Unlike his companions, Rodger had no problem walking through the narrow tunnels. Both Sasha and Meracle had to crawl on all fours with the former bringing up the rear while trying to avoid brushes with Meracle’s tail. Despite being taller than all three of them Th’lak had no problem moving through, keeping his limbs close as he walked.

“Hey, how much further?” Rodger asked.

“Further to go,” Th’lak said.

“Till we’re outta these tunnels?”

“No. To fleet.”

“Nyew, he means how much longer are we gonna keep crawling around in these dark cramped tunnels,” Meracle said grudgingly, to which Th’lak responded with two clicks.

“Close. Junction ahead.”

As Th’lak finished his sentence, the group reached the end finding themselves in a rocky corridor lined with cables, metal beams, and more holes dug into the sides.

“Nyew, finally!” Meracle said as she stretched. “I thought I had enough crawling in dark places when I joined Allisa,”

Sasha was the last to follow, sneezing as she got out. “Mary, your tail tickles…”

The cait sith went bright red, her tail drooping down. “That explains what that was…”

Rodger walked up to Th’lak. The ravenger was crouching to the ground. With a flick of his wrist, the ghost emerged from a gap between his plates. The small object then hovered into the sky, letting out blue light.

“No pursuers,” Th’lak said as he retracted the ghost.

“What’s this place? Some kinda secret passage,” Rodger asked looking around.

“Passage for ravengers. Burrowed into the rock. Home, it is.” Th’lak responded before moving.

“Okay…” Rodger said as he and the others followed.

“He’s not very talkative,” Sasha said.

“I dunno, I think he talks a lot,” Meracle said. “None of it makes much sense.”

“Sooo… where’d you come from?” Rodger asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Char,” Th’lak responded with one note.

“I mean… where is that?” Rodger pressed.

“Every hune knows of Char,” Th’lak said. “Star Singer Vezpa, of clan Char.”

“Star Singer? Like Ion?” Sasha said, crocking her head.

“Star Singer Ion, current Star Singer. Five generations of singers, Skar of clan Char, Star Singer Vezpa was.” Th’lak stopped turning to them. “Through her, peace we achieved. Yet scorn from clans of Figmar we were. Many despise Star Singer. Abandoned by Ekon’s light, many believe. Yiski, one such clan.”

“Meow… so there are more Star singers other than Ion?” Meracle crocked her head.

“I think Ion mentioned something about that?” Sasha said, trying to recall the discussion they had with Ion. “Something about her being… reincarnated.”

Th’lak finally stopped and looked back on his companions. “Strange ones you are. Everyone knows Star Singer. You (two clicks) unfamiliar?”

“We’re uh… not exactly from here,” Rodger said, folding his arms. “We’re world-hopping travelers come to save our boss from these Altosk bastards!”

“Rodger!” Meracle snapped.

“Word hopping?” Th’lak seemed confused, tapping the bottom of his helm. “You enemies of Altosk? Not unusual. Current leader, despised by Figmar. Many hate. Our kind, ignored by her. Yet attack Altosk directly, destroy clan she will. Not care for our race, unless provoked.” Th’lak turned away, keeping his staff close. “Clans Rek and the Vespid, exterminated. Lead by the stars. Not even birthing units spared.”

“Were they… friends of your clan?” Sasha asked.

“No. But warned they were. Char weak following Vezpa’s passing. Cannot risk provoking. Many clans of Figmar, risk not Altosk. Shanks… different. Bold. Provoking Altosk, he could. Despise them we do, yet not wish their destruction. Ravengers, they still are.”

“That all?” Rodger asked. “Kinda made it sound personal when ya asked us for help?”

Th’lak bowed his head. “Personal, it is. Attack us, Shanks did. Many of our people, killed. Damaged, a birthing unit was.” He raised a hand, clutching it into a fist. “Retaliate, we are. Sabotage fleet, we must. Avenge the fallen, I will.”

With the final spiteful retort, Th’lak turned and continued onwards with the other three following closely down the dark tunnel. They eventually came across a dead end with yet more small holes. “Enter.” Th’lak pointed to one.

“Nyew?” Meracle suddenly stopped, her ears twitching. “Does… anyone hear that?”

Everyone stopped and looked back at the cait sith. “Hear what?” Sasha asked.

“Donno… I can definitely hear something, kinda like thunder.”

Th’lak brought out his ghost which shone blue. “..... Ahead. Battle. Hune… and krell.”

****

Nel landed on the krell, stabbing one of her knives into its left shoulder with her knife. The sudden jolt caused the creature to fire its weapon away from the group. Nel then clung to the flailing creature as the hoverboard began speeding out of control, stabbing into its chest with another knife just as the boosters roared into life.

The pressure hit Nel like a brick wall as the contraption zoomed clumsy across the valley. All the while, the krell struggled to force the assassin off it, placing a hand to Nel’s face as it tried to force her off.

Damn it…

Gritting her teeth, Nel released her grip on her right dagger and pulled out her pistol. She caught sight of the red circle seeing it had gone down slightly. Praying to the goddess it could work, Nel aimed her pistol at the right booster and fired, pulling the trigger as many times as she could. The right engine then exploded. The hoverboard now spun uncontrollably as the ravenger tried to keep some level of control, flying the flaming contraption through a crevice in the rock. The hoverboard crashed against the side, knocking off more metal before bursting into a round cavern. Nel pulled her knives free before leaping off, landing in a role on the ground as the hoverboard crashed further back in the cavern before exploding.

“That… was too close,”

Unfortunately, Nel was not out of the woods yet.

The krell had also abandoned the hoverboard, though the landing was rockier than Nel’s. Slowly raising itself off the ground with its four legs, the railgun still in its grip, the ravenger glared at the assassin through its five lenses'. It hissed and clicked, unleashing a roar that echoed through the chamber.

From the various holes in the walls, small square-shaped drones began hovering out from the darkness, converging on Nel’s position. The assassin leaped back as blue beams fired from the machines. Looking back at the krell she saw it had sulked back into the darkness.

Something tells me it's not running away.

Twirling her knives, Nel focused on the more immediate threats. She rushed to the first set of drones, stabbing and slashing her way through them while avoiding the beams fired. While numerous, they were incredibly weak opponents. Stabbing it once through its single blue lense seemed to be enough to destroy them. Her new knives continued to impress her. With no mana channeling at all, her weapons were able to cut through the metal of the drones.

Yet Nel was still cautious. With her piercer eyes active, she scanned the room for any signs of the krell. After destroying the fourteenth drone, she spotted a light emerging from the tunnel. Nel immediately quick-stepped as a blast was fired, scaring the ground. Looking back at the origin, Nel saw the krell at one of the tunnel's entrances, smoke pluming from its railgun.

Nel tried to close the distance, but the krell disappeared back into the darkness. More drones followed.

Damn it,

Nel backed up, scanning the room once more. It was clear the krells strategy was to use the drones to distract her while it took shots from the tunnels. Even with her piercer eyes and her natural affinity with darkness as an assassin she was still in an unknown, alien environment. The krell knew full well the layout of the tunnels better than she could so going into them to flesh it out was suicide.

There was only one other option for her; anticipate where it will emerge then strike. Luckily for her, she had just the ability. While it was faint and wholly unfamiliar to anything she’d sensed before, she could still feel the creature's mana. While fighting her way through more drones, Nel was able to hone her senses until-

There!

Turning about, Nel skidded under a drone, jumping to her feet to charge at the point where the krell would emerge-

Shit!

Nel was forced to dodge at the last minute, narrowly avoiding the railgun's projectile. Looking back at the tunnel, she could see the krell. It had aimed and fired the second it emerged. Its accuracy was terrifying.

Landing on the ground, Nel performed a handstand, kicking a drone away before righting herself. If she was to catch the krell, she had to be fast. Closing her eyes, she tried to sense, to anticipate where the krell would emerge. She pinpointed it from a tunnel ahead. Using quickstep she covered the distance. However, the krell was faster. As Nel landed close by, it fired. Nel leaped to one side and was blown back by the backlash as the weapon tore through the earth. Recovering from her rocky landing, Nel looked up to see the krell was gone.

Deflecting a beam with one of her knives, she ran back to the center of the room, using a drone as a springboard before landing on one, stabbing it in the hood.

It was then she got an idea; a last-ditch gamble to close the distance.

Sensing where it would emerge, Nel pounced on another drone stabbing it through the eye and throwing it towards the emergence point. Her gamble was successful. The krell emerged and was about to fire before the drone collided with it. Leapfrogging on another drone, Nel used quickstep and reached the krell before it could flee, hooking herself around its neck with her left hand before slashing one of the cables that connected to the rail gun. The ravenger hissed and slammed Nel against the wall to try and force her off. While winded, Nel did not let go. With her free hand, she stabbed her knife into the creature's neck twice. The two struggled until the krell tripped and fell into the center of the room where Nel was finally dislodged. With the krell was beside her, the railgun hanging loosely on its singe while the creature clutched its neck. With a howl, it brought down its front left leg on the assassin. Nel rolled out of the way before slashing the appendage at its joint, severing the limb. The krell toppled to the ground. Nel stabbed it in the throat again, but still, it refused to die, using its hands to force Nel off her. Nel wrenched her knife free. Simmering blue blood spilled from the wound.

“Just die already!” Nel yelled before stabbing it through the helmet. It finally loosened its grip, allowing Nel to back away. Still, it refused to die, clutching its railgun and swinging it like a club. Nel backed away, rushing forward and cutting into the chest plate. She ducked under a final swing before leaping up and stabbing the ravengers shoulder blade. Wrenching her left weapon up, she stabbed the neck once more, this time sawing through as much of the tissue beneath as she could before wrenching it free. At long last, the ravenger keeled over, grabbing at its wounded appendage.

However, it was still alive and Nel was beginning to run out of patients. She slowly walked to the discarded railgun. Given by the blinking lights Nel guessed it was still charged. Grabbing the weapon which was as tall as she was and just as heavy, Nel moved it until the barrel was aiming directly at the dying krell’s head. Just before it moved to look at her, Nel kicked the trigger. The recoil threw the weapon back, knocking Nel to the floor. The shot that was charged within completely vaporized the head.

Nel rolled on the ground, feeling her energy drained from the battle. Whatever respite she had gained was short-lived as the five remaining drones converged on her. Brushing off her fatigue, Nel jumped to her feet.

“HA!”

Large boulders then smashed into them. Each unit was smashed to the ground, their internal components scattered across the ground along with a glowing blue fluid.

“NEL!!”

Nel looked to her right and saw Rodger waving at her. At his side were both Meracle and Sasha, jumping and waving at her.

“You three?” Nel remembered Cliff saying they weren't with their group, but this was the last place she expected to run into them. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, we kinda fell on that large space ship,” Sasha said as the three wandered towards her.

“I wasn’t worried bout ya,” Rodger said. “But man, you look like you went through a lot,”

“... Something like that,” Nel sighed, recalling the chaos that ensued at hanging edge. It then slowly dawned on her that she was now separated from her companions and only guide, now stuck with the missing group with no idea as to where to go.

“Nyew? Where're the others?” Meracle asked.

“It’s just me. I was with Max, Melvin and-” Nel stopped herself as she spied a lone ravenger emerge from the tunnel. With her weapons still drawn, Nel rushed past the three towards the lone enemy. She had to kill it quickly or it could-

“Nyew?!”

“Nel wait?! He’s not-!”

Before Nel could reach him a wall suddenly burst from the ground blocking her. With her momentum stopped, Nel looked back and saw Rodger had a hand to the ground.

“Whew, that was close,” The samiet said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“What are you doing?!” Nel demanded. The ravenger strolled around the wall, passing Nel as though she were not there. Nel was about to strike when Sasha got in her way waving her arms.

“Uh, here’s the thing, he’s not our enemy!” She said quickly.

“What?” Nel did not drop her guard.

“Nyew, it’s true!” Meracle nodded leaping beside Sasha. “He says he’s not with the ones who attacked us.”

Nel looked back at the ravenger who had waddled beside the dead krell. Rodger was alongside him and it didn’t seem to be noticing him either. Examining its armor, Nel did notice it was different from that of what she had fought before. Nel slowly sheathed her weapons but kept her eye on the ravenger.

“You killed Sahaza.” The ravenger spoke, his voice sounding odd and monotone. Nel guessed it had a device similar to the krell that they had encountered at the summit.

“Is that a problem?”

“No.” The ravenger banged his staff on the ground before turning to face the assassin. “Lieutenant of Shanks. Ruler of Hanging Edge. Her death, a blow to the Yiski. Yes.” Several clicks followed.

“And that’s a good thing?” Nel did not abandon her suspicions of the creature. “Isn’t she one of you?”

The ravenger shook its head. “No. Th’lak of Char. Enemy of Yiski.”

Nel looked to Sasha and Meracle who both nodded.

“He found us and promised to help us find the others,” Sasha explained.

“He did?” Nel furrowed her brows.

“Yes.” The ravenger, Th’lak nodded. “Help friends, Th’lak promised.”

Despite her reservations, she didn’t see why the three children would lie in this situation. Especially given the abilities of each of them and the experience of their kind so far, it was a little difficult to believe that it was holding them hostage. Yet still, her suspicion would not be easily slated.

“In that case, I got separated from my companions around Hanging Edge. Could you lead us back to them?” Nel asked.

“No.”

“What?”

“First, fleet. Sabotage. Then, friends. Agreed to that, Th’lak did.”

Nel slowly turned to Sasha.

“We uh- kinda promised to help him,” Sasha said awkwardly while Meracle nodded. She looked to Rodger who gave her an enthusiastic grin and thumbs up.

“What do you mean a fleet?”

Th’lak then explained to Nel what was agreed. In exchange for finding the others, he agreed to locate the others.

“Forget it,” Nel said immediately after Th’lak finished.

“Whoa whoa, what’ya mean?” Rodger blurted. “We gave him our word we’d help.”

“I didn’t promise him anything,” Nel said coldly.

Th’lak banged his staff on the ground, several clicks could be heard from beneath his helmet. He didn’t seem to take Nel’s response well. “Shanks, danger to your homes as well,” He continued. “Best interest to you outlanders. Cripple his power.”

“Come on. It’s simple, right?” Rodger insisted. “It’s no different from when we fought back against Celtic Hoard.”

“We’re here to rescue Allisa,” Nel said firmly. “This business is the world's problem, not ours.”

“Will not help,” Th’lak continued. “Will not find friends.”

Meracle gently tugged at Nel’s arm. “Nyew, I know how you feel but we kinda need him,” she said. “Unless… you know a way outta here.”

“Beside’s, a real man never goes back on his word!” Rodger declared stubbornly.

With his childish antics aside, Nel did have to agree she knew nothing about Figmar’s Edge and had even less idea as to her current whereabouts. Sighing with the acceptance of defeat, Nel glared back at Th’lak. “How can we trust you?”

Th’lak flicked his bottom right-hand wrist. From his back, a small drone, no bigger than an eyeball hovered into view. “Ghost, able to discover friends. Frist, the fleet. Then Th’lak will find friends.”

“..... If you’re lying, I will kill you.”

Despite the direct threat, Th’lak bowed his head before turning about. The ghost hovered into the air, blinking its blue light. “Quickly. Sahaza’s death, blow to Yiski. When discovered, chaos, confusion follow. Our opportunity to strike, yes.” With several clicks, Th’lak made his way to one of the tunnels. Rodger and Sasha followed.

Nel watched them with Meracle, folding her arms below her chest. “This was Rodger’s idea?”

“Meow,” Meracle nodded. “How’d you guess?”

“Intuition. We’ve got two more just like him in our group.”

With a collective sigh, Nel and Meracle followed on, leaving behind the body of the krell and a mound of broken drones behind.