- Training Course -

Munro and Serenity both stepped forward as they stood near Aron, who seemed much more tensed and angered then either of them did, Aron steps forward as he says," I've waited very patiently for the day my dagger could slide across your neck..." HIM pouted inside the cloud before saying," Tsk tsk such hatred flowing through you, your never going to be beat me like that I'm afraid, so what are you all up too, training it looks like."

Munro says turning away," No were done training, the exit's right over there." HIM chuckled before saying," My arn't we the tolerable type, all the destruction I cause to people and you talk to me like I'm your class mate... I hate it when people don't take me seriously..." A horrible grinding noise came from where HIM was standing, before anyone knew what to do a scorpion tail launched it's way out of the cloud around HIM before aiming directly for Munro.

Munro felt a shove before Aron took the full brunt of the attack in his stomach, the metal end of the tip of the tail sticking out of his back before it was ripped out of him, the tail retracted back into the cloud before HIM said," Kindness will only get you so far Aron, time to finish you off before the others..." HIM's tail came whirling out again aiming directly for Aron's chest, Gallion spun around Serenity before whipping his large blade out from behind his back before it struck against HIM's tail.

The two attacks collided and sent sparks against the ground before the tail retracted back again, HIM stood back slightly as the cloud started to disappear revealing the suit HIM was wearing, none of them quite prepared to see him in such a thing, HIM says stepping backwards slightly," Gallion... I hope you have a great explanation as to why your doing this son..."

Aron, Serenity, and Munro looked to Gallion surprised, Gallion says," I have seen the world you wish to create, and that is a world that I do not belive in, this world had life before you took over, it flowed with joy and happiness, all I've seen from what you've done is suffering brought onto others... It's a world I intend to fix and to redeem myself for helping in it."

HIM laughed suddenly, not his normal wicked laugh, but one full of malice and hate before he said," Don't think it will be that easy to fix my world, because I have the upper hand, and soon this world will be crawling at my mercy, when Operation Flood is completed there will be nothing any of you can do, and I will personally make sure your deaths are especially gruesome."

HIM turned around as his tail began to flail around, his eyes looking out over the fake landscape before he says," And let me show you what you'll be up against..." HIM outstretched his claw, opening it it began to spin in three hundred degree turns and rapidly increase in speed, a black ball of energy began to form in the palm of his claw and grew to the size of a baseball, launching it outward it sailed for hundreds of meters before striking the ground, a black cloud of smoke instantly covered the tower blocking there view of what happened, as the smoke settled they were surprised and yet some how already aware of what happened.

HIM looks out to the now barren waste land as he says," I can wipe cities out with a mere morsel of my energy, and if I was truly serious and thought you four were a threat... I could wipe you out too... But where would the fun be in that, no I want to make this much more interesting before I kill you all, so by all means go against me all you want son and acquaintance, because at this point it doesn't even matter..."

HIM's body separated into smoke as he vanished, Gallion says gripping his sword," Damn selfish bastard..." Aron arose from the ground before Munro says," Hey thanks for knocking me out of the way." Aron didn't respond until they left the room, turning he says," I expect the same from each of you, in this war if we let each other die we become as savage as the monster we are trying to stop, Gallion your efforts in trying to right your fathers wrongs are a very impressive and noble goal, I wish you best of luck as well..."

With that Aron proceeded to walk away, Gallion, Serenity, and Munro all stopped him as Serenity said," You can't leave you have to get treated for that wound." Munro nods before saying," I'm not a doctor or anything but if that thing is as bad as it seemed then you are gonna need some medical treatment fast." Aron says waving them off," No, I don't require any medical treatment right now, I'll check on it later, I have to check in with the commander first..."

The three looked to each other before each of them ran and grabbed ahold of him, Aron growled as he struggled slightly before giving up, Munro says," as you said, we have to look out for each other right, otherwise we become as bad as HIM, we arn't just gonna let you go on your own." Aron sighed before he finally agreed to go to the medical treatment center, as the four walked into the center they found it relatively empty, strange or a base that sends men out to fight.

Gallion walks to the counter before asking concerned," Excuse me, but where are the other patience." The lady at the front smiled before replying," Oh they have been administered and checked on, most have been released and some are still here, so what can I help you with?" Gallion turned before saying," It is my friend who needs help, he is seriously injured."

The lady looked surprised when she saw Aron, turning back she says," I'm actually afraid we don't have any room available, why don't you try another time okay..." The lady smiled again before walking away into the back room, Gallion tilted his head in confusion, turning he says," That was odd wasn't it, she acted like everyone was gone and that they had room and now they don't because of Aron, what is with this place what is going on?"

Aron sighed before saying," I told you, I don't come here for aid, I have a special method of healing that only a few people know of, the doctors can't see me because of it, why don't we just get going alright..." The three didn't seem ready to leave in the slightest, but they didn't argue and waked back towards there rooms, Gallion nodded to them as he had to take a different turn then them, he says before leaving," It was good to know each of you, I will hope to see you around."

Before he was gone Aron said to all of them," Not a word of HIM's appearance to anyone understood, if people find out HIM may have infiltrated there will be a panic, I will discuss it with the commander alone alright." The three nodded to him before Gallion turned and left, Munro and Serenity waved before walking back to there rooms with Aron, Serenity entered her room with a quick bye before the two entered there rooms, Aron slowly walked towards a dividing wall, a retractable wall that the base used to divide rooms to make people feel more at home. Pulling it out of it's slot he walked back to the door before locking it into place, calling to Munro on the other side he says," Let's get some sleep alright, I'm tired..." Munro could almost hear the tone of Aron's voice drop in sadness but didn't address it as he rested in his bed before finally falling asleep.

-Ruins of Townsville-

Two shadows approached each other in the wreckage that was once a park, there were some other people in the distance but they were more prisoners of there own minds and stuck in the forgotten city, turning the first shadow which seemed thinner then the second said," I sees you ain't scraping at the bottom of the barrel for anything these days huh Professor?"

The Professor, confirmed as the second shadow, turned to the first shadow before saying," I know what your referring too, and yes our little group is forming rather nicely we have clean water, food, and some forms of entertainment so we can feel like things can go back to the way they were, how's your group holding up Ace." Ace smirked before saying," You could say wes have an Ace in the hole that yous two don't... The blueprints and designs for what HIM is buildings in the Black Building."

The Professor nodded his head in surprise and said," That's quite impressive, so what's HIM up to?" Ace shook his head and said," Two things, and you ain't gonna likes either of them, I called this little meeting because of thems, the first is a transferrer, from what the schematic show, HIM is going to absorb Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup of there energy and infuse it into himself, game over if you ask me."

The Professor gripped at the side of his lab coat, fury building up as he asked," And what is the second thing?" Ace kicked a stone before saying," Some sort of large oval shaped mechanism, the top only read Operation Flood." The Professor turned sharply at that name, looking at Ace he asks," Were those the exact words HIM wrote on the top o the schematics, is that what he called it?!"

Ace nodded before asking," Yah why?" The Professor says worried," Because if thats what is said then we are about to be in big trouble, five years ago, the mayor was given a blueprint for a door sized oval made of certain metals and plasma, what he didn't know was that not only was it not something for the town to enjoy, it was something HIM had invested his time into coming up with, after it's completion HIM appeared and used it to-"

The Professor was interrupted as another shadow appeared," Bring another demon into this world, except things didn't go as planned exactly, and what came out was a demon child, code named Atomic Rogue Of Neutralization, HIM had been outraged when it had been foiled, and now he seeks to redeem his prior failure it seems." The Professor and Ace turned to see Desert Swarm standing there.

Ace says with a growl," But that could only lead to more destruction, we can't possibly let that happen, what if we are to free the girls, surely with there help we could find a way to-" Desert Swarm interrupts as he says," No, we cannot use them in this battle I refuse to allow there help, if we crawl to there feet everything will just start all over again, sooner or later they will fail again."

The Professor says outraged," How dare you say that, my girls have saved us a hundred times, if we have to save them in order to save everyone then why wouldn't we." Desert Swarm hisses before saying," If I wanted to rely on those girls I would have crawled at the mercy of your rebel group, the world I seek doesn't involve those puny girls in it, they will find a way to mess up again and it will lead to our destruction again."

Ace rubs his head as he says," I don't cares which of yous comes up with the plan, but if we don't do something fast wes are gonna have a literal hell lot more trouble on our hands then we ever thought imaginable, we may each have a different view on how the world will end up working but until we stop HIM we ain't getting any closer to that goal, lets put aside this fighting right now, save the world with whatever is necessary and then argue about how to go about restoring balance afterwards."

The two nodded before Ace says," Good, now take one of these." Ace outstretched his hand and dropped a communicator into each of there hands before saying," With these we will communicate to one another from our bases, channel one is me, channel two is the Professor, and channel three is Desert Swarm, you guys got that." The two nodded again before he finished," Good, alright I got to get back, the air is starting to get hot and red, something has put HIM in a good mood, and I don't like that..."

Ace would have been gone however Desert Swarm shot out quickly and knocked him to the ground, an arrow just soaring by both of there heads, The Professor quickly turned before his eyes rested on two figures, one was female wearing black and blue armor and the other a male wearing a leather jacket and black jeans, the one with the leather jacket had a bow in the grip of his palm, Ace stands back up before nodding his head to Desert Swarm.

The girl said in the most blank tone the Professor had ever heard," It looks like you missed..." The male growled before saying," I thought I made it clear not to insult my abilities or me, why don't you take care of them then you unemotional bitch." The girl retrieved the double-bladed katana off of her back before saying in the same manner as before," HIM has instructed that I can kill anyone who gets in the way."

Her eyes flashed slightly behind her hair before she shot out almost in the blink of an eye crossing the distance between the three in no time, slicing her katana around she spun in a three hundred and sixty degree pattern as she appeared on either side of them, the three managed to dodge her first attack as she quickly spun around sending the blade downward towards the Professor.

Two gauntlets appeared on his hands that had been compressed until that point, bringing them up he blocked the blade as he tried to sweep her feet and knock her over, hopping up she propelled herself up over him before landing behind him and jabbing the blade towards his black, Ace appeared in the way of the blade, a blade clashing against hers before she spun the weapon trying to knock him off balance.

Hunter shot four arrows out at once aiming most towards Desert Swarm, who decided that while the two were wasting time with that one he would have to fight this one by himself, Desert Swarm dodged the four arrows with swift reaction as several more flew towards him, kicking off the side of a tree he managed to leap over them as two more flew by his head.

Hunter shot three more arrows towards him, Desert Swarm managed to dodge them however didn't expect them to explode outward with shrapnel, metal sliced into his back and caused him to tumble to the ground and skid on his stomach. Hunter quickly rushed towards him before aiming two arrows at his head, Desert Swarm instantly pushed himself up with his hands and kicked Hunter in the stomach, swinging his other leg around he kicked the bow out of his hands, standing up right he revealed two blades that had been hidden along his bandaged wrists.

Slicing through the bow he aimed his weapons at Hunter as the pieces clattered to the ground, Desert Swarm says to him," Put your hands up now before I kill you." Hunter rose his hands up in the air before Desert Swarm turned slightly and said," Are you two done yet, or is the girl to strong for you?" As soon as Desert Swarm's attention faltered Hunter shot both of his hands out and struck the two swords instantly shattering them, kicking Desert Swarm in the head he sent him into the side of a tree.

Desert Swarm gripped at his head before standing up again, Hunter says kicking pieces of the broken bow away," You didn't think I would be dumb enough to only learn how to use a bow did you..." Desert Swarm shook his head before saying," No I didn't think that, I just wanted to see how much longer this fight was going to last is all, glad to see it's longer..."

Desert Swarm and Hunter both launched forward before Hunter sunk his knee into his side, Desert Swarm flipped around him before grabbing Hunter from behind and tossing him over his shoulder, Hunter landed on his feet with a slight grunt as he skidded to a halt, Desert Swarm cleared the distance in a few seconds before trying to spin kick him in the head, Hunter immediately slid to the ground before swiping Desert's feet from under him, Desert caught himself with his hands as he tried to spin and kick Hunter in the side of the head, Hunter blocked before kicking out at him, Desert flipping back onto his feet to dodge the attack.

The two both collided in a strike to the stomach and caused each other to slide back a few meters, Hunter reacted faster and launched several strikes into Desert's chest before Desert Swarm collapsed to the ground, his body seemingly shutting down on him, Hunter popped his shoulders and neck before clutching his hand in fury, launching a punch into Desert's face he sent him flying before skidding against the ground and flipping onto his stomach.

Desert Swarm spat blood from his mouth as Hunter gripped his own hand in pain, blood seeping through his broken knuckles, Desert Swarm stood up as his bandaging around his head began to fall off, he had brown spikey hair that went down to his shoulders and spiked downwards as well, his lower jaw and right cheek were mechanical, he spat blood from his mouth as he began to unwrap the layer of bandaging around his body, his right arm consisted of mechanical parts as well and linked into a socket where his shoulder would have been but a pauldron like shoulder sat instead, his body had several long scars running across it that still seemed red even though they seemed old and in the center where his heart would have been sat a Plasma Core.

Desert Swarm says dropping the bandages on the ground," Is that the best you can do, or is HIM just joking with me now?" Hunter bashed his hand into the ground sending concrete splintering up as it cracked in a ten foot radius around him, flinging the blood off of his hand to the ground he instantly shot out towards Desert, who also shot out as well, the two each met exactly in the middle of where they had been standing and created a shockwave of energy as there fists collided.

The Professor and Ace both panted in exhaustion as they prepared for Snake Eyes to strike them again, she however didn't seem affected at all by the fight, swinging the sword in between her fingers she says," I guess your done then... Lets just get this over with before I head back to the tower..." She swung the sword several more time before gripping it in her palm again, as soon as it stopped moving she rushed out at Ace and the Professor both of which prepared for the attack.

She used more energy then either of them knew she had and cut through both Ace's dagger and the Professor's gauntlets, the two were forced backwards and fell to the ground, Desert Swarm and Hunter zoomed right by the three as they continued striking each other and sending each other back and forth across the park, which had become little to nothing as the fight went on.

Desert Swarm says with a smirk as he blocked a strike to the chest," So you two make a cute couple you know that." Hunter slammed him in the stomach before shouting," What the fuck did you just say!" Desert smirks again before saying," That makes you mad, I thought it would bring a smile on that face, not every day you hear someone saying you look good with someone else, what's the matter, she out of your league." Hunter socked him in the face hurdling him to the ground before shouting," Shut up I can't stand that witch, I look forward to the day HIM allows me the chance to kill her."

Desert blocked the kick he threw at him before he continued," Well then why wait, I mean after all she did make you look bad earlier, getting on about how you missed Ace, I'm sure if she wasn't there Ace would have been dead, unless you agree with her that you are inferior and can't handle this situation that HIM has put you on." Desert smiled as his eye shifted from it's now black and red to it's normal silver color, his tactic working rather well as Hunter slammed the ground just behind his head before Hunter turned and glared the most purely enraged and embodied hatred, even Desert was surprised at what he brough out of him.

Hunter rushed out towards Snake Eyes who seemed to know what had happened before she turned to intercept his strike, both however were stopped as three bullets flew by both of them, one hitting Snake Eyes in the leg, and the other hitting Hunter in the arm, Hunter tumbled to the ground before he was able to rise again, blood drenching his now tattered and bloody jacket.

Snake Eyes bent down slightly to hold her thigh, blood began to drip down through her fingers and run down her armor, Hunter quickly appeared near her again, most of his rage fading when the bullets hit them, the two noticed several men in Ace squadron uniforms, in there hands a strange black weapon with five bullet cartridges inserted, Hunter growled under his breath before he and Snake Eyes disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

Ace says with a smile," looks like my top scientist's Metal Piercing bullets and Mecha Drone piercing bullets work well wouldn't you two agree?" Desert Swarm, who had already proceeded to wrap himself up again, wacks him in the back of the head before saying," Idiot, I almost had them fighting each other, I could sense some intolerant hatred that Hunter seemed to have for that girl, so I pushed him with some taunts before turning his hatred toward her with a special persuasive power I learned, nothing to serious but it allowed me to push his anger towards someone else, it would have succeeded but it seems that contact with the bullets made him stop." Ace shook his head before saying," Your just upset because I have cooler bullets then you, what's say we get back to out bases before something else bad happens." The three nodded before disappearing into the shadows again.