Wow, talk about Harsher In Hindsight regarding Jaguar getting unceremoniously killed off in Aoi War arc of Edens Zero manga and I didn't expect that when I wrote Elsie Crimson thinking about Jaguar biting the dust back in Chapter 1. Rest in peace, Jaguar. We hardly knew you other than your past as a former member of the Oracion Seis Galactica before reforming and became a member of the Oracion Seis Interestelar. Anyways, I am back with second chapter of "Interstellar Zero" and thanks for the early reviews and support for this Edens Zero AU story. I really appreciate it and reading recent chapters of Edens Zero manga with the Lendard arc has been quite a long rollercoaster for me.
My responses to these Guest reviews that I can't normally reply on PM:
Guest: Aye, Shiki in a formal military uniform with a coat cape in Edens Zero Chapter 169 cover does make him look badass in it.
EZ Guest: Thanks for liking the story and yes the Four Shining Stars will join the Interstellar Union Army since this Shiki is a part of it. They follow the New Demon King wherever he chooses his path out of loyalty and friendship with him after all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Edens Zero and its characters. They respectively belong to Hiro Mashima, the guy behind his big three works: Edens Zero, Fairy Tail (main series and the 100 Years Quest) and Rave Master.
Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D
Chapter 2
Few days later somewhere in the Sakura Cosmos, Angel Feather
Within the training facility of Justice's Commando Carrier, Shiki being dressed up in a basic cadet armor is trading powerful blows with Lieutenant Brosnan in hand to hand combat. Their fight is observed by Justice and his two subordinates Victory and Creed, and also Amira. The Celestial Judge told Shiki that he will fight his sparring partner without his Ether Gear as he wanted to see how strong the grandson of Ziggy is in base form compared to being enhanced by Satan Gravity. He did the same for the lieutenant who complied too as well in order to make it fair and square.
Shiki threw a powerful left punch that clashed with Brosnan's large right metallic fist, which briefly pushed back the large O-Tech. In retaliation, Brosnan gave a right uppercut on the Demon King's grandson in the chin, sending him flying. Despite being large and intimidating, the lieutenant is actually fast and agile which surprises Shiki when the former made the first move.
Undeterred, Shiki somersaulted in midair and landed on his feet with ease before dashing forward in a blink of an eye to smash Brosnan in the stomach. The lieutenant is sent flying and crashed on the wall of the training facility, damaging it as a result.
An impressed Victory remarked with a whistle, "Not bad. Shiki really is good at hand to hand combat and reflexes which I bet Ziggy taught him that on Granbell. His physical strength is something to behold though."
Checking out the numbers on his pad that determine Shiki's strength level that the cameras in the room scanned, Creed noted in agreement, "Indeed, it is recorded to be 2000 to 2500. If his blows are enhanced by Satan Gravity, they would cause tremendous damage on his opponent and the surrounding area. It's a good thing Justice ordered the two to not use their Ether Gears inside the Angel Feather."
Amira commented with a fascinated look in observation, "That's the power of gravity for you. Although Brosnan is not a pushover either. The big guy is giving Shiki a run for his money. Even without an Ether Gear."
Justice remarked in agreement, "Brosnan is Captain Jaguar's top subordinate when working under him at the Commando Carrier Cobra."
Brosnan made a surprise shoulder charge attack on Shiki who blocked it with his arms and is pushed back by the lieutenant's brute strength and speed. In turn, Shiki grabbed Brosnan's arm and used the momentum to judo flip his opponent, slamming the large lieutenant hard on the floor and break it into a web-like crater. This surprised Victory, Creed and Amira while Justice is impressed and decided to end it for now.
"Alright, that's enough! The sparring match is over.", the Celestial Judge ordered, which Shiki lets go of the arm and made a victory sign and a smile.
"Woohoo! Yes! I won! That was fun!", the spiky black haired young man cheered.
The lieutenant groaned after feeling the impact aftermath and mutters in a dizzy tone, "I agree... Let's do it again. This time with our Ether Gears..."
Shiki smiled, reaching his hand out to Brosnan, who took it, and pull the big guy up, "Sure thing. I'm ready for another round!"
Creed reminded them upon entering the room, "I would advise that you don't use your Ether Gears inside the ship, Shiki, Brosnan. Last thing we needed is to get spaced if the Angel Feather is accidentally compromised and put everyone here at risk. Perhaps you two can do that outside the Angel Feather on the ground where you are free to go all out."
Shiki and Brosnan groaned in disappointment but simply conceded with the glasses wearing subordinate of Justice after understanding why it is a bad idea in the first place. However, the Demon King's grandson noticed the O-Tech's head to a little loose around on the neck. "Is your neck okay, Brosnan?", he asked with look of concern.
Shaking off the dizziness, the large armored being responded, "Oh this? Don't worry about it. I will fix that."
Using both hands, Brosnan reached out to pop the head from the neck casually which shocked Shiki. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! YOUR HEAD CAME OFF!", he shouted with his eyes widened like dinner plates.
Chuckling lightheartedly, the O-Tech lieutenant reassured while putting the head back on and adjust it properly. "I told you, Shiki. I'm an O-Tech. Meaning I am half-machine. My head is the only one organic."
The Satan Gravity user calmed down, noting. "Oh I see. Thanks for the heads up."
Victory groaned with a facepalm upon hearing it. Not those kind of insufferable puns again!, he lamented.
"Don't worry about it, Shiki. I won't let that get into my head.", Brosnan cheekily reassured, which the large burly man facepalm again with a louder groan and decided to leave for the mess hall and get some milk for his sanity's sake.
Watching Shiki and Brosnan leave for the mess hall too as well with Creed following them, Amira mused, "Those two are getting really well like two peas in a pod."
Justice stated however, "Shiki may have the combat skills and Ether Gear capabilities taught to him by his grandfather but he lacked the experience. He must undergo the baptism of fire in battle against the evil that runs rampart in the cosmos."
"What do you suggest? I know that you're still pursuing Elsie even when overseeing Shiki's training as a new member of the Interstellar Union Army for a few days... but Shiki punching above his weight class at a Galactica member and her fleet of space pirates even if he had back up from you and the Justice Unit would be a bad idea. He is still a greenhorn after all.", the blonde agent interjected.
"You got to start small and then work up to it.", she finished.
The Celestial Judge begrudgingly nodded as he is fully aware that in every space pirate ship under the Armored Space Pirate's command of her fleet, each crew is filled with formidable fighters and Ether Gear users in their own right, and they are all loyal and devoted to Elsie as if she is like a queen to them. As if she deserved to be queen after what she had done to our home planet Lendard with her unforgivable betrayal., he bitterly thought.
Not to mention, she has the Princess Guard who serve as her pair of elite bodyguards and right hand men in the Skull Fairy.
"Get me a list of known criminals and their organizations in the Sakura Cosmos, Agent Amira. Let's give Shiki someone he can fight and defeat in the name of justice for the universe as its witness.", the member of the Oracion Seis Interestelar declared.
Amira complied as she left Justice to make contact with Noah Glenfield at Blue Garden for important information to obtain.
Meanwhile at the Chronophage-consumed Norma
"Why did Director Noah Glenfield rope me into this again?"
Hermit Mio muttered with a sigh as she wielded an Ether pistol to reload with more non-lethal rounds behind the wall while being under fire from the armed and hostile members of Sibir's Gang who are shooting in all directions.
Dressed in a civilian attire in form of a sleeveless black dress shirt with a fur collar and a ribbon, a pair of light-colored sleeves, a white skirt, and dress shoes, the female lieutenant of the Jaguar Unit used her Master Code to hack into their hideout's computer system and generate a forcefield around the build, preventing her enemies from escaping with Prison Matrix.
Unfortunately, the former Four Shining Stars member was unable to prevent Sibir from escaping with his Knight Gear, which may be advanced 50 years ago but outdated in the present day, and chasing after the younger iteration of Professor Weisz Steiner who had taken away the poor droid, E.M. Pino and also Happy accidentally in a motor vehicle.
She had then switched off the lights via hacking, causing the gangsters to panic, huddle up and fire their light and heavy weapons wildly in all directions. Like all modern androids, Hermit is equipped with heat sensors and thermal imaging allowing her to easily detect high temperatures in her surroundings.
With that, she was able to easily pick off Sibir's men one by one with pin point accuracy and they have been defeated albeit non-lethally of course.
"Oh right, he recommended me to take Rebecca Bluegarden, Happy and Homura Kogetsu from Shooting Starlight as part of my team to infiltrate Guilst as part of a mission to rescue Sister. And now we're in Norma post-50 years after Chronophage ate its time. No thanks to Rebecca.", the blue haired android woman said to herself with a bit of irritated look on her face as she holstered her Ether pistol and assessed the current situation with a holographic eye terminal where Homura chased after Sibir and Weisz.
While also dispelling the Prison Matrix around the hideout of Sibir's gang too as well.
Ever since Captain Jaguar had given her a greenlight to find a team of her own for a mission to infiltrate Guilst, rescue Sister Ivry and neutralize Rogue Out before the upcoming military operation against Drakken Joe by him and his fellow members of the Oracion Seis Interestelar available, Hermit went undercover as a civilian client to visit the Shooting Starlight, where Noah Glenfield is the Guild Master who is actually an undercover director of the Galactic Intelligence Agency, and find the right individuals for the task.
During the meeting at the office, Noah knew Hermit as a fellow Interstellar Union Army member like him, and recommended to hire the B-Cuber and her Excede robot cat who were an excellent duo when it comes to marksmanship despite they were Class-E being the lowest rank in the guild, and a skilled Ether Gear swordswoman from Oedo who had joined Shooting Starlight in order to provide herself with steady income while in search for her mentor Valkyrie Yuna who went missing just like Sister Ivry.
That got Hermit's interest to meet the disciple of her former fellow Shining Star and help Homura find Valkyrie, reuniting with the Sword of Edens in exchange for assisting her to rescue the Life of Edens and stop Rogue Out at Guilst.
Hermit had met the two women and the robot cat after they were called in by Noah and they accepted the job offer to be a part of Hermit's endeavor to rescue Sister from captivity after hearing her out. Although the former Shining Star felt suspicious of the unreadable look on the undercover G.I.A. Sakura Branch director whenever he looks at Rebecca as if she might hold something valuable to him.
As for how they had ended up in post-Chronophage Norma in the first place, Rebecca wanted to visit Professor Weisz so that the Aqua Wing will be modified by him for stealth before heading to Guilst to save Sister. Hermit didn't mind at first, believing she would be meeting the esteemed professor who's currently on a journey with Bernadette.
She didn't expect Rebecca to actually go to the Earthen Planet which was recently on a "Do Not Travel" List and did not hear the news about Chronophage consuming Norma with the Interstellar Union Army leading the evacuation efforts.
Because of that, the group end up stuck inside the post-Chronophage Norma as a result.
Poor Rebecca had an earful scolding from the undercover female android when being informed about the current status of the Earthen Planet.
She will never live it down on the blonde B-Cuber for this once they find a way off the planet.
Then the group got involved in a conflict with Sibir the Mighty and his gang that ruled the city of Norma with a literal iron fist when they encountered the younger version of Professor Weisz who had been stealing a suitcase of money, which turned out to be a small bot with an Electromagnetic Pulse power, from Sibir, and Rebecca who has compassion for robots stepped up to protect Pino and rescue her with Homura following suit and Hermit had to make sure they don't get killed on her watch.
Hence the gung-ho raid on Sibir's hideout and a fight ensued as a result, which had gotten out of control.
We're going to work on the strategy if we're going to successfully pull off an infiltration mission on Guilst to save Sister and neutralize Rogue Out when this is over., the Mind of Edens sighed as she gathered all of the evidence of Sibir's dirty laundry to be sent to the police of Norma in order to put him six feet under that not even the law enforcement of this post-Chronophage planet can ignore.
"Hermit, are you alright?!", Rebecca called out in concern as she approached her with an Ether assault rifle she had picked up from Sibir's Gang and used it as a substitute weapon. Although it was somewhat damaged and unable to be used anymore after taking a beating or two.
Behind her are the Foote Brothers who had large comical bumps on their heads, bruises all over their bodies and missing a few teeth from their mouths as they are lying on the ground defeat and humiliated by Rebecca's hand. Wow, she sure didn't give them any mercy., Hermit thought bemusedly at the scene before her.
The female lieutenant of the Interstellar Union Army reassured as she continued swiping through the holographic terminals of her Master Code, "I'm alright. All targets have been neutralized. I see you've handled yourself well."
The blonde B-Cuber nodded as she dropped the battered rifle to the ground and picked up an anti-tank rifle from the unconscious gang members of Sibir, "Yup, those Foote Brothers really creep me out and they had it coming!"
Hermit can agree on that and can't blame Rebecca for taking appropriate action as she made contact with the local authorities on the post-Chronophage planet, "I'm calling the police force of Norma. They will come by to pick these thugs up and arrest them."
Rebecca smiled with relief as she carried the anti-tank rifle, "That's good! Let's go after Homura and the Professor, Hermit! We gotta stop that jerk Sibir from hurting Pino!"
Watching her leave, the Mind of Edens sighed with a sweatdrop. "Then after that, we got to find a way out of this planet. Assuming if we can even escape at all."
She ran at full speed after the blonde young woman to catch up and hopefully take down Sibir before things get out of hand.
At the bridge of Angel Feather
Holding a pad containing the list of wanted individuals that was given to him by Amira as per his request, Justice waited patiently for the arrival of his subordinates of the Justice Unit, Jaguar's lieutenant and Shiki at the bridge until he heard the door slide open and turned around to see them entering the room after finishing their time at the Commando Carrier's mess hall.
"Whoa, the food is so good! I never felt this stuffed before!", the grandson of the Demon King stated with a smile as he pat his stomach being full.
Brosnan stated with look of amusement behind the golden eyes, "Indeed, Shiki. There is a saying in the Interstellar Union Army: "every meal's a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, and every formation a parade." That's what makes the Interstellar Union Army great and you're going to love it!"
Victory reminded with a smirk, "But you got to earn them first, rookie. Every single member here has to pull their weight and show their dedication to take down the evil of the cosmos by winning victory against those that threaten the innocents!"
"And those with no creed can never defeat us. So do your best, Cadet Shiki and you might end up in the big leagues with us eventually.", Creed added with a nod.
"Yes sir!", Shiki enthusiastically agreed which reminded the three of how most recruits in the organization are like when they first join before facing reality of battle they are thrown in and not all come out of it unscathed.
Making a slight cough to get their full attention, the Celestial Judge remarked which they sharply stood straight before him, "I see that you're in high spirits, Shiki. That's good. Because I have a mission just for you."
"Ooh, a mission? What do you want me to do?", the Satan Gravity user wondered with anticipation to earn his place in the Interstellar Union Army.
"Your mission is to take down an illegal slave trade activity conducted by a notorious criminal group called Hard Core that has been targeting the planet of Excede, kidnapping its citizens against their will to sell a lot of money at the expense of their freedom and rights. Lieutenant Brosnan, Agent Amira and a squad of troops will be accompanying you.", Justice explained as he opened up a holographic screen for Shiki to see the images of the bipedal cats currently trapped in cages carried around by a bunch of nasty looking thugs into their ship.
The same criminal group that profited off from selling the Excede citizens to slavery are affiliated to Drakken Joe, the Dark Alchemist. One of the Oracion Seis Galactica just like Elsie. Captain Jaguar was planning to conduct a full-scale raid on Guilst to take Drakken out with our fellow Oracion Seis Interestelar members and I will answer his call even if I have to temporarily stop pursuing Elsie for now., the leader of the Angel Feather thought.
Glaring at the images and wanting to rescue the cats, Shiki nodded with determination. "Got it. So who's the jerk behind it?"
The white haired Interestelar member revealed another image to show a tall man of average weight with a muscular structure and prominent features. He has grayish purple hair, which is kept in spiky strands jutting outwards in every direction, and shaved on the sides. And he wears a long light brown coat, tied with a furry, animal-like hair belt around his waist, with golden outer edges and a big golden collar.
Along with a large, thin, silver sword with a circle at the bottom center strapped inside a sheath behind his back.
That man in the image gave a look of a killing thrill as if lives were nothing more than prey to him and Shiki wanted to deck him in the schnoz with his gravity-enhanced fist for it.
"His name is Lance the Beast Sword and he's your primary target, Cadet Shiki.", Justice said.
Somewhere in the Kaede Cosmos, Brain Dust
At the bridge of his Commando Carrier, Cure was monitoring the holographic terminals in front of him at at his main armchair while the all-robot members of the Interstellar Union Army continue their duties in the ship that he commands. "Interesting, I see that Justice had recruited the Demon King's grandson and took in his as his protégé.", the green haired android member of the Oracion Seis Interestelar noted as he checked the profile of Cadet Shiki Granbell and his Ether Gear in the Cosmic Government's registry system.
That also includes the report of Ziggy being dead all along when the Celestial Judge visited Granbell and encountered the Satan Gravity user.
Cure can see the potential of Shiki becoming a new member of the Cosmic Government's special forces unit once he grew strong and powerful enough to surpass probably even his deceased grandfather Ziggy himself, and he would eventually become one of the several candidates in the Interstellar Union Army to take the place of an Oracion Seis Interestelar member if he or she had died in the line of duty, replaced or retired.
So that they will be the new lights to counter the darkness from the members of the Oracion Seis Galactica.
Perhaps in another time, another world, you Shiki Granbell would have made a great addition to the Oracion Seis Galactica in order to make the Oracion Seis Interestelar shine brighter by defeating another threat to the universe. All part to maintain the balance between good and evil in the cosmoses. And I am both good and evil..., Cure thought with bemusement.
He then checked another holographic screen in front of him that showed him Deadend Crow, his greatest masterpiece, where he watched the Titan of Eternal Darkness duking out against Grrkek the Planet Killer in a massively destructive battle between the titanic machine and a reptilian kaiju at the expense of millions of lives caught in the crossfire on their planet, Bosco.
The said planet happened to be within the nearby vicinity of the Brain Dust as its authorities had sent out an emergency distress call for help to anyone who received it in their desperate time of need and salvation. Which his Commando Carrier recently did and the robot forces under his command are simply waiting for his response to answer it or not.
While he could have just sat back and watch to see who will be the next light to defeat the darkness just like Holy from the aftermath, Cure had to keep up appearances and play his part as an Interestelar member to intervene and take on Crow and Grrkek. If he didn't take action, it would tip off his comrades that something is off with him.
Plus he can see some of the fleeing civilian ships from Bosco whose passengers had probably noticed the Brain Dust from afar and would blow the whistle on him which will catch the Cosmic Government's attention through the Galactic Intelligence Agency sooner or later. And that they were too far for the Brain Dust's cannons to shoot them down and silence them anyway.
Not only that, it would be a pain in the ass for Cure to ensure that Feather won't track him with her Eye of Venus and call him out on his lie in front of the Oracion Seis Interestelar during another Prayer Council. Unlike the Eye of God possessed by that Noah Glenfield, she can track both people and machines.
The green spiky haired android thought as he flexed his hand that manifests Ether lines on it, Besides I am in need to stretch my legs out a little and it's not like Crow would be able to kill me anyway thanks to my Ether Gear, Regeneration. Especially when I am his creator who knows everything I made him to be and counter them with ease if I wanted to.
Grrkek is another story though. I will have to go all out against him and drive him away. Either way, he would make a fine addition to the Oracion Seis Galactica once Drakken Joe is out of the picture when Jaguar and our comrades deal with him with their upcoming military operation..., he internally added.
Standing up from his seat to crack his neck and prepare himself for battle, Cure gave out his orders to his subordinates. "Rally the Cure Unit, we are going to engage Deadend Crow and Grrkek with our entire fleet upon them! Let's show those two giant evils the might of the Interstellar Union Army!"
"Roger, roger!", all robotic soldiers of the Brain Dust obeyed.
Author's Note: Okay, the second chapter of "Interstellar Zero" is done and I hope you enjoy it. Shiki is going to have his first mission as a member of the Interstellar Union Army by going after his first criminal, Lance the Beast Sword who's affiliated with Drakken Joe. Meanwhile Hermit had a bit of a little detour at post-Chronophage Norma with Rebecca, Homura, Happy and also Young Weisz too as well.
While Cure is being sus as always and it's a shame that he bit the dust two chapters ago in the Lendard arc right after he revealed his true colors as a two-faced scumbag he was. At least he had revealed the name of his Ether Gear, Regeneration compared to Jaguar whose Ether Gear that turned him into a ferocious beastman remains unnamed after he had died two chapters of him being badass in the Nero 66 arc.
Lance the Beast Sword is a character from Rave Master and one of the early antagonists faced by Haru Glory, the main character of Hiro Mashima's first manga series. Since Mashima had made use of the characters and elements from his previous works on the Edens Zero manga, I will do the same in this story.
By the way, I'm keeping the name of "Oracion Seis Interestelar" since it is more pizzazz and cooler than the official translation to be honest.
And that with the reveal of all other Commando Carriers named after Fairy Tail's Oracion Seis (Angel Feather, Hot Eyes, Racer, Midnight and Brain Dust), I am going to give the name for Jaguar's unnamed ship as "Cobra".
Enjoy and don't forget to review. :D