Plague

The midnight moon reflected upon the pier's cerulean waters as light waves brushed against the docks. Jinrai, Ryo, and Natia inhaled the dry stench of algae and seaweed docked against wooden boats lined up against the dock. Seagulls and ducks bellowed out after finding food crumbs for their families. They soared and settled in small nests separate from the docks. The glimmering city lights were twinkling stars from a distance and their eyes admired the beauty from far away.

Jinrai placed his hands on his hips as he stepped on the weak wooden dock. He had a confident stature that was ready for anything. Ryo and Natia followed behind him. When Natia stepped on a loose piece of wood, she leaned forward and nearly tripped. Ryo grabbed her hand and pulled her back. The two locked eyes. Natia awkwardly pushed Ryo away after she realized their hands touched each other.

"Here we are, lovelies," Jinrai's booming loud voice was too clear in the midst of the calming ocean waves. "The entrance to the Jester's lair."

"Underwater?" Natia asked. "You're kidding me. And you gave us nothing to prepare for this?"

"You have a good eye for things, girl," Jinrai interjected, turning around and chuckling. "Fortunately for you, the Jester's lair is not underwater. You see, right now, we are above the city of Kathuz. This dock is the entrance to it all."

"You're just making up words at this point," Natia said. "Stop fucking around."

"Ryo Nakai!" Jinrai's voice bellowed suddenly, outweighing Natia's attitude.

"Y-Yeah?" Ryo's voice faltered after being locked in his vision of the beautiful midnight.

"Take the girl and set up one of those wooden boats for the two of you," Jinrai commanded. "I'll prepare my own. Follow me as soon as I start moving. Kathuz isn't far from here!"

"I have a name, you know," Natia yelled. She watched how Jinrai ignored her and headed straight for the docks where the boats idly remained. She sighed and rolled her eyes toward Ryo. "God, I hate him so much. Strongest operative from Sunlight, my ass. This guy's a total clown."

"He might be a clown to you, but he knows where the Jester is," Ryo said, following Jinrai to the boats. "I just wonder what his whole deal is... and our plan to find our target."

"Why did I even agree to this..." Natia asked herself.

Ryo and Natia picked a spacious wooden boat with two wooden oars beside two holsters. Jinrai detached a chain from his wooden boat and advised Ryo to do the same with a single nod. Ryo nodded back and detached the boat's chain. Natia used the oars to propel Jinrai's boat as they moved toward the center of the ocean. Ryo and Natia combined their effort to maintain speed with the boat's movement. As they moved, he admired the twinkling scenery of the ocean and gazed off into the distance.

"I'm going to fall asleep at this rate," Natia said.

"You better not," Ryo replied. "Not until we find whatever Jinrai's looking for."

Jinrai's wooden boat collided with the top of a massive obsidian sphere in the center of the ocean. Ryo and Natia watched as Jinrai left the boat and stood on top of the sphere. Natia's eyebrows slanted downward, unsure of what was happening. Ryo helped propel the wooden boat toward Jinrai's boat. The two of them joined Jinrai in the center of the sphere, balancing by the buoyancy of the water's floatiness.

"Where are we?" Natia asked.

"It's a platform..." Ryo said, observing his surroundings. "Some sort of... elevator in the middle of the ocean?"

"You're damn right it is, Ryo Nakai!" Jinrai yelled, tapping his foot on the obsidian platform. "As one of many entrances to Kathuz, this is where we'll find the Jester. They're smart, but not smart enough."

"How do you know that the Jester would be here?" Natia asked.

"Do your research," Jinrai chuckled, tapping his foot on the obsidian platform in an unusual manner. He tapped it to present it in morse code. "Did you even know that there was a city underneath Aries? Kathuz is home to thousands of plague victims who were infected by the waste and sewage from above. Everything that the people have above eventually reaches the bottom, they say. And many of the plague victims worship the Jester for bringing them solace in their desperate times."

"I didn't even know there was a plague underneath Aries," Natia said. "How did you know all of this?"

"As I said, research," Jinrai continued as he tapped on the obsidian spherical platform. "The plague in Kathuz is somewhat difficult to diagnose. The source is unknown. But all I know is that the Jester is in the city, and we'll need to create a plan to find out their location."

"Payback for what happened to Sumire," Ryo muttered. "We have to make sure they don't leave the city. We need to blend in somehow."

"Blend in we shall," Jinrai said, tapping his foot one last time before ending it with a stomp. The obsidian platform rotated slowly with Ryo and Natia teetering off balance. The two of them leaned against each other to support their balance as Jinrai planted his feet with his hands over his hips. His confident stature was still as the platform moved beneath his feet. "Watch your step, cuties. Hold each other's hands like the lovers you are."

"I'm gonna kill him," Natia commented to Ryo as the spherical platform dove down beneath the ocean.

Darkness clouded their vision as the platform to Kathuz descended beneath Aries. Ryo swallowed a heap of saliva with his tense throat, unsure of what the effects of the plague were. The whole city of Kathuz seemed mythological to him; it was like being told that there was an Aries-related heavenly city in the sky that stretched through the horizons. The platform continued descending, and even Natia was affected by the nervousness of the underground. Both of them stood together and watched both sides of the platform, believing that the city of Kathuz was dangerous because of its plaguing status.

"Reckon the place won't be as hearty and full of life like what you're used to up here," Jinrai mentioned with his concentrated face fixating on the facts. "Both of you'd better have a heart of gold. We're gonna need it."

"Thanks for the warning," Ryo said, gulping down his throat.

At last, they were there. Remnants of Aries's surface were no longer there. An expansive and towering city scorched with dark flames and golden gas ravaged the scenery and make it difficult to peer beyond the first mile. Massive chunks of the city's stone buildings were chipped off as if war struck the land multiple times. Ryo watched as the citizens of Kathuz scurried off into the shadows of the alleyways from above. He assumed that most of them were trying to take shelter away from the noxious gas.

A rock slung from across the trio, pelting Jinrai in the arm. Multiple rocks soon followed striking Ryo and Natia in the chest. Tattooed children holding the rocks in their hands chuckled and insulted the three as the elevator descended.

"Assholes," Natia muttered. She held in her anger knowing that they were mere children. "What's wrong with them?"

"It's simple. We're from above, they are down below. The ones that view us entering from this platform know that we are the ones above them. And the stereotypes that follow us make us seem more privileged and wealthy than the ones here," Jinrai said. "They would spit on us and judge us even though we seem friendly... because the ones who came before us did the same to them."

"That's awful," Ryo said.

"Judgment is everywhere. Are you that surprised, Ryo Nakai?" Jinrai said, looking down below the platform. "We've made it. Come. Stay close to me."

The obsidian platform touched underneath the murky and swampy rivers of Kathuz. The emerald hue of the waters beneath, combined with its littered appearance, shivered Natia's spine to the core. A baboon ornament next to the platform screeched to signal the platform's arrival. Natia's heart nearly stopped as she pushed herself back. She followed Ryo closely, who followed Jinrai in return. Jinrai touched down on the iron floors leading to a walkway with hundreds of Kathuz citizens roaming. Ryo and Natia stayed close behind him.

Each citizen appeared no healthier than a dying man or woman. Almost each of them wore rags and armor plates for clothing, stood and walked hunched back, or cowled with an unapproachable expression. They passed by the trio with their eyes placed on them, condemning them as outsiders with side conversation and murmuring of their kind. Homeless Kathuz civilians rested with black cats and dogs surrounding them covered in fleas and ticks. Iron barricades and doors prevented easy passage in and out of the alleyways.

Ryo turned his head to the left and watched Natia struggling to continue in the dramatic environmental change. As for himself, he could handle it.

"It'll be fine," Ryo said to her. "Just a little bit further, I hope."

"Fine?!" Natia whispered loudly. "How are you not-"

"I'm used to it. Spent some of my Yakuza days in the underground too."

"In the underground!? What, are you used to sleeping in sewer water?!"

Jinrai led Ryo and Natia toward a wooden stairway where half of it was missing out of wear and tear. He first let the two of them chuckle after seeing Natia's reaction. The three of them huddled in a corner as the rowdy tavern filled the area with beer glasses clinking, drunken singing, and hearty laughter.

"Please tell me you have a plan to find the Jester," Natia said, eyes watering heavily. "I don't like this place one bit."

Jinrai leaned forward closer to Natia's face, appearing completely unaffected by Kathuz's semi-toxic air and environment. "Listen, girl," He began. "I brought you here under the impression that you would do better than Ryo Nakai's sister. If you decide to show your disgust in public, our chance of finding Jester is little to none. We aren't welcome here. We have to blend in as much as we can, acting like these people as if we were born here."

"So why the fuck are we in a tavern?!" Natia hissed.

"Taverns are usually the place you want to go to get information. Simple as that," Jinrai explained to Natia. "Now I would appreciate it if the both of you would make yourselves useful and find that information. I'm going to speak to the bartender, and you will do your best to get the attention of the men here," He turned his head to face the rest of the tavern with a gleaming, confident smirk. "Ryo Nakai!" He shouted.

"Yeah?" Ryo replied immediately.

"I am aware that you have one of those handy nanosuits, is that correct? Use that communicator to speak with each other. Communication will be a little tough with all of the noise, but it's the only thing we have." Jinrai said.

"Right." Ryo nodded while looking at Natia's dull, lifeless face.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with the smoking hot bartender." Jinrai laughed, unbuttoning two of the buttons on his black suit and white dress shirt to reveal his inner chest muscles. He stepped through the tavern and passed through Kathuz drinkers to approach the front.

"Fuck this," Natia said, reluctantly following his orders and began hovering over several drinkers.

Ryo stopped and realized that he wasn't given any orders. He activated his communicator and heard nothing but static feedback. Not wanting to impede Jinrai or Natia's role in the mission to gather information, he decided to patrol around the tavern, listening in on people's conversations while maintaining secrecy with his low-profile hunched posture.

"He still owes me money, you know," One of the drunken customers said while nuzzling his arm to wipe his drool. "I'll fuckin get it, even if it means killing his ass."

Ryo decided to steer away from that uncouth conversation and eavesdropped on another as he passed by.

"I'd hide four or five more just to piss off the police!" Another drunken man yelled. "We're taking that shit as fast as we can."

Ryo shook his head and sighed. Nothing yet, he thought. He continued eavesdropping and even locked eyes with Natia, who was sitting with a couple of Kathuz customers who did not appear drunk yet. She looked happy with a smile on her face showing signs of inviting merriment, but Ryo knew it was an act. A damn good one though, he thought.

"I heard those diplomatic shits from above are heading down to seek passage to Albastor," One burly sober man aggressively stated as he slammed his fist down on the table. "Damn it all! When are they gonna learn that their kind isn't allowed here?!"

"Funny you should say that," The man whispered near his table. "In a matter of minutes, they'll be arriving, and I heard that the Jester's going to ruin the parade. They'll be stopped by the Grand Gate and everyone will watch their bodies drop like flies."

"The Jester, eh?!" The man laughed and chuckled. "Watching them in action is like watching a damn movie! What I wouldn't do just to see that happen! And you said it was happening in a few minutes?"

"That's right. We'd better hurry and finish our drinks so we can get a front-row seat."

Ryo detached from the conversation and exited the tavern. He attempted to activate his communicator, but to no avail, there was no response. From the corner of his eyes, multiple obsidian platforms from above descended with individuals wearing crimson regal armor blocking the docks. They lined up in a phalanx style with their jagged spears pointed at the civilians of Kathuz. Their armor and fashion reminded Ryo of the Fon from the Sagittarius District, only of the higher class.

"Make way!" A commanding soldier yelled at the civilians as the phalanx of soldiers continued moving forward in an orderly fashion. Children whimpered and hid away as the civilians made a pathway with glares. Insults began flying at the soldiers, blaming them for living in the hellhole of Kathuz.

"I said, make way, damn it! I'm warning you!" The commanding soldier yelled back, taking their insults personally. Ryo peeked from the side, watching the phalanx defend a royal diplomat stepping through the side streets with his goal fixated toward the Albastor Courthouse.

Ryo knew of their objective and began storming toward the nearest signpost. The entrance to the Albastor Courthouse was northwest of his position. He moved onward and collided with many Kathuz citizens moving against him transporting objects and trading with other civilians. Several foulmouths insulted Ryo as he passed by, but nothing was stopping him from preventing the Jester from murdering innocent lives despite not knowing the purpose.

After several minutes of running through the plagued and gassed streets, Ryo stopped as his stamina was deteriorating. While no one was looking at him, he leaped over one of the iron bars blockading an alleyway and entered through a dark passage to shroud his appearance. He activated his V2 nanosuit and utilized its cloaking ability to soar through the skies. The green mist fogging the streets did not look as better as the skies, and Ryo knew that something was wrong.

He passed by the streets toward the Albastor Courthouse and noticed no suspicious individuals waiting for the diplomat and the phalanx. He touched down near the courthouse and deactivated his nanosuit. Ryo inhaled a deep breath before sensing a shrill ringing noise coming through his ears. The direction of the ringing sound was in front of him, but he could not see its origin.

A colossal bronze statue of a man depicting a royal robbed Kathuz acolyte paved the way toward the courthouse, decorating the square around it. Ryo stepped closer to the statue's podium and sensed the ringing in his ears increasing in tension. He placed his palm on the podium and his ears rang so loudly that he could not contain it until a voice from afar stopped him from concentrating on it.

"I demand that you let me through!" A blonde female yelled at two Kathuz city guards blocking the entrance to the courthouse. He held a piece of rolled parchment and pointed it at their faces, demanding entrance to the courthouse.

"This is the fifth time you've tried, Seraphian," One of the guards swiped the parchment and tossed it away through the air. "Your voice gets no say in here. Your people from above are going to try again and again, but it will never work."

The blonde short-haired female snatched the piece of parchment as it floated midair and continued pressuring the guards. She wore a tight neck-plunging regal outfit adorned in feathers and buckles. "Do you not care for your people? The plague is spreading and inflicting everyone with death and disease. Eventually, everyone will die. I'm here to stop that-"

The guard shoved the female back and readied a cutlass to threaten her presence. "You and your people from above are the only reason that we have a plague in the first place! Now move along, Seraphian!" The guard roared.

Suddenly, the entrance to the courthouse opened with a hunchbacked politician approaching one of the guards with a stern gaze. The guard's behavior suddenly changed to appear well-mannered, and the female cowled in annoyance at the sight of their change. The politician extended his palm forward, expecting something in return.

"Oh, sir! It's good to see you!" The guard bowed and nodded in respect. He edged his head toward the other guard and plopped a pouch of gold coins in the politician's palm. "Here, as payment. I hope it's not too late!"

"About damn time you paid me," The cranky politician muttered. "Consider this late. I was about to search the rest of the town for compensation. Or did you forget about it all along?"

"No, sir. We didn't." The guard replied.

Ryo could not see the blonde female's face, but he heard her gasp in awe at their corrupt behavior. "I can't believe this. How could you do this to your people? You're a member of the courthouse!" She cried.

"Young lady, I suggest that you leave before we-" The politician's voice trailed off like a gust of wind blew past their position. Ryo sensed something to pass through him immediately. The pouch of gold coins in the politician's possession vanished immediately as a familiar voice rang from above the courthouse.

"Before we do what?" Jinrai's chuckling and taunting demeanor caught the guards by surprise. He sat on top of the entrance to the courthouse juggling the coin pouch in his right hand. His unbuttoned dress shirt and a missing suit made him appear deviously handsome. He smirked while toying with the pouch. "It'd be a shame. Courthouse politician seeks punitive compensation from civil workers for corrupt reasoning. Now, that would be a brilliant headline, wouldn't it?" He said.

"Get down from here! You're under arrest!" One of the guards yelled.

"That money belongs to me!" The politician demanded.

Jinrai's speed met them near the bronze statue where Ryo stood. He held the pouch in his hand and tossed it up once more before catching it. He winked at the guards and the politician and beckoned them to come with his palm. "Catch me if you can!" He taunted, running away at normal speed.

"After him!" The politician commanded, chasing after Jinrai with the other cutlass-brandishing guards. They ignored Ryo as they inadvertently opened the entrance to the Albastor Courthouse.

Ryo and the blonde female watched as the corrupt guards disappeared into the streets. Ryo turned his head back and faced the fair-skinned short-haired woman, approaching her up the stairs with a concerned look. "Hey. You okay?" He asked.

"Okay is an understatement," The female replied, turning back at the courthouse entrance. "I've been wanting to seek change in this city for years, and they are still denying me. It seems that even the government is numb to the fact that the people are dying left and right. Change needs to happen right now. I can't stand it when helpless people are left in fear wondering when they won't be able to wake up."

Ryo stood beside her. She was fairly tall and slender at first appearance. Her neck-plunging outfit revealed the top of her breasts, and the flight feathers on her collar wrapped her neck in a comforting embrace. "That's kind of you to say," Ryo said. "I've never heard someone actively want something like that, especially in a place like this."

"Oh, thank you," The female said, smiling warmly at him. Ryo's eyes lit up at the brightness of her sincere smile, which was something he hadn't seen in a very long time, especially at a time when his worries about April's memories vanishing were overpowering his conscience. Her writing and convulsing body the night the accident occurred still traumatized him. "You're not from here, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Ryo replied. "I'm actually here to warn the courthouse of something too. There's an attack that's going to happen at the Grand Gate!"

The blonde female gasped. Her reaction was enough for her to trust Ryo, despite just meeting. "The Grand Gate?" She replied. She placed her parchment in a scroll before placing it in one of her buckles on the back of her attire. "Where did you hear this? Are you absolutely certain?"

"Oh, he's certain, all right," The same customer from the tavern approached from the shadows with others following him. Tattoos and ripped muscles made them appear intimidating. They were armed with construction tools, such as crowbars, wrenches, and corroded metal pipes. "Looks like our Jester has a curious visitor from above. One boy, and one Seraphian."

"Listen, I'm not your enemy," The blonde female said, gesturing her hands with a wave. "I might be Seraphian, but not all of them are responsible for the plague! I know you're all angry! That's why I'm here to help you!"

"We don't want your help, you whore!" The Jester's goon retaliated, approaching her. "You will burn! All Seraphians must burn! And we'll gladly show your head to the Jester so we can get some more coin for it!" He laughed aloud, causing a chain reaction of more laughter to spiral out of control. The moment the goon took a step on the stairway to the courthouse, Ryo stepped forward. "Get out of the way. You're not Seraphian, so we'll deal with you last."

"You're not dealing with anyone," Ryo said. "Get back."

"Oh? Scrawny ass thinks he can take me down?" The goon chuckled. The others laughed as well as he approached Ryo with his giant metal wrench. "Let's see you try-"

Ryo equipped the mag booster in his nanosuit and yanked the metal wrench out of his hand. He slammed his opposite fist against the thug's nose, breaking it completely before slamming the wrench down on him twice in the head. The blonde female gasped and moved back in shock. The thugs stopped laughing at watched Ryo glare at them intensely with fury.

"Anyone else?" Ryo asked.

"Eat shit!" One of the Jester's thugs tossed a grenade toward Ryo and the blonde female, catching him off guard.

Ryo tried pulling it back with his mag booster, but he could not accurately pinpoint it as it bounced back. He tried reaching for the female, but she dashed forward. She shouted before kicking the grenade back at the crowd of thugs. The detonation exploded in a similar style to Lucine's 8-bit pixel art grenades, shrouding the area in colorful powder filled with shrapnel.

"Whoa." Ryo unexpectingly reacted to the female's sudden kick. "Nice kick."

"Thanks." The female said, chuckling.

"Kill them both!" One of the Jester's thugs shouted in the midst of the explosion site.

Ryo snatched the female's hand and kneeled down to sweep her off of her feet.

"Hey, what are you-" The female yelped, holding onto Ryo's shoulder.

He activated his nanosuit and propelled off of the ground, escaping the vicinity.