Episode 1: ロボット姫! - The Robotic Princess!
Note: There will be 2 Types of Flashbacks in this Arc: A and B
A= Flashback happening in the BIONICLE storyline and its characters.
B= Flashback happening in either the Free!, KnB, or HQ characters, etc.
Beep, Beep, Beep! Beep, Beep, Beep!
Natsu reached out for her alarm and woke up to smell some breakfast cooking as Shouyou and Tobio were acting like a married couple arguing on how eggs should be cooked.
"Natsu prefers them sunny-side up!" said Shouyou, annoyed.
"Really? I thought she liked it scrambled," replied Tobio with a duck-like face.
"Morning Tobi," smiled Natsu as she pushed her hair back to the side and put on some music from the radio:
Everybody said that you'd better watch out
Man, she's gonna turn you in
And me, you know that I thought that I looked out
Now look at the trouble that I'm in
you know, you'd better
Watch out for Charley's girl!
"Listen, I have to attend to a meeting today with Akashi," said Shouyou, grabbing his jacket, "We have a home now but there's work to be done still with the other sports and things."
"Watch your step!" waved Natsu.
Morgan Volleyball Facility: Karasuno Court A
Sou, Aone, Tetsurou, and Daichi were busy bopping the ball around in the air for practice. Ever since their return home with the other volleyball exiles, they all decided to form one major team before making smaller divisions to further make competitions and recruiting new people.
"At least this is better than doing it in the dirty sands," said Daichi as he whacked the ball.
Aone readied his hands to reply the oncoming ball while Sou turned to Tetsurou with a nod. As soon as it was heading towards them, they jokingly teased each other while Aone stretched his hands out.
"You guys are crazy," laughed Daichi.
"Just haven't had this much fun forever," replied Tetsurou.
"Yeah but it's not the same without Yuu and Kenma," sighed Daichi.
"We have lost a few people," nodded Aone, "We still don't know if Oikawa is even around. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, Hajime is incredibly worried."
"I still can't believe Kei would try to betray us though," he replied, "He had no right to do this to Shouyou or anyone!"
"Well let's not worry about that and get ready for tonight's event," said Aone, "That's all in the past. We got a show to prepare for."
Sakari returned back to her hideout in the Eco-Park when she saw a strange being standing in her way. After a few weeks of hunting the princess since her initial arrival, the Wise Master was happy to see her alive and well.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"The bigger question is WHO you are," replied the stranger.
"Well now that you're the first to catch me," she answered, "What do you want?"
Ekimu revealed himself as the princess stood in shock of seeing the Wise Master still alive but his Mask of Creation wasn't on his face; it was just a generic looking mask.
"Ekimu," she said, "How did you even…"
"Survive?" he replied, "Brutaka was able to make a gateway for me to escape before he got injured during the chaos. I arrived in this town when it was still being developed and I secretly used the remaining powers I had left to help contribute. Oh how long has it's been…"
"What is this town…or rather this world?" she asked, "These people…"
"They're called humans, completely organic," he replied, "Very vulnerable to any injury that we can somewhat sustain with some of our partial armor. Certainly they're not like the Toa or the Masters."
"But how did you lose the mask?" asked Sakari.
"…that monster who calls himself Kulta killed Artakha and robbed me of the Mask before I could even fight back. When I woke up the kingdom was undergoing chaos and the royal family fell apart," said Ekimu.
"You mustn't stay here princess, come with me."
"To where?" she asked.
"My shop. At least until we can find someone who can get us out of here," he replied.
Miracle Palace
The Magic Six sat down together in a council with the Vorpal Swords and the newly assembled White Doves. Though it was kinda boring for some of them, this meeting was very important one for it was going to allow some rearrangements of the sporting events as well as setting up new festivities and adding some security.
"We still need a handful of people who are going to learn how to swim," said Makoto, "We can teach them in no time!"
"Perhaps but we are going to find those who are even interested; it won't be easy since water was limited and swimming was formerly banned," replied Akashi.
"Well it shouldn't be a problem if anyone is curious," shrugged Rei.
"It will take some time," said Shouyou, "But we can maybe set up a triad festival of all three sports together! My father may have been known for his volleyball but his diary said that he had met Prince Julius personally…err I mean Alexa."
Alexa smiled, "He explained it all to me; it was I who made that staff as well that you now possess. However, he was the one who led the rebellion years ago under that dark influence."
"That's all in the past now," said Makoto, resting his hand on Alexa's shoulder.
"But we shouldn't be using magic though on the new customers," replied Kuroko, "It would be unfair to give someone magic in a sport that they don't want."
"More importantly, we have to each protect these magical items from new enemies," said Kagami, "Sportsbrooke may be at peace but for how long?"
"Enough to at least hopefully get some new recruits," answered Nagisa.
"Makoto and myself have learned all the swimming strokes…as well as Alexa," said Rin, "We can be the instructors for the time being until we have to go face a new enemy."
"I only swim free," replied Haruka as the others chuckled while Rin briefly gave him an annoyed stare.
"Freestyle huh?" asked Shouyou.
"It was always like that for me," he shrugged.
"What about the people back in your world?" asked Midorima, "Aren't they worried of your well-being?"
"They knew we were going to be gone for a while," replied Rei, "It would be nice to visit them again though soon but if we leave and something happens here…"
"We wouldn't be able to keep you guys safe," finished Alexa, "Our pet Gaardus has managed to connect both realms so we could go anytime we need to and be back here quickly. However, there's still a lot of work to be done. And also, we discovered some ancient ruins far from here that may link clues to our past."
"Really?" asked Shouyou, Kuroko, and Akashi at the same time.
"Where are these ruins at?" asked Daiki.
"To the north-west area of the desert near the massive canyons. We think it may be the lost kingdom of Atlantis," said Rin, "We're going to go there soon for some investigation."
"Sounds like another project then," replied Akashi, "We can set up the festival for next month so everyone can have a fair shot to observe the sports more closely."
Afterwards the Magic Six sat outside by the Eco-Park by themselves to further talk about this trip.
"Was it a good idea to mention that Alexa?" asked Rei, "I understand that you needed to buy us time but…"
"At this point, I think we can trust them," he answered, "It's not like they're going to go war against us anytime soon."
"Yeah but they did betray us back in the past," said Rin, "Our ancient lives I mean. Even I wasn't so sure about attending this meeting but it had to be done."
"Well Alexa does have a point though, he trusts them because he knows we all should move on from those bad times," replied Makoto, "We can be happier for the future or angry about the past."
Haruka narrowed his eyes as he saw two strange beings walking through the park pathway; both clad in some cloaks.
"Haru?" asked Rin.
"Haru-chan, did you see something?" asked Nagisa.
He shook his head, "No, I was just zoned out."
"Is something troubling you?" asked Rei.
"No it's fine," he replied, "I just…need to go to the pool."
"Hehe, well that's definitely you alright," chuckled Rin but Haruka stared at him blankly as the former realized what was going on.
"Could um…we will be back," said Rin as he grabbed Haru's hand and rushed over to a different spot of the park.
"How long are you going to hide this secret?" asked Haruka.
"Things are finally calming down now," said Rin, "I don't know how I am even going to tell Rei and Nagisa about this!"
"You're wasting time," he answered, "It's been already three weeks."
"Three BUSY weeks," growled Rin, "We've been busy to help negotiate the peace between the others as well as practicing our swimming since we were bad for not keeping up!"
"Wow…so this is what I end up with," replied Haruka, "I thought you were the brave one for the entire team."
Rin was about to say something when they heard a loud screech from Gaardus. They turned to see the bird arriving to them.
"Gaardus?" asked Rin.
"Did something happen?" asked Haruka.
"Yes, I detected something already," said the Phoenix, "There's someone in this town with dangerous magic."
"Shit!" growled Rin, "Do you know where they're at?!"
"I'm not sure," replied the bird, "But the others are waiting for you. Nagisa is already complaining he's hungry."
"This isn't over," said Haruka quietly, "Do not keep this secret hidden any longer."
Flashback A: 1 Year before the Reformation of Spherus Magna
Location: Roxtus, Black Spike Mountains, Planet Bara Magna
Far to the north of the Bara Magna desert, in the cavern city hidden from the rest of society, lies a corrupted kingdom in hunger for great power.
King Tuma left from his throne and looked through the window to see the hundreds of Skrall finishing up for the day's work. Many of them were miners, soldiers, and a few merchants. However, the entire population has learned how to use a sword of some kind and were required to fight at random times during the day.
He walked up to the bedroom where his daughter Skralla sat on her bed, reading an ancient book. It was far too long to let her stay single like this; the time has come.
"I was wondering what you were up to," he said.
Skralla looked at him with her sadden, yet disappointed expression and replied, "Father, I can't stay here like this. Why can't I travel outside of the city? No one wants to bother with me here."
"Silence!" he shouted back before making his bitter tone, "You are my only daughter. I forbid you to leave Roxtus for there are Glatorian warriors and Bone Hunters that will try to eliminate you. Or worse…the Baterra if they see you carrying weapons."
"But this isn't fair!" she answered, "Just for once let me take this opportunity to see if there's even ANYONE who can rule the clans and…"
"Glatorian and Bone Hunters are for the weak! They would never contain the blood for our survival," he finished off as he slammed the door shut, leaver her hopeless.
She threw her book to the wall and wept silently on the bed sheets as she could feel the rage going through her blood.
On another planet entirely, the seas shifted and tossed around as a gigantic robot clad in metal and gears rose high and mighty for the first time in 1000 years. He was known as the "Great Spirit" of his internal system; the Matoran Universe.
A series of "domes" housed various islands and continents across its body from head to toe.
After a series of battles and conflicts, the heroes have set forth to revive this robotic body and awaken him back into power.
However, an evil being who knew about this entire world inside a robot has succeeded his evil plan and seized control of its brain at the Core Processor that was located beneath a "futuristic city" inside its head.
The heroes and the inhabitants feared at this new dawn of Darkness as the Makuta leader named Teridax took the robotic body and sealed Mata Nui's spirit inside the powerful Mask of Life (that was used as part of the awakening process) and expelled it from the robotic shell and into the galaxy of space.
If anyone could have heard Mata Nui's voice…one phrase was all it said;
I will return…
The weather turned stormy over the cavern city of Roxtus as Skralla stared out at her window, reflecting everything that happened during her entire life.
Over 100,000 ago, a terrible disaster that struck her home. A planet splintered into three pieces due to a mysterious substance that spread quite a bit on the planet but most of them disappeared. She heard rumors of a giant robot that would one day house that mysterious substance, along with several species inside.
She was found by a group of inhabitants and was adopted by Tuma for over thousands of years, given the role of princess who would one day take over the Skrall once she was engaged. Even though she lived for such a long period of time, many of the other Skrall warriors were at least 175,000 years or even older.
But things changed, ever since the Skrall were attacked by invisible monsters named Baterra, Tuma was concerned to keep her safe. Already most of his kind were killed during their attacks, leaving him the last of their superior species. Their original fortress up north was destroyed by these monsters and they all had a massive exodus to the south to the abandoned area of Roxtus.
As timed passed, Tuma grew more concerned of the well-being and planned to conquer Bara Magna entirely. Learning how the Glatorian warriors were using arena matches for disputes, he sent his warriors to fight them to start taking resources.
Skralla never liked the idea of conquering Bara Magna, she knew how it would dishonor the other Glatorian and the Agori, especially her ancestors and the old culture from before.
She couldn't take another day of living here like this; something had to be done.
The princess ran through the corridors and checked to make sure Tuma was asleep and took off her crown to leave it by his feet. She then raced through the hallways silently to a shrine and light up a torch to give a prayer to her ancestors.
Please keep my father safe. Help him to stop conquering Bara Magna while I go and find my true love, she thought before bowing and leaving.
She placed the torch on a niche and ran to the armory room and found a collection of armor, weapons and Thornax launchers that her father collected. She took out a sword, scythe, a shield with the symbol of Roxtus on it, a shoulder mounted Thronax launcher and took a mysterious gun that she never knew that it exhibited such technology.
After looking at the weapons, she took the sword and a shield to make herself look like the warriors. Her necklace reflected in the light from the lightning outside. She looked at it and was about to take it off but it was stuck to the armor she put on and had no time to waste.
Deciding to keep it, she silently left the fortress through a secret exit to the Spitik shed. The two-headed monster freaked out upon seeing her but she calmed it down and got on the saddle and yanked the chains. The beast neighed and jumped over the gate and they began their escape through the cavern.
Forgive me father, but you need to wake up from your mistake, she thought as the exit was upon her to the stormy night.
Present Time: Sportsbrooke, Olympia
Ekimu brought Sakari to the shop safely as the former went to the other room to get out a tea set for her and offered her a drink.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said, "I just don't get to why I was born like this."
"You were born from two powerful heroes," he replied, "Your parents fought the darkness as hard as they could to ensure a future."
"Our home doesn't even exist anymore," she answered, "I might as well try to move in somewhere and just forget about it."
Ekimu wanted to take his hammer and slam her in the face but he kept calm and replied, "But your majesty…you can't be running from your problems."
"MY PROBLEMS?" she asked, "You don't KNOW ME!"
"Princess!" he shouted, "Calm yourself! I know you have once accepted the magic inherited from your mother…look at yourself! You have her necklace on still!"
Sakari looked down and was reminded that it was still there. She tried to yank it off but it was no use. The tea was cooling down from being stirred but she had no desire to drink.
"Soon this town will just end up fearing me like the other places I've been to," she shrugged, getting up.
"SAKARI, WAIT!" he cried out but the princess already left the shop. Ekimu rushed back to the back of the shop where he produced a message sent to the Government Office.
Forgive me, he thought, but you have to stop running!
Sakari was making her way back to the hideout she posted herself when she saw a group of men dressed in some sort of dark-navy blue uniforms.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked one of the guys.
The princess grunted and her necklace glowed, firing a ball of fire towards them before running her way across the street. A loud horn was heard but Sakari's necklace glowed again, creating a wall of ice to stop the oncoming traffic as a pile-up accident was forming.
Terrified, she rushed through the suburbs as she could hear sirens of all kinds following after her.
"You seem to know some ways of magic," said a voice.
Sakari turned to see a young looking fellow with red-haired and heterochromatic with red and yellow irises.
"But I'm afraid as leader of this town, I have to stop you and get you some answers," said Akashi Seijuurou as he used his emperor eye to make her fall asleep. The police cars arrived at the scene as Shun Izuki and a few others approached to the stranger.
"I've never seen such a being before," said Shun.
"Definitely not one from this world…I can tell," he replied, "The designs are too foreign even for the ancient past. Bring her in alive and I'll alert the Magic Six."
"Yes sir! And what about the White Doves?" asked Shun.
"They got events coming up for their premiere," said Akashi, "We'll leave this to the water boys."
The Magic Six sat down together at a pizza shop and ate together a box of mixed toppings pizza with Gaardus when their necklaces glowed.
"W-what's going on?" asked Haruka.
Rei tapped his pendant and a hologram of Aomine appeared, "Hey guys! We know you're at lunch now but go enjoy yourselves for a bit but please show up at the Miracle Palace soon."
"W-what's going on?" asked Nagisa.
"You'll see, Nagisacchi!" replied Kise on the hologram.
"Did something happened?" asked Makoto.
"Afraid so," replied Kuroko, "But take your time."
The holograms vanished as they looked at each other. The last few weeks were relatively peaceful though Gaardus did mention earlier about some strange magic happening.
"Look you guys!" said Rin as he pointed to the television screen with the news on talking about a strange wall of ice causing a major pile up on one of the roadways.
"An ice user?" asked Rei quietly.
"That was NOT me!" said Nagisa.
"We know," replied Haruka, "But who could have that magic?"
Miracle Palace
Sakari woke up and found herself seated with chains on. She tried to break free from them but the magic wasn't working.
"This room neutralizes all magic," said a voice.
She turned to see the same red-haired man but his eyes were both red this time and a group of other men were there as well. However, Riko and Momoi were present also as their parents were both stuck in the traffic due to the accident.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"Answers," said Akashi, "You are clearly not from this world, are you?"
"Your honor," said Midorima, "We should wait before we begin the questioning?"
"We can't waste time," he replied, "I'll give the Magic Six the updates they need when they…"
"We're hereeeeee!" said Nagisa in a sing-like voice.
"Oh good, you guys made it!" replied Murasakibara as he munched on the bag of chips.
Alexa gasped as he saw Sakari whose strange flow of magic was felt in his heartbeat…almost like as if…
"How many more people are going to see me?" asked Sakari, "I thought you'd all be scared of me!"
"We're not because we also possess magic," said Alexa.
"Guys calm yourselves down," replied Riko, "Ask her one question at a time."
The Vorpal Swords sat down in the boxed seats while the Magic six stood by the armored warrior as they began a run through of questions.
"My name is Sakari," she finally answered, "I ran away from home because it's no longer a safe place."
"Your home? Where is it at?" asked Akashi.
"Spherus Magna…the kingdom of Averax Magna," she said, "My parents ruled the kingdom but one day it suffered a terrible disaster…and I fled as a result."
"But you have magic," replied Midorima, "How did you get to that?"
"I inherited of course…" she shrugged.
"But that magic from your necklace isn't yours," said Alexa, "I can tell because I possess the ability to know different types."
"It's my mother's…all of what I can remember of her," she replied, "And if I were you, this isn't your business to get into."
"Sakari, please listen to us," answered Akashi, "We can help you if only you are willing to cooperate and explain what has happened. Did you cause that ice wall this morning?"
"How did you even know I existed?" she growled, feeling the dark nature of the "Skrall" species taking her over.
Alexa gasped as he sensed something strange about her but he kept his mouth shut and tried to ignore the headaches of it in his head. He had to do it but was it the right thing to do?
"Someone who is a friend of ours…mysterious but yet a good worker messaged us this morning after you came to his place," replied the human.
The door opened moments later as the cloaked figure revealed himself in golden-blue armor with a mask on its face like Sakari's. The princess narrowed her eyes as Ekimu answered, "I told you I couldn't afford to lose you. You're the last hope for our home."
"You ran away yourself," she replied, "Coward."
"It's because I lost my magic to that deadly bastard," he said ignoring the insult, "That Skeletal monster…destroyed what I had. But you...you possess the power from the Queen and as long as you carry it, there's hope to restore our home."
"This one simple necklace can do all of that?" she shrugged.
"And more," replied Ekimu, "Just please…tell us what happened that day."
Sakari shook her head, "It…it's too painful to even talk about."
"Sir what should we do?" asked Aomine.
"Keep her here in the palace under guards," said Akashi, "We can't let her roam around the city until more answers are explained. Also, confiscate the necklace."
"Please don't!" argued Ekimu, "It can't be lost!"
"We'll take care of it," he replied, "There's a vault that has housed several treasures and we'll keep it hidden until the time calls for the use."
Sakari turned to the Magic Six with a slightly sadden look on her face as Alexa could immediately tell something was really wrong with her. He couldn't pry off her mind to see what she was thinking but he knew that he had to do something about this.
Kagami watched the princess being dragged off as he could tell that she wasn't being complete on the truth, reminding him of another person who did the same treatment to him…
Flashback B: Kagami's Backstory Part 2
Location: Crescent Spike Mountain Northern Village
Tatsuya Himuro led Kagami through the mountains where they saw a nice mansion in one of the fancier neighborhoods of the village.
"See those houses there?" asked Himuro
"Yeah," he replied.
"It's only rented for a few more days but it'll be open again for a while," said Himuro, "We can stay there for a bit and take whatever we can before the next people rents it."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kagami.
"Take it from someone who had experienced this," he smiled, "Trust me."
They made their way to the house as Himuro took out a paper clip to open the lock on the door and entering inside. Kagami's eyes widened to see how magnificent the interior was designed; a series of arches and stairs and big rooms.
"Told you," said Himuro, "It's worth it."
"I just hope there's a…" began Kagami.
"There is a basketball in the back yard with a net too if you want to play. I can train you some new moves too," smiled Himuro.
"Hell yeah!" agreed Kagami as the both exchanged a fist bump.
The two worked at practice shoot out as Himuro taught him a new technique on shooting that he learned.
"Now this is a Slow motion shot," he explained, "Watch carefully on how I throw."
Kagami nodded as Himuro threw the shot and it seemed that time did indeed slow down for mere moments for reality kicked back in and resumed at a normal flow.
"That's kinda neat!" he replied, "But not as sick as the mirage shot!"
"Hehe, yeah, that mirage one was made for me," chuckled Himuro, "But I have faith you'll develop something too…something special."
"Well by then we'll both be ready to face off!" said Kagami.
Himuro nodded as they turned to the sunset. They both went back inside and Himuro was cooking some of the leftover pieces of the vegetables that they stole earlier.
"I'm so sorry," replied Kagami, "That you had to go through all of this."
"It's alright," he answered, taking out the bag of rice, "At least this is what I can do. Maybe one day we'll find jobs and start fresh again, you know?"
"Right," nodded Kagami as Himuro set the water to boil.
After supper, they sat down on the couch together as they were a bit tired out from the journey to getting here. Himuro got up and went to his bag where he kept something really valuable inside. Now that Kagami was with him, it was time to give…
"Kagami, look here," said HImuro, "We swore to be friends right?"
"Y-yeah," agreed Kagami, "What's up?"
Himuro opened the boxes to reveal two necklaces with a ring on it. Kagami blushed badly and asked, "A-are you proposing me!?"
The other boy laughed and replied, "Not in that sense but…wear this. This is said to have been blessed with some magic by the gods in the past. We can use this to find each other if we are ever separated."
"I see," replied Kagami, taking it and trying on the jewelry.
"I like it!" said Himuro, "Kagami, let's promise to stay together no matter how bad things get."
"Alright. I promise," he answered, "Really."
Days Later
The two rested in bed after another round of basketball. Kagami was beginning to improve his throwing skills and was learning how to make his own special moves. However, Himuro decided to call it a break and they both slept close to each other, almost intimately.
Kagami woke up to hear a series of footsteps followed by a flashlight. He gasped as there was little time to escape before they would get caught.
"Himuro!" he whispered loudly, "Wake up! We have to get out, someone's here!"
But it was too late as the flashlight shined on them followed by a young man's voice, "Himuro!?"
"I got this," said Kagami as he got up to grab a candle holder and said, 'You're not taking us anywhere! We will not go back to the system!"
"W-what?!" gasped the man, "H-Himuro…what did you tell him? What sort of nonsense is this!?"
"W-what's going on!? Who is this!?" gasped Kagami as he turned around to Himuro whose face was all guilt from head to toe.
"Himuro?" asked Kagami.
"Tell him the truth," the man replied, "Tatsuya…I'm your father…Kishou Himuro. You're coming back, your mother's worried sick!"
Kagami turned back to the boy and said, "Y-your father!? You HAVE a family?! I thought you were like me!"
Once the three were outside with the police force, the father was talking over to the police about the events that happened while Kagami stood there heartbroken by this mess.
For once in his life, he felt belonged with him but…now it was all just a lie. Kagami remembered that he was born from the unknown and was rumored to have been cursed by spirits of some kind but he was always lucky with certain tasks. Now here he was…
"Kagami," said Himuro sadly.
Taiga turned to him with a note of his ID information, continued, "When this is over. Find me here…at this place. I might be locked up or grounded or worse but…you will find me here."
"You tricked me," replied Kagami, heartbroken.
"I'm sorry…I know I did lie about that man chasing after us but…everything else I said was true! I can't go back with them!" said Himuro, "I can't deal with this! I hate my home! I feel totally invisible there!
"I'm the same as you Kagami, please! You promised…friends forever! No matter what!"
Kagami stared at him for a few seconds but turned around and turned himself in back, hoping for a better future after this. Himuro cried in tears for his name as it echoed a memory…
"KAGAMI! KAGAAAMMIIIIII!"
Present Day: Hawakoto Swimming Facility, Sportsbrooke
The Magic Six began their first open training session as a lot of children and teens and several adults wanted to learn how to swim. Despite not having the complete support from their kingdom, they got a lot of sponsors and volunteers to help support their cause.
Makoto spend most of the time with the beginners (mostly kids) while Rin and Haruka dealt with more of the young adults while Rei, Nagisa, and Alexa rotated between for them.
It was quite a long afternoon and early evening but the time spent here was bringing back memories from home. As soon as the last of the people left, Gaardus flew down to join them and said, "You men have really grown quite nicely…your parents must be proud of you."
"Well there were a lot of craziness going around," sighed Rei, "But it was definitely worth it!"
"Yeah! I loved listening to the kids and Mako-chan being the sensei!" smiled the blond.
"We all did," said Haruka, "All of you guys have worked hard."
"Hell yeah!" agreed Rin, "There's still ways to go but sooner or later, swimming will be officially recognized here!"
"I'm starving," said Alexa, "I wished we could've had those apples back home."
Gaardus screeched and flapped its wings to reveal a lovely sack of the golden apples back from the farmers market at home.
"F-Fore real!?" gasped Makoto.
"Yes, I made sure to bring a bunch for you all," smiled the Phoenix.
Alexa grabbed one and took a bite, tasting the golden-sweet crisp and the flavored juice of the fruit, "Wow! This really is the one!"
"Gaardus, do you know if we'll return home anytime soon?" asked Makoto.
"…I don't know," the bird replied.
"EH?!" gasped Nagisa, "But we can't stay here forever though!"
"I know," Gaardus answered, "However…there's still a few things that need to be done. And if the princess does become a problem of ours…"
"Sounds like our journey isn't over yet," said Rei while Haruka gave Rin a slight warning stare about the secret.
"Well then, we should at least change up and get back to the palace," replied Rin.
Sakari sat inside her cell as she looked up to the window-bars; the skies were definitely sun setting down for the night. She sat there alone and indifferent about this; all that mattered is that the horror she was running from…doesn't make it here.
If they do come, she thought, then it will just be one more realm that gets destroyed.
She turned her head to see the man with black and red hair standing on the other side of the bars.
"And what do you want?" she asked, annoyed.
"I know someone when they lie," said Kagami, "But I'm not going to force you to answer these questions. However, it will benefit you if you can be honest about them."
"What makes you think you know me?" replied Sakari.
"Because I know what it's like…to not be wanted…I too have my own magic but it's different than anyone else's here," he said, "It sounded like you came from a family that loved you but…you felt a bit invisible to them?"
Sakari's eyes blinked for a moment before she nodded, "So it seems that people of your kind do have some feelings after all."
"Yes. But…I do need to know what brought you to our lands…why are you on the run? What happened back at home exactly?" he asked.
"…It's complicated," she said, "My mother and father were both of ancient powers and united them in order to keep our kingdom safe. One day, a terrible disaster happened when an explosion was triggered and the city fell into ruins
"I was too scared to tell my parents what I actually did…for what I have done was of a great sin."
"What did you do?" asked Kagami.
"I took this necklace…because I was bullied by a few of the younger villagers. They wanted to see if I was truly a princess by showing magic…and abilities that I didn't master at a young age," she explained, "But the next thing I knew, there was a loud bang and the entire city was in destruction. Everyone was dying all around. I couldn't find mom or dad anywhere!"
"And you weren't able to protect anyone," he concluded.
Sakari nodded and finally spilled some tears as she covered her eyes, "I can't go back! This is all my fault! I ran away to escape the dangers that are after me and soon this town will suffer!"
"We won't let it happen," said Kagami, "I am the Savior of this realm, and we have enough people to fight of whatever this new enemy is."
The princess looked at him, "Y-you will?"
"It's my duty to protect this realm and work with anyone who is in dire need, like you," he nodded.
"Please help me," she begged, "Please save our kingdom of Averax Magna!"
"I'll talk to the others," he answered, "We'll find a way to get to your world and see what we can do from there. For now, just sleep."
Haruka woke up and found himself back in the familiar sites of the Jangwa Meadows of Aqua Duniya. However, he recognized it that was a dream as something about this place didn't look right.
"Haru!" shouted a familiar voice.
The tsundere turned to see Rin smiling happily before him, "Let's race!"
"But…how are we back here?" asked Haru when the scene magically transformed into the pool room and they were already on the diving blocks. Haruka gasped as Rin jumped in first but the former soared in right after.
Haruka took on the freestyle like normal but something about the water….it was ice-cold and he could feel his skin turning numb slowly. He shivered and tried to curl himself up to stay warm.
But then that familiar presence was in the water as Haruka turned his head to see Sousuke swimming right after him from the side. Before he could react, Sousuke grabbed him and Haruka found himself in a grave yard of where his parents were buried at.
"W-what the?!" he gasped, "T-This is…"
"Haruka Nanase…destined partner of Rin Matusoka in the Prophecy of the Magic Six…" the dark voice echoed.
Haru turned to see a man that looked a lot like Sousuke but he was warped and twisted looking with his right shoulder all mechanical-skeletal looking with a scary looking claw weapon. His feet were begging him to run but a bunch of skeletal hands from the grave grabbed his feet.
The stranger in front of him was flanked by several spider-like creatures made out of skulls as a silhouette of a larger monster was behind the entity.
"S-Sousuke!?" he asked, nervously, "W-what the hell happened to you?!"
"My name…IS. NOT. SOUSUKE!" growled Skullsuke as he charged over towards him with his claw at the ready for the kill.
His eyes widened in terror but his screams were inaudible…
Haruka woke up violently from his bed, terrified at what he was seeing. He looked at Rin who was still sleeping peacefully with a sigh of relief.
He got up and went to the bathroom to splash some water in his face and grabbed a pair of clothes to change into before leaving for an early morning jog in the city. He tried to figure out what that monster was in the dream but it was giving him a headache.
I have to keep running, he thought, I'm sure it'll go away.
However it didn't last for long as the cold air was chilly and his lack of appetite was taking toll of him. Haruka collapsed on the city streets as a few civilians rushed up while someone called an ambulance.
~Episode 1 END~
~Episode 2 PV~
Nagisa: HARU-CHAN?!
Makoto: Haru...
Rin: What the hell is wrong with you?
Haruka: Since when does this all matter? We have new problems to worry about with the princess!
Rei: That may be true but it's almost like you're hiding something.
Haruka: I'm not hiding anything. Why don't you guys ask Rin? He's the one that had swore...
Alexa: Hey you guys, I think someone's coming to town and it's not just...
Gaardus: Next Time! Free! Forbidden Truth. Will Rin reveal the secret to the others...?
