Unmei Force X Fortune's Soldiers
Chapter 1: Just Like Old Times
When Richard went through the portal with Siege and his group, he had expected them to be on the ground, as that was where the Hall was based at previously.
How he was mistaken when he noticed that when he looked out the window leading to the entrance, they were millions of miles above the Earth!
"Enjoying the view, Richard?" Siege asked as he saw him looking out the window. "We had to move our base a little bit from the last time you were here. Turns out space was a genius idea, as we have much better access to the universes from here." Siege added, soon walking up to two CoD Ghost Soldiers guarding the gates.
"Siege. I see you have returned well. And you brought more with you." Said the soldier.
"Indeed. With me I have the man I told you about a good while ago, my dear friend Richard Liu Zhao." Siege said.
The soldiers almost choked on their own breath.
"T-THE RICHARD LIU ZHAO!?" One said.
Richard merely smirked and gently nodded in response.
"O-oh wow! Siege, it's been 10 years since we've seen him, hasn't it?" asked the other.
"It has. We have to get reacquainted with things, and we must show him our own improvements." Siege said.
"Well don't let us impede you, commander!" The soldier on the left said, opening the doors to the Hall.
"I have a feeling you'll love what you see, Richard." Siege said as he led his friend in.
Richard looked around, as he saw the various things that were occurring within the main hub of the Hall of Origin, as he smiled slightly.
"Well, I see that you have done quite a lot over these 10 years." Richard remarked, as his friends looked around, quite impressed at the scene around them. "I guess that we both had the same idea of moving our bases to space, it seems. That reminds me, if we get the chance, I might take you there."
Richard then crossed his arms. "Speaking of which, surely you must have made a few friends on the way." Richard added. "Care to introduce me to them?"
"Of course. You must have noticed these five with me." Siege said, as he and those with him soon stopped and turned to Richard.
"Let's start over here with these four." Siege said, pointing to those from Three Houses. "Meet, from left to right, Byleth, Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri. I got these three just before they waged war between them. Byleth and I were able to convince the other three that it was not efficient to wage war against each other, rather, to those that were the common enemy to us all, and that was Rhea and Those who Slither in The Dark." Siege explained.
"If Siege had not stopped us… who knows what would have happened. How many casualties would have been caused… he opened the eyes of all of us…" Edelgard said, looking at Claude and Dimitri. The former smiled, the latter simply gave a nod.
"Hm, I see…. The typical stuff, eh Siege?" Richard chuckled, looking at Siege, before he noticed the fifth member, who Siege hasn't introduced. "By the way, you never introduced her? She looks a bit like Veronica."
"Ah, yes. Her." Siege said, looking at the older Veronica, who's eyes shifted some away from Richard. "She… well… Her story is complicated. Let me start with her name. This is Thrasir. And yes, you are somewhat correct to say she is Veronica, because she is, but… at the same time she isn't. This Veronica comes from the same world Hel is rising from to come and doom us all. She and Lif, who I'll introduce to you later, tried to stop Hel before, but they ultimately failed, leading to this transformation. She has since despised Hel for causing her entire world to be killed off by her. She worked with Lif and developed a relationship with him to try and find a way out of their situation… it wasn't until I came in, with Alfonse, Veronica, Fjorm, and Eir to spare them and promise them both that we would stop Hel. We thought we did… until we learned she would rise again… which she is… now we have to try and prepare for her return, and Thrasir, along with all who once served her, to help us to that cause. In other words, she's on our side though she may not look the part." Siege said.
"I'm not proud of my past… but I am willing to right those wrongs, and see Hel destroyed." Thrasir said, clutching her fist.
"Looks can be deceiving." Richard responded back with a frown. "So that's why I won't judge you solely by it, Thrasir. If Siege vouched for your genuine feelings of atonement, then I will believe you, for I have seen people far worse than you, who know the true value of their damned actions, and sought to return what they have taken."
"Hehe… speaking of that… you ain't gonna believe who else I fucking picked up who wanted to atone for his actions." Siege said, soon calling said person on his communicator.
And what Richard would see would be a very, very shocking revelation.
Coming towards him, non hostile, not influenced by the Darkness at all, not even looking as if he had been influenced by evil intentions…
Was Lingyue, who was in a much different attire than what Richard remembered him in, as his armour was replaced with one of oriental silver armour, and his blade was changed into a large broad-sword, and his hair and eyes, although purple, lacked the malice of the Darkness emanating from them.
Upon seeing Richard, Lingyue immediately froze, and so did Richard, who literally acted like he was completely stopped in time, as his own breathing ceased for a moment. Gus, Link, Fox, and Antonio all looked at Lingyue with utter disbelief and shock.
"Oh God…. please don't tell me I'm about to go flying through time and space…" Lingyue said with a pale face.
"Now, now, Lingyue, don't worry, I'm sure Richard here is demanding a hell of an explanation from me." Siege said, turning to his friend.
Richard suddenly clenched his right fist, as it began to blaze with destructive power.
"...How?" Richard asked with a voice with a voice that seemed to be calm, which is miraculous considering the relations between him and Lingyue. "How are you still alive…? How… are you still here…?"
Lingyue didn't say anything, as he just looked back at Richard, causing Richard to grit his teeth.
"You're supposed to be dead. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GONE." Richard growled, his voice still fairly even, despite him now adopting an icy tone so cold that the entire temperature of the Hall of Origin dropped a few degrees from it. "I recall that the Destroyer thoroughly eradicated every one of you, the leaders of the Darkness… So tell me, Lingyue… How are you even alive? How did you manage to escape, if not, live with the Destroyer chasing after you."
"...You're not flying into a rage…?" Lingyue asked calmly.
"You're not worth it." Richard spat back with pure animosity, his hand still blazing with energy. "I have long lost my rage for the Darkness, considering that it's supposed to be eradicated, just like you. But here you stand, my mockery, the one who is my antithesis among the Darkness. I think that is reason enough for me to dig out a few strong emotions I have tried to bury deep inside my heart."
"Now, now Richard, stop right there, I will explain everything right here and now, so take a moment, and calm down just a little bit and let me explain." Siege said.
Richard turned to Siege, with his eyes completely livid, before he slowly calmed down, and let the energy from his hand fade away. "Siege, I'm willing to listen to your story. But it better be the truth and nothing else. Hide nothing, because I want to know how the hell you managed to pick HIM of all people up, especially when his little faction is wiped from the face of existence, and that he's going to die a gruesome death, if you don't give me a reason not to." He stated with a drawn breath.
"Thank you. Now then, I'll start out with this: Lingyue didn't survive. But the Darkness, in his last ditch effort, tried to reform Lingyue to send one final assault against us all, by making him his pure self, his pure memories, everything about him pure of who he was. What the Darkness did not realize was what kind of person Lingyue was before the Darkness corrupted him. Lingyue was, long ago, a bold warrior who fought for justice for everyone. He did whatever it took to be sure that his people survived. Even if that meant sacrificing his life, which was how he went out. It's why the Darkness chose to revive him from long ago to use as his tool, all he knew was Lingyue was a warrior, but not what he fought for. The Darkness revived the pure version of Lingyue, but luckily for our friend Lingyue here, I wasn't having this. The Darkness didn't expect me to come in, and hoo boy… Here's how this thing went down. With Lingyue now in his pure form, as you see him, I was able to infuse him with enough light energy that it caused me to gain some dark powers I couldn't get access to before. But more on that later. With Lingyue realizing his purpose isn't to destroy those who are fighting for the same thing he is, but to aid them, he freaking did a classic play Reverse in Uno, 'no U' play, that made the Darkness literally beg multiple times for our mercy. Ha. Bastard should have asked for that long ago. Needless to say, the reason he's gone? Us. Lingyue is now who he was meant to be. A warrior of justice and hope. But uh… he still remembers everything he did and uh… well…. I guarantee he's silently praying you don't blast him to oblivion. But Richard, the first thing he said to me after we were finished with the Darkness was that he wanted to make amends with you…. Severely. So…. will you give him that chance, Richard? He's not who he was before, if this story full of truth from the deepest depths of my heart is anything to go off of… so Richard… give him a chance, okay?" Siege asked, with the story now finished.
Richard was silent, as he looked towards Lingyue, as Lingyue took a deep breath.
"Siege is not lying." Lingyue stated. "I was one of the strongest warriors that was pitted against the Darkness, and not as a chosen of the Creator. However, she did bless me several times on the quest, and I have met the Destroyer several times. In fact, the last memory I recall before I sank into mental oblivion was that I prayed that one day, someone would kill me, before I became one of the monsters that sought to end existence. Little did I know… the answer to my salvation lies not in this multiverse, but in another, as you have heard from your friend. I believe that the Creator never told you about my past, because she knew that I needed no sympathy for letting myself fall into the darkness, and that there would have been no saving me without killing me. So I was willing to bear all your hatred, because I knew that one day, you would have slain me, and I would no longer have to suffer watching myself tear the work I have done long ago."
Richard then turned to Gus, Link, Fox and Antonio, as they seemed to nod back to him, before Richard then turned back to Lingyue, as he sighed deeply.
"I see. So that's how it was. I may not know the truth, but I have lived long enough in a world of deceit and lies to tell if someone is hiding the truth or lying." Richard responded back. "As much as it irks me to say it… You are doing neither, Lingyue. So I will allow you your chance, but you must earn my respect, if you wish to prove that you want to atone for your actions, although they are done in your unconsciousness."
"...Thank you, young Richard." Lingyue gratefully thanked Richard. "I will do my best to restore the glory and honour of being a protector of the worlds like you have been."
"You may go now Lingyue." Siege commanded.
With a nod and a grateful bow, Lingyue took his leave.
"A bit of a shocker, I can tell. I was surprised myself when he offered his sword to my cause. I too was suspicious he might be lying." Siege said. "But he had multiple opportunities to stab me in the back. Those were opportunities he did not take, and that was enough for me to at least call him an ally. I can't fully trust him just yet, and none of us have, but he seems to be wanting to take steps to earn our trust." Siege said. "I hope he can earn yours eventually, my friend."
"Hm." Richard grunted back. "I guess I should introduce a few more of my friends, both old and new. May I, Siege?"
"Go right ahead. I know two of them. Fox and Link. They're recognizable by many people. However, your other friends I think I've only seen when we take some time for fun activities, but I do not know their names." Siege said.
"Hm. I guess we'll need some time to catch up. But for now…" Richard remarked, as he snapped his fingers, as a sukima appeared nearby him. "I should bring them in."
Through the portal, Elma, Ieyasu, Isara came in, with Isara holding the holo-projector with Erika on it, as they looked around.
"What is this place…?" Elma asked, before she then saw Siege and his friends. "Ah, are you Richard's friends?"
"It seems that this place is not much different to the home-base that we have resided in…" Ieyasu remarked.
"This place… It's filled with so many wonderful technological wonders… I wonder if I could have a few to research and analyse…" Isara commented as well.
Richard then coughed into his hand, as the new arrivals turned to him.
"It's time that I introduce an old friend of mine, you all." Richard stated, before gesturing at Siege. "This is Siege, one of my old friends. He's a leader like me, not much different in terms of versatility and personality to me."
"Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you, Siege." Ieyasu greeted Siege with a curt bow. "It seems that you are quite well-trained."
"So that's the guy that I kept on finding in your database…" Erika commented. "I see… 'The leader of the Siege Alliance, and the Unmatched Soldier'. He does seem to fit the appearance befitting of the title."
"Ah, you are mistaken. We are not called the Siege Alliance anymore." Siege said. "We now call ourselves Fortune's Soldiers. Update that in your database, Richard." Siege said. "But I see my reputation precedes me. Pleasure to meet you all. Oh, and um... " Siege began, pointing to Isara. "You said you wanted some tech? I can have some parts and gadgets we no longer use given to you to analyze to your heart's content."
"Really? Thank you so much!" Isara thanked Siege with excitement in her eyes.
"Well, I guess I should introduce them to you first." Richard stated. "The young cute demon girl with the staff is Elma, an Overlord of Gloom from one of the world's version of Hell, the bare-chested guy with the golden jacket and the golden gauntlets is Ieyasu Tokugawa, except 10000% more badass and idealistic, the black-haired tech addict that's in joy right now is Isara Gunther… She's an engineer and tank driver, and very proficient in both of them. The last one I would like to introduce is the one you're seeing a hologram of, that's Erika Mishima, a top-class hacker with a mind of a super-computer, and she's actually partially Digimon, due to certain events."
"Those events being?" Siege went ahead and asked.
"Long story." Richard stated. "But I think that we're going to have a long time talking about it. Let's sit down, and then I'll tell you."
"We'll save it for later then, buddy." Siege said. "I have so much more to show you. Plus a lot of people are going to be happy to see you again." Siege said. "So without further delay, with you and your friends old and new, let's get this tour started shall we?" Siege asked.
"Just one moment." Richard stated, pointing towards the still-open sukima, as he had a worried expression. "Jeez, why haven't they come…? I thought that Vincent would want to meet his girlfriend again…"
"Vincent!?" Called a voice as a girl soon ran through the crowd, soon seeing Richard, and gasped. "RICHARD!" Called the voice as she hugged him. "Oh if you're well then it must mean my Vincent is well!"
"Oh yeah, she's not called Venusaur anymore Richard, meet Velincta." Siege said.
Velincta's attire didn't change much from her previous version, except for the patches of leaf armor she had, plus the vine swords now strapped to her back. Her hair had grown some more, but it still looked very similar to what it did before. Her body shape changed barely any, except for the fact that her breast size grew a size more.
"Woah there…" Richard remarked, as he caught Velincta tightly, before waiting for her to release him. "I'm actually waiting for your boy to come out. I'm just worried that…"
Soon, Richard's gijinka team appeared out of the portal, as they have aged only slightly, and Vincent was in a neat tuxedo suit, which was tinted green with symbols of flowers and leaves on it, as he looked towards Velincta and smiled brightly, before walking over and taking her hand.
"It's been a long time indeed, my little flower, hasn't it?" Vincent asked with passion in his voice, before kissing the top of it gently.
Velincta almost burst into tears, as her hug shifted from Richard to Vincent. "Vincent my love… my dear… my beloved… 10 years is too long to keep us apart… It is a cruel thing what time does to those who are separated… I couldn't stop thinking about you and what happened… I am so glad to feel you again… to be back in your arms… please don't ever leave me alone to the cruel sands of time again…" Velincta said. "Oh… you should know my name has changed, dear Vincent. I am called Velincta now."
Vincent returned the hug tightly. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, as they would say. I have long waited for the day that we would see each other once again." Vincent responded back with a tone of longing.
"Heh, looks like good old Vincent is love-sick for his girlfriend…" Max sniggered, before he got smacked on the back of his head by Shelly. "Ow, I meant that in a good way, Shelly!"
"Siege!" Elena exclaimed with joy, as she immediately glomped the soldier with a tackle-hug. "It's so nice to see you again! How's Alexandria?"
"I'm right here you silly Pikachu!" said a voice before Alexandria appeared behind Elena thanks to teleport and covered Elena's eyes with her hands. "Guess who?"
"Ah, it's you!" Elena shouted as she immediately wrapped her arms around Alexandria's waist, and pulled her closer. "You can't fool me, Alexandria~ I know it's you!"
"Oh Elena." Alexandria said with a giggle, before the tone switched to longing and passion. "Oh how have I missed you my partner for life… I can't wait to show you my new abilities I got!" said Alexandria, her tone going back to excited during the latter half of her sentence.
"Well, I guess that's everyone here for now." Richard stated, before he then wrapped a hand around Siege. "Now, about that story I wanted to tell you…"