Icarus Awakens

Daniel beheld the Arcadian in full for the first time. In some ways it was as his map had indicated, the wide and tall swooping portion in the behind the narrower flat section that made up most of its length. Like a hiltless sword, or a capital T whose top bar sagged downward. Even so, he could tell more now that he could see the massive construction resting on the barren ground that had once been the lower limit of Threst.

The hull still gleamed white, made from the strongest of the strange plastic-marble found throughout the vessel. As he'd predicted, not even the roughly 50km fall had broken it, at least externally. The only break in its smooth white from above was a large crosshair-like symbol painted along the long portion reminiscent of both the mural he'd seen, and what had glowed in Grave's eyes after he'd fully regained his memories.

No turrets on the outside, he thought, not seeing some things he might expect from a starship. It'd be pretty defenseless from above, unless I'm missing something. Maybe they relied on smaller ships for that kind of defense considering how massive the hangar is.

That was their current destination, given they lacked another obvious way to get in. The Arcadian's hanger sat over the portions Daniel had explored in the lower section of the ship, opening out to the sides instead of down like the railgun hatch. Wingcraft would be the first wave, escorting Spinner. The plan was for her to use any surviving webs to confirm the area was clear before rushing the second group into the armory. Other teams would ensure nothing followed them in.

Everyone hovered just outside the range that the Arcadian would alert him about spawning astral projections, over a kilometer out from the hull. That distance pretty much confirmed they'd have to completely clear the place to travel safely.

"That's not a town, it's too big" Khiat said weakly, the boots he'd made her struggling to keep her stable in the air. "That's not even a city, it's…"

"Colony ship." That was his guess anyway. The theory that the first humans had come to the Octyrrum was still contentious but one he was sold on. "If I'm right we'll probably find an area for growing food. There're two main ways you can do something like this, put everyone in stasis or make a self-sustainable environment. We found a lot of housing so the first isn't likely."

"And you've never been wrong before?" Daniel didn't look in the direction of the shot that came for him. The sullen bite wasn't normal for Alex, at least, not in recent history. It was terribly familiar with a time from their past.

"How many people would it have carried?" Lograve asked into the awkward silence. He'd tried but had been unable to bridge the gaps. Evalyn had been more successful, but the disagreement lingered past his first attempt to reconcile. Alex's fears that his Spoke was controlling events to sustain her development were disturbing in that he couldn't dispel them himself.

"If the tall section's entirely responsible for administration and function, and the rest for accommodation…" Zolyra looked up and down the length of the Arcadian several times. "I'd conservatively estimate half a million, depending on how advanced their technology is. More than enough for what we want to do, everything we want to do, as long as we can get it moving."

"Then let's get moving." Evalyn nodded to her team, a sympathetic look in her eyes for both Daniel and Alex. At her prompting Daniel began opening one of the hanger doors. They ran along the entirety of each side and retracted up into the top like a garage door. He only had access to half of them as there was apparently one control room to claim near the front.

Light illuminated the immediate area they landed in, Sigron providing an initial safe zone with Area Denial as Spinner carefully navigated the cavernous opening. She had multiple pairs of winged boots equipped and yet struggled in the air more than Khiat, completely unsuited for flight. Daniel looked around as she tried to find nearby strands to pulse current through, but darkness shrouded the far limits of the space even with his enhanced wisdom.

Hunter, Night Eyes? His vision flickered as the ringcat gave him his vision power, as well as something else.

She will forgive you. Give her time to see what she fears isn't there.

Yeah. Daniel stared down to the far end of the hangar. There weren't any barriers in the way as the space was completely clear, someone having stripped this part of the ship bare as they had everywhere else. They had left behind a blank shell almost a kilometer tall at the center, a third of the height of this section.

"Gods." Shuni's look of wonder had been stuck on her face ever since they'd sighted the Arcadian at the bottom of the region. It was only heightened as she took in the space the rest of the team had seen already. In contrast Sigron merely had his shield raised, ready for an incoming attack. "The Crest did they put it in here?"

"Smaller ships, probably." It was hard to say as the entire structure was empty, no sign of any apparatus for refueling or rearming anything. Then again the loading racks for the railguns had come out of the wall, so they may be hidden under the floor. Daniel was only able to control the doors from the Arcadian app. "They're probably gone if they're not here. Destroyed at some point fighting the Origin Beasts."

"It's strange to think humans made all of this." Khiat's voice was pensive even as she strained Hunter's Eye to pierce the darkness. "Everything below feels like our tunnels, and these moving walls would be perfect. Close them during the day, leave them open at night. I thought your people would want to see more of the sun."

"Ours would," Shuni nodded. "This place gives me shivers whenever I think about about that."

Tak crouched and touched the floor. "All of the not-metal in the way, yes. Getting lost here would not be fun. I am not too afraid of caves, but this place is different. The monsters are one thing, but it is too structured. No trees or grass."

"For now." Evalyn smiled. "I thought you were dreaming, but on second glance there is enough room. We'd have to make stairways to get back down the floor, but that's what Builders are for." Purple flashes along the floor caught everyone's eye as they traced from the entryway to the control room built out of the side wall, a sideways dome of translucent material encapsulating several floors worth of mostly dead terminals and one astral rift. It was odd that this huge area had only two nearby, though Daniel reasoned there were other entryways that led to the lower parts of the ship to provide access elsewhere. It wouldn't be a good idea to have people teleporting into an area that could presumably be exposed to a vacuum.

"No monsters, Captain," Spinner reported kindly. "I can spread webs over this entire area if you'd like."

"Thanks, Spinner, but that'd take too long, even for you. And you'd run into danger further down." She then spoke through a sending stone. "Commander, we're good. Daniel says we're still exposed here so you'll have to move immediately to the safe zone. I don't want to see what spawns when a level 6 is here."

While Zolyra could have teleported herself and a few into the area, they were being extremely cautious about that kind of magic while corruption remained. It was unclear what interacted with the Astral and what didn't, and Hunter's description of what the Arcadian looked like on the other side left no one wanting to test it.

Something definitely reacted to Zolyra crossing the invisible boundary, her soul drawing at the corruption of nearby rifts far more strongly than any other that they had encountered for some time. The hanger, and indeed, then entire vessel shook as a projection type as yet unseen came alive, then just as quickly vanished when all had sheltered in the control room proper.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Commander, but I don't suggest you go wandering," Lograve joked, breathing heavily. In between his hands floated the mimic quartz covered in refreshed runes, with a circlet of cooling nearby in case his attention was needed elsewhere. The cleansed rift stood before them, merged in the middle of the dome wall overlooking the hangar.

Zolyra reached a claw out to touch the rift shining blue, gold, and white, then paused. "Have you seen these react to powers of any kind?"

"When Lograve created the gate, it asked me to authorize the connection," Daniel answered. "Otherwise they're as strong as the hull, maybe stronger."

"Alright. I'm going to try an analysis spell, then. Stand back." The draconoid withdrew a pre-scribed scroll with golden thread and pressed it directly against the astral rift. Daniel's arm vibrated.

Arcadian Administrative Alert

>Warning! Node: Lower Hanger Control Room has been targeted by an unknown source of magic.

>General alert is in effect. The acting administrator may override automatic defenses.

>Bypassing automatic node defense only recommended in case of emergency!

>Allow attempted access of node: Lower Hanger Control Room?

Yes / No

Not wanting the strongest Blessed allied with him to get blown up for doing whatever it was she was doing, Daniel mentally pressed yes. Zolyra's scroll resolved, filling the air between her and the rift with spirals of golden runes. It looked vaguely like the tangle Hunter had described, though it was displayed monochromatically. "Amazing. I have no idea what I'm looking at." She held an open journal out as a quill began automatically copying what was displayed. Lograve put the mimic quartz down and began doing the same thing himself. "How should I put this? Imagine a teleportation scroll as a length of rope. This is like finding a suspension bridge kilometers long made entirely from that magic. On a sheer power scale the individual sections are below me, but the complexity here… Impossible to replicate. I wouldn't even attempt it until I was level 9. This is the kind of work I'd expect to find hidden within the heart of Spokes."

At the back of the room, Alex shifted with Zolyra's last words, but remained silent, anticipation bleeding off of her as she stared ahead. The time was coming, for both her and Daniel, to see their family again. It would be the start of taking the Arcadian too, once the Commander had a feel for the space. The plans weren't ironed out yet but it wouldn't just be Wingcraft dealing with them despite how unfair Daniel was in clearing them. There wasn't time to go one by one.

"If you're stronger than the magic, could you damage these things?" Murdon asked, the draconoid wary of the Arcadian as a whole. He might have also been on edge because Tounaki was out with Raven's Call putting down yet another level 5 spotted near Pinion's Point. Monster spawning would only continue ramping up, increasing the chance one would occur within the town. They had preparations in place to sense one coming, though the crowded streets and homes may prevent everyone from getting clear.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Maybe." Zolyra tapped the rift. "Not that I'd try. I have a feeling studying these is going to give me at least a few boosts to my attributes. Still too far to get level 7 alone, but using even one of the principles hidden in this design with my scrollwork?" The quill at her side shuddered as it continued to draw. "I can feel the pull of the magic. Lower armory?"

"Right. You just will to go there," Daniel confirmed. The Commander vanished, and then the rest followed one by one. As expected the armory was also undamaged from the fall. Even the mounted container that had once held the weapons they'd looted was still in place. As Lograve was setting up his ritual, Daniel walked over to his sister. "I'm sorry you have to be here."

Her eyes grew hard as he spoke, but she relented after a moment. "I still don't forgive you, but Ami's going to be in a rough state. Mom'll probably be worse, but she'll hide it. They don't deserve to see us mad at each other."

Daniel thought to point out that Alex was the only one who was angry but knew that would just get him a glare. "We'll be able to question Chris so long as things over there are stable enough and Lograve doesn't guzzle the mana potions. Everyone on the team is hoping he's holding back something that will let you cross back."

The perpetual fire that his confession had relit in her smoldered. "It's too bad good intentions can't solve everything. I'm not going to hold my breath for a solution. Let's just get this over with." Holding her head up, Alex nodded and Lograve began the ritual.

…

Emily Lasial was in her room on the first floor of her home in Eido. She could've been out with friends or helping fish from the small dock they'd finally managed to build off the coast, but every so often she got overwhelmed and needed time to recover. The day she'd fallen in Threst had stuck with her, despite attention from healers and support from her family. She'd gotten better and would continue getting better, but there was no rushing recovery.

Pouncer helped. The kitten had grown in the few weeks it had been since Tak had given him to her. There'd been no resistance from her parents and they'd even had someone make a shelf next to her bed so a box could sit level with it. The darned furball preferred it to sleeping directly adjacent to her, but that was ok. Emily laughed softly as he chased a small yarn ball under her bed and crouched on the floor when he didn't immediately reappear, seeing that he'd started clawing at it with all four paws.

"You're going to make me get that out of there, aren't you?" she said disapprovingly, to which Pouncer meowed. At that moment she felt something odd from the second heartbeat in her chest. That wasn't unusual, as Emily had lived most of her life with the ability to sense Evalyn's rhythm. There were times it grew exactly paced as she played a song, and others when it grew fast as she either exercised or did things she tried not to think about. The bond could be awkward at times, but mostly she was glad for it. "Still, I wish you were here. What's taking you so long sis?"

Someone must have been listening, for a slight sound made her turn. Emily froze, and Pouncer burrowed into the far corner under the bed, as Evalyn looked at her through a shimmering cutout. "Emily!"

…

Daniel couldn't help his smile as he watched the sisters embrace. Lograve had initially worked on the mimic quartz as a way to replace Alex in the gate ritual, wanting to spare her the trauma of always needing to be there when they needed to go to Eido. Somewhere along the way someone had been smart and realized she wasn't the only one with a bond they could use to bridge the gap. His sister had still come because of course she had, though all had agreed Alex wasn't the best choice, at least for this time.

Zolyra stepped forward and through, having already reduced her Scroll Armor into a portable stack given to Murdon for safekeeping. "Ms. Lasial, my name is Zolyra Rosescale. We're working to get everyone trapped here back to the Octyrrum. Please, tell me who is in command here."

The teenager looked up at Zolyra with wide eyes. "Sir Cross! It's, it's really happening?"

"It is. Lograve, how long can you keep the portal open?"

The Arcanist was standing a short distance from the rift with a pleased expression, the mimic quartz floating in front of him. "An hour, at least Commander. That is with potions, but it feels like this little trinket is reducing the mana costs of sustaining the ritual."

"Good to know, keep it open. You two, come with me, if you wouldn't mind. I doubt there are enough draconoids here that people will miss the fact that a new one just showed up."

"Alright." Emily looked at her bed. "Pouncer's under there, just make sure he doesn't get out, please?"

"I will do this," Tak promised, smiling at the young woman as he stepped through. The kitten wasn't quite brave enough to leave the bed, but meowed softly as he sensed him.

Hunter wore a look of disgust. "That is what you replaced me with?"

"I do what I can with what I have," the Totem Warrior replied cheerily. He didn't ask Hunter whether he wanted to come through as well. They both knew the answer to that.

As Tak tried to coax Pouncer out, Lograve spoke out. "Listen, everyone. For those who don't know or got hit in the head too much since last time, the other side of that portal is extremely magically suppressed. Nothing aside from bonds will work. Khiat, I don't know how your powers will react or if Earth's sun will be deadly to you, but I'd recommend staying on this side for now. Khare, you as well. Something… happened to the gestalt that crossed over initially and they haven't been seen since."

The last warning was unneeded as the gestalt hadn't moved toward the rift since the portal opened. "Trepidation." They actually took a shamble back, sensing something no one else could.

Daniel was distracted as Shuni shifted at his side. She'd be biting her lip if she had one. "If you want to go, you can go."

"You sure?" She'd flown off one night over this topic, but now that the moment was here she was nervous.

Daniel took a headcount and nodded. "Someone should go and bring the rest of my family here. You saw all of them last time, and it's not like you need help with my siblings. Feeling up to infiltrating another world?"

"Always."

Alex stepped in the way before she could go. "Don't make Ami come if Mom doesn't think she should. She already had PTSD from being kidnapped, and I know how terrible being separated was. We were always there for each other no matter what, until now."

The words didn't have any heat in them, Alex's grudge didn't extend to Daniel's girlfriend, but reminding her of the ongoing conflict was enough to smother Shuni's excitement slightly. "I won't, Alex. I'll find your mother first and see what she thinks."

"Thank you," she replied genuinely. Shuni bowed in response, and then slowly walked up and through the rift. Part of Daniel tensed at that moment, unable to stop the intrusive fear that she'd be unable to return.

Shuni stopped as soon as she was across, the only other person in the room Tak who was halfway under the bed. She spun in place, taking it all in, then beamed back at Daniel. "Back in a flash."

"She'll be fine." Alex's tone was as close to comforting as it could be given the circumstances. "It's not her we should be worried about."

Daniel didn't respond, but Hunter did. "It still hurts. I can tell."

"Do you think I can't?" Hunter looked away at that.

…

Zolyra made it back first, with Gadriel and Evalyn in tow. The Hero somehow looked better since Daniel had last seen him, though to be fair he'd had some time to recover from always being in terrible pain. Still, he didn't smile when faced with the objectively adorable sight of Pouncer looking cross-eyed at Hunter from Tak's arms.

"Sir Murdon, I am glad to see you once again. I understand matters in Threst have changed dramatically?"

"They have. We can go over details later. Are you well?"

"As much as could be expected."

Zolyra cut in, still with a sense of urgency. "I have an understanding of the situation, including the prisoners. Apparently there's something that needs to be disclosed before we plan further." She glanced at Gadriel with annoyance and the Hero bowed his head.

"As unfortunate as it may be, Commander, I cannot speak for the man in question. It is his burden to bear. He shall be here shortly, although…" Gadriel appraised the room. "This may not be the best venue. Sir Lograve, can you move this?"

"Oh, sure, it's only creating an interplanar portal twice in one sitting," Lograve said, aggrieved. "Evalyn, you'll need to come back across. Where's your sister?"

"She was getting my parents. Damn," Evalyn cursed, seeing the issue. She still stepped across, aware of who would be needed if they couldn't use her. "It feels like she's running to get them. Gadriel, if you could track her down and then have her slow her heartbeat, I'll know when to signal Lograve."

"No, I'll find her," Zolyra sighed. "Can't cast here but I can still cover ground. Cut the spell, we're wasting mana."

And just like that, the gate was closed. Evalyn's eyes flicked to him and Hunter took a few steps away to reduce the amount of anxiety he was soaking in. "Gadriel was talking about Chris, wasn't he?" Daniel asked, mainly to distract himself.

"He was. I only got the short version but they've been keeping him with the people that raided the island, Gadriel wouldn't say why."

"They what!?" One of his hands clenched. "For all we know he twisted them to his side and has been waiting for us to come back!"

"And do what, Daniel? Zolyra would take them apart and they don't have the weapons to stop her." She took a breath and did her best to project calm. "It's fine, Daniel. Everything is like it was when we left. Less food, but they've been keeping it together. Masika is still in her coma, though."

A hiss drew both of their attentions. Hunter looked insulted when he was the first suspect as Pouncer was the true culprit. Tak had brought along the kitten, making it the first of his kind to cross worlds that they were aware of. Khiat had attempted to pet him to an obvious conclusion.

Then Khare tried. "Cat?" Daniel was prepared for the sentient mass of vines currently shaped like a human to face the same rejection, but he'd neglected to consider that Pouncer was frightened. Granted the kitten didn't know what to make of the thing in front of him, only that it didn't smell like something dangerous. In fact the scent was very appealing. There was only one other potential ally in the room, the giant cat, but it was standing next to someone that Pouncer had very bad memories of. They looked exactly like that person, despite how deceptive their smell was.

Khare tentatively reached forward, and Pouncer pounced. "Cat. Cat!" The joy in the gestalt's voice turned as the kitten first landed on their chest, then clawed under the stone shell surrounding their chest. "Cat?"

"Hunter, what's Pouncer doing?" Khiat asked.

"How should I know?" Hunter growled, aware everyone was looking at Pouncer and making comparisons. "Stupid thing, stop that."

"Hmm." Tak walked over to where Khare was beginning to writhe as if covered in ants. "Must like you. He didn't like many when I was taking care of him."

The gestalt opened their armor, exposing a moving section. "Sharp! Assistance!"

"Wonder what brought that on," Lograve commented, remaining at the ready with the ritual while watching Tak try to pluck the kitten out of Khare's chest before he accidentally reached the Mobile Armory inside. "I know for a fact some gestalt sanctuaries keep pets, mainly the earth gestalt for cats, dogs, and igauzors, for obvious reasons. I've never heard of one reacting like this, though I'm hardly an expert. Although…"

"Ah! Got you. Naughty thing." Tak proudly snatched the kitten out of Khare, who groaned slightly in pain as the extended claws nicked vines on the way out. As Hunter felt his anxiety, Daniel shared the ringcat's dismay from watching Tak. "What were you saying?"

"Catnip," Wiki-Lograve replied with a smile. "I'll have to refresh my memory, hopefully they printed what I asked for, but cats on Earth have a distinct reaction to certain flora. An evolved trait I'm willing to bet ours don't share, given Hunter hasn't attempted to bowl over any earth gestalt yet."

Daniel tried to keep a straight face for his brother's sake, but he broke into a chuckle that was joined by only his sister. The rest didn't have the context. Still smiling he looked sideways at her and she tried to hide hers. "Come on. You said it yourself, they don't deserve to see us mad at each other. Truce, if only for today."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, but relented. "Fine. I'll admit that's hilarious."

"Catnip?" Khare asked, having to sound out the foreign word that had no direct translation. That was probably causing havoc with whatever process translated their internal speech.

"It's a plant cats like. Our cats, at least," Alex added with a glance at Lograve. "It means almost any Earth cat is going to be all over you like Pouncer was."

Khare backed further away from the astral rift. "Monsters." That provoked another round of laughter, and this time it was shared around the room. Evalyn's fell away first as she held her chest.

"That was fast, though to be fair Zolyra was the one looking. I think they're ready Lograve."

"Are we?" he asked, eyes on Daniel and Alex. They looked at each other, and he gave a thumbs up.

Daniel was ultimately glad he went into it with high spirits, as he was waiting on the other side when the portal resolved. Sitting bound to a chair was a decidedly more haggard Chris wearing a crude cast on one arm. In the background Emily meekly nodded at her sister, intimidated by the atmosphere, before she was escorted out by Gadriel. Neither Zolyra, Shuni, nor the rest of Daniel's family seemed to be present.

"You took your time," Chris said in an easy, familiar way that made Daniel want to fire a stunning round at at his face, fully aware that the portal would disenchant it. "But you finally have me right where you want me. I told you I'd explain when the time was right. Well? Here we are."