Yuna followed Merphie in silence as they ran through the tunnel. The path ahead almost materialised into view metres before them as Merphie lit their path.
She didn't need it but she appreciated the gesture.
She hadn't interacted with Merphie much. Quite frankly, his stature and intellect frightened her. What did he think about the situation, or about the Captain? Was he truly an ally of human beings?
These thoughts constantly circled her mind, but the Captain had reassured her, saying he was sound and wanted to help. Paired with his contributions in the field, Yuna should reasonably have few reservations.
Though, seeing as the captain could tamper with his functions, could Merphie be compromised? Could he turn on her at any moment?
"I believe Nico was right to go back to Ryu's position," Merphie started, "His assessment of the enemy was correct!"
The perfectly timed input soothed some of her anxieties.
"You think?" Yuna wondered if it was purely a logical assessment.
"In the early days of the Paladin Initiative, the captain had written reports of his and Mercy's encounters with a Bone Cassidy. He was deemed a high priority target due to the correlation of his presence and the escalation of warfare."
"Escalation of warfare..." Yuna pondered, "but why not say something sooner?" It was hypocritical of her, but it was different for an android. It was only after Nico recognised who the mercenary could be that Merphie cross referenced it with Peacekeeper Paladin Reports.
" I... don't know..." he processed deeply, "the Captain set a policy, only between the two of us, that he would allow me full autonomy, as long as I wanted to be a Peacekeeper Paladin..."
She was intrigued, could an android really become 'distracted'?
Though, intrigue made way for guilt as she realised Merphie seemed as human as any of them. Perhaps her reservations were misplaced.
"We call that a promise, Merphie. And the Captain broke it, tampering with your memory recall." Yuna felt compelled to validate his concerns, though she wondered how truly effective it was.
She thought about her own memories, she essentially entered a second life at eight years old. She was told it was due to trauma, but she wondered how she would feel if someone could tinker with her memories off their own volition.
"A promise..." Merphie pondered.
Wherever he was, in danger or engaging in illegal activity, the five Paladins were to extract the Red Paladin by any means necessary. This was Nico's mission statement and if they indirectly uncovered the countries underhanded operations and or get prosecuted for illegal entry, so be it.
Despite the recent push back from the others, there was an unspoken acceptance that they couldn't allow the Captain to compromise on the Paladin Initiative's ethos.
Without it they were just another powerful group of individuals, exerting their will without restraint. But perhaps it was already too late.
"Was I too hasty?" Nico thought, but the current situation validated his approach. If they had also decided to leave their combat suits on the Nimbus, the risk would've been far greater. Though in turn, their colourful suits, a symbol of the peace they represented, made their unlawful presence abundantly clear.
As Nico ran back through the tunnel, he recalled the familiar aliases of the mercenary again. He remembered it from his days researching the Captain and his unofficial three man exploits.
He was illusive and dangerous, but after years of him and the Red Paladin playing cat and mouse, Nico was now confused as to their current relationship.
"How could he be working with such scum?"
Though disappointed, he refused to give up on him, there had to be a valid reason. There had to be.
"More often than not, unknown external factors can break the foundation of your perceived knowledge of a situation. Keep that in mind Paladins."
The Captains words rung true now more than ever and Nico wanted to get ahead of those unknowns. Bone Cassidy was one factor, however he felt that something crucial was still missing.
He considered the potential error in his decision to head back; could leaving Yuna with Merphie raise the risk of them losing to another encounter? Nico felt more potential assailants lurking ahead before leaving.
And then there was the concern with Merphie himself, if the Captain was in full control of his functions since the beginning, the entire mission could be rendered useless. The 'redacted information' was eerie, but Nico thought better than to sow further seeds of doubt within the team.
He also trusted Merphie, though not exactly human, he was still a friend.
As he approached the dull light ahead, he felt the ground rumble. Paired with the dark tunnel, it felt oddly familiar.
"You better not run ahead of yourself, greenie..."
But his fears came true as he stood by a collapsed Ryu, his stronger arm severed. Though fortunately he wasn't bleeding out.
He looked to the fading glow of what appeared to be the mercenary's weapons. Did he superheat them?
Bone Cassidy had already recovered from his blow and sat on one of the pillar's seats, head rested in his hand.
"So you came back? sloppy work," he seemed genuinely disappointed, "without your leader, the Paladins don't seem to amount to much do they..."
He gestured towards his evidence as Ryu steadied on one knee.
"Bone Cassidy. 'The War God'," Nico began, "To think someone like you would take orders from a rival."
Nico attempted to leverage the moment for more intel.
"Please, you put too much faith in that glorified scientist. If you intend to rile me up, you've got the wrong idea. I take work from anyone or anywhere, as long as the money makes sense."
"Work that takes lives. Like the Atakaala Mine incident in Sundavaala," the calmness Nico began with was slipping, "That was you."
Cassidy sighed.
"If you want to recount my jobs, I surprisingly have a lot of time to kill tonight," he explained, "Let me guess, a family member died on his hands and knees, mining for gold using primitive equipment?"
It was an incorrect assumption, and Nico was glad as he wouldn't have seen through such a blatant provocation.
"No? Then you were there weren't you. Before you became a Paladin."
Nico was stunned. He was perceptive.
"It doesn't make a difference, you still sacrificed people for your own gain-"
"So I was correct. You tend to get a knack for guessing the backstories of vengeful individuals in my line of work." His dismissiveness was frustrating, "I heard the Red Paladin collaborated with cave experts to locate the lot of you. There were only two other known Paladins back then and they were just as pathetic as you two."
Nico's lack of control over his emotions had caused him problems as a kid. Though he believed he had a better mastery now, Ascendia was a city wide reminder of the injustices his country of origin faced.
And he disrespected a dear comrade.
Fuelled with anger he launched at Cassidy's tauntingly passive demeanour.
Predicting this, Cassidy increased the gravity of the local area stopping Nico in his tracks. He flipped from his seat, pulled a wickedly curved dagger from a strap on his leg and attacked.
The sensation of the gravity field jolted Nico to his senses. It had lost its novelty.
Nico released a small shockwave from his right shoulder, slipping the attack. As the knife brushed past his shoulder pad, he released a stronger shockwave from his left elbow and drove his fist into Cassidy's chest.
He soared from the middle platform and clipped the edge of the next. The gravity field lifted as he rolled across the ground, stopping before a crater of his own making.
"He didn't stick the landing on that one..." Nico thought.
"Way to show me up," Ryu was back on his feet, "But I saved you during our last mission, remember?"
He shakily gripped his nagamaki in his left hand.
"Can you fight?"
"You're kidding right? I'll only allow you to feel sorry for me once he takes my legs too."
"I'll take that as a yes then."
Nico looked back to were Cassidy fell. All that remained was a puff of smoke as it cascaded from a broken pellet. He had only looked away for a split second!
"You might wanna-"
"I know." They stood back to back.
Cassidy wasn't as fast as Ryu, but Nico knew he wasn't your typical old man.
Nico's neural modification takes advantage of the piezoelectric effect.
Bones in the body produce small electric charges under stress; Nico's neural mod not only captures and amplifies this, but feeds it back into his already enhanced muscle fibres.
When Nico strikes the ground or throws a punch, all the stored energy releases in sync with his muscle contractions, resulting in air being compressed and released rapidly.
Aided by the high sound conductivity of bone, Nico now sent out miniature shockwaves under his feet causing low frequency vibrations, this allowed him to create a real time mental map of his surroundings, allowing him to locate Cassidy in the process.
If he was hiding somewhere he'd know.
Ryu on the other hand was having trouble.
"You know how I can sense people, and say its thanks to my razor sharp intuition?" Ryu said warily.
"...Yeah?" Nico was occupied with locating Cassidy's movements.
"Well, it's not working very well right now, and that's after having a big breakthrough earlier."
They remained in their positions, covering their respective blind spots. A redundant manoeuvre for both under regular circumstances.
"...He hiding from you too?"
"I'm trying to concentrate, I'm not relying on vague intuition here." He snapped.
"It's not vague. I can reliably sense his gravitational signature...Well, I could." Nico sighed but somehow, he was also having difficulty finding him.
He attributed it to the rain outside, but even so, it was beginning to die down and there was no trace of the mercenary on either of the platforms.
Did he leave the area all together, perhaps after Merphie and Yuna?
Nico would've felt his footsteps, in fact he should feel him standing or holding on to a pillar, yet there was nothing.
Without a supposed newton of gravity, he had succeeded in pinning them in place once more.
He reviewed his latest findings. The Captain was most likely supplying Retroidican mercenaries with gravity based technology.
After all the trips to the UN assembly hall they had together, trying to raise awareness to Retroidica's unethical influence in Sundavaala and other countries alike.
The fact that he could trust a Retroidican Mercenary more than his own Captain was paralysing. He was currently hidden, but this Bone Cassidy was proudly transparent with his intentions and allegiances.
He felt utterly betrayed, but it was deeper for Nico than the others, it was a betrayal to his heritage, to his identity.
Sundavaala's president, to this day, is from a party discretely backed by the Retroidican government. If they told the ninety year old to jump, he would. If they told him to send his military police force into the south to secure their natural resources, he would.
Southern Sundavaala was once a beautiful nature reserve, rich with precious minerals and oil as they co-existed alongside the native tribesmen.
The countries capital, however, was home to a different tribe in the more developed north. Thus, a vicious civil war ignited, fuelled by authoritative greed.
Nico didn't experience the warfare, though his extended family wasn't so fortunate. Growing up, he heard stories of the ordeal and it sparked a want to make a difference.
Inspired by the Red Paladin and his efforts in Fiana, he travelled back to Sundavaala. Though the war had ended, Retroidica now had a pipeline to their resources and instead of profits returning to the country, politicians were fattened as they ate out of their benefactor's hand.
Nico visited a mine located in the Atakaala Desert, the country's southern region.
Despite the mine's deplorable working conditions and talks of its closure for its instability, the miners laboured endlessly in the barren environment, all for a compensation that allowed them to survive until the next day of work.
He had read that the desert's conditions were so extreme that Retroidica used the area for simulations of Mars expeditions.
The situation was inhumane.
"A reporter, you're quite young no?" a slender old man with grimy face and clothes had approached Nico, his accent was thick and his vest clung to his ribs from sweat, "We aren't letting civi's in at the moment, a couple of kids have wondered in."
As Nico processed the horrific news, he saw three individuals in coloured armour by a truck at the mine's entrance. They were preparing to enter with a group of miners.
"The Peacekeeper Paladins..."
"Yeah, they were in the area and offered to help, but if you ask me, I don't like it. They only appear during times of war but they were nowhere to be seen when our people were being slaughtered," Nico wanted to argue but thought better of it, "they should just let us handle it before they make things worse."
"Let me go with them!" Nico knew the dangers, but it could add to his report.
"You're Sundy, I can tell. But that accent is from Lauradale, don't think you are one of us. You haven't suffered like we have suffered," the remark was a slap in the face, "don't forget to write about that in your report."
Nico had never felt so disrespected, he was doing this for them! But he quickly realised that it wasn't necessarily true.
He couldn't possibly capture their struggles in a mere article and he couldn't deny his sudden enthusiasm when he saw the Paladins and how he could benefit.
He realised he was exploiting the situation for his own gain.
"Look kid, its ultimately up to them but I doubt they'd let a sixteen year old in with them."
"Eighteen, and I'll make sure they get the children back, I am more athletic than I look."
Nico wanted to be seen as more than just an opportunist.
"Athleticism?" the old man laughed revealing his missing molars, "When how deep underground you are really sets in and something happens, the physical battle is only the half of it."
But the miner saw the unwavering determination in Nico's eyes. He scoffed before letting him through.
"It's been several hours and they haven't returned!" A mother cried, "They said they wanted to spy on some bad men, I thought it was a harmless game."
"Don't worry ma'am, we're doing everything we can." The Blue Paladin was taller than expected, and his confidence was inspiring.
The Blue Paladin of Defence and Assault, aka the Blue Bolt. Nico couldn't quite believe it.
Combined with the Red Paladin's genius, they stopped the terrorist attacks in Lauradale's capitol and successfully saved hostages. Nico had only seen images and videos online, yet here he was.
"Um, who's this?" It was the Purple Paladin, the Angel of Eraedia. She aided countless civilians and destroyed hundreds of automatons sent to the country as proxies.
"She doesn't seem much older than myself..." Nico thought.
"I- I'm here to help," he remembered to respond, "I'm a reporter from Lauradale, but I know a lot about these mines."
It was true, for the report he had done thorough research ahead of his trip.
"York Neos?" the Blue Paladin's guess was accurate, " I know a fellow 'YN' when I see one."
"We can't let him go with us, he's just a reporter," she rebuked. "besides, he's a kid."
"I'm eighteen, actually..." The child allegations were wearing thin, he wasn't even short.
"Cap was eighteen when he first started this thing," the Blue Paladin was on his side, "Besides weren't you about to turn eighteen yourself when you first approached us?"
"Don't talk about that in front of him!" She wined, she seemed to be pouting behind her bird inspired helmet.
Nico realised their personalities were not what he expected.
"What's the issue." A man in red armour loomed behind her.
The Red Paladin.
He was the only one with a broad, pale shoulder pad and cape, and he also didn't have an animal motif on his helmet.
Instead it was plain with a pale 'v' shape above his dark red visor, as opposed to the Blue Paladins Lauradalen Eagle and the Purple Paladin's... (he didn't actually know what bird it was).
"We were just about to let this one onboard, says he knows a lot about the mines." The Blue Paladin spoke with a casual tone; they were equals.
"Alright then, the more minds the better," He looked around at the miners, "let's get going!"
Nico sat in the back area of the specialised land cruiser. A mountain of supplies lay in between him, the Blue Paladin and a miner who had volunteered for the search.
The Paladin tapped the side of the truck and they set off into the mouth of the mine.
Nico remembered his research, the mine reached two thousand metres into the ground in a spiral like fashion. Two skyscrapers in depth for scale comparison. The old miner's warning rung in his head and a brief wave of anxiety washed over him.
"How far down do you think they went." Nico asked.
"Come on, not chickening out already are we?" The Blue Paladin chuckled as he inspected his famous, blue sniper rifle.
"No I'm just, curious... for my report."
"We have no way of knowing," the miner informed, "But the cave itself isn't too complex, our best bet is the first refuge if we don't see them on the way."
"The first refuge, that's not too far. Level negative five hundred, right?" Nico recalled.
"The levels are relative to sea level, the mouth of the mine is level five hundred." He corrected.
"That's a thousand metres, halfway down right?" The Blue Paladin added. The miner nodded.
Nico couldn't regret his decision, he said he would help, besides it was no longer about him, but the children. He wondered how they felt.
"What about the mother you were talking to," Nico finally asked, "she mentioned they were spying on some 'bad men'?" The Blue Paladin glanced at the front of the truck.
"We're tracking down a war criminal in the country, we have reason to believe that's who she and the kids were talking about."
Nico was way in over his head. He was just a regular kid from downtown York Neos. But he realised the aggregate that was his nervousness was one part excitement, not for the potential report but for the reason why he left Lauradale. He could finally make a significant difference.
As they journeyed deeper, the mine became darker as the lights running on electricity became increasingly scarce. They drove for what seemed to be ten minutes until they stopped. The path had become bumpy as rocks were littered across the ground.
A slight rumble vibrated in the distance, and Nico's breath caught in his throat as bats flew over their heads in a frantic screech.
They exited the vehicle.
"We may have to proceed on foot," The Red Paladin announced, "There's a possibility of a cave in further down, but nothing's certain."
"I have a wife and a kid of my own, I'm sorry... this mine it's... unstable..." A miner that had joined the rescue was having second thoughts.
He was a worker but even he was afraid.
"If anyone else wants to leave, this is your chance, though someone who wants to stay will have to drive you up then come back. We'll be fine as long as we have some of the supplies."
Nico wasn't leaving but he looked around at the six miners that came along as they shifted in place.
The miner that came back with the truck was the man who was also in the back with Nico on the way down. He was theshift supervisor.
Though Nico noticed his odd demeanour as he stepped out of the vehicle, he couldn't decide whether it was his nerves or if something had happened.
As ten was cut down to five, they continued deeper on foot.
Nico noticed the air was becoming increasingly warm and stale. Should he have gone back up, he thought? He missed his chance.
He began to hesitate as thoughts of a cave-in flooded his mind, but he focused on his steps as he planted one foot in front of the other.
When they reached the dimly lit refuge they found the children, though it wasn't quite what Nico had expected.
They were strewn across the floor, tied with ropes and gags. Their clothes were powdered with dust and detritus and their bare feet were blistered.
Nico wondered whether it was thanks to their little expedition or a product of their daily lives within south Sundavaala.
There was also a work radio on the floor amongst them, was the culprit also a miner, Nico thought?
The refuge was fortunately pumped with fresh air from the surface, there was a chance the kids were okay.
The Purple Paladin was first to their side, checking their vitals.
"They're all breathing," Nico realised he himself wasn't until he sighed in relief, "I'm willing to bet that Cassidy did this."
They woke the children from their slumber and untied their bonds. There were four in total and were around nine to ten years old. Nico thought better than to hound them with questions.
"Don't worry, you're safe now. But we have a few questions we want to ask once we get back, is that okay?" She treated the kids with care as they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. She seemed to be in her element, though despite the predicament they were surprisingly calm. Perhaps they couldn't fully grasp the severity of the situation.
"Guys look at this." the Blue Paladin was investigating the radio. Nico was busy untying the last kids gag, but could hear the radios eerie crackling.
"Not a fan of stalkers, so I think this is a good a chance as any to permanently get rid of you."
Nico shuddered, he didn't expect to hear it speak. The voice was a deep metallic growl, but not from the radio's audio quality. Was this the man they were after.
"What have you done Cassidy!" the Red Paladin's usual stoic demeanour had vanished.
"It's a work radio, he must be close," the Blue Paladin added, "he must've kidnapped the kids to lure us in..."
"Farewell. It is personal, but after this supposed reckless act of rebellion from the miners, the north will tighten their grip around the south. My employer sends their regards."
There was a rumble accompanied by the growl of a motorcycle in the distance, it was then heard on the radio a spilt second later.
Act of rebellion, Nico wondered, the miners worked in these terrible conditions daily without complaint?
"Take care of the children, I can't let him escape."
Nico watched as the Red Paladin rose a metre off the ground, dust swirling beneath his feet.
In a red flash he soared back up the mine, his red cape fluttering behind him.
"We have enough to carry a child each," Nico quickly took the initiative, "Let's get-"
An ear splitting boom cut him off and reverberated across the mine. The Earth around them began to shift and crack, kicking up dust and debris. They tried to steady themselves but it was too late. The ceiling collapsed inwards.
Nico slowly opened his eyes. It was a good sign.
His head spun in a daze and his ears rang, piercing his brain. He was crouched over one of the children as he had steeled himself, preparing to be crushed at any moment.
"You're squeezing me, sir." Nico couldn't hear his choked quiver but he looked up to see the Blue Paladin and the the miner staring upwards as they were washed in a purple glow.
"Mercy..." The Blue Paladin looked concerned as she strained to keep them alive.
Through it, Nico could just make out the texture of a large chunk of rocky ceiling pinning them down.
The criminal had rigged the mine to explode before hand. If this was a set up, was the mother earlier in collusion?
To Nico's right, an impenetrable wall of rubble pressed against the barrier, but on his left he was relieved to see a path to the refuge's exit.
The mine shook once more and they were violently jolted downwards. The kids screamed and the Purple Paladin cried in pain.
As Nico looked down, darkness was all he could perceive. Judging by the barrier under their feet, they were most likely wedged over a deep fissure.
"I'm making a gap towards... the exit of the refuge... please go!"
Though the way out of the refuge was clearer of debris, it wasn't the way they had entered. It went deeper into the mine.
Additionally, as they were pushed further into the fissure, their chances of escape decreased by the second.
Nico's mind was an ocean of anxiety, but he refused to be submerged.
"What is my next move?" He thought.
He helped the first child up and out of the gap.
Once Mercy was the last one left, she steadily walked towards the opening she had made as the dome cracked under the unrelenting pressure. The Blue Paladin went back inside and managed to carry her out.
The dome gave way as the ceiling caved in.
"Thanks... Mercy, you saved us back there!" Nico's heart was pounding but he saw it as another good sign.
"You got some nerve calling me..." She collapsed into the Blue Paladin's arms and the kids screamed.
"Don't worry, she just a little tired, that's all." the Blue Paladin reassured them, but Nico knew it was worse than that.
He could feel it too, there was no more air being pumped into the refuge and she had just overextended herself to save them.
"Quickly, we need to get to a place with air." Nico demanded, "There should be ventilation shafts further down, right? Perhaps even ladders to the surface."
He was also addressing the shift supervisor, but he was visibly shaking.
"Y-yes, follow me."
Nico knew there was no guarantee the vents weren't already collapsed, but there was no other choice.
"Good thinking." The Blue Paladin said calmly, carrying Mercy in his arms.
He wanted to ask if he needed help. He was also depleting his own oxygen by carrying her, risking hypoxia, but his demeanour was rock solid as they followed the shift supervisor deeper.
They managed their way to the very last level. Thankfully, it was a second refuge, though the rations were minimal. Hisheart sank as he realised ladders hadn't been installed into the shafts yet. They had no choice but to remain were they were.
They could hear the two thousand metres of Earth above them continue to crumple and collapse following the explosion.
It was paralysing as their very survival hung in an agonising suspense. All they could do was pray that the refuge would hold and that someone was at least making an attempt for their rescue.
When the drill emerged through the ceiling, seven days had already passed and the scraps they were rationing had depleted two days before.
The Red Paladin had successfully located them and their lives were saved, though Nico later found out that the miners who wanted to return to the surface were never found.
The Atakaala Mine incident changed him. Experiencing Retroidica's corruption within his home country, gave him a brand new purpose to strive for. He wrote his report, but he gave it to a reputable journalist anonymously. He looked to his new goal with hope as he later joined the Peacekeeper Paladins on recommendation.
His neural modification's abilities and bat motif helmet was made in remembrance of the incident.
His abilities, given to him by the Captain allowed him to locate individuals trapped underground or beneath rubble, breaking them out with the right frequency. It earned him the title of the Black Paladin of Search & Rescue.
If he had it during the incident, perhaps the lives lost could've been prevented, though he hated dwelling on hypothetical scenarios. What was most important was what he could do now.
The contrast in how he saw the Paladin initiative then to now was staggering. Was it all over?
He stood back to back with Ryu, still somehow unsuccessful in finding Cassidy within the vicinity.
Was he missing something? As he visualised the layout of the platform, one word came to mind:
'Perspective'.
Perhaps he was too focused on the stations structure. Nico was taught how a different perspective could reveal important truths to a problem in a crisis.
Victor instilled that into him, but he looked at him through a different perspective now, and from that, something about their rescue bothered him.
Drilling a two thousand metre hole should take a week alone. That meant the Captain had somehow located them correctly on the first try, but was unable to do the same for the miners who would've been closer to the surface.
Their deaths remained a mystery to Nico, the miners in actuality must have made it to the surface before the shift supervisor came back down with the truck again. He was the last one to see them.
"Were they both in league with Retroidica then?" Nico wondered, "perhaps the Captain was insurance that Cassidy completed his job, the shift supervisor an accomplice?"
But the Captains attempts to save them wouldn't make sense. It would spark more of an outrage if the children and the Peacekeeper Paladins were included in the death toll.
And the shift supervisor had explained to the press, after the rescue, that the miners had decided to walk midway out of respect for the Paladins.
Nico decided otherwise, though the supervisor could have lied he still risked his life by returning.
Nico heard the Red Paladin was an erratic mess during the rescue attempt, although he correctly chose to employ multiple different drilling methods at once to save on time.
This fact was sufficient enough for Nico but the accuracy still bugged him, could the strategy have been a diversion?
He felt a nauseating sense of horror as he was suddenly confronted with a question he had never considered.
Did the Captain place trackers in their neural modifications?