PART 1
Suddenly being honor guard didn't seem such a bad idea, that is what was going through Panache's mind as she stood there at attention with the rest of the order, banner on display as they awaited the return of Princess Pina and the others from their excursion through the gate, where they made contact with a place called "Neo Arcadia", and from that meeting an alliance between the two nations was born.
"So what do you think these Neo Arcadia people are like?" asked one of the knights.
"I remember meeting the diplomat when she was escorted to the Jade Palace."
"The Jade Palace?" Panache looked over.
"Oh right you were out chasing the Flame Dragon for nearly a month now." the Knight said. "The Jade Palace is being set up as an embassy for Neo Arcadia's diplomats."
"I see." Panache said, biting her lip.
"So their diplomat is a woman?" Shandy had asked.
"Yeah." said one of the knights. "Her name is Luhra. I think she came here with that X fellow, but stayed behind to finish up the talks. Apparently she took care of the princess while she was at Neo Arcadia and helped with communicating."
Shandy looked at Panache then looked ahead, a woman in a government position? Such a thing is unheard of in the empire.
"I can see why the princess was so taken in by them." Shandy whispered to Panache.
"I still say she's been brainwashed." Panache whispered back. She blinked, feeling the wind pick up suddenly.
"Hey what's with this wind?" A knight asked. the wind picked up more and they had to brace themselves before a shadow suddenly began to form. Shandy blinked and looked up and her eyes widen. "Hey! Up there!"
The order looked up, watching as a large, flying carriage descended. The girls stared in amazement at it as what looked like feet extended from the bottom, allowing it to touch down there in the courtyard, no wonder they were told to report to such a wide open space. The back of the carriage opened and they watched as strange soldiers marched out, wearing similar armor to their own or at least a similar color scheme with the silver and gold and brandishing shields on their arms. What unnerved the girls were the heads, which had but a single glowing red eye for a face as they marched out and fanned to either side standing at attention.
"Panache." Shandy whispered. "Are those-"
"Pantheons." Panache responded. "Just as Ciel described them." She kept her eyes on these pantheons, the foot soldiers of Neo Arcadia, and these in particular were apparently custom made for the rose order, given their appearance, and weaponry, that and they had the order's crest on their chest.
"Check them out." chimed in one of the knights. She had short tomboyish hair purple in color, but a little messier then Panache's neater cut, and a lighter shade of purple, possibly periwinkle, for her eyes. She stood out from the rest of the knights in the fact she had two swords sheathed at her side, favoring a dual wield style since she was young.
"Don't gawk Beefeater." said Panache. "It's impolite." She blinked when she saw one of the pantheon's twitch, her eyes narrowed as she was slowly going for her sword.
"Don't EVEN THINK of laughing." came a familiar voice. The armored soldiers suddenly went rigid, and despite the one eyed face looked nervous as Hamilton came out of the transport. "The first Pantheon that starts laughing at the names of my friends and fellow knights gets sent back to Neo Arcadia to be reprogrammed into Garbage collectors is that clear?"
"SIR YES SIR!" the pantheons said.
The knights all stared, some of them surprised and the others dumbfounded.
"Well she looks like Hamilton." said Beefeater. "But when did she get assertive?"
Panache relaxed, and even managed a smile.
"Panache!" The voice made her look up and watched as Bozes came out of the back, running over to her and hugging her. "You're alright. We've been worried you know, since you and the others were looking for the Flame Dragon. Our world doesn't have the connivance of fast communications like Neo Arcadia does so we didn't even know where you were or how you were faring."
"We're find Bozes." said Panache. "We never found the flame dragon, but we found the proof it's out there."
"That's good, the princess will be glad to hear that. It'll mean we've completed both tasks we set out to do."
Panache nodded. "It will help give us some much needed recognition." She watched as Norma came out, and everyone stood at attention as the Princess came out and down the ramp.
"Knights! It's good to see you all." said Pina. "You will not believe the adventures we have had, and there is so much to discuss." she walked over, hugging each one in turn, grateful to finally be home. She came to Panache, giving her a hug as well. "Panache, congratulations on coming home safely." she said.
"Thank you your majesty." said Panache. "I'll give you my report later."
"I look forward to it." said Pina. she cleared her throat and looked to the knights as she held her hand out to the pantheon soldiers. "Knights, these are Pantheons, they are the soldiers of Neo Arcadia, living golems powered by their incredible science and technology that puts even magic to shame. Neo Arcadia was kind enough to give us our own special contingent of pantheons to act as our own front line force against any and all dangers. We also have new weapons and equipment provided by them as well." To demonstrate she'd draw the hilt from her scabbard revealing the energy blade of her Beam Saber, causing the women to stare in disbelief.
"This is called a Beam Saber." said Pina. "It is a blade of pure energy that can cut through anything. Our armor, while still the same, is made of new materials found in Neo Arcadia that can resist and stand against these weapons, making them far superior to our own Iron and steel armor and weapons, while also being lighter and more flexible, even this under suit I'm wearing is armored and yet I can move freely in it as though it were fabric." The girls stared in awe and disbelief whispering among themselves.
"With our Pantheons, and our new equipment, and special training from Neo Arcadia itself including facilities and actual combat experience. The Rose Order will become the greatest in the empire. No more Honor Guard! No more looking down upon and being dismissed as a bunch of noble's daughters playing knight! Master X understands our plight, and realizes our potential and he's more than willing to take all of us in!"
They all went silent. Did Panache just hear that right?
"Take us all in?" Panache asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"The Rose order is moving." said Pina. "To Neo Arcadia."
"What?!" Panache stared in disbelief, the other girls looked surprised as well. "What about the empire? What about our families?"
Pina gave Panache a cold look, and Panache's eyes went wide when she saw the princess's eyes burn red. "What about them? What sort of support have our families given us? What sort of encouragement have we received? Oh sure the men who trained with us for the past 10 years and graduated went on to join the army and they got the respect and prestige that went with it. But what about us Panache huh? What about US?"
"But that doesn't give you the right to just move the order." said Panache.
"It gives me EVERY right." said Pina. "As long as we remain here the Rose Order will never be anything more than a glorified decoration in the eyes of the empire! But when I was over at Neo Arcadia, they didn't care who I was, all they cared about was my talents and my abilities, and I've proven myself in combat against REAL threats."
"Real threats?" The order looked amongst each other.
"Mavericks!" said Pina. "The Criminals and dangers of the other side. They come in many forms and their motives may differ. But they have no qualms with taking human lives, they make bandits look civil, and at least with bandits you can try to reason with them. Mavericks can't be reason with, and there are Mavericks here in the empire."
They went rigid, all except Panache and Shandy. Panache knew who Pina was talking about.
"They call themselves 'the resistance.'" said Pina. "And they are hiding out somewhere in the Empire, but no one knows where."
They whispered among themselves and Bozes stepped forward. "They aren't dangerous, not like the Mavericks that Neo Arcadia are use to fighting." Pina turned staring at Bozes. "According to the Shittenou, the generals of Neo Arcadia, the Resistance largely focuses on attacks against their military, and fight in defiance of Neo arcadia's established order. Now just because they aren't as dangerous as typical mavericks doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious. Criminals are always dangerous no matter who or what they are."
"Bozes what are you doing?" Pina said under her breath, teeth gritted.
"I'll explain later." said Bozes, she looked back at the knights. "In short, the resistance are rebels attempting to overthrow Neo Arcadia, and their actions are having a negative effect on Neo Arcadia's attempt to deal with actual threats, but we can't leave them alone to do as they please less they start causing trouble for the empire with their antics. That is why we must work together to find where the resistance is hiding, and bring them to justice."
They all looked at one another and Beefeater spoke up.
"Is there anything else we should know about this resistance?"
Pina nodded. "Yes, but you're not going to like it. They have Rory Mercury on their side."
Everyone went pale almost at once, you couldn't tell where their skin ended and the armor began they were that pale.
"Rory...Mercury?" said one knight. "You mean...Rory the reaper?"
"The very same." said Pina. "Two weeks ago the resistance snuck through the gate for reasons unknown, and around the same time, Rory and several unknown accomplices attacked one of Neo Arcadia's supply depots, robbed it and blew it up!"
"With Fighting Fafnir of the Shittenou trapped inside." Hamilton added. "Poor guy was bed ridden the last two weeks getting put back together."
Beefeater laughed nervously. "Um, are we going to be fighting the reaper?"
"No of course not!" said Pina. There was a collective sigh of relief. "Zero on the other hand." She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
The fear turned to confusion and raised eyebrows.
"Who's Zero?" said one of the knights.
"Dunno."
"Princess." said Hamilton. "Master X said to leave Zero to him remember?"
"He humiliated me Hamilton, in front of you and everyone." said Pina. "Made of fool out of me and wasn't even trying!"
Everyone seem to sigh.
"Princess I don't think it's a good idea to go after someone that outclasses you." said Panache. "I mean no disrespect but it sounds like going after this 'Zero' guy is just as bad as trying to fight Rory."
"She has a point." said Hamilton.
"Yes but unlike Rory, Zero won't kill us." said Pina. She was pacing back and forth. "He could have killed me at the gate, but he didn't. We could use that to our advantage and..."
"Princess." said Norma. "We're here because of the banquet, not to salvage our pride."
"But..." the princess looked around, looking like a lost puppy almost. "He made me look like a fool."
There was a collective sigh, and one of the knights would walk over and give the princess a hug, the others crowding around her.
"Wherever he is he's probably not going anywhere anytime soon." said Beefeater. "Not stop being serious and start telling us everything about this Neo Arcadia place." There was a collective vocal agreement from everyone.
Panache was standing there watching the crowd around the princess. 'No doubt about it.' Panache thought. 'I saw her eyes burning.' she rubbed her own eyes out of reflex, remember how she lashed out at Ciel. 'her emotions are being manipulated by Cyber Elves, if only I can see them.'
"You okay Panache?" Bozes asked walking over.
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine." said Panache. "It's just been a long two weeks. I've been riding all over the continent tracking down a dragon, and you and the princess are sitting pretty in some far away city."
"Well next time you can go lounge around in Neo Arcadia and I'll go look for the Flame Dragon." said Bozes. She looked around, and whispered. "Incidentally, we've confirmed the resistance encountered the flame dragon."
"Is that so?" Panache asked. "We heard rumors of soldiers in green calling themselves 'the resistance' from survivors from Coda village. But we're not sure if it's the same resistance or not, our leads ran cold and eventually we gave up. Where did you hear about the resistance fighting the Flame Dragon?"
"From Rory herself at the gate." said Bozes.
Panache nodded, and looked to Pina. "Is she okay Bozes?"
"The princess? Yes I've never seen her happier why?" Bozes asked.
"That anger scares me." said Panache. "Are you sure she's okay?"
Bozes smiled, patting Panache on the arm. "She's just been through a lot that's all, but everyone at Neo Arcadia have been good to us."
"It just seems sudden." said Panache. "To want to move the whole order to a place we know nothing about?"
"Well I've been trying to figure it out myself." said Bozes. "For now I think we should go along with it for her sake. She wants to make this work, to make the rose order great."
"But it is great." said Panache. "None of us would be here if it wasn't for her. We'd all be in frilly dresses at stuffy parties."
Bozes smiled. "Well it looks like we'll be in frilly armor at a stuffy banquet."
"Only if those things are in frills as well." said Panache pointing at the Pantheons. Bozes chuckled, and the two started laughing at the mental image.
PART 2
They were stopped at the gates of Italica before they left, and were approached by Cerveau, a member of the resistance.
"You're the rose Knights yes?" Cerveau asked.
"That's us." said Grey. "Is something the matter?"
"Ciel wanted me to give you something." said Cerveau handing Grey a small box. Grey looked at Panache, Shandy and Suissesse before opening the box.
"Their called ear-buds." said Cerveau. "They have a wide range and once we get our equipment up we can talk to you over long distances."
"You wish for us to keep in contact?" Panache asked.
Cerveau nodded.
"What about Ciel wanting us to form our own opinion?" Shandy asked.
"Let's just say she is worried." said Cerveau. "We don't know how much influence X has over your princess, and we know even less of the extent of this alliance. Should you do decide to help us-"
"You'd want us to be able to contact you right away." said Panache. "I understand, how do they work?"
Panache was alone in her room, wearing a simple nightgown as she sat on her bed looking at the ear-bud in her hand. She'd push back her hair and slipped the bud inside, hearing a strange sound before tapping it. "Hello?"
"We got a signal from the ear-buds!" Panache's eyes widen and she looked around for the voice, before realizing it was coming from her ear, so this was the long range 'communications' that they had. To talk over such long distances in an instant.
"couriers would be put out of a job." Panache said to herself.
"This is Rouge, identify yourself." came the voice.
"Panache Fure Kalgi." Panache said. "I want to talk to Ciel or someone else in charge."
"Hold on a second." there was a clattering sound. "We got runners upstairs again."
Runners? What was going on over there?
"Hello Lady Kalgi? This is Ciel."
"Ciel." Panache sighed. "Thank god."
"Are you alone? Ciel asked.
"Yes. I'm at home in my room." she looked down, biting her lip. "I want to defect."
There was silence. "Do you understand what you're saying Lady Kalgi?"
"You didn't see her today." said Panache. "Stepping out of that flying carriage, flanked by those...things. Saying she wants to move the entire order to Neo Arcadia because no one gives a damn about us because of our social status and our gender. She's gone insane Ciel and I think she's being influenced like you mentioned."
"By Cyber Elves?" Ciel asked, surprised. "It's barely been a month and they've spread that far?"
"I'm more worried about the princess's state of mind than the cyber elves." said Panache. "I don't have to see anything else to realize the empire is making a mistake allying with Neo Arcadia, not when its own princess is talking crazy. Even Hamilton, Bozes and Norma are biased toward Neo Arcadia." she went silent. "However, Bozes seems a little less gung ho about all of you. Pina seemed hell bent to wipe out any and all Mavericks in the name of the empire, but Bozes was quick to correct her about all of you."
Ciel was smiling. "Wisdom goes a long way, but even so, we are technically criminals on the run, and if you side with us you'll be branded maverick as well."
Panache looked down. "Better to die a Maverick then live as a slave." she said.
"Lady Kalgi...Panache...please think about your friends, and your family if you do this."
"I am." said Panache. "I'm thinking about what will happen when more and more of Neo Arcadia comes through that gate and starts taking over." she gritted her teeth, rubbing her forehead. "A part of me wants to blame you as well, because they're here looking for you. But I can't, not after seeing what's happened to the princess."
"Panache I cannot accept your defection. Your place is by the princesses side, it's the best way you can help anyone."
Panache hung her head. "Then what should I do?"
"Well. what about information?" Ciel asked.
Panache perked up. "Information?"
"Anything you can think of that will help." said Ciel. "We've got everything set up here at Accueil and were ready to strike. We just need targets."
Panache blinked. "Banquet."
"Hmm?"
"There's going to be a banquet in a few days, to celebrate the alliance." said Panache. "Nobles, the emperor, even people from Neo Arcadia are suppose to be at this thing, possibly even X." she stood up. "You could hit them while they're busy with the banquet. Hell why not hit the banquet itself and just rob the place?"
Ciel's eyebrow rose up slightly on her end. "Rob the banquet? That's a bit much."
Panache thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Besides." said Ciel. "We want to avoid bringing harm to humans."
"Still." said Panache. "You'd could slip through the gate and cause some damage while Neo Arcadia's top brass is mingling with the emperor."
There was silence. "Thank you Panache, I think I know what we're going to do, we'll be in touch." There was a click, and that strange sound again, the line was disconnected.
Panache took the ear-bud out and placed it in a desk drawer, and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry princess."
"Senator Luhra!" Pina smiled as she entered the Jade Palace, Pantheons were stationed outside and along key areas inside. She approached the elderly senator, a smile on her face as she shook her hand. "It's good to see you again."
"I'm glad to see you are well." said Luhra. "I take it the trip wasn't too hard on you?"
"I saw my kingdom from beyond the clouds." said Pina. "It was truly breathtaking. Plus my knights got quite a sight when the transport landed."
"Well you did say you wanted to make a flashy entrance." said Luhra.
Pina nodded. "Is the Jade Palace to your liking?"
"It is." said Luhra. "A perfect spot for an embassy, the banquet will be held here incidentally."
"Here?" Pina raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Luhra nodded. "There's plenty of space to entertain several key senators and the emperor, and we'd provide security with our Pantheon forces. No one would be able to get in." The two walked down the hall, entering a room that was converted into Luhra's personal study and office as she walked to a shelf where some wine was kept as she poured herself a drink, taking a sip. "X will be attending the banquet, along with the Shittenou, the other 5 senators, and several of the judges."
"The judges?" Pina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, you saw them during the court proceedings, the 8 gentle judges, also known as the Hachishinken. Schilt, Cactank, Mantis and Kelverian will be attending, they are curious about your country's judicial system."
"I see." said Pina.
"Incidentally, they are Mutos." said Luhra.
"They are?" Pina looked surprised. "But they looked human like X."
"The Hachishinken are special." said Luhra. "Their human forms are their "Judgment" modes. Their original Mutos forms are known as "Punishment" mode. They only assume their Punishment mode when necessary."
"I see. Anyone else?" Pina asked.
Luhra shook her head. "After the attack on the supply depot security is being tighten by the remaining Mutos."
"Is it wise for the Shittenou to come to the banquet though?" said Pina. "I know they are coming but perhaps it is not wise."
"X's safety is one of the priorities of the Shittenou." said Luhra. "Hence why they are coming to the banquet."
"We can protect Master X just fine!" said Pina. "The Shittenou don't have to come."
"Can you?" Luhra asked. "You couldn't even keep the resistance from getting through the gate, and Master X had to save YOU. So tell me princess, how can you possibly protect X?"
Pin gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing. "I..."
"You can't." said Luhra. "You have no real combat experience, and despite all your training you were beaten by a reploid who quite frankly has more than 100 years of combat experience on you, and then there is the fact you are human. X would never risk the lives of humans. He will sacrifice himself before he lets a human die, and that is why you cannot protect Master X. Because he'll be too busy protecting you."
Pina went silent, her body relaxing.
"He recognizes your capabilities and your potential." said Luhra. "But he does not want you to recklessly throw your life away. In due time I am sure there will be a task suitable for you and the Rose Order, something far better than Honor guard."
Pina nodded. "I understand." she said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." said Luhra. "I'd be angry too if I felt like my talents were being wasted. Come now, we have a banquet to plan for."
PART 3
"Listen up everyone." said Ciel. The group was gathered as Ciel began talking. "We just got information from Panache Fure Kalgi, that there will be a Banquet held in the empire to celebrate the new alliance between them and Neo Arcadia. X will be attending, and no doubt so will several other major Arcadian officials, including the Shittenou. This is our chance to strike."
"What's the target?" Hirondelle asked.
"Neo Arcadia itself." said Ciel. "Or more specifically the outlying regions."
"Wait, were going INSIDE the dome? That is beyond dangerous." said Colbar. "That's damn near suicidal."
"Getting into the dome is the easy part." said Moineau. "It's getting into the city itself that's nearly impossible unless you have the proper access codes."
"So what are we doing with these attacks?" Rory asked.
"There are three large forested regions surrounding Neo Arcadia." said Ciel. "Anatre, Dysis and Notus. These places are considered sacred to the citizens of Neo Arcadia, and there are old ruins within we believe contain information from before the Elf Wars. This information could help us with destabilizing Neo Arcadia's government and exposing the truth behind the Maverick purge, and more importantly, it could be the key to curing X of the Maverick Virus and turning him back into the kind leader I once knew him as."
"So we're going to desecrate holy ground?" Rory asked. That made her grin widely. "I like it."
"And we're doing this while X is hobnobbing with royalty?" said Dande. "Oh he is going to be PISSED."
"You should have seen him at the Gate." said Yuno. "He was quite furious with being called away from whatever he was doing in the empire."
"Considering he blew both Zero and myself in half." said Rory. "Furious doesn't begin to cover his state of mind at the time."
"So we infiltrate these woods, scour the ruins within and come back with whatever information we can find." said Tuka.
"Exactly." said Ciel. "And don't skimp out. Every little bit of data matters."
"This is going to have a rather short time frame to execute." said Cerveau. "We'll have to hit all three forests at once during the banquet."
"We'll need more people." said Zero.
"I have that covered." said Ciel. "I have Biggs, Wedge and Myuute on standby, and Count Formal has agreed to lend us the services of Mamina and Delilah, who are highly skilled warriors in their own right."
"And don't forget us." Rory said. "Tuka, Yuno Leilei and I proved ourselves at the supply depot. Let us lose on one of those forests and we'll bring you back every dirty secret we can find and then some."
"So when do we begin?" Hirondelle asked.
"Day of the banquet once it's been confirmed that X is there." said Ciel. "Zero, you Leilei, Colbar and Biggs will hit Anatre. Moineau, Rory, Wedge and Dande will hit Notus, and Faucon, Myuute, Hirondelle and Hibou will hit Dysis."
Everyone nodded
"Alright, dismissed." said Ciel. "Back to work upstairs, all we can do now is wait and prepare." she looked to Leilei as everyone started to leave. "Leilei, can I speak to you in private in my lab?"
Leilei looked over, and nodded. "Okay."
Inside Ciel's lab, Ciel walked over to her terminal, and connected to it was a machine with a cylindrical tube, and within it there were several floating balls of light. Leilei stared at them, her eyes widen as she back up instinctively, her eyes starting to turn red.
"We found them outside your home." Ciel said looking at the Cyber Elves, she turn and looked at Leilei, her own eyes burning red from the presence of the elves. "Where did they come from?"
"I...I don't know." said Leilei. "Honest."
"Leilei, please don't lie." said Ciel. "You summoned them didn't you? With your magic."
Leilei said nothing, just nodded.
Ciel sighed and looked back at the elves. "What you did was dangerous. I warned you about the effects that Cyber Elves have on humans, we have to be careful around them at all times. Even when I'm conducting my research and studying them, I always make sure nothing can go wrong." she looked back at her. "And yet you can still feel their influence, they way they 'whisper' as it were in your head, especially when your emotions are beyond your control."
Leilei looked down. "I was...excited." she said. "It was a theory. The Cyber Elf from the depot reacted to my desperation, but thinking back to what you said that they were being drawn here by magic." she looked back up, trembling. "four of them appeared, and I was, happy to see them, and I felt my power start to grow, it wasn't just my emotions they were reacting to, they were feeding off my magic and feeding it in turn."
Ciel stared, amazed. "You mean?"
Leilei nodded. "Cyber Elves and magic can feed off one another...infinitely, I felt my power growing and growing, I felt invincible, like I could do anything. I wanted to fuse again, get back that feeling of power of I had when I fought off Fafnir. And then I remembered what you said, about how you went berserk the first time you cyber fused. And I realized I was going maverick, or at least something similar. Berserk? Insane? Whatever it was, it scared me."
Ciel walked over to Leilei, and pulled her into a hug. "It's alright Leilei, it's okay to be scared."
Leilei just stood there being hugged, her normally stoic expression breaking as tears were welling up again. "I just thought, if I could control it, I could prevent another situation at the depot when Fafnir attacked us, and we were all nearly powerless to stop him before I fused."
Ciel looked at her. "Leilei, I'm glad you had enough self control to stop. I fear what would happen if someone of your potential had gone berserk from the fusion. But if you really want to control it. Then I can help you with that. But only if you promise to use it in an emergency, is that understood?"
Leilei nodded, calming down and slowly returning to her usual stoic self.
Ciel smiled, and her eyes seem to burn even brighter as she stepped back from Leilei holding out her hand to show a cyber Elf floating in her palm, with her other hand she snapped her fingers and the door to her lab closed and sealed itself, surprising Leilei as she looked back at Ciel. "Then let us begin the training." she said, her voice echoing as the Cyber Elf in her hand, and the ones inside the Capsule began to shudder from her presence.