Cipher was once again in the gym by herself, hitting the heavy bag over and over in short burst strikes before stepping around to a different side and then hitting it again.
Three days ago, the crew of the Nirvana came across a long forgotten Mission Station, but they weren't the only ones. A mysterious man was also on the station and after the station's apparent self defense network activated itself the man fled along with Pyoro and used the NAVI bot as a bargaining chip to come aboard the Nirvana.
From the start the captain, BC, Cipher and Pixy knew he couldn't be trusted and he was definitely up to something. It didn't take long for this man who called himself Rabat to show his true colors.
First he tried to convince Dita to show him the Vanguard so he could learn its secrets and when she refused he tried to kiss her as a distraction to force his way by her, but when Hibiki showed up to stop him Rabat became angry and attacked the Vanguard pilot.
Hibiki blindly and wildly tried attacking Rabat who proved to be a far superior fighter, easily evading Hibiki's attacks before striking back at him. Thankfully Cipher stopped Rabat from killing the helpless Hibiki before taking on Rabat herself.
To the surprise of the entire crew, Cipher's hand to hand combat skills were clearly far above Rabat's. In mere minutes Cipher put Rabat in just as bad a shape as Hibiki was in and even then she didn't stop, she continued to attack him until she was sure he learned his lesson and left him to his own defeat. Rabat however was furious, he wasn't going to let himself be beaten so thoroughly by a woman and tried to attack Cipher while her back was turned, but his plan didn't go over very well.
Cipher turned around and removed her blazer jacket, throwing it at Rabat as a distraction before landing a series of strikes that knocked the conman onto his ass and forcing him to admit his defeat before he stumbled back to his ship under escort and left.
Everyone had gotten a first hand look at Cipher's combat skills, time and time again they had seen her skills as a pilot, but when they saw how well she could fight and against a larger opponent, some of them began forming new opinions of her. Some were really impressed at her strength while others were scared.
Cipher kept to herself really only speaking to Pixy if anyone at all and very rarely speaking to the captain herself.
Throwing a swift double punch and then roundhouse kick to the heavy bag, Cipher threw a quick elbow before stopping to catch her breath. Leaving the gym, Cipher returned to the elevator only to be met by Hibiki once the doors opened.
"Oh good you're here" he said when he saw Cipher.
Cipher stepped on the elevator and the doors closed behind her, "Do you need something?" she asked him.
Hibiki hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Cipher I uh…"
"I don't have time for you Hibiki make it quick" Cipher told him.
Hibiki slapped his hands together and bowed his head to her, "I want you to teach me how to fight. Please".
Cipher looked at Hibiki from the corner of her eye, "No" she answered blankly.
"Please" Hibiki said again.
"Why should I?" Cipher asked him, "Do you plan on paying me to do so?"
Hibiki didn't answer her, he had no way of paying her and Cipher knew it.
The elevator doors opened and Cipher stepped off, "I don't work for free Hibiki" she told him, "So if you can't pay me then I don't help you".
Hibiki snapped, "Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?" he yelled at her.
Cipher stopped in mid step and looked back at him, "What happens to you or the others outside of combat doesn't concern me. During a battle I only help you because I'm being paid to" she turned away from him and as she started walking away she coldly told him the truth, "I couldn't care less about what happens to you, Dita or the others".
Hearing Cipher's cold words, Hibiki gritted his teeth and growled at her, "What kind of person are you? You act so superior to everyone else…WASN'T THERE EVER A TIME WHEN YOU NEEDED SOMEONE'S HELP!" he roared making Cipher stop again.
Cipher turned and walked over to him, quickly grabbing him by his collar and lifting him up before rearing her fist back making Hibiki flinch and close his eyes. Cipher lowered her fist and dropped Hibiki, glaring at him as he opened his eyes, "When you went to confront Rabat" she began in an extremely hostile tone, "What were going to protect? Did you go there to protect Dita or the Vanguard?"
"Which…was I protecting?" Hibiki asked.
"If you can't give me an honest answer then don't speak to me again" she told him before walking away for the last time.
As Cipher vanished around the corner, Hibiki looked up at the ceiling, "What am I trying to protect?" he asked himself, imagining both Dita and his Vanguard as images on the ceiling.
In the conference room, BC was standing at the end of the table giving a report to the captain about a planet they had found. The projector in the center of the table showed a hologram of the planet, it was mostly covered in water.
"Approximately 99% of the planet's surface is covered in water. Scans also show that the atmosphere is comprised of nitrogen and oxygen so it fulfils the requirements for life. Deeper scans have also revealed the remains of a colonization ship on the ocean floor as well as a small island nearby whose inhabitants appear to be humanoid".
"Well then" Magno said, "Maybe we should go say hello to our long lost relatives".
That's when Belvedere contacted them from the bridge, "Captain we've spotted an enemy formation at the very edge of our radar coverage, should we scramble the dread teams?"
BC immediately answered, "Scramble all dread teams at once and put the ship on full battle alert".
"Understood" Belvedere replied before the ship's alarm began going off, alerting the entire crew to the enemy presence.
In the cafeteria, Meia was sitting alongside Dita who was asking Pixy a bunch of questions about Cipher.
Pixy slowly set down his empty cup as he answered the excited redhead, "Everytime I flew with her, her skill stood out. From our first mission together to our dog fight against each other…She was unstoppable. No matter how the badly the battle was going she would ascertain the situation in an instant and change the tide to her favor and it didn't matter what kind of opposition we would face she would strike it down all the same, it was no wonder they started calling her Demon Lord…That said it was hell trying to keep up with her…it still is".
"So you're saying that Cipher has always been this good Mr. Pixy?" Dita asked him.
Pixy smirked just as the ship's alarm went off, "I heard a lot of stories about Cipher before we became the team we are now Dita and after watching her abilities first hand for so long…I don't think there's anyone or anything that could stop her".
Pixy ran out of the cafeteria alongside both dread pilots as they made their way to the hangar deck, "Trust me Dita, it'll be a cold day in Hell before a better pilot than Cipher shows up".
"If I didn't know any better" Meia panted as they ran through the halls, "I'd say you sound a little jealous".
Pixy chuckled, "Maybe…I'd be lying if I said there was never a time I when I wasn't a little envious".
The three pilots arrived in the hangar, Dita and Meia ran for their dreads, but Pixy stopped when he heard Cipher call to him, "You're late".
Pixy stopped and turned to face her, "Heh, I figured you'd be out there already".
Cipher stepped over to him and stopped directly in front of him, staring right into his eyes, "When the battle is over I want to talk to you. Alone".
Cipher turned away and walked to her F-15C leaving Pixy unsure if he should be worried or not, but he pushed the thought to the side and ran for his ADFX-02.
"This is Galm 2" he said after switching his radio on, "Cipher and I are in position to take off".
"Roger that Galm team" BC replied, "Do what you do best".
"Roger" Pixy replied as he and Cipher took off into space and headed into battle.
Ezra announced the enemy formation to the pilots, "The enemy formation is small consisting of only 12 cube types and a strange object I can't identify".
Pixy smirked, "This won't take long then. Hey Cipher there's only 12 of them you feel like a little competition?"
Cipher immediately gained a lock on an enemy and fired, watching her missile scream toward the target before it evaded at the last second and then weaved to the side to avoid another from Pixy.
"Well it looks like they've learned how to evade our attacks" Pixy said before he shot down a cube type with Cipher's help "Galm 2 confirmed kill".
"Hold still you bastard!" Hibiki yelled as he swung the Vanguard's sword at an enemy only to miss.
"Hey there" Jura said to him, stopping her dread right behind him, "So are you ready for me?"
"Are you still on about that?" Hibiki yelled at her, "I'm going to do this on my own". Dita was screaming as several cube types latched onto her dread, causing her to spin out of control.
Dita" Hibiki gasped quietly before being attacked himself, "Bastards!"
Hibiki tried swinging at the enemy, but it dodged leaving the Vanguard open to two other enemies. The two cube types rammed into the Vanguard causing it to drop its sword before forcing it to plummet toward the planet below them.
Jura's dread sped after them, the blonde pilot determined to show off her own elegant Vandread.
"Jura stop!" Barnette called to her friend as the red dread entered the planet's atmosphere and began burning from the reentry.
A bright light shined through the planet's outer atmosphere before the signals of both fighters were lost after they crashed into the ocean.
"Jura, Hibiki do you read!?" BC yelled from the bridge.
The dread pilots were silent, unsure if their comrades survived or not, but there were still enemies around them so for now they needed to worry about themselves.
"Do you think they're still alive?" Pixy asked Cipher after shooting down a cube type that was tailing her.
"Who knows" Cipher replied with an emotionless tone before banking and decelerating to avoid and enemy, quickly shooting it down once it passed by her. "Either way we have to deal with the enemy first".
"Galm 2 copy that" Pixy said before splitting away from Cipher to assist Meia and Dita, "Cipher what's gotten into you recently?" Pixy wondered "You're acting harsher than usual. Back then you would have tried to help them, but now…do you even care if your allies die?"
On the planet below them, giant waves erupted from the ocean as a new ship rose from the depths. It was crimson red just like Jura's dread, but it had two long appendages almost like claws.
"What is that?" BC asked awkwardly, seeing the image of the new Vandread.
Aramone had a comical look on her face as she turned around, "It's a crab".
Inside the new ship, Hibiki looked over his shoulders and then at the controls in front of him, "Ok so how does this thing work?" he asked before Jura started crying, "Hey will you calm down and help me figure this thing out!"
"No!" Jura cried before slamming her hands on the console, causing the ship's thrusters to activate and sending it flying toward the island ahead of them.
"Sounds like they're still alive huh Cipher?" Pixy asked after shooting down another enemy.
Cipher tightened her grip on her fighter's flightstick; she couldn't help, but smile. "Yo buddy you still alive in there?" Pixy asked her.
"I'm fine, it looks like Meia and Dita took care of the last one so let's head back".
"You alright Cipher?" Pixy asked her, "You sound kind of down today?"
"I'm just fine Larry" Cipher replied in a pensive tone, "I've…just got a lot on my mind right now".
The two mercenaries landed along with the dread pilots, as always Cipher climbed out of her fighter and calmly left the hangar without speaking to anyone.
On the bridge, Ezra looked over her shoulder at the captain, "Communications established".
"Good job dear" Magno said to her, "Put it on the main screen".
The main screen flashed to life, showing a young woman probably in her mid 20's with bright blonde hair and dressed in a light purple robe with a mask hanging from around her neck. She looked up and smiled at them, "Greetings to you weary travelers my name is Faneita and welcome to Anpathos the most beautiful planet in the galaxy".
"Anpathos huh?" the captain repeated, "So that's your planet's name".
The woman continued to smile, "Yes. We have called it this since we first arrived here many years ago and we've been looking forward to your arrival".
"Looking forward to our arrival?" BC wondered.
Faneita asked her, "You are the Munya are you not?"
"I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding" the captain told her, "We are certainly not these Munya you are speaking of. Pardon me for being so direct, but we'd like permission to visit you, there are several questions I'd like to ask you".
"We are currently in the middle of our ceremony" Faneita told her, "I'm afraid we are not prepared to greet you properly".
"That's quite alright" Magno replied, "You needn't worry about that" she contacted Bart in the helmsman portal, "Bart can you hear me? I'm leaving you in charge of the ship while I'm gone. Oh and you're forbidden to run away understood?"
The captain and BC prepared to leave for Anpathos, taking the elevator to Reg Central where they would take a small shuttle for the trip. On the way there they passed by Cipher who didn't speak to them as they walked by.
The captain looked over her shoulder at the quiet mercenary and called to her, "Cipher my dear. Why don't you come with us? You look like you could use some time away from the ship".
Cipher stopped and turned around before clumsily saying, "That…sounds like a good idea".
"You seem to be deep in thought" the captain noticed, "Is there anything wrong?"
Cipher avoided eye contact with her while she answered, "No captain…I'm just tired is all".
The three of them continued toward the shuttle, "If you feel that you need some time off to rest all you need to do is ask".
"I'll keep that in mind captain" Cipher replied as they boarded the shuttle and left the Nirvana.
In hall outside the hangar, Dita was pacing back and forth worrying about Hibiki and the fact that he was on the planet below alone with Jura.
"Calm down Dita" Meia told her, "The captain and the commander are down there as well. They'll be fine".
"But Meia!" Dita cried before Meia cut her off, "Listen I know you're concerned, but you have to have faith that everything will be fine. There's no use worrying about it right now".
Dita wasn't the only one worrying; Pixy returned to the brig and was lying on his cot wondering if Cipher was alright.
"Cipher" he thought "I'm worried about you…First you act cold and push everyone away and now you sound sad and deep in though…is something wrong? If so…why won't you tell me? Does it have something to do with that Rabat guy? Or is it something else? You're acting more distant than usual".
Pixy quickly sat up and sighed, "Dammit Cipher you said you were ready to start trusting me again so if something's bothering you why won't you tell me?"
On the planet's island, the shuttle finally landed and its three passengers got off and began walking toward the tower in the center of the island.
Cipher stopped a few times to look out toward the vast sea that surrounded them.
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong dear?" the captain asked her.
"Its nothing captain" Cipher replied, "Just taking in some air".
The captain asked BC to give her some time alone with Cipher. BC walked a short distance away from them, leaving the captain to talk with the mercenary.
"Listen Fiona, I've lived a long life and I've seen many people come and go. I know that there's something weighing heavily on your mind and whatever it is you're at a loss on what to do. You're unsure on how to act or deal with it, it's alright to reach out and ask for help every once in a while. You're part of my crew now so I would never turn my back to you if you needed something".
Cipher looked at the stone ledge they were standing on, "Captain how old do you think I am?"
"Now what kind of question is that?" the captain asked her.
Cipher blinked her eyes and even though she wasn't facing the captain, Magno could sense her sadness, "I'm 28…I'm 28 and the only thing I've done for most of my life is fight…I'm…I'm just tired of fighting…I just want to relax from now on and live a regular life".
"Oh is that all it is?" the captain asked her before smiling, "Trust me that's nothing to worry about. You're just exhausted from all the recent battles we've had, but if you'd like to take a break from all of that I'm sure I could find something else you could do on the ship for a while".
The sea was slowly becoming rough and began rising, "We should finish our business here soon" Cipher said, "I have a bad feeling about all of this".
The captain agreed, "Yes, I'm quite curious to know what these Munya are".
The two of them returned to BC and they continued toward the tower in the center of the island.
"Hey old lady!" Hibiki's voice called to them.
"Little one" Magno smiled as the young pilot ran over to them, "You're safe are you?"
"Where's Jura?" BC asked him.
Hibiki snapped his head to the side with an annoyed expression, "I don't want to talk about Princess Crabby right now".
"Well as long as you're both safe it doesn't matter" Magno said to him, "Why don't you just come with us for now".
Hibiki joined them and they followed the inhabitants of the island to the base of the tower where Faneita was waiting for them, "Welcome" she said to them, "This is the way to the Holy Path".
"It's very impressive" Magno smiled, "Would you mind telling me who these Munya are?"
Faneita continued to smile at them, "They are the ones who guided our ancestors here so long ago. We are very grateful to them and consider them to be the very heart and soul of Anpathos. And according to prophecy they will be in great need of us soon".
"In great need of you?" BC asked her.
Faneita nodded, she seemed very proud of herself when she answered, "According to our legends they are in need of the spiral code".
"Spiral code?" Cipher repeated before noticing a giant banner hanging on the wall of the temple. It showed a kneeling man with a large spiraling object coming from his back, "The spinal cord" she said looking back to Faneita.
"These Munya you're preparing for, do you know what they look like?" she asked Faneita.
"I'm afraid not" Faneita answered, "The Munya are not able to come to us themselves so they send they're messengers to collect us and they will bring us to them".
Cipher closed her eyes and turned her back to them just as Bart's voice came from BC's radio, "The enemy is here".
"How many?" BC asked him.
"Just one" Bart answered, "But its really big kinda like a large container".
"A harvesting vessel?" BC wondered, "Captain!"
The captain smiled, "It seems your Munya have arrived".
Faneita smiled happily as the people who lived on the island began walking up the spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower and the water from the ocean began flooding into the city and the tower.
"What's going on here?" Hibiki asked after the water reached them.
"It's really clever actually" Cipher said, "They have everyone gather at the top of the tower with a flood below them so they can't escape. They really covered their bases with this one". Cipher looked at Hibiki, "Get back to Jura; they're going to need your help to deal with the enemy".
Hibiki looked at her, "Yeah, but…what about the three of you?"
"Enemy, Vandread, now!" Cipher barked, startling Hibiki.
"Fine, just don't die down here you got that" Hibiki told them before running off.
Cipher turned back around and moved her hand up to her left shoulder to unlatch her knife, "Now then" she said to Faneita, "I have no intention of being harvested along with you and the rest of your congregation, you can go and die if you want, but we're leaving".
"Tradition forbids us from resisting" Faneita told her "We have all prepared for this day and we welcome it and the Munya with open arms".
"Tradition huh?" the captain asked, "That's an awfully convenient word for someone who can't make her won decisions".
Faneita glared at the captain, "This is our way. You arrive here unannounced, you insult our god and now you try to make us defy them?"
Cipher scoffed, "What would know of any kind of god?" she asked cockily, "This god you're looking forward to seeing so much is only here for one reason. And that's to kill you and use your body parts for their own purposes".
"Such ignorance" Faneita said as she placed her mask on, "What would you know, you come to our beautiful world and spit on our ways. You think yourselves above us, above our god. I will not tolerate these insults".
"What do you plan to do about it?" Cipher asked her, holding a firm grip on her knife.
The captain also glared at Faneita, "You said this is the most beautiful planet in the galaxy. Well I don't see any ships around so it's clear to me that you've never left this little island. So how would you know if it's the most beautiful? Have you ever compared it to others? Or do you just accept whatever someone tells you as fact?"
They could hear Bart screaming from the radio, "We're done for! I don't want to die here!"
"Don't be such a coward" Magno calmly told him, "I've been alive for a very long time and I've seen many deaths along the way. Everytime I've cursed myself for my powerlessness, everytime I cursed myself for not being able to do a single thing to save those people. The parting was so hard to do; so many things left unsaid so many regrets. When I think about these things I feel like I'm being torn apart. But even in their final moments not a single one of them gave up on life, they were all brave and shining stars to the very end. I'm proud to have known them and even prouder to have called them friends. And this is the reason I could never forgive someone who relied on others to create their own destinies".
"Destiny" Cipher muttered, "Destiny is a strange thing, it can always be changed, just like the water around our feet it's ever flowing and even if something blocks its path it just flows around it refusing to be hindered. You claim your destiny is to serve these Munya and if that's what you want to do then I certainly won't stop you, but don't you dare tell someone else what their destiny is".
Cipher turned her back to Faneita and returned her knife to its holster on her shoulder, "I still don't know what I want to do with my life so for now I'm going to keep pressing forward, keep fighting everything that tries to get in my way until I figure it out. You can go die for all I care, but don't you dare try to drag the rest of us down with you".
Aramone's voice came from the radio, "Vandread Jura is holding position above the planet".
In space, the new Vandread was hovering above the planet and the several discs that circled around it were shot out, flying all around the planet before covering it in a shield just as the giant harvest vessel began advancing on them.
As the machine advanced toward them the cube types around it appeared to be sucked inside as if it was a giant vacuum.
Hibiki smirked, "Ha if you're hungry I can give you all you can eat" he slammed his fist on the console and the part of the shield under the Vandread opened summoning a giant vortex of water from the ocean far below them. "Now take this!" Hibiki yelled focusing the vortex of water toward the enemy filling it with massive amounts of water before it surpassed its capacity and exploded from the inside.
Back on the planet's surface Cipher still had her back to Faneita, while the captain continued to gaze at them with BC at her back.
Aramone's voice came from the radio again, "Enemy destroyed all pilots safe and accounted for".
Faneita fell to her knees, "How dare you" she said in a trembling voice, "How dare you assault our god like that. I won't forgive you for the blasphemy you've committed".
"Like we care" Cipher said as the captain began walking toward Faneita, "Captain don't waste your time on someone like her, let's just leave and be done with this place".
"There's no need for such harsh words Cipher" the captain told her, "You young one" she said looking down at Faneita, "You said the Munya are gods, but I'm afraid they're not. They are just vile machines that have a twisted purpose to harvest any humans they can find. Real gods are not things that come to us and ask us for something, they merely watch us and guide us like the lost little sheep we humans are. Whether you believe me or not we've freed you from a terrible fate so it's up to you where you go from here".
Magno returned to BC and Cipher and the three of them left to return to their shuttle and the ship, ready to leave this planet far behind.
After they returned to the Nirvana, Cipher thanked the captain for allowing her the time away from the ship before leaving and returning to the brig to rest.
Entering her cell at the end of the brig, Cipher sat on her bed and exhaled before hearing Pixy's voice from the doorway, "So you're back?"
Cipher looked over to him as he gave her a casual smile, "Well you said you wanted to talk to me right? What's on your mind?"
Cipher closed her eyes and exhaled slowly before looking away from him, "Larry I…I tired of fighting".
"What do you mean?" Pixy asked her.
"I mean I'm just tired of it all, I'm tired of always fighting, it's all I do and I'm just tired of it…if we weren't transported to this future I could have retired from all of this by now…Instead we're here fighting another war".
Pixy lowered his eyes for a second, "Listen Fiona…I know what you mean. I'm tired of it to, but it's something we have to do right? If we stopped now we'd be giving up on everyone else, we'd be turning our backs on them. Even if they could handle the enemy without us would that make either of us feel any better? I don't think I could just turn my back on them like that".
Cipher gave a light scoff, "This coming from the guy who turned against his buddy and tried to shoot her down".
Pixy gave her an awkward look, "I thought we were passed that?"
Cipher shook her head with a slight smile, "Not even remotely. I said I was ready to start trusting you again, I never said I was ready to forgive you for what you did".
Pixy hung his head, "I can't figure you out Cipher" he chuckled, "But I trust you and I know that you'll decide to keep fighting. You can't turn away from them even if you wanted to you wouldn't be able to do it. You care about them, we both do and we want to protect them because we've seen too much. We're both tired of war and the losses it causes, that's what we're tired of, but until this war is over that won't end. So for now we have to keep fighting".
Cipher looked away from him, "You know it's only going to get harder from here".
Pixy nodded, "I know, but I also know that we can handle it together. We're a team after all right?"
Cipher got to her feet and walked toward Pixy, who stepped aside to let her by, "Thank you Larry" she said in a gloomy sounding voice, "I...feel better". Cipher quickly walked away from him when she finished speaking, she wanted to tell him something else, but her heart was pounding and her chest felt like it was tightening too much for her to breathe so she left and went to find Hibiki who was sitting alone in the hangar.
Seeing the pilot of the Vanguard sitting alone, Cipher walked over to him, finally regaining her composure she coldly asked him, "So have you finally decided?"
Hibiki was surprised by her and looked over his shoulder, "Decided?" he asked before realizing what she meant. His expression changed, the usual clueless look he had had been replaced by one of pure determination, "I have. I don't want to protect either of them. I want to protect everyone equally, I don't care if they're women or not. Right now regardless of how hard it may get, this is my home and I want to protect it with everything I've got and that includes the people who also live here".
Cipher closed her eyes and finally smiled at him, "Then you're ready. Meet me in the gym tomorrow morning and I'll show you how to defend yourself first, then I'll teach you how to defend others".
Hibiki gave her an open smile before slightly bowing his head to her, "Thank you Cipher. I promise I'll do my best".
Cipher had a small smile on her face as she turned away from him and began walking away, "He wants to protect this ship and everyone on it?" she thought "Larry said he wants to protect the ship as well…What about me?...Do I also want to protect this ship or do I just want the money for completing another job?"
"I…I feel like I'm missing something important, something I really want, but what is it?"
Cipher returned to the brig, Pixy had already fallen asleep so Cipher returned to her own cell and slowly fell back on her cot, staring at the ceiling. "Larry" she wondered "Do I really…"
