Preparations Fail Urus: Oh, it's Thecto. What do you think of him then? Balaeno: Sandbox boy. Fail Urus: Huh! Thecto Sis: What are you talking about? Fail Urus: He says you're "sandbox boy." Thecto Sis: What's that supposed to mean? Balaeno: Means a noob who can do well during tutorials but fumbles like crazy during the actual thing. Thecto Sis: Hmph. I feel like I'm being looked down on a bit. What'd he call you, Fail? Fail Urus: What was it again? Balaeno: Hotpot chill-vibesmaxxing. Fail Urus: Whatever that means. Thecto Sis: What does it mean? Balaeno: It means happiness was right there all along, like a mild-flavored white fish hotpot. That's the vibe. Balaeno: People used it as slang ‘cuz it sounded good. Trended like crazy back in the 2070s. Thecto Sis: Huh. That's actually a nice phrase. I thought it'd be more panicky. Fail Urus: What do you say when you're panicking? Balaeno: They’re cooking my motherboard. Thecto & Fail: Ohhhhh. Thecto Sis: Oh right. I brought sandwiches. Balaeno: Whoa! This slaps. Thecto Sis: ...What does that mean? Is that a compliment? An insult? Balaeno: It’s used to describe food that is trending on social media. Thecto Sis: Huh. Not totally sure I get it, but I guess weird slang is part of Federation communications. How old are you, Balaeno? Balaeno: Operational hours clock in at 13,350,246. Thecto Sis: Haha, what is that? Balaeno: I outmogged. Thecto Sis: Hahaha! That's funny! Balaeno: You’re kinda pizza-cutter core too! Fail Urus: Huh? ...Hm? Didn’t he mention that “operational hours” thing earlier too...? Thecto Sis: Oh right, Fail. About what we talked about last night... Fail Urus: Ah... the trip to the capital? Thecto Sis: Yeah... I'm worried about how Airio's doing, so I wanna go see him. Thecto Sis: I don't remember it myself, but you said his injury was really bad. I want to know how things turned out after that... Thecto Sis: And besides, this village is under Federation control now. Thecto Sis: Even if Airio's wounds heal and he's back to full health, he's an imperial soldier, he won't be able to come back here. Fail Urus: That's true... Some people have already slipped out of the village at night, heading for imperial territory. Thecto Sis: The Federation people aren't nearly as scary as I'd heard, but who knows what might happen down the road... Thecto Sis: So I want to go to the capital to see Airio. Fail Urus: Got it. Then I'll come with you. Thecto Sis: No! Anything could happen... Fail Urus: All the more reason I can't let you go alone. Thecto Sis: ...........I don't want to be a burden to you any more than this. Fail Urus: I don't think of it as a burden. I've always wanted to visit the capital someday. I'll just use this as my excuse. Thecto Sis: ...Why are you so kind, Fail? Fail Urus: I’m normal though. Fail Urus: Worrying about a friend, wanting to be with them, wanting to travel together, I think those are all normal things to do. Thecto Sis: Thank you. I love you so much, Fail. Fail Urus: I love you too. [Inside the Federation dungeon cells…] U Lutri: (Lutri's Arca Song) Guard: Hey! What are you humming over there? Don't tell me that's an Arca Song!? U Lutri: Come on, let me hum a little tune, would ya! No way that's an Arca Song. There's no Echoes around here, right? Guard: True enough... but you Song Seekers are hard to figure out. Feels like you're all used to hairy situations. U Lutri: Well, sure. Wanna hear an interesting story? Guard: An interesting story? Like what? U Lutri: The kind that makes you popular at parties. The kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat, dying to know what happens next, full of surprises... Guard: An adventure story? I wanna hear it! U Lutri: All right. I won't let you sleep tonight. In exchange, though, keep the drinks coming. Guard: Ooh, that's how it is, huh. All right, but don't tell Lord Amiya. U Lutri: Of course not! Come on. I'll talk your ear off tonight, promise. Guard: I can't wait! It’s been a while since anything fun happened around here. Hang on a sec! U Lutri: Sure thing! Appreciate it! U Lutri: Whew. Federation folks being this soft on rules really works in my favor. U Lutri: (Lutri's Arca Song) U Lutri: There, there, good girl. Come on over here. That's it, that's it... good, good. U Lutri: ...Gotcha! Now just change up the wingbeat sound for the distress signal… [Static noise.] U Lutri: All right... remember this wingbeat message, would you, Xin... U Lutri: ...........He might not, actually... Xin can be a bit cold sometimes... U Lutri: ...Come on, please remember. There's someone I want to save. U Lutri: Before he gets himself tangled up in that Regression Arca Song thing. To be continued...