Heroic New Era: New Beginnings
Chapter 1: Getting Into the Swing of Things
Richard's squad was being led by Siege's Squad to their bunk area, as Siege gestured to the fact that his team's bunk area, and his personal quarters, were very close by. "As you can see, your bunk area will be stationed over here. The rest of us will be close by if you need any of us for anything in particular. I have been informed by our boss that the ship we'll be using will have two days of prep time before we can take off."
"Is that so…" Richard asked with a tilt of his head. "You sure that you don't have anything more to show us, just in case? And before you ask, I'm talking what else about our expedition and all related details."
"Well, the only thing that is really needed to know is that our jurisdiction will be basically any and all worlds and universes that aren't already being controlled and handled by O.I.M. nearby. In fact, Yang and Makoto here actually came up from those nearby worlds, wanting to join the O.I.M., and they passed their tests with flying colors." Siege explained. "So basically, as of now we'd be the only task force with the goal of extending the reach of O.I.M., if you will. We've also been given authorization that should anyone from those far out worlds want to, they can become part of our squad if they pass the qualifications."
"I see. An interesting task that is, one that I might find some enjoyment in." Richard remarked with a hand under his chin. "Right now, I suppose that I don't have any questions to ask further about this."
"Again, my quarters are there, the bunk for the rest of my team is there, if you do have a need, a question, or just want to chat, you can find us in those areas." Siege explained. "Right now I'm going to go and finalize the information on you all to our boss. Don't be worried if I call you into my quarters, it will just be for information, most likely."
Siege soon walked into his quarters as he said that, as Yang and Makoto seemed to be deciding what to play for a video game, holding up various consoles and games, and Rutega went off towards the training area within O.I.M. itself.
As for Richard's team, Richard and Gus wasted no time heading towards the nearest gym facility they could find, while Kaguya and Mokou stared at each other for a moment, as eager smirks appeared on their lips, before they looked around for an empty training room, and put themselves inside it, as the sounds of energetic battling could be heard on the other side of it.
In the gym itself, Gus decided to focus on working his lower body on the machines, using the leg curls machine, while Richard went for the tried-and-true method of bench-pressing to train his arms and pecs, as he started out fairly large for someone of his stature, yet it seemed to be just the right amount to work out with.
As both groups spent free time together, Siege needed to get Mokou into his office for information. Rutega, seeing no empty sparring rooms now, sighed as she looked at the one with Kaguya and Mokou. "Well, Siege needs one of them, maybe a true and proper spar with these ladies is gonna be different than when I spar with others." Rutega thought aloud as she entered the room, and cleared her throat audibly for the two women to hear. "Excuse me, you two!"
Rutega then noticed as the fighting stopped, as there were scorch marks on all ends of the training room, with the two instigators in the centre of it, hands clasping against each other, as there was energy around them that fizzled away when they turned to see Rutega. They looked back at each other, before they gently pushed off each other, and flew down on opposite ends of the room, each taking a moment to rest and recover.
"Let me take a guess, your boss needs us?" Mokou asked, as she flicked the sweat off her fore-head.
"He just needs you, Mokou." Rutega said. "If you want, Kaguya, while she goes into his office, I'll act as your sparring partner."
Rutega had hid a small smirk as she looked at the battlefield. She guessed she could finally get a proper challenge with one of these ladies.
"Suit yourself, Kaguya's all warmed up for the fight." Mokou remarked with a lazy hand-wave, before walking past Rutega. "If you want your fight, then I won't say no to it."
"Mokou does have a good point. We didn't have the chance to draw you out to fight seriously." Kaguya answered back, as she drew her naginata. "Perhaps this time, you'll get your chance. Don't worry about me, I fight more than what my appearance would seem like."
"Okay! You have your chance! Show me what ya got!" Rutega smirked as Mokou walked out, and headed to Siege's quarters, as Siege noticed her.
"Ah, Mokou, please, come in, have a seat." Siege said as he seemed to be typing things out on a computer.
"So, what exactly do you want?" Mokou asked back, as she sat herself down quickly.
"Well, I have most everything I need… except for one thing that I find pertinent in determining one factor that my boss wants to evaluate: If Richard can be a suitable co-pilot. To do that, I need to have recommendation by the allies he brought with him, in this case, you and the others. So this is where I ask you this question: In all honesty and as detailed with examples as you can be: Why do you trust Richard so much? More specifically, why do you trust him to be a leader figure?" Siege would ask Mokou.
"Well, how about I start with the first question." Mokou stated, leaning back on her chair. "It's really not that hard to trust someone who you have spent almost two decades with. Especially when it's a person who makes a good friend in most definitions. He was a bit pushy in the early times, and I was pretty grumpy back then. But then he basically helped me think better of the world, and even fixed a personal issue for me. As for his leadership? Well, if he wasn't taught by that gap-hag, he'd still be a good leader through and through, since he takes things on a more broader scale. Puts personal and logical matters on a scale, and balances them accordingly to the situation. Knows a few tactics, and even took a few pages out of Sun Tzu's book and ad-libbed them to hide their results from the enemies. So in short, he's got the mindset of a leader, why not have him as a leader, since he's already a trusted friend?"
"I see…." Siege nodded. "Thank you, Mokou. Do me a favor and see if you can track down Gus for me. He'll be the one I ask next. I'll save Kaguya for last, she seems the closest to him. Again, thank you for your input, Mokou."
"Yeah, yeah, no problem." Mokou stated, before she then left the office, as she decided to head the gym, as that was where she last saw Gus and Richard was heading towards, as she easily found him doing pec flys, while Richard was using a rowing machine with high resistance.
"Oi, Campbell. Siege wants you." Mokou stated, as Gus turned to her, slowly putting the machine back to its initial placing.
"Ah, I see. I'll be there soon." Gus answered back, getting off, and giving Richard a brief look, as the black-haired was fully focused on keeping pace on the rowing machine, as he made his way to the office, where Siege was, but not before knocking on the door.
"Come on in." Siege said, as he saw Gus walk in. "Ah, Gus, just who I was looking for, have a seat."
Gus did so quickly, as he let Siege finish his work. Siege finished typing things out before he looked at Gus.
"Okay, so I asked Mokou the same thing, now I turn to you with this information. My boss wants to know if Richard would make a good co-pilot. So I suggested to her that comments from his allies would give her quite enough to make the case. So, I ask you this, Gus: Why do you trust Richard? More specifically, why do you trust Richard as a leader?" Siege would ask. "Be as honest and specific with examples as you can."
"I see about that. I'll tell you what you want to know." Gus answered back, before crossing her arms. "He's mostly benevolent, considering that most of his acts are selfless in most perspectives. He'd deal with situations with the least amount of bloodshed and violence possible. He'd throw his heart out for a child if he needs to. That's why he's lauded as a hero in most places, and it's pretty hard to justify a grudge against him, when he treats all races and all personalities equally. However, I did say 'mostly'. I won't mince words, Siege. The reason why he can lead, is the fact that he can rescind his mercy easily, if one were to push his limits. He's not the kind of person to enjoy making those who cross him pay dearly, but sometimes he knows it had to be done, or that the bastards deserved every single inch of it. He knows when an iron fist is needed to keep people in line, and when a comforting hand is needed to assure people. It's how he knows how to differentiate between the duality of wrath and mercy that he can lead, because he toes the line between them both gently. Not many people can claim they have a good control over their compassion or vengeance."
Siege had a look of impression on his face as he finished typing Gus's response word for word, as Siege looked at him with a respected smile. "You must be his close friend if you can divulge this sort of information and so much of it. Thank you, Gus. Now, if you would, please fetch Kaguya for me. I'll need her opinion of Richard as well in order for my boss to finalize her decision."
Speaking of those two, Rutega and Kaguya were locked in a heated clash of fists at the moment, as they soon hit each other back quite the bit, as both had chunks and chips of their armor missing, and multiple scratches were present on both, as Rutega was already pushing her limits of Super Saiyan 3, panting heavily from the toll of ki that Super Saiyan 3 brings, as well as the fierce spar between the two as of the moment.
"Damn… you… you're… really good." Rutega panted as she looked at Kaguya. "I can see why… Richard has you on his side…"
"Don't forget yourself, I can say that you give even the Onis a run for their money." Kaguya responded back. "I know because I picked a fight with them once because of some fine wine, and I came up top. But talk is cheap, let's settle this."
"Yeah, and I have one more transformation to go!" Rutega chuckled. "Alright, get ready for Super Saiyan Go-"
Rutega noticed the door opening, as she saw Gus peeking in. "Ah… Siege needs Kaguya, doesn't he? Alright, I've had my fill for a good fight anyways, no sense in pushing things way too hard before our vessel is even ready." Rutega said, powering back down to base form.
"Yeah, fair enough. I'm just about good enough." Kaguya responded back, as she took a dep breath to relax. "Hey, Gus, what's the matter?"
"Siege wants you in the office." Gus simply stated.
"Mm." Kaguya mumbled, before she then walked through the door, as she gently opened the door into the office, and greeted Siege with a raise of her hand.
Siege noticed it, still typing some things out as he saw Kaguya. "Ah! Kaguya, come in, have a seat. Oh, and you look pretty sweaty. Rutega's one hell of a fighter, isn't she?" Siege asked as he paused from his work and got Kaguya a decently sized cup of water to help cool her off.
"Both her and Mokou. I swear that fire-bird has been getting buff lately." Kaguya remarked. "But that's not important right now. What's the question?"
"Only one, and it's pertinent for me to know so my boss can evaluate if Richard is a worthy co-pilot for this vessel, and a co-leader in general to command my own allies in my absence, if that should ever come about." Siege said as he set down the water before Kaguya. "Okay, here it is: Why do you trust Richard? More specifically, why do you trust him as a leader figure?"
"Well, I don't know if Mokou might have already told you about it, but our trust is a product of spending a lot of time with Richard. He's also the kind of person who can get trusted easily. Got a sense of duty and honour, doesn't act like a jerk, and often is open to all kinds of things." Kaguya explained. "As for leadership? Well, I'm not sure what I can add onto that, since you asked Gus and Mokou earlier. I more or less believe in the same reasons as those two do. Or perhaps there might be something I can add. I trust him as a leader because of the fact that he wisely takes care of his duties as an officer, and doesn't do things in half-steps. It's either he gets the task done, or he expends all effort to get it done as much as possible. Did end up getting him in a few pit-falls time to time, but it has gotten more benefit than loss throughout his entire life leading. All I can say, really."
Siege typed this in and sent these responses to his boss… and not long later while Kaguya was waiting there in silence, a form came in from Siege's boss, regarding Richard, and important questions a leader should consider. "...I see… thank you for the information, Kaguya. Now, as I inputted the information for you three, my boss is very pleased with the responses so far. But one thing remains. I need Richard here now, for some questions to ask him. Could you fetch him for me?" Siege asked Kaguya as he looked at her.
"Oh. Right away." Kaguya stated, as she used her own ability to get to Richard quickly, as he was just drying himself off. "Richard, Siege needs you in his office."
"He's done with all of you. Goodie." Richard remarked, as he slowly made his way through the base, until he reached the office, and knocked the door, before then coming inside the room.
"Ah, Richard. I thought I wouldn't need you for this but my boss has sent me a form that requires you. Please, have a seat. You need a drink of some sort?" Siege would ask as he saw Richard close the door behind him.
"Nope, not in the need of one for the moment." Richard answered back, before conjuring a pen with a tear-like portal. "And don't worry about handing me a pen, I have my own."
"Oh, no, no, no pen required, Richard. This is an online form. I'll be asking you these questions and you give me the responses I need to send back to my boss." Siege said.
Richard looked to Siege for a moment, before then flicking the pen back through the portal. "My mistake. Alright then." Richard stated.
"Okay, now there aren't many questions here, but they are very… analytical, let's put it." Siege said. "This first question, in particular, is very… debatable in the right person's eyes. Answer it in all honesty, and at your discretion and interpretation." Siege said, clearing his throat. "'Consider the common fairy tale of the knight and the dragon, the knight is a hero, the dragon is the enemy, the knight usually prevails. What is your perspective, as detailed and as informative as you can explain it, of the Knight and dragon tale?'"
"Hmm… Hard question." Richard remarked, with a hand on chin. "I would say that I would take this in a more realistic perspective. I wouldn't say that either the dragon or the knight are the 'hero' so to speak, but two conflicting parties with clashing morals. Hero and villain are basically titles after all, it can be easily declared as long as there is public opinion of it. It's easy for a criminal to be claimed as a hero, in pretending to be that knight, or the dragon is actually the guardian with intent to protect. Hard to say really, my perspective on it, is that it depends on what I personally witness. From an uninformed perspective, I can only say that I see both sides equally."
Siege finished typing this out, soon clicking on something to see that his boss was actually reviewing the online form while Siege was filling it out, and she posted a comment to it. "Oh. I wasn't aware of this… it seems my boss is reacting to your answers as I am filling out this form. She has given a very positive comment in regards to your answer, Richard. Would you like to hear it now or wait till we're finished?"
"Oh? I like to hear that myself then." Richard asked back with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, she says 'This is the best response I've heard to a question like this. Most would agree to this view, others completely flip it around. You are the first candidate, besides Siege, that has given an in depth and honestly, proper answer to a question like this.'" Siege iterated to Richard.
"Well, you gotta have a good idea on different perspectives, if you want to do this kind of job well." Richard shrugged back.
"Right. Okay, on to the next question here." Siege said, looking at it. "'There have been two types of leaders in the world. Leaders who go it solo, and leaders who find a crew to be invaluable. How much value do you find in having allies? Do you find it better to have allies or go things alone?'" Siege iterated to Richard.
"My allies are important to me." Richard answered back. "I will not be overly reliant on my allies, but I know the importance of camaraderie and teamwork."
"Okay, so do you think it's better to have allies or go things alone?" Siege asked, as the second part of the question.
"It's better to have allies in most cases. That's what I believe." Richard responded back.
"My boss says 'Very simple response, but very deep in the meaning of how you value allies.'" Siege responded. "Okay, so we're moving on to this final question here, which is this, and be 100% honest when I ask you this. 'What would you say your defining traits are that would make you a good leader?'"
"My defining traits, hm…" Richard remarked. "I would say that my ability to make fair judgements, to determine the right course of actions through multiple perspectives, to ensure that the most beneficial outcome or least harmful outcome is achieved. That's what I honestly believe, in addition to the fact that I have a sense of strange charisma that earns me the respect of most of my men."
"My boss responds with 'Your allies seem to think the same about you. I have what I need.'" Siege iterated, before turning to Richard and smiling. "Congrats, Richard, my boss has named you official co-pilot of our vessel and squad."
"Oh, that's neat to hear. Curious question, who's your boss?" Richard asked back.
"...Let me ask her if I can divulge this information to you." Siege said, soon asking his boss the question, and quickly getting a response. "She says I can. My boss just so happens to be a god with incredible powers and capabilities, unlike anything anyone has been capable of. Her name is Magina. She says she wants to meet you in person, even, Richard."
"Right now?" Richard asked again.
"Right now." Siege said, getting up from his seat. "Come on. I think you'll be rather surprised to see her retainers as they greet us when we approach Magina's chambers."
Richard nodded, as he rose from his seat to follow Siege. They soon walked towards a central elevator, as they took it high up to an area where they could see the vast reaches of space and the Multiverse as well, as a group of four familiar Duel Monsters stepped in front of them, acting as guard.
"Magicians, stand down." Siege said to the group. "Magina has called for our presence."
"Lady Magina sent for you? On what basis?" The Gagaga Magician of the group asked, seeming skeptical, as the Gagaga Girl next to her elbowed his shoulders.
"Why are you always so suspicious? This is Siege we're talking about here! Lady Magina was his Mother's personal teacher, and his father learned some from her as well, even if he was a "tainted bloodline", if that's what you call the Saiyan race." Gagaga Girl spoke harshly at her male counterpart.
"Do excuse them, Gagaga Magician doesn't… trust easily." Dark Magician Girl explained, moreso towards Richard, as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Please, go forth and see Lady Magina." Dark Magician said, stepping out of the way and gesturing forward with his staff.
Siege nodded as he gestured for Richard to follow, as Richard noticed multiple recognizable monsters from the Duel Monster world, talking and chatting with one another as Siege and Richard approached Magina's quarters. "So? Whaddya think of this, eh? Our superiors are true incarnations of monsters from the Duel Monster Realm, as they formed a band of heroic monsters among their ranks, and shaped us into what we are today at O.I.M., a place where heroes like you and I can make a difference." Siege explained as they walked along.
They soon approached the giant set of golden double doors, leading into Magina's quarters. "Are you ready, Richard? Be warned, I know from the people around you that you may have experienced powers like that of Yukari, but against Magina… I would wager even Yukari would find herself struggling."
"Wait, how did you-" Richard remarked, before he then corrected himself. "Of course, I suppose that either Kaguya, Mokou or Gus made mention of it, or at least one of her nick-names, and you connected the dots. Well, I do know the term 'bigger fish', so I'm not worried about that at all. I'm ready."
Siege nodded at Richard, before opening the doors to reveal a large plethora of books in a library-looking area, as a woman was seen meditating upon dark magic while reading some books, as she had on what appeared to be purple robes, but they also had hints of red to them, as her hair was a sharp but stunning black, and it was wavy, reaching her mid back, as she had golden eyes. Her eyes soon fell upon Siege and Richard, as Siege bowed before her presence.
"Great Magician Magina…" Siege said as he bowed on one knee.
"Sukui, we talked about this." Magina spoke in a commanding but very benevolent tone. "There is no such need for you to bow. You and I are family, after all, since your parents spent so much time with me."
"A-ah… right." Siege said as he arose. "Your great power keeps making me forget that, Magina."
Magina soon descended, removing her red Magician's hat as she sat down at her desk, as Siege and Richard came closer to her. "Please, sit down, both of you." She said, as instantly, chairs conjured up for Siege and Richard, as they both took a seat. "Now then… Richard, when I sent word to Gensokyo, as I could reach out that far, looking for candidates for O.I.M… there were many people there, that suggested you right off the bat. But there were many that stuck out to me… Yukari, I have the occasional tea with her every other fortnight. She recommended you rather enthusiastically. For others that recommended you though… there were two that… incredibly stuck out to me… Do you happen to have a recollection of beings named the Creator and the Destroyer?"
"The Creator… And the Destroyer…?" Richard thought. "Strange, those two names seemed familiar. I swore that I met each of them once before. But I don't seem to have much memory of it, sorry."
"They seem to have great remembrance of you… perhaps a picture will jog your memory." Magina said, conjuring up magic images of both The Creator and The Destroyer. "Recognize them now? Or are you still drawing a blank?" Magina asked, curious of the situation.
"I don't recognise him. But her…" Richard stated, gesturing to the Creator. "I can remember her, even though we met only once. She told me about how she would 'set things right', and she wished that my life would never 'fall to darkness' again. It was a dream, and her words remain on the back of my head, mostly unheeded. Could it be that her wishes guided me here? If so… Then I do not know what to say."
"You will be rather… perplexed, perhaps, with the news I have to share regarding the information you gave me." Magina said. "I've known the Creator and the Destroyer for eons, I was the Destroyer's champion within the Duel Monster clashes. I was his ace card, his main weapon, his devastator. But that isn't important… what is important is the news of what the Creator meant for you. And this pertains to Siege as well." Magina said, as she seemed to be choking on her words some, trying to hold back emotion, but she continued to talk. "...Richard… Siege… you both are iterations of a separate timeline… where both of you met doom… very horrid fates… Siege… you had your soul ripped from your body by a master of souls known as Sorthax… and Richard… you were so close to Siege and all his allies, and all of them were lost to Sorthax but the few that remained with you… it never helped matters that you got stuck in an infinite loop of corrupted events that grinded your very being… After you were freed… you… you were so full of anguish I couldn't continue watching, but I saw enough that slowly, and painfully, trying to find some way to get Siege back… you brought yourself to demise…"
Siege couldn't believe the words he was hearing, as he looked towards Richard regarding this. "...So… what… what are you saying…? That…"
"The Creator couldn't bear that fate anymore… so she put you two here. All in hopes that neither of you meet a fate like your other iterations did." Magina said solemnly, looking at both Siege and Richard. "I ask that you take the time you both need to process everything I just said to you both." Magina added on to the end of her solemn statement.
Richard was silent, as he looked back at Siege for a moment, and then sighed deeply. Siege looked at him, expecting what he had to say as he was bracing for it.
"I suppose that there is such a thing as reincarnation then." Richard scoffed, before turning to Magina. "Then what is the purpose of telling us this? I want to think that I gained an epiphany from all of this, but I don't. If there are multiple iterations of me, then does it matter what the others do in comparison to me? I don't have the same burden as the other me, I don't even have the same origins as him, likely. My actions will always be different to his, and my actions, even if they were the same, will cause different reactions, because this reality is not the other reality. Every single atom is in different alignments, so no two events play the same way. So I believe that I will live my life my own way, because it will always be different to the one that you remember, Magina."
"That is what I mean. You are different from him. So live this truth." Magina said to Richard. "I tell you this to explain the Creator's dream to you. That's all." Magina said as she looked at Richard.
"I understand.' Richard nodded back. "So, are there any other truths that I should know?"
"There are a couple things else that I wish to address to you and Siege both. For starters, the vessel you two will be piloting. Things have gone extremely well and by my calculations this vessel should be ready for flight by tomorrow, instead of in two days time." Magina explained, before she soon conjured a larger magical image before them, revealing a golden ship that was so large, it had smaller golden ships inside it. The ship itself was rather large in stature, coming with a large array of weapons and tools, it looked like it wasn't very fast, but the engines it used would prove to go incredibly fast for heading towards other worlds. The smaller ships inside looked like F-15 aircraft, except more weaponized and modernized. "Behold, the Origin Space Aircraft, OSA for abbreviation, and this ship is dubbed 'Golden Blaze'. What do you two think?"
"Huh, interesting capital-class ship you got there." Richard hummed in approval. "As for the fighters, I might want to try my hand flying one."
"It's incredible. A very suitable vessel for our missions, Magina." Siege said in impression.
"I thought you two would enjoy it. Now, one last thing we need to discuss. I need a team codename for you two. Something I can contact you quickly and have at least one of you answer my transmissions." Magina requested.
"Hmm… this might be a tricky one." Siege said as he began thinking of a good team name. "...Richard? You have any suggestions?"
"Not sure really." Richard shrugged. "I'm not one to make up team names on the spot. Although if I may suggest one… how about Future Seekers? Considering that we might end up being beacons of hope, or people who bring about new futures to the lands we go, it suitably fits."
"I like that a lot." Siege said with a smile. "Future Seekers it is."
"Excellent." Magina said with a warm smile. "You two are going to accomplish a lot, I can already see. Commander Siege, Commander Richard of the Future Seekers, you two are dismissed, the OSA Golden Blaze will be ready for your use tomorrow."
"Thank you, Lady Magina." Siege said, returning the smile. "Let's go address our teammates, Richard. I'm sure they'll be excited with the news."
Siege and Richard soon returned to the bunk area, to find all of their teammates actually gathered in one place, playing a friendly game of Smash Bros. Ultimate, with Yang and Kaguya currently in a match that had included all six of them, and Yang and Kaguya happened to be the last two, playing Zero Suit Samus and Palutena respectively.
"Wow you're good at this game, Kaguya!" Yang said as she tried to grab Kaguya for a combo attempt while Kaguya was at high percent.
"You're talking to the one true Gamer Queen of Gensokyo. And I intend to make that title bigger!" Kaguya answered back, as she quickly side-stepped the grab, giving her time to quickly input a short hop, before inputting down-air to capture Yang's ZS-Samus, before then KOing her with the high-knockback back-air, which sent the character out of bounds.
"Ah damnit!" Yang said as she saw this, as she was powerless to even tech out of the combo. "Nice game, nice game, Kaguya."
"Well if you guys are done, Richard and I have an announcement for you all." Siege would speak up, catching the attention of the team members.
"Oh, what's this now?" Mokou asked, twisting her body around.
"As we discussed and finalized with my boss, Lady Magina, our team name has been called the Future Seekers, as we strive to provide a better future for the universes we visit. As for our vessel, the OSA Golden Blaze, it will be done and ready for our first assignment by tomorrow." Siege explained.
"Wow! That means we'll finally get to go out to those far out universes!" Yang said excitedly. "That's awesome to hear!"
"That's good news. Hopefully our journey will be interesting." Gus remarked.
"Yeah…" Richard stated, as his words trailed off, recalling what Magina said.
Siege, noticing this, placed a hand on Richard's shoulder. "We're not going to end up like them, bud." Siege said for only Richard's hearing. "We're forging a new future, a different life, than what they did." Siege added on to the end, before turning to their teammates again. "You guys best get plenty of rest tonight, we'll need all the energy we can get for tomorrow." Siege said to them.
"Okay, Siege! We will!" Makoto said with a bright smile.
With that being said and everything being prepped for the big day tomorrow, as night fell over O.I.M., everyone drifted off to slumber, getting the rest they needed for tomorrow's endeavour.
The next day, Siege, Richard, and their allies reported to the hangar bay, where their ship awaited, the OSA Golden Blaze being fully completed and ready for transport, as the hatch above opened, giving the group steps to go up into the vessel.
"Wow…" Yang said in awe as she saw it. "We get to cruise around in this thing!?"
"Definitely a lot of room for extra crewmates, that's for sure." Rutega said.
"Well, let's not waste time with this, guys." Siege said to everyone, as he began walking up the steps. "After all, we do have a mission at the ready for us to do today."
"Oh, what is it?" Gus asked, curious about their first mission.
"Haven't gotten the details just yet. Magina will debrief us once we get settled into our vessel." Siege explained.
The group soon got settled in, as Siege and Richard sat at the front of the main cockpit area, as a transmission from Magina came in, as her face appeared to them all. "Transmission successful, we see you, Magina." Siege said.
"Excellent. Greetings, Future Seekers, I am Magina, and I will be issuing you missions that have come in from other worlds." Magina said. "Our first one is… rather interesting. Are you all familiar with Prime Earth?"
"Homage to Justice League Dark if I recall right." Siege said.
"We've received a request from Zatanna in that universe. There is an artifact there that was known as The Great Seal, meant to seal away the greatest forms of Evil magic in that world. The Great Seal was recently shattered, and scattered to far off universes. Your tasks are to go and rendezvous with Zatanna near Prime Earth. She is piloting a vessel alongside two other women, who go by names of Allison and Rachel. From there, you can get what you need to activate your trackers to find those pieces of The Great Seal. Time is of the essence, Future Seekers." Magina explained.
"Right, so a Macguffin quest." Kaguya quipped.
"We're primed and ready. Let's go, team." Siege said, as he set sights on Prime Earth, as the ship took off at hyper speed, and soon reached Prime Earth, where they saw a smaller space vessel awaiting them in Prime Earth's orbit. "This is Commander Siege of Future Seekers, requesting communication with Zatanna on visual space vessel."
"This is Zatanna here." Said a voice as the face of Zatanna appeared before Siege and Richard, as Zatanna was wearing more mage like clothing, and wasn't wearing her hat. "I assume you two are the people Magina told me would be coming here."
"Indeed. Dock your ship in our hangar bay, Zatanna, we can speak in person that way." Siege suggested, as Zatanna nodded before flying the vessel into Golden Blaze's hangar Bay, as she soon walked in with two women at her side.
One of the women had brown hair and beautiful Sapphire eyes, wearing a white jacket over a blue tank top and black battle pants, along with black boots, as she had a spear strapped to her back. Her name was Allison Aslin.
The other was a woman with an elegant appearance, and a slim figure, as she had flowing black hair that was tied into a long pony-tail and ice-blue eyes, and dressed in a set of dark-tinted knight armour, as she wielded a large long-spear in her hands. Her name was Rachel Wu.
Siege couldn't help but glance towards the figure of Allison, as he was drawn to it, but kept his focus on the mission. "Zatanna, we got the gist of the situation. We know that we need to find The Great Seal pieces and bring them back together. What we need from you is a description of the magic power that the Great Seal gives off, so we can use our tracker on it."
"Well, it's a seal of immense magical energy, it's pure holy magic so that should help some." Zatanna explained.
"Gus, input this information into our scanners." Siege ordered.
"Right, let me tweak it a little…" Gus remarked, as he used his own personal device to input the relative data for the entire team. "There, scanners are tweaked to pick up these signatures with good accuracy. If we have an actual sample, we can narrow it down, so for now, hope we're lucky with the first guess."
There popped up three worlds on the scanner. Two were in close, the other was farther out, and looked like an apocalyptic world.
"...Mmm… this is concerning." Siege said. "Not about the closer two… it's the farther one… it looks like Earth… but… does it make sense when I say it looks like a successful alien abduction version of Earth?" Siege asked, looking at everyone else for an answer.
"Can't make much of it…" Richard answered back, before looking to Kaguya, who shrugged. "And Kaguya has not much clue as well."
"You'll see what I mean when I deploy a group to that area." Siege said. "Meanwhile these other two aren't as problematic, and the good news is that they're within the range of our F-15s. Gus and Makoto, Rutega and Mokou, you all pick out an F-15 and deploy to those closer worlds. Once you're clear, we'll head out to the apocalyptic world."
"Alright." Gus responded back. "Hopefully, we don't have to deal with too much there. I tend to feel that there's always more problems than what can be gleaned on the surface."
Gus, Makoto, Rutega, and Mokou soon deployed in their F-15s, before Siege activated the hyper speed again, as they dashed off to the apocalyptic Earth.