Trigger

"You must be the folk that my Mistress Melody warned me about," Charlotte's thick British-like accent indicated with her enhanced explosive flintlock pistol pointed in between Ryo and Natia's position. The two of them stood their ground with their weapons drawn, believing they needed to eliminate the entity that ruined the miner's lives to settle the peace. "Identify yourselves! No need for me hearties to tear you to shreds if we settle this normally."

Ryo watched as Natia's hostile personality still ran amok, firmly holding both of her dual daggers wearing her full-bodied nanosuit. Instead of taking the hostile route as she had hoped, Ryo wanted to choose a passive mode of interrogation for the case's purposes. He removed his helmet visor for Charlotte to get a closer look at him. He watched as Charlotte flipped her elongated rose-colored hair and unbuckled the center of her strapped pirate clothing to reveal her cleavage. She grabbed another bullet from within and reloaded her flintlock pistol.

"We're police," Ryo stated, wanting to take the honest route as Jinni demonstrated during his training before he equipped his new suit. He stowed away his cybernetic tomahawk to come off as peaceful to conduct a successful interrogation. "We don't want to fight. We're just looking for an explanation about something. Is your leader nearby?"

"Aye, except the master has no hopes of meeting such suspicious landlubbers like you two," Charlotte stated. "Police? Everything you say answers only to me. I will not have that bilge rat cocky master involved in such affairs. His presence makes me want to vomit, that modified swashbuckler he is! Savvy?"

Natia shook her head in confusion, turning to Ryo. "What the fuck is she even saying?" She asked.

Ryo shook his head back in response, turning back to Captain Charlotte and the rest of the crew. "That's fine. If you don't want us to involve in Melody's affairs, then at least you need to set those people free. They're miners that are trying to make money like you. They have nothing to do with what you're getting involved in." He stated, hoping to arise a change of heart inside the pirate captain.

"Oh, is that what you think they are?" Charlotte disagreed, turning her pistol to the side to stylize her taunt. "Let us remind you lot that these foolish miners are the ones who stole from Melody in the first place. I ought to cut their hearts out and hang them from the yardarm for what they've plundered! These ships belonged to them, and they plundered Melody's blueprints for their upcoming plans to dominate Aries!"

"Uhh, Captain... I don't think you were supposed to reveal that..." One of the assistant pirates, who didn't speak in pirate language, bluntly stated.

Ryo and Natia both soaked in the information that Captain Charlotte suddenly revealed without the need for interrogation. They both understood that the leader of Melody was planning something to conquer all of Aries, which only sized up the severeness of the situation.

"Wha- never mind that, you lot!" Captain Charlotte shouted as she delivered a swift kick to the pirate who commented on her reckless and revealing quip. The pirate fell back towards the stream of water that led to the waterfalls and vanishing from sight. She stomped her boot back on the wooden main deck and flipped her rose-colored hair again to pretend nothing had happened. "I am Aubrie de Charlotte, Melody's pirate captain, and third-in-command to the organization! Now then, forget all that you had heard before I cut out your ears and feed them to my pets!"

"Hey, cut the bullshit," Natia angrily intervened, pointing one of her daggers at Aubrie. "Tell us where your leader is or we'll go find them ourselves. We'll be asking the questions. Don't waste our time."

"Captain Charlotte, did she just-" One of the pirates gasped in awe in response to Natia's sudden flaring threat.

"Captain, she did!" Another pirate exclaimed.

Ryo looked at Natia in disappointment; his eyes drooped down low as he slouched forward. "You didn't have to do that." He suggested.

"My, my, what a childish little lass you've got there," Aubrie complimented, chuckling in response to Natia's insults. "Not only did Melody tell me that these scallywags would be nothing but trouble, but they didn't tell me that your tongues needed cutting. Despite Mistress Melody's choice to spare you a lot for the time being until more information of your nanosuit thievery came into the mix, I might go against her will just because of that bitch's tongue." Aubrie's irises expanded as she appeared crazed and insane over being insulted.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" Natia annoyingly shouted, stepping forward.

Ryo snatched Natia's arm and pulled her back. "Stop it. You're going overboard with this." He said.

"Fine then, so be it!" Aubrie de Charlotte stated as she leaped off of the pirate ship. She landed on the stream, splashing the incandescent waters heated from the mellow afternoon sun across her leather boots. With her flintlock pistol and cutlass in hand, Aubrie raised her head to face Ryo and Natia with an optimistic glare excited for their upcoming battle. Her grinning teeth-revealing smile almost made her appear insane to the brink of death. "Insult me, and you shall become shark bait for your tongue, you whelps! Let's make a wager, shall we?"

"No, we don't need to fight," Ryo continuously stated. "None of this needs to happen-"

"Move aside, Nakai," Natia interrupted, stepping forward with her dual daggers in hand. "What's this wager you're talking about? It better be interesting."

"No doubt it shall be," Aubrie chuckled, playing with the flintlock pistol's trigger with her finger.

"You and I will fight to the death until one of us concedes. If you win, then I will bring you to the master and release the miners from their pathetic and miserable plundering lives. But if I win, I'll cut your tongue out and mount it as a souvenir for my Mistress Melody!"

Natia scoffed, pointing one of her daggers towards Aubrie. "Hmph, sounds like a good wager. Maybe I'll kill you in the process too for running your mouth so much. Who knows." She adjusted.

The remaining two pirates ducked down to see their captain standing comfortably in the waters, worried for her health. Both of them had no anticipation or hopes of seeing their captain battle without them, but at the same time, they were afraid of fighting Ryo and Natia. "Captain Charlotte, I don't think this is a good idea," One of them indicated. "Melody's code clearly states that we can't harm them until we have the evidence that-"

"Silence your tongue, whelp!" Aubrie cried, pointing her flintlock pistol back at her pirate associates. Her voice raised to abnormal heights, bearing a strong tone throughout her cries. "I have no code! I am merely a mercenary for hire! Everything I do or say is done by my forbearance, you lot! Mistress Melody may have given me my share, but I follow my own rules! This is my fight, and this shall be the test to free these pathetic bilge-sucking miners from their misery!"

"Fine by me, bitch," Natia insulted as she shoved Ryo aside and assumed a combat position. She reared her right leg back as she firmly stood her ground with her left. She wielded one of her daggers the proper way and reversed the opposite weapon with her other hand. "You better be ready."

"Aye... ready I am!" Aubrie de Charlotte shouted, firing her flintlock pistol into the air. A sudden and unexpected foggy mist that resembled the fabled cloudy fog and dew from the Hullbreaker Tunnels began building up to shroud the captain's position. Ryo backed off from their battle and began remembering how the Hullbreaker Tunnels were plagued with so much ample mist and dew to the point where it was nearly impossible to successfully enter. Now that Ryo understood the origins, he knew that Melody was fully responsible for the miner's loss due to their powerful control.

Natia scanned the area with her helmet visor but found the mist too powerful to see through. She heard Ryo calling for her name, which abruptly ended her concentration to search for his voice. However, Aubrie suddenly reappeared behind Natia, delivering a powerful kick towards her back to send her flying across the stream. She collided with a large boulder and found it difficult to recover from all of the mist piling from outside.

"What's wrong?" Aubrie's taunting voice called. "Can't see me now, can you? Oh, you poor wench! You were so confident earlier, were you not?"

Natia held her ground and stood back up with her daggers. Her deduction abilities were not as primitive as her combat skills, which made her a weak contender to strategize against enemies using powerful tactics to their advantage. However, knowing Ryo was watching, she wanted to play it safe and invest her mind into destroying Aubrie's tactics to not embarrass herself. At first, she wondered how Aubrie conjured the mist, but her opponent arrived next to Natia once more, slicing through her nanosuit with her cybernetic cutlass. The blade slashed through the nanosuit's armor with its sharpened blade designed to cut through its material, causing her to bleed.

Natia lashed out with her daggers, slicing Aubrie's arms. However, two swift dodges caused her to vanish in the mist once more. "Those movements aren't normal," Natia thought to herself. "Maybe the mist is enhancing her abilities. But how the hell do I stop it?"

Ryo struggled to find his way out of the mist. He could only hear the crashing sounds of blades and grunts coming from both of the contenders. He worried that Natia would be unable to handle the battle from the unfair advantage.

"Come on, make this interesting for me, you scallywag!" Aubrie continuously taunted. "I thought you had more fight in you! What a disappointment!"

"Is that all you can do? Talk shit?" Natia retaliated after coming up with a successful tactic. She used her neural interface and expended some of her energy to enhance her awareness and heighten her senses to counterattack. "You must be fun at parties."

"Party with this!" Aubrie cried, reappearing behind Natia with her cutlass once more. With her eyes widened so immensely like a crazed fiend, Aubrie slashed and aimed for Natia's back.

"Don't think so, bitch!" Natia cried, spinning around after her senses caught Aubrie's presence. Instead of striking with her daggers, Natia sheathed them away and grabbed Aubrie's arm to prevent her from striking down. She pulled her close and snatched her flintlock pistol from her pirate jacket. After seizing it, Natia kicked her away at full force, sending her flying towards the wooden pirate ship. She grabbed the flintlock pistol and fired it in the air, which immediately made the mist vanish from sight.

"Captain Charlotte, are you okay?" The bystander pirates worriedly called for their captain after witnessing her slight injuries after colliding with the pirate ship. They rushed towards her slouched back position and placed her hands on her shoulders to attempt to recover her.

"Get your hands off of me!" Aubrie commanded, yanking their grasp off. "I don't need your help!"

She stood up and grabbed her cybernetic cutlass as she watched Natia's hand on the trigger of her stolen flintlock pistol. "Not bad, wench. Not bad. You're even smarter than I thought. But perhaps you've forgotten that as a pirate, I ought to have a few tricks up my sleeve!"

Aubrie snatched a bomb detonator from her pocket and slammed her hand against it. A massive array of mines and bombs planted during the mist's entrance exploded underneath Natia's feet, smothering the battlefield with ash and cinder. Natia's quick reactions from her enhanced senses made her activate her ignition booster early to prevent her legs from bursting off. As the smoke began to settle, Aubrie charged towards Natia, who was flying from an ignition booster located near her boots. The two engaged in quick melee combat, dagger to cutlass, exchanging quick blows with one another to battle normally.

Ryo stood by the sidelines and hoped Natia would succeed. But if she didn't, Ryo placed his hand on his earpiece and called for Nana's backup advice.

As they spoke about the plan, Natia and Aubrie continued battling one another. A swift hand gesture from Aubrie caused Natia to become distracted as she spun around with the cutlass in hand. Both of them jabbed their blades forward and struck their opponents; Natia was struck through the shoulder while Aubrie was struck through the side of her chest. The two of them backed off and began recovering their stamina after heavily battling.

"Not bad, not bad!" Aubrie complimented. "Perhaps you'd do well in my pirate crew. Maybe I won't have to cut out your tongue after all!"

"Don't get cocky, you bitch!" Natia insisted, charging her strength up once more. Suddenly, Aubrie sensed a darkened aura surrounding Natia's nanosuit. Her goldenrod neon-trimmed suit began flaring up, rupturing in energy to emit a golden source of flames arising from her suit. Ryo watched from a distance as Natia summoned her full strength to activate an ability that he had never seen before.

The neon-glowing golden trims on her suit began to increase in its flame intake. While this was occurring, Natia's feathery helmet ornament transformed into an unextinguishable golden flame that extended down her back, as if it was flaming moving hair created from her nanosuit's energy source. The jet-black sleek design of her nanosuit was shifting its color to a snowy white, which only increased her intimidation to Aubrie.

"Sixth Sense..." Natia muttered, grabbing her twin daggers tightly. Both of her weapons extended outward and supplemented themselves for dual broadsword coated in golden flame instead. Her armor began rupturing in a golden flaming aura as she screamed in strength. "Shining Flame Restitution!" She shouted once more, dramatically enhancing her power by nearly tenfold.

"What is this?" Aubrie confusingly asked, unaware of her power boost.

"Whoa..." Ryo commented on the side. He was slightly relieved that she had not been boorish enough to transform using her sixth sense to battle Ryo in the Virgo District. He didn't even realize that a nanosuit had the capabilities of transforming. He couldn't help but express his excitement at how avant-garde her presence was on the battlefield. He admired that despite Natia was a hotheaded individual without many morals, she had a soft and passionate side to her that contributed to her famous combat prowess at Sunlight.

"You ready for this?" Natia taunted, wielding her broadsword with the utmost confidence. Even her voice had dramatic changes; her echoing filtered voice inside her nanosuit made it sound as if there were two versions of Natia speaking at the same time. In the blink of an eye, Natia enhanced her ignition booster capabilities after using her sixth sense to enhance her neural uplink. She reappeared behind Aubrie's fearful aura in a split second, striking her down to the waters below with her fist. The dew-dropped rocks split open as smoke rose from the underground, shrouding Aubrie's body away.

"Captain!" The pirates expressed worry.

"Don't get cocky, you scallywag!" Aubrie reemerged from the ground and charged at Natia with her cutlass. However, Natia was much too speedy for her slow movements. Natia blinked across Aubrie's body and struck her from multiple angles with her broadswords to cut her down easily. The flames emitting from her blades also stung Aubrie's wounds, causing them to burn and tingle in even more virulent pain. "What is this?!" She exclaimed.

Natia reappeared behind Aubrie and delivered a kick much as Aubrie did to her towards the pirate ship once more. However, Natia didn't leave her body to subside and recover. "You want the miner's treasure, huh?" She threatened, placing both of her golden flaming broadswords together. The golden cinders of its flaming wake dusted off onto Natia's white nanosuit as her encroaching aura began to rupture in pure vigor. "Then I'll give your damn treasure."

She combined her blades into one giant orange and white glowing claymore, holding into the air with both of her arms to charge up a devastating wave attack. Ryo had no idea what its destructive capabilities were, but if she had released it, he was worried that it would destroy the miner's home and defeat the purpose of their case.

"Natia, stop!" Ryo called, activating his ignition booster to charge at her.

Aubrie's weakened state at the pirate ship proved to be her complete loss. Her fatigued body had no means of dodging Natia's attack. The pirates attempted to drag her away, but Aubrie brushed them aside, accepting her fate. Even if they had wagered to exchange information, Aubrie honored the fact that Natia was a codebreaker much like she was, and she honored that simple fact of acting alone and independent. She grimaced once more, impressed at Natia's willpower to sustain and defeat her through her fiendish tricks.

"Stop!" Ryo called once more, colliding with Natia just as she unleashed a downward slash filled with fiery energies. The amount of charged energies, combined with the flames radiating from her nanosuit, created a nuclear-type wave of flame that sliced through the Hullbreaker Tunnels, colliding with the rocks from the side of the pirate ship. The collision reaction set off an infernal explosion of raw heat and nuclear energy, decimating and incinerating nearly all of the dew-dropped rubble. The attack's energies nearly blinded all bystanders who gazed into its flaming white-colored wake, forcing them to turn away and shelter.

Several seconds passed, and Natia's attack subsided over time. Melted lava eventually turned into solid after seeping into the stream of water underneath it. Ryo watched as Natia's nanosuit turned from white to jet black, reverting to her original form. Sweat poured from her forehead and cheeks as she struggled to maintain her breath after releasing such a devastating blow.

"Why'd you stop me?!" Natia cried after Ryo continued pinning her down. "I was going to beat her!"

"It's over already," Ryo replied. "You won the fight."

"That's for me to decide, isn't it?!" Natia continued to struggle out of Ryo's tight grasp, wriggling and prying through the rocks underneath her as leverage. "Let go of me!"

"You can file a complaint later, just deal with it." Ryo sarcastically said.

Aubrie's pirates lifted her from her slouched back position and allowed her space to react to Ryo and Natia's victory. She stumbled into the stream of water as her body could not keep up with the amount of battle fatigue. She dropped back down once more and jabbed her cutlass into the softened soil underneath the water, prompting her pirates to rush to her rescue once more.

"That's enough!" Aubrie yelled. "I don't need your help. She won fair and square, especially without tricks. Oh, boy. You know... this whole pirate act is taking a toll on my mental health. I just don't get paid enough for this kind of shit..." She removed her Melody-themed eyepatch and sash to drop on the rocks after witnessing such a heavy defeat. Her weakened breathing was monotonous and hampered her from speaking. "As I said before, I follow my code. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you. The miners are free too," She turned to her pirate associates. "Cut them all free. Head back to their village and cut them all free."

"But, Captain..." The pirates were worried that she had been hallucinating, as defeat never occurred for their battle-ready and victorious captain.

"Do as I say, damn it!" Aubrie commanded. Her voice was powerful enough to send them whimpering and whining, securing the safety of the miners in the Hullbreaker Tunnels. She turned back to witness Natia standing back up with Ryo's support. "My heart goes out to the victor, and so does my pride. This pirate act was truly pathetic, so I apologize for insulting you, girl. The job calls for such ridiculous admission, and I'm certainly getting tired of it."

"It's okay," Natia replied. Ryo was surprised; he didn't even need to encourage her to speak out in a friendly manner. "You fought well too. I wouldn't have expected you to use the environment to your advantage."

"And it seems you've mastered your nanosuit as well," Aubrie replied, honoring Natia even further. "I would have never expected such a devasting attack from something so compact. Perhaps you, the ones who have stolen them, deserve them more than we do."

Ryo stepped in. "We didn't steal them," He clarified. "But we know who did. We're just here to tell your leader that and figure out what they're up to. They've cleared pissed all of you off to the point that you're stepping in."

Aubrie chuckled. "That's right. Mistress Melody and her closest associate are planning on finding those responsible and torturing them to the very end. But recently, my mistress has been growing increasingly reckless by saying such terrible things about this world. The people of Aries had stolen her blueprints for her inventions, and she merely retaliated in the worst way possible. This was my job; to relocate her stolen creations, especially the one that she needed the most."

"What would that be?" Ryo asked.

"The Planetary Particle Accelerator..." Aubrie defined. "My mistress's goals are absolutely out of this world. Out of this world, to the point where she plans on sending all of those responsible for their thievery back to her home planet. It can only be done with this specific particle accelerator, used as an energy source to generate millions of energy particles to build her final creation. And I have no thoughts about this," Aubrie clarified, resting her buttocks against some mossy rocks as she flipped her long rose-colored hair in worry. "I may have been hired for the sake of the organization, but I know little to nothing about what had happened to her home planet on Vicious. Her methods are completely out of proportion. I have no plans of being transported to her home planet; I am not responsible, but she may or may not listen to me."

"Sending everyone responsible?" Natia angrily said as her voice lowered down in tone. "She's sending every goddamn person on Aries! None of us are responsible for this shit!"

"I understand," Aubrie said. "But no matter what we say to her, nothing goes through. She is hellbent on sending all of Aries to its demise. Her rage encapsulates everything involved, even if it may be unrealistic and too much. I cannot stop her... but perhaps you two and your organization can." She stood back up from her seat and tossed her pirate hat into the stream of water. "This lady's retired. I just can't support Lucia any longer. I might as well go find another job to screw around in..."

"Lucia," Ryo called. "Is that your leader's name?"

"That's right. Lucia Melody," Aubrie clarified. "It's strange. The man that's always been by her side has always told me and the others in the organization that she was once a beautiful woman who sang beautifully to cheer the people of her planet up. He claimed that she always tried to soothe their hearts with her voice. They praised and loved her for everything she'd done. He never knew her personally, so I don't even know if I believe anything that man says. But what I do know is that she's been struggling internally about it. I can see it through her eyes and her voice. She tears up sometimes and fights with the others. I can tell she doesn't know if this is right."

"Damn it," Ryo expressed. "Is she too far gone?"

"I don't know. But maybe you can do something about it," Lucia's one of my friends too. But you won't find her here. She has a hideout at the Libra District, but you'll have to track her down. I've never been there before, so I'm pretty much useless in that aspect..."

"Thank you," Ryo appreciated. "Please, free the miners. They had nothing to do with this. They didn't steal your blueprints. Genesis did."

"Genesis... that confirms it then," Aubrie said, walking away from Ryo and Natia. "Don't worry, I will. But in return, give Genesis hell. There'll be much to pay for it. And who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again and die trying to fight the real enemy."

Ryo and Natia stood idly as the Hullbreaker Tunnel case was finished; the battle was over, and they had the information to go by searching Lucia Melody and her organization. Natia managed to catch her breath as Ryo continued supporting her balance. The miners were free, and it would take a much longer time to rebuild their underground home after being invaded.

The sound of slow and laborious breathing made Ryo turn his head to face Natia, who had attempted to relax after the battle. Her compliments for Aubrie's fighting style made it seem as if she was changing her rudimentary attitude because of Ryo's compliments and suggestions. He was about to speak the truth about her past and his thoughts about Natia, but he knew now wasn't the perfect time. Natia was fatigued and not ready to hear about anything to do with him.

As the two returned to the entrance of the Hullbreaker Tunnels, Ryo suddenly sensed an unknown presence that besieged his mind to uneasiness. Believing it to be a hoax, Ryo initiated his ignition booster to assist Natia out of the tunnels.