94[IS]: Insert song - "Argorok Battle Second Half (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)"
[ISE]: Insert song end
"This isn't just some hoax, right?"
Tom shook his head. "I'm afraid it isn't. The Scalyptera has been venturing outside of its normal habitat for some time now to pick fights with random monsters. Ever since yesterday, however, it has started coming closer to the campsite. We have been monitoring its movements, and we noticed this morning that its movements have become noticeably more frenzied."
"It didn't look frenzied the last few times we ran into it." Morgan recalled what Bengt had said about the creature on the first day they were here: the Scalyptera are very territorial but are otherwise fairly docile. During the few close encounters they did have with the Scalyptera, it had generally fit the description. "What could have caused it to change in a short span of time?"
"We don't know, and frankly, it is not our place to judge." The manager closed his eyes. "Yes, it is a shame that such a magnificent creature must be put down, but we must do what we must in order to ensure the safety of others, and by 'we', I mostly mean you."
"How do you think we're going to keep it from flying away?" asked Elliot.
"A good question…" Morgan cupped her chin. "Machias, does your shotgun come with anti-aircraft properties?"
He shook his head. "Only if it's at a low-enough altitude that I can hit it. I can charge the cartridge so that the shell can shoot further, but that might be too slow."
"Leave the flying to me," Fie volunteered. "I've had experience with this sort of thing before."
"Alright, then. We'll let you handle it. By the way, that reminds me of something…"
Morgan turned to Laura. "Do you and Fie want to team up again?"
Laura turned to Fie. "This is a perfect opportunity for us to redeem ourselves for yesterday. What do you say?"
The former jaeger nodded. "Fine with me."
Off to the side, Elliot commented, "Looks like those two didn't waste much time putting the past behind them."
Machias nodded in agreement. "I'll say. We're gonna have to be careful they don't leave us in the dust."
It had been almost an hour since Group B set out into the island in search of the Scalyptera, and despite running into a few hostile monsters, their main target was still nowhere in sight.
"That's weird." Machias scratched his head as he looked at the request form. "It says that its habitat should be somewhere around here…"
"We probably need to aim higher up," Fie guessed. "High fliers like high places."
"But none of us have any protective equipment to scale the cliffs," Elliot pointed out. "If only there was some way we could get it to come down…"
"Like a signal flare, perhaps?" Laura suggested. "It may not be much, but I can fire an orbal art towards the sky to get its attention."
"And what if someone other than that dragon sees it?" Fie argued. "With the RMP stationed at the inn, they could mistake it for an SOS signal and come running to us."
A nervous bead of sweat dropped from Laura's forehead. "That...would be less than ideal."
Morgan hummed to herself. "Laura's on the right track, though. We need something obvious that can get its attention, assuming it's still in the area. Worst case scenario, we'll just have to search a different part of the island."
After pondering over a potential solution for a minute, Morgan put her thumb and index finger in her mouth, took a deep breath, and blew really hard. "Pffbbt!"
Everyone in the group blinked.
"Wow, I didn't think I'd be this rusty!" Morgan remarked. "Gimme a few more tries…"
"Uh, Morgan?" Elliot asked. "What are you trying to…"
Another deep breath in. "Pffbbt!"
Laura raised an eyebrow. "Is she trying to…?"
One last breath. "FWEEET!"
Third time's the charm. Morgan let out a loud whistle that could probably be heard from quite a distance. The others covered their ears out of surprise.
And nothing else happened.
"Oh well…" Morgan sighed. "It was worth a shot."
"Were you trying to whistle for it?" Laura guessed, lowering her hands.
Morgan nodded. "I was trying to see if I could use sound to get its attention."
"Morgan, I'm pretty sure a monster wouldn't respond to a whistle like it's a horse," said Machias.
*ROAR*
A familiar bestial screech sounded loudly through the air, catching the students off guard. [IS]
"That was…"
"Above!"
The students followed Fie's finger and looked up. Lo and behold, the Scalyptera was circling above them like a bird of prey, gradually coming into view as it descended.
"S-Seriously?!" Machias shouted in disbelief.
Morgan puffed her chest out with pride. "Haha! What do you know? I guess I still got it!"
"Yeah, but now it's coming straight at us!"
As Machias had observed, the Scalyptera had stopped flying in a circle and began its descent, rapidly coming towards the ground with its legs protruded forward.
"...Maybe I should've thought this one through," Morgan admitted. "Spread out!"
The students all leapt in different directions as the Scalyptera grazed the ground with its claws. Having missed its target, it quickly swooped up and went airborne before turning around.
Machias looked to Elliot, who was the member closest to him after the group had dispersed. "Guess it's you and me!"
"Sure thing!" Elliot nodded in compliance, and the two formed a combat link.
On the other side, the girls were back on their feet and keeping an eye on the flying creature's movements.
"Is your ankle alright?" Laura asked.
Morgan threw a thumbs up. "Still hanging in there!"
"Hang back for this one," Fie told her. "We'll take the front."
With a nod, Morgan retreated a few steps and began preparing an orbal art.
Laura looked to her partner. "Shall we?"
Fie nodded. "Ja."
The two teens effortlessly formed their combat link as the fight against the Scalyptera began in earnest. True to their word, Laura and Fie stood at the front of the formation, with the former ready to tank any of the monster's attacks and the latter assisting by taking potshots at the enemy. Machias appeared right behind the pair, trying to shoot the monster out of the sky if it came too close. Finally, Elliot and Morgan provided support from the back. Though they weren't in a combat link, the two were able to synergize well with their use of orbal arts, transitioning from providing support to bombarding the wyvern with elemental attacks from afar.
The Scalyptera, meanwhile, proved to be as challenging of a foe as the students had anticipated. For one thing, it didn't stay in one place for very long, always moving around so it wouldn't be a sitting target for Fie and Machias, and given its thin body frame, it was easily able to dominate the air space. It also proved quite durable in spite of its appearance, as when Laura tried striking it as it swooped down from the air, it shrugged off her attack as if it was a small scratch. The real challenge, however, began when the Scalyptera stopped using its swooping attacks and instead opted to spit fire from its mouth so it could attack from a distance. Machias attempted to charge his next shotgun shell so it could go farther, but the monster was smart enough to halt its attack and veer sideways, causing the shell to miss.
"I missed!" Machias cursed. "Hey, Fie! Aren't you going to shoot it down?"
"Gotta wait until it stops moving," the silver-haired girl responded.
"Then I'll freeze it in its tracks!" Morgan retrieved her ARCUS and began preparing an orbal art. "Take this! Frost Edge!"
A cluster of ice blades manifested themselves around the flying monster, halting its movements momentarily.
"Now!"
"On it!"
As the ice blades barraged the Scalyptera, Fie threw a smoke grenade in the air and fired at it with the gunsword in her right hand. Her bullets knocked the pin out of the grenade, causing it to explode in a cloud of smoke that stunned the monster. Immediately afterwards, Fie used her left hand to retrieve her grappling hook and fired it at the Scalyptera's tail with pinpoint accuracy. The hook hit its mark, and Fie flew into the air until she was dangling right under the monster. Her gunsword still in her right hand, she used it to fire at the monster's flapping wings. Three bullets tore three holes in the left wing. Three more ripped through the right wing.
With the wings crippled, the Scalyptera started to fall from the sky. Fie forcefully dislodged her grappling hook out of the Scalyptera's tail and kicked off of it to land with a combat roll. Meanwhile, the monster crumpled to the ground, exposing what appeared to be a glowing spot on its back.
"Well done!" Laura nodded at her partner as she rushed towards the downed creature with her sword raised. "You're mine!"
"Laura, wait!" Morgan shouted. "Something's not right!"
Laura staid her blade as she looked to her classmate in confusion. Before she could react, the Scalyptera quickly got back on its feet and roared, forcing Laura to jump backwards. As it howled at the air, a sickeningly black aura began to emanate from its body.
"What is this...aura?" Laura questioned hesitantly. "I've never seen a monster exude such malevolence!"
The wyvern stopped roaring and tucked its wings in. Then, it turned around to lash its tail at Laura. Though she was able to block it with her sword, the force of the attack pushed her back into Fie, and they both fell to the ground.
"Guess it's time for the second phase!" Machias adjusted his glasses. "How about this?!"
Taking aim, Machias fired a high-speed bullet at the monster's side, scoring a direct hit.
"S-Stay back!" Elliot used his orbal staff to launch a cluster of glowing orbs at the monster.
With the wyvern's attention temporarily diverted, Morgan helped Laura and Fie up. Fortunately, their ARCUS link had remained intact despite their fall.
"This is growing more dangerous by the minute…" spoke Laura as Morgan used Tear to heal the damage she took.
As she administered first aid, Morgan looked at their surroundings, then at the monster. She then turned to Fie and asked, "Fie, do you still have any explosives on you?"
"Three flash grenades, two smoke grenades, six plastic portables," the younger girl responded efficiently.
"How long do you think it'll take to set as many as you can on the ground?"
"I can get all six plastics ready in about two minutes. Why?"
"Let's just say I'm thinking about having a blast right now." Morgan looked at Fie's feet. "Maybe right where you're standing?"
Fie put two and two together and nodded. "I'll need you to keep it off me."
Morgan looked at Laura. "You know what to do."
"None shall make it past me unless I say so," the swordswoman affirmed.
With a shared nod between each of them, they broke off into their assigned roles. Fie started getting to work on setting her explosives, Laura stood in front of Fie with her sword placed in a defensive stance, and Morgan made her way over to where Machias and Elliot were.
"ARCUS, activate!" Morgan prepared an orbal art. "Aqua Bleed!"
A glob of high-pressured water was sent hurtling at the Scalyptera, hitting it in the leg. It didn't seem very effective, but it was enough to divert its attention from a cowering Elliot, who used this opportunity to get out of harm's way.
"Nice assist!" Machias called out to her. "Got a plan?"
"Keep it occupied for two minutes! Then, lure it over to where Laura and Fie are!" Morgan narrowly dodged a tail sweep by the Scalyptera.
"Two minutes? No problem!" Machias fired a warning shot. "Hey! Stupid dragon! Over here!"
The stupid dragon responded by arching its neck and gathering fire in its mouth.
"Never mind!" Machias made his hasty retreat before it could breathe fire in his direction.
…
"Just a few more to go," Fie muttered.
"Concentrate on doing it right," Laura told her. Thanks to their ARCUS link, the two were more aware of each other's intentions and feelings, though it also came with the side effect of being able to hear each other's voices more clearly. "I am here to make sure you aren't rudely interrupted."
Fie sighed. "In the end, we're back to you having to protect me."
'Because it makes you look weak.' Laura surmised that, based on what Fie had told her earlier that morning, that was what Fie wanted to say.
She kept her eyes on the battle. The Scalyptera proved to be as formidable an opponent on the ground as it was in the air, frequently using its tail like a weapon to keep the others from getting close. Morgan's run speed was noticeably slower, likely a result of her not wanting to sprain her ankle again, so she mostly kept her distance from the Scalyptera's sweeping attacks. Machias and Elliot were alternating attacks between each other.
"Fie, would you mind if I told you something right now?"
The girl grunted, being completely focused on planting another explosive on the ground.
Laura continued regardless. "For our duel, we had agreed that if you won, I would tell you the reason why I wanted to know your personal history."
"More like you forced that choice on me," Fie retorted.
"I would like to tell you that reason now." Because she couldn't afford to take her eyes away from the monster, all she did was smile and picture Fie's unassuming face in her head. "I want to know because I like you."
Fie's movements stopped momentarily. Laura could feel her confusion. "Wh-What are you…?"
"I find it frustrating when I'm not able to understand those I've taken an interest in or have a high opinion of," Laura explained. "I felt like this several months ago with Rean, and I feel the same way now. I want to know what shaped you into who you are now."
"..." Fie went back to work, but not before saying to her partner, "My past isn't worth a whole lot."
"My father once said this to me: 'We don't protect people because they are weak. We do it because they are worth protecting.' Though we have only been together for less than a year, I consider the others in Class VII people who are worth protecting. And yes, that also includes you. That is why…"
Laura steeled herself, taking a deep breath in and raising her sword high. The Scalyptera had broken through Morgan's line of defense and was charging towards her and Fie. "Being tasked with the protection of a friend is a duty I am proud to uphold!"
She slammed her sword to the ground with all her might, firing a large shockwave that ruptured the earth in front of her. The Scalyptera took a direct hit, but it wasn't enough to slow it down completely, once again proving to be deceptively durable despite its thin and wiry appearance.
Fie planted the last explosive on the ground. "Okay. All set."
Nodding, Laura leapt a good distance back so that she was behind Fie's mine trap. Fie then used her teeth to pull the pin out of a flash grenade before throwing it into the middle of her trap. Then, she and Laura started running away.
The Scalyptera took the bait and started chasing them. The moment it reached Fie's trap, the flash grenade exploded, followed by a series of consecutive explosions from the rest of Fie's mines. The monster screeched in agony.
"This ends here!" As the last explosive of Fie's trap went off, Morgan made her move. Using her personal orbment, she prepared a basic Air Strike art, but instead of firing it at the enemy, she jumped and aimed her orbment downwards. The blast of compressed air caused Morgan to be propelled upwards, allowing her to easily land on the wyvern's back and position herself on top of the strange glowing spot. [ISE]
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "But when I'm this close, I don't miss!"
Raising her weapon above her, she stabbed at the glowing spot. The Scalyptera let out another agonized screech before collapsing. Immediately afterwards, the same black aura appeared, enveloping both the monster and Morgan in a thick cloud of miasma.
"Morgan!" the students called out.
Eventually, the dark cloud evaporated, and the Scalyptera was left crumpled on the ground. Morgan slid off its back, looking very tired but otherwise no worse for wear.
"Hey!" Elliot held his orbal staff close to Morgan. "You doing okay?"
Morgan coughed before saying, "I'm fine. I think I inhaled a little bit of...whatever that was, though."
"How do you feel?" Machias asked.
"I don't feel any different. But more importantly…" She looked to the fallen dragon.
Fie readied her gunswords. "I got it."
"Wait." Morgan held up her hand, surprising her classmates. "Let me handle this."
"You mustn't overexert yourself," Laura cautioned.
Morgan shook her head. "Trust me on this, please."
Reluctantly, her classmates took a step back. Morgan carefully stood up and treaded slowly to the base of the Scalyptera's neck.
"Hey." Morgan stroked her hand on the monster's skin. "Can you hear me?"
A faint, low growl sounded from the mouth of the monster, causing the rest of Group B to preemptively ready their weapons.
"You're a real trooper," Morgan continued, not even paying attention to the other members of her team. "Don't worry. We're not here to hurt you."
Fishing out her personal orbment, Morgan began preparing an orbal art.
"It's going to be alright," she said soothingly. "Trust me."
After a short while, she knelt to the ground and touched it with her orbment. Once she did, a green circular field surrounded her and caused a gust of wind to rise up from all around her. The other members of Group B looked around in bewilderment as they felt themselves rejuvenated by the purifying air. Eventually, the wind died down, and Morgan stood up.
"That was…" Laura began.
"That was 'Breath'," Morgan answered. "It's a wind art that heals everything in a certain radius. It takes a bit of a while to charge, though."
"It heals everything?" Elliot commented with amazement. However, that amazement quickly changed into panic when he realized something. "W-Wait, when you say it heals everything, does that mean-?"
Before Elliot could finish, the Scalyptera began to stir from behind Morgan, ultimately confirming his unspoken suspicions. He and the rest of the group prepared themselves for an oncoming attack, but the monster instead raised its neck and looked around confusedly at its surroundings.
"Whoa, there…" Morgan gently stroked the monster's neck. "The fight's over. Relax. You guys put away your weapons, too."
"Morgan…" Laura took in a deep breath. "This creature…"
"...Is a real trooper," Morgan repeated. "It must've hurt, didn't it? Having to keep it all inside?"
Morgan continued to do the unthinkable by retrieving her ARCUS and using it to perform first aid on the monster's wounds. The Scalyptera had initially shrunk back at her gesture, but the more she soothed it by moving her hand across its skin, the more it responded warmly to her touch. As Morgan made her way towards the monster's head, a purr escaped from its mouth.
The rest of Group B could do little but stare dumbfoundedly at what was occurring in front of them. The fearsome flying lizard that had put up an intense fight and was durable enough to withstand Fie's explosive trap had been tamed like a wild horse. They reluctantly put away their weapons, sensing that the monster was in no shape or mood to fight.
"I'm sorry I can't do much for your wings," Morgan apologized as she finished healing it. "Just lay low and get some rest, okay?"
The Scalyptera growled and spread its wings, revealing the small holes left by Fie's bullets. It slowly got back on its feet, causing the students to back a good distance away. Once the monster regained its footing, it started running while flapping its wings frantically and leapt off the ground. Through sheer tenacity, it managed to ascend to a stable altitude by continuing to flap its wings as it flew away.
"Morgan…" Laura said once the monster was out of sight. "You do realize that-"
"I know." Morgan nodded without hesitation. "And I'll take full responsibility for this. But right now, we need to get back to the inn. There's something that I need to ask the manager."
Whenever Morgan sets her mind on something, it becomes very difficult for anyone to get her to listen until she finishes what she set out to do. As such, despite the rest of Group B bombarding her with questions, like what she just did, when did she become a monster tamer, and why she wanted to talk to the manager all of a sudden, she deliberately told them to hold their questions until after everything was said and done. About midway through the trek back to the inn, the other students gave up on trying to get answers.
The students found Tom back at his office desk in the management house. When he saw them enter, he stood up to greet them.
"Ah, welcome back! Did everything go well on your end, hm?"
"Well, they were…" Machias started eyeing Morgan accusingly. "Up until the moment where Morgan let it go."
"Good, that's goo-wait, what?!" Tom's eyes widened like they were balloons. "Y-You...let the Scalyptera go?!"
"I can explain." Morgan stepped forward. "But first, there's something I want to ask you."
"Miss Daraen, I don't see what could be more important than-"
"Once you hear me out, you'll get it." Morgan placed her hand on Tom's desk. "Have there been any other reports about frenzied monsters? If so, when did you first start hearing about them?"
The other members of Group B looked at her oddly. How was this relevant to what was going on?
Tom coughed to calm himself down. "Why...do you wish to know?"
"Because I'm starting to think that this frenzied behavior that the Scalyptera showed isn't just a coincidence."
"Morgan, it's a monster," said Elliot. "This kind of behavior is normal for them."
"Maybe for some, but not this one," she shot back. "The Scalyptera was supposed to be docile so long as nothing threatened its territory, and yet it was reported to have started venturing outside it. That means there was something out there that it deemed a big enough threat to want to come out of its habitat, and I'm betting it wasn't the humans."
"Or maybe it just wanted more food?"
"It could be, but that's why I need to know." Morgan lowered her posture at the manager. "Please."
Tom closed his eyes and hummed to himself. Then, he sat back down in his chair. "Well, you're right about one thing: this hasn't been the first time we've seen this sort of behavior arise in the island's creatures. Yes, the first reports of these frenzied monsters came at the beginning of the month, back when we were first preparing for our animist ritual and the Ordis Summer festival. At the time, Bryonia Island was set to offer horseback tours as one of our main attractions."
"Horseback tours?"
"Yes, it's something we do every year around this time, you see. In fact, I should still have some riding gear somewhere in these boxes…"
"Please continue?"
The manager coughed. "Yes, my apologies. Our shipment of horses arrived a week before the festival, and we sent a group of people on a ride around the island so they can remember the route for the tour. When they came back, however, the horses were in a panic. According to one of the witnesses, a monster came out of nowhere and attacked them! The horses were able to outspeed it, thank goodness, but the encounter had scared the poor things half to death. We ended up having to send them back the following day since they wouldn't sit still in their stables."
"So that was the first time it happened…" Morgan cupped her chin. "What happened to the stables?"
"We disassembled them, naturally. However, it was difficult having to see an empty space right next to us, so one day, I went into the city looking for solutions to our predicament. That was when I found Miss Holly doing fortunes. I was getting desperate, so I asked if she wanted to stay at Bryonia Island so she could get better business for the festival. Fortunately, she agreed, and her tent is currently set up where the stables used to be."
Morgan nodded. "If Holly came after the fact, then it's safe to assume that she doesn't have anything to do with this. Getting to the Scalyptera, when did you notice it starting to leave its territory?"
"I believe it was right before the summer festival that we began to see it make regular trips outside its natural habitat. Normally it stays up at higher altitudes near the mountain range, so we were surprised to see it venture to ground level." Tom then raised his head. "Actually, it was also around that time that we started to see it pick fights against random monsters, now that I think about it."
Morgan grunted. "I knew it."
"Knew what?" asked Machias.
"There was this giant glowing spot at the center of the Scalyptera's back," Morgan explained. "Do you remember how the Scalyptera had that strange aura surrounding it? Well, after I stabbed that spot, the aura went away and the Scalyptera returned to normal. I think that has something to do with what's causing these monsters to start acting weird all of a sudden."
"So monsters with a glowing mark are the ones that are acting frenzied?" Laura asked.
"Actually, that does correlate with some of the reports that we've received," Tom spoke up, surprising the students. "It used to be only a few creatures, but in about a week, the number of monster sightings nearly doubled that amount."
"So there's like a...virus that's causing these monsters to get these white marks and start acting hostile," Elliot summarized. "If that's the case, then when and where did it all start?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Morgan furrowed her eyebrows. "If there's something that's causing the monsters in the island to become violent, then what is it?"
"There is one thing."
Everyone turned to Fie.
"Yesterday, when we were fighting the giant monkey," she continued. "After I finished it off, I saw something roll off its head. It looked like a small yellow bug."
"A bug?" Morgan asked. "Did you manage to retrieve it?"
Fie shook her head. "Couldn't. Right as I was about to take a look at it, it exploded."
"It...exploded?"
"Yup. Went boom."
"That doesn't sound natural at all," Morgan remarked.
"There's more," Fie added. "Right before we went up against the monkey, do you remember what it was doing?"
"It was chasing that man," Laura recalled. "Anton, was it not?"
"And before that?"
"It was sleeping," Machias remembered. "At which point it was woken up by…"
Machias's eyes widened with realization, as did the other members of Group B.
"The Scalyptera."
"At which point they had a big fight. We didn't see the dragon after that, but the day after? It starts acting frenzied." Fie crossed her arms. "Coincidence?"
"I think not," said Morgan. "If this...bug exploded, then it must have been something man-made. If that's the case, then the only way for the monsters to become afflicted with the virus is for someone to venture into the island themselves."
"But that's impossible!" Tom exclaimed. "Ever since the monsters appeared, we made sure no one enters the island without one of our staff accompanying them, save for you students."
"What about under the cover of night?" Fie proposed.
Morgan remembered a conversation she and Fie had the day before. "You're talking about that hooded figure you saw the first night."
"Whoa, hold up." Machias held up his hand. "What's this about a hooded figure?"
Fie told everyone what she had witnessed on the first night.
"This is becoming more suspicious the more we look into it," the manager said. "Yes, we will have to exercise extreme caution moving forward until this matter is resolved. Miss Daraen, you said that the Scalyptera has returned to normal, yes?"
Morgan nodded. "Yes, sir. It went in the opposite direction of the inn area."
"And Miss Claussell? Have you witnessed any other monsters with this...parasite attached to them, hm?"
Fie shook her head. "We went around the entire island yesterday taking photographs of monsters. The only one that had a bug was the big monkey."
"I see." Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "It would seem that the worst has passed, then."
"How can you tell?" asked Machias.
"This is the first time we have heard of a monster carrying a parasite with them," Tom began. "Assuming that this was the only occurrence, then it's possible that the Ancient Ossa was the source of the virus all along. Yes, if that is so, then you students did us a favor in the long run by stopping the parasite from infecting more monsters like the Scalyptera. All we can do now is let nature take its course and call for help when necessary."
The manager then stood up from his desk. "I will go let the staff and the RMP know about these developments, tell them to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity among the residents. In the meantime, I would suggest getting back to work on your morning tasks if you haven't finished them already. And Miss Daraen…"
Morgan straightened her back upon hearing her name. Her eyes met the manager's stern but calm expression.
"While everything may have worked out in the end..." he said gravely, "I cannot excuse the fact that your actions could have resulted in grievous harm to yourself and to your classmates. If this were a real mission, you and your team would have failed. As such, I will need to let the academy know about your behavior. Depending on what they deem a necessary consequence, you may be suspended from participating in future field studies or, considering your background, perhaps even expelled."
Morgan swallowed and maintained her composure. She knew right from the start that the consequences would potentially be severe.
"However…" the manager continued. "It is also true that your actions have alerted us to an even more pressing matter, one that could potentially threaten the island as a whole. We would have carried on with our daily lives, not knowing that trouble was brewing below the surface, were it not for your timely gambit. If we successfully catch the perpetrator responsible for all this, I will do my utmost to put in a word for you to ease your sentence. It is a bit early to celebrate, but on behalf of the staff of Bryonia Island, I must thank you for your contributions."
With a final bow and smile of appreciation, Tom walked out of the management house, leaving the students to themselves.
Elliot was the first to release the hold on his breath. "Whew! I thought things were going to get really tense at the end there!"
"Well, we're not out of the woods just yet," Machias refuted. "We still aren't getting any closer to finding out who's behind all the recent happenings, not to mention that Morgan's pretty much on probation right now."
"I can understand suspension from class activities, but expulsion?" Laura shook her head in disbelief. "That sounds rather extreme."
"He mentioned something about your background." Fie narrowed her eyes. "What did he mean by that?"
"I'm guessing he's referring to how I got admitted in the first place," Morgan surmised, piquing the curiosity of her classmates. "The only reason I was able to attend the academy was via a letter of recommendation from one of the academy's board members. Said member also happens to be the person who helped kickstart Class VII. If word got out that a person from their new project that they specifically hand-picked was found guilty of insubordination, it'd reflect badly on their part."
"And despite knowing this, you still decided on taking such a huge risk?" Laura inquired.
Morgan's shoulders slumped. "I saw an opportunity to dig deeper and I took it. I couldn't just do nothing."
"B-But we still have time before the manager notifies the academy, right?" Elliot asked hesitantly. "If we find the mystery culprit before we leave, it'll greatly increase the chances of reducing Morgan's punishment."
"My thoughts exactly," Fie readily agreed. "We find the hooded person, and we turn him in to the RMP. Then, Morgan won't have to sit the next field study out."
Morgan let out a soft laugh as she patted Fie's head. "I appreciate you guys trying to stick it out for me, but you don't need to do this for me. I made my decision."
"Nonsense." Laura vehemently shook her head. "Morgan has proven time and time again that her plans end in our benefit. At this point, it would prove a detriment to Class VII as a whole if she was no longer present for our excursions."
"Well, there's always Rean…"
"Who was it that got Laura and Fie to make up?" Machias cut in. "It sure wasn't him."
"Er, technically, they resolved things by themselves," Morgan argued. "I mostly stood on the sidelines."
"But were you standing idly while on the sidelines?" Laura challenged. "You showed me a way Fie and I could settle our differences. You continued to leave us in scenarios where we could talk amongst ourselves. We took action, but you were the one pulling the strings."
"Okay, now you're making me look like some evil mastermind."
"Is she wrong, though?"
"Well…" Morgan couldn't think of a way to fire back at Fie's retort, so her voice trailed off.
Machias crossed his arms. "A problem for at least one of us spells a problem for Class VII as a whole. Believe me, I would know. I think trying to find the root of this problem falls nicely into the scopes of our field study, so if we can do that while we're here, all the better for us in the long run."
Elliot nodded in agreement. "It's like that old saying. 'All for one and one for all.' I know the others in Group A would do the same thing if they were here."
Morgan simply stood there in bewilderment as her classmates rallied around her. Despite her holding back so many details about herself, they had already come to view her as one of their own. Almost three months had passed since they first came together as Class VII, and now they were already forging strong ties with one another.
Forging strong ties…
"Am I in the wrong? For wanting to see this resolved?"
Holly pursed her lips. "My place is not to judge the affairs of others. But if I were to give my opinions, the fact that you came here for the sake of others over yourself implies that your selflessness outweighs your selfishness. Such a personality trait is a rare virtue, but that virtue can also prove deadly in large doses."
"You mean it's like a drug?"
Holly stifled a chuckle. "I suppose it can be interpreted like that. In any case, my only recommendation for you is to take a step back and look at what you have. You have touched the hearts of many, and now it is time to turn those relationships into ones of give and take."
"Give and take?" Morgan looked at the fortune-teller confusedly. "Could you be more specific about that?"
"If I did that, I'd be out of a job." Holly briefly dropped her fortune-teller act to make that statement before composing herself. "You need not look far to find the solution you desire, but it may not necessarily be the one that you seek in this very moment. Know that just as you inspire others, so too must you take inspiration from them. Find solace in your friends, for they will lead you to your answer."
"!"
Morgan remembered something her father said to her long ago. 'Cherish the memories you make with others, because it's through those experiences that you begin to forge strong ties with each other.'
"Morgan?" the fortune-teller asked in a concerned tone.
"It's nothing…" Morgan laughed sadly. "I just realized...I forgot such a simple lesson…"
Morgan placed a palm to her forehead. "Oh, what am I going to do with you all…"
"You could stand to care a little more," Fie said, inching closer to her. "And maybe give this 'trust' thing more of a chance."
She looked at Fie, then at the others. They were all looking at her expectantly.
"Hehe," Morgan chuckled. "Guilty as charged."
She clapped both her hands on her cheeks. Then, she looked at a clock that was hanging on the wall. "We've got less than two hours before the ritual begins. We can look for information about the hooded figure that Fie saw while we complete the remaining tasks. What do we have left?"
Machias brought out the remaining requests. "We have two requests. One's another fetch quest for Holly, and the other is from a journalist looking for people to interview."
"That's two different jobs in two different places," Elliot noted. "Only Holly's is marked as 'Required', but it'd still be good if we got them both done."
"I say we divide and conquer," Fie suggested. "It'll save us more time."
"Yeah, but knowing Holly, she's probably going to send us into the island again," Machias argued. "The journalist said he was hoping to have at least three volunteers. If we did them both at the same time, we'd have to send a group of two out there. That's too risky."
"You do have a point…" Morgan eyed two of her classmates. "But we also have two of the strongest members in Class VII right here, and they've also proven that they can work together on a team. What do you say?"
"I have no qualms with these arrangements," Laura approved.
"Between us? It'll be a cinch," Fie agreed. "Besides, I needed to talk to Laura anyway."
The swordswoman turned in mild surprise. "Why might that be?"
"You talked about her end of the bargain during the monster fight," the former jaeger explained. "I need to do the same."
Laura furrowed her eyebrows. "Fie, you don't have to…"
"Jaeger contracts don't come cheap," she stated. "So if you uphold your end of the deal, I gotta uphold mine. Simple as that."
"Oooh." Morgan finally realized what they were talking about. "Right, I got it."
Elliot and Machias tilted their heads quizzically. "Got...what?" the former asked.
Morgan winked and put a finger to her lips. "Hehe. Just a little secret between women. Laura? Fie? Make sure to watch out for any frenzied monsters. There's no telling what they'll do to you."
Laura nodded. "Your concern is duly noted. But before we leave, can I ask you something, Morgan?"
"Hm? What's up?"
"To return to a question I had while on the way back…" she began. "When you were healing the Scalyptera, it looked like you were talking to it. Can you converse with monsters?"
"Uh…" Morgan took a moment to organize her response. "I can't understand what they're saying, per say, but I can sort of...feel what they're feeling. It's kind of like how you can tell what a horse is feeling if you're with one for long enough."
"What was the difference between this one and all the other monsters you've fought before?"
"There was something that just didn't feel right, and after I stabbed it and all the malevolence spilled out of it, I understood what it was going through." She looked out the window. "All those monsters that were afflicted with the virus, and yet not a single one was spotted near the residential area after all this time. Why do you think that is?"
Laura then recalled the words Morgan had spoken. This one's been fighting for a long time. "Are you implying that…?"
"Maybe I'm reading too much into things." Morgan shrugged. "But that one let out a LOT of malevolence, more than its body could realistically contain. But anyways, let's leave it at that. We're on the clock, so let's get some work done-zo!"
Following Morgan's lead, the students left the management house, dispersed into their assigned groups, and went their separate ways for the time being. They agreed to meet up at the shrine after they were finished so that they could potentially lend a helping hand to those setting up the animist ritual.
The trial by fire had begun.
Author's note: My original intent was to attach this particular fight to the end of the previous chapter, but it ended up becoming so large that it warranted its own chapter. I hope this didn't drag itself on for too long.
The stakes have risen a little. What does all of this mean? What will all of this lead to? We're nearing the climax of this arc, so I hope you all are prepared for what is to come! Until then, stay safe and stay healthy.
