X37: K-S

Scars taught him the most critical lesson, that being he must continue bleeding for her sake— no, for all their sakes. Kaz met Eliza's eyes with his emotionless, golden glare. He's on the brink of death. If he fails, if he dies: then the justice he and Eliza desire will never come to fruition. He… cannot die. He can't.

"I guess we're lucky you literally have the healing capabilities of a Phoenicia…" Sylvia shoved the drone back into its compartment as she walked away, sliding the door open and close behind her. "Go talk to reception for the discharge."

Kazuki tried to move his exospine, only for it to slowly jam. This level of damage will take weeks to repair, he thought… 

"I guess you'll be out of action for a while, Kazuki." commented Sato, "Probably for the best though… things have been tough."

"What is it?" asked Kazuki. The three of them looked at each other, exchanging glances of responsibility.

Eventually, Sato took up the mantle of breaking the news. "Our quote on quote friend, Senator Delia, is trying to fight against a motion to remove our Contract, given recent goings. And well…"

She pressed her uplink and activated the holo-TV opposite the bed. She skipped through gaming streams, movies and cooking shows, reaching the first news channel she found.

'—And let us not forget what happened half a week ago on Saturday,' said the news anchor. A massive picture appeared behind them of the Skyliner. It was captured footage of it falling and exploding. 'Police have currently not confirmed many rumours as some leaks indicate the possibility of mercenaries being involved, either working for or against the judiciary. However, these leaks are currently unknown at best—'

Kazuki remained idle. The skyliner was falling as explosions continued to ripple through it, crashing onto the surface as thousands of drones, shuttles and emergency vehicles hovered. Shuttle Mag-Locks from responders failed to tug the vehicle upwards as rain continued to pour down.

"Quinn saved your ass." said Sato, "Skydived directly into an evacuating shuttle."

Seems like some things with Quinn don't change. Hot-headed and rash as always. Something Kazuki always liked about him, he was reliable - even if he was a bit stupid at times.

'—Current confirmed casualties are in the thousands, with possibly tens of thousands more being injured or killed. Emergency responders are still looking through the rubble for survivors. Rumours have emerged that the perpetrators were that of the same pirates that dealt a hand in the P-1 Incident, though the Senate or Executive Branch have not commented as of yet. Coinciding with this, the Judiciary has yet to comment on a video sent to all major news outlets on the planet after the attack.'

"Pirates… they're wrong…" Eliza trailed off. She's not wrong, Kazuki thought. It was more than pirates, they were simply the scapegoat. 

Kazuki's face brimmed with intrigue, even if he didn't show it openly. Archius glanced over, noticing his interest piquing. The anchor disappeared as a video was displayed, overlayed with the news channels' name.

Svenn was sitting down on a hover-chair. The location seemed dingy, probably a run down warehouse. He was wearing heavy armour as he spoke. Kazuki saw him clutching onto the side of his torso that was taken out. Behind him was a thousand crates… He recognised those crates, those were the same ones that were in the vans.

'I am Svenn Janstein, representing the Clandestine Defence Corporation. Due to recent incidents, our organisation has been under attack by the AGENCY… I'm sure we don't need to remind ourselves of who leads them, the Noble Contract-breaker… Some believe our organisation to be defunct, but I promise: we still thrive. And our new goal has changed from the upholding of contracts to the elimination of the rogue element that now works for the government…'

His face grew thinner and angrier as he leaned towards the camera. He lugged his corrosive pistol onto his lap. His white side-swept fringe blocked the view of his eyes.

'Kazu… I know you're watching this… I might have failed to kill you there on that damn Skyliner… But know this… even if I die… I'll smile raining hell on you… All of you.'

And with that, the video ended. Sato turned off the television. Raining hell… Kazuki remembered one conversation back during the olden days of the Eden Initiative…

Sato looked towards him. "Raining hell… huh?"

She thought for a moment, then smacked her own cheek, shouting at herself, "No, no, no, no thinking about work! I'm off the clock…"

"I think you should keep thinking. We all know how you absolutely crave productivity." snarled Kazuki.

Eliza found it somewhat amusing and chuckled. Meanwhile, Archius decided to gain brownie points with Kazuki, his head twisted towards him. "What do you think it means?"

"P2." muttered Kazuki, "He'll throw a station at Anagora and watch it all burn. This time, we know the perpetrators in advance."

Eliza's face darkened at that comment. Her expression gave off the thoughts of remembrance. "The Skyliner... these people are organised," Eliza said.

Archius rolled his eyes to the side. "Yes," he said, as if affirming a kid asking a dumb question. Kazuki had no reaction. "They're Loyalists, of course they're organised. You don't get into Clandestine based on whispers."

"Most of the time," Kazuki interjected.

Archius nodded at Kazuki, waving his finger in approval. "Yes, most of the time..."

Eliza said, "Loyalist... They're Clandestine, right? I thought most would have surrendered, especially after the company's disillusionment."

"Officially, they are defunct," said Archius. "But some still fight, Liz."

"Fight for what? For who?" she asked, confused.

Archius opened his mouth to speak, but no words sang their song.

Kazuki had to answer. "They're Clandestine Loyalists under Svenn Janstein. The AGENCY consists mainly of ex-Clandestine Contractors, under me."

"So… Kaz, you think they're after P2?" asked Archius, "Are we going based on your intuition?"

"My memory does not lie," Kazuki stated, twisting to Archius, before letting off a massive sigh. 

"Want us to leave?" asked Eliza, "You must be quite tired."

"No. Sleeping's boring, not my thing."

She nodded. "Then what do we do?"

Sato shrugged. "I'll be going, you three better rest up, I'll inform Martinez of the situation," she said, waving as she walked away, closing the door behind her as she left.

The phase of the door left the three in silence… "I can do this. Right?" Kazuki glanced at the two.

"You took on Antonius, you can definitely take whoever this Svenn is," Archius commented.

Eliza nodded in agreement, probably having an even lesser understanding than what Archius has of his situation… Kazuki sighed again.

"But can I?" he asked again. "I'm not like the other members of the Seven… Felix has government backing; Hartius is soulbond to the Death Hazard; Emiya has the most advanced cybernetics in the galaxy and what do I have?"

"An army," Archius replied. "And let me tell you, ten thousand men are a lot better than one."

Eliza said, "And you have us." Archius' eyes glanced towards her in an almost mocking fashion. She didn't notice it.

"Still… Svenn's strong," Kazuki said.

Archius chuckled, pointing with one finger at Kaz. "We can see that, tell us something we don't know."

Don't know… Hmm. White hair, twitching eyes. He could have been mindsnared, Kazuki thought. No, that wouldn't explain how strong he is, considering he's been 'dead' for years, nearly five. No. There's only one conclusion he can draw from that.

"He might have a Hazard Shard."

Archius' face rose in light, an interested smirk curling up his lips and hair. Eliza, on the other hand, looked rather confused. "Sorry… I haven't done much binge researching on Hazards…"

"Well, it's not on the NATs curriculum, so why should you?" asked Archius. Kazuki twisted his body, standing up slowly. His body felt numb. He looked out the window, seeing an orange blur stare back at him.

"Hazard Shards. They're similar to that brooch of yours," Kazuki said. He lightly tapped Eliza's brooch, as she shimmied backwards, cradling it with one hand. It was like she was protecting it. He continued, "Star essence inside brooches are akin to Hazard Shards. Except Shards are stronger, more powerful…"

"And Lethal." Archius added on. "You could go into the Eclipse, Kaz, get one yourself."

"Huh!?" Eliza sprang up, pressing her hands down against the duvet. "Wait… the Eclipse? No, absolutely not! Who knows what threats are in there… Leviathans… Hazards…"

"That's the point." Kazuki remained motionless in all features. "It's dangerous. Unstable. Prime place for Hazard Shards. Don't worry, it should take a few weeks at best."

"But in your condition…" Eliza glanced him up and down. Kazuki did the same. He wasn't looking too well. 

"You're right… An expedition to the Heart of the Eclipse will kill me." Kazuki analysed the situation. She was right. It'd kill him, he thought. It was a risk he cannot take, under the circumstances. "But Svenn might have a Shard. That's a problem."

Eliza nodded. "But, how could you tell? From what I've heard, they're far and few between, not since the days of the Crusades - and that was well before even the Empire!"

"Exactly. That's what I'm confused about." He's too powerful, for someone dead for five years. "A Hazard Shard is the only possible explanation. But that itself provides—"

"—Even more questions," Eliza cut in. She covered her mouth as both Archius and Kazuki looked at her. "Sorry…"

She wasn't wrong. He nodded, placing a hand up against the window sill. "Entities long ago fed on stars, producing energy. For billions of years, they festered and evolved across the galaxy. The aliens that came before man harvested them, used them for weapons of war… Their power was immense," said Kazuki, pointing at Eliza's brooch, swirling with energy and weight. "After aeons, that is what's left of them. Just accessories, and tools."

Kazuki turned back to the window. "I'm guessing that's why they seem to weigh such a ton…" Eliza trailed off.

"Its usability scales with a person's willpower, their state of mind. Hartius is soul bonded to the Death Shard. He has no qualms about killing. His state of mind is not compromised," Kazuki said. 

He turned around, watching as Archius stretched himself out on the bed. "What?" he asked. "My back's hurting…"

"You're not the one to talk about back pains." Kazuki gave him a sense of cold truth. "A brooch's so called 'aristocratic burden' is that weight. Nothing more than the residue of these entity's will to thrive, their will to not submit to someone weak of mind, or guilty…"

Glancing towards Eliza, he could see her bleed of worry. Of course she'd feel uncomfortable. Given what he just told her, Kazuki guessed that she knew. To some extent, at least. He never wore his brooch, never in his life after his tenth birthday. 

And Eliza? She'll be fine. The weight of its burden on her is manageable, he thought. She did look winded, sometimes, but she always comes back, stronger, better. As long as she keeps doing that, she has her brooch under control. 

After all, she's dedicated her whole life to finding the perpetrators… to bring Victoria's memory justice. 

Well, here he was, realising that he was trying to run away again. How could he ever tell her? For once, Kazuki felt a measure of fear. 

But as always, it quickly subsided.