As the ships reached the atmosphere, the groups converse with Zexi as David shuffles through the notes he got from Astro.
"So Zexi, what sort of person were you hoping to recruit?" Ramona asked.
"What kind of person? I guess it doesn't really matter. As long as I like them and they have a dream to follow." Zexi said.
"I see." Lloyd said. "Although I don't see why you'd put a limit in numbers, it does make sense in context."
"I agree. The group would be easier to manage this way." Jude said.
"Actually...its cause I wanna surpass Jexi and Hope with quality and power, not numbers." Zexi said.
"I'll start off with introductions. My name is Gemina, a user of the Crystal Style of Ultimate Color Fighting and currently seeking for the Eternity Gem." Gemina said.
"The Eternity Gem?" Leia asked. "Do you need it for something?"
"Its the most valuable gem in existence and said to grant a person immortality. I want it cause...I really love gems." Gemina said.
"I though it was so you can keep it out of the bad guys' hands, but whatever floats your boat, I guess." Ming said.
"Speaking of bad guys, I wonder which branch of the Ginova Family we'll run into this time." Sectonia said.
"This place is a shared territory with Mystic of the Fantasy Branch and Sam of the Mythology branch." Heart said.
"Makes sense." Zelos said. "They both seem very fitting in a place like this."
"But with Sam out of the picture of supporting my dear sister, it's likely they've turned Glenwood into a warzone." Hope said.
"Not necessarily. Young Sam plans to get back on Cindrey's good side by acting as a subordinate to Lady Mystic." Heart said.
"Uh...who are you?" Zelos asked.
"I'm glad you asked! I am a man brimming with truth and justice! The one who dreams of becoming a hero like the great All Might. I am the hero! I am...the Mighty Heart!" he said posing.
"Okay… Is he serious about all of that?" David asked.
"Apparently. But our leader seems to actually enjoy this man's showboating." Leonis said.
"You're one to talk. You showboat with every chance you get." Tulip said.
"Im just glad Zexi approved of him." Hope said.
"Even though he's but a headache." Tulip said. "I better say something before we dwell on this. My name is Tulip. A forest elf from the Magic Universe. I dream of being the first elf to join the Universal Police."
"A forest Elf with Ice Powers?" Ramona asked.
"She got Grays Ice Make and Ice Devil Slayer magic all at once." Indigo explained.
"I see." Sheena said before looking to Leonis. "I'm guessing this one is a summoner."
"Ah. Finally, someone who actually has good taste on this new group. Yes. You speak to the great Leonis Pendragon, a top summoner from the Summoner's Institute. It is a pleasure for you to meet me." Leonis said.
"A top summoner who has Bs and Cs on his report card…" Hope said.
"Gah!" Leonis said in shock before collapsing. "I'm nothing but a disgrace." he said sadly.
"And Sheena didn't recognize you out of taste, she just knows a summoner when she sees one, because she's a Summoner herself." Hope said.
"True, but...I don't recognize her as a summoner...because...I have better summons." Leonis said.
"Oh, them's fighting words. Show em how it's done, Sheena!" Indigo cheered.
Both Indigo and Leonis were hit by Kenshin. "Silence your tongues! We are allies! We do not fight!" Kenshin shouted.
"At least Sheena doesn't brag about everything she does." Zelos said.
"Sorry." the two of them said.
"Now. I shall begin. I am Kenshin Flux of the 5th Flux Family. A warrior from the Warrior Universe with aspirations of becoming a warlord." Kenshin said.
"I think there was already a warlord with your name." Raine said. "Kenshin Uesugi, the Dragon of Echigo."
"Yes. I was named after him to help with my personal rise to becoming a warlord." Kenshin said.
"Alright then, that just leaves Zexi himself and Abby." Genis said.
"I will go. My name is Abby and this isn't my real body. It's a robot that I can control from my hospital room in the Future Universe. Charmed to meet you." Abby said.
"From the hospital? Were you hit with some sort of illness?" Jude asked.
"It's a condition that has drastically weakened my immune system. I can't even leave my hospital room." Abby said.
"It's too bad we can't go there right now, I would've found a way to treat you." Jude said.
"Jude used to be a medical student in Fennmont before he became a spyrite researcher." Teba said. "He knows his ways about medical procedures through spirit artes."
"I appreciate the offer, but do not bother. Even the best doctors of my universe cannot cure this disease." Abby said.
"Sides, we like her this way much better." Indigo said.
Zexi's group just glared at Indigo.
"And I just realized I put my foot in my mouth." Indigo said.
"While the robot is an alternative to actual walking and sightseeing, I hope to be cured one day and be able to experience the world with my own body." Abby said.
"That leaves you." Lloyd tells Zexi.
"Fair enough. My name is Zexi. I lead this small group and am Jexi's former apprentice. When their time is done, I'm the one who's going to surpass Jexi and Hope." Zexi said.
"And I look forward to that." Hope said. "Zexi, I need to ask a favor. When the time comes that we need help to face a great evil, will you stand with us?"
"Are you kidding? Why wouldn't I stand with you guys? That sounds like an amazing fun time!" Zexi said smiling.
"Glad to hear it." Jude said.
"We're approaching Glenwood." Vera said. "All hands, prepare to disembark."
"Yes! Here we go!" Jexi said as the three ships touched down.
"Guess it's time...to begin the adventure!" Zexi said.
The hatches of the three ships begin to open. The group walked out into a large grassy field near old ruins.
"Such a lush landscape." Sectonia said in amazement.
"I know. We really see this much greenery." David said.
"What do you suppose are in these ruins?" Teba asked.
"Ah. Those ruins are depicting of the original heroes of this world. Best known as the Shepherds!" Heart said.
"Whenever this world would approach chaos and calamity, a human able to contract a Seraphim, best known as a Shepherd, has always risen up to purify it." Tulip said.
"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Raine said, heading to the ruins.
David sighs at this. "There she goes again…" David proceeds to follow her. "Ah, what the heck? I'm a little curious about this legend, too."
"That makes three of us." Robin said as she followed after.
Hope went after the group one after another, but then he got lost when climbing to the top. He then stumbled upon a stone scripture of a human of sorts.
"Wow. I can't even read this, but it's supposed to be telling me something. Who is this guy?" Hope asked.
"It's a Shepherd." a boy with brown hair and pants, a blue shirt, and a sword at his side said walking up to him.
"A Shepherd? No wait, I know you're not talking about the ones who tend sheep. This is a great warrior." Hope said. "Ah who am i kiddin? My name is Jonah Ginova, people all over know me as Hope the Victor."
"My name is Sorey. I'm from the village nearby. I came here to explore the ruins." he said.
"Ah, and that would explain the blade." Hope said. "So, can you tell me what this Shepherd business is, Sorey?"
"Well, the Shepherd is just a legend, but they were great heroes that would go against the Malevolence. They would come time and time again...until the Age of Chaos began when none appeared." Sorey said. "But, I believe they actually existed, that it's more than legend."
"And now you've finally found something that depicts its legend." Hope said.
"Such profound history… It's absolutely fantastic!" Raine said in amazement.
"Ah, sorry." David said. "I'm David Ishihara. The history buff here is Raine Sage."
"Heheh. Looks like I'm not the only one interested in this." Sorey said.
"At least you found something. Nothing on my end." said another boy with white hair and light blue clothes, almost like he was representing the sea itself.
"Mikleo!" Sorey said.
"What are these...Ah I see." Mikleo said backing up.
"What's the matter?" Sorey asked.
"These people...they're humans, Sorey." Mikleo said.
"Not all of us." Raine said. "I'm actually half-elf."
"This energy I sense. So that explains why he said that. He is a Seraphim." Tulip said.
"Hey, guys." David said, seeing the rest of the group catch up to them.
"Could you guys please not go so fast next time?" Sectonia asked. "Most of us could barely keep up with you history buffs."
David chuckles nervously. "Sorry."
"Wow, all sorts of new faces." Sorey said.
Suddenly, dark clouds formed nearby.
"That ain't good…" Hope said.
David saw one of them turn into a monster. "Look out!" David said as he blocked the attack. "Those dark clouds, they're forming into monsters!"
More monsters start to form as Sectonia, Jude, and Lloyd joined him.
"Be careful. Those monsters are dangerous." Jude said.
"Its best we head inside the ruins for now." Mikleo said.
"Yeah, good call!" Rainbow said as they retreated inside, but the ruins crumbled beneath their feet as they all fell deep inside the ruins.
"Oh crap!" Hope said.
"Mikleo…!" Sorey said.
Mikleo summoned a staff and readied some water magic for a spell as he pointed down. "Twin Flow!" he shouted shooting two streams of water as he landed safely as the others crashed into the small water pond. "Well, that seemed to go over well."
"You think?" Raine asked all drenched as David hand-dried Sectonia, much to her pleasure.
"So, now where do we go?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm thinking we search this place for a way out." Indigo answered.
"Good call." Sectonia said. "But be on guard for monsters."
"Yeah I know, stick with the experts, you've done all this before." Rainbow said.
They saw another human refuge unconscious in a point of the temple and wanted to help. They had to cut through some webs to do so, but then some sort of giant spider bursting with dark energy appeared.
"What is that thing?!" Indigo said.
"This aura…" David said. "Is that malevolence?"
"Seems like it. Expect it to be hostile." Presea said.
"All of you, quit gawking and get your weapons ready!" Mikleo said.
"Uh, right!" Rainbow said. She had her Rainbow Blade in hand and executed a Martial Arte combo without hesitation. Feeling confident enough, she proceeded to do an Arte. "Shining Fang!"
She whirled her blade like a spinning wheel in one hand, trying to slice the spider up, but she was too fast on the draw and her sword went spiraling out of her hand. But the spider was all right as it escaped.
"No doubt. That was a Hellion." Mikleo said.
"Hellion?" David asked.
"Creatures born from the Malevolence. They can't be defeated by means like that. They can only be defeated through the power of purification." Sorey said.
"So, for now, we're sitting ducks." David said.
"Aw, man... My first Arte ever and I messed it up. I guess i was too quick on the spin…" Rainbow said.
"That's what you're upset about?" Ramona asked.
"It isn't easy getting Artes right on your first try." Zelos said.
"Exactly. They take loads of practice just to make sure you're doing it right." Sectonia said.
"I wanna get it right, and be able to spin my sword around and shoot stuff outta my weapons like POW!" Rainbow said.
"Rainbow, you don't need to do something like artes to become powerful. You're already strong as is." Jexi said.
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Rainbow said. "But, we should keep on going ahead."
"Got it." Zelos said. "We'll need to be careful of monsters here."
"Those hellions you described…" David said. "I can feel it from their aura… They're no ordinary monsters."
"That's right. They were created by the Malevolence. It corrupted an ordinary spider into becoming what you just saw." Mikleo said.
"It's just like with Calamity Ganon's Malice. Sort of." Sora said.
"In a way, it seems so." Scott said.
"Speaking of malevolence…" Mikleo said. "I can feel a slight of it coming from her." He said, referring to Sectonia.
"She just has a few issues to deal with, that's all." David said.
"If you call being a former evil queen who tried to destroy us an issue." Yosuke said.
"Like we keep saying, she was under the Dimension Mirror's influence at the time." David said. "Although, it does kind of make you think… What purpose did Dark Meta Knight have in corrupting her…? What was he planning?"
"I don't know… But something tells me I'd rather not find out." Teba said.
"What you're going through right now seems like a piece of cake compared to the Ginova Family." Sunset said.
"Yeah. At least your enemy isn't hunting you down or plotting your demise." Hope said.
"I wouldn't be too sure." David said. "Of course, that all depends on whether or not Cindrey already has her hands on the Dimension Mirror."
"In any case, we won't know for sure unless we find a way out of these ruins." Leia said.
They made it to the girl. On closer inspection, she was wearing heavy armor and had a spear by her side.
"We got a healer in the house?" Lemon asked.
"Well, there are a few of us, actually." Raine said. "There's me, Zelos, Jude and Leia."
"I have a way to help her." Twilight said taking out a ball. "Steenee, use Aromatherapy!"
Steenee came from the ball as a sweet and healing scent filled the ruins as the girl stirred.
"She's coming around." Sectonia said, coming to inspect her. "Are you feeling alright? What happened?"
"Ah!" she screamed kicking Sectonia and backing away.
"Whoa. It's okay. We found you like this." Sorey said before picking up the spear. "This is yours."
"Oh. Thank you. I am sorry to have troubled you." she said.
"It's alright. I'm used to it by now." Sectonia said.
Mikleo then jumped between them. "Boo!" he said as the girl showed no reaction. "She's definitely human."
"Uh… so what now?" Hope asked.
"Well since we have nothing else to do, how about we go back to our village?" Sorey said.
"We saw your flying contraptions overhead while we were exploring. I'm sure Gramps won't mind if you park em near there." Mikleo said.
"Sounds fair, you three need a ride? You're welcome to come with us and fly back to your village." Hope said.
"It's fine. We aren't that far from it anyway." Sorey said.
"Alright. We'll see you there." Lloyd said.
The group walked with the three of them before arriving to a large hillside with stone monuments and houses built into the side of them.
"So this is it?" Nana asked.
"Its beautiful…" The armored girl said.
"Welcome. This is our village, Elysia. Please, stay here before going on your journey." Sorey said.
"Well, no sense in taking that regard." Hope said. "This place is gonna be fun."
A/N: Inspired by Jexi the Hunter and Hope the Victor
