The oppressive trees behind attempted to conceal them, filtering the moonlight as well as the occasional flashes of fireworks and preprogramed mincrafts.
The figure on the right was relatively tall, however the other was almost a full head taller. Their cloaks danced in the wind in step with the rustling tree leaves and bushes.
They stood as if in disbelief of their presence.
Yuna braced for the scolding.
"You guys couldn't be more stupid if you tried..." he stepped closer, "What on Earth happened Mercy? You lot are fortunate most people are gathered towards the city centre!"
"Yeah, nice to see you too buddy," Ryu was not happy to see him, "you do realise this isn't the rendezvous spot, right-"
"Yeah no shit! I thought you guys just...!"
Yuna remembered the historical temple they almost decimated. She didn't see Nico or Merphie at the time, though she was understandably distracted.
"Miss. Mercy, I am glad to see you are alright!"
"Thank you Merphie, its good to see at least one of you has manners..." Nico looked stumped as she walked passed them into the foliage.
"Mr. Ryugetsu and Miss. Yuna, I am delighted to see that you two are okay!"
"Keep working on that vocab Merphie, you're doing great." Ryu followed after Mercy.
Yuna did the same, though managing a 'hi'.
Nico grumbled in frustration as Merphie beamed in delight. Yuna found their opposing reactions fitting for the Black and White Paladins, she suppressed what would have been a poorly timed chuckle out of respect.
They walked in a single file through the untamed nature reserve, passing by dozens of old tents and weathered marquees.
Yuna knew they didn't belong to rich families on a temporary 'glamping' retreat. She stepped over a portable gas stove and ducked under a washing line tied to a branch.
Hearing hushed voices as they traversed through the settlement made her uneasy. The Paladin Jet wasn't too damaged thanks to Mercy's efforts, and they had secured it manually before they had left. Perhaps Merphie could supply it with power after the mission was complete.
The strip of greenery after the aqueduct was barely forty paces wide, and before she knew it they had emerged from the trees, looking onto a large and sparse construction site.
Unmanned Drilling rigs and excavators were parked haphazardly as they charged over night. In certain areas, perimeter fencing cordoned off half demolished heritage structures and on the locked gates were makeshift posters and defaced flags tied to it.
'STOP KILLING OUR HISTORY!' was the prevalent phrase that Yuna saw, perhaps the slogan of a popular public movement.
Retroidica was progressing at an unprecedented rate as it left its history behind. And so was the gap between the rich and the poor.
Yuna turned back to check on Nico and Merphie, they had stopped at one of the posters on the fence:
'JUSTICE FOR SOUTH SUNDAVAALA!' it said. Merphie looked to Yuna then back to Nico.
"Mr. Nicodae, perhaps we should let the others know about our findings..."
Nico lingered for a moment, deep in thought, before he eventually walked on ahead.
He had strong, dark features. Most notable was his piercing hazel eyes and his permanent furrowed brow. Or perhaps he was just always in a bad mood which was also perfectly plausible.
He passed by Yuna but didn't meet her gaze.
She tried not to take offence by it. The others gave him a hard time but he meant well, usually.
In actuality the entire group had an air of uncertainty between them tonight. It was vivid, almost as if it was tangible.
They walked as a group in the middle of a dimly lit side street. Yuna couldn't perceive any life in the bespoke, apartment windows around them.
Merphie had now made his way to the front, seemingly leading them to their objective. Ryu made a comment about a life sized satnav.
As their cloaks flowed under the wind tunnels influence, perhaps making them appear like ghouls in the night, Nico finally spoke up.
"You're really not gonna tell me what happened?" his voice wasn't laced with frustration like before, "...Mercy?"
"Don't worry about it, we're all safe and sound, right?" Yuna realised she was keeping her mistake hidden, perhaps she wanted to make up for her previous remark.
"What's more important is your justification for this mission. We have to report whenever we enter international borders, or did you forget?"
"No I didn't forget, but that's all the more reason to be suspicious," Nico replied, "Merphie and I have been monitoring his activities for the last two weeks, its all in the report I sent earlier today."
"So... he's secretly trying to become a construction worker? No a construction manager." Ryu's remark was on brand.
"Keep talking and I'll reconstruct your face, greenie." Nico retorted.
"Greenie huh, a lil on the nose, not your greatest work-"
"If you're planning on being useless as usual tonight, run those little green legs back to the Nimbus-"
"Guys wait." Yuna spotted a shadowy figure emerge at the end of the street.
It was an old Retroidican man in a traditional Retroidican cloak. It was opened, revealing a blue and white sweater, and he vacantly enjoyed a late night stroll with a freshly cold beer in hand.
She found herself fixated on the sweater, the fabric was high quality, though it reminded her of a sorrowful paternal memory.
Before feelings of emptiness crept in, he finally noticed them amongst the shadows in their own formless silhouettes and hesitated.
"Don't worry, we're travelling performers!" Ryu called out casually. The tension that was building dissipated twice as fast as the old man began a congested laugh.
"Haha, could've fooled me, but don't mind this old geezer!"
"Say, you wouldn't have happened to see a guy in his 40s, around ye high, with scruffy, greying hair would you...?" Ryu gestured the rough height of their Captain. Yuna couldn't help but think he was a little off.
"Ryu!" Mercy warned sharply.
"He has a face with this permanent scowl and is visibly sleep deprived." He continued with his best Captain impression, ignoring Mercy's valid reservations.
"Uh, no not recently," the old man chuckled "but that does sound like me in my hay-day, during my army days I'll tell ya." The small old man reminisced with pride, though Yuna and the others weren't convinced.
"You served in the Retroidican military? We thank you for your service!" Nico offered, he wouldn't miss a chance to acknowledge a fellow warrior, but he was clearly on edge.
"Yeah well it hasn't given me much, other than nights without sleep." He laughed again but Yuna could imagine there was an inkling of truth in his words.
"Travelling performers you say, some kinda Peacekeeper Paladin parody?"
He stared at the slits in their cloaks as the wind revealed their coloured under suits. A glaring oversight, perhaps a by product of their last minute mission, though the old man was fairly sharp.
"Yeah... something like that..." Ryu thankfully replied, "We're the Peace Sweepers, we sweep the... peace?" He confused himself but it honestly sounded like a bit.
"Haha, well there's an underground station not too far from here. It's still under construction but there's a line that goes straight outta the city," the veteran informed. "Ya'll have a good rest of your night now, I'm sure you'll find your uh... manager..."
The assumption was correct. He shuffled past them, though his eyes lingered on Merphie. He towered over the old man with a hood over his head. The veteran squinted, deepening the wrinkles on his face and the Paladins tensed in turn.
"...Alien?" the old man asked.
That was the last thing they expected to hear.
"I know all about aliens. My wife left me because of them so I know you look nothing like one!"
"Everything alright gramps?" Yuna managed, "I don't think we've discovered them just yet, right?"
He took another look at Merphie.
"Pah, kids and their funky get ups!"
At that he took a swig of beer and shrugged.
He waved a weathered hand in a goodbye, muttering something under his breath, before sauntering down the road singing a Retroidican chant.
Perhaps he was a fan of alien conspiracies, Yuna thought. Though the accusation wasn't unfamiliar, people accused them of being aliens all the time. She couldn't blame them.
As he hobbled out of sight, a sigh of relief escaped from all of them.
"I know we don't do covert missions anymore but for times like these, Merphie needs a better disguise." Mercy concluded, "also Ryu, Victor is in his early thirties, not much older than me."
"Oh really? I'm sorry to hear that-" Mercy punched his arm while he snickered and an assortment of purple, holographic geometry escaped from the collision. She didn't live up to her name much, Yuna thought.
As they continued through the city, they came across a newly finished high rise.
They looked on to a sparse, inset atrium of earthy tones and smooth textures, interrupted with colourful storefronts on either side. The smell of savoury food and grilled meat filled the atmosphere.
Most storefronts had no queues, so Yuna convinced Mercy to buy something with the Retroidican currency she had brought. Her only stipulation was for them to completely finish their food.
It was her thing, even the Captain couldn't escape it. Yuna wondered if she was a mother of twelve in her past life, she for sure could handle it.
As they continued through the atrium, salty biscuit bags in hand, Yuna could hear the muffled beat of drums being played somewhere in the distance. The occasional cheer sounded followed by a thunderous applause.
It was lively, like it was enough to melt away the unexplainable sense of dread surrounding them and the mission.
"So where exactly are we going?" Mercy rightfully asked.
"We're actually going to the station the old geezer suggested, right Merphie?" Nico informed.
"Yes, we should be able to walk through to the other side of this building," Merphie chimed, "there should be a station entrance ahead to the right."
"...So a train operator then..." Ryu held true to his cynicism just like he had to his seat earlier.
Nico sighed, exhaling the irritation out of his system.
"...Merphie and I went to the tracker's location, but it was blocked off by a heavily guarded complex." He began finally, "it seemed privately owned, and there was no way of getting in there without causing a scene. But I found out a tunnel ran right underneath it, perhaps a train line."
"I reckon there could be a connection between the two."
"What makes you think that?" Mercy inquired unimpressed.
"...a hunch."
"A hunch?" Ryu started, "do you remember the last time you had a hunch?"
"Yeah and that old lady attacked us with that spikey kid ." Nico rebutted.
"But your 'hunch' was that she wouldn't."
"The point is!" Nico stopped in his tracks, "they were both Retroidican based, enhanced mercenaries. If something like human experimentation is going on in that complex, and it involves the Captain's expertise, we have to seize him."
He finally said it. What they had all feared.
The Captain was a world class scientist and engineer. He hand selected each of them and created all of their tech and enhancements.
For him to work secretly with the Retroidican government...
The group stood in the heart of the atrium in silence.
The interior stretched to the top, lined with identical balconies that looked onto the area below.
They were like the ribs of a giant, the elevators columns ahead the spinal column from which they sprouted.
The Paladins were consumed whole as they digested their own dilemma.
"Am I correct in saying that the atmosphere has suddenly shifted to... slightly depressing? I do apologise."
Yuna noted that Merphie was always one to state unspoken nuances out loud.
It was somewhat endearing and he was correct, but now wasn't the time.
"No. Don't apologise Merphie. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, even if I have to drag him back to the Nimbus myself."
"Nico, wait," Mercy demanded, "why would Victor need to be doing something like this, and why hide it from us?"
"I don't know," he admitted "but since it's most likely linked to the countries new enhanced mercenary division, I have a few ideas."
"Like...?" Yuna asked, but she didn't like where the conversation was leading.
It almost sounded like blasphemy hearing Nico talk.
Whether he'd admit it or not, they all knew he respected the Captain the most. He would usually be the last person to doubt him, it unfortunately added some credence to his accusatory claims.
"The other day," he began " I heard him arguing with someone over the phone, talking about a deadline... as if something was coming."
"Something... like a war?" Mercy pondered, "If Retroidica is planning on expanding its borders in the south..."
"Then their government could be paying off the Captain to keep us busy with those enhanced mercenaries. Just like the two we fought just last week." Nico concluded, "A complete invasion of the neighbouring country would be possible without our intervention, especially since the superpowers have their hands full."
"No. That's completely out of character for the Captain and you know it." Ryu denied firmly.
"You're right, but he's been acting 'out of character' for a while now. There's definitely something up. Like why is he here to begin with and why are we being left in the dark?"
"Well Retroidica is where he was born..." Ryu added. But he didn't have a real answer, it was almost like he was conceding to Nico...
Was the world ending?
Yuna turned to Mercy. She inspected the floor with a troubled expression. There was a cold sadness, it yearned for the warm yet vacant presence of their Captain.
For Mercy, however, perhaps he was more than just a Captain.
Yuna hoped that this was all just a misunderstanding, that her team would return to normal before long. The situation was beginning to feel dire, but she absolutely refused to let her faith falter, she felt she didn't have a choice.
The mention of the Captains genius lead her to ruminate on her last interaction with him. It was peculiar, but she wasn't sure how relevant it really was.
For as long as she had known him, he was always the fun, nerdy giant she'd visit sometimes. She only came to know his serious and commanding side as she grew older.
She didn't know what deal he struck with her father, but he had become uncomfortably overprotective since her first day.
She reflected on their last interaction, she remembered the hexagonal, shadow- like device he was sitting with in a meditative fashion. Or was it a cube? She couldn't decide.
It was very uncommon for something to elude her perceptively, especially in such a blatant manner.
It lingered like a spectre in her mind, along with a myriad of further unknowns that loomed in the Paladins clouded path.
They followed Merphie down into a vast underground station.
"Wow..." Yuna gasped. The unexpected scenery regretfully brought the word straight out of her.
The stations entrance had led them down a flight of stairs into a great expanse.
Above them was a concrete ceiling of geometric volumes, reaching down like stalactites. The largest volume in the centre displayed orange, holographic text of train times and platforms.
The oblong light panels in between them gave each volume additional texture and form as they additionally illuminated the floor below the balcony on which they stood.
The Paladins looked down onto what seemed to be a central hub for many different train-lines, with automated storefronts and kiosks.
The public seating's deep red colour heavily contrasted the stations warm grey interior, along with the assortment of green plants and trees in their angular flower beds of varying heights.
Running water subtly came into earshot as Yuna saw a flat, man-made waterfall as it cascaded down a wall in the distance, pooling into a small, angular pond.
"Yeah... this country's subways are known spots for tourists and not just because of the transport.
Most major cities in Retroidica follow the same retro- modernism and brutalist style, I guess
Ascendia is no exception," Ryu was apparently now the Paladins personal tour guide.
"...If their government didn't hate us so much, I wouldn't mind living here honestly... among, countless other reasons of course."
"You wanna live in a subway station?" Nico remarked.
"No, but it would beat living with you."
"We're getting closer!" Merphie chirped, innocently slicing the fabricated tension.
The Paladins came across only a couple of cloaked individuals on their way out of the city, it was almost eerie how desolate the station was.
As she walked, Yuna weighed the decision to finally share her perspective, however, she got in her own way.
As the newest and youngest, she assumed she didn't get a say in important topics yet, especially one as sensitive as this, but she understood that her input could be a relevant puzzle piece in the larger context of the situation.
Mercy often told her off for thinking that way about herself, telling her she was just as valuable as any of the others, though she had made many mistakes since joining and wanted to prove that she was useful.
She felt that sounding unintelligent in any capacity would undo all of her efforts.
The Peacekeeper Paladins were amazing.
In their unique position, they had made a real impact in the world. As individuals, though they had their quirks, they were just as remarkable. Highly skilled in their own area of expertise.
Then there was Yuna. She just wanted to do right by her father, she couldn't afford anymore mistakes.
"What if it's about more than Retroidica expanding its territory?" She went for it.
"What do you mean?" Nico asked.
They all stared at her now.
"… Retroidica is a nation known for its technological advancements, right? Well, that black, cube-like device he uses now might be one of their new projects..."
She had only seen the Captain use it once but she knew there was something more to it.
They stared at her blankly.
She made a mistake, she assumed the device was common knowledge on the Nimbus. Without a verifiable co-sign, her suggestion was now just a baseless theory.
It was too late to backtrack.
"A black cube…?" Mercy questioned in concern.
"Y-yes, I saw him... using it in his private training chamber..."
"Just the two of you...?" Ryu asked.
He had stupid grin.
"Ryu..." Mercy alarmed.
Nico shook his head.
"What, I was joking-?"
"And what was he doing with this device?" Mercy resumed.
"... he was sitting on the floor meditating with it I guess," she continued after shooting Ryu a glare, "I was across the room when he held it, but I could tell it was incredibly dense. Perhaps he's working on advanced technology with Retroidica, furthering their monopoly on tech?"
She was trying to steer the group away from the human experimentation, enhanced mercenary angle; but she realised she had ended the sentence as if she was asking them instead of a concluding rhetorical question.
"Could be osmium or some other dense material," Ryu didn't disappoint, "I'm not exactly following?"
"But I could only tell by looking at it, isn't that odd?" she protested, "It was like the atmosphere in the room was drawn towards it."
In all honesty she wasn't entirely sold on what she saw and its relevance either, but in actuality, there was a brief moment where Yuna thought she had seen him levitate the device when she had entered.
But that wasn't within the scope of his abilities and it would further discredit her.
She had also briefly interacted with it out of curiosity when she was alone. She didn't think much of it then, but she started to feel a certain way in which she couldn't describe later on.
She was beginning to think the cube was the reason.
"Did he tell you what it was for?" Mercy asked.
"...He said it was something that could help us in the future, but never elaborated."
"Well, that does sound kinda ominous within a certain context..." Nico pondered.
She wondered if they seriously considering her input or just being nice.
"Merphie," Nico called, "Have you analysed this device before?"
"Yes, it's my duty to analyse any and all technology the Peacekeeper Paladins come into contact with," Merphie began, "The device is [REDACT INFORMATION]. Um... that was..."
They all turned to him.
"The Red Peacekeeper Paladin has been experimenting with [REDACTED INFORMATION], with [REDACTED INFORMATION]..."
The Paladins looked at Merphie in bewilderment as he struggled with his words.
Was there really something behind the cube?
The vast technological gap between them and the Captain had just become evermore apparent; even their base in the clouds would begin to destabilise and sink if he stayed away too long.
Against the backdrop of the current situation, Yuna wondered how he was truly achieving these technological feats.
She heard many times that the schematics for the Nimbus One had gotten leaked just before she had joined; the Captain was yet to file the patent.
There were numerous attempts to recreate what seemed to be his advanced magnetic field generator, but company's prototypes would achieve levitation only to slowly collapse again after exhausting immense amounts of energy.
There was undoubtedly a missing element. Was it the cube, Yuna thought, or could it be the Captain himself? After all, the cube had appeared only recently.
She couldn't make sense of it all.
"That settles it, he has something he's hiding! Let's get going!" Nico began to sprint and the rest ran after him, "Which way Merphie!"
"Whoa, don't go jumping to conclusions!" Ryu warned, "You don't even know if you can reach him from here, Mercy back me up!"
He was still in opposition but even the smart aleck was starting to sound unsure of himself.
The Captain was the nucleus of the Paladins, now that he had become unstable Yuna saw how the rest followed.
"Turn right up ahead." Merphie announced.
"Maybe we should go back to Nimbus One and find out more about this 'cube'," Mercy suggested, "If we make too much of a scene here and now, we could face severe sanctions!"
Yuna caught a glimpse of fine, crimson hair strands dancing behind a wall ahead.
Someone was hiding there.
As they emerged, a red haired woman kitted out in combat gear followed. She appeared from the direction they were supposed to turn and they all instinctively equipped their Paladin Armour.
"Paladins! I'm not sure how you found out about our presence here, but you're not getting any further!"
She sported a dull grey compression shirt with matching cargos sporting a familiar geometric camo pattern. On her arms were large silver gauntlets and around her eyes a metallic visor.
What stood out the most, however, were the ten spherical objects that raced above her head like large, metal flies.
Their blurring speed seemed impossible for their relative size, and they zipped around her with seemingly no propulsion.
Yuna's mind went straight to the Captain and his device.
"Retroidica's enhanced mercenaries..." Ryu reached for his weapon.
"Ah yes, some of us have already been sent your way, but for you to track us down so quickly... I guess your slightly more than UN lap dogs eh?"
Yuna thought about stepping in and letting the rest go on ahead. She was most likely the only one who could even count the amount of spheres that were whizzing above her. Perhaps Ryu too.
"Keep going, I've got this one!" Mercy flung off her cloak revealing her purple Paladin Armour.
"I admit it, this all feels weird. Find the Red Paladin, I'll be right behind you."
The others followed Merphie deeper into the station and made a turn that lead towards a train platform.
Yuna couldn't help but think the old Mercy was back.
"Are you sure?" the mercenary asked smugly.
"What?"
"... Are you sure that you want those to be your final words to them?"