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Chapter Text

  Niranira didn’t know what to do anymore, after being chased far across the colony by various monsters. Vangs, Piranhax, Krabbles, they all seemed to want a piece of him, and he fled to the trees, desperate to be left alone. He shouldn’t have run away again, it was easier last time, someone had been there to rescue him.

  This time, he was all alone. The light was fading, and his stomach growled, and the Vangs were out listening for him, waiting. Trembling, he sat against the hollow of the tree, trying to stifle little sobs of terror. He didn’t notice there was something nearby until a hot breath jolted him out of his sobbing. 

  “Leave Niranira alone!” He cried out, jumping up. He had nowhere to run, he had backed himself into a corner. The frightened Nopon hid his face to shield himself from whatever fate he was about to become victim to, except nothing happened beyond another gentle puff of breath. Swallowing his fear, the child looked up to find an Armu standing above him, and two smaller ones next to it. “You not eating Niranira?” He asked, and the Armu nudged him and backed away, making a vague ‘follow me’ gesture with its head. 

  Niranira complied, following curiously, and, after a Vang cast a glance at him, quickly bounced to the Armu’s side, staying close to the creature. It snorted at the Vang, and it was quick to fly off, meanwhile the little Armu nuzzled Niranira as they trodded. 

  The Armu family led him to a soft grassy den, and together the four of them nestled in, Niranira settling comfortably between the three Armu. The mother licked his fur and snorted, gentle and reassuring, and it wasn’t long before the little Nopon fell asleep. 

  The following morning, he was rescued once more, eagerly telling all of the mother Armu, who seemed wary of Homs but remained to watch as Niranira was led safely home. She was dubbed ‘Gentle Mother Armu,’ and was left to be in peace with her children, though it’s not terribly uncommon for a particular Nopon to once again wind up in her care. 

Chapter Text

> INPUT OVERRIDE . . .

// ANCIENT DAEDALA

OVERRIDE CODE 01010000 01010010 01001001 01001101 01010101 01010011

. . . PROCESSING . . . 

. . . ACCESS DENIED . . . . . . . . ABORTING . . . 

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  Egil glared down at the monitor with a tired sigh, yet another failed attempt at gaining access to the rogue Mechon. Every now and then, an attempt to hack it would be made, orders input to the primary control terminal, but the access code for that particular Mechon was a mystery. 

  Ancient Daedala, a Mechon of myth. The first, and the strongest of them all, created eons ago by Meyneth herself, as a protector to Mechonis. History books and stories told of it being a peaceful machine, stirring only in times of great need, and indeed, he had caught a glimpse of the Mechon in Agniratha, fending off the Telethia’s assault on the capitol. 

  He watched it fall, pushed off the Mechonis and into the unknown, and it was only until a few decades ago that its signal had been sensed, a low pulse near the Fallen Arm. It would make a fearsome addition to his army, if he could both properly locate it, and control it. However, the signal was too weak to be pinpointed, and while the control terminal could, in theory, locate it, to do so he would have to override it, and that override code was yet to be found.

  Egil breathed another irritated sigh, time was running short, and soon he would reawaken the Mechonis, perhaps then would the Mechon stir? By then, it would be too late to protect anything, unless… His mind wandered to the Fallen Arm. The Hidden Village, tucked away in the palm of the Mechonis’ hand, perhaps it lay there to protect the Machina that remained? 

  Yes, that could be it, he thought to himself. Were it the case, it might just be better to leave it be, he wasn’t helpless without it either way. Still, after all that effort, it would be a shame to just leave it. Egil frowned, he’d think it over another day, for now it was time to focus once more on wiping out that annoying band of Homs. 

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> INPUT OVERRIDE . . .

// ANCIENT DAEDALA

OVERRIDE CODE 01010000 01010010 01001111 01010100 01000101 01000011 01010100 01001111 01010010

. . . PROCESSING . . .

. . . ACCESS GRANTED . . . . . . . . . REBOOTING . . . 

> DIRECTIVE ? 

//ORDER 01100100 01100101 01100110 01100101 01101110 01100100

. . . PROCESSING . . . 

. . . AFFIRMATIVE . . . 

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Mechonis was falling.