Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Astral Enlightenment

by Xovercreator

With one fragment of Richard's soul obtained, and the dire situation explained, Gus Campbell travels to a world far away, in order to find another one of the soul fragments. However, his search would not go unimpeded, as he finds himself in the midst of an invasion by aliens with peculiar technology. And what's more... a sinister truth lies beneath all of the fighting.

Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Astral Enlightenment

The Movie: Tale of Manusya and Lotus Jewels

---

In the GFS Ryujin…

The group that returned from Nier's world, was left silent, as the brief recounting of Richard's story in the other world, described by the logs, which led to his demise stopped with that last log, and Yukari's explanation for what happened after.

"I… I never thought that…" Gus started, as he was too shocked to speak properly, before looking towards Richard's still body with guilt and sorrow. "...Richard... I couldn't believe that you would have suffered so much again…"

"You said that there's a way to bring him back, right Yukari?" Sanae asked with a desperate look in her eyes, as Yukari nodded back. "Tell us, please! This isn't the proper way for Richard to go out! He should have met his end with a proper purpose and in the hands of those he cherished, not… not in such despair and loneliness!"

"There is a way. You managed to claim one of the six fragments that Richard's mind and soul parted into, represented by the ethereal body that you took from the world of Nier, and orbs of light that are those fragments." Yukari answered back. "...Bring them back to me, and I will do my best to stay by his side, and use the boundaries of division and unity, as well many other boundaries to bring him back as stable as possible."

"...I'm sensing a but here." Momiji answered back with a grim look.

"You have seen it. Those fragments will not go easily. It's either finding those soul fragments, or convincing them of the worth of bringing them back to Richard." Yukari answered back. "One way or another, you will have to face trials, and they will be long and strife with adversity. And time is against us, with how Richard's existence is slipping, bound only by flesh and memories alone, which are mostly incompatible with each other."

"...How long do we have?" Corrin responded back.

"By worst estimates, he'll last only a month at most before he reaches an unrecoverable state." Yukari responded back with a serious tone to her voice. "And that's only because Richard's body and will is strong enough to preserve itself, and the machine tailored to create a time-distortion field to slow the process down. Take note of that as you go through the world. Each group will need to take a clock device to show how much time he has left, as it is linked to the time-zone perceived at this very location, not at the current locations you will find yourselves in."

"So depending on the world, we might have more or less time…" Link winced. "This is not good."

"What do you mean by 'each group'?" Gus responded to Yukari. "Do you mean…"

"That's right. For the first time, there will be simultaneous operations. Like I said, time is of the essence, so a divide-and-conquer strategy is most optimal." Yukari nodded back. "And you cannot simply throw any group into the fray. Remember that Richard carefully picked a select few for each mission, due to their utility in the world. I am doing the same."

"Then who are the groups…?" Sanae asked.

"You will know, if you are called upon." Yukari answered back, before her expression turned strict. "Now, listen carefully. The official story among those outside the room, barring Kaguya and Heiwa for their close relations to him, is that Richard is on a confidential solo mission that involves all traces of him being wiped to avoid it being detected. The truth must not be found, especially by any spies or moles connected to any malicious or opposing factions within this multiverse. Not a single detail about the current situation must leave this room, understand?"

"Crystal." Gus nodded back, as the others mirrored his words and actions.

"Very well… We will depart from this room. Expect that you'll have your assignments soon." Yukari nodded, as the group left the room, before she then turned to Richard with a solemn expression. "...I'm sorry that I couldn't help you… but my pact with the Colour Gods… there are far worse consequences than risking you, in betraying my end of it."

---

The next day…

Gus was in fighter pilot gear, as he descended down into the space fortress's hangar, and made towards his Arwing Mark-II, as the finishing touches of its preparation maintenance were being completed by several engineers.

"The work is done, Major!" The head engineer of the group, a male human, declared, wiping his head with his sleeved fore-arm. "She's all ready to go at your command."

"Good, thank you for your help." Gus answered back, as he slowly boarded it, as he slowly started flight preparations on it.

While he did, he let his mind linger on the words that Yukari told him a few moments before.

"The first fragment, excluding the fragment of Grief that you managed to collect…" Yukari explained, as she and Gus were in one of the meeting rooms. "...is within a world where technology merges with science once again, although it is more on a spiritual level than a alchemical and magical level. You will need your Arwing Mark-II for this, for the conflict within that world has taken to the skies and space."

"I see…" Gus answered back. "...is there anything I should also note?"

"It should be obvious." Yukari remarked, pressing down on the table with a stern look in her eyes. "Whatever you do, do not stray from your path. I sense an ancient force in play there, one whose power is only directly below multiversal deities like myself and the Color Gods, and one with the power to cause wide-spread destruction and manipulate space. This isn't like the battle that Richard has faced before, against that abomination known as APITEX: This is a deity you're facing, and one that you shouldn't underestimate."

"...This is bad then, the Arwing Mark-II isn't tailored to face such threats…" Gus grimaced slightly.

"...Fortunately, there is a way to match its power. There is a certain lore within this world." Yukari assured Gus with a smile, as Gus looked towards her. "The Lotus Jewel is the will of the Manusya, the ancestor of this world's humanity, which created a fighter powerful enough to extinguish the stars for eternity. Ever since it disappeared, fragments of it had turned into orbs of power. You must gather them, and find a way to incorporate their power into your fighter."

"Lotus Jewel…?" Gus answered back. "Manusya?"

"You will understand in time. Here is advice that will guide you to know the truth: awaken the monk in peace, not with hostility." Yukari answered back. "Now go, the others will be shortly briefed on their missions. You are to depart immediately."

"I don't know what lies down there… but I rather not end up throwing myself out of my depth here." Gus sighed, as he flexed his hands over the flight controls, before he then slowly turned the power output on the thrusters up, as they hummed to life.

A member of the hangar crew immediately guided Gus to the hangar catapult, which would launch the fighter, as the landing gear locked onto the catapult. After the systems check on both fighter and catapult was done, Gus immediately turned the thrusters up, as the Arwing Mark-II surged out of the hangar, and into space.

Not long after he left the space fortress, several patrolling fighters lined up in formation with Gus, to escort him to his destination.

"Shodai Squad, ready to escort you, Major." The squad captain hailed Gus, a casual male voice. "So then, where are we off too?"

"Follow my lead, and you'll see." Gus answered back, as he immediately inputted the warp command on his fighter, as the short-jump warp drive within, slowly activated. "Activate your warp-drives, our destinations are within these coordinates."

Gus and the Shodai fighter squad immediately performed a warp-jump, as they found themselves within the space above a Earth-like Planet, as there was a large planetoid floating above the atmosphere of the planet, as there was a jagged mouth, a skeletal nose, and two eye sockets on it, as there was several swarms of what seemed to be enemy drones flowing from it.

Almost instantly, Gus's scanning systems detected several high-powered signatures within the vicinity, and by the faint but still shrill sound of alarms through his comm channels, the members of the Shodai Squad also detected the same thing.

"Shoot, that's a really powerful set of abnormalities there…" A member of the squad remarked, a male voice which seemed to be slightly concerned. "Think we should-"

"Pull out, I'll proceed from here. You have done well to get me to this location." Gus told the squad.

"...You sure?" Another member of the squad, a female pilot with spirit to her voice.

"I'm sure, my mission is also a solo one, like the one Richard is on." Gus answered back.

"Jeez, hope the Commander returns soon…" The squad captain remarked. "Alright, squad, break formation, we're returning to patrolling duties! Major, good luck on your mission."

Shodai Squad immediately broke off from Gus, as they re-activated their warp-drives to safely return to the vicinity of the space fortress. Gus himself, immediately eyed the situation, as he found the lack of combat within space to be concerning.

"So either the invasion has only recently begun… or the planet's orbital defences are breached. Even in the worst case, both at the same time…" Gus answered back. "...I have to get down here and help whatever survivors are down there.

Gus then immediately swerved through the space, as he made towards the opposite side of the planet, avoiding detection from the evidently hostile force of extra-terrestrial invaders. With a flip of a switch, the Arwing Mark-II G-Diffuser output immediately shifted to compensate for atmospheric entry, as well as the gravity within the planet.

As the fighter was wrapped in flames, which was pushed back by the shielding that prevented the heat from harming the fighter and its pilot, it descended down into the atmosphere, as the skies were dark, entering a city shrouded under clouds, as his entry point was near a large tree on top of a cliff.

Gus slowly eased the fighter up, just in time to see a flock of birds fly above him, which intrigued Gus slightly, before he was within the city limits, as the city around him was futuristic with large highways and roads.

Soon, Gus's scanners warned him of approaching enemies. Within sight of his cockpit, he noticed that there were two types of enemies before him. One were lines of drones that consisted of orange crystal spheres, with a vertical ring-guard around their crystalline bodies,and the other were drones shaped like shuttle-cocks, with orange crystalline tips.

Gus noted the behaviour of the two enemy types, as they seemed to lack any offensive capabilities, aiming to try and ram Gus with their bodies. He immediately swerved past several of them, and then used the Arwing's lasers to dispose of the rest.

"Something doesn't add up here… How could the planet struggle against the enemy forces, if these are their vanguard units?" Gus remarked. "It doesn't matter… this is just the beginning of the battle."

Gus continued through the city, shooting down waves after waves of enemy drones as he noted several mechanoid enemies entering the fray, almost the size of a standard mecha, with bulky armour and cannon arms that fired energy blasts at Gus.

"As expected…" Gus answered back, as he gently eased his vehicle away from the blasts, as he engaged each and every one of the mecha enemies, destroying them along with more of the enemy drones.

As more mecha drones tried to surround him, and trap him in a cage of shots, Gus immediately swerved through an opening, as the tip of the fighter's wing grazed against the blade, singeing it slightly, as Gus fired a charged blast that destroyed the frontmost unit, and created a large frontal barrier that Gus used to block several of their shots, while his lasers phased through it to destroy the mechas.

Suddenly, Gus's sensors spiked again, this time eliciting a warning from behind, as he rose from his position, avoiding drones that charged from behind, as he dived and destroyed the drone wave.

Afterward dealing with the failed ambush, Gus noted two things. The first thing was that there were large transport-like machines, that were covered in armour, and when he blasted the armour off, it revealed a sentient orange skull that tried to kamikaze on him, only to be destroyed with lasers. And the second thing was that his comms were picking up signals.

"...Enemies… drones… Dori …" A peppy female voice was heard, garbled with static that obscured most of her words.

"Understood… will take care… Strange signal… Mido…" A more mature female voice was heard.

"...Other pilots… here?" Gus remarked. "...No, I can't be in a hurry to contact them now. I need to get closer, and prove that I'm not their enemy."

Suddenly, Gus noticed that the buildings were beginning to withdraw underground, as bulk-heads sealed the openings, leaving him in an empty field of roads. He then scanned around, before detecting a pair of powerful signatures, although not as powerful as the ones he sensed before in space.

The powerful signatures revealed itself as a pair of grey-blue fighters that had long sides and orange cockpits. Before Gus could open communications, one of them fired cannon shots, while the other gathered what seemed to be orange orbs, before summoning a pair of orange orbs in front of it.

"...Enemies? Wait, they remind me of something… one of the fighters from a game that Sanae loved to play before… Vic Vipers?" Gus stated, as he dodged the attack, and fired back at the enemy fighters, as the shots managed to deal some damage to the unguarded fighter, while the guarded one took no damage, as the orbs absorbed the shots, although they did shrink with each attack.

Gus immediately turned the Arwing on it's side, allowing the retaliating cannon shots to miss, before flying around the enemy fighters, which was far less mobile than the Arwing Mark-II, and hitting the fighters from the side, as the orbs failed to defend the other fighter from the side.

However, both fighters then gathered power again, before they sprouted a pair of orange eclipse-shaped options each. One of them had the option to orbit around them, as they fired off a full-360 barrage of square-like projectiles, while the other turned towards Gus, and fired a barrage of missiles and cannon-shots from its options.

"Tch…!" Gus clicked his tongue, as he ascended to avoid the bullet-fire, before using his lasers to intercept the moving missiles. He then flipped back, as his dive managed to get him with a direct line-of-fire to the aggressive fighter, as he barrel-rolled to deflect any shots aimed at him, and fired lasers that dealt severe damage, tearing through the enemy fighter's armour, and scoring a direct hit on the cockpit, which should have critically damaged it.

However, the damaged fighter smoked slightly, before it then retreated from the battle. The remaining enemy fighter began to gather more power, as it then fired a barrage of ring-shots that Gus was forced to fly through, while whittling down the frontal shield of the fighter.

"Eat this!" Gus exclaimed, as he charged up his laser, and fired the charged shot, as the barrier that formed, bisected the fighter in two. As a result, the orange orbs of power leaked from it, before it then flew towards Gus, as it energised the fighter to give it more power, as the single-laser set-up upgraded to twin lasers.

"...Good to see that I can still make use of energy to temporarily increase my combat capabilities." Gus stated, before he then noticed two more signatures came in, although they seemed to have IFFs, which made him consider if these were the two pilots he heard earlier.

A pair of fighters came in, as one of them looked slightly like one of the enemy fighters, except far smaller, and with a w-shaped crest behind the cockpit, while the other had a fighter that had chevron wings like a stealth bomber.

"...Are you that unknown signal we caught from the radar?" Dori's voice rang from the thin fighter. "You don't seem to have any relation to GREEN ORANGE's forces, but I will not take the risk."

"And you must be the two other people communicating on open channels." Gus responded back. "...It's good that you're not hostile at all."

"Hey sis, isn't the guy on the other side a dreamy person?" Mido's voice rang through the wider fighter. "I sure would like to get to know you."

"Major Gus Campbell of the United Gensokyo Forces, high-rank officer of the Gensokyo Human Defence Force military faction." Gus answered back. "I have come here to ascertain the current situation, and deal with the impending threat caused by… GREEN ORANGE, if I heard you correctly?"

"That is correct." Dori answered back with confirmation. "I did hear about command talking about possible reinforcements that are stated to be from your faction… Odd that it's only one fighter... but then again, it seems that you have a super prototype."

"Sort of." Gus answered back, before the alarms in his fighter blared, indicating the presence of a large enemy unit. "...We got company."

Suddenly, a large aircraft that was shaped like a stealth bomber appeared below them, as it skirted along the ground of the city, as it was slowly climbing.

"...Oops, forgot to tell you… but that's sort of one of the machines that were being hijacked by GREEN ORANGE." Mido chimed in.

"That explains the lack of combat… Do not fret, I'm sure that we can handle whatever that machine is." Gus answered back, before several large winged mechas appeared before them, trying to shoot them. "Incoming!"

"Don't need to tell us!" Dori exclaimed, as the three fighters broke apart, as they dodged the incoming energy bullets, before Dori's fighter fired off a rapid string of vulcan fire, while Mido's fighter fired a spread of bullets, as the three of them disposed of the winged mechas.

The large aircraft suddenly rose up, as it reached the same height as they did, before slowing down, as the fighters matched speed, while the compartments on the large bomber opened up, to reveal turrets and missile pods, as they fired streams of energy bullets and homing missiles at the group.

Considering how slow the firing rate of the bomber's weapons were, the group easily swerved through the attacks, while using their guns to take down the homing missiles. It then fired off a stream of dumb missiles at the group, as Mido and Dori swerved to the sides, while Gus guided his Arwing through the gap of the formation.

As the fighters whittled down the armour and turrets on the bomber, its frontal armor began to crack from the damage, before exposing an orange eye that was within the bomber's body.

"...So the bomber was a shell!?" Gus exclaimed with surprise, before lowering his altitude to avoid being blasted by a spiralling barrage of energy shots.

"That's what happens when GREEN ORANGE gets their grubby tentacles, hands or whatever on our stuff." Mido answered back with a sad tone. "...I'm sure that no-one human could have survived that infestation.

"Don't worry, we're avenging them." Dori stated, as she focused her fire on the eye, dodging a spread-stream of energy bullets and orbs, as the other two fighters supported her.

They managed to destroy the eye, as the bomber began to explode in parts, before the entire body exploded in a flash of orange, that spat out a trio of large green crystalline orbs, which emitted a orange aura around them, and had orange symbols that flashed between each other in pairs. One of them had the Sanskrit Script for one, and the symbol of a down-wards arrow, another had the Sanskrit Script for two, and a branching arrow symbol, and the last one had the Sanskrit Script for seven, with the symbol of a arrow with a rotating symbol connected to it.

"What… are those?" Gus remarked. "I can sense a massive build-up of energy from them."

"Don't know, but I doubt those things are remote bombs, from the look of it." Dori stated. "But then, what are they?"

"Oh, I know, maybe they could be power-ups!? I mean, they look like them!" Mido stated her opinion.

"Sister, you really need to stop playing those shoot'em-ups." Dori sighed. "...But it seems like we're barely scraping by with what we have. Hey you, Major Campbell. You take the centre one. I'll take the right one, and you, Mido, take the left one.

"Okie-dokie!" Mido stated with a peppy tone, as she went to collect the orb with the downwards arrow. Dori moved towards the orb with the branching arrow, and Gus moved towards the orb with the arrow-spread.

As soon as the fighters touched the orbs, they immediately transformed into orange energy that entered the body of the fighter, as Mido and Dori were surrounded by a ring of rotating white cross-particles, which went into their fighters, and created a sparkling effect that faded away.

For Gus, however, he noted that the power gauge of his fighter shifted slightly, from the four-stage system, into a display showing an addition in the form of a 'side-weapon' panel.

"Successful integration of unknown power sources. New weapons have been acquired." The female system voice of the fighter rang to Gus, before a pair of turrets formed under the wings of the fighters, as they whirred in full rotation. "Weapons are designated 'Auto-Gun'."

"Hmm… This is intriguing, so that's what Yukari said about utilising the power of these… Lotus Jewels." Gus stated, before he then opened a comm channel to Mido and Dori. "Do you feel anything strange? Any of you?"

"Although I feel like I'll be pulled through for a long journey, nothing's different." Dori answered back. "The Type-C is unchanged in appearance, although it did cause some side-cannons to form on it."

"I felt a little tingly as well, and so did Rybb!" Mido exclaimed back. "I also feel like I could burn those mean drones with my thrusters! Wait, your little fighter sprouted some cute turrets!"

"As a result of integrating the power of those… orbs." Gus answered back. "I would investigate this further, but I doubt that this GREEN ORANGE would let me leave so easily, especially with stolen power. Where is your next destination?"

"We're going to head for the orbital elevator, and hope to strike our way towards GREEN ORANGE." Dori responded back. "Seems like you're in for it, whether you like it or not."

"Trust me, I don't intend to back down this early." Gus answered back.

The three fighters then put their thrusters to full speed, as they left the city behind them.

---

Eventually, they reached a cave system, as they put the thrusters of their fighters on normal speed, as they encountered the initial wave of enemy drones.

"Seems we've got a threat to deal with." Dori remarked.

"We should test these new weapons out-" Mido suggested, before her fighter then fired off massive plumes of flames from the back of her fighter, as they torched the drones that were approaching from behind. "Ooh! This is nice!"

Dori was silent, before she then fired off angled shots to the side, as she let out a quiet scoff. "I see how it is." She remarked. "Hey you, Gus, was it? What does that new thing of yours do?"

"I'll test it." Gus answered back, as he shifted weapon modes, as the auto-guns whirred into action, as they fired accurate yet slow shots at the enemies, destroying them. "...Seem that my range is spherical, I can shoot anything so long it is in range."

"Nice!" Mido remarked. "But say… when I tried to shoot ahead with those thrusters, my other guns were weakened... Is that supposed to happen?"

"Mido… It's basic logic." Dori sighed heavily. "Neither Type-B or Type-C have the power output to utilise all weapons that it might acquire. I can't even fire my frontal guns while using the side-guns… What about you?"

Gus checked, noticing that his lasers were inactive during the aiming process. "...Same luck with you, Dori." He explained.

"...That means we have to carefully pick how we fight our battles. Stay attentive. We're far from out of danger yet." Dori warned Gus and Mido.

The trio of fighters slowly proceeded through the area, alternating between their weapons to suit the situation as it changed, before they reached a pair of closed gates with large skulls on them.

The group immediately fired at the gates, as they broke open, to reveal a large straight pathway, that was filled densely with enemy producers in the form of large mechanical faces, conveyor belts with boxes moving across them, some with enemy turrets on them, as well as walls and barriers that the group had to weave around.

Suddenly, the passage slowly moved up, as they followed along it, noticing that there was multiple walker mechs dropping down from above, as they fired gatling rounds at the fighters, before they were destroyed by their weapons.

"Never thought that the enemy would have managed to change this place quickly…" Mido remarked with worry in her voice, before they entered a narrow passageway that snaked around.

"We need to be careful in our movement, side-movement is key here." Dori answered back, as she used the fighter's thrusters to move side to side, before her sensors detected the conic drones following them from behind. "Tch… We got pursuers."

"I have it taken care of." Gus responded back, as he lagged behind the other duo, letting his auto-guns take care of the advancing drones, while maneuvering through the wall maze, until he, Mido and Dori were safely outside of it, and back to a wide straight tunnel ahead, which was filled with large columns of metal that blocked the way.

The group were ambushed several times by small fighter drones, that tried to shoot them down, although they managed to dodge in the cramped space and get rid of them, as they moved past the large columns, and right through the explosive boxes that shot out massive shards of metal that they had to dodge.

Eventually, they managed to reach a unimpeded section on the tunnel, just as their warning alarms sounded off, due to powerful enemies, which was in the form of a squadron of fighters that were slightly different to the ones that Gus fought before, although they were equipped with a pair of small spherical side-options, and a large rotating drone that had a spherical core and a legged side to them.

"...Tch, more of them?" Dori cursed.

"You had problems with fighters like these?" Gus asked back. "I had to deal with them before I found you two?"

"Yeah, managed to land a few good hits on Mido's fighter by surprise. We won't be making the same mistake twice." Dori answered back.

"Wait, I don't think those are the same ones…" Mido told the both of them. "...They're more like a different kind."

The fighters immediately opened fire, as they fired off spared shots from their options, and a stream of bullets from their front-gun, while their frontal drones fired off lasers that reflected off the side of the tunnel walls, forcing the group to weave through a dense pattern of projectiles, all while firing back, as some of the shots were absorbed by the frontal drones, as they sparked with the energy of the collected attacks.

"Wait, hold your fire!" Gus exclaimed, noticing how the frontal options charged up energy. "They're absorbing the power of our attacks from the frontal drones! If we keep on attacking them, we'll likely be thrown a counter-attack that will be difficult to evade."

"But how are we going to be able to-" Mido tried to ask, before her last few shots managed to fully charge one of the fighter's frontal drones, as it discharged a massive spread of electrical projectiles, that managed to force the group to frantically dodge, although not without some of the shots hitting the frame of their fighters. "Eek!"

"Well, damn, these bastards know how to fight smart…" Dori growled, before one of them threw his drone forward, as the group dodged it, before it slowly fired pairs of reflecting lasers, leaving the defenceless fighter open for attack. "...Or maybe not. Guess this is our chance to take one down?"

"Be careful, they're moving across each other." Gus warned Dori and Mido, as the enemy fighters crossed each other, sometimes obstructing shots to the others.

One by one, the trio managed to pick off the enemy fighter squad one by one, as they were forced to retreat with smoking frames, as Mido, Dori and Gus were relieved that they made it through the encounter safely.

"Alright, where to next-" Mido remarked, before the tunnel rumbled, as a pair of walls enclosed their path back and forwards, while conical drones passed out of them to attack the group. "What the-"

The group destroyed the enemy drones, before one of the tunnel walls on the side blew up, revealing the fossil of a large creature, with its jaws open, as if inviting the group in.

"...D-Do you think that we should go through here?" Mido asked with some fear in her voice.

"It's our only way through." Dori declared firmly, as the group passed through the skull of the fossil, finding themselves in a side-way passage, filled with more box conveyor belts, and enemy drones, with the walls being made from the bones of the creature, some fossilized organs in view.

Eventually, they managed to take the side-passage to another tunnel ahead, as they proceeded through it, destroying some more drones, before their warning alarms rang again, when they were inside a large series of gates.

"Danger, where-" Mido remarked, before the gates began to close behind them, increasing in pace. "Uh-oh!"

"Increase your speed! We can't slow down!" Gus exclaimed, as enemy mechas tried to impede and shoot them down. Eventually, they made it clear of the gates, before a large machine appeared before them, seeming to be a massive drone with a large frontal plate, and two large circular turrets on the sides. "...I'm guessing this is another one of your military's weapons, right?"

"Yeah." Dori answered back, before it began to fire beams from its covered eye, as the round turrets fired off spreads of flak bullets that the group dodged. As the group tried to destroy the eye, the frontal armour-place slid down to protect it.

"We're not able to hit it like this!" Mido exclaimed, as she dodged some more lasers.

"Then the other option is to take out the turrets, to try and expose it!" Gus exclaimed, as he immediately moved to shoot one of the turrets, as the twin laser cannons made short work of it, before it then expanded into an array of cannons that fired lasers onto them.

Dori used her focused frontal funs to destroy the other round turret, as the three of them slowly destroyed each of the additional cannons. As they did, the frontal lens of the large drone broke, revealing the same orange eye that they saw in the large bomber before. It immediately fired off homing lasers at the group, while firing off spreads of energy bullets.

"We're on the home stretch! Don't give up now!" Mido exclaimed, as the three of them laid fire on the enemy drone's eye, while Gus's wings were grazed by the homing lasers that came.

However, on the next barrage of homing lasers that came, Gus timed his barrel-roll to perfectly deflect them, as they turned on their owner, hitting it right back in the eye, heavily damaging it, before Mido and Dori finished the job with a combined barrage of shots, as the eye cracked, as the drone fizzled, and exploded, just in time for them to exit the underground passage, into the skies, as they managed to see the rising sun.

Before them, was another trio of the crystalline orbs that gave them new power. One of them had the Sanskrit Script for three ,and the symbol of a reticle, another had the Sanskrit Script for four, and a glowing energy void symbol, and the last one had the Sanskrit Script for eight, with the symbol of a shield with graze marks and a lightning-shaped energy symbol inside the shield itself.

"Ooh~ That reticle one looks pretty nice! Dori, can I have it, please…?" Mido asked with a pleading tone.

"...Suit yourself, sis." Dori answered back. "I'll take the one with the void. That leaves you again with that shield-looking thing… Think you're fine with it?"

"I won't complain… Power is power, no matter what form it takes." Gus responded back, as the three of them took in their respective orbs. As Gus did, however, an additional boon was granted on him, as his main cannons powered up again, giving him the point-defence lasers.

"Successful integration of unknown power sources. New weapon have been acquired. Weapon is designated 'Counter-Force'" The female system voice of the fighter rang to Gus, this time with no change to the fighter.

"Huh, charge-up… That's interesting." Dori remarked. "Might be some help if I need to hit hard. What about you, Mido?"

"Rybb can hit anything from afar, so long as I can lock onto them!" Mido exclaimed with glee. "I'm sure that Gus got something nice too!"

"I'm certain about that, but unlike you both, I don't know what my new armaments do…" Gus responded back. "...Hopefully, I can find out quickly… The orbital elevator is not far from here, is it?"

"Yep! Just ahead!" Mido exclaimed.

"Hang on, sister… we're going to save your damn ass…" Dori muttered with determination in his voice.

"Dori…?" Gus asked, hearing the words.

"It's nothing." Dori dismissed Gus, before the three fighters made their way towards the orbital elevator, where the enemy main forces would be gathered.

---

The trio of fighters soared through the skies above a large ocean, with small islands in view below, passing through a screen of clouds, they immediately began to head towards the orbital elevator in the distance.

Suddenly, enemy drones began to approach them, as Mido and Dori made good use of their weapons, as Dori often fired off charged shots that were either a large shot with short charge time, or a massive blast when she held her fire long enough, while Mido was firing homing lasers at the enemies around them, even the enemies skirting below them.

"Say, you think that weapon of yours will do some work?" Dori asked Gus.

"Not sure. The name of the weapon gives me hints, but I can't exactly pinpoint its use." Gus answered back, before he then noticed multiple bee-like drones heading towards them, followed by hordes of enemy fighters. "Stay sharp!"

The trio immediately fired their weapon at the front, to deal with the approaching enemy force, before they dealt with the incoming large enemy cruisers that shot orb bullets at them. Eventually, they believed that they were in the clear, before there were alarms for incoming projectiles.

The trio immediately broke off their formation, as several large beams of energy skimmed their location, the sources being the large enemy laser drones, as enemy drones began to climb altitude to intercept them.

"Oh no, you don't!" Mido roared, as she used her lock-on weapons to take care of the rising drones, while deftly dodging the incoming laser strikes, as Dori and Gus managed to reach closer to the laser drones, as they destroyed them with their weapons.

Suddenly, a large winged aircraft flew underneath them, coming from the opposing direction, before it then did a U-turn to move underneath the trio, as the hatches on the main body opened to reveal cannons. However, Dori immediately scrapped the cannon with a direct charge shot, while Gus blasted every part of it with his lasers, destroying it.

"Over there." Dori declared, as the orbital tower was just ahead of them, the first few floors being obstructed by a thick layer of clouds, as they entered it, and started to climb up it, while they detected enemies approaching them.

When they broke through the cloudy atmosphere, they found that there was a large snake-like machine following them, as they made quick work of it by destroying its segments in rapid succession, causing the head and the broken pieces to fall back down to the planet, as enemy fighter squadrons intercepted them, as Gus grazed a few of their shots, causing his fighter to temporarily power-up, his lasers becoming more powerful. At that moment, Gus realised the effect of the weapon.

"...So that's how it works…" Gus remarked, before the large orbital tower opened, to reveal a large set of tracks running up the entire length of the orbital elevator, as armed trains were on it, approaching the group from above and below.

"They even got control this far…" Mido remarked with worry, as the trio moved into the centre of the orbital elevator, as they destroyed the armed trains one by one, disabling their weapons first, before destroying their head unit.

As soon as the armed trains were destroyed, suddenly, a large quadrupedal mecha rushed towards the group, as its central hatch raised to fire off a massive spread of bullets as it slowly moved back, which Mido, Dori and Gus followed. As soon as it was back enough, the mecha opened another hatch, which spewed a mass of flak bullets, while the main hatch was firing off bullets that curved back to try and hit the fighters.

However, Gus immediately grazed the entire bullet pattern, as his enhanced auto-cannons shot the enemy and made quick work of it. Dori, Mido and Gus retreated back from the critically-damaged mecha, which exploded greatly, taking out a massive part of the orbital elevator, as they found themselves in a debris field of rock and shrapnel.

As soon as they managed to right themselves, their warning alarms sounded off, as they took note of the massive army of enemy drones ahead of them.

"Well, looks like the big bad is behind here-" Mido remarked, before a pair of unknown fighters immediately rushed through the entire enemy army, one zigzagging through them with a flaming aura, while the other merely cut through the enemy army with a slash mark. Both attacks resulted in the enemy army collectively exploding into a light show of explosions. "What the…!?"

"What was that… It just took out a large part of GREEN ORANGE's forces..!" Dori exclaimed, before the two fighters immediately appeared before them, as one of them turned into a humanoid mecha with green armour and a black cloak covering its body, with a crowned head, while the other turned into a humanoid mecha as well, although it looked more like a mechanical warrior with hexagonal eyes and blue armour plating, as well as a large blade on its back. "...No…"

"Wait, that's…!" Mido exclaimed with shock. "That's sister…!"

"Which one?" Gus asked back.

"The one in the cloak-" Dori was about to respond, before the bladed mech raised its weapon, before bringing it down. The trio immediately broke off from each other, as the attack caused a massive slash to appear, the same one that cut through the enemy army, separating Gus from Mido and Dori. With a fluid motion, the crowned mecha rushed toward Mido and Dori, while Gus was stuck with the bladed mech.

"...A fighter against a mecha… I don't like my odds… But I can't fall here…!" Gus exclaimed, as the mecha immediately raised its blade as a gesture of challenge.

Gus tried to shoot the mecha, although it seemed to easily parry his shots away, dealing negligible damage. The mecha then retaliated by firing off several sword blasts that Gus dodged, before then thrusting forward. Gus managed to barely graze the attack, as he immediately used the power from the Counter-Force attachment to blast the enemy mecha with full force, as it was left vulnerable by its gesture, before doing a full revolution swing of its blade to destroy the nearby bullets, and retreated back to fire another barrage of sword blasts.

The battle lasted a while, as Gus eventually understood that the only way to damage the mecha was to bait it to attack using its blade, leaving it momentarily open, grazing the attacks if possible to power-up his weapons to end the fight more quickly.

Eventually, the mecha relented, as it was moderately damaged, from the damage on its armour. However, it didn't seem to be damaged further. Gus waited silently, before the mecha cast something into the space in front of Gus… a crystalline orb with a large blade, and the Sanskrit symbol for nine.

"...Take the power… Unleash it…" A distorted version of Richard's voice was heard from Gus's comms, shocking him.

"...Richard? Is that you? Are you…" Gus answered back.

"...No time. Take the power… You must be ready…" Richard's voice was heard again.

Gus was about to argue, although Gus had a feeling that more conversation would be pointless, as he took the orb, as it began to flow into Gus's fighter.

"Successful integration of unknown power sources. Warning, fighter form has been altered due to unknown composition of power source. Running diagnostics." The female system voice of the fighter declared, as Gus felt a twinge of worry, as there was silence for a moment. "...Diagnosis complete. Current Arwing Mark-II model has been provided with an overhaul of functions. 'Mecha Mode' is now present. Activate?"

"...Confirm activation. I won't step back." Gus declared, as the sides of his cockpit opened to reveal a pair of levers on the side. Gus then tugged them, as the cockpit whirred and shifted itself.

The entire frame of the fighter began to break apart, as several components began to appear from some unknown location, as they were the limbs of the mecha, all of them fire-red, as they connected with the transformed fighter, as connection points were joined together, while a large blocky mecha head with a red lined visor appeared from the fighter body itself, while the fighter's hull turned red, except for the former cock-pit that turned black.

Inside the mecha itself the cock-pit shifted into an upright position, as Gus was moved back from the cockpit window itself, as other control panels and devices materialised, as if it was magic itself, before the cockpit view faded away, to reveal the sight of the mecha's frontal camera.

As a finishing touch, a large blade, not too different to the one that the other mecha had, appeared, as Gus's mecha grabbed it, before swinging it, as it left behind a burning red trail.

"This is…" Gus remarked, before he then turned his attention to where Mido and Dori were, as their fighters seemed to have transformed as well, as Mido's fighter turned into a mecha with thick shoulders and a round head that had a crossed visor and a flowing orange pony-tail of energy, while Dori's fighter turned into a mecha with pointed shoulders, with a head that looked like a samurai.

"...This is so cool!" Mido gushed. "We get to be mechas!"

"Sister, is this… your way to apologise for-" Dori stated with surprise, before the entire group heard warning alarms go off, this time for a massive blast aimed for them. "...What now…!?"

The other mecha, which seemed to be surrounded in mechanical bits that seemed to shield it from harm, immediately threw its bits forward, as they surrounded Mido and Dori, surprising them. The bladed mecha also did the same for Gus, as it suddenly turned around.

Suddenly, a massive laser blast went through the group, as the cloaked mecha was vaporised, while the bladed mecha cut down on the beam, splitting it away from Gus, protecting him, although it was also taking the brunt of the attack, as its armour was being sloughed away.

"...Not… time… yet…" The distorted voice of Richard continued, as it was getting more and more staticky, due to its systems being melted by the beam's power. "...Continue… the answer… lies… in… another… history…"

Suddenly, the beam faded away, while the bladed mecha exploded into pieces, while the bits that were protecting Mido and Dori self-destructed, as their creator was destroyed.

"Mido… Dori…" Gus stated.

"Sister…" Mido muttered with sorrow.

"...She wouldn't want us to cry. Instead… we'll make those bastards pay…!" Dori exclaimed, with anger at the end of her words.

"..You're right… For sister!" Mido exclaimed.

Gus immediately joined the duo, as they rushed towards the enemy army ahead of them, as Mido's mecha summoned a large sword, as she was dashing through the enemy ranks, hacking and slicing, while Dori was using a large drill, which was creating a gravitational field around it, picking up debris of the destroyed enemies for extra damage. Gus used his blade, using slow but wide slashes, which seemed to destroy any projectile that made contact with it.

They crushed their way to the enemy carrier, who was the source of said laser blast, as they destroyed its countless small eye cannons, before Mido roared and used a double-slash to bisect the enemy carrier that destroyed what seemed to be their sister's mecha.

"...It's not over yet. With this power… Perhaps we can…" Dori stated.

"...No, it's not that we can… It's that we WILL." Gus answered back. "We are certainly powerful enough to face whatever the monstrosity will throw at us."

"You're right… I'm pumped up! GREEN ORANGE, look out, because here we come!" Mido declared, as the trio set a course towards GREEN ORANGE itself.

---

The trio immediately rushed to the large planetoid, as they were beset by swarms of enemy fighters, as they shifted into their mecha forms in order to make short work of them, before they encountered several mass-produced versions of the large enemy carriers, which had a buddha head on the helm.

The trio broke off, as they cut through the various sections of the enemy carriers, before striking through the enemy core with their weapon, bisecting them in Gus and Mido's case, or leaving a drill hole in Dori's case, although the end result was complete destruction of the enemy cruisers.

"We're tearing through them!" Mido exclaimed, before the warning alarms sounded. "Huh, what now?"

Suddenly, several fighters appeared before them, as they seemed to be the same fighter types that the ground were fighting down on the surface.

"...Them again?" Dori clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Don't be intimidated, we know how they operate. Take them down and be careful not to get boxed in!" Gus exclaimed, as the pilots split off from each other, turning their vehicles back to fighters, to engage the enemy.

As the group began to damage the fighter group, they suddenly halted motion, before transforming into large stone buddha heads with orange gems on their fore-heads, as they fired spiralling orbs of energy that ricoheted against each other, bouncing around the space.

"What the hell is all this…!? Are these GREEN ORANGE's stronger weapons!?" Dori exclaimed., as she dodged below a wave of energy orbs, before noticing that her shots were damaging the head, leaving growing orange cracks on their stony exteriors. "Still, they're not durable. They're not going to last against us!"

The group began to shoot them down one by one, as their shells burst apart to reveal skeletal suicide drones that the group destroyed before they could activate, as they were upon GREEN ORANGE's surface, which consisted of skulls interlaced in each other.

"Aah!" Mido exclaimed with fright on such a sight.

"...What kind of twisted design is this…" Gus muttered to himself, as they were forced to evade wave blasts that were being fired from a distance where they couldn't see.

Eventually, a large massive skull burst out of the planet surface, causing the group to grind their fighters to a halt, as a large eye appeared on the head of the large skull, as it fired spread patterns of large energy orbs at the group.

The group used a series of ranged weapons, and some drilling from Dori to destroy the eye, as the skull's jaw opened, revealing a large passage within it, as the group entered it, as the skull closed behind them, leaving them in momentary darkness. Eventually, the path ahead was illuminated by orange walls of bio-organic luminescent material, as they burst through a patch of normal earth, leaving them in a horizontal corridor that looked like it was a base.

"This is… GREEN ORANGE?" Dori remarked. "...No, no mistaking it, we are definitely in."

"Then the path ahead is clear, we will defeat the leader of this invasion." Gus stated, as the group proceeded down the corridor, fighting various kinds of enemies that came out of the hatches, as one of the larger drones lost control and broke a section of the corridor walls, revealing the path forward.

As they re-entered the bio-organic part of the large planetoid, they saw various organs below them, as they pulsated with life, as the paths ahead branched many times over.

"...Which way do we go?" Mido asked, before Gus moved ahead. "Gus?"

"Trust me… I have the means to find us a clear path out of this maze." Gus assured the female pilot duo, as they flew through the various passages, taking out organic gates made with a large eye and vein-like protrusions, before they entered a straight path ahead which proceeded through darkness again.

"...Where is this?" Dori remarked, before they saw blank crystal orbs ahead of them, decorating the walls ahead, almost like the ones they gained powers from. "...Is this…"

Some of the orbs were fired from the slots in the walls, as they either bumped against each other and shot out electrical sparks, or actively pursued the fighters and fired off various forms of attacks.

Eventually, they reached a large room, where a large skull laid, with a large slit on its head, as it blinked open to reveal a crystal orb as its eye. However, after the blink, it opened to reveal a large mouth that spewed flying crystal orbs at them.

"What is this creature? Is this… the one that created those orbs we used earlier…!?" Dori exclaimed.

"No time to ponder about the matter, we need to destroy it, or we will proceed no further!" Gus remarked, as the skull creature began to fire various patterns of flying crystal orbs,

After some damage was dealt to it, it began to spew a flood of crystal orbs in an attempt to flood the room with them, before Gus charged forward, and cut the entire skull open, as it exploded, revealing yet another passageway ahead.

"...Should we go?" Mido asked. "...I have a bad feeling about this."

Gus and Dori didn't respond, as they entered the passage, while Mido followed behind.

The passage led them into a large room, as there were servers in the ground below, before they reached the centre of the room, which had a hatch styled like the eight-pointed wheel of Buddhism, with a crystal orb at the tip of each point, and a large monitor-like device with a hexagonal frame before them, linked to a large computers with flashing screens.

"No… It can't be… that's…!" Dori exclaimed.

"...Erasure! But how could they have gotten it!?" Mido finished with disbelief.

"Erasure…?" Gus repeated.

"Welcome, sisters and outsider… The ugly truth reveals itself." The mechanical device remarked with a low female voice. "As you can see, the enemy has seized control of my main unit. It is using my power against you. So embarrassing. I apologise for this inconvenience. Only the most fiendish and violent murder machines await you after this point. Your chances of survival: 0.000001, a millionth of a percent. Your options: Surrender. Surrender."

"...No, we've come too far to turn back." Gus responded back. "Even if that percentage is zero… As long as we fight, an impossible victory may be possible despite the odds."

"...Odd, it seems that my words are unnecessary then. Then please, do not give up." The machine remarked, before its monitor flashed, as the group felt the entire space around them bend.

Suddenly, the group found themselves flying above volcanic terrain, as the group noticed that there was a large lizard-like creature with eyes all over its body, as its eyes began o fire energy blasts all around.

The trio immediately dodged the fire-balls, before the lizard let out a large trail of fire from its mouth, as Gus grazed it, before firing back at the lizard, as Dori and Mido provided additional firepower to pelt the lizard.

It then began to speed up, as it then turned around, before letting out a shrieking roar, as fires erupted from the ground, causing the group to jerk away from the rising flames. It then began to pursue the group, as they were forced on the back-pedal, floating back, as they continued to fire down on the lizard, before it then exploded into a wave of flames that washed over the fighters.

Suddenly, they found themselves back in the hub area.

"What… What was that?" Dori remarked. "Is this… some sort of hard-light construct device?"

"Not exactly." The computer answered back. "Well done. Proceeding with the mission."

"Wait-" Mido was about to say, before they found themselves above a large city, as there was the image of a broken planetoid ahead of them, as UFOs and embryo-like aliens appeared ahead of them, spawning from the hole in the broken planet. "Huh, this reminds me of… what was that game, again? Space Invaders?"

The group then began to take down the waves of aliens and UFOs that came towards them, as they became more and more frenzied, until the aliens were literally careening towards the city for a kamikaze strike, only to be destroyed.

After the last of the aliens were destroyed, they suddenly heard the gentle sound of cheers from the city below.

"...So we did save some lives after all." Gus remarked, before the space distorted again, to return them back to the hub area.

"You are doing well." The computer answered back. "Hang in there, please don't die, it's more than likely."

The trio of fighters were then teleported into a area made of hexagonal panels, as they were forced to fight against waves of turrets that were being piloted by encased brains, as they exploded into grey matter with each one they destroyed. When they were done, Mido audibly cringed at the results, before they were sent back to the hub area.

"...Next." The computer remarked, as the group were teleported again, although their visions cut out for a moment.

Suddenly, they found themselves in a dark area, as ahead of them was some sort of alien monk, with a mechanical head, and orange robes, with a snot bubble emitting from where his face was. However, that was not surprised the most of the group, as they found out what they became.

"Aaaaahhh!" Mido screamed, as she was turned into a light orange orb of light, as she saw that Dori and Gus had turned into a dark orange and gentle red orb respectively. "What have we become!? I can't feel anything at all!"

"Calm down, sister. There has to be some explanation to this…" Dori tried to calm her sister. "But who is this before us… They… They aren't attacking us at all, like the rest."

"...I think he's asleep. Let me try to rouse him awake." Gus answered back, as he slowly floated towards the monk, before then firing a pair of beams that passed through the snot bubble and popped it audibly.

As Gus slowly moved back, the monk slowly stirred awake with grumbling sounds, before turning their head toward him and the sisters.

"...Hmmm?" The monk spoke with a elderly and weary voice. "What a surprise. I didn't expect visitors so soon."

"Visitors?' Mido asked back.

"It's been a long time since I've met other Manusya." The monk continued. "...Although, I am intrigued about the red one. Something different lies within you."

"I… Who exactly are you?" Gus responded back.

"I come from a distant future. I, too, fought your usurper a long time ago." The monk answered back. "Alas, now I'm nothing more than a prisoner…. Kept alive out of spite."

"...Is there anything we can do to free you?" Dori asked.

"...Those words and that peculiar air of yours… it can't be mistaken." The monk said after a brief pause. "You're here to defeat our usurper."

"That's right, we're going to-" Mido cheerfully declared, before the monk began to laugh. "Huh? What's so funny about that?"

"You are all foolish indeed. And yet…" The monk answered back. "If this truly is your resolution, maybe this old fool can offer you some wisdom."

The monk then shifted himself, as his face glowed, showing a orange symbol on it. "Warriors of Manusya, listen carefully." The monk spoke with a foreboding tone. "This is a story of a god who wanted to become…"

Before the rest of the words could be heard, the trio suddenly fell unconscious, as if some otherworldly force was stopping them.

When they next became conscious, they found themselves back in their fighters.

"...A dream?" Dori remarked. "...But something… something in my mind tells me otherwise, a feeling…"

"I feel the same…" Gus agreed.

"Me three." Mido added.

"Oh my… What an embarrassment this is." The computer spoke. "If the master sees you alive, that would be very bad for all of us. Do not worry. I devised a way to bypass this problem without anyone getting harmed. Goodbye."

"Wait, what do you mea-" Gus answered back, before the computer flashed, before creating a enlarging vacuum of black space. "Oh, holy-"

"Nrgh, we can't pull free of it!" Dori growled.

"Sister, I'm scared!" Mido exclaimed in horror.

"Brace yourselves!" Gus shouted, as the fighters were dragged into the black void , as the turbulence shook their aircraft around, before it came to a stop, inside nothing but the black void, with only each other as company.

"...Where are we?" Dori asked.

"...I don't know… but we're…" Gus remarked, before a buzzing feeling emanated from his head.

"...It's not over." Richard's voice emanated from his head, shocking the pilot. "This is exactly what I've been guiding you towards…"

"Richard… But you were-" Gus stated.

"I know, that's just a fragment of me, just as I'm another. I've been waiting for you to get here. Erasure put me here, not expecting the two of us to meet here." Richard's voice stated. "I can't explain things as they are now. But you heard the monk's words, right?"

"...I believe it… But I… I can't exactly remember." Gus whispered quietly.

"That's because it's not time yet. I can help draw it out, so that you can fully remember it, but I'm going to need you to stay on your own auto-pilot for a moment. Just trust me." Richard answered back. "Mido and Dori won't know, only you can hear me."

"...I don't understand any of this… What is this all about… Manusya… Lotus Jewels… GREEN ORANGE… How do they connect…?" Gus answered back.

"All in good time… all in good time…" Richard's voice answered back. "If you're looking for the way out… Erasure did not truly leave no path out. Her plan hinges on your escape… to another timeline. And the key is the bird."

"The… bird…?" Gus remarked, before he then saw a dark-green bird fly ahead of them. "...Ah…! Mido, Dori! Follow the bird!"

"Huh? Why?" Mido asked back.

"Just please, trust me!" Gus answered back with some desperation.

"...We're damned if we don't. May as well try." Dori remarked, as the trio followed after the bird.

The bird picked up speed, as the fighters followed alongside it, as Gus managed to catch glimpses of portals that showed areas that they've been to before.

Suddenly, they entered through a portal of light, with roots extending out into the void, as Gus's vision was only light for a moment, before his consciousness faded again.

---

When Gus woke up once again, he let out a loud gasp, as he looked around, finding himself within the destroyed space elevator again.

"What… What happened? I was in light, and then…" Gus silently muttered.

"...And I put your mind into rest, while I started to pick apart it for the monk's words." Richard's voice chimed again. "Like I said, you weren't going to be in control for the while, but I managed to do that for you. Couldn't say much, but I managed to get you through to the pivotal point just in time for you to wake back up."

"...What happened between then and now?" Gus questioned again.

"You went through the city, the mines and the climb again. However, since this is a deviation, things were a tad more… difficult. The sisters realised then, especially when the bomber suddenly pulled a desperation phase out of its ass to pelt the entire sky with bullets." Richard's voice explained. "Next up, that large drone in the mine tried to pull the same trick, only for an onion golem to pop out and do the crunch on him. You three blasted that golem up, and all that left was the climb, which wasn't much different other than being more dense with energy bullets."

"This is going to be a real story to tell…" Gus sighed.

"I know… And by the way, ping the sisters. They're worried. I had to shut the comms so that they didn't get too suspicious of what was happening."

"You what…?" Gus asked with surprise, before reactivating the comms. "...Sorry, Mido and Dori,I was in some sort of trance."

"Well, you could have just talked…" Dori sighed. "Still, you didn't look like anything bad happened to you."

"Still, don't worry us so much, you big dummy. We need to stick together." Mido responded back.

"...Right." Gus stated, before they were met by the enemy fleet again, only for it to be decimated by the same two mechas. However, when Mido, Dori and Gus transformed to face them, they suddenly stopped.

"...Finally…" Richard's distorted voice was heard from the bladed mecha. "...FINALLY!"

Suddenly, the bladed mecha charged at Gus, with its blade raised, while Gus was forced to draw his own blade to block it, as they were knocked aside, while the caped mecha charged at the large carrier that was formerly their demise, and cleaved it into two, as it exploded.

"What the… Is this…" Gus remarked.

"Finally… the time is right! You've gotten the key!" The mecha exclaimed with maniacal glee, before it then calmed down. "Gus… Now is the time to show me… the extent of your power."

"Wait, stop, if I managed to reach the result you desired… then why are we…!?" Gus shouted back.

"...Because I can't be freed unless you destroy me. GREEN ORANGE made that certain." The mecha answered back. "Besides, Grapefruit is finishing her fight with the sisters. You know who she is to them. Then you know the dedication involved with this."

"But…" Gus stated, before stopping himself. "...No, you're right. If this is the only way forward, I'll have to fight. Besides, this is what you wanted, right… you're not even that fragment that Yukari wanted at all."

"A fragment of a fragment, exactly that." The mecha responded back, before raising its blade. "Now then, show me what you got, Gus!"

The bladed mecha then immediately fired off a spreaded stream of bullets from his head, as Gus weaved to the side to avoid them, before using his fighter form to fire off a series of empowered shots.

In response to this, the bladed mecha fired off a narrow beam of energy that hit the nearby debris and ricocheted off them, as Gus was forced to dodge it, coming from different angles, before then using his blade to hit it, reflecting it back into the bladed mecha.

"Not bad, how about this!" The bladed mecha answered back, before then firing fanning spreads of bullets from his hand, while using his blade to shoot off blade waves that honed towards Gus's mecha. Knowing that mobility was the better choice here, Gus shifted bac into his fighter form, using the speed to graze the bullets, charging his weapon up, as he fired and dodged simultaneously, battering the armour of the mecha severely.

"With this power… Your success is certain!"The mecha declared.. "Now then, let's decide your worth with this final assault!"

The mecha then began to charge, as its blade glowed orange, while Gus returned back into his mecha form, as he began to parry the strikes, as his own blade was growing more and more powerful, as he dodged the spray of energy sparks that the swings threw. Eventually, Gus's blade was more charged than the mecha's own, as the parry managed to send the mecha back with its guard open, causing Gus to surge forth and bisect the mecha with a vertical strike that left an orange trail.

"Excellent… truly excellent." The mecha spoke, as its voice was turned almost to static again. "One more step… One more step… and all of this… ends…"

The mecha then exploded into a flash of orange, as the caped mecha did the same, defeated by Mido and Dori. The trio reunited with each other, as soon as their opponents were felled.

"...You alright?" Gus asked the sisters.

"Don't take pity on us… you sound worse." Dori answered back.

"...But, thank you for caring…" Mido spoke back with gratitude.

"It's only natural." Gus stated, before the trio headed towards GREEN ORANGE.

---

The group managed to reach the central hub of GREEN ORANGE, as Erasure was waiting for them once again.

"Once again, you have returned." Erasure stated. "Despite all the hardships, despite your non-existent chances, despite everything… You refuse to give up?"

"Our path is set. Our sister perished to show us that." Dori growled back. "Don't mock us by telling us to turn away. And you won't pull that trick again on us."

"...Very well." Erasure conceded. "There's no reason to continue this arduous battle any longer. In fact, I regret everything I've done to you. I feel the best thing you could do is to end it all and leave forever. Please, take this."

Suddenly, a crystalline orb appeared before them, as the symbol on it was a tilted S-character with loops on the ends, as the trio gazed at it.

"...Is this…" Mido remarked.

"...The end of it all. Please, I insist." Erasure explained.

"...How do you know you're not tricking us again?" Dori asked with suspicion in her voice, although she got no reply. "...I see."

Gus looked at the orb for a moment, before he inched his fighter closer to it.

"...Hey, you seem to know more about this than us…" Mido chimed in. "...Tell us, what do you think?"

"...I don't know much either, but if Erasure's words were sincere…" Gus stated. "There's no harm in taking her gift. But I should be the one to take it… in case it is a false promise.'

Gus then flew up to the orb, before it was absorbed into Gus's fighter, before the onboard system voice activated itself.

"Successful integration of unknown power sources. New weapons have been acquired." The fighter system declared. "Weapons are designated as- ERROR, weapon specifications cannot be determined. Energy is causing automatic activation of unknown weapon. Recommend immediate bracing."

"Bracing!?" Gus exclaimed, as the announcement left fear in his heart, before his fighter then glowed white for a moment, before emitting a large cross-beam of white light that bathed the entire sector, causing Mido and Dori to flee. "Argh! What is this..!?"

As the beam grew larger and larger, Gus's fighter then was freed from whatever restraints was placed on it, during the activation of the weapon, as Gus wasted no time in fleeing the area. He immediately surged through the twists and turns within GREEN ORANGE, escaping it, just as it began to glow from the inside, as increasingly large explosions emanated from it.

With a final blinding explosion, GREEN ORANGE was no more, as the enemy fleets around began to power down, as if the control over them was dispelled.

"...It's over?" Dori remarked. "It's really over?"

"Seems so." Gus stated. "...I'm sorry that I didn't prepare myself for this… but at least… we got what we needed."

"Finally… Finally, everyone can be safe…" Mido spoke with tears of relief in her voice.

"...Maybe this is for the best…" Gus agreed, before muttering to himself. "...But where is Richard then?"

'Right here.' Richard's voice rang back in his head. 'I've been sticking with you this entire time. Come on, everything is done here. Let's head back, and put me back together.'

Gus was slightly surprised at how open Richard was being, that he was left silent for a moment.

'Gus… You alright there? You've been through a lot-' Richard's voice chimed again.

"...It's nothing. Let's head back." Gus answered back.

Gus then immediately turned back, as he didn't even spend a moment to bid the sisters farewell, with Richard's revival burning in his mind, so much that he didn't even felt in control of himself, until he was right before Richard, as a yellow light entered his body, as the rest of the group were there, anticipating Richard's eventual awakening.

As the systems putting himself in statis were deactivated one by one, Richard slowly stirred awake, looking fairly groggy, as he slowly rose to a sitting position.

"Ungh… That… was far from pleasant." Richard groaned, as most of the group were either in relieved tears or muttering to themselves with gratitude to all who helped him back to normal.

Gus immediately walked forward, and embraced Richard with a gentle hug, as tears dripped down his eyes.

"...Welcome back, Richard." Gus responded back.

"...Gus, thank you for saving me…" Richard stated with a warm smile on his face.

Gus then released his hug, as he then put a hand out to Richard, for him to take.

"...Come on, there's still people who are counting on your return." Gus told Richard. "...Your army, your friends, your life… we've been waiting for you to come back with open welcoming arms."

Richard looked at Gus's hand, as the smile on his face remained strong as ever.

"...I'm glad that you think of me this way, Gus. But there's just one thing that I need you to do…" Richard stated.

"...And what's that?" Gus answered back, before Richard then placed his fingers on Gus's forehead, as his smile turned solemn.

"...Wake up, Gus. Please, wake up… even if only for me." Richard stated.

Before Gus could even decipher the meaning of those words, the entire world around him melted into darkness, as he was left plummeting down by the drag of gravity, before his consciousness faded away, as the last of the light faded from his sight.

---

'...y… HEY! You there!?' A familiar voice to Gus, shouted, as Gus stirred awake, finding himself back in the cockpit of his Arwing Mark-II, although it seemed to be fairly different to how he remembered it.

Gus then took the moment to look around, as he saw both the Rybb and Decker fighters, as they were equipped with the same funnel bits that the caped mecha had,

"A… dream… or something else…?" Gus muttered to himself, before he then turned to receive the call. "...Is that you, Mido?"

"You're right on that!" Mido's voice answered back, as the HUD screen showed Mido herself, as she was a girl with flowing long green hair and eyes, dressed in a light green pilot-suit, before she then let out a beaming smile. "I'm surprised that I can see your handsome look myself for once!"

"Don't tease him much." Dori added, as she had the same hair and eye colour as her sister, although she had shorter hair and a pair of orange earrings, and an intense look on her face. "How much do you remember, Major Campbell?"

"...I don't remember much." Gus answered back, omitting his experience with Richard. "I remember the destruction of GREEN ORANGE, but that's it. There's definitely a gap in our memories."

"Seconded." Dori grunted back, before they were interrupted by their comms crackling.

"GOFER operator reporting in! All communications ready." A peppy female voice was heard from the other side. "Prepare for an enemy assault in 3…"

"Wait, what's this now-" Mido exclaimed, before a large horde of enemies rushed at them.

"I swear, if this is another of Erasure's damned simulations, I'll strangle her with her own cables…" Dori growled, before she then fired on the enemies, as the bits fired bullet streams with the main fighter.

Mido and Gus did the same, as Gus instead had large red funnel bits that were firing red-hot lasers that torched the enemies ahead.

"Watch out for heavy enemy fire!" The comms officer shouted, as enemy cruisers assaulted the group with streams of bullets, followed by several miniature stealth bombers and squads of enemy mechas.

As soon as the enemy waves was destroyed, their warning alarms went off, as a large object hurtled towards them.

"A huge enemy unit is approaching fast!" The comms officer declared, as the unknown enemy was getting closer towards them. "According to the data, it is identified as King Onion!"

The object then stopped before them, revealing that it was a gigantic version of a toy robot with pincer claws, tubed joints, and an onion head. The group began to destroy it, as each part destroyed revealed a new section of the robot that fired new kinds of weaponry at them, ranging from energy blasts to shrapnel bombs, spreads of energy bullets to spiralling bullet patterns.

Eventually, the robot was destroyed, as it dropped the same crystalline orb as the one that Gus touched. With only a single moment's hesitation, the three concentrated fire on the orb itself, as it began to crack heavily under the pressure of the focused firepower, and then shattering into sparks of light.

"...So you figured it out." The comm's officer voice was heard, as a large text box appeared before them, with the face of the comms officer, a woman with green hair and a flower on her head, as the words she spoke were written on it, her tone turning from peppy to being low and malicious. "Erasure insisted on taking you down silently. We should've guessed that's just a waste of time. Although this might exceed our authority… we're not willing to take the risk of you resisting our lord any further!"

Suddenly, the text-box began to mutate, as organic appendages began to erupt from it, as they turned into turrets that were aimed at the group, as the voice of the fake officer became distorted and her face turned more alien, as a orange eye appeared on her head.

"PERISH, FOOLISH DAIKONS!" The alien declared, as the weapons were primed to fire…

Only to be interrupted by the flash of a blade that bisected the entire text-box into two halves, before a multitude of cross-hairs flashed around every inch of the two halves. Before the alien could even react, a salvo of missiles blasted it to smithereens, as the debris floated around.

And before the trio of fighters, were the pair of unknown mecha that fought them before.

"How unamusing that you think your strings hold here, wretch." Richard's dry voice emanated from the bladed mecha.

"Not a moment too soon, I presume." A mature female voice was heard from the caped mecha.

"...What's up with you and flashy entrances?" Dori remarked. "...And you even dragged a partner with you into this."

"Yep, that's just the way I remember it." Mido chuckled.

"Richard… is that really you?" Gus asked back.

"...Sorry, still an offshoot. The real one is not too far, I tell you." Richard's voice rang again.

"Good to see you two, Mido… Dori…" The caped mecha continued. "I'm sorry that-"

"Oh, not this again." Richard's voice scowled. "Look, enough about the atonement. We shouldn't be here to begin with. Let your little sisters make their way ahead. I'm sure they don't care about what you did to them, as long as you see them one last time."

"...Heh, look at your boyfriend. He's got it right." Dori remarked with a chuckle. "It's time for us to wake up… all of us."

"...Then I guess the ghosts of the past are no longer needed here." The caped mecha spoke calmly.

"...Maybe not, but… even if I don't know you well… I'm sure that Mido and Dori have a place for you in their heart." Gus answered back. "...Even if you die trying to fight your own control to the last of your own conscience, they're still here to finish what you started. After all, that is their way of honouring you."

"...I can't believe that a total stranger would say such things to try and cheer me." The caped mecha remarked, before the cockpit opened, revealing an orange-haired girl inside. "Maybe this world has some hope left after all."

"And now…" Richard spoke, as his cockpit opened to reveal himself. "It's time for us to both rest in peace. You still have your lives and your duty. Listen to your heart, Gus… and you'll find the true fragment soon."

"...Thank you." Gus answered back.

"...It's the least that I could do for what you've done for me." Richard admitted. "...Don't hesitate, this world doesn't matter already."

The trio of fighters then fired into the area before them, as the entire landscape began to fracture, before everything shattered into light, as the fighters turned back to normal, and they found themselves back in the hub area, with Erasure before them.

"...To decline such a beautiful world. Your courage defies all probabilities." Erasure remarked. "But were it foolishness…"

"...It's not." Gus declared back. "I do not know what threats lurk beneath, that you would prefer us to turn away than face it… But we come too far to let such a threat cow us to submission. We have the will and the power to see the mission through. Don't disregard all that is lost in this war, Erasure.. What we seek to regain, in fighting this fight, no matter how terrible it will be."

"Then my work here is done." Erasure remarked. "...Only endless despair waits you… but perhaps… your hope will pierce through even that."

Erasure then suddenly dislodged from its position, as it then rose and thrusted out of the room through the ceiling, as the large gate below them opened, revealing a fleshy abyss below them. Without any hesitation on their mission, the trio descended down into the dark abyss, as the light from the room above began to fade.

There was only darkness for a few moments, before the group noticed a faint glow below them, as there was the silhouette of something spherical below them, as the light was fading in and out.

"...Why do I feel a chill down my back suddenly…" Dori remarked.

"...I don't know why, but… I'm being unsettled by something…" Mido agreed.

Gus didn't respond to the sisters, although he too felt a sense of dread through the air.

Eventually, they passed by the large spherical object, as it turned out to be a pulsating brain-like construct, and below them was a mandela with the symbols of the Sanskrit numbers from 0 to 7 on the floor below them, and there was a throne attached underneath the brain-sphere, with a robed figure residing on it, as it regarded them with cold eyes of malice.

"...This is what Erasure was afraid of…?" Mido remarked. "Someone… like us?"

"...No, someone… something more…" Gus answered back, as the figure raised a hand, as energy gathered to it, creating a moving blank crystalline orb much like the ones they dealt with in their first trip through GREEN ORANGE.

With a snap of their fingers, the sphere began to fire off a simple barrage of bullets, as the group dodged it, before combining their fire on it, as it shattered easily, while the robed figure slightly flinched from the destruction, which the trio noticed.

"...The orbs… destroying them hurts… it, right?" Mido asked back.

"Seems so, I doubt attacking that being will have any effect right now…" Dori remarked.

The figure then created two more orbs, as one hurtled across the room, firing off a short spray of bullets around it, while the other honed towards the fighters, moving around them and firing aimed burst of bullets at them. Mido easily took care of the homing one with her lock-on lasers, while Gus grazed along the bullets firing from the bouncing orb, before using a powerful barrage to destroy it.

The next wave of orbs that was created, was a trio of orbs, as one fired the same ring-like projectiles that one of the enemy fighters had, another fired large wave-like bursts of energy, and another fired criss-crossing beams, as they moved around to fire at the group from various angles. Gus used the auto-gun to weaken the orbs, before Dori used a large charged shot the destroy them all in one fell swoop.

The figure looked like they were becoming irritated, as they summoned a group of six orbs, as they circled around the group, as they began to use all of the attacks that the previous orbs had. Thanks to the combined firepower of the orbs, the trio were pinned down too much to take the orbs down in one go, and whenever one or more remained, the figure would summon more.

"...Tch, it's an endless supply, so long one stands up…" Dori remarked. "...Hey, Major, think you can bait their fire?"

"Why?" Gus asked back, as he dodged a aimed barrage.

"...I think that I can take them all out in one go, but I'm going to need to charge a lot more for this one." Dori answered back.

"Do what you need, I can cover for you." Gus agreed, as he began to fly close, as he destroyed the orbs that would have aimed for Dori, repeatedly destroying them, even as the figure created more of them.

As Dori gathered energy to the front of her fighter, Gus was beginning to find himself in a dangerous situation, as the combined attacks were beginning to overwhelm, as some of the bullets came close to grazing his wings, and even Mido's help in destroying the orbs wasn't helping him much.

"...How much longer, I'm getting surrounded…!" Gus asked Dori with a strained tone, barely dodging a wave shot.

"I'm ready, get out of the way!" Dori shouted, as Gus jerked to the side, a Dori fired off a massive laser beam that hit the orbs and destroyed them all simultaneously, as the feedback caused the robed figure to let out a distorted female cry.

"Did… Did we do it?" Mido said, before the figure then began to rise out of the throne.

"You…." The figure growled, before the orange mandela began to form around them, as energy streamed from the centre where the figure was, before it then ignited into a bright light, as the figure threw their arms out, as the robe was evaporated by the scalding light.

When the light faded away, the group found themselves inside a shining sea of stars, as there was a setting sun in the distance. The figure before them, transformed into a humanoid being of energy with a white body and long flowing orange glowing hair, as well as being faceless.

"You will perish before me!" The energy being roared, before she then teleported before the fighters, and tried to swat them with a horizontal sweep of her arms.

"What is this thing? The energy emitting from this thing is immense!" Mido exclaimed.

"So this is their true leader, huh…" Dori remarked. "Still ain't enough to stop us from carrying our sister's mission through!"

"I will crush you into scrap!" The being snarled, before summoning a while mandela that had the Sanskrit symbol for 3 flash on it in orange for a moment, before it then bounded across the fields, spawning large hands of energy that clenched on themselves, as some were orange, and created a spread of energy bolts when they closed, as the fighters dodged out of the multitude of hands.

Gus then grazed by the bullets, before then using the charge to fire on the energy being, before Dori fired a charged shot, as the being let out a cry of pain, flinching greatly.

"That did something!" Mido exclaimed with hope. "We can do this, everyone!"

"You insolent insects… Be crushed by the power that you stole from me!" The being roared, before creating two more mandelas, as one shifted behind the group, firing bouncing projectiles, while the other moved around, spewing flames at them from the front, causing the trio of fighters to shift side-to-side to dodge the two-pronged assault.

As soon as the mandelas faded, the being fired off a series of hand-like projectiles at them, as Mido turned into her mecha form, before charging up her blade, as her hair glew white, before launching a series of slashes onto the energy being, as it screamed once again, as Dori joined in, using her mecha form's drill to grind into the torso of the energy being.

"ENOUGH! DIE DIE DIE!" The being screeched, as it let out an energy pulse to knock the two away, as she then teleported away and raised her arms, as a series of energy swords rained down from above, trying to skewer the three fighters, only for them to dodge away from them.

"This is it, we can finish this!" Gus exclaimed, as he changed into his mecha form, before using his blade to knock back the hand projectiles that followed after, as Dori began to charge a shot, while Mido kept on locking on the being of energy.

Gus swung his blade over and over, until the being of energy was within range, before lunging forward and dealing a heavy blow, just as Dori and Mido launched their respective attacks, as the resulting attack caused the being to be blown back, as her body began to become like static, as her form lost solidity.

"No… NO….!" The being roared in desperation, before then shifting herself back to a opaque form. "I will not die! I WILL NOT DIE TO THE LIKES OF YOU! NOT BY MANUSYA LIKE YOU!"

The being then began to frantically create mandalas of energy that seared the area around her, repeatedly teleporting. The trio of fighters dodged the attacks swiftly, letting the being of energy exhaust herself. Eventually, she threw one last attack, as her form began to break apart again.

"No… I don't want… I don't want to fade… It's not my…" The being whimpered, as her form began to fizzle away. "I am… I AM….!"

Suddenly, with a burst of orange light, she let out a hellish scream, as her form began to be torn apart in the bright light, as sparkles of energy sprayed from where she was, as the atmosphere began to slowly fade away into darkness once again.

After the being was eradicated from existence, there was only silence and darkness for the trio.

"Did… Did we do it? Is… Is GREEN ORANGE done for?" Mido exclaimed, before the entire chamber shook. "Aah!"

Gus looked up, before seeing that the rock of the chamber's ceiling was beginning to fall down, and there was a rising pool of fire that was fastly approaching.

"...It seems that without a master, GREEN ORANGE is destroying itself." Gus remarked. "We have to leave!"

Dori and Mido wasted no time in complying, as the fighters engaged full thrust, as they exited the inner chamber, as fires began to break out within the fleshy walls of the passage, before they hurtled through the hub chamber, through the hole that Erasure left in their departure, entering a vertical passage. However, their climb wasn't without any obstacles, as various drones blocked their way.

"Damnit, not a good time to be stuck fighting! Break through them!" Dori exclaimed, as the trio activated their mecha forms, cleaving through the enemies. However, before they could get any further, a massive explosion rocked behind them, as the blast smashed into the fighters, causing them to stagger around, as crystalline orbs were blasted out of Dori's and Mido's fighters, while Gus's cockpit flickered off for a moment.

"Warning, flight unit has taken severe system damage." The fighter system announced to Gus. "Mecha Form is inoperable until repairs are made."

"Urgh… Not good, Mido, Dori, what's your situation?" Gus asked the twins.

"We can't transform now! Somehow, that blast knocked the power out of us!" Mido exclaimed.

"...Hopefully we can get out of this without taking too much damage…!" Dori exclaimed.

"I think we have bigger problems!" Gus warned the twins, as the rising wave of destruction behind them has caught up to them significantly from the blast. "Keep moving, and don't get hit!"

The group began to proceed forward, relying on Mido's lock-on and their secondary weapons to handle the drones attacking all around them, as they avoided several enemy mecha trying to blast them down with their gatling cannons, before another blast rose from the fire,crashing into them again, as another pair of crystalline orbs were destroyed, and Gus's fighter wavered slightly, as the cockpit flickered off again, this time longer than before.

"Warning, flight unit has suffered severe damage to the power unit. Primary weapons are barely optimal, 'Counter Force' is unable to be activated." The fighter system notified Gus.

"Another weapon lost… And I suppose it's worse for you two…?" Gus scowled, before he then noticed that their fighters were banged up from the blast. "Just do the best you can! We'll make it through, I know we will!"

"I know… but…" Mido remarked.

"No, the Major is right, we came too far just to lay down and die here, sister!" Dori growled. "We aren't dying in this hell-hole if I have anything to say about it!"

The trio of fighters were left trying to handle the enemies with the only remaining secondary weapon they got, which held some use to them even at this point, taking out the nearby enemies. However, the next wave of concussive energy put an end to that, as the last of the orbs were ejected and destroyed from Mido and Dori, while Gus's fighter let out a more severe alarm than before.

"Alert, secondary weapons are in inoperable condition, shields are depleted." The fighter system shrieked at Gus with urgency. "Recommend immediate evacuation from battlefield, to avoid total destruction."

"...Like I have a choice at the moment…!" Gus growled, before he then saw the exit in the distance. "Look, over there! The exit is in sight and range! Just a bit more, push the last stretch as fast as you can!"

The group immediately overloaded their thrusters, as they dodged past the drones that were too slow to avoid the fiery death that was chasing behind the fighters, as the blast was getting closer and closer to them, as the trio literally roared, as they were pressed against their seats, as the exit was within reach.

However, there was a final blast, as the fighters were washed over by it, as Gus lost sight of Mido and Dori, while countless alarms shrieked within his cockpit, while he was tossed against the back of his cockpit so hard that the resulting impact of his head against the side knocked him out.

When he came too, he noticed that the cockpit glass was heavily cracked, and his controls were just as damaged, with sparks emanating from broken wires and components. There was also the alarm in his cockpit, as well as the wet and sticky sensation of blood on his body and head.

He slowly raised an arm to himself, seeing that it was heavily bruised from the impact, as well as cut on several places, before then pressing his hand against his head, and finding that the left side of his head was bleeding heavily, and it was dripping down his cheek.

Gus could only groan, as he looked around, seeing that his fighter was critically damaged, as the wings were missing parts. But what caused his stomach to sink was how Mido and Dori were worse off, as their fighters were totalled from the explosion, as they were in several pieces.

"Mido… Dori…" Gus groaned. "...Please… Please, don't let them die…"

Suddenly, Erasure floated before them, as it regarded them.

"Mission Status: The unknown alien vessel, codename GREEN ORANGE, has been destroyed." Erasure declared. "And more importantly… Primeval Fighter, along with its pilot, has been destroyed."

"Primeval… Fighter…?" Gus wheezed lightly.

"Ship Status: Fighter Type-C 'Decker' and Fighter Type-B 'Rybb' had sustained critical damage. Unknown fighter, designated as 'Arwing Mark II' by system specifications and data, is in similar condition." Erasure continued, as if ignoring Gus's response. "All weapon and thruster systems compromised. Rybb's and Decker's life-support systems will fail in approximately 4 minutes, and judging by specifications and current status, 'Arwing' life support systems will fail only a minute later."

"No… This can't be…" Gus remarked. "...I have to…"

"That is not advised." Erasure stated, finally acknowledging Gus, moving in front of his cockpit. "Sending a distress signal would prove futile. While all of you were left comatose from the damage, the remaining alien forces initiated a suicide mission that annihoilated the last of the Planetary Defence Forces… along with the rest of the planet's inhabitants."

"...Then that means.." Gus coughed.

"Indeed, the only life-sign present here is you, Mido and Dori." Erasure confirmed. "Although that will not be for long. Even if you were to give me full access to your communication systems and protocols, deciphering them and sending a distress signal on your behalf will take longer than the time allotted for you three to live, even before factoring how long it will take for the message to be received, and for the rescue to arrive. It's a pinch."

"...What do you mean?" Gus asked, desperate to understand what Erasure's opinion was.

"I have erased time to bring you back to the past, in order for you to reach this point. You consider it as time travel, which is technically correct." Erasure answered back. "However, sending you back again to the beginning will only postpone the inevitable outcome. GREEN ORANGE'S existence has been solidified before then, and the same events will play out. However, there is an option. There is not much time, Major Gus Campbell, so listen closely."

"...Tell me." Gus whispered back.

"The destruction of the Primeval Fighter has unleashed high concentrations of sentient energy particles." Erasure explained. "While these particles are extremely volatile, and will soon dissipate if left unattended… The cores of Rybb and Decker can harness and assimilate them, and you can manually trigger them. You too will harness its effects, as you have tapped within the same form of energy they do. With the power they bestowed, prolonged time travel, to the very beginning, the time of our birth and creation, where the Primeval Fighter had only started its duty. It is within there that you must destroy its original form."

"...But there is a cost to it all, is there?" Gus remarked, before stifling a growl from the throbbing pain in his head wound.

"This proposal is extremely dangerous." Erasure declared. "I can only erase time between the present and the past. I wouldn't be able to bring you back. You will have to reach back to now naturally, and that is not possible with how far back our lives go, and your own longevity. So you only have one chance. So tell me, are you ready to sacrifice everything for this world, despite the odds?"

"...What about Mido and Dori? Why aren't they speaking?" Gus asked Erasure.

"Both are still comatose. They'll perish before they even wake. It's a mercy to them." Erasure answered back. "So you must choose for them, whether you'll take them to fight the Primeval Fighter, or accept your fate now."

Gus was silent… Although he may as well attempt one final act of heroism, if he was going to perish without the offer, he didn't know whether he was truly ready to throw himself into what would be a suicide mission, that might not even end with his survival, despite success or failure."

"...Take the offer, there's no other choice." Richard's voice rang in his head.

"...Again? Where were you?" Gus growled at the voice.

"I couldn't let the master of GREEN ORANGE find out about me. If she did… then this will really be over." Richard's voice rang in his head. "Listen, I know that this seems bad, but I know that you're only hesitating, because you don't know what will happen to you, if you took the offer."

"Erasure told me that if I were to take the energy of the Primeval Fighter, I will be able to go back in time to face it in its original form, and destroy it once and for all." Gus answered back. "But what can I hope to do? The Arwing isn't going to fly, and there's barely a few minutes of oxygen inside. How am I supposed to fight a being that might be just as strong as the being we just fought before, with all that?"

"Because you won't be fighting with your body, or your fighter… you're fighting with your soul." Richard's voice assured him.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that!?" Gus exclaimed, before he then hacked a few times.

"Your fighter won't survive the trip, well, maybe it'll be reborn again like how mine became the Alter Phoenix… But you're not going to fight with that." Richard's voice answered back. "Your body is flesh, Erasure is saying that by taking the energy of the particles, you'll temporarily take form as a being like Despair, the one you just fought. With it, the power to destroy the Primeval Fighter. Your soul will be far stronger than that of Mido and Dori, for certain, considering your background. But it won't be an easy fight by any means either."

"That helps me understand where Erasure is getting…" Gus answered back. "I don't distrust the fact that Erasure tells us we are for certain going to perish if we don't take her offer.. But I'm sure the others will find a way to bring us back right… They… No, I suppose this is my duty… If I am to be a leader, I have to handle this problem myself... Since I'm the only one who can change the fate here."

"...Fate indeed." Richard's voice answered back. "This doesn't involve just you, Mido, Dori anymore. The Primeval Fighter may be space dust for now, but the remnants will find a way to bring them back together. Even if it takes a thousand or more years, there will be another GREEN ORANGE, and this time won't be as hopeful as the last time. It is fortunate that GREEN ORANGE only attacked a standard world like this… Who knows what kind of powers they will obtain in conquering and assimilating the beings of other worlds… That's why I agree with Erasure's urgency… The Primeval Fighter must be eradicated from existence… period."

"When you put it that way…" Gus remarked, before sighing. "Even if I never had the attitude to leave others to their own problems, that kind of logic is irrefutable. If you're a fragment of Richard… then will you guide me…?"

"To the truth, yes… But not to help you against the Primeval Fighter." Richard's voice answered back. "That… is all up to your conviction and your own will. Make your final preparations… You can die here, and if you do, you will be too far back for anyone but Yukari to help you. And that will take a long time to even find where the fragments that are your sundered soul will be, I will not force you to dive in right now, but remember… you only have but a minute or two to decide… that's when your life support will finally run out."

Gus took a deep breath hearing those words, before he then turned to Erasure, being silent for a moment.

"...I'm ready." Gus answered back.

"Are you certain? No… that's a foolish question." Erasure declared. "Then brace yourself. I will override your system AI to remove all restraint systems, and I will do the same with Rybb and Decker."

"...Do it." Gus muttered, before Erasure's screen flickered, as the trio of fighters were surrounded by particles of energy, before the cracked voice of the system AI chimed in.

"System… active… Power levels… beyond… normal threshold…" The system voice buzzed. "Absorption… accepted… Warning… overload… may… destroy flight… unit…"

"I've come too far now… Whatever gods might be watching over… I pray that you give me the hope to press on." Gus muttered to himself, before the energy caused the fighters to glow white, as Gus grunted, with the infusion of energy causing him to feel disoriented.

Erasure then immediately opened a passage into the past, as the fighters were sent through it, with the entire space around them flickering through a mix of green and orange shades, as Gus caught glimpses of past locations, while he felt his body getting lighter and lighter, as the entire fighter was consumed in white flames.

At the beginning, a flower gave bloom, filling the space with stars.

"What… Is that… the monk?" Gus remarked, hearing the familiar voice.

"Indeed. This is what you have been repressing in your head." Richard's voice rang out. "Took a while to draw it out, but listen closely… it will tell you the story of how this started to begin with."

We, Manusya, were given form along with other beings.

Together, we basked in the light of the flower.

We called it the Lotus Jewel.

The Manusya were unable to simply admire the flower.

They wanted it for themselves.

"Themselves… So it was human greed that started this ancient tale…" Gus answered back.

"Human nature is immutable, across time, across space, across reality." Richard's voice remarked, before the tunnel ended, and they found themselves in the same location, as the city, with the tree on the cliff, looking far younger. "Take a look around, and at yourselves too."

Gus did so, as he was shocked to see the sight of onion-headed giants stomping towards them in the ground of light beneath them. He then looked at himself, as he had turned into a spirit of white light, with his human form, as Mido and Dori were the same, as they roused awake, as if risen from a deep slumber.

"Is this… what you meant, by the soul?" Gus asked Richard.

"...Yes, be prepared, you will face the Primeval Fighter soon." Richard's voice told Gus. "From here on, this is your fight."

"Where… is this?" Mido asked, looking around. "...Gus? Is that you?"

"Yes, Erasure sent us to the past." Gus responded back. "It has this side effect of turning us into beings of light."

"...The past? What's that got to do with everything?" Dori asked back, suspicious about the entire matter.

"We're putting an end to the threat of GREEN ORANGE, before it is conceived." Gus declared firmly.

The Manusya fled with the Lotus Jewel

But they couldn't hide for long.

So, the Manusya used the power of the Lotus Jewel to created a god,

To counter the wrath of the stars.

Suddenly, a large fighter flew from underneath them, with a jewel-like core, before a multitude of lock-on reticles appeared on the mass of giants, as it fired off a massive barrage of energy bombs that blasted the giants to nothing.

After swiftly striking down their pursuers, the Manusya grew anxious…

The fighter then gilded underneath them, as lock-on reticles appeared around them, as it warned the group from the large energy blast that it was throwing at them, as they turned into discs of energy that were aimed at them.

"This is… Primeval Fighter…!?" Gus exclaimed. "...A god… so that's what this being was once before…"

"What the hell are you talking about now!?" Dori exclaimed. "...But then again, I feel like I'm one with my fighter… I can fly myself like it… something is strange here."

"Think about it later, our lives are at stake here!" Gus scolded Dori, as they avoided a series of shots that came one after another. Eventually, the fighter pressed on, before they saw a scene of the Primeval Fighter hovering over a large gathering of giants, all with horrified looks and expressions.

As long as the stars shed light, there would be no rest for them.

Thus the Manusya decided on a pre-emptive strike.

The Primeval FIghter then summoned a series of feather-shaped funnel bits, as two of them fired beams the scoured the entire surface, creating massive explosions that wiped the giants out, and leaving behind a fiery landscape, before the Primeval Fighter took off.

"...What horror…" Mido exclaimed, appalled by the genocide of a race. "...Is this what GREEN ORANGE was like before?"

"Then it's our duty to stop it, no matter if it's a god or not!" Dori growled, as the trio followed after it.

Their new god would set out towards the endless sky…

And devour it.

The bits then began to attack the trio, firing narrow beams that the group were forced to dodge, as they approached the Primeval Fighter, which was firing a swinging spread of large energy bullets that the spirits of the pilots navigated by, until they were over the fighter's core.

"I feel something… The urge to press my hand onto the core of that fighter…" Mido remarked, as she slowly approached it, dodging the beams while doing so. As soon as her hand touched it, a ring of white cross particles began to form around one by one, until they were complete, causing them to swirl around at a rapid pace, before colliding with the fighter's core, shaking the entire fighter, as the funnel bits turned inert.

"So that's it… the power to defeat the Primeval Fighter…!" Gus exclaimed, before the Primeval Fighter transformed before them, turning into a towering mecha, with a lotus-like head.

If only our ancestors had foreseen the despair,

The task would awaken in their creation…

The mecha then began to fire large slow orbs of destructive energy at the group, as they dodged it, while Dori and Mido pressed their hands against the spherical jewel-like core of the mecha, as cross-particles slowly formed around them.

By now, you may have already realised it.

As the group made progress in gathering power to strike the Primeval Fighter's core, the entire space around them melted into a wavering realm of green and orange energy. Dori and Mido then gathered enough power to launch a double strike on the mecha's core, as it shuddered.

Those husks of yours that you call fighters…

The core detached from the colossal mecha, as the parts faded away, then the jewel immediately formed a golden lotus underneath it, with a ring of orange symbols representing 0 to 7 in Sanskrit, as the core fired patterns of rotating smaller orbs of destruction. Mido managed to weave through them and press both hands on the jewel, as she quickly gathered her attack and launched it, as the jewel shuddered, before letting out a shockwave that sent the group far away from it.

Your power is one and the same.

The group slowly approached the Lotus Jewel, as it fired off both streams of energy bullets and spinning orbs of destruction, with the latter absorbing the former, as they used the orbs as cover from the energy bullets, getting closer and closer, before Dori floated over, and punched her hand against the jewel core over and over.

"Break already! We're not going to give this world to you!" Dori roared, as the jewel shuddered from the following attack, before then knocking them back again, this time farther.

Whether you succeed or not, now depends solely on your resolve.

The group slowly managed to pass through the patterns of energy bullets and destruction orbs, as they were close enough to see the orange Sanskrit symbols fade one by one with each rotation and stop they did, until there was only the 0th symbol that was firing only a single stream of bullets.

Gus moved over towards it, as he raised a hand. "Please, all those who have suffered at the hands of this artificial god… lend me your power to strike this being down!" Gus prayed, as a sword of light appeared in his hand, before he then impaled it through the centre of the Lotus Jewel, pushing it in slowly, before drifting away, as the Lotus Jewel began to glow white, as it began to erratically spew white particles of light.

May you attain enlightenment.

The realm began to shake, as the particles instead of being expelled, were being sucked into the Lotus Jewel, as the entire space began to shrink, shocking the group.

"Dori…!" Mido exclaimed, before her sister held her tighter.

"Don't worry, I'm here, I'm not going to let you go…" Dori assured Mido.

Gus watched as the realm imploded around them, as it was rapidly shrinking around them and the Lotus Jewel, as he felt a sense of unease.

"...Was this really the right choice?" He muttered to himself.

"...It was… You might not be there to know it… But this… is the most significant deed that you'll ever be known for…" Richard's voice told him. "...The rebirth of an entire galaxy."

Before Gus could even question it, the entire space was turned into a singularity, as his consciousness faded along with it too.

---

Erasure watched from the edge of space, as the bright singularity began to glow, before it then unleashed a supernova explosion, as particles were sent flying in all directions, as the sphere of light that followed was fast approaching the machine as well.

"What an interesting development…" Erasure remarked. "The energy particles of the Lotus Jewel had collapsed onto itself in a way that shouldn't be possible under the laws of the universe. This collapse has spontaneously created a bubble of vacuum energy that is expanding at a rapidly accelerating rate. Soon, it will envelop everything. In other words, this world is returning to zero."

As the light was mere seconds from approaching Erasure, a glowing orange symbol of 0 in Sanskrit appeared on the glass screen.

"And yet… I'm ever so grateful." Erasure remarked, before the light washed over her.

Unbeknownst to the strange AI, Yukari was watching the development from the edge of the galaxy, as she had her fan to her mouth.

"In the end… the will of the humans… the Manusya that created this being… that had created its demise." Yukari commented with an even tone. "...I suppose that's that for this realm. It would be a shame if Cyan would gaze away one moment, only to have his entire universe rewritten because of a miniature Big Bang in the next moment he looks back. No, that would be considered a breach of my terms… So it is interfering… But this is the lesser of two evils."

Yukari then flexed her fan, and in a single millisecond, the entire galaxy was swallowed by a much larger sukima, as it closed up, leaving the universe with one less galaxy.

"Hopefully this will be quick enough for me to return the new galaxy back to where it belongs." Yukari muttered to herself. "I do wonder how Cyan would see this… With irritation, or with intrigued."

Yukari then disappeared, before any nosy beings would notice her.

---

When Gus next came too, he found himself in the void of space, still in his glowing spirit form, as he looked around for Mido and Dori, only to find nothing but the streaking stars around him, as the galaxy was being slowly remade around him.

"...That was… an experience that I can't simply describe with words…" Gus remarked, as he looked around. "'The rebirth of a galaxy'... So this is what Richard meant. The energy of the Lotus Jewel… It recreated the entire galaxy. Hopefully, this is for the better."

Suddenly, there was a pillar of light before Gus, as it then coalesced into a humanoid figure, as Gus was on alert, expecting the pilot of the Primeval Fighter.

However, instead of a simple figure, what floated before him was a female figure with a pronounced figure with short glowing white hair, holding a crystalline orb with the Sanskrit zero symbol on it. When she rose her head, Gus could see her face, which was filled with a expression of gentle kindness and gratitude, as her emerald eyes glimmered with innocence, supported by her own smile.

"Who are you…?" Gus asked, as he slowly relaxed himself, assured that the being before him wasn't hostile.

"Thank you, Gus Campbell… Thank you." The being spoke with a melodious voice. "And… sorry you had to see my sister like that."

"Sister…? You're the sister of the pilot of the Primeval Fighter!?" Gus asked back.

"Yes, that is right." The figure nodded back, before lowering her head with guilt in her eyes. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach her anymore. Yet despite all the unfathomable things she did, I couldn't bring myself to hate her either."

Gus remained silent, refusing to press the matter, as the figure continued to speak.

"Travelling for so long, slowly losing sight of her purpose, without anyone to talk to…" She continued. "She must've felt terribly lonely."

Gus recalled the words from the monk, as he nodded slightly. "Indeed, to be a sentient weapon built with the purpose to only destroy… It is a fate that no-one deserves to have…" He remarked. "...I may not accept what she has done… but I still sympathise with the cruel hand fate dealt her… She would have been a good person, if someone was there for her."

"It's sad that it could have been like that…" The figure answered back. "Gus… A great power has emerged within you… You have inherited a fragment of the Lotus Jewel's immense power… Here at the world's end… It's the only proof of our existence. I hope that you'll carry this power with you, wherever you may end up, so that one day, it will give birth to a new future… without despair."

The figure then lowered her head again. "...Is what I'd like to say, but I can't be truly sure about that. Even so, I'm willing to bet everything on that chance, and I believe you would do the same."

"...That's true. Even though this place has undergone much suffering and despair…" Gus answered back. "...Even if this memento is a fragment of a cursed power that would have turned reality into void… I will bear the power wisely, and let it be a reminder of a world where a pair of young girls saved their world from a god of destruction."

"I'm glad to hear that…" The figure remarked, before the crystalline orb in her hand began to crack, as her figure began to flicker, to Gus's horror. "It seems that I can't hold onto my consciousness much longer. In a moment, all of this fades away and I'll be able to join my sister."

The orb began to crack further, as the figure began to flicker more erratically. "I'm a bit afraid." She admitted with a sad smile. "But… do you think… this new future, your future… if we were born again in it… would it accept us?"

"...Even if it would not accept you… I will… my friends will… our people will…" Gus answered back. "...You will not be abandoned again, and neither will your sister. We will meet again eventually, so until then… please hope for it."

"That's all I need to know… Thank you, great hero… thank you." The figure smiled back radiantly, as the space around them began to turn black once again, as the orb scattered into various shades of petal-like fragments, as the figure slowly faded away out of existence.

"...May you rest in peace, and be reborn again in better times." Gus prayed for the fading figure.

After the petal fragments had faded away, Gus felt a tug on his very being, as he was dragged through the void, before a large white gash in the void appeared, and he was dragged through it.

The moment he entered through it, his vision was consumed in white, before the colour faded from his eyes, and he found himself back inside the Arwing Mark II, looking as intact as it was before the mission started.

"...I've… returned?" Gus remarked, before he then noticed something before him, an ethereal projection of Richard, clad in yellow monk-like robes, with a gentle look in his eyes. "You're…"

"One of his soul fragments, yes… The fragment of faith." He spoke with a gentle tone. "...Finally, having been sealed within the Primeval Fighter, I have managed to free myself to come back to you."

"...How does this match to your own attribute? All of this…?" Gus asked, as the question burned in his head.

"Isn't it obvious? You might have partially uncovered it, but it was your own faith that carried you through this hellish ordeal." Richard's fragment answered back with a faint smile. "Your faith allowed you to access the power of the Lotus Jewel and its offspring, and your faith gave you the will to destroy the original Lotus Jewel at the time of its creation. Both are proof that you have been worthy to return me to my own body."

"...Then what about Mido, and Dori? Are they…" Gus asked, feeling like he would dread the answer.

"...They are alive and well, although they will not remember you." Richard's fragment responded back. "Their memories did not survive the reset of this galaxy. They are with their sister, and they are still pilots. Maybe one day, they'll come to you. But rest assured, their stories are just beginning, once more."

"...I see." Gus answered back.

"Come, let us return. You must be so heavily taxed from the ordeal." Richard's fragment stated, as he flew into the Arwing, before then turning into a yellow light in Gus's hand. At the same time, the fighter's comms buzzed to life.

"This is Shodai Leader!" The male voice of the squad captain remarked. "Major, we have received readings of a massive energy fluctuation in this area, and the reports of space and time being drastically altered by some unknown force! What happened, are you still in one piece!?"

Gus took a moment, before he then responded back. "This is Major Campbell… I believe that what I have experienced cannot be simply described with words. I am all well. I simply require an escort back to the GFS Ryujin."

"Roger that, standby for arrival." The captain answered back.

The fighter squad quickly arrived, as Gus immediately joined up with them, as they began to turn around and return to their base.

"You sure that you can't tell us a bit about it, Major?" One of the squad members asked with a curious tone. "It must have been one hell of a fight down there, to have kicked up such a ruckus."

Gus looked down at the light in his hand, before smiling lightly to himself.

"...You could say… I fought a God with this… and I won." Gus boasted slightly, as the fighters went into a warp-jump.

---

Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Astral Enlightenment

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