StevieBond: Hey folks, this was originally gonna be the last chapter, but some last minute ideas got into my head, so this is now the penultimate chapter.

Roselle: Does that mean the next one is going to be the last one?

StevieBond: Yeah, but there's gonna be a few twists as you've seen on this story already.

Kazuya: I hope this one and the next one are good.

StevieBond: Well if you read on, it might be. Anyways readers, enjoy this chapter which may have a reference which will be to do with some future stories I have coming up for this year.


The Angels Downtime

We arrived on the planet of Seldar before reuniting with Tact who took us to the palace halls. Now we could talk properly about what's happened on his end and what would be the next course of action.

"Rune Angel Wing, I would like to first of all congratulate you on your recent battles." He praised. "Arnold, once again you prove that you are the one to lead the way."

"Why thanks, Tact." I replied. "It's been a few rough days, but we have won some tough battles this far."

"Anyways, I have news that the UPW have finished repairing the Chrono Gate to ABSOLUTE that leads to NEUE, it should be reactivated to open soon."

"But how did you and the Elsior get here?" Apricot asked.

"Well the gates can actually function off one per galaxy, so as long as one link is made in one galaxy to ASBOLUTE, dimensional travel is still possible."

"So in other words, you travelled through to another galaxy and with Milfie's help operating the gates, you created a temporary gateway to NEUE near Seldar?" I asked.

"Yes…even I was surprised to hear that from Noah, the Dimension Gate Key wasn't even needed for it…but it was an act of desperation."

Just then, a familiar figure joined us by the throne room.

"Emperor Soldum." Lily said, bowing to him.

"Allow me to offer my sincere thanks to you, the Luxiole, UPW and Magiic for saving my planet once again." He praised, it was the first time we heard his voice.

"But I must say, the way that temporary portal was opened confirms the key is now someone else's hand." Tact said. "I must let you know that I witnessed it happen in EDEN as well."

"EDEN, what happened there?"

Tact sighed. "A portal was opened there and it dragged the White Moon inside the gate, we couldn't stop it in time."

"The White Moon…Lady Shatyarn!" It had been years since I last saw her, but why would this happen too?

"Right now, the council is silent on what we do next."

"You must excuse me." Soldum intervened. "I have other matters to attend to, but I pray that you find a conclusive explanation to the event." He left the palace halls.

"So what do we do now?" I asked Coco as we all left the palace halls.

"For now, I instruct all of you angel wing to leave." She replied. "Tapio will be in charge of the ship while I discuss more matters on Seldar."

"In that case, I shall remain here too." Natsume said. "As I am still a representative of the Arms Alliance."

"And I shall remain as your guard." Lily added to which Natsume nodded.

The rest of us left the halls and we agreed to take our time and explore what Seldar had to offer. I had been in this city once when I was training to become an Angel Wing leader, how much I've gone through since then.

"Well this is a surprise, Arnold." A voice said.

"Eh?" I looked down a little to see a familiar person. "Hey Mint!"

"Hi Arnold." We shared a quick hug. "You're still doing well as a leader I see."

"Yep, no matter how big or small a fleet is, my leadership can wipe them out."

"That is just like you as always."

I then pondered about the White Moon, only to completely forget who I was talking to when her second ears flapped.

"Yes, I heard about what happened to the White Moon and at first I couldn't believe it, but Tact assured me that it did."

"Oh right…it's been many years since you used your telepathy on me."

"Just like old times, isn't it?" She then sighed. "Whilst I am troubled by the news, there is nothing that any of us can do about it at the moment, but I lend my full support of my branch to NEUE to assist in repairs and resupply."

"I'll be sure to tell Coco that when she returns to the Luxiole."

"You should take it easy for now, I'll see you another time, Arnold. Oh and tell Milfie I said hi."

"I will when I see her again…take care Mint." We shared a quick hug before I met up with the others to return to the Luxiole.

When we got back, we were called to the briefing room, waiting for Natsume, Lily and Coco who arrived moments later after concluding their meeting in the Seldar palace.

"Are there any updates, Coco?" I asked.

"I can declare that we are unable to act at this moment to either apprehend the Three Marquis or reclaim the White Moon." She replied. "With the other administrative powers unable to act on their end, I have decided to give you all a vacation."

Nearly of us were a little surprised, but we smiled.

"The Luxiole will remain being docked here on Seldar, so feel free to explore the city if you wish." Coco finished. "If anything comes up however, remember to report back here. But for now, do enjoy yourselves."

Finally, a good chance to relax, although I could see that Natsume and Roselle were surprised about it, considering the tense situation.

We left the briefing room and all the angels went to their room, well nearly all of them.

"Arnold, can I borrow you for a moment?" Apricot asked.

I smiled. "Sure Apricot, what's up?"

"I heard that there's an amusement park in Seldar and it's been a long while since you and I had actually done an activity together."

"Looking back now, it has been a long time."

"Well, I was wondering since it is your secret duty to look out for me on my sister's behalf. Would you like to come with me to the event, it would be quite lonely for me otherwise."

"Well now that we have a vacation, I guess we can go out and enjoy our downtime. Since it is indeed my duty to watch out for you as my love, Milfie instructed me to, of course I would like to come along."

Apricot smiled. "Thanks Arnold, we can go in a few minutes, I just need to change out of this uniform and into something more relaxing." She then turned and walked towards her room. "You should too."

Well she wasn't wrong, going to an outdoor event in my uniform may not be a good idea. I walked to my room and picked out a few relaxing clothes.

I put away the modified smoke bomb, my sword and my gun in the corner since I suppose there shouldn't be too much trouble at an amusement park. I took off my angel wing uniform and got into a t-shirt and a soft sweater over it, my trousers were a soft yet rough pair and my shoes were a pair ones I could slip in and be secure.

I picked out a soft jacket and I left the room with my spare money, ready to go. Seconds later, Apricot came out and he had her hair loose at the back and was dressed in a daffodil-coloured dress with a pink cardigan and soft heel shoes.

"You look very nice Arnold, I'm sure Milfie would love you all over again." She complimented.

"And so do you." I replied. "I think any boy who is almost as good as I am would be happy to have you."

She giggled. "You're such a charmer as always. Shall we make a move?"

"Of course, I'll lead the way."

We walked from the Piroti, down to the hanger and down a side door that lead to the space dock and when we exited the building, we were out in the city.

"So where can we find this amusement park?" I asked.

"I heard from Lily that it's a few blocks from here." Apricot replied. "I can see the roller-coaster from here." She pointed me to it.

"Hmm, I could just about see it. Come on, let's go."

We walked through the city and made notes of the stores nearby, this city of Seldar was looking as amazing as the city of Transbaal back in the EDEN galaxy. We found the entrance to the amusement park.

"One adult and one teenager." I said to the ticket operator.

He gave a pair of tickets out and I made the payment, the entrance gate was opened and we walked on in, noticing what the amusement park had to offer.

"This is much bigger than I thought." I commented.

"Yeah, I might have to hold onto you so I don't get lost." Apricot replied. "And you already know that Milfie trusts you to keep me safe in places like this."

"I do, we're only here to have fun as two good friends and I'm sure Milfie would be happy to hear that we had a good time, because she likes everyone else that's close to her to have fun."

"Anyways, where shall we go first?"

"How about the big cups, I once went on that and I was yelling about how happy I was when I was much younger."

I laughed as we went to the ride. "Oh yeah, Milfie once told me how you nearly damaged her hearing due to you shouting your voice off."

We got on the ride and sat in a big cup and it spun around as the main ride started moving, I was ready to have my ears pop.

"WAHOO!" Apricot yelled happily, but not as loud and hyper as Milfie said.

"That was fun!" she said as we got off when the ride finished.

"And my hearing is still in one piece, thankfully." I replied.

She grabbed on to my arm. "Don't forget that I don't wanna get lost."

I giggled as we tried out the other rides, the ghost house scared her a few times and she held on to me. This made me laugh on the inside, because the ride didn't scare me, I had faced scarier stuff than this ride.

The next ride was a go-kart and despite a few near bumps in the tyres, we finished the race in first and second place. Although I let her win first place, being the leader of the angel wing was the only first place I needed.

The roller coaster was up next and like Milfie did one time, Apricot was cheering and holding her arms out as we went up and down the track at a high speed. Piloting an Emblem Frame is like a roller coaster, except there's no gravity involved and blowing up automated ships is like a ride in my eyes.

After we got off that ride, we took a seat by a café to relax. We both got a mug of hot chocolate and Apricot was smiling. "This has been really fun today." She said.

I looked at the sky, it had been a long while since I last saw a sunset. "It sure is, this has been the best time I've had in a while." I replied. "But if it was with Milfie, it would be even better."

Apricot giggled. "I don't blame you for saying that. I know that you will always deeply love my older sister…and I hope you do marry her one day."

"Why is that?"

"Because then you would be my step-brother and I would be your step-sister. I've always wanted to have a big brother like you."

"Well, I think I've done a good job practicing on being a good step-brother, right?"

"Yeah, then we would be one big family."

I sighed. "Yeah…one big family…you know I really hope I do marry Milfie when all these conflicts and battles are over."

"Oh…I just remembered you telling me about that around the time I settled in to the Rune Angel Wing, I didn't mean to bring that up."

"Don't worry about it, I have the strength of many pilots with you and everyone else with me. The one time where all of us angels were together in battle against Verel and on the Luxiole after we won was a moment I'll never forget."

"Yeah, that was the best time I had in a while, I hope we get to do that again."

"So moving on, are there any other rides you wanna go on?"

"Yeah, there's a bowling alley over there."

"Ahhh bowling, I was once undefeated in that game." I boasted.

She finished her drink and we left the café. "Really, how long were you undefeated?"

"I was undefeated for ten straight games in a row, but after the 11th game, the undefeated streak came to an end."

"Oh, mind if play this game, cause I'd like to beat you on this one." She showed a smirk look.

I stood proudly. "Very well, I'll do my best to bring it on."

We entered the bowling alley and after a game that ended up with strikes and a few gutter balls, Apricot beat me by one pin…oh the absolute shame of it all!

But I smiled, because it was still good fun and I didn't care about my bowling streak because that ended years ago….true story, folks. Sorry, I won't break the fourth wall anymore, I promise.

So next was a simulation ride and when we got inside it which had room for two people only, turned out that it was a flying simulation game. Except that it wasn't in space, but it was in the sunny skies and it showed that we were flying in a plane that dated back to a different lifetime. Overall however, it wasn't very good at all and I could see that Apricot agreed.

After the ride was over, we walked over to a candy floss stand that was owned by a young girl who was dressed like something out of a video game, she had purple hair and some accessory that was like a plus sign in her hair.

"Get your candy flosses here, everyone." She called out. "All made by your favourite heroine!"

"We'll take two." I replied, handing out money.

"Hey, nice deal, kiddo." She handed one to me and one to Apricot. "Sooo what's this?"

"It's called babysitting, I'm watching her on behalf of her relative who I'm engaged to."

Apricot nodded who ate her candy floss.

The purple haired girl seemed interested. "Oooh, sounds so exciting. Why can't my video game have a story plot like that?"

I was confused. "Eh?"

"Oh, don't bother about it, bro. You two enjoy those candy flosses."

"We will…"

Well, that was quite strange I thought, but she was right, the candy floss was tasty. After we finished those, we noticed the sun beginning to disappear, night time would almost be here.

"Arnold, I think we should return to the Luxiole, I feel a little tired." Apricot said.

"Sure thing, let's head back before night time." I replied.

She grabbed on to my arm and we left the amusement park and walked all the way back to the Luxiole. But as we were closing towards it, we saw two people coming out of the ship.

"Hey, isn't that Roselle…and Kahlua?" I asked.

"Yeah it is, I wonder why they're coming out." Apricot replied.

"Maybe they decided to hang out or something."

We got on board the Luxiole and walked back to the Piroti.

"Arnold, I wanna say a big thank you for today." She said. "I'm really happy to not only know you but that Milfie has you."

"You're very welcome." I replied. "It was my duty to take care of you after all, you have a good night."

"Yeah, you too…just remember to look after the other angels as well, they need you as much as I do."

"I'll always keep that in mind."

We shared a hug before she went to her room and I went to mine.

I changed back into my uniform and went out of my room again, because the night had just arrived. Natsume then appeared and she dressed different and smiling.

"Hi Natsume." I said. "Is that your Angel Wing uniform?"

"Yes." She replied. "Tact requested it to be made for me when he heard about my involvement in helping you all out."

"Well I have to say it looks well suited to you, now you really are one of us."

"Thank you, Arnold."

"That reminds me, is there a room going to be made for you?"

"Yes, I'm going to be in a room that's between Anise and Lily's, however it won't be done until after we've brought justice to the Three Marquis and anyone else that threaten our chance for peace."

"Speaking of the Three Marquis, I've been curious on how far back you and Genievres go. You don't have to tell me the story if you don't want to."

"No it's okay, I'm strong enough to tell about you my past with him, let's go to the guest room."

I walked with her and in to the guest room. She sat on the bed and I sat on one of the chairs by the table. Natsume took a deep breath, this was going to be perhaps a long story, but I had the time to listen to it.

"I first met Genievres when I was a much younger girl than 11 years which I am right now. My father first hired him to be my caretaker, he would watch over me when my father couldn't…in fact, I don't even remember what my mother looked like."

I knew the feeling too well, my memories of my parents were vivid at best when I was reading the family tree book back at Juno.

She continued to explain. "One time, I nearly consumed a small amount of poison in something small and Genievres was there to take it and consumed the poison instead. He suffered from extreme pain that lasted for three days. Ever since that incident, I had no else to test my food for me, except him."

"Well I think it's a miracle that he survived that." I replied.

"That's what my father said too. He used to play with me and be the only one who would approach me if I was feeling upset. But after seeing what he is in the recent days that have passed, now I believe that he only did all of that out of duty and not out of personal interest like I thought."

I nodded. "I guess he took your naivety for granted in all those years you knew him."

"Yes…and for that, I cannot forgive his recent actions with the Arms Alliance and the Three Marquis." She suddenly began to sniff. "But deep inside…it still hurts that he used to be the one I looked up to…why did he change for the worse?"

It broke my heart to see a girl cry, so I got out of my chair and I gently pulled her into a comforting hug which surprised her at first, but she continued to let her tears out and accept my hug.

"Well I could not possibly guess why Genievres had changed." I said. "But I want to let you know right now that the friends you have here, we all take care of each other and it's always my duty to watch over every member of the Angel Wing, I always take time for anyone who needs me." I smiled pulling out of the hug. "And I do mean anyone and that includes you, so if you ever need any care or any support, don't be afraid to ask me, Kazuya or one of the other angels, because we always stick together, no matter what."

She smiled and wiped her tears away. "Thank you, Arnold…it's funny to think that we were once minor rivals in space."

I giggled. "Yeah, Anise said that to me one time before she became an angel wing member, just like you are now. We're close allies and one with the Rune Angel Wing."

"You are right Arnold, I completely understand how and why you are the leader. But I'm getting a little tired now, I wish to have my sleep."

"I understand, Natsume. I can assure you that I will continue to lead you all into the face of adversity and we'll come out on top."

"Your words are made of truth to my ears. Goodnight Arnold."

"Goodnight."

I left the guest room and walked back to mine. I was now feeling tired, so I called it a night and got into bed. I hoped that once the vacation is over, we can get back to our main objective and restore order to this galaxy.