“I always forget just how large everything else is…”
Retvik and Litvir both glanced at Arkay as they parked and exited their ship, stepping into the Shimmering Blade proper. Ready to greet them were three Beh’ens, each one serving each of the Great Blades.
“Hello, Flamebearer and Souldrainer!” Nightblade, the number one underling of Voidblade, announced. “Welcome back to the Shimmering Blade! And… uh…”
“He is the third member of the Missing…” Pneumablade, Soulblade’s head underling, whispered.
“Oh… Forgot that… uh…” Nightblade hesitated some more.
“It’s not a problem!” Arkay smiled as he stepped forward, then floated up to Nightblade’s level and held out his hand. “My name’s Arkay, codename Deathbringer. Nice to meet you!”
Nightblade shook Arkay’s hand. “Nice to meet you too. You are… tiny. You also…” Nightblade trailed off again, then shook his head and sighed. “Anyway, the Great Blades are waiting for you on the top floor. Do you want us to accompany you?”
“The top floor?” Arkay asked.
“We know where to go!” Litvir smiled. “Do not fret. As an aside, are Loopblade around?”
Pneumablade nodded. “They are, but they are on duty currently. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason. Anyway, we should get going!”
Arkay stared at Litvir. Litvir ignored him, grabbed his hand and led Arkay off, continuing to smile. Retvik grunted, thanked the three Beh’ens, then swiftly followed.
“Litvir…”
“What?”
“You know things are still weird with them.”
“Dear, if my telepathic scans are correct, things are horny right here, and your army of exes are all feeling it rather badly. You may need to do some… wish fulfilment later on. Also, Retvik, you may be required to do some wish fulfilment too.”
“Um…” Retvik frowned. “Are you suggesting that the Great Blades are also horny?”
“Somewhat…”
Litvir quietened down as the three of them headed to an elevator. Arkay found it odd that there were only three floors, and they were on the middle one. Considering how big this ship was, Arkay wondered why, and he was even more confused when the third floor seemed weirdly small.
“Hm, I wonder if anyone uses what used to be our room?” Litvir pondered as they stepped out of the elevator.
“You guys lived on this floor?”
“Indeed,” Retvik grunted. “The Phantai allowed us to stay here when… when Ahkron and Kinisis both attacked and we needed shelter as we were very low on supplies. We made ourselves very useful to the Phantai.”
“Were you staying here when you blew up that Voidborn mothership thingy?”
“Yes.”
“Ah…” Arkay sighed. “I… I don’t remember much of that.”
“It is fine, you were not here!” Litvir tried to cheer Arkay up. “Also, the Great Blades are all gathered in the room at the end. We should pick up the pace. I can tell that they all seem upset.”
“Upset about what?”
“I am not sure yet.”
Litvir knocked on the door at the very end of the corridor. There was some confusion on the other side, followed by someone grunting as they got up and made their way to the door. Eventually, the door opened up, after something heavy had been moved to one side. It hadn’t been locked though.
“OH!” Lightblade seemed suddenly very happy. “Our little heroes! And the tiny yellow one! I… admittedly forgot how small you are, Deathbringer! Welcome! Come in, please!”
Lightblade stepped to one side and allowed the Missing to pass through. This room had a perfect view of the dark void outside, and it was pleasantly warm, the floor being heated.
“This… is the exact sort of room I wanted back at home!” Arkay whispered to Retvik and Litvir, before floating up again so he was at a better level with everyone else. “Hi! Nice to see you all again! It’s been, what, a year, since that silly party? Although I think we also saw you, mister Lightblade, when you came to pick up the baby Beh’evok.”
Lightblade nodded. “It has been a while, yes! We are happy to see you. I was actually planning on speaking to the Tattered Three in a bit, to let them know about little Ilyn. He will be nearly a year-string old soon, and he has already gotten rather big.”
Arkay glanced at Litvir and Retvik, then shrugged. “We can take the information back with us, if you want. You got pictures?”
“I have a whole folder! As well as a small tube with some baby teeth in it. Us Beh’ens get through a lot of teeth as we grow, and it is tradition for the parents to keep a couple of teeth as trinkets. Anyway, enough of them, how are you?”
“We are doing well, very well!” Retvik remained calm and polite and somewhat accidentally got straight to the point. “However, you do not seem right.”
That statement caused some odd reactions. Lightblade stopped smiling, and Soulblade and Voidblade both glanced at each other uneasily. However, Voidblade didn’t say anything, and Soulblade just sighed as he got up and stood by Lightblade’s side.
“We are… not doing great. We are cold and directionless currently…” Soulblade admitted. “It turns out, when you are the leaders of an eradicator sect and have nothing to eradicate… things do not go well. Lightblade is restless and fidgety, itching for something new to do; I am lethargic and stuck in my ways, not wanting to do anything in general; and Voidblade has not been well at all, as an unnamed guilt and sorrow rest on his heart. However, our pains are separate and cannot be solved together.”
Arkay thought for a moment, then went back to smiling. “That’s fine. We’re the Missing and we like solving things. Can we help you solve your problems?”
Voidblade eyed Arkay somewhat. “You are oddly eager to help. You barely know us.”
“Yeah, but Retvik and Litvir have saved your bacon twice already. We’ve got no problems saving your bacon for a third time, with the super overpowered guy physically present this time.”
Lightblade grunted. “Telin, dear, they want to help us. Let them.”
“Very well…” Voidblade sighed. “How do you want to do this?”
“Quite simply, actually. Litvir’s gonna help Soulblade, since they’re both crazy psions, Retvik’s gonna do stuff with Lightblade since they’re similar beings and you, mister Voidblade, you and I are going to have a nice chat, because I’m kinda accidentally borrowing Litvir’s telepathy right now and I have a feeling I know what’s wrong with you.”
Lightblade and Soulblade both seemed satisfied with Arkay’s words.
“Very well. We shall leave you and Voidblade to it. Flamebearer, Souldrainer, please, come with us.”
Arkay watched as everyone else left the room, then lowered himself back to the ground and sat down near Voidblade. Voidblade inspected Arkay somewhat, then relaxed, ever so slightly.
“So, tell me, what’s on your mind?”
“We… might be here a while.”
“That’s fine. We have plenty of time…”