
“The only thing twisted here are your loyalties, fledgling,” Sparrow said, and Lairah’s glare intensified — but she lowered her gauntlet. “You’ll have a lot to answer for when we return to base. Unless you make it right. Here and now.”
“As if I could, with your violence erupting all around us!” Lairah said. “Call them off!”
“I am in charge now,” Sparrow said loftily. “You know what to do.”
“Lairah!” Erika cried.
Lairah looked back at her, and for a moment, a hint of a smile crossed her face. “You won’t come to harm, Erika,” she said. “I can promise you that much.”
“Roland, you got this?” Tsubasa asked, making Roland jump — because her voice spoke to him right next to his ear, even though she was a good thirty yards away. Her special talent for casting her voice elsewhere was astonishing.
“Just a moment,” Roland said, hoping she could hear him in turn. He started to hum Shureen’s song, preparing to add her power to Vi’s.
Sparrow tut-tutted again. “Now, now, Second Level Tuning Assistant,” he said. “Don’t try to wield power above your station.”
And he raised a device, tucking it under his mask to reach his lips. Roland’s eyes widened. Before he could finish his song, a shrill, discordant whistle rang out across the Loch, making Roland stagger backwards, covering his ears at the horrible sound.
But when the first whistle was done, its resonance remained, an echo walling off Roland from his songs. Not just singing, either — he couldn’t hear his Fantasian’s voices.
But I can still feel you.
He reached within, and found their hands reaching for his, their touch reassuring him. What Jurall had taught him atop the Rig was true for them all.
Roland just needed to find his rhythm.
Unfortunately, that meant his wall of wind was gone. His defense of the rear was blown away.
And numerous gauntlets trained their sights on him.
Roland stepped aside, striking the ground with his feet in a quick two-step, three-step dart and spin to the side. It was a bit of a mischievous cadence, light and playful: Vi, her heart resonating in his. A blast of wind shot across his path, batting energy bolts aside to crash into the rocks.
It was a success — but it was fleeting. Roland didn’t have the power he was used to without his songs. If he was going to pull off the same maneuver he’d been planning, he’d need time to figure this out. And time was something he wasn’t sure he had anymore.
But just as more soldiers were lining up for a shot at him, a reddish-brown blur darted across the Loch. A soldier turned, catching sight of it out of the corner of his eye, but too slow — the blur leapt up, planted four paws against the Reunion soldier’s chest, and kick-flipped right off of him. The soldier was sent sprawling, and the blur landed neatly on the ice, pointy ears alert, fluffy tail wagging excitedly.
“A… dog?” Roland asked, staring.
“A dog!” Tsubasa cheered, grinning.
“A dog,” Lairah said, blinking in confusion.
“Now that we have your attention,” said a clear, boyish voice edged with steel, “how about you move your fighting somewhere else?”
Coming across the Loch with strong, yet careful footsteps, was a black-haired swordsman clad in black, with summer-sky-blue eyes that stood out all the more for his attire. At his left was a Knight Lirica in the resplendent white coat of his order with a large midnight-blue dog beside him, and at his right was a woman dressed in the attire of a Sword Dancer of Haruo, with a long-eared blue-and-silver kitsunezumi of Haruo perched on her shoulder.
“Knights of Albia, Sword Dancer,” Sparrow said, his voice thin and dangerous. “This altercation is none of your concern. Move on to some task that merits your attention.”
The black-clad Knight turned his gaze onto the scarring near the shore, which was crackling and steaming as it worked to heal itself. “You’re destroying a beautiful phenomenon of nature, a beloved landmark for Wonderians everywhere,” he said. “That makes it my concern.” And then his gaze, Roland noticed, went to the weaponized gauntlet on Sparrow’s hand, the wicked device that twisted and corrupted symphonic crystals to do its work, and his summer-sky-blue eyes narrowed in an icy glare. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
He drew the sword at his side, and Roland gazed in awe. He wielded a glittering, polished blade of obsidian, etched with elegant Elysian script along a complex musical score.
“Obsidian,” said Sparrow, his voice now hitched in alarm. “But… it can’t be. You… why would you be here?”
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” said the Knight called Obsidian.
Sparrow actually seemed to consider it. With nearly a hundred soldiers at his command, facing just two Knights and Sword Dancer, he didn’t seem to like those odds — all on the basis of the one Knight in the lead.
But then he turned his head, and Roland realized he was eyeing his prize: the twins. And suddenly he raised his hand, and shouted —
Well, whatever he was going to shout, he didn’t do it fast enough. The kick-flipping canine had been a blur before, but now Obsidian simply… vanished. Darting footsteps carried a streak of black across the ice to the nearest Reunion soldier, twenty yards away, in the space of a breath, of a heartbeat, of a blink. The obsidian sword flashed, and a gauntlet was sliced off its wielder’s hand, its ruin scattering on the ice. Blood fountained from the soldier, and he dropped without a sound.
“Fight!” Sparrow shrieked, and then aimed his gauntlet down from his lofty perch.
Roland leapt into action. A two-step, three-step, and a blast of wind swept Sparrow’s legs out from under him, sending him sliding down the wave, out of sight. Roland breathed a sigh, glad he’d avoided the catastrophe that would have resulted if Sparrow had shot at the ice from that height.
And then he saw their opportunity. Obsidian, the Knight Lirica, and the Sword Dancer were darting to and fro across the ice, making quick work of their foes. And the dogs and fox-squirrel were just as involved in the combat. Obsidian’s reddish-brown dog dashed underfoot, spinning and hip-checking, knocking his foe’s legs out from under them. The Knight Lirica’s large hound was just barreling right into soldiers, graceless but highly effective. And even the tiny kitsunezumi was leaping into soldier’s faces, pouncing with enough force to stagger them backwards, knocking them completely off-balance, making them easy targets.
“They have it handled,” Muirrach said, echoing Roland’s thoughts. “And our shore is safeguarded.” Roland looked, and found Tsubasa grinning, one foot planted on two unconscious Reunion soldiers stacked atop each other, surrounded by dozens more defeated foes.
“Erika,” Lairah pleaded, reaching for Erika. But Erika pulled back.
“I believe that you want to do what’s right,” Erika said. She gestured to Lairah’s gauntlet. “But as long as you’re using a weapon like that, you’re just a destroyer. How can you mistreat the crystals? The Lairah I remember… I could see her being steadfast. I’m sure she would fight for what she believes in. But she would never be cruel. No matter how desperate.” And she turned on her heel, striding up the shore, tears in her eyes. Enrique followed her.
And Lairah was left standing, alone. In front of her, the ones she longed to reach, walking away. Behind her, her own comrades turned against her. She raised her gauntleted hand and stared at the horrid machinery, conflict flickering in her eyes.
Roland hurried after the others, away from the battle. And as he did, he tested the air.
Ah. There you all are.
He smiled. His song was back. His Fantasians’ voices had returned.
And so he sang. He sang a song of wind and rain, of fog and mist. He and his companions left Loch Reòsair behind, a wall of illusory wind and water obscuring their path, granting them a clean escape.