*Camera turns on.*
*It sees that Connor, Zeldane, Emperor Mitchell, and Amaris are the ones in front of it.*
Connor: *Starting off with, "Welcome back to GotM...It's been a long time since one of these showed up."*
Zeldane: "Should I announce how long has it been?"
Emperor Mitchell: "That...shouldn't be necessary…"
Connor: "Switching topics...This is actually the first time all 4 of us have shown up to give commentary."
Zeldane: *To Amaris* "I know that Connor and Mitchell have done this before...But I'm not sure about you. Is this your first time for commentating?"
Amaris: *shakes head* "No, I've done it once or twice…"
Zeldane: "I asked because this is my first run at commentating. But moving on, I believe Connor has some points to bring up."
Connor: *Initially says, "Yes, I do. This chapter is the start of-" before being interrupted by a large portal opening in the room.*
*The portal is more like a swirling void that kept constantly changed colors.*
Connor: *A bit curious* "That's a new one...Wonder where this one goes."
Emperor Mitchell: "It certainly looks different…"
Zeldane: *Scanning the portal* "Hmm...This one doesn't have the same energy as the "forced" one a while ago."
Amaris: "Wonder what's going on..."
*The portal starts making noise.*
Zeldane: *Scanners still working* "That's not good...It's trying to attract something to it."
Connor: *Notices that he is slowly getting pulled into the portal.* "I think that "something" may be me. Thankfully-"
*The force of the portal increases, causing Connor to struggle to move away.*
Connor: *Looking at his co-commentators* "Uh...guys, I need HELP!"
*The portal now has Connor in the air, but gets held down by Zeldane grabbing his arms.*
Zeldane: *To Emperor Mitchell and Amaris* "Grab onto the back of the armor and help me out, this portal is getting stronger."
Emperor Mitchell and Amaris: *look at each other, nod, and move to help*
*The three person team managed to move Connor away by working their backwards as they pulled against the force of the portal. However, the portal decided to kick it into overdrive.*
Zeldane: "The armor's arms have reached their limit. Mitchell, you have to pull me back harder."
Emperor Mitchell: *Morphs into his Demonic Form, for a strength increase*
Connor: *Pancking* "THE PORTAL'S STILL GETTING STRONGER!"
Emperor Mitchell: "This is the BEST I can do, unless you want me to go full Dragon!"
*The portal decided to take this "10" level scale of effort to the "15" level on that metaphorical dial.*
Connor: *Still panicking* "YES, DO IT!"
Emperor Mitchell: *nods, before turning into his Colossal Dragon form*
*The portal seems to be losing the tug of war as Connor gets further away, except his legs were still in the air.*
*If this portal was alive, it would have decided to turn that metaphorical dial to "20".*
Connor: *Looking at the doorway* "C'MON, WE ALSO MADE IT! JUST HOLD ON FOR A BIT LONGER!"
Emperor Mitchell: "It's getting...too strong!"
Zeldane: *Overclocking the armor's arms* "I can't hold on any longer…"
*In a split second, Zeldane had to let go, leaving Connor to pulled into the portal. The moment he gets inside, it vanishes.*
*After Emperor Mitchell lets go of Zeldane, she runs towards where the portal was, scanning the area in a futile attempt she could make it come back.*
*The camera at this point switches over to the chapter, which has just finished loading.*
*Chapter 10 starts.*
Chapter 10: Night Wraith I
A day (or what felt like a day) later…
Inside the Ptolemaic Base, several operatives of the Overkill division could be seen celebrating their contribution to the massive battle in the Nocturnean Capital. As they do that, the hanger portion of the base was celebrating its own accomplished goal.
The nicknamed 'Space Train' was finally ready to be taken for its official first drive by Connor. After getting beamed onboard from the ship's teleporter system, Connor took the time to look around the ship.
It had everything he wanted in a ship: A garden with a spare room, a living room that double as a rec room, a personal study, a fully equipped utility section next to the miscellaneous section, and lastly, the pilot's section, complete with storage and a very comfy bed.
Once his tour was over, the teleporter system activated again. As he checked the room, the power armor that belonged to Trevor was standing on top of the platform. Given the fact that Zeldane was the last one in control of it, Connor assumed it was her.
"Zeldane, do you have anything to report, or did you just come onboard to see the rest of the ship?" Connor asked.
"Both...actually. General Relly told me that the ship is believed to have some strange energy readings. So, he sent me here with this scanner." Zeldane responded back, showing the scanner device in her hands.
It was a small triangular object with two prongs sticking out of one side. As Zeldane moved it around, the prongs lighted up in a shade of light blue.
Connor asked to have the device and looked at it as he said, "What kind of energy is this thing scanning for, by the way?"
Zeldane took a moment to recall, answering with, "I...I belive it was what you call "Portal" energy...The technicians that were on board before now felt something off in the back of the ship."
Connor decided to hold onto the device and ordered Zeldane a command. "Well...better to get two tasks done at once. Zeldane, I need you to go take the pilot's seat and fly the ship off for its test run. I'll go to the back of the ship and scan around for the portal energy."
Zeldane just gave a salute, followed by a "Will do." The two departed to their sections of the ship.
Some time later...
The 'Space Train' left the Ptolemaic Base and was going to be flying high into the sky. Leaving via a hidden tunnel of the base (which the location of said base was still not given to Daniel), Zeldane directed the ship towards the ruins at the plateau.
Once it was clear that the airways were safe for the time being, Zeldane activated the autopliot and set it to circle around the ruins. With that taken care of, she wanted to check up on how Connor was doing.
Reaching the very back end of the ship, which was where the garden and spare bedroom was. The bottom floor being dedicated as a collection room with a bed, the second floor being the garden for crops.
As Zeldane looked around, she saw that the bed was pushed over a few feet to the left, showing a large hole with a ladder leading down underneath. Zeldane wondered for a moment if the technicians ever found this before remembering they were under orders to not move the furniture if not necessary.
Their report had no metion of this, meaning Connor found it...and that he went down to explore. Zeldane followed, reaching a room with a metal door not that far from the ladder.
The door moved sideways as Zeldane moved it with the latch on the spot where the doorknob would be and stepped inside. What she saw made her scanners stop and restart a few times (or in other words, it make her blink a few times.)
A large portal was all that she could see...its colors changes as each second passes. Just as she was going to step closer towards it...something came out of the portal...something...that wasn't Connor.
The creature fully emerged from the portal and roared out loud, scaring Zeldane. She tried to activated the weapons in the armor...but nothing worked as she saw the creature continue to stare at her.
At this point, Zeldane decided to turn tail and run, bolting up the ladder as she heard the creature roar again. It was following her… and she continued to flee, reaching the teleporter room and shutting the door behind her.
She activated the teleporter and was sent down to the ruin grounds. The creature was still on the ship, but she wasn't as far as she cared at the moment. But then she saw the ship breaking from its autopilot route...and heading straight for the Imperium of Avalon's mountain range.
Elsewhere…
"Now that the Solsteirians have been driven out of Nocturne, I can finally concentrate on problems at home," Daniel said to Amaris, "Unfortunately, this means aid in cleaning the rubble will be minimal for some time...you gonna be alright on your own for now?"
"Possibly…" Amaris replied, "With the casualties they took, they probably won't be trying to attack us again for a while…"
Daniel nodded. "That's true…let's just hope they DO need to recover… … ...now, you doing alright?"
Amaris nodded. "Yes, I'm fine… … ...it still hurts a bit, to be honest, remembering how damaged my home is…"
"It'll be rebuilt. We DID save its people after all. That's all that matters, right?"
Amaris smiled a little. "...You're right...So long as the people of Nocturne survive, Nocturne itself survives…"
Daniel nodded to her, smiling.
The communicator on Daniel activated as someone could be heard talking so fast, it sounds like gibberish.
Daniel picked up the communicator, before saying into it, "Alright, alright! Whoever's there, just slow down! I can't understand you!"
"Sorry...I'm just hysterical after what happened to me." The voice replied.
Daniel thought for a moment, thinking the voice sounded familiar. "Alright...and who is it again?"
"Zeldane, the A.I. that followed Dresden...I mean, Connor around during the ride to Blacklight. I...called you for something...problematic in nature." The now identified voice said.
"...What KIND of problem?" Daniel groaned.
Zeldane stumbled with her words as she said, "The kind….involving...a runaway spaceship. Also…an unknown creature is possibly driving it...as I speak. So...In a way, two problems rolled into one."
"Listen, I have enough issues as it is...no offense, but what reason do I have to help take care of this right at this second?" Daniel asked.
"Because...Connor was on the ship before I met that creature face to face. I'm worried that he may be in danger...and I may have some critical information you may need." Zeldane noted, her tone getting a bit devious at the end.
"...What kind of information?" Daniel asked, sounding as though he might dread hearing the answer.
Zeldane answered back with, "Maybe the location of the Ptolemaic Base sounds important enough? I'm technically not allowed to give it out, but I'll willing to do it for bringing Connor to safety."
Daniel was silent for a moment as he thought: Connor already knew his headquarters, it's only fair Daniel knew his. "... … ...Very well...I'll see what I can do...but I do still have some issues in my territory that need fixing, so I don't know how much help I CAN be…"
"I'll take what I can get… … ….You know, I didn't expect you to be willing to help...If you refused, I would have told you the other important thing I know." Zeldane said.
"And what is that?" Daniel asked, nervous again.
"Something probably important to one of those under your command. Ptolemaic Forces found a suspicious individual, said that they were a relative of… someone named…"Corrin" I believe. They are currently being held in the Ptolemaic Base as we speak." Zeldane noted, in a rather casual tone, unaware of the significance of what she said.
"Relative of WHO?!" Daniel exclaimed.
" I told you, the person is apparently a "relative" of someone named Corrin." Zeldane answered back, a bit worried now.
"There's someone by that name in the Imperium here: she's the Marchioness in charge of holding back the Orc and Troll attack!" Daniel replied, "She's among the individuals taken to this world, and is currently looking for any sign of her family being here!"
Zeldane remains silent for a moment before chipping in with, "Oh...I...At least one of them seems to be with us...I mean with the Ptolemaic Army. I...actually just received some details the higher ups sent to me about the person in question."
"Well...what do you know about them?" Daniel asked.
"The suspicious individual didn't reveal their name...but we do know her appearance. Seems to be a purple...or is it lavender...the image they sent me was a bit dirty- I mean, that's the hair color. Armor looks very black and regal looking, and several Ptolemaic staff were noting she was carrying a big axe. That's all they sent me." Zeldane explained based on her observations from the data she received.
"Hmmm… … ...Not entirely sure...but from what I know of Corrin's 'family', that sounds a bit like Camilla...is that really all they sent? Want to make sure before I jump to conclusions…"
"No...wait, they sent me one other thing...There was an additional note about how they taped her talking to herself. The person seemed really worried about Corrin...saying something like "Don't worry, Corrin...Your big sister, Camila is here to find you." when the Ptolemaic staff left her alone in the cell they placed her in." Zeldane added.
"...So it is Camilla...I'll have to tell Corrin about this...See what you can do about getting Camilla brought here…"
"Will do. I'll have Camilla sent over ASAP, provided I can get through the Ptolemaic Chain of command...Which I can because I-I mean, I'll get her to Blacklight soon." Zeldane tried to say before getting lost and back on focus.
The communicator turned silent as Zeldane cut the transmission.
Elsewhere...
Corrin and Elise walked into the spaceport sitting above Blacklight, and Elise was looking around in awe of the town. "Wow! I've never seen buildings like these before!" the girl exclaimed.
"They were new to me as well when I first saw them," Corrin replied, "Now I'm getting used to it."
"Well...and you said they could help us find the others?" Elise asked.
Corrin nodded. "Yeah, they've got their own problems, but they're still trying to help… … ...Ah, here we are…" The duo arrived at the lift.
"...What is it?" Elise asked.
"The lift to the Undercity," Corrin replied, "Let's get going!"
The duo entered the lift, which began to plummet. Soon, they came into view of the Undercity, with Elise awed by the sight of the city. Soon, the lift reached the bottom of its track.
"Come on...Daniel should be in Midlight's Deep. that's the column there that serves as the palace," Corrin explained, leading her sister to the column.
Somewhere on the Mountain Range...
The "Space Train" stopped at this particular spot on the mountain range...As the creature that scared Zeldane off teleported to the ground below. It looked around, seeing nothing around to bother it.
That's when it curled itself and...changed itself. Through a process that looked painful...it double its size and the sharp parts of its body got sharper. To say that it looked more terrifying than it was smaller is a understatement.
Soon, it heard the roars of two dragons that were flying towards the ship in the air. The dragons initially focused on the ship...until they saw what looked to be their new target.
The creature was a bit confused at what it was seeing as the dragons decided to fight it. Once they were down, the creature somehow split itself into two and the new one charged at the dragons.
What ends up happening is that the dragons strike at the attacking creature...only to be confused at the fact that it was somewhat not physical...or somehow not real. Yet when the second creature struck them, it felt real and the pain confused them even further.
Then a cloud of mist...or some mysterious chemical spread through the air as the ghostly creature's attacks came out faster and stronger. Not to mention the other one of the splitted creature showing up...attacking as fast as its counterpart.
The battle went on...till both dragons fell to the ground, dying from the multiple wounds inflicted on them. Once it was over, the "fake" version of the creature disappeared.
Oddly, the creature tried eating the two dragons, but stopped as it realized that it didn't need to eat.
Then...somehow...the creature teleported itself back onto the ship. The ship now moving onto a different part of the mountain range...
In the Marshland, hours later…
The strange creature left the ship once again to find itself in the outskirts of a big old marshland. Traveling through the new landscape, it reached a area where it saw camps full of orcs and trolls getting organized and equipped for a attack.
Wandering into their territory quietly and out of sight, the creature found a hiding spot (suitable) for its current size near one of the camps. After scanning over the closest camp quickly, the creature shot out three red orbs from its mouth.
These orbs were made of some unorthodox energy, allowing them to float over above the camp. When an orc spotted them, they stopped floating and flew towards a few groups of orcs and trolls. The moment these orbs impacted with their target, a loud unnatural scream filled the air with a big explosion wiping out many orcs and a few trolls.
The surviving orcs and trolls were on edge, looking around to see what caused that. They soon got their answer as the creature suddenly launched itself into the middle of the camp...its various parts of its body bubbling...till another explosion happened, wiping out the entire camp.
After the smoke cleared, the creature could be seen unharmed from the explosion...as if it planned to do that all along. With one camp down, it decided to clean out the remaining ones...one by one.
Unfortunately for the creature, as its attacks against the orcs and trolls went on, a scout team from the Imperium of Avalon had found the first camp it attacked. They noticed the destruction of the camp and could hear inhuman screams and explosions going off into the distance.
A message was sent out, being relayed all the way to Blacklight about an unknown force possibly making its claim in the marshland.
Meanwhile, near the Marshland...
Corrin and Elise were passing through the marshland on the way to Corrin's estate in her Marsh. Currently, Corrin was being escorted by a squad of Kasrkins from the 412th, mainly due to the monsters and Orcs normally in this area… … …
...Only...there weren't any. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that the Kasrkin Vox Operator received a transmission that an unknown force was making a move in the marshland...hence why all of the Kasrkins were currently on alert, while Corrin had Omega Yato out.
Unbenounced to them, the creature was nearby looking around for the ship it hijacked. It traveled through the marsh quickly...as it spotted Corrin and Elise. It hid before they looked in its direction.
Once the creature felt they weren't looking, it spied on them. As they continued on their way, the creature followed from a safe distance that gave it time to hide.
When the group reached the estate, the creature peeked out of its current location to see that Corrin was still carrying the Omega Yato. Oddly, the creature looked like it was focusing on the sword more than the person carrying it.
Then in its strange mind appeared an idea...a idea it put to action.
Splitting itself into two, the "fake" one emerged from its spot and slowly approached the group...as the "real" one turned invisible and sneaked around from the side.
The group noticed the creature approaching them: it had 4 arms, two of them ending in scythe-like blades, while the other two ended in hands with long, talon-like claws. It had curved spines coming out of its back, and it had an eyeless face. Instead of legs, it had a series of tentacles and it seemed to float a bit above the ground.
Immediately, the Guardsmen were on alert. "What is that?!"
"Hold!" Corrin ordered, "Keep an eye on it, but don't shoot unless it attacks…"
The "fake" creature heard that...and just stopped. It looked around at the group, stopping at Elise and just waved one of its arms as if to say hi.
The "real" one was still sneaking up on the group, getting ready to pounce on its target.
Elise just waved back at the creature, a bit nervously.
Corrin watched the creature, just unsure of how to act…
The "fake" creature just turned itself around and made its way away from the group...disappearing a few seconds later…
As the "real" one's invisibility wore off and pounced on Corrin, pinning her to the ground and knocking her sword away.
In a panic, Corrin was just about to order the Guardsmen to attack… … …
When the creature suddenly let her go...and immediately picked up her sword and bolted through the marsh. At some point, it "warped" away like 15 feet from where it was and continued moving.
Corrin just sat there for a moment...before shouting out, "That thing just stole Omega Yato!"
The creature kept moving till it saw the "Space Train" fly above it...leading to it get teleported back into the ship as it left the marsh with a stolen weapon.
Meanwhile, at the Spaceport…
A Ptolemaic APC drives into the spaceport, reaching the area of the port where the lift was. After parking it in the street, the side door opened up and a few Ptolemaic Ruin Division grunts exit...With a purple haired woman being escorted out in handcuffs.
Once they were out, one of the grunts activated his radio communicator and waited for the other person to pick up the message.
Changing channels, he got the response and ordered the cuffs to be removed. The cuffs were removed and the grunts went back into the APC, leaving the woman by herself.
Soon enough, the lift arrived, and out of it came a man in flak armor. "Ah, you must be Camilla," the man said in an accented voice, "I've been told to bring ya down to the Undercity while ya await transportation to the Northern March…"
Back with Daniel and Amaris...
The communicator got activated again, causing Daniel to get the connection established. At this point, he was expecting Zeldane to report back that Camilla was delivered to Blacklight...but that didn't happen.
Instead, the signal or message they received was from a soldier of the Ptolemaic Army, saying they dropped the family member of Corrin off at the lift.
But back to the point...It wasn't Zeldane who was trying to talk to Daniel.
It was Corrin.
"I managed to find out what's going on in the marshlands…" Corrin commented.
"Really? It wasn't that long ago we warned you something's up…" Daniel replied.
"Yeah, and that 'something' just stole my sword!" Corrin replied.
"... … ...What?"
Corrin then went on and described the creature in question.
Daniel adopted a thoughtful expression. "Hmmm...I see… … ...We'll keep a look out…" Then, Daniel thought, 'But where'd something like THAT come from?'
End Chapter 10.
*Camera switches back.*
*Zeldane can be seen in a sort of catatonic state as her voice says so much about what she was experiencing.*
Zeldane: *In a very melancholy tone, "I...I...failed...to...save….him. Connor...is...gone...I-" before breaking down emotionally.*
*Emperor Mitchell and Amaris struggle to come with something to say to comfort the A.I.*
Zeldane: *Looking at the two of them, trying hard to speak clearly.* "...Please...tell me...that he'll be fine…I...just need...a bit of...hope...or something."
Amaris: "I'm...sure he'll be fine…I mean, how much has he gone through since getting here?"
Zeldane: *Showing a sign that she realizes something as she says, "From...what...I got from the Ptolemaic Files...on Connor...They say his luck is beyond what is considered 'normal'. He...may actually be able to get back."*
Amaris: "See? There you go…"
Emperor Mitchell: "Not to mention the stuff he pulled off when we first met in the story...he's probably fine…"
Zeldane: *Showing that she is doing better now as she says, "I...can't thank you two enough for giving me hope. I'm still worried...but I have a solid feeling Connor will be back."*
*Just as Zeldane calmed down, the portal suddenly showed up again. The trio of commentators were surprised to see it again.*
*Zeldane looked at the other two, quickly saying, "I'm heading in there to get him back...Wish me luck."*
*Then in a rash decision, Zeldane was going to run into the portal by herself…*
Emperor Mitchell: *stops her* "Woah, there! How do we even know if this is the same portal? Could just be a similar type, but leads elsewhere!"
Zeldane: "But my scanners tell me that it has the same properties as the one before...It must be the one that took Connor!"
Amaris: "Maybe he'll come through himself! Let's just wait!"
Zeldane: *Hesitating to agree* "I...I...I'll wait. But the moment it starts to disappear, I'm going with it!"
*They waited for a few seconds...as nothing happens. The portal still swirls on. But in a single second...something does happen.*
*Someone does emerge from the portal…*
Zeldane: *Shocked* "No way...That's-"
Emperor Mitchell: *You have...GOT...to be shitting me!"
Amaris: "...It's….that THING! It's here!"
*The camera finally sees what the commentators saw...The creature from the story.*
Creature: *Looks at the trio, tilts its head in a confused manner.*
*The trio doesn't even move an inch as the creature stands there, still confused.*
Zeldane: *Without turning her head as she focuses her words on Amaris and Emperor Mitchell* "I'm going to turn off the camera...Hoping it doesn't decide to attack."
*Zeldane tries moving towards the camera...and the creature just points a claw at Zeldane.*
*It...just moves the claw back to Zeldane's position, as if it was non-verbally saying, "Just stop and go back."*
*She does so. The creature then approaches the camera and turns it off.*