Heroic New Era: Fantasies of Heroism
Chapter 6: A Carnival Package Deal
Off in an undisclosed location…
"I hope contact works beyond dimensions…" Irelia would say as she was trying to get in contact with her superiors on just how much trouble she was having thanks to the Future Seekers.
There was a slight crackle of static, before there was the sound of a low male voice on the other side.
"Report, CP5 Agent Irelia." The voice stated.
"Reporting. CP5 Agent King is dead, he attempted to assassinate Richard Liu and was unsuccessful. The Seraphim that was sent has also been destroyed, and I'm running low on men." Irelia reported.
"Hrm…" The voice answered back. "I suppose that this is truly escalating to a problem that needs to be dealt with by CP9, or even the rumored CP0. But we are well aware that CP9 is inactive at the time being, and CP0, if they are truly real, has been said to be off on a mission regarding Vegapunk. However, you are in luck, CP4 has been given clearance to arrive. I will be there soon, with my own division."
"Thank you very much. We can't leisure on our attack lest these heroic buffoons think we're weak… I know they have weaknesses that will allow us to take them down, to show them they cannot rule over the World Government… I just have to find out what." Irelia explained. "Re-engaging them, Irelia signing off."
Irelia would dispatch what units she had left to Cetus Island, she knew they had to take a dirigible on the first pass, and she had every intention on the remaining CP5 officers to shoot them down.
Back with the main group…
"So the only way up on our first trip to Cetus Island is by dirigible, Samir?" Siege asked. "Why on earth would they design it that way…?"
"My guess is for security purposes. After all ya don't just want any ol' schmuck coming through the Spacerift transporter." Ruby mused.
"Well, that's a way to think of it." Richard stated with a hum.
"Wait, what's that over there?" Kaguya remarked, gesturing at a Ravager that was talking to some sort of diminutive afro-haired con-man. "What the hell is a Ravager doing here?"
"More importantly, who's the little shrimp?" Ruby asked.
"We'll only know once we get closer and hear some of the conversation. Close in." Ramlethal suggested as she silently floated closer to hear what they were talking about.
"Do they have more information?" The ravager asked the con-man.
"One of them is a fool, and I've already discarded them. We may yet get something out of the other." The con-man stated.
Before the Ravager could continue, he noticed Kaguya's head peeking out of the bush, as it alerted them.
"We've been spotted, run-" The Ravager stated, before Richard summoned a magic arrow that pierced right through the Ravager's chest, as they fell down dead, as the con-man let out a shriek of fear at witnessing a murder so close, as Richard and Kaguya walked over, with the former cracking his knuckles.
"So… care to explain what you're doing with a Ravager?" Richard asked the con-man.
"YEEK! I'm not with them…! Don't hit me!" The con-man pleaded, covering his head.
"Well, that seems a little unbelievable to what you were just doing. Care to spin another lie, little man?" Ramlethal asked as she suddenly summoned her big swords on either side of the con-man, the earth shaking as they impaled it around him.
"NO! I swear, it's those Ravagers! They're going to wreck the island! They forced me to join them under threat of death!" The con-man shouted in panic. "They've seized the landing station!"
"And what of this 'them'?" Kaguya pressed further, as Ramlethal dragged the blades closer.
"It's… It's two damn puppets! One of them was a real air-head, and the other was some sort of girl!" The con-man shouted. "Please, let me go! I'll even tell you where I left them! But I don't know if they wandered off elsewhere or not!"
"As much as I loathe it, we'll take his word for it." Richard stated, before seizing the con-man by the collar. "Point us."
The con-man immediately complied, as they immediately followed along the con-man's route, before they found that there was a puppet boy with a red nose and a bowl-cut hairstyle, with blue overalls and white shirt.
"T-that's him! He's one of the two!" The con-man stated, before Richard tossed him aside.
"Now, if you're smart, you'd keep your head down very low. There are far more unsavoury elements than us here, and believe me, you would be a smashed melon if they found you instead of us," Richard stated. "Now, SCRAM!"
"Y-yes, OKAY! Thank you, thank you! I promise this won't happen! I'm going home now!" The con-man blurted out, before staggering away from the group.
"...He better keep his word.. Or things won't be good for him." Kaguya stated. "Richard… are you sure this was the right thing… he is still fishy enough to-"
"I know, let's use him as bait. Perhaps he'll attract some more Ravagers for some juicy intel. And this time, we might not have to be spotted." Richard stated. "...Damn shame that we got spotted in the first place though… I suppose we underestimated how alert these Ravagers are sometimes…"
"They are astute. But when you're fighting for survival, even by detestable means, you pick up some good senses." Siege mused. "Word to the wise: Keep your cool around him. During my first run through, guy was annoying at best, but honestly has a good heart and good intentions, just thrown into a bad situation of the Ravagers then the Hyenas. It's gonna get dicey for him later, but should we save him as I did… well, that will make relations between us and him smooth out a lot easier." Siege informed.
"...Word taken." Richard stated.
The puppet soon ran up to the group, hopping and jumping. "Big Fellows! Please! Come! Help!" The smart servant yelled.
"What do you need little guy?" Ruby asked.
"Dirigible! Taken! Bad people, many, many bad people!" The smart servant exclaimed.
"That's our one route to Cetus Island Samir told us about. We already heard the landing station was taken." Siege stated.
"Yes! Melo, take you to station! Save! Dirigible!" The smart servant, now learned to be named Melo, exclaimed.
"Don't you worry, Melo." Kaguya stated, head-patting the puppet boy. "We got the bad people taken care of."
The group then headed to where the landing station was, as they saw that it was indeed occupied by a large group of Ravagers.
"Well, that con-man had it right. This place is swarming. Luckily, they haven't trashed the dirigible that's here. So let's thrash them." Siege smiled as he soon brought out dual pistols in similar style to Ebony and Ivory. "Samir, let's shoot some fish in some barrels, shall we?" Siege quipped to the other dual gunslinger.
Cue: Dante's Theme - Marvel VS. Capcom 3
"Alright then, let's start." Samir remarked, as she leapt into the fray, as she began to fire her dual energy pistols, barraging the enemies with purple blasts, as she even did several spin blasts, that peppered every enemy around her, as her shots left an opening for Siege to come in, as the soldier rushed into the fray with weapons at the ready.
Siege smirked as he leapt up, flash stepping over a group above as he pelted them a la Dante with bullets, spinning about for a few seconds which wiped out a good batch, as he twirled the guns when he landed. "Keeping it stylish!" Siege smiled as he shot enemies around him rapidly, grouping them together before the pistols charged up magic energy. "Jackpot!" Siege yelled as he fired the super shot through many enemies in a line.
The opening assault alone dwindled down the Ravager forces, but things got heated as CP5 Agents began filing in. "Heads up, Samir! We got company!" Siege informed his fellow stylish gunslinger.
"Well, they're going to regret being 'company' soon!" Samir exclaimed, as she leapt into the air, before aiming her guns downwards, creating a spray of deadly energy bolts that rained down on the CP5 agents.
Siege would do the same, taking Ravagers and CP5 Agents out as he and Samir soon wiped out the rest of the enemies in the area, even the new CP5 Agents all got wiped out.
Theme End
"Heh, Smokin' Sexy Style." Siege chuckled as he holstered the pistols. "Alright crew! Coast is clear!"
"Come on, Melo!" Kaguya exclaimed. "Let's get the dirigible running!"
"Dirigible! Will Fly! Melo! Fly!" Melo exclaimed, as he immediately began to start up the dirigible.
With the entire group loaded in, albeit slightly cramped, the dirigible took off…. But not before there was issues. Ravagers all over the air space, shooting at the group!
"Taking fire! Taking fire!" Siege yelled instinctively.
"Well start shooting back!" Ruby exclaimed, beginning to use her scythe in gun form to fire back.
The group began firing at the Ravagers, but they weren't the only ones shooting. CP5 Agents also were shooting… and with their combined efforts…
"The dirigible has taken too much damage!" Ramlethal yelled.
"Ah shit, HANG ON WE'RE GOING DOWN!" Siege yelled as the dirigible plummeted.
The dirigible crashed hard into the ground, as the group was slightly scattered from it, but all still alive and relatively healthy.
"Damn… status, how's everyone?" Siege called out.
"I'm good…" Ramlethal coughed slightly.
"No bones broken, everything seems fine for me." Ruby said as she began to stand.
"Melo is… fine. Dirigible, is not!" Melo exclaimed.
"You say that as if that kind of fall could faze me." Richard answered back.
"Here, and fine…" Kaguya remarked, before wincing and nursing her bottom. "Took a bruise on the fall though."
"Samir, Valentine, you guys alright?" Siege called.
"Sister is fine. The fall knocked her unconscious a bit, I'll get her woke up." Ramlethal explained.
"Good. And Samir?" Siege asked, looking for the gunslinger.
"Don't count me out yet." Samir responded back, walking to the group.
"Alright… so… first off. Melo, is there another dirigible?" Siege asked.
"Yes! Bad guys! Have it! Forgot! Where…" Melo answered.
"Problem 1 solved. We have another method to get up there. Problem 2. The airspace still has Ravagers and CP5 Agents about." Siege mused.
"I could snipe them. But that would take a while. Long enough for them to reinforce up there." Ruby said.
"And Shirli has the high powered jetpack we would need to get up there. But that would require backtracking to Banges." Ramlethal said.
"Our options are low- ….The hell…?" Siege asked, looking at something else in the sky. "Richard. Can you get eyes on that small speck in the distance up in the air?"
"What speck-" Richard stated, before he then decided to narrow his eyes. "...Ah, I see it now, but it's not close enough to get a good look at it."
"Can you open a viewing sukima closer to it?" Siege asked. "That might clarify what it is."
"Got it." Richard stated, as he immediately opened a sukima as close as he could get it to the unidentified object, without being inside its path.
What the sukima revealed was a young woman, roughly in her 20s, with light bronze colored skin, copper colored hair, and bright green eyes riding atop a wyvern, a paint splotched bandana on her head and dragon style armor on her person, a mail carrier bag strapped to the left on her wyvern, and an art supply bag on the other side.
"My God, it's a mail courier!" Siege exclaimed. "And she's flying right into the contested airspace without a clue in the world!" Siege exclaimed, regarding the woman's carelessness of the danger as she was admiring the scenery around her.
"Well that's not good for her safety! What the hell do we do!?" Ruby exclaimed.
Meanwhile, the woman sighed as she gazed upon the scenery of the world.
"Look at this place, Nolde… so beautiful. After we get this delivered, we should totally land on those cliffs and paint a bit, don't you think?" The woman asked her wyvern who growled happily in response, before she was right in the midst of the CP5 Agents and Ravagers, completely oblivious to them.
"What is that wyvern rider doing…?" Irelia asked in complete shock that the rider was flying completely oblivious to the Ravagers and CP5. But Irelia would take no chances. "Be advised, there is a wyvern rider in the airspace, you are authorized to shoot her down!" Irelia informed her Agents.
"Oh, come on!" Richard exclaimed, as he noticed that there was a group of CP agents that were preparing bazookas to shoot down the courier, as he summoned a wall of sukimas that caught the rockets, and sent them right back to the agents, blowing them off the cliff-side. "Seriously, haven't you heard the saying 'Don't shoot the messenger'!?"
"Huh?" The wyvern rider asked as she heard the explosions, before ducking a shot from Ravagers as she sighed. "Guys, I'm minding my own business, I really don't want to-" She would go unheard as she ducked another few shots. "Fine… I didn't want to do this but you guys asked for it."
Cue: Tin City - MySims SkyHeroes OST
The woman soon brought out a Glacial Lance, and stabbed the jetpacks of Ravagers and CP5 Agents, the lance freezing them and causing them to fall out of the sky! She expertly began dodging shots and taking out the jetpacks of those who shot at her, masterfully taking out the goons left and right!
"What…!? No wonder she has a bounty! Take her out!" Irelia yelled as more CP5 Agents rushed at her in jetpacks, as the woman sighed.
"You guys should learn to respect mail carriers!" The woman yelled as she dodged and weaved shots atop Nolde, before she herself was the one who cleared the airspace masterfully of all CP5 Agents and Ravagers!
Theme end
"...Well. Problems 2 and 3 resolved. The airspace is cleared, and the mail girl is safe." Siege mused.
"Phew…" The woman said as she looked down. "Sorry to all you dead guys for that. But I have an obligation to deliver my mail, and myself, unharmed." The woman soon looked down to the ground. "Those look like nice people. Maybe Siege is one of them." She said as she descended, her wyvern Nolde landing as his rider gave him a nice scratch behind the head.
"Good job boy." The woman smiled before dismounting. "Hey everyone, I'm Lynestra Prestor, and I've got a package here for a Siege Sukui?"
"A package?" Siege quipped. "You sure made a dangerous trip to deliver this."
"Tell me about it. I couldn't tell you how many dudes in bowler hats I had to take out on my way here. Do people in this world not respect mail couriers?" Lynestra asked.
"Well, I'd answer, but I think that we both know how that's going to go." Richard remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "So, Siege, crack it open, let's see what's inside."
"Sure." Siege said as he received a decent sized box. "Huh, it's from a friend of mine, goes by the name Flash." Siege stated as he would open the package. "It's a couple boxes of chocolate!"
"Now why in the world would a guy like him go through the trouble just to send a couple boxes of chocolate?" Ruby asked.
"There's a note inside too." Siege would say as he opened the note to read it.
"Dear Siege and Richie
Hope you like the chocolates I got you, I was trying to think of something to help you on your current adventure but I done did a derp. Ah well, it's not like I was planning on sending you boys a superweapon or anything.
-Flash
P.S.: Get your own superweapon KEKW"
"Flash…" Richard remarked, as he scratched his head. "...That name seems familiar somehow… is this someone the alternate me met before…?"
"In any case it's clearly meant for you and me. Whether it's us here or us over there." Siege mused. "Regardless, this is something he would do. The troll can't have the decency to send us superweapons so he sends us chocolate instead." Siege snickered.
"What a guy." Ruby chuckled.
"In any case we have snacks now. So if any of us get hungry, we can utilize his gift well." Siege smiled as he looked to Lynestra. "Thanks for the package."
"Not a problem! Now if you'll excuse-" Lynestra was about to say when Siege stopped her.
"Whoooooa no you don't. See, you're not gonna head off anywhere." Siege stated.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Lynestra asked when a paper hit her in the face, and she pulled it off to see:
Wanted: Lynestra Prestor
Dead or Alive
Bounty: 5,000,000,000
"...I've got a bounty on my head for 5 Billion Dollars?" Lynestra asked.
Richard took a look at the bounty poster, before doing a spit-take on his own saliva.
"What… the… fuck…" Richard emphasized every word. "Okay, this is seriously getting ridiculous. 5 billion Beri for the head of a courier is just simply being absurd at this point…"
"My guess: She mentioned taking out CP5 Agents on her way here. And it sounded like that was a little while ago, so, World Government is as World Government does, because of her effectiveness in neutralizing them, she's now got a 5 Million Beri bounty." Siege mused.
"...Wait, berries? What world makes their currency edible fruit?" Lynestra asked in confusion.
"Not the fruit, Beri is another word for money in the world it hails from." Siege explained.
"That makes a little more sense now." Lynestra said. "...So I guess I'm not exactly safe now, am I?"
"I'm afraid you and your mail will never be safe now, no." Siege said. "If you hopped portals to get here then the World Government can hop those same portals to track you down. And I'm certain you'd rather not deal with them around every corner."
"It'd make my job less of a hassle for sure." Lynestra stated.
"Then you best stick with us for now." Siege stated bluntly.
"Well this just went from typical Monday to wacky Wednesday real fast." Lynestra sighed.
"Melo, do you think that we can find another way onto the island?" Richard asked Melo.
"Dirigible! Another one! Bad guys! Stole!" Melo exclaimed.
"Another one? Well, that's good luck for us then." Richard nodded back. "Let's see where the trail leads us…"
The group decided to follow wherever they found Ravager presence, as it seemed to guide them along the road, until they could hear the sound of gentle female sobbing.
"That sound…" Richard remarked, before gesturing to Ramlethal. "Ramlethal, could you check it out?"
"Understood." Ramlethal stated, as she followed the sound of the voice, as it lead her to some metallic ruins, as she found that there was a young girl that was a puppet like Melo, although she seemed far more human than her partner.
"Hnf… they got Melo and the dirigible is lost. What am I going to do?" The girl sobbed in misery.
"Hey, don't cry…" Ramlethal said as she knelt to the little one. "Guys, come here!"
The group arrived to see the little girl smart servant, as Melo was overjoyed!
"Hanna! Safe! Hanna, is okay!" Melo exclaimed as he saw the smart servant.
"Melo!" Hanna exclaimed, as she hugged the puppet boy with tears in her eyes. "You're alright! I barely got out and was just about to find you!"
"Hanna! Don't cry! Melo! Get! Big Fellows! Help!" Melo exclaimed.
"Right here." Kaguya stated, before kneeling down. 'So you're Hanna. I'm surprised that you managed to get out of captivity like that. I'm sure that it must have been gruelling to do so, and you were fairly worried about Melo. But don't worry, now that you're here, the both of you are safe."
"Who are you all? Are you here to help us?" Hanna asked.
"Yep." Siege smiled. "We're cleaning out a lot of the Ravagers around here. Or, at least most of us."
"Honestly I'm just a mail courier but I'm pretty much along for the ride now so, yeah. I'm here too." Lynestra said.
"We are also here to ask for Dr Claire's assistance with an urgent matter." Kaguya answered back.
"That makes you our guests then!" Hanna exclaimed. "May I ask you for a favour, Honoured Guests?"
"There is no need to be so humble." Richard answered back. "If you're asking about the dirigible, we'll get it back so that we can go to Cetus together."
"But their stronghold is swarming with guards! Hanna will go ahead and scout the situation ahead for you!" Hanna answered back.
"Just don't get yourself in trouble, please. We don't want to get you hurt, in case you're one of Dr Claire's cherished people." Kaguya answered back.
Hanna then led them right to the Ravager Stronghold, as there was a immense number of Ravagers within.
"Hm, that's a full roster right there." Richard hummed.
"Heh, at least it's just Ravagers. I've not seen a single CP5 Agent since Lynestra took out a big chunk of them." Siege stated.
"Well, if Hanna halting us, she's worried about us getting hurt in the scuffle… even though I doubt that's the case." Richard responded back. "Should we lend a ear to her plan, just to see what she planned? Or should we just bum-rush these scramble-brained fools?"
"Let's hear her out first and go from there." Siege suggested, as they arrived where the smart servant was waiting for them.
"So, oh noble scout, what's it looking like?" Ruby asked Hanna.
"I…It's full of bad guys!" Hanna exclaimed. "Must you really fight them all? I have a way to deal with them… if we can sneak into their stronghold… I have a way to make sure they can't do anything to stop us from recovering the dirigible."
"Hm. Well, let's consider both options." Siege mused. "If we can sneak our way in, it would save our energy. That would be wise in case another Seraphim appears."
"However, if we could eliminate them all in a large-scale brawl, it would save time, leaving less room for Seraphim to appear." Ruby added.
"Hmmm…." Lynestra thought before she looked at Hanna. "I'm all for what this little smart servant wants. If it means we don't have to fight, I'm good with it."
"I vote for the faster way. Taking these guys out quickly should be our priority in my eyes." Ruby said.
"Well, let's vote on it. We have 1 for each option." Siege said. "I vote for Hanna's method."
"I place my vote on an assault." Richard answered back. "I weighed the options, and the time expenditure is not worth the risk to me."
"I counter that vote with my own to trust Hanna." Kaguya stated, as Richard turned to her with a raised eye-brow. "Who knows what other consequences such a big assault will bring to us, after all, the WG are still hounding us, and they don't need the Seraphim just for that."
"I counter by siding with Richard." Ramlethal stated. "He gave us the warnings of what would happen when we destroyed the previous Seraphim. It's likely the World Government has more coming. The quicker we get this done, the better."
"Same here." Samir responded back. "I much rather waste the lot of them, than let them run about causing more problems."
"Valentine, Melo, the vote lands to you two to decide." Siege stated. "Valentine, what's your vote?"
"I… I must disagree with Richard." Valentine answered back. "I would vote following Hanna's plan, whether it is. It definitely will ensure that we do not draw too much attention from the Heirs of Aida… even if it only might be Frigg, which is a stroke of luck."
"Hanna! Hanna smart! Good plan!" Melo exclaimed.
"That's five votes against me to four for." Richard remarked, before shrugging gently. "I suppose that we're going for the plan then. Out with it, Hanna."
"We need to first get in. I think that those guards on the walls are what are stopping us from doing so." Hanna stated, gesturing at the look-outs.
"I've got this." Samir stated, as she bounded onto the wall, as she snuck towards each and every lookout, before she then snapped their necks from behind one by one, throwing their corpses off the outer side of the wall into bushes, or right under their own posts. "There. Next?"
"Over there, we need to get to the back of the base." Hanna stated, as she pointed at a certain flower patch, with a massive purple flower, on the cliffside opposing the stronghold.
"That's no problem!" Ruby smiled as she flash stepped, soon behind the flower. "Okay, I'm here." Ruby whispered in comms. "Now what?"
'If you reach in, you can take the fruit inside of it. If you throw it at a ground hard enough, it will create a field of sleeping gas that is potent enough to make even elephants fall asleep almost instantly." Hanna exclaimed. "If you throw it from high enough, and hard, you can cover the entire stronghold. Just don't throw it too hard, or you might spill it out and knock everyone else asleep."
"Got it. Where am I aiming for?" Ruby asked.
"The middle of the stronghold, there's a tower where you can throw it there!" Hanna replied back.
Ruby would aim for that spot as she got into position, and threw the pod perfectly! It landed in the middle and bust open, releasing the gas across the stronghold! "Done-zo!" Ruby called out.
"We did it! This way, friends!" Hanna exclaimed, as they entered the base, to find that the dirigible was indeed there, fully intact and even refueled for the trip.
"Well, I suppose that we have Ruby to thank for the quick execution." Richard remarked. "Now we can get along with our journey with minimal delay."
"Exactly. Let's get a vehicle over while Hanna and Melo pack the dirigible." Siege stated as Ruby nodded, rushing over to a truck with a proper size bed in the base, as she immediately started it up, and drove it under the tower.
"Alright, everyone on." Kaguya remarked, before she then hefted the crate containing the packed dirigible herself, and jumped down with it, much to both Melo's and Hanna's surprise, as she dusted her hands.
The rest of the group immediately took their place on the bed of the truck, while Melo and Hanna were seated inside the truck itself, as Hanna and Melo were pressed against each other, with their seats too close.
"Hanna… Heavy…" Melo remarked, before Hanna bopped him on the head.
"Foolish Melo! You don't talk to a girl about her weight!" Hanna chided Melo, as Richard could only stifle a chuckle at the comedic conversation.
Siege chuckled as well as the landing station was in sight. "Landing station ahead!" Siege called.
The group immediately halted the truck, as they helped to unpack and reassemble the dirigible, as it was prepared for take-off.
"Safe at last! We can go back by the dirigible now!" Hanna exclaimed with joy.
"Go back! Go back!" Melo repeated.
"Thank you all so much! I'll report everything to the Doctor, she'll be so happy to see you all!" Hanna told the group.
"Well, let's hope that you're right. I don't think that she might like us too much when she learns where she comes from…" Kaguya winced slightly.
"Huh?" Hanna asked, tilting her head.
"It's nothing serious." Richard tried to placate the situation. "I'm sure that despite all that, she won't be too harsh on us. Ah, actually, tell me a bit more about Cetus, little Hanna."
"Hah! We've had so many visitors recently. Cetus Island hasn't been this busy in such a long time." Hanna remarked, puffing her small chest out in slight pride.
"And we might meet them up there?" Valentine asked, as Hanna nodded. "Alright, I suppose that we'll see them soon, that's very likely."
The group then boarded the dirigible, as it began to ascend through the sky, reaching Cetus Island for real this time, as they could see that the entire floating island was modeled like a theme park, with various attractions, and circus tents representing most of the buildings.
"Huh, now that's an island that appeals to me." Kaguya stated, with a childish smile on her lips.
"I figured you would say that." Ruby chuckled.
"Remember, we're not here for fun. We're here for-" Siege would say before spotting a figure down below. "Huh. Whaddya know. Frigg's there."
"We should talk to her after we make out introductions to the good doctor." Richard stated, before the dirigible landed down on the station, as they disembarked from the dirigible.
"I'll go to the doctor. Hopefully get some insight on where she might have Astrum, as well as any information she has on the Heirs that could help us." Siege stated. "You guys go talk with Frigg. See what she's doing here."
"Will do. She'll be more receptive to me after everything that happened down in Banges." Richard stated, as he headed to where Frigg was, as Melo and Hanna opted to follow Siege to meet with Doctor Claire, who was waiting for them, being someone with a white lab coat, half-moon glasses and green hair and eyes.
"Hello Doctor." Siege smiled as he introduced himself. He hoped Claire remembered him, after all, time wasn't really a factor for her since the Cataclysm.
"You are…" Claire remarked, before she then recognised Siege. "...It's you… I never thought that you would be here after so long, Siege Sukui."
"You.. you know this honored guest, Doctor?" Hanna exclaimed with surprise.
"To put it plainly… well, let's just say previous events allow us to have an acquaintance. More importantly…" Siege would say, looking to Claire and whispering. "I assume you have a patient down below, just as I was introduced last time." Siege stated, as the circumstances of the universe produced a substitute for Shirli as the new Nemesis.
"That is correct." Claire stated. "I haven't had much information on them, but I do believe that you might know them better than me… or at least that's what I hope."
"All I know is I'd rather them not end up in Sage's hands, even though the Heirs tasked you with doing so. Let's head to your lab. I'll do my best this time to help stabilize your machinery so you can work on stabilizing the patient properly." Siege offered. "And don't worry. Sam and Lucia both are far from here, so they won't trash your lab again." Siege reassured.
"Argh… I thought you would have done that." Dr Claire sighed, placing a hand to her head. "I already remember the damages incurred by those two hot-heads, and trust me, I was crying for several hours trying to process what it cost. And normally, I would have left you a heads-up about the Heirs of Aida representative here… but somehow, it seems that you're far more cordial. Is that woman some sort of double-agent for you?"
"This time she is." Siege nodded. "I hope to bring at least one more powerful Heir from Sage's side to our own in this venture besides your patient below. But enough about reminiscing. I've taken proper precautions to change my mistakes, as opposed to selfishly looking for a revival method for my own gain." Siege assured Claire. "With that said, let's go see that patient, and this time, properly stabilize and help her."
"Alright, I'll take you there." Claire stated, as she gestured for Siege to follow. "Hanna, check on the others that came with Siege. Melo, stay here, and make sure that no trouble happens."
"Okay. Doctor!" Melo responded back.
Hanna took the chance to walk over to where Richard and the others was, as Valentine decided to follow Siege with Ramlethal.
"Frigg, it seems that you are treated fairly well." Richard stated to Frigg.
"Nothing happened when I came around to return to the Heirs of Aida, despite some questions about what took me so long." Frigg answered back. "And now they task me with ensuring that the good Doctor holds her end of the deal… but I doubt that will be happening as long as you are all here. I know better to dispute you on this… but if I'm watched, I will have no chance but to act."
"That's understandable." Richard responded back. "For now, let's just treat this as a moment where we stand on neutral ground. No need to worry about being a threat to each other."
"Like guests in another's house." Frigg remarked with a faint smile. "I suppose that I'll like it to be like that for the rest of our time here. I will follow after you head to the lab."
"Say, Frigg… are you sure you have no problems with staying with the Heirs of Aida?" Richard asked back. "After all… they could be liable to throw you to the WG, if the rumors of them working together are true."
"I cannot let such fear control my actions, much less when you believe in me." Frigg shook her head. "While I see the reasons why the Sage did this, I cannot trust in his actions as much as I did before… considering that I have had a long and hard meditation on the matter itself. If it leads me to die… so be it, I much rather die believing in the truth, than living in tormented lies…"
Richard could only frown silently, before Frigg noticed Hanna, who was listening into most of the conversation.
"Ah, it seems that I have ruined this festive mood. Please excuse me." Frigg remarked, as she left the conversation quietly.
"Why… Why are you both so lamentful when you talk about such things?" Hanna stated. "You sound like as if you wanted to get along, but you can't… I don't get it."
"It's a complicated matter, Hanna." Richard stated. "Believe me, the morality issues concerning this are something that you are best left ignorant about. The short end of it, is that we both sympathise with each other…but we can't show it, because one of us would die if we did."
"But I think if everyone can be honest and show goodwill and work together, we can overcome anything, right?" Hanna remarked innocently.
"Oh, little Hanna…" Kaguya stated with a motherly gentle tone with a hint of sorrow, as she placed a hand on Hanna's shoulder. "Not everyone on this world cares for everyone else like you do. Even we cannot say for sure that we care for everyone… But we do our best to care for those who need it the most. There will always be bad people in this world, and it's our job to ensure they never get away with what they do to people who don't deserve it."
"The Doctor said that worse people should be eradicated… but she never told me if it was possible." Hanna remarked, as she started to feel sad.
Richard and Kaguya shared a look, before Richard let out a drawn-out sigh.
"...It's not always those who look bad that are the only bad guys that you must worry about." Richard answered back with a sorrowful tone. "Sometimes, there will be bad guys in the shadows, who will ruin lives without ever being known, because they believe themselves untouchable by the consequences. And there will be people who look outwardly like good people, but deep inside… while everyone's backs are turned, are the true bad guys who are far worse than the common bad guy. That is why your dream can never become true fully, because people like that are day by day, year by year, generation by generation. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't fight for it… like others do. Because there is always someone who will fight like us to ensure that villany never wins. No matter what means they use, no matter who they are… heroism is a eternal concept, both in fantasy and reality."
Hanna processed the words, before Kaguya patted her cheek gently.
"Be a good girl and never stop believing in your dream. Maybe, if you hold onto it hard enough, a miracle could happen." Kaguya encouraged Hanna with a bright smile.
The rest of the group then immediately left Hanna be, heading for the lab as Frigg did, just behind them all.
Siege and Claire soon walked up to their patient, a young girl that had electric blue hair, having soft blue eyes and cute blue wolf ears. Siege looked upon her with a sigh, remembering the last time he messed up with Sam and Lucia.
"Oh Numa…. I'm sorry for what happened last time." Siege said to the little girl in the robotic arms. "...What has to be done to cure her again, doc?"
"Just making sure she doesn't take over my systems again, and not destroying my arms." Claire said. "She seemed to like you before. So maybe making full eye contact will keep her calm enough."
"That's what I intend. Start your process Doctor." Siege stated.
Claire nodded and started the machine, as Numa woke up, and began to panic when she saw Siege.
"Eyes on me, Numa. Eyes on me." Siege said.
"O… Okay…." The young girl said as she kept her eye contact with Siege, which fully averted Claire's systems getting taken over.
So, unlike last time when a big fight with the mechanical arms broke loose, the scene was calm, and serene, and Claire fully stabilized Numa and cured her of the illness, also fulfilling her as the proper role of Nemesis, with full functionality of all her systems.
"It's done. Well done, Siege. You've averted tragedy for us all." Claire smiled.
"I'm not on a selfish task this time, doctor. I'm here for the world this time." Siege smiled as Numa walked out of the machine, her tail wagging as she looked at Siege.
"Th-thank you… I'm all better!" Numa smiled brightly.
"Excellent." Siege smiled before he turned and saw Frigg approaching. "You have to go with her now though."
"Huh?" Numa asked.
"Don't worry. You can trust her." Siege smiled as he soon walked up to Frigg, and grabbed her shoulder.
"Let's be clear. That young girl needs to understand she's not Sage's tool. She's with you. Not Sage. Make sure of that." Siege affirmed to Frigg. "And don't worry about what Sage might say. I'll cover that."
"I'm well aware." Frigg answered back. "As much as the Sage will know… she is attuned to me more than anyone else."
Frigg then walked over to Numa, before placing a hand out.
"Come with me, Numa… I have a few people to introduce to you." Frigg stated. "I'm sure that you'll be safe under my care… even though I cannot guarantee that things will be smooth in the immediate future."
"Okay… I trust you." Numa smiled.
"By the way Frigg… how is Valkyrie?" Siege would ask.
"She… she is doing well." Frigg answered back. "She will likely be more receptive after I had a few words. Nothing directly insinuating anything wrong. But I doubt that she will work alongside any of you as I did, nor will she abandon whatever plans she has for you all. But I'm sure that she will at least not try to kill you all, that much I can discern."
"I intend to change that. Have her meet me in the barren lands of Warren Snowfield after you return… I need to fulfill a promise I made to her in the previous timeline." Siege stated.
"Just what on earth did you set up during the last attempt?" Claire asked.
"Something I hope shakes the foundation of this world for the better. Much for the better." Siege affirmed.
"Hm, I see." Frigg nodded back.
"Doctor, see that the Astrum is delivered to Richard, okay? And as for Black Dog and the current time device you're missing. I'll remedy that on my way to Warren Snowfield." Siege informed Claire.
"Alright." Claire stated. "I hope that you will ensure that it doesn't end up in the wrong hands."
Richard then entered the room, noticing the new addition to the room. "I take it, the blue-haired cub is the one that you said was going to be part of the experiment?" Richard asked Siege.
"You can say that." Siege said as he walked past. "If anyone asks, I'm at Warren Snowfield. And no. You can't follow me." Siege stated cryptically before leaving the lab.
"Can't follow him… Hm, must be something personal then." Richard remarked, before turning to Doctor Claire. "Hello there, my name is Richard Liu, and I'm a-"
"-friend of Siege. I figured that out." Claire stated. "You are here for the Astrum, aren't you?"
"Clever deduction." Richard stated. "But where's the rush in that? I would like to lend a ear to whatever else you wish to tell me."
"I have nothing much else to say, other than that he ensured that the experiment went through properly." Claire answered back, gesturing at Numa. "But I'm more worried about what would happen, considering that you have someone from the Heirs of Aida in the room."
"I have no say on the matter." Frigg responded back, crossing her arms. "From what I know, this exchange never happened."
"Hm, that's a tad treasonous, don't you think?" Claire remarked, with narrowed eyes to Frigg.
"I'm well aware. But I know exactly what I have chosen." Frigg stated, before placing a hand on Numa's shoulder. "And I am not willing to endanger her life by trying to interfere."
"You have a lot more sense and reason than you typical Heirs of Aida nut. Fine by me." Claire stated, before she then tossed Richard the Astrum to the nearby Omnium Tower. "Make sure you don't lead trouble back to me, my security droids aren't exactly top-notch, as you can see."
"Don't worry, if trouble comes to us, we'll deal with it promptly." Richard answered back. "Take care, good Doctor."
Richard then left the lab, as he noticed that Siege and Lynestra were both gone, having taken the Spacerift down, leaving the rest of the group on Cetus Island for the time being.
"So, Numa, is it? Tell me a bit about yourself." Kaguya stated. "I would be interested in learning a bit about someone who has history with Siege at such a tender age."
"Well… it was a sense of deja vu seeing him…" Numa said as she tried remembering where she had seen Siege before. "But… I don't know him. I met him for the first time in that lab…"
"Siege might have caused massive ripples to lead to this point. I think I know what he's going for." Ruby mused. "Warren Snowfield, all by himself? From what Sam and Lucia told me… Siege is trying to hit a 3 Run Homer on the Heirs. He's secured Frigg, and Numa…"
"But who's the third? Aegis and Seele won't change." Ramlethal asked.
"He's going for that one shot wonder gal from the Tower of Fantasy itself. A woman who said she had wished to see Siege at full strength, at least what Sam and Lucia told me." Ruby said as she looked out to Warren Snowfield. "...He's planning a 1v1. Full out duel with Valkyrie."
"Wait, Numa was a former Heir?" Kaguya remarked, picking up that part of Ruby's statement. "Huh, I'm surprised they would have hired her services… but then again, she is Nemesis after all, and she'll prove herself, am I right?"
"That's what Siege intends." Ruby nodded, looking out to Warren Snowfield as Lynestra returned atop her wyvern, soon landing before Claire.
"Package for a Doctor Claire?" Lynestra asked. "I believe it's a time machine of sorts?"
"Huh, there it is." Richard remarked, before he took the package from Lynestra's hand, and immediately teleported himself back into Claire's lab, just as she was fiddling with some components. "Hey, Doctor, time machine's here safe and sound."
Claire took the time machine from Richard's hands, before inspecting it carefully for any signs of wear or damage, before placing it down with a gentle sigh.
"And he proves again why I hold such respect for him. Not a single scratch, and in such a short time." Claire remarked, as Richard took the moment to leave, so that Claire can continue her own tinkering alone.
As the group gathered to say friendly goodbyes to Numa as Frigg took her to the Heirs of Aida base, Siege was waiting in Warren Snowfield, Astrum in hand as a precursor plan from Franz and himself. Siege would shut down the tower, and had the means to do it, but that wasn't why he was here. Pocketing the Astrum, Siege waited as he soon heard the sparking of power behind him, turning and smiling at a woman with blonde hair in a black battle suit.
"Looks like you got my message." Siege smiled as he looked upon the most powerful Angel of Clemency. "Valkyrie."