Galaxy Angel Variance: Shadowborn Love

Chapter 1: Back in the Saddle

It's been 6 months since Milfeulle and I parted ways at the spaceport.

As I'm sure you remember; my name is Howard, more commonly known as the Demon of the West. I'm a 400 year old demon that acts as the personal guardian of the royal family, and I also went from one of the most feared legends across the empire to one of its most respected heroes practically overnight. How? Well, in my previous tale, I spoke of a civil war between family members. Eonia against Shiva, and the white moon against black moon. All of which tore the Empire asunder for a short time. My role in the events was small compared to those of the Moon Angel troupe of the White moon and the Elsior. Granted, everyone would tell you differently, but I merely did what I promised to do over 120 years ago when the royal family first brought me into the fold. Keep them safe.

I spent the first three months thinking about her every single day, hoping she didn't run into any trouble. So, of course, when I received a letter from her inviting me to come visit her, I was beyond ecstatic. Empress Shiva approved of me taking my leave to go see her whenever I wanted, but I still made sure to have arrangements made to keep her safe. I do still have a job after all.

That first visit was definitely one to remember. The apartment that Milfeulle settled in was a quaint little spot. Within view of the beach, it was on the 11th floor of a popular apartment complex. A bit small for my tastes, but at the same time, I did spend 250 years in a home of my own design, so of course I was a bit biased. Nevertheless though, it was a perfect reflection of her. I couldn't help but feel like a puppy seeing someone new for the first time when I finally saw her. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly before I started playfully poking her and tickling her, causing her to giggle and squirm away. After chasing her around her apartment and playing with her for a few minutes, we sat down on her sofa and spent the next few hours catching up on everything we'd missed with each other.

With her, she worked for a bakery now, which was fitting since she was amazingly talented as a cook. She told me how she couldn't quite find the right place at first, but then stumbled across an ad on an advertisement board showing apartments for rent on the beach. She was telling me that it was completely random, but I knew better. I am completely convinced that her luck didn't actually leave her, it was more along the lines of just exhausted for the time being. Though, I had an uncanny intuition to back that up, I didn't really have much else in terms of proof to demonstrate otherwise. Apart from that, she'd been living a relatively quiet life and that she missed me and thought of me every day to this point.

As for me, well, I was still the personal guardian of her majesty, Empress Shiva. I spent a lot of time doing digging. Not literally, mind you, but figuratively. It bothered me how I have no memory of my childhood, or my parents, or anything before I woke up on Transbaal. However, the more I dug, the more confusing it got. There were a few records of me before the Empire was formed. Granted, I expected as much, but I was still hoping to find something tangible. I found the old business license I applied for to open my combat training school, as well as a few old documents, like my pilot's license, as well as my certification to train. Apart from that though, nothing. No birth records, no declaration of heritage, nothing. It was almost as if I just suddenly popped up one day.

Fast forward three months to now, I was on my tri-weekly visit when I told Milfeulle about it, she seemed worried. Not so much at the fact that I couldn't find anything, but she could see that it bothered me. Before I knew it, I was wrapped in her arms and her head was resting against mine, making me smile. As she hugged me, she said, "Don't worry Howard. I'm positive that you'll find out your roots. There aren't many 400 year old demons running around, so it can't be too hard to find someone related to you."

I couldn't help but laugh as I said, "Sweetheart, you have NO idea how wrong that statement is. Every time I try looking for something about my past, I only come across something from after I established a life here. Never before, it's really weird. It's almost as if my history, my life before my 28th birthday had been wiped clean from history. It makes no sense. But, I digress, that's not why I'm here."

I looked into her eyes and poked her nose before I said, "I came here to see you. I have been thinking about you every single day for the last six months and I wanted to see what you were up too. Not to mention see if you'd be able to go out on a date with me so we can spend some quality time together again."

She perked up as I said that and replied, "Actually, there's this amusement park I've wanted to go to for a while now…" I couldn't help but smile as she said this. She always did enjoy life's little treasures. From amusement parks to something as simple as a picnic, Milfeulle Sakuraba has not changed one bit in the months that have passed. So, of course, I'd be happy to indulge her.

"The one they just built on the orbital station not too long ago? I believe it was called Galactic Land."

She smiled and said, "That's the one! Their space ferris wheel looks amazing! Are you available tomorrow?"

I chuckled and said, "I escorted her majesty there a couple of months ago. She certainly enjoyed the park. I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it just as much. As luck would have it, I am available. Consider it a date then."

She giggled a bit as she said, "I'll make sure to prepare a lunch, so please look forward to it." I smirked before I replied, "Alright, but no specials. I haven't forgotten about the Ranpha Special and I am not about to relive that nightmare." I shuddered a bit, making her giggle.

Before she could say anything, a coo-coo clock chimed and whistled out, making her jump up as she said, "Ah, I'm late! I've got to get to work." That was our cue that our visit was over. I wished it was longer, but beggars can't be choosers.

I stood up, straightening my armor a bit as I said, "Well, I won't take up any more of your time. If your supervisor gives you any grief…" I took a pad on the counter and wrote a note, excusing Milfeulle for being late to work and signed it as I finished, "…give this to your boss. I'm sure they'll overlook it this time." I threw her a wink as she took the slip from me and blushed a bit as I said, "Have a good day my angel of luck, and I'll see you tomorrow for our date." I hugged her and kissed the top of her head before I departed and returned to the rebuilt imperial palace.

I found it a slight bit difficult to concentrate from the excitement I was feeling. It was definitely a nice change compared to what I've dealt with over the last few centuries. But, I didn't let it interfere with my duties to Empress Shiva. Of course, I kept her apprised of my relationship with Milfeulle since; after all, she was the one who encouraged it. She was happy to see me in high spirits and would keep telling me, more often than I care to admit, that she told me so. I could only smirk since I didn't have any real rebuttal to that.

Regardless, after I told her about the date, she offered to have the park closed off and reserved for just the two of us. While that was incredibly sweet of her, I couldn't do that for a few reasons. The two biggest ones being it would be awkward to walk around an empty amusement park and other people should be allowed to enjoy the park just as much as we can. Granted, it took me a couple of hours of arguing with her to convince her not to do that, but in the end, I got through to her. She never really could beat me in an argument when it came down to it, though I was nice and let her win every now and again.

So, the next day came round and I picked Milfeulle up from her apartment and we made our way to Galactic Land. I'd only been here once, and I had to wear earplugs because of how overpowering all the noise was. Granted, people were more in an uproar between my presence there on top of the Empress' presence as well. So, things should be a little quieter this time around.

"Hey, isn't that the Demon of the West?"

"I thought he was the personal guardian of her majesty, is she here?"

"Do you think all that armor makes it hard for him to ride some of the rides here?"

Then again, I have been wrong before.

I couldn't help but shake my head at some of the conversations I couldn't help but overhear. One of the downsides of being a Dog Demon, you have a much sharper sense of hearing compared to a human. So, whether I liked it or not, I had to deal with it. Milfeulle, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She definitely wasn't shy about clinging onto my arm and pointing things out to me she wanted to try.

Over the course of the day, we played a few of the boardwalk games. I had to actually put effort into messing a lot of them up so as not to win outright, like the milk bottle game. Do you have any clue how hard it is to NOT knock all six bottles off in a throw when you have the strength to lift vehicles off the ground with no effort? Let me tell you, that made me almost wish to fight the hell hounds in open space again. After we made our way through the boardwalk, we decided to just walk around and talk for a bit. She was the first to strike up conversation.

"The weather's nice, isn't it Howard?"

I chuckled as I said, "We are on a space station, so I would hope it's nice. People would probably complain otherwise."

She giggled as she replied, "Ah, I guess it is, he he he."

I put an arm over her shoulder as I said, "I'm just happy I finally got you back."

She looked at me with a small blush before saying, "So where should be go next? There's a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, and a haunted house. I can't decide…"

I smiled, seeing her so happy brought warmth into my heart as I listened to her. Of course, I was terrible at making these kinds of decisions, so I just looked up and said the first thing that I saw, which was…

"Let's ride the merry-go-round." What am I thinking? With all this armor I'm wearing, I don't know if ANY of those seats will support my weight. I didn't really ride any rides the last time I came here, I mostly stood by her highness as she rode the rides and enjoyed watching her. So, we made our way over to the carousel and as we walked onto the platform, she blurted out.

"Ah, Howard! Let's ride the pumpkin carriage!" The color almost drained out of my face when I heard her say that. I had NO clue if the carriage would hold my weight. It was big enough, sure, but I do weigh a bit more with all this armor on. I probably should have thought about that before I came to this park. But, at the same time, I've had this nagging at the back of my head telling me that something was going to happen and soon, so I decided to just carry my armor with me just to be safe. While the odds of something happening were slim, my intuition hasn't failed me yet.

We walked over to the pumpkin carriage, which had two white horses in front of it and a very spacious amount of seating room as I looked at her and said, "You were lured by the white horses, weren't you?" I smiled as she said, "Well, that, and I figured it would be the safest one that could hold your weight without breaking."

She ACTUALLY thought about that?

My jaw dropped when she said that before she said, "Careful there, my cute demon." She playfully placed a hand under my chin and closed my mouth as she said, "Someone might slip on your drool." I shook my head as she stepped inside of the carriage. I heard a couple of chuckles behind me from people that prompted me to throw them a glare, quickly silencing them before I stepped into the carriage and sat down as the carousel began to turn.

Milfeulle giggled as she slipped under my arm and leaned against me before saying, "It feels like we're a prince and princess going to a ball." I raised an eyebrow as I said, "I'd make a terrible prince. I'm much better at being a demon, a lot less politics and worry about being politically correct about things. Though, I could totally imagine you as a princess. You already have the beauty of one, so it wouldn't take much to make that a reality." She smiled and answered, "Even if you think you make a terrible prince, you're an amazing prince to me, Howard."

After we got off of the carousel, we walked a bit as she said, "That was fun, wasn't it Howard?" I chuckled and said, "Yes it was. Definitely much better than most of the rides I usually take. Ha ha." I looked around as I wondered what we should do next. Almost as if reading my mind, she said, "Let's ride the roller coaster next!" I looked over at the roller coaster and immediately felt a bit apprehensive. Granted, she was dragging me over to the line, so too late to back out now.

As we approached the car, she jumped and said, "Howard! The front seat is empty! Let's sit there!" I looked at some of the drops, which were REALLY high up and wondered if sitting in the front seat was a good idea. Of course, before I knew what was happening, there I was strapped into the front seat next to Milfeulle beginning to roll off as she said, "Ah, we're leaving. Lift off!"

Next thing I know, we suddenly accelerate forward, causing me to reactively grab the bar in front of me as I said, "Whoa! This is going really fast for the beginning of the ride." Milfeulle was quick to reply, "This roller coaster is the most intense one in all of space!" As we reached the top of what looked like a vertical drop that was easily three to four hundred feet up, I could only say one thing:

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!"

"Ahaha! This is fun!"

"This is hell! You're going to be the death of me woma-AAAHH!"

"Heheheehe! Weeeeeee!"

Oh right, she used to be a pilot. This is nothing to her. Probably should have thought about that earlier.

"How did I let you talk me into this!? HOW!?"

I'm sure I can outrun this roller coaster with my demonic speed, but the G-force being stressed on me is something I haven't had to deal with very much over the centuries, so, you could say this is an eye-opening experience for me.

Once the car returned to the station and came to a complete stop, I quickly pulled the bar up and leapt out of the car. The attendant just gave me a weird look as I said, "Milfeulle, I love you, I really do, you suck!" As soon as I landed, my legs were wobbly from the adrenaline rush that I ensured and gave out, causing me to drop to my knees. The attendants quickly ran over to me and tried to grab me, which I quickly shook them off and said, "Hands off! I'll be fine. Whew, damn….talk about a rush." It took me a few seconds to get my bearings again, but once I stood back up, Milfeulle had a slightly worried look on her face. I started laughing as I walked over to her and said, "I'm not mad at you sweetheart, I was only joking. Though…..you are going to have to give me a pretty good reason to every consider getting onto that thing ever again."

She perked right back up as she smiled and said, "Awww, my dear demon, were you scared?"

I scoffed and said, "Me? Scared? Hah! I've fought armies way worse than that thing!"

Yes…..yes I was. I have learned today that I hate roller coasters.

As we walked through the park, she pointed at the ferris wheel and said, "There's the space ferris wheel I was telling you about. Wow, it's so big that I can't even see the top." I looked at it and it definitely was really high up there. Her majesty didn't go on the ferris wheel when we were here, so this would be the first time I've ridden it myself.

"Alright then, what are we waiting for?"

I grabbed her hand and we made our way over to the ferris wheel. We managed to get a car by ourselves and we rode the wheel to the top at a nice and slow pace. Definitely much more enjoyable than that screaming metal death trap we just rode a minute ago.

"Wow. Look Howard! What a view!"

I smiled as I said, "Last time I had a view like this, I jumped out of a space shuttle as we were escaping Fargo station. Though, I have to say, this is much more relaxing than that situation was." I laughed a bit as she pulled out a small basket and said, "The announcement said it would take about half an hour to go all the way around, so now is the perfect time for lunch." I smiled a bit as I sat forward and said, "The perfect thing to top off this amazing date…minus the roller coaster." She giggled as she opened up the basket, revealing a load of food all packed in. I was immediately blasted with several different smells coming from the small container as I said, "Whoa! How did you manage to fit all of that food into that little thing? I can smell at least six different foods in there!" She simply picked up a fork, stabbed a french fry and said, "That's a secret. So, French fries first. Here, say ahh."

I opened my mouth and took the French fry into my mouth, to which I was met with a mesmerizing taste. She definitely has not lost her touch with cooking, that's for sure.

"How does it taste?

I smiled and said, "It's delicious. You haven't lost a step my dear angel."

She sighed a bit as she said, "Thank goodness. I've made a lot. Please keep eating."

I leered at her and said, "I see what you're doing here. You're trying to turn me into one of those fat house dogs, aren't you?"

She put on a look of feigned innocence as she said, "Who me? I would never do such a thing to the legendary Demon of the West. Plus, I don't think the Empress would forgive me if I did. He he he."

We continued to eat over the next 15 minutes until everything was devoured. That was one of the most satisfying lunches I've had in a long time, I can't believe how much I've missed her cooking.

I sighed as I said, "Wow, now that was absolutely amazing Milfeulle. I haven't had a meal that satisfying in a long time. You are still an amazing chef."

She giggled as she said, "Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. It makes getting up early to make it worthwhile."

As the ferris wheel came full circle, we stepped off, holding each other's hands as she smiled and said, "That was really fun. Where should we go now?"

Before I could answer her question, I noticed a light out of the corner of my eye. It caused me to turn my head and look. I could feel the power begin to pulsate through my body as Milfeulle looked at me with a worried look and said, "Howard, what's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but I'm getting a bad feeling right now. Could have sworn I saw something a second ago that I shouldn't have."

"What? Where?"

No sooner did she finish her sentence, the station was hit with an energy blast, causing the station to shake and knocked several people off their feet. I quickly leapt forward and grabbed Milfeulle before asking if she was alright. She replied, "I'm fine, but that sounded like an explosion…"

Within moments, another explosion rattled the station, knocking more people down, and tightening my grip around Milfeulle's waist as I looked around, trying to locate the source of the explosions. Who would attack an amusement park? Seriously, that's low beyond anyone's standards.

"Attention! All attendees please evacuate to the nearest escape shuttle hanger immediately, this is not a drill…"

As we heard the announcement, I knelt down and said, "Get on my back, I'll get us out of here." She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning into my fur pelt on my back. I grabbed her legs and leapt into the air over the crowds that were scrambling to get out of the park. Using my demonic speed, I managed to blow past everyone and carry us to the hanger that we arrived in.

Upon approaching the hanger, several people were screaming in fear. Milfeulle climbed off of my back as I said, "Everyone, please calm down, get on the shuttle and to safety."

One of the people replied, "We can't, the shuttle pilot is gone."

Milfeulle looked at me with worry before I said, "Get on, I'll fly the damn thing. Well sweetheart, looks like our vacation is officially over. Milfeulle, make sure everyone gets on board."

She looked at me in shock before saying, "Me!?"

I looked at her with a smile and said, "Keep everyone from panicking. Just calm down and help them evacuate, ok?"

Her expression dipped as she said, "Y-yes, but can I do it?"

I walked up to her, placed my forehead against hers and said, "I have every confidence in you my beloved angel. You can do it. Everything will be ok."

She leaned against me before saying, "I understand. I'll do my absolute best!"

After a few minutes of people flooding on board and prepping the engines to launch, a voice came over the comm system.

"Hey! Why hasn't shuttle 7 taken off!? Don't lag behind! I'll guide you. Hurry up and launch the shuttle. The station's going down."

I know that voice.

Before I could respond, Milfeulle came into the pilot's cabin and said, "Everybody's on board. Let's go Howard!" I nodded and proceeded to launch the shuttle from the falling station. I pushed the engines to bring us up to speed to head to the rendezvous point that had been transmitted a few minutes ago. I looked to Milfeulle and said, "We'll arrive in a few minutes. Milfeulle, can you see anything? I've got my hands full trying to keep the engines from overheating."

She shook her head as she looked out and said, "No…..nothing…"

Then she suddenly jumped and said, "Ah! There! Howard! Look over there!"

I looked up and what I saw damn near made my jaw hit the floor.

The Elsior

What in the hell was THAT ship doing here?

Milfeulle was jumping up and down behind me as she said, "The signal is pointing us there. We're going to land on the Elsior, Howard!" There were a thousand questions going through my mind at that point. The one at the forefront of my mind, however…

What was she doing here when she was supposed to be on the frontier?

As we set the shuttle down in the hanger bay, I noticed the work crews hustling around performing their duties. I recognized a lot of them, but there were a few new faces mixed in the lot. I opened the doors on the side of the shuttle and Milfeulle and I were the first to step out as everyone started to peek out into the hanger to see if it was safe.

Milfeulle was beside herself as she said, "Ahhh! I really missed this place. It's exactly the same as before." I smiled as she took a walk down memory lane. However, that was cut short quite quickly.

"Hold on, you over there! Stay in line!"

I turned to the source of the voice with a glare as I said, "What did you say to me?"

He looked at me and the color drained out of his face instantly as he realized who I was.

"M—my lord! Please excuse me!"

I proceeded to walk past him and said, "Take care of those civilians on that shuttle; I need to have a chat with the commander on the bridge. Come along Milfeulle, I'm sure there are a few people that would love to see you again."

She nodded and we made our way to the bridge. The interior of the Elsior hasn't changed a bit since the last time we were here. Making our way through the halls, we passed several crew members who instantly recognized us and bid us a welcome back. Others, who were knew, we aware of me and greeted me with the fear that most of them used to exhibit when I first came aboard. I didn't think much on it since I probably wouldn't be here very long.

As we arrived on the bridge, everyone turned to look at us in shock at our presence.

"My lord!"

"I don't believe it! The Demon of the West is back?"

"And Milfie is here too!?"

Milfeulle waved happily as she said, "It's good to see everyone again!"

Lester quickly shook his shock off as he said, "What are you two doing here?"

I chuckled a bit as I said, "Well, Mr. Coolduras, we were actually on a date to Galactic Land when someone started bombing it. That said, what are YOU doing here? As I recall, you were under orders to head out to the frontier to handle a raider fleet that had been harassing the outer planets of the empire."

Tact stepped forward as he said, "Yeah, about that, it'd be easier to show you than explain the whole situation. Coco, if you would please…"

Coco rogered up and brought up a digital display showing a fleet of a dozen warships as I raised an eyebrow and said, "You have got to be kidding me. You chased them all the way out here? Man, you're getting sloppy Tact."

He quickly began waving his hands as he said, "Hold on, it's not my fault they're here. Every time we get a report of them attacking a system, they're long gone by the time we get there. This is the first time we've finally caught up to them."

Lester crossed his arms and said, "Truthfully, I was worried we'd be too late again."

Before I could reply, Coco yelled out, "Incoming enemy missiles! We can't evade, brace for impact."

As Milfeulle yelped and grabbed the bulkhead I took a step forward, channeling my power in my arm and shot it into the ceiling, erecting a barrier around the Elsior. Over the course of the last six months, I became extremely proficient with my newfound abilities. Mainly at Shiva's behest, I spent a lot of time running bombardment drills with warships, erecting barriers for them to pummel and allowing me to get more practice with using it. I also discovered a neat little trick I can do at the same time as holding a barrier.

I can shoot bursts of energy towards a target of my choosing.

It's a bit more draining, but I discovered that by accident when one of the artillery units were not letting up and I was getting irritated with how long it was taking. Before I knew what happened, I shot a bolt from my hand out through the barrier and almost wiped out the battalion. Safe to say they are hesitant to run any more drills with me. However, it is going to be extremely handy in this case.

As the missiles collided with my barrier, I charged up a bolt and shot it out through the link I created into the hull of the Elsior. I watched the bolt shoot out from the ship, fly through space and hit one of the destroyers, causing it to be knocked back before exploding into pieces.

Everyone looked at me in shock as Tact said, "That's new! Since when can you shoot energy bolts while holding a barrier?" Even Milfeulle was looking at me in surprise before I said, "What? It was a new trick I learned and I wanted to use it. No time like the present, right?"

Milfeulle giggled as I dropped the barrier and asked, "Soooooo, where is the angel wing?" No sooner did I ask this, a digital display popped up, showing Forte flying her frame as she said, "Elsior, this is Happy Trigger, where did that energy barrier come fr….Howard!?"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I dropped the barrier and said, "Surprise!" I looked back at Milfeulle and said, "Well, come on sweetheart, say hi." Milfeulle jumped forward and said, "Hi Forte! How have you been?" I swear, if Forte could have leapt out of her seat, she probably would have after seeing Milfeulle. "What are you two doing there!?"

I looked at Milfeulle with a smirk before I said, "Well, it's a really long story, so, to sum it up, right place, right time." Forte looked at us before she said, "A long story huh…well, you can fill me in later, right now, we have to…"

I cut her off, "…Protect the evacuees, yeah, I gathered as much. Tact, how much longer until the station is fully evacuated?" Tact looked at Almo, who then said, "First gate is 50% complete. The remaining shuttles need twenty more minutes to complete their evacuation." I shook my head lightly as I looked back at Forte as she said, "There's a stray approaching the Elsior. It's your turn."

"Roger, Ms. Forte."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Tact and he simply smiled before the warship Forte mentioned was hit directly in the engine compartment, causing it to explode. Coco shouted, "Direct hit to the enemy reactor. Target destroyed."

Lester smiled as he said, "As skilled as ever to be able to snipe the enemy's reactor."

I looked at him and said, "Damn good shot. Who the hell was that?"

He calmly replied, "That would be the other emblem frame. Almo, bring it up on screen."

She acknowledged the order and brought up another digital display. The image displayed was definitely an emblem frame, but one I'd never seen before. Milfeulle spoke up behind me, "That's…an emblem frame, right? But, I've never seen it before."

Next thing we know, we receive a hail from the frame.

"This is the Sharp Shooter. Ensign Karasuma Chitose. Elsior, please respond."

I looked at Lester, knowing what I was about to ask as he said, "Karasuma Chitose. She was newly assigned to the Angel Wing one week ago."

A week? She's been on the Angel wing for one week and she shoots like THAT?!

I look back at Milfeulle and said, "Newly assigned?"

The next thing I knew, a digital display replaced the frame with the picture of a girl. The girl pictured in it appeared to be about 17 years of age. She had a fair complexion, green eyes, and wore the traditional uniform with full body coat. She also had a red ribbon tied in a bow in her dark blue hair. Whoever this mystery pilot was, screamed military protocol, which was odd, given the mix that comprised the angel troupe before now.

"We have not met, my lord. I understand the situation from your communication with Ms. Forte." Yup, this is going to be a pain to deal with.

"Nice to meet you too. Ensign Karasuma, was it?" was all I could get out. I don't know why, but hearing her voice made my skin crawl. Karasuma…where have I heard that name before.

Before that train of thought could go any further, she replied, "Yes, my name is Karasuma Chitose."

I smirked a bit as I said, "You've been assigned to one of her majesties best units, Ensign. I expect you to maintain the level of skill required to fly with these girls, am I clear?" Lester and Tact both looked at me, they could clearly tell I was screwing with her, but I figured, I may as well ease her into life with the Angel wing since she is new.

She confidently responded, "Yes. I will do my best to live up to your expectations, my lord."

I raised a hand and said, "Please, call me Demon for the time being. Once you've earned my respect, I'll allow you to use my name. In the meantime though, you're going to go through the same paces the rest of the girls did. So, with that said, first order of business…"

Forte chimed in and said, "That's the Demon I remember, awaiting orders."

Milfeulle tugged on my sleeve a bit, prompting me to look at her as she said, "Um…Should I sortie too?" Forte looked past me and said, "Nah, this isn't the kind of enemy we need you for. Feel free to sit back and enjoy the show while we handle these losers."

She smiled, nodded and said, "I understand. Do your best Forte!"

As Tact began to converse with Chitose, I looked back at Milfeulle, who looked uncomfortable and said, "Hey, don't feel like you're not needed. She was praising your skill. The fact that they don't need you means that they'd rather save you for a much tougher enemy." She looked up at me with a smile and said, "I don't feel bad. Though, thank you for the nice gesture. I just miss flying the Lucky Star." I smiled as I moved beside her and placed my arm across her back, causing her to smile and lean onto me while grabbing and holding onto that hand.

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

I stepped forward away from Milfeulle and looked at the battle map. The shuttles were on the far side of the station and the frames would only be able to reach half of the fleet at any one point with how far apart they were. So, that gave me an idea.

"Tact, you mind if I propose an idea of my own?"

Everyone, including the two Angel wing members looked at me and said, "By all means, Howard. What've ya got?"

I look at the map and say, "Since this new ability I have allows me to fire high power energy bolts through the same power I can erect barriers with, I can take some of the pressure off your girls. You two head over to the far side here to cut off this half of the fleet from firing on the shuttles. I can use my ability to shoot down these four ships over here with ease. Think of it like having your own artillery platform at your disposal. What do you think, Tact?"

He nodded and said, "I like it. Angel wing, you heard the demon. Begin combat!"

With that, I channeled my power and prepared to fire the first bolt when I heard a whisper.

'The time has come.'

The time has come? What could that mean? Didn't really have the luxury to think on it. When I used my demonic aura to locate the first ship, I charged up the bolt and shot it out through the hull. The bolt flew through space at blinding speed and hit the first destroyer, instantly destroying it as I prepared my second shot. The angel wing had engaged the far half of the fleet before they had reached firing range of the shuttles, so that worked out nicely. As soon as I let loose the second bolt, I decided to get a bit creative. I channeled my power through both of my arms, creating two bolts to try and end my side of the fight first.

Forte had destroyed a cruiser and Chitose had destroyed a destroyer, evening up the score for the moment.

After a few more seconds, I fired the pair of bolts through the hull. As they flew through space, Chitose destroyed another cruiser before turning towards one of the ships I had shot at and shouted, "Fatal Arrow!" Within moments of shouting, three energy bursts shot out from her frame, flying at amazing speed towards a cruiser. I bit my tongue a bit, hoping my shot would beat hers. It was going to be close.

*Kaboom*

My shot hit and destroyed the cruiser, causing her shots to hit pieces of the debris. It was only by the breadth of a hair my shot won out. The other destroyer also exploded shortly after being hit by the other energy bolt I shot. That fatal arrow is one hell of a special, though; she had to come to a complete stop to use it. I can't say I like that flaw, but apart from that, definitely a great support unit.

Before we knew it, the battle was over.

Six months since I've had to actually participate in battle with the Angel wing, and I haven't lost a step. I'm not going to lie…

It's good to be back in the saddle.

Author's note: Hello everyone! We're back with a new tale from none other, than the Demon of the West.

Howard: Is it really necessary to announce me like that?

Yes. So, with that said, we sincerely apologize for making you wait, had to settle on a few ideas before we rolled the carpet out to begin typing. So, without further adieu, we hope you enjoy this chapter and please like and review it!