Chapter 10: The First Mission Part 1
[a clear night time sky in the Boiling Isles, everything seems peaceful. Birds minding their own business. UNTIL IT SMACKS ITS FACE ON SOMETHING INVISIBLE! The Shatter Jet flies through the sky in stealth mode and the team prepares for the mission. A.X.E.L. meditating, Raymond piloting the ship, Arthur and Luz discussing everything he's been training her for, Coco preparing her equipment whether it was firearms or medical tools in case of injuries. And Kotoha wrapped up in a ball thinking to herself, West walks up next to Raymond checking the outside]
West: Alright Raymond, how long till we get to the drop zone?
Raymond: Ten minutes boss.
[Raymond looks back at the squad, and notices Kotoha curled up in a ball]
Raymond: Hey boss, are you sure she's up for this? She doesn't look so good.
[West looks back]
West: Kotoha is a strong girl, but to be honest, I'm also worried let's just pray that her fight with Luz won't get to her head.
[West turns around and calls for everyone's attention]
West: *serious* Alright everyone listen up.
[The team except for Kotoha turn their attention to West]
West: You all know your teams, you know the plan, and you know what we are up against.
Arthur: Don't worry West, if Meta shows up, we can take them, right Kotoha?
[Arthur looks at Kotoha with a worried expression, he tries to call for her attention, but Kotoha ignores him, in her head she recalls the pressure she felt from Luz during their fight. It felt as though some sort of monster was going to kill her. At that moment she didn't know what to do, she had all sorts of feelings; anger, fear, trauma, all these negative moments she was feeling, it put her in a state where she couldn't even focus.]
Luz: Kotoha?
Kotoha: *gasp* Get away from me!
[Everyone's attention turns to Kotoha, giving her confused expressions, Kotoha looks around her and tries to keep her cool]
Kotoha: Sorry I was just, I got it.
West: Kotoha, are you sure you can do this?
Kotoha: *annoyed* YES, I'm fine! "I" can handle this!
[West expresses his worries for Kotoha but is interrupted by Raymond]
Raymond: Boss! Five minutes!
West: *sigh* Alright everyone, be ready for anything. And stick to codenames!
Luz: *excited* Wait, we need codenames?!
Arthur: Yeah, lucky for you we all thought of the one for ya.
Luz: *sad* Aw.
Arthur: Welcome to the team Owlet.
Luz: Owlet?
A.X.E.L.: Your training under the Owl Lady, so you're her hatchling waiting to grow into a mighty Owl.
Coco: Their for, Owlet.
Luz: hehehe I like the sound of that. What about you guys?
A.X.E.L: Animal!
Coco: Doctor Crystal.
West: Slayer
Arthur: I'm already using my codename.
Raymond: And I'm Raymond.
Luz: Huh?
Raymond: It's the name they gave me when I joined, honestly it's better than Fruit Loops.
Luz: Oh.
[Luz turns to Kotoha]
Luz: What about you Kotoha?
[Kotoha looks at Luz with fear, remembering the monster she faced, but Arthur steps in]
Arthur: Her name is Kami. Japanese word for "God"
Luz: That's pretty cool.
Kotoha: *grunt* Whatever, just stay out of my way freak.
[the moment Luz heard that word, she gives Kotoha a confused look, and looks down disappointed in herself, until..]
King: HEY! Don't you dare call her a freak!
[Luz looks down and notices that King is somehow beside her]
Luz: Wha! King!
West: What's he doing here?!
King: (uh oh) Oh, Luz, uh I.. you know I saw this ship and uh, it was pretty cool and I thought.. Hehe.
[King looks down in defeat]
King: I snuck on the ship before you left.
Luz: King you can't be here! It's dangerous!
King: I mean I have a perfectly good explanation.
Luz: Look we don't have time, I'm sorry King. Raymond can you turn this ship around?
Raymond: Sorry Luz, Looks like he is going to have to come with us.
Luz: What?!
Raymond: We are almost at the drop zone, and we can't do anything about it right now.
Luz: But..
West: *sigh* He'll stay with me.
Luz: What?
West: I'll keep an eye on the little guy. And maybe talk to him about not sneaking on the ship!
King: Hehehehe.
Raymond: Drop zone at ten...nine…
[Arthur turns to Luz to give her pep talk]
Arthur: Alright Luz this is it, your first mission. You ready for this.
Luz: Well with King here, I'm not sure.
Arthur: Don't worry, he'll be with West, and I promise you West can keep him safe.
Raymond: eight…..seven..
King: Wait how exactly is this going to work, is this giant thing going to stop somewhere?
Raymond: Six...five…
West: I suggest you hold onto me!
Raymond: four...three...two!
King: Hold on to you why would I..
Raymond: ONE!
[Raymond makes the plane disappear into his hand, and everyone begins to fall]
King: OH MY TITAN! I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS!
[The team continues to fall, and King suddenly squeezes West's large arm!]
West: Remember your landing strategies! Shatter Squad. Move Out!
Shatter squad: Yes Sir!
[As they descend Luz holds onto her staff and begins to fly into the conformitorium, Arthur follows her on Crimson Dragon. Kotoha, grabs a kite and descends with them, all three of them land safely, A.X.E.L is about to land but he opens his arm and goes into a somersault and lands safe, getting dust on him, Coco and Raymond land in a forcefield created by the young scientist, and West, he just crashes and is still standing]
West: Let's get to work
[King continues to hold onto his arm traumatized after the fall]
West: *annoyed* you can let go now.
[King blinks twice]
King: Oh right, yeah, okay, I wasn't scared that was uh awesome? Yeah, I'm totally doing that again…
[King goes on about how he wasn't scared, while West, Raymond and Coco go on ahead]
King: ...the King of Demons has no fear of heights..hey wait for me!
[King catches up to them]
[as for the team tasked with retrieving the device the continue with their stealth mission around the conformitorium]
A.X.E.L.: Alright according to Raymond, the armour piece we are looking for is at the top of the tower, and according to Luz it can only be opened by a human, lucky for all of us, we can get in easily and with Owlet here, we should be able to find it.
Arthur: Alright Owlet, lead the way.
Luz: Okay, if i remember correctly there are a ton of guards they are easy to take down.
Arthur: But since this is a stealth mission we don't want to draw attention to ourselves.
[Kotoha bored of the conversation moves on ahead]
Kotoha: Screw this let's just go!
A.X.E.L: Kami! Damnit!
[The team begins the stealth mission, while they move forward, Luz tries to catch up to Kotoha, but Kotoha turns out to be faster than her in every way possible. So she decides to do the next best thing, jump on her staff and float towards her]
Luz: *worried* Koto...I mean Kami, are you alright?
Kotoha: The hell do you want?!
Luz: Hey we are trying to work together here, plus you can't go off on your own!
Kotoha: Don't go telling me what to do!
[The two continue to pursue forward, A.X.E.L. jumps in front of them]
A.X.E.L.: Wait! Guard!
[everyone gets behind the wall, waiting for the guard to pass by]
Luz: *whisper* I'm not telling you to do anything, I'm only trying to help.
Kotoha: *whisper* Oh please you have no idea what you are doing! And you're only helping because you got lucky!
[The guard's footsteps can be heard inching closer, A.X.E.L. gives them a signal to be quiet]
Luz: What do you mean I'm lucky?
Arthur: Guys stop arguing!
Kotoha: I know your type, people like you want to feel special and think they can save the world! And some people end up looking like freaks! They think they are better! But you Luz! You're a freak who only got lucky, you almost died fighting Tank, but you got lucky! You lost the fight against me and the freak power took over. You treat this like it's easy!
Arthur: *whisper* Kami!
Kotoha: BUT IT'S NOT!
[The Guard looks at the wall they are on]
Guard: Hey who's there?
[He immediately directs his attention to Luz]
Guard: Luz the Human?! Put your hands up!
[as the guard prepares to draw a spell circle, A.X.E.L. steps in and back kicks him to the face]
Guard: Gah!
[As the guard tries to get back up A.X.E.L. then belts him in the face, knocking him unconscious, everyone looks at him]
A.X.E.L.: Get the body away, and from this point on no more arguing! Is that clear?!
Luz: *sad* Yes sir..
Kotoha: *grunts* whatever.
Arthur: We should probably get moving, there could be more, what's worse the Meta syndicate could be he...
[The alarm blares]
Arthur: *tch* okay, "That" can't be good.
[earlier with West's team, they walk around the conformitorium, with Raymond's tracker in Coco's hand, King looks down and Raymond goes up to him.]
Raymond: Why so down in the dumps little guy?
King: I'm not little! And why do you care?!
Raymond: hey man I'm just asking, can't a guy be curious about other people's feelings.
King: *sigh* Do you think Luz is doing fine without me?
Raymond: What brought this up?
King: Well it's just ever since she came to the Isles, she has been a great minion to my army.
Raymond: Army?
King: Well if you must know, I am the King of Demons.
Raymond: That's hard to believe but go on.
King: well we have been through a lot together...and ever since the petrification ceremony of Eda, she lost her way home, and now she is a wanted criminal. And with that and you guys fighting this "Meta" group, I haven't seen her in a while. It makes me feel like I can't help her at all. She took on the emperor and destroyed her way home, and I couldn't be there for her. I don't even know how to help her now. And who knows how long it will be before the emperor's coven gets her hands on her.
[King grips his fist in anger]
King: and it's not only that. I heard that you guys have a portal that brought you here.
[West overhears King's conversation with Raymond and chooses not to respond]
Raymond: Where did you hear that?
King: I overheard Luz's conversation with Arthur yesterday.
[Flashback to yesterday, Luz asks Arthur how exactly they got to the Boiling Isles]
Arthur: Well we actually have a portal that brought us here.
Luz: YOU GUYS HAVE A PORTAL!
[Arthur is amazed by Luz's reaction]
Arthur: Well we did, but somehow it's busted.
[After hearing the word "busted" Luz looks down in disappointment]
Arthur: That's actually another reason why we are going to the conformitorium.
Luz: hmm?
Arthur: The thing that West's team will look into is something that can get our portal fixed, it's not guaranteed but it's a start.
Luz: But you can get it fixed right?
Arthur: Well we just have to hope. I'm guessing you're asking because you destroyed your own portal right?
Luz: How did you know that?
Arthur: Logic. I'm just surprised that there is more than one portal.
Luz: Well I had to destroy it because the Emperor had a plan for it. I don't know what it is, but I'm just glad that I could keep my home safe.
Arthur: Do you even want to go back?
Luz: Huh?
Arthur: Earth? Do you want to go back?
Luz: I mean my mom is there..if she knows that I wasn't at summer camp she would worry.
Arthur: You really care about your mom huh?
Luz: Yeah..she was the only one who cared for me back on earth. I just wish I could see her again.
[Arthur takes a deep breath]
Arthur: I'll tell you what.
[Arthur pulls out a knife, and slices his hand]
Luz: Wait what are you doing?!
Arthur: Making a promise...when we finish this mission, and capture the Meta Syndicate...we'll both come back alive, and go home.
[Luz looks at him with a grateful expression, with a single nod she immediately grabs the knife and slices her own hand]
Luz: It's a promise that I will come back alive. And you will bring me home.
[Both reach out for each other's hand and seal the blood oath, and listening to from the inside is King, with a sad look on his face]
[Flashback ends, Coco looks at King with worried glance but pretends she doesn't listen]
Coco: (oh King, that's why you came)
Raymond: So you want to be useful to your friend and help her get back home.
King: Well I want to help any way I can, that's why I snuck on the plane. But sometimes I don't want her to leave. Am I selfish for saying that?
Raymond: Well kind of, but showing that you really care for her means a lot.
Coco: I agree with Raymond.
[King turns his attention to Coco]
King: Really?
Coco: Well sure it's selfish to keep your friend away from her home. But it also means that you think of her as family. Plus don't think you are useless. I hear a lot of good things about you from Luz..
[King looks up after hearing that phrase, good things, what kind of good things, stuff like this made him curious]
King: What kind of things?
Coco: How you sacrificed yourself and saved Luz and her friends from man eating beasts, how you helped her discover her first spell and stopped a cursed Eda from rampaging, and how you assisted her with her battle against the emperor and saved Lilith from being shredded by Eda.
King: She said all that?
Coco: Well according to her you two are boo boo buddies. I have a doctorate in Therapy, so I listen to every detail. And don't go thinking you are useless. You helped Luz a lot during her stay here.
[West smiles without them looking]
West: Heh.
[they all stop in an open path]
Raymond: I'm guessing what we are looking for is on the other side of that open space. Damn.
West: Alright, we can't draw attention to ourselves. So let's come up with a plan and *ggghh*
[West senses a large presence coming from outside the walls suddenly an explosion comes bursting through the wall of the conformitorium and the alarm blares]
Raymond: That can't be good.
[multiple guards from the outside of the wall try to fight completely unknown opponents]
Guard 1: Stop right the..
[Tank smashes the Guard's face into the wall]
Tank: *menacing* Let's go to work.
[Tank begins to fight multiple Conformitorium guards, slaughtering them one by one]
King: That Tank guy. What's he doing here?!
West: We figured the Meta Syndicate would be here, but wasn't expecting Tank to show for a mission like this. Raymond, go get the information we came here for. Crystal and King watch his back.
[Everyone looking at him with confused looks as he walks outside]
King: Wait what are you going to do?!
West: I'm going slaying.
[West moves towards the big man, as Tank fights another member of the guards, he roars to the top of his lungs]
Tank: *aggressive* IS THERE NO ONE WHO CAN PUT UP A FIGHT!
West: hands up big man!
[Tank hears West's voice and immediately turns to his direction]
Tank: hmm? Oh West Hercule, Commander Slayer. He said you would be here. But honestly I thought you would be with your little group of knights?
West: I'm here on their behalf. I'm giving you the chance to surrender yourself, or fight me the hard way.
Tank: If you are here. Then that must mean that little brat is here as well, when I'm done with you I'll get that little shit and put her in her place.
[Tank's Dark blue Aura begins to gather]
Tank: RAGH!
[The Dark blue aura begins to burst revealing his Spirit]
Tank: Spirit Power! Achilles!
West: Guess it's the hard way.
[West takes a deep breath and gathers his aura, the atmosphere suddenly begins to feel heavy, forcing King to fall to the ground]
King: Wait, he has that thing too?
[Feeling the pressure from West, he knew that whatever he was summoning must have been big, and big it was, because a Giant Orange Aura bursts from West, summoning his Spirit]
West: Spirit Power!
[The Spirit reveals a man with huge muscles wearing leather armor, and lion skin headdress, holding a huge Club with spikes]
West: GOD OF STRENGTH! HERCULES!
[Both fighters walk closer to each other with their spirits behind them, and the trio behind him feel the pressure in the air.]
West: I have three rules for my opponents! First, the fighter must be a servant of evil.
[The footsteps become heavier]
West: Second! They must tremble before my power!
[They both stop in front of each other]
West: And third! They have to be willing to take me on! NO EXCUSES!
Tank: Heheheh.
[Tank and West raise their fist and deal blows to each other at the same time, but instead their fist form a wave of energy preventing their attacks from colliding, starting an earthquake through the conformatorium]
Tank: bring it on Old man!
West: *smirks* Heheh, oh I will!
TO BE CONTINUED!