Chapter Text
It was the washed-out, bright hour of dawn in the city of Insomnia, always at the mercy of both the dry heat of Leide and the windy moisture of the open ocean. The girl pulled the oversized sweater tighter around her shoulders, teeth chattering slightly.
"What, cold getting to you?" her friend taunted
She groaned "Shut up, Spina."
At that, Spina elbowed her in the ribs "You shut up, and at least try looking like you're going somewhere. You don't want to get arrested right?"
Ancora huffed "No." she admitted grudgingly. "You said it would be alright."
"Yeah, I did. Now, got the paint?"
With a nod, Ancora pulled out a can of neon green spray paint from under her sweater and handed it to her friend.
"Good. Now, stand watch and I'll do it." Spina whispered before hastily making her way to the outer wall of the Citadel compound.
The younger girl hesitated, but obediently stayed on the sidewalk, sending anxious glances every which way and looking decidedly uncomfortable. If anything, she was bound to draw attention rather than keep them unnoticed. She heard the can being shaken and opened, and in a moment there would be the hiss of it marking the wall and... There. Was that... a soldier? "Spina! Spina, run!!" she hissed, panic creeping into her voice.
Her friend turned abruptly, about to complain, but then she also noticed the armored man. "Shit!"
At once both girls started running as fast as they could, back towards the city, to the subway station that would take them safely back home. Belatedly realizing it was potentially incriminating evidence, Spina dropped the paint. She heard it clatter to the ground and roll away through the pulse already loud in her ears, from panic rather than exertion.
They'd make it to the station five minutes later and laugh for another five. There was something exhilarating about doing something illegal, after all, even if it didn't actually work out, and especially if it involved a brush with danger.
Petra Fortis was leaving the Citadel in the early hours of morning. He hadn't noticed anything suspicious until the distinct sound of metal hitting pavement reached his ears, made him look up and see two small figures retreating rapidly. It was far from an unusual sight around here, especially at night and early morning when kids would get the irrational idea that being the only living soul around aside from the sleepy guards was making them less noticeable. He paused, glanced at the wall. Clean. Next he surveyed the street and sidewalk. He saw nothing, but the sound before had been unmistakeable. On any other day he'd spare the few moments to locate its source and throw it away, but... The last minute preparations for the treaty signing had been beyond exhausting. He'd hardly slept in the last seventy-two hours and had an even rougher day ahead... He sighed, his breath coming out in a faintly visible cloud. This morning chill was bound to turn into a hot, sunny day in a few hours' time.
Before that, and before the crowds gathered, there was bound to be someone else who'd find the trash, and, frankly, this wasn't his job anyway. Shaking his head, he picked up his pace, heading for the Guards' headquarters to sort through the new orders and hopefully, blessedly, catch an hour or two of shut-eye before duty.
Shit. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Nyx stopped, frantically trying to come up with a plan of action. And as abruptly as that happened, he hastily started moving again. "I need another favor Pelna-" One moment he was saying that, on reflex pushing himself off of some stranger's arm, the next he was tripping on something and falling on his face. Shit. He caught himself, in no small thanks to the fact that he'd been pretty much holding on to one of the protesters when it happened. The part on his mind that ran purely on battle honed instinct had him glancing at his feet in serious anticipation of seeing a daemon holding on to his leg. It was nothing so dramatic, merely a discarded paint can, and Nyx shook his head slightly as he easily bounced off the ground and...
"Nyx?!" the voice was more than familiar, it was family and hearing it, the Glaive froze for a split second before looking up, into his best friend's eyes.
"Libertus?" They stared at each other dumbly for what seemed like minutes. "...What the hell are you doing here?" Nyx demanded. He should be away, somewhere, anywhere but at the Citadel, right? He saw Lib open his mouth to respond while he took in the rest of his friend's appearance. Civilian clothing, predictably, the crutch still there, and... Oh, gods. A fucking protest sign. "The fuck?"
"Shouldn't you be on duty?" Libertus shot back, forcibly dragging his anger to the surface to cover up the shock and the inexplicable pang of shame rising in his chest.
"I am." Nyx replied. He should question his friend further, but Pelna was already anxiously calling his name through the earpiece, and the Princess... "No time." he stated, grabbed Lib more firmly by the elbow and began dragging him, too surprised to protest, towards the gate.
"W-wait!" Libertus tried, though he was already staggering on obediently. Years of unconditional mutual trust were far more difficult to break than it had seemed in the heat of the argument before.
Nyx actually did pause, but only because he belatedly realized his friend was still holding on to the sign. He yanked it from his hand and threw aside, putting more force and anger into it than necessary "You're not going in with this. And 'save the wall'?? What does that have to do with anything?" he asked angrily. Without waiting for a response he resumed his jog towards the Citadel. It ended up as more of a stubborn powerwalk, seeing as Libertus was unable to keep up. "Is that your idea of 'fighting your own fight'?" he demanded bitterly "Standing around with a sign? Some good that's gonna do."
Apparently he hit a nerve because Lib dug his heels in, refusing to move. Nyx flailed pathetically for a moment "No, but bombing the Citadel is." the man stated, quiet but dead serious.
Nyx whirled around to face him "What??"
Libertus faltered, shrank back, had the decency to look ashamed "...When the treaty signing is in progress. We detonate charges around the Plaza." he said, even quieter now. The next thing he knew he was falling, hitting the ground in a graceless heap, with a pained noise to go with it. He was still a mess after the last mission.
Nyx, who'd been the one to punch him in the gut, stood above him, visibly fighting to keep his cool. "You son of a bitch, Libertus, you'd actually attack the King ? And in the middle of a crowd of civilians , too? You disgusting, absolute fucking bastard ."
Lib finally found his anger again "Nobody's going to get hurt!" he shot back "I made sure of it!"
The other man staggered a few steps back as realization hit him. He understood less and less, but had the distinct feeling that something, some unknown threat was closing in around his throat "...A distraction?"
"A Protest. "
"Bullshit. What would that do? Have the King suddenly reconsider after the treaty had been signed? Turn around and kick Aldercapt in the balls?" Nyx demanded.
Libertus, who'd been part way through carefully hauling himself upright, heavily sat back onto his ass "...Shit."
"Yeah." Suddenly there was a hand in front of Lib's face. He eyed it suspiciously.
"Come on. we're gonna fix this shit." Nyx said, much calmer now.
Another moment of hesitation and Libertus took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Damn, he hurt all over from just this little fall. He supposed it was to be expected three days after almost dying in battle. His friend led him through the gate, suddenly somehow softer around the edges, careful to not go too fast. But at the same time, so oddly sure despite the mess they were in.
Moments later their way was barred by none other than Fortis. Nyx rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. If he were alone he'd just push past him, but with Libertus in tow... He took a deep breath and plastered a grin on his face.
"Where do you think you're going, Glaive? "
Nyx didn't miss how the word sounded like an insult. Too bad he didn't care. "We have important news for the King."
The Guard's eyes narrowed "A Glaive and a civilian?" he asked dubiously
"My friend is off duty. He came across a conspiracy and investigated it, and now he has crucial information." Hearing that Lib had to fight to suppress the shock that was about to show in his face. His friend was covering for him? After everything...? Instead, he mustered a stern expression and nodded.
Petra considered "So you're saying he was playing spy when off duty?" Not exactly allowed, the Glaives knew, especially given that they were special forces, not godsdamn intelligence.
"Yep~" Nyx just grinned wider "And you're welcome to tell Drautos all about it later, if you really want to be stuck with another Glaive on wall duty for the next month~" he shot back shamelessly.
Fortis actually groaned. "You're getting your asses handed to you one way or another. But..." he hesitated, or maybe only pretended to "...For now tell me about this conspiracy you found." Like hell was he going to bother the King over two overeager Glaives. Everyone knew they wanted nothing more than for the war to go on, after all.
Ulric looked like he was going to argue, but quickly realized it was stupid. "...Fine. Libertus, tell him."
"There's going to be a terrorist attack on the Plaza during the treaty signing. Multiple charges detonated at once, mostly near the Citadel entrance."
The Guard scoffed "Who's stupid enough to think that would accomplish anything?"
For reasons unknown the one who'd been talking went quiet, shrank back a bit. Before Petra could question him, though, the other stepped up "Nobody." he replied confidently. "It's a distraction for something . We just don't know what yet."
Petra nodded slowly "...Alright. Do you know how many bombs and where?"
"Yes." Libertus said, steely determination in his eyes all of a sudden.
"Good. Give me a moment. And don't dare to try anything." Fortis warned before stepping aside to talk to his soldiers. He handed command over to one, got three others to follow. He hated to leave the front gate vulnerable like this, but the situation seemed serious enough to justify it. Unless the Glaives were wrong, or lying, in which case he'd personally end them.