“Hey, calm yourself down,” Reina said after racing across the living area, placing a hand on Nina’s shoulder before looking down at her doubled over figure with a stern expression. “You haven’t even recovered yet, what were you thinking?”

“She’s… here,” Nina managed to say between heaving breaths, her hands slipping down off knees before she plopped onto the cold grey floor. Tightness had returned to her chest, although she didn’t know if it was because she had actually pushed herself or if it was just her imagination. Even the thought of sharing the same space with Rucille was enough to send her heart racing, but furthermore she was in the dark. Unknown quantities were something that she desperately wanted to avoid right now, and the fact that a monster could be lurking on any one of the islands around her was terrifying.

“Who?” Reina asked. Nina’s hurried appearance had obviously caused a disturbance in the household, as Svanda and Trim were also now huddled around her while Jade had appeared at the top of the stairs. It was, after all, not very difficult to see that something was wrong.

“Rucille.”

That certainly got their attention. Svanda and Trim both shot into action as if she’d pressed a panic button, Svanda dashing for her rifle which was currently leaning against the sofa while Trim grabbed a pistol that had been lying around on the table. Reina was equally as quick, grabbing Nina under the armpits before dragging her away from the stairs that led to the surface, and while she wasn’t as strong as Svanda she made up for it by being half as gentle. Nina tried to blurt out that Rucille wasn’t necessarily here, as in on the island, but her surprise on how fluid the team had been left her choking on words.

“No,” she finally managed to squeeze out through heaving breaths. “Not yet.”

Her comment, however, fell on deaf ears. Not because she had been drowned out by the hustle around her or because she hadn’t been loud enough, but because the unmistakeable sound of the front door opening echoed down the stairs for them all to hear. Svanda raised her rifle after flicking off the safety in reaction while Trim moved behind the kitchen counter, both aiming in the direction of the staircase which led upwards. Jade, among all the commotion, had also returned from below with a pistol in hand as she hugged the wall, and suddenly the entire room had descended into silence where the only thing that Nina could hear was her own heartbeat.

“It’s rude to shoot the messenger, you know,” Alan said from up the stairs, out of sight. “We’re coming down, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Reina’s serious expression was replaced by a flash of confusion before it was quickly covered up, a small sigh escaping her lips as she connected the dots over what had happened in her head. Motioning for Svanda and Trim to both stand down, she glanced at Nina who still sat on the concrete before returning her attention to the door.

“Get up,” she said quietly before moving over to the sofa, sitting herself down before reorganizing her posture into something presentable. A casual smile quickly appeared on her face as the sound of footsteps on the stairs reached them, while Trim casually pocketed her pistol and Svanda dropped her rifle on the table. Jade had already disappeared back down the stairs just as silently as she had appeared in the first place, and before Nina knew it a pair of clean brown shoes had appeared on the stairs.

She made it to the sofa just as Rop set foot in the living area, his eyes flicking over the interior in a systematic scan before giving the group a curt nod. Alan followed behind with an expression that was something between a smile and a smirk, palms up with his hands out in mock surrender before he steered himself in Reina’s direction. To Nina’s surprise, there was a third person who followed the pair into the room, a lithe woman with a short bob of brown hair and a friendly smile. Like Rop she was dressed in navy business wear, although the way that she had armed herself was much less subtle. Nina didn’t even need to look twice to see that there was a shiny silver submachinegun strapped to each of her thighs, her jacket not even hanging low enough to cover them while her hands hovered in their vicinity. Soon satisfied that it was clear, however, her attention turned to not Reina but Trim as she moved over to join her.

“It’s good to see you again,” Alan said to Reina as he stopped before her. Nina didn’t know if he was waiting for Reina to stand up and shake his hand or something, but if he had been he was left disappointed. Instead of replying, she simply smiled, extending her hand out to the sofa which sat opposite them in a gesture for him to sit. If he felt snubbed, he didn’t show it, casually sitting before draping one long leg over the other before tucking a lose strand of hair behind his ear. Nina was now painfully aware that she was sitting in the middle of something that she probably shouldn’t be privy to, so after clearing her throat she gave Alan a polite nod before pushing herself upward.

“Sit,” Reina said before she could get any further, placing a hand over her own. Apparently her assumption that she shouldn’t be here was misguided, the idea supported by both Jade and Aline appearing at the top of the stairs. The room was quickly filling up now, with everyone from The Cloud Orchestra besides Saela present along with Alan and his two guards. Trim and the woman who Nina didn’t recognize were already having a hushed conversation in the kitchen, but Rop unsurprisingly hovered by the door. She did catch him taking a second glance at Svanda’s rifle which lay on the table where Jade and Aline had just seated themselves, but Svanda herself wasn’t interested as she flopped down in the empty space on the sofa next to Alan.

“Yo,” Svanda said to Alan with a smile. “I hear you’re digging us out of a hole.”

Nina saw Reina frown, but she didn’t respond. Now that she thought about it, Svanda seemed to have a better relationship with Julia than Reina did as well. If it was history or something else she didn’t know, but that was something that could wait. She would probably be able to get some of the answers she was after just by sitting and listening to the conversation that was about to unfold.

“A rather large one, apparently,” Alan replied casually before his attention turned to Reina. “Sorry, I know I’m a little early, but…”

“Nina,” Reina said after she saw that Alan was looking in her direction.

“Yes,” he continued. “But Nina and I had breakfast together which ended on a rather sour note. I thought that it would be better for me to come and clarify what happened before there were any misconceptions.”

“I’m sure you did, after what happened with Saela,” Reina said drily in reply without elaborating, which was much to Nina’s disappointment. If she was interested in what had happened in the restaurant, she certainly didn’t show it though, instead cutting to the heart of the matter. “Enough of that though. Where’s Rucille?”

“Rucille?”

“The girl from Zaffre’s,” Reina said after she quickly glanced at Nina.

“Ah,” Alan smiled. “So you do know who they are. Yes, there is one woman with them. Brown hair, average features.”

“Where is she?” Reina repeated with a sigh. “How many people did she bring?”

The room was silent as Alan and Reina studied each other for a moment, the smile on Alan’s lips stretching slightly before he shrugged. “I can tell you what I know, but I want to know how they’re related to you in return.”

Reina frowned before signalling for Trim to bring over something to drink. Nina wouldn’t have even been surprised if she brought over a bottle of wine despite how early in the morning it was, as being told that there was a gigantic problem on your doorstep tended to make people reach for one. Water, however, was the drink of choice as Reina poured herself a glass once Trim had set some down, taking light sip as she thought about Alan’s offer. It seemed like a no-brainer to Nina, but that was probably why she wasn’t the one doing the talking.

“Include what you have on the SuTSU group as well,” she finally said. “Then we have a deal. You first though.”

“Alright,” Alan chuckled without pausing as he poured a glass of his own. “The group from Zaffre’s is the woman you talked about and a bunch of soldiers, seven or eight strong by what we’ve heard. They landed on the Earth Fountain just after you appeared, waving some guns around like a typical group of people who don’t know what they’re doing. Pulled their heads in soon enough though, and I haven’t heard anything about them since. What they’ve been up to for the last week or so and where they’ve ended up since, I wouldn’t have a clue.”

“Not particularly helpful then, is it?” Svanda said with a frown. “You’re basically telling us that there somewhere out there, which isn’t much more than we had already.”

“I can’t tell you any more than what I know,” he replied with a shrug. “As for the SuTSU group, they’ve been a bit easier to follow because they were sticking their fingers in as many pies as they could. Expensive pies too, if you want to look at it that way, and I don’t think I need to state the obvious but they’re looking for you.”

“You don’t need to,” Reina said without a shred of humour. “So, where are they?”

“They were at the Light Fountain, all five of them,” Alan said after he placed his glass back on the table. “Dropped down a couple of days after you guys did.”

Nina frowned, while both Reina and Svanda did too. The Light Fountain was where they needed to go before they dropped to Terminus, and waltzing into wherever Ormain had set his team up was not something that they wanted to deal with. If Alan was more specific as to exactly where they were on the mountain it might still be feasible, but they had no idea just how far his influence has spread.

“No need to look so glum,” he continued after seeing their bitter reactions. “They left yesterday.”

The mood in the room seemed to shift at the news.

“Talk about timing,” Reina said as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you know where they are now?”

“Of course,” Alan laughed as he checked his watch, an ornate golden piece that would have easily been worth more than all of Nina’s possessions combined. “Considering I got in touch with them about six hours ago, I’m guessing that they’re probably just around the corner by now.”