Begin Act II

Were they… flying? Wendy squinted through the air whipping past her, realizing the bright colors in her vision were an endless bank of clouds below, broken only by the soft line of the horizon and the bright blue sky above. Perhaps she was dreaming, then? Consciousness had begun to take on a rather existential definition for her; days and weeks swirled together in her memory full of holes and gaps that she stumbled over in her recollection. She was becoming so used to returning to awareness in unfamiliar surroundings and in the middle of conversations where she was only spoken of, never spoken to. Such was becoming the norm for her; the months after Irene had defected had been little more than a blur.

Ah, but there was Eunji, sitting in front of her, piloting whatever this newly devised contraption was that was keeping them aloft. That part was familiar, at least. Whenever she roused again from the stupor of the Slave Crown, it was always Eunji there by her side.

“Where are we going?” Wendy asked.

Eunji hated the resigned tone in her voice, catching it faintly over the wind in the open cockpit of their Sky Armor. “... Narshe,” the general replied over her shoulder. “Miners up north think they may have found an esper trapped in the ice in one of the caves.” She could feel the warmth from Wendy leaning in closer to hear. “We’re just going to check it out.”

Wendy accepted the explanation of their mission readily; she never usually had much choice in the matter. “And where are we now?” Wendy asked instead, resting her chin on her arms, folded on the back of Eunji’s seat. She didn’t remember hearing about this mission before, and she didn’t remember leaving the capital - certainly not in this flying machine at any rate.

Eunji glanced at the dials in the cockpit’s dashboard with their steady needles, and leaned forward to peer out over the edge of the Sky Armor down to catch a glimpse of the sea peeking between the clouds far below. “We just left the Southern Continent,” she patiently explained. “We’ll stop in Jidoor, but it’s going to be a while. You should rest,” she ended, giving Wendy a small smile as she settled back into her seat.

But Wendy didn’t return it as she shifted to watch over Eunji’s shoulder. “What about you? How long is it until Jidoor?” Her mind was still in a bit of a fog from wearing the Slave Crown, but the last time she had been to the Northern Continent, it had taken several days, and that was by water. She couldn’t imagine this little Magitek Armor-like machine was that much faster...

Eunji gave her a thumbs up, however. “I’ll be fine - it’s only a day or so of flying at the speed we’re going. The wind is giving us a push.”

A day or so? “You’re going to pilot this thing that whole time?” Wendy asked incredulously, the sudden return of life to her voice startling them both. She knew Eunji was a war veteran who had been in countless desperate and trying situations that had tested her to her very limits, but that didn’t mean Wendy liked it.

“Well, the company’s good at least,” Eunji placated after a pause. How very like Wendy, Eunji thought, with the way the little witch so readily cared for her well-being instead of worrying about their mission up in the north. “So that’s why I’m not exactly in a hurry,” Eunji added with a wide smile.

Wendy pouted. She supposed if she were a normal girl, she might find the young general dashing, but she was far from normal… Still, she had to agree, the company was good. But despite the smile creeping across her face, she continued to feign disinterest. “He’s coming too, right?”

Eunji’s smile waned. “Yeah, but he’s way ahead of us. We’ll meet up with him when we get to Jidoor.” Eunji had waited until the Court Wizard raced out of sight in his eagerness to claim his prize before she had slipped the Slave Crown from Wendy’s brow. The fact that it had been hours since then before Wendy had regained her awareness was extremely troubling to Eunji. It didn’t take a scientist to understand that the more she wore the crown, the more difficult it was for Wendy to return to herself.

This is what Irene had been so desperate to avoid, and again, Eunji recalled that look Irene had given her in Heechul’s laboratory. There had been no promises made between them, but the understanding was clear. Eunji was doing the best she could to protect Wendy, but it just wasn’t enough.

She didn’t have to guess to know that Wendy was just as loathe to catch up to the Court Wizard as she was. Though Eunji had fought and argued with Leeteuk to be included on this mission, she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be called away from the capital, not with the way Irene’s cry in the Magitek Research Facility still rang in her ears.

Wendy frowned, watching Eunji’s smile disappear as she turned back to face forward. She placed a hand on Eunji’s shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze. “There’s something else,” she guessed from Eunji’s dark expression. “What is he planning?” She let hand slide down Eunji’s shoulder and the tassels of her epaulette. It was such an automatic action that she didn’t even realize she had started doing it until she felt Eunji’s hand on her own. Did she do this often with Eunji?

Eunji glanced back at Wendy for a moment in curiosity. “It’s nothing like that,” she assuaged, a little distracted by Wendy’s familiarity. “I guess I just wish you didn’t have to come with us.”

And the unprofessional tone Eunji was taking with her did little to help Wendy’s confusion. Did Wendy… mean something to Eunji?

“Why?”

Eunji began to turn in her seat in surprise, but the Sky Armor listed and she had to focus on righting their course before she could respond. “Why? What do you mean?” Capturing an esper was no mean feat, even with two magic users and a trained military general involved. “What would I tell the Emperor if you were hurt?” she muttered as a way to buy herself some time in answering. Irene would kill her if something happened to Wendy, that was very clear, but Eunji had long-since learned that she wouldn’t be able to live with such consequences herself, either.

“Right.” Wendy let her hand slip from Eunji’s grasp as she sat back in her seat. Why was she so disappointed with such an obvious response? “... So what is this thing, anyway? Heechul’s latest?”

Eunji nodded. “It’s a ‘Sky’ Armor. No artillery on its own - it’s meant to have a gunner in the back seat,” she explained, turning her head to give another nod towards Wendy, “and one pilot.”

“And it’s also powered by Magitek?”

“... Yes.”

Wendy looked around the cramped interior of the open cockpit, noting the leather harness she probably should have been wearing limply hanging from her seat. “Is it hard to fly? How long has the Empire had these?” As simply another one of the Empire’s assets, Wendy wasn’t exactly expecting to be updated on every technological advancement the Chief Engineer prototyped, but the jump to weaponized aircraft seemed a little important.

“Hard?” Eunji thought. “Not really. I think once you get used to the idea that you’re, you know, flying, it’s really a lot like a Magitek Armor.” Eunji leaned over a little so Wendy could watch her gently alternate cranking the levers between her legs, causing them to bank left and right. “I think the Facility finished the first batch of these Sky Armors a month or so ago?”

And they were already being used for travel halfway across the world? Wendy didn’t know whether to be impressed or slightly worried, but after watching a moment longer, she could see what Eunji meant by the similarities with a Magitek Armor’s cockpit. She had certainly handled enough of those to recognize the mechanics.

“Teach me,” Wendy said, reaching in front of Eunji and flicking open the clasp of her harness.

“Wh-what? Teach you?” Eunji sputtered, glancing between Wendy’s hand and her determined expression.

Wendy rolled her eyes with a smile and gestured at the bank of clouds they were skimming the top of. “Teach me how to fly. You just said it’s not hard, right? We can take turns until we reach Jidoor.”

And there was something about the glimmer of excitement in Wendy’s eyes that prevented veteran General Jung Eunji of the Ghestalian Imperial Army from saying no.

+++

“Okay, Yeri, take the wheel!”

“WHAT WHEEL? THERE IS NO WHEEL!!!” Yeri shrieked as Joy began to stand up from the pilot’s seat as their Sky Armor whizzed around the hull of the Blackjack. “DON’T STAND UP! ARE YOU CRAZY?”

“Can we not panic right now?” Joy asked calmly as she gripped one of the copter’s levers in one hand and hefted her repeating crossbow in the other. “I can’t shoot and steer at the same time.” Her wide smile was entirely at odds with Yeri’s tight-lipped look of sheer terror.

“Can’t we land first?” Yeri whined as she carefully shuffled into the pilot’s seat.

“How am I supposed to land this thing on that when Moonbyul’s got the ship flying at a full tilt trying to avoid gunfire?” Joy asked, releasing the lever to gesture up at the massive airship.

“Just shut up, wait- DON’T LET GO!!!” Yeri yelped as she lunged for the lever, sending them careening away from the airship.

“Easy, easy!” Joy cried as she grabbed for the straps of the gunner’s harness to steady herself. “That lever sends us up, that one down, those switches are if you want to go faster-”

“SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP,” Yeri shouted as she yanked and hammered on the controls. “Hurry up and shoot them down so we can get off of this damned thing!”

Seulgi, Irene and Solji weren’t fairing much better. With the addition of a third person in the already-cramped confines of their Sky Armor, Irene was having a difficult time piloting them towards the Blackjack through the firefight. Seulgi couldn’t even retrieve her blade - not that it would have been of much use - with her side pressed against the back of the open cockpit as she and Solji held onto the swerving Armor for dear life. Irene struggled with the controls single-handedly as she cradled Shiva’s magicite in her lap.

“I don’t think it’s supposed to smoke like that,” Solji called over the wind and crackle of gunfire.

Seulgi looked up at the Blackjack that raced ahead of them, trailing a cloud of black smoke from its massive blimp, and she couldn’t be sure, but there seemed to be a few figures fighting on top of the balloon itself. “Irene…!”

“Take this,” Irene said gruffly as she released the controls only long enough to pry Seulgi’s hands off of the side of the Sky Armor and shove the magicite into her arms. “And don’t… don’t lose it,” she added, holding Seulgi’s gaze for a brief moment before returning her attention to the front. She sped after the smoking airship, arcing up past the deck, skirting the edge of the wide balloon to the top where they could now see Yooa sparring with a couple of soldiers around the remains of a wrecked Sky Armor jutting out from one of the blimp's metal plates.

“Everybody out!” Irene ordered as she flew low across the top of the airship in another feat of skill Seulgi wondered at. Irene’s fear of heights aside, Seulgi recalled that the ex-general had never even ridden on an airship until just a few days ago, let alone piloted a Sky Armor.

Seulgi had little time for contemplation, however, as she watched Solji perch on the edge of the cockpit before jumping out. “Thanks for the ride, Ice Princess…! Come on, white collar!” It took Seulgi a moment to realize Solji meant her, as she glanced down at her dusty, torn tuxedo jacket and wrinkled dress shirt beneath.

It wasn’t as easy for her to leap out as it had been for Solji, however, and Seulgi had the Shiva magicite to consider as well. She held it tucked into the of her suit jacket as she stepped off the side of the Sky Armor and tumbled onto the shockingly stiff surface of the Blackjack’s massive balloon. By the time she was able to find her feet and one-handedly draw her sword from her belt, Solji had already managed to throw one of the Imperial soldiers off of the top of the balloon. Seulgi watched as the man desperately flailed for something to grab onto as he rolled over the edge and into the smoggy abyss below.

“Not often I get to watch you work, Heo,” Yooa grunted as she held a garrote taught against the throat of the final soldier.

Solji eyed the smoldering wreckage of the Sky Armor as she replied. “I usually pay people to do this, but I guess I could use the workout. But uh… how do we get down?”

Seulgi quietly re-sheathed her sword as Yooa deposited the soldier’s unconscious body in much the same way Solji had, though her attention was drawn to the skies, scanning for any sign of Irene in her Sky Armor.

“You think all these ropes are for show?” Yooa answered brightly as she skipped over to a section of netting and began to descend. She paused with a look at the damage to the balloon and frowned. “Once we’re clear of the fortress, we’ll have to come back up and take a look at that though.”

“It’s okay to just… leave it?” Seulgi asked incredulously, carefully making her way to the edge of the balloon.

Yooa’s reply was a bit more sober as she glanced at Seulgi. “What's more important is getting everyone to safety. By the way, where’s Yeri?”

+++

Joy had been able to fire a grand total of one bolt from her crossbow before being forced to cling to the back of Yeri’s seat as the blonde sent them barrel rolling straight for the emperor’s ziggurat.

“The long one! Pull the- Zephyr help us... PULL the long one!” Joy cried as Yeri hugged the levers in an attempt to stay inside the Sky Armor.

“Why did you make me pilot in the first place?!” Yeri spat as she yanked on the longest lever after the Sky Armor came out of another roll. They leveled out and the thief took that moment to turn around and smack Joy in the arm. “I don’t care about the soldiers, just fly us to the Blackjack so I can get off!”

Joy hefted her large crossbow and rubbed her arm. “Okay, okay! But it’s going to be kind of tricky... “ she began as she slid back into the pilot’s seat that Yeri vacated. She banked away from the ziggurat and towards the Blackjack with its trail of smoke blending in with the ubiquitous haze of the city. “Maybe it’ll be like jumping off a train,” she mused.

“Do you have a lot of experience jumping off trains, Queen Sooyoung?” Yeri asked, leaning unexpectedly close to Joy’s ear.

Joy flinched away and gave Yeri a wry look. “I’m not the one who’s jumping, remember.”

But Yeri put her hands on Joy’s shoulders, giving them a squeeze. “No way. We’re both getting on that ship.”

“... Okay. Hold on,” Joy said as she turned the small Sky Armor towards the Blackjack.

“Wait you're serious about the jumping thing?” Yeri asked worriedly as she shifted her supportive grip on Joy’s shoulder’s to practically choking her with her arms around the queen’s neck.

Joy strained in Yeri’s terrified embrace. “Relax- no really, please relax - whew, thank you. Anyway, don't worry so much! We jumped off an airship with just a sack of cloth strapped to our backs. It’ll be fine,” Joy insisted as she flew closer to the Blackjack at an alarming rate. Yeri shifted to cling to the side of the cockpit as Joy finally shrugged her off. “Get ready…” she prompted, aiming to fly right between the Blackjack’s massive balloon and its deck.

“Wait! When will I know when to jump?” Yeri asked, her grip on the edge of the Sky Armor turning every one of her knuckles white.

Joy smirked over at her from the controls. “Do you trust me?”

“No.”

Joy’s smile deteriorated into a pout, and she decided to get her revenge by not giving a warning before rolling the Sky Armor upside down and dumping Yeri in a heap onto the deck of the Blackjack. Joy let herself drop out of the cockpit as well, just in time to tumble across the wooden planks and slam up against the ship’s railing.

“I’m…! Going…! To kill you,” Yeri growled as she painfully pulled herself upright.

“Can the killing wait?” Moonbyul asked from the helm. “I feel like we’ve done enough of that for one day.” Yeri seethed as she glanced over at the captain, but her frustration immediately turned to concern as she noticed that Moonbyul’s arm was in a makeshift sling. She pulled her satchel in front of herself as she trotted over to the silver-haired pilot and began poking around the injury.

“Ah, hey! Easy, that hurts! It’s a bullet wound if that helps,” Moonbyul winced, trying to dodge away from Yeri’s triage.

Seulgi, Solji, and Yooa slipped from the rigging onto the deck and Seulgi had never felt more pleased to have a solid surface beneath her feet again. She was even happier to see Joy leaning up against the railing on the opposite side of the deck, Yeri treating a mostly-intact Moonbyul’s injuries, and Irene, stepping down from the Sky Armor she had successfully landed near the bow of the Blackjack.

“That’s everyone,” she announced to Moonbyul as she walked over. “We should head out. We can explain the new plan on the way.”

But Moonbyul didn’t meet her gaze as she looked straight ahead. She hesitated a moment, her lips pursed into a thin line before she finally answered. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go, guys! I think we’ve definitely overstayed our welcome.”

“But Somi…” Sohee mentioned quietly.

Activity on the deck of the Blackjack quieted until only the groans of the ship’s overworked engines could be heard over the wind.

Seulgi looked around, squinting through the failing afternoon light, taking a mental count of the crew in her head: two, four, six, eight…

“She’s gone,” Moonbyul stated.

Seulgi’s next question was clearly answered by the unshed tears in the pilot’s eyes, but she still had to ask, “Where is she?”

“She fell.”

+++

There was nothing Leeteuk liked about the sea. He didn’t like the woefully dull view, the featureless expanse that stretched across the horizon. He didn’t like the sand along the shore, always sticking to his boots. He didn’t like the shrill cry of the seagulls, or any of the other unearthly noises they made. And Leviathan help him, he just couldn’t stand the smell.

The air was unusually still for a fall evening in the seaside city of Jidoor, and Leeteuk’s senses were assaulted by the stench of the docks. Or perhaps the pungent sea-smell was coming from the dockmaster himself. The tall, thin man stood just a few feet away rubbing the stubble on his chin as he eyed the Sky Armor Leeteuk had landed right on the dock, causing it to sit dangerously low in the water.

“Gotta be the tiniest little airship I’ve ever seen,” he muttered skeptically.

Leeteuk couldn’t be sure which aggravated him more, the smell or the sandpapery sound of the dockmaster rubbing his chin. Or the fact that the man felt like he needed to speak at all, while he was busy surveying the skies for any sign of the general and the witch. “If you must know,” Leeteuk responded impatiently, “it’s part of Gestahl’s Imperial Airforce.”

“Airforce…?” the dockmaster repeated, testing the word. “So you’re some big to-do from Gestahl, then?”

“I am the Imperial Court Wizard,” Leeteuk answered haughtily, certain that the dockmaster would recognize him now. His title was feared throughout the World of Balance; Leeteuk had made sure of it.

But the dockmaster simply continued to stare at the Sky Armor ponderously. “Sure are a lot of dignitaries comin’ through Jidoor lately,” he said drolly. Leeteuk rolled his eyes at the unnecessary commentary from the peasant. “A lot of interesting gossip if one had an ear for it,” he continued, finally shifting his gaze to eye the Court Wizard’s coinpurse.

Leeteuk slowly turned from his surveillance of the skies and grinned wickedly at the poor fellow. He leaned in very close to the dockmaster’s face, and the man tried to take a step back, but to his horror, ice was beginning to encase his boots, freezing him to the dock.

“My dear sir, I have in fact two ears for whatever it is you want to tell me. And you do want to tell me, if you want to keep your feet,” Leeteuk purred at him.

“Th-the Queen of Figaro,” the man gasped, trying desperately to wiggle some feeling back into his toes. “That’s her ship, over there…! She pulled into port naught a week ago…!” His voice rose in pitch with every word until he ended with a pathetic whine. “Please, sir!”

But Leeteuk paid him no mind as he eyed the nondescript cutter in the water. “That one? They came in on that?” he asked rhetorically. He turned and patted the man on the shoulder heavily. “You’ve been very helpful. Probably the most helpful you’ve ever been in your life.” He strutted down the dock towards the cutter and was just starting to mount its gangplank when the dockmaster finally found his voice again.

“S-sir…?! What about me?!” he cried pathetically, trying to pull his feet free from their blocks of ice.

Leeteuk pointed up to the sky and shouted back, “Don’t worry, the sun comes up in a few hours~!”

The cutter was hilariously cramped compared to the galleons the Imperial Army sailed across the seas. The bitumen was flaking from the ropes and staining the wood of the deck and railings, and even in the twilit gloom he could see the patches in the rolled up sails. He wasted no time locating the captain’s cabin and opening every drawer and cabinet he found inside. His haphazard search bore little fruit: pens and paper, generic maps with no labels, old navigational tools, but one door in particular finally drew his interest.

He slowly approached the hutch built into the wall of the cabin, and flipped open the latch that held it shut, revealing a lone carrier pigeon, startled from its roost. Leeteuk frowned when he noticed the empty perch right next to the bird, but a wicked grin slowly spread across his face.

“Tell me, little one,” he muttered as he carefully untied the pigeon and held it up to his face. “What are you doing here all by yourself?”

He drew the bird to his chest as he glanced around at the mess of navigational and writing supplies he had upended on the desk.

“Where could your friend be?”