"So, what kind of world is Dahna, anyway?" Sachiko asked.
"I wish I could tell you, but I don't exactly have much to go on." UI said.
"In that case, allow me to provide this little history lesson." Raine said. "In ages long past, it is believed that Mother Dahna was indestructible and everlasting, while Rena was considered the domain of the gods, a paradise where souls of the departed could rest forevermore. However… Reality tends to be a very cruel mistress."
"So they're two worlds, like Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were?" Emil asked.
"Exactly, 300 years ago, Rena launched a large-scale invasion on Dahna. With a combination of superior technology, magic, and control over beasts known as Zeugels, Rena was able to quickly subjugate Dahna." Raine said.
"Just like how the Desians did with humans." Marta said, looking down.
"Yes. The Renans split Dahna into five realms, each governed by a lord holding a Master Core of a specific element. Periodically, the five Lords hold what is called a Crown Contest by gathering as much astral energy from the common folk as possible in the hopes of becoming a Sovereign, the ruler of Rena. However… The true nature of such is still unknown." Raine said.
"These Master Cores, they almost seem similar to a Force Cube." Veigue said.
"But still… A world that has never known peace in 300 years… It's quite a heavy thought to think about." David said. "But wait… You said that Renans are able to use magic, right?"
"Yes, while Dahnans can't. That's going to be an issue when they see us using our powers. They may end up confusing us for Renans and turn hostile." Raine said.
"Well, that's a risk we are going to have to take, Professor." Mayumi said. "We are here to gather forces for the upcoming war against Kaido, so we are gonna have to turn a few heads at some point."
"Yeah, besides we can't just stand by and let innocent people get hurt." Stahn said.
"So where should we start our search for allies and our campaign of liberation?" Jin asked.
"How about we start…here?" Glimmer asked, marking an area on the map in Dahna that was a canyonous area full of magma and mountainous terrain.
"Calaglia, hm? Interesting choice for a start. The problem is how to find them without drawing suspicion." Raine said.
"It'll be just like when we infiltrated the Death Star. We can knock the ones in armor out, and some of us can wear their suits and blend in." Mayumi said. "There seems to be a train running periodically. When those of us infiltrating give the signal, that's when you guys come in."
"Sounds like a plan." Rutee said.
"The first thing we gotta do then is lure out a guard so one of us can take his place." David said.
"Oooh, that's a very shrewd plan you're coming up with." Leopardmon said.
"I'll do it!" Frosta volunteered.
"You? That armor would be too bulky for you." Mayumi said.
"She has a point, Frosta." Scarlet said.
"I know, that's why I'm volunteering to lure a Renan guard in so I can knock him out so one of you can put his armor on." Frosta corrected.
"Oh, I hope we don't regret coming up with this plan." David said.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Ace said.
With that, the Galaxy King landed in Calaglia nearby a location called Mosgul. A nearby train was about to depart pulled by a sort of armored boar beast as guards in large suits of armor were patrolling, and one guard noticed Frosta.
"Hey! You there, with the big armor! Yeah, come and get me!" Frosta taunted, jumping up and down.
"What the hell…who left their kid out here?" one of the guards asked in exasperation.
"Must be an Embedded trying something, I'll handle it." another of the guards said, approaching Frosta. "Alright, kid, cut out the fun and games and-"
He was cut off when the young ice princess leaped up and roundhouse kicked him in the face, knocking him out on his feet. He tipped over and almost hit the ground to alert his comrades, before Frosta caught him in time.
"Ngh… so… heavy…!" Frosta grunted. "Okay, I got one!" she communicated.
"Great. Bring him near the mountain side so one of us can change." David said.
"Got it…!" Frosta said as she threw the unconscious trooper over onto Glastrier's back, who was beside her to help, as they both carried the soldier back to the mountain side with the guard's friends none the wiser.
He was set down with a hefty clank as Frosta joined the others. "Phew. Diversion and capture successful. Now, who wants to get in this thing?"
"Hmm… Quite the options. I could fit in this thing, but they are totally going to expect a guy." Mayumi said.
"Well, if I'm going in this thing, at least I won't have to cross-dress this time." David said.
"Oh, will you please let that go?" Eddy asked.
"The guard is an adult, so it should be someone who can pass for one." Mark pointed out. "The guards would get suspicious if a kid they didn't know showed up in their uniform, after all."
"I shall do it." Magress volunteered.
"That'll work." Bardock nodded. "Change and be quick, the guards are bound to be wondering where this one went."
"And don't say anything that might tip them off of us being here." David said. "Just act as if this guy would."
"I am familiar with the concept." Magress said as he did so.
"Gotta say. It looks really good on you." Sectonia said.
"Thank you, it's different from the armor I once wore, but it shall do." Magress said.
"Now, get moving. The train is about to depart." David said.
"Understood." Magress said as he left.
Magress then returned back to the transport, where the other guards waited.
"About time you got back. What happened to that kid in the parka?" one of them asked.
"She has been sent back to her family." Magress said.
"Oh, good." the guard nodded. "Lord Balseph would have our heads if we were one short. Speaking of which, we'd better get the train moving again. Don't want to be late."
"Yes." Magress said as underneath the helm, his eyes directed to one of the train cars.
And so the transport moved along the tracks, pulled by the beast in front. Things were going smoothly as the ride went through the canyons, Magress beside the other two, but then…
"Hm?" The driver then noticed an oil drum going over the side of the cliff face above, falling right towards the eventual position of the transport. "Ah..!"
Without any time to react, the drum exploded on contact with the transport, derailing it and knocking the guards, except for Magress out. As soon as the smoke settled, a man with a metal gauntlet on his left arm ran out from the smoke, followed by a boy in a blue, sleeveless shirt.
"Hmm. So we are not the only ones who had stopping the train in mind." Magress said.
"Looks like one of the guards is still up." the old man noted. "Grenar, check inside the train! I'll hold 'em here!"
"Got it!" the boy said as he quickly made his way into the wreckage as the man faced Magress.
"There is no reason to hold this disguise anymore." Magress said before spotting someone coming. "Right… Have to play along."
"We saw the explosion!" a Renan soldier said, followed by several others. The group then took in the scene. "Of course…the Crimson Crows. You Embedded won't escape this time! Get him!"
The soldiers charged the man with the gauntlet, who proved capable of holding his own against them. The fight was interrupted, however, when a flash of purple in the shape of thorns and a scream of pain erupted from the train wreck.
"A burst of dark energy?" Magress said to himself.
"What the hell…?" the man muttered as from out of the car, a young woman with strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail and a white dress leaped out and started running down the tracks. "Hey, come back!"
"Hey, you!" one of the Renan soldiers yelled at Magress. "Don't let her get away!"
Magress nodded before giving chase at surprising speed. The woman looked back at the approaching disguised soldier before her gaze drifted to a nearby ledge. Without hesitation, she turned towards the ledge and jumped, falling down towards the unseen ground below.
"You won't lose me like that." Magress said, diving down after her before landing in a larger car below and waving his hand as dark magic slowed the woman's descent. "It is far too early for one such as you to meet her end here."
Huffing, the woman looked at the disguised Magress for a bit as someone else climbed up to see them.
"Hey, you're…" a voice called out.
Magress turned his gaze as he saw a young man in tattered clothing, and the strangest thing he noticed was a faceless iron mask around his head.
"A mask?" Magress asked. "How interesting."
"Over there!" a voice called out as the soldiers from before ran towards the train. "Don't move!"
"Go now!" the girl said to the man in the mask.
"Huh?" the man said, perplexed.
"Hurry, get moving!" she urged him before the knights leapt onto the top of the car.
"Good work cornering her!" one of the soldiers complimented Magress. "It took guts leaping after her like that."
"Save the compliments until after we're done." the lead soldier ordered before he turned to the woman. "Alright, we can do this the easy way or not…"
"The hard way." Magress said as darkness enveloped him as he now stood before them with his true appearance as he materialized Leomurg in hand.
"What the-?!" the lead soldier exclaimed before a blast of darkness launched him and his men off the train.
"Hey, he's not one of ours!" one of the guards said. "Stop him! And contact HQ!"
In the meantime, the man in the iron mask leapt onto the top of the train, offering a quick thanks to Magress as he ran past, before heading to the front and leaping onto a lever to start the train up. The train sped off along the tracks, leaving the soldiers behind.
"Events have certainly escalated." Magress mused as he saw another train carrying a squadron of soldiers behind them.
"There they are!"
"Forget the rebels and the impostor, focus on the girl!"
"Jump over at the front!"
"Take the girl alive! The rest are expendable!"
"Seems they're quite interested in you." Magress said to the girl, as he noted the man in the iron mask ripping out a bar from the train as an improvised weapon. "As we have a common enemy, I'll offer my support for the time being."
The dark knight and the mysterious man stood against the two soldiers who approached.
"Are you two seriously going to fight us?!" one of the knights demanded.
"It won't just be us you'll be dealing with." Magress said as he fired a blast of darkness into the sky.
"Huh… Pretty neat trick. Not that it's gonna help… What the?" a knight said as he suddenly saw himself wrapped in chains of ice.
"Nice work, Magress. Infiltration successful." David said as he, Zacian and Sectonia were behind the knights on the train, trapping them in a pincer attack.
"Those chains? Are you a Renan or something? You sure don't look like any we've seen." the chained knight said.
"You could say I'm…one of a kind." David said.
"Well, if you really are one, the least you can do is train your zeugel." the knight said, looking at the Elemental Sword in Zacian's mouth.
"Oh, don't worry. He's trained." David said.
"Are they on your side?" the masked man asked Magress.
"Indeed." Magress said. "They are here to assist us."
"Sorry, boys. But we are commandeering this train." Sectonia said as she got her blades ready.
"Renan, Embedded, it doesn't matter!" one of the knights said. "They're against us! Attack!"
The knights charged the group as they stood ready to fight.
"May I have this dance?" Sectonia asked as she engaged one of the knights with clashing swords.
"It's just a weird looking zeugel with a sword, I got this!" another of the knights encouraged himself as he cautiously approached Zacian.
"Behemoth…Blade!" Zacian called out as they cut through the incoming soldiers.
"It's not just a zeugel, it's not just a zeugel!" The knight realized in a panic before he was cut down.
"I told him he was trained." David said with a sigh as he shook his head before turning his attention to the lead knight.
"Yeah, they're a jumpy bunch." the leader admitted. "But I digress. Let's see what you got, one of a kind."
"With pleasure." David said.
"Rah!" the knight called out as they charged with their sword.
David drew his own blade and clashed with the knight, attacking with quick strikes.
"Who are these guys?" the masked man asked himself.
"We're just a group of wandering heroes." Zacian said.
The fights continued until the train was getting close to the bridge. As soon as they crossed under it, a man with a large metallic arm jumped down onto it.
"That's the man from before." Magress said to himself.
The man joined in the fighting as he started socking the incoming soldiers with his fists and taking them down.
"Whoa, this man is really strong." David said.
One of the soldiers attempted to touch the woman but only got a massive shock in return before falling once more.
"Whoa, what was that?" David asked. "When he touched her, he was screaming in pain. Almost as if…"
"Uh…David…hate to interrupt but you might wanna jump the train you're on pretty soon." Jexi said on the comm.
"Why?" David asked before seeing another oil drum falling. "Ah…crap."
"Everybody, brace yourselves!" Sectonia said.
"Sectonia is right. This train is about to go out in a ball of flames!" Zacian said.
"Jump on!" Jexi called out as the Galaxy King was flying close to them.
"Ready, guys? 3… 2… 1… Jump, now!" David said.
The four of them jumped to the Galaxy King, followed by the man in the mask, the woman, and the two men who joined the battle last as the train cars derailed and exploded.
Onboard the Galaxy King…
"Hmm…the Iron Mask man looks like he's sustained some injuries. But I can fix him up." Chopper said.
"It's crazy how he was able to fight like that without even flinching." Zacian said.
"Almost as if…he is incapable of feeling pain." Sectonia said. "He could keel over on the spot and he wouldn't even notice."
"It's always been that way for as long as I can remember." the masked man said. "I appreciate the treatment."
"Wait, so it's true? You can't feel pain?" Bow asked.
"Uh, yeah, it's just another thing I don't have. No pain, no face, no memories. I only know one thing about myself, and that's that I'm a slave." the man replied.
"Well, I do know one thing. You people weren't expected to jump in like that during our little apprehension of the girl." the man with the metal arm said.
"Ah, well…" David started.
"We saw David taking matters into his own hands and we followed." Pit said.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a habit, I guess. I guess I just couldn't stand by while all of those slaves were left to suffer. Someone had to do something about it, right?" David asked.
"So…where we dropping you off at?" Jet asked.
"The Zionne Mines." the man said.
"Zionne Mines, hm? Alright then. That's no problem." Sachiko said.
"We're going to get pulled into another war, aren't we?" Mark asked.
"Yep." Jexi said.
"Worse than the last one?" Mark asked.
"Most likely." Mayumi said.
"...Bring it on." Mark said, cracking his knuckles.