The camp was a small outpost of log cabins and a central area, a firepit in the center with a pile of wood ready for use.
Trevor looked around the small campsite. "What is this place?" He asked.
"Our base." Yuren said, "We've only just started to set it up.
"No signal..." Jeanne muttered as she checked her phone.
Trevor and Vincent looked at their phones and noticed they, too, had no signal.
"Estriv! Have you seen Jytenreu or Avenonia? Or even Esotonia by chance?" Yuren called out to an android girl who was carrying an entire tree on her shoulder.
"Ola's recon drone spotted Jytenreu sleeping in a Volcano further north. She is practically inaccessible. Ave recently got back and is also sleeping... she encased herself in crystal as soon as she got to the lake." The girl named Estriv said.
"R-right..." Yuren mumbled as he watched her continue walking.
Jeanne was shocked; she had never heard anyone refer to a Meteorn by a name before.
"So... there are Meteorn here?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah. Plenty. Hold on I'll go find someone." Yuren replied before suddenly disappearing in a flash.
"What?!" Vincent and Trevor both exclaimed at the same time.
Jeanne was startled and turned to Vincent. "What?!"
"He just disappeared!" He yelled, his hands raised in disbelief. "What the hell?!"
"He learned that from Esotonia..." Bei said with a nervous chuckle, "He'll be back."
Trevor and Vincent looked at Bei.
"What? What are you talking about? Who is Esotonia? What does he mean by that?" Jeanne asked, confused.
She looked at Eri, who shrugged. "Meteorn ability. Only for strong." Eri said. "Share abilities." She explained.
"Can't you talk in full, complete sentences?" Vincent asked with an exasperated sigh.
Eri tilted her head, "No."
"Why the hell not?" He demanded.
"Can't." She responded.
"Damn it." He grumbled, his fists clenching in frustration. "Then don't try to explain anything!"
"Why angry?" She asked, her eyes widening in curiosity. She was genuinely confused by his reaction.
"I'm not fucking angry, damn it. You can't even talk in full sentences! You're making this difficult!"
"How?" Eri asked, tilting her head.
Vincent sighed. He had reached the limit of what he could take from her. He was about to speak again, but was pulled over and thrown to the ground.
"You're not even trying to understand." Garra said, glaring down at him as the barrel of her rifle pinned him down by the throat, "You don't have to participate, but don't you dare be fucking disrespectful."
Garra lifted her gun, then stepped back to the side.
Trevor helped Vincent up and looked at Garra, "What was that about? He was just-"
"Don't bother. Let's get this over with so we can leave." Vincent said as he brushed himself off. "It's not like she's even capable of speaking a real sentence anyway."
"Stop that." Trevor said, his eyes narrowing, "They obviously don't like they way we talk about them, and yet we've done nothing but insult them and diminish their status since we got on their ship. They're probably tired of it."
Vincent turned to look at Trevor. "Look around you. You see a bunch of humans around here?" He asked, gesturing around, "I'm just supposed to believe all of this is just how things are now?" He demanded.
Trevor nodded. "Yes. Because it's the truth, Vince." He replied, his voice low, his eyes fixed on Vincent, "You can't keep denying the truth.
"And how the fuck do you know it's not just elaborate programming where they just think they're sentient?" Vincent asked, his voice raising, "You can't deny it isn't a possibility, can you?"
Trevor looked at him for a moment. He then sighed and turned to look at Jeanne.
"Master, I can't believe you woke me and brought me to these rats..." Jytenreu's voice said, her voice laced with annoyance. The sound of her voice made everyone freeze and turn around.
Yuren had returned, and with him was another woman.
"I-it's her! The one that was in the video of Argentia's capital!" Trevor shouted, pointing.
Jytenreu's tail perked up, and she looked around. Her eyes fell on Jeanne, and Trevor and her face twisted in annoyance. "These bags wanna talk huh? Fine. I'll answer a few questions." She crouched as her tail arched above her head.
She then pointed to Trevor and Vincent, "But you two better keep your damn opinions to yourself. If Master wasn't here, you'd be ash before I'd even acknowledge you were actually there."
Trevor and Vincent stepped back in fear, and Jytenreu smirked.
Jeanne looked at Jytenreu, and her mind began to race. She was finally meeting a Meteorn and getting the answers to questions she'd been wanting to know. Her eyes were wide, and she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
"Reu, don't go too far. We're trying to establish some common ground." Yuren said as he patted her head.
"Calling me that is unfair… You'll pay with your body later. Hot and Sweaty." Jytenreu muttered, "Fine, ask your questions." Her eyes scanned Jeanne and Trevor.
Eri clicked her tongue, Garra shook her head, and Bei sighed.
Yuren nervously laughed.
Jeanne and Trevor both exchanged looks, and Jeanne spoke first. "Why did you attack the Argentia's capital? You seemed annoyed by the soldiers like they were in the way."
"To take back my master of course. We finally found him. Our lives were no longer on a time limit once we knew where he was. It didn't matter what was in the way as long as I got him back."
Yuren nodded, "They need me to stay alive."
"Next question." Jytenreu demanded.
Jeanne thought about her next question and then looked up at Jytenreu, "Where do you come from?"
"Do really want to know? Do you want your reality shattered, little girl? None of you are ready for that. I will tell you that this isn't the first time you humans have existed. But that is all you'll get."
Jytenreu was staring down at Jeanne, and Jeanne felt her blood run cold.
"Can you at least tell me about that later?" Yuren said. "It's important."
Jytenreu nodded, "Of course!" She smiled at him, her expression warm.
"I actually have a question," Vincent said, his tone flat.
Trevor's expression shifted to fear that Vincent would repeat something offensive, and Jytenreu looked at him, her eyes narrowed.
"What? Go on. Make my day."
Vincent stared at her. "How many Meteorn are there? Are they all as strong as you?"
"Thousands. And who knows, humans and their creations are too weak to compare strength with." Jytenreu replied with a huff.
"Reu-Reu, I have a quick question." Kuno walked over holding a bucket of fish. "What are blackout zones really?"
"Kunono? You're saving a few of those for me, right?" Jytenreu asked.
"Of course!" Kuno said as she held up the bucket. She looked at Jytenreu, her eyes filled with expectation.
"What?" Garra looked dumbfounded, "When and how did those two get friendly?" She mumbled.
Jytenreu reached out and grabbed one of the fish, taking a bite out of it. "What the hell do you mean by blackout zone?"
"The areas rich with resonance." Yuren added.
Jytenreu looked up as if she were pondering something. "Very different from the master's area. hmm... it's like... a beacon, a place to gather and share information, and a place that tells others to search the wider area around this point. It'd allow us to know where the master was if he was in that area. Who knows why humans insisted on sending their soldiers in them. Of course we'd defend our gathering places, is that not what they themselves do for the strongholds they call 'cities'?"
"Woah, so they were trying to locate Yuren. This whole time blackout zones were designated search areas!" Kuno shouted excitedly, "Alright, lemme get these fish to the cooler."
"But... but why do you hate us?" Jeanne asked. She couldn't stop herself from asking. The words just spilled out. "Why do you kill humans?" Her voice was small, and her eyes were full of fear.
Jytenreu's eyes shifted to her. "Why do humans choose to ignore the things they have done? You don't see me going out of my way to snap up humans for some twisted purpose or to fight my battles. My life and my energy are mine alone. You will not put me in a wicked machine of any kind! I'll destroy everything before you get the chance." Jytenreu said, her eyes narrowed. "But then you act as if you have no part in your own atrocities."
Jytenreu turned and took off into the sky, a glowing red streak left behind.
Trevor and Vincent stared at the sky in shock and awe, their minds trying to process the sudden display of power.
"Is... Is she gone?" Jeanne asked.
"I guess she's done here..." Yuren muttered as he turned to look at Jeanne.
"Wait... what? What did she mean?" Jeanne asked, her voice shaking. She looked up at Yuren, and then at Vincent and Trevor. Her mind was racing, and her body was trembling.
"That's enough for now. Please use cabin six for the time being. I'll have a team take you three home once the neutral zone clears up." Yuren said.
Once inside the cabin, Trevor sat on one of the cabin's beds, his mind still processing everything he'd just experienced.
"Hey... Jeanne... Do you really believe that?" Trevor asked.
"Are we really the bad guys? Her words were so... so..." Jeanne said, her voice breaking, "I-I'm sorry..." Her body shook with emotion. She was unable to keep it together.
"So the Argentia empire was taking sentient beings and cramming them into androids. That's a level of fucked up that's hard to swallow. As if I needed a reason to hate them more..." Vincent said. "We'll know why those androids appeared so normal. Honestly I could've gone my whole life without that truth. Why couldn't it have just been programming? Damn it..." Vincent sighed and sat on his bed, "But at least we'll be home soon."
"Right. We should try to sleep." Trevor said. He pulled off his jacket, lay down in the bed, and closed his eyes. He heard Jeanne lie down in hers as well.
Vincent sat up, and he could see the other two were still awake. He looked at Trevor and Jeanne. They were both still processing everything that had happened.
"Well... good night then." He muttered and lay back on the bed.
"Good night..." Trevor said.
"Night," Jeanne mumbled, and the three fell silent; the room was filled with a tense silence.
****
"Empress Yu! You can't be serious! Unchecked social media is dangerous!" The minister pleaded, his hands clasped in desperation. "Please! Please reconsider!"
Yu glared at the man, "My citizens need this. And how else to greatly strenthen my position among them than to allow them to speak with each other freely?"
"Your majesty! Please!" The man pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes.
"The era of the gilded age is over Prime minister. It's time for the court of public opinion."
"Empress, you are making a grave error! You are going to doom this nation!" The man yelled, his eyes filled with anger and desperation. "Allowing the free use of those sites will destroy everything we have built!"
Yu chuckled. "Are you saying that I'm making an error? I want to build something different. Not to continue the legacies you all have built. A new face of the Argentia Empire. And if those old fools try something while I'm doing this I will be seen as a martyr and they'll be exposed and hated." She paused for a sip of wine, "And quite frankly, I don't like what was built and left as my responsibilty. So I will let them have their social media as the first change to the Empire's public image. That's my first decree."
"Your majesty! The public cannot handle this level of freedom! They will abuse it!"
"I don't want a public that needs everthing washed before they have it, Prime Minister." Yu said, her eyes narrowing.
"Empress..." The prime minister said, his eyes filling with sadness.
"Now. I have other things to take care of. I have prepared everything, the nuclear plants are back up and running. The crimes of Amalia and the grand council are ready to be revealed, Requiem will not get the jump on me with that. I will not be included in their mess! I have set a date for the reveal, the day before the summit. Now... go finish your last term."
"You are taking great risk in this. It could be seen as weakness." The prime minister said.
Yu shrugged, "Then I'll just step down and let them pick their leader. That would make me look even stronger." She chuckled.
"Empress..." He paused for a moment and looked at her with a defeated expression.
Yu stood up from her chair. "Now leave me, Prime Minister. I have a war to stage its loss and allow the Republic to be heroic victors." She waved her hand, and the man turned and left the room, leaving her alone with the bottle of wine on her table.
"Finally." Yu muttered as she grabbed the bottle of wine and took a drink.
She had a lot to do, but it was finally happening. She would break free of the empire's past and begin her path. But it wasn't going to be easy. Not at all. Not while she was surrounded by the old fools who wanted to maintain their hold over the people.
But she was determined to make her mark on history. She was going to do something no other leader in the Argentia Empire had ever done before. She would make the empire into a democracy, no matter how difficult it might be.
Yu was not afraid to use the same tactics to dismantle their establishment and grip. She was going to use their own methods to end it. It would take time and a lot of planning, but she was determined to do it. She'd tear apart the world that had stolen her father from her.
She took another drink and sighed. She'd start by removing the grand council's power. She'd reveal their crimes to the public and force them to face justice.
The public would see that the Grand Council was nothing more than a criminal organization that had abused its power. She'd then dismantle the current court by district and make law enforcement accessible to areas that needed it, rather than a central force of the government. Once that was done, she would allow the citizens of the Argentia Empire to vote.
Yu was determined, and she swore to herself that she'd wipe the slate clean or die trying. For the sake of her fallen father and the people of her empire, the end very well justified the means. She'd destroy their foundation and build a new one from scratch.
Yu took another drink, "Father. You'd be proud."