Heroic New Era: Fantasies of Heroism
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End…or the Future?
Aboard the OSA Golden Blaze…
Celebrations of their own caliber were underway aboard the Golden Blaze after such a successful outcome from the Raid of Onigashima. Not only did it procure new allies and a newfound confidence they were welcomed in that dimension, but Magina had successfully prevented any World Government interference to cause any issues for them! Or… they all believed so anyway. Regardless, the festivities and good times were underway, while SoF Sapphire looked around for her brother, eventually turning to Richard.
"Hey, Richard? Did Siege come back with you guys from Onigashima?" SoF Sapphire asked.
"No, not quite." Richard answered back, shaking his head. "He went off early to deal with some other matters, if I recall. I just saw the rest of the Hero Alliance off, and wished them good luck on their future missions. That's more or less what I did, save for dealing some trouble on their behalf."
"Hm… well, I hope he's alright, I would hate him to mi-" SoF Sapphire was about to finish when suddenly, a fluctuation occurred nearby as a time portal opened, and out of it came Siege, Sam, Samira, and Lucia, who all panted heavily as if they had seen some things… wherever they went off to. "Siege!?"
"Sorry for the wait… but there's no time for celebration. Not anymore." Siege sternly said, looking at Richard. "Richard. Gather up any people you feel necessary for leading. I ask you to bring your very best, because there's many catastrophes we need to avert, and quickly."
"Siege…" Richard remarked, before he then nodded, seeing Siege's grim expression. "Alright, I'll get the main team on the horn, as well as Ramlethal and Valentine. Maybe even both Heiwa and Popol, if it'll help even the numbers a little."
"That would be perfect." Siege declared. "Samira, go and take a break. Sam, Lucia, you stay here. Yang! Ruby! Report!"
"The Greatest Demon Overlord at your service~" Ruby playfully introduced as she arrived.
"We're here. I'm guessing this has to be urgent for you to look so stressed." Yang stated.
"Simply put, steel yourselves for possibly one of the most difficult journeys we've ever come across. What you all are about to witness is a world created by the mistakes of people with good intentions, with many further mistakes down the line unless we do our part to intervene and change the events of this world. There will be things we may have to do forcefully, and quite possibly we could step on some toes by our actions… but we have to take every necessary precaution to avert tragedy." Siege informed.
"This sounds like a very… interesting world to say the least." Ramlethal mused as she approached.
"We're heading to a place called Hykros first, to speak with an esteemed man named Elric. I've already had Magina inform him of my previous attempt before using the Chrono Gate to bring us back here to avert the timeline back to normal. Elric will guide us in where we should begin, and what we should look out for, regarding how to avert many tragedies this universe has prepared for us." Siege informed the group.
As soon as Siege finished, Gus, Kaguya and Mokou arrived, as they saw the gathering here, as Mokou raised an eye-brow.
"Something serious again?" Mokou stated.
"Sounds like it." Kaguya stated, before seeing Richard. "I suppose that you're late back due to certain situations."
"Not the time, Kaguya." Richard stated. "We got another world to fix, and hopefully, we won't have to deal with… nevermind. That Cataclysmic copy of Siege could come if he got a plan in mind, with his rogue's gallery, but I'm thinking that we got potential threats on-world that aren't anything to scoff at either."
"That does sound bad…" Gus remarked, with a hand under his chin, before turning to Siege. 'Where do we even start?"
"As I stated, we'll be transported to Hykros soon. Don't question things if your looks or weapons change up a bit. The world we're heading too is highly technological, so to blend in, it's obvious that certain upgrades are required to keep the looks par with the world." Siege explained. "We'll be speaking with Archon Elric once we arrive and are cleared by Hykros security. Everyone ready?"
"I got a score to settle with that blade woman… I'm prepared." Sam smirked.
"Anything for you, Commandant." Lucia nodded.
"As a Demon Overlord, I'm never not ready!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Let's kick some tail!" Yang smiled widely.
"We're here!" Heiwa remarked, as she arrived with Popol in tow, dragging him by the collar in a hurry, as the wolf overlord was left slightly flustered at being dragged.
"Sorry, we only got the message now." Popol stated, rubbing the back of his head. "So… something really bad is happening down there."
"That seems to be an understatement…" Richard muttered.
"Well, if everyone is here and accounted for, let's have the transfer done shall we?" Siege declared as the group suddenly began to pixelate.
"H-huh!? What's going on!?" Yang exclaimed. "This is weird!"
"Don't worry. Just the transmission process used to get around. We'll be at Hykros in 3… 2… 1…" Siege said as they all soon deformed before everyone's eyes in the Golden Blaze.
Realm of Aesperia - Hykros
The group soon touched down within the domain of Hykros, as there wasn't much change in attire or weaponry, apart from a little more modern look for the Demon Overlords.
"Alright. We're here." Siege explained as security robots walked up to them, as they suddenly scanned the group.
"Scan Complete. Future Seekers, sent by Grand Magician Magina, Archon Elric awaits your arrival." The leader robot declared in its monotone voice.
"Thanks for the quick security checkup." Siege nodded to the bots as they stood to the sides, allowing the group to freely roam, as they all could get a better look at the layout of Hykros, a medium sized complex from the looks of things, looking to be a central command center of sorts, as Siege led his team towards the center of the ground floor, where the Archon would be seen waiting for them, a middle aged man with blonde hair. "Archon Elric." Siege said plainly.
"Lady Magina told me of your previous attempt to stop the Heirs of Aida. It seems your sight of wishing to revive your friends blinded you from what you really needed to accomplish here." Elric said with a sympathetic look. "Alas, it isn't meant to degrade. I too would have thought the same if I was in your position. I see you reinforced your team this time around."
"Indeed. I would like you to meet my co-leader, Richard Liu. While I may have been at this longer than him, the wisdom and intellect he carries into battle surpasses my own at times." Siege introduced Richard to the Archon.
"Pleasure to meet you." Richard merely answered back, with a gentle bow of his head. "What ails you so, Archon? Who is this Heirs of Aida that you talk about?"
"The Heirs of Aida are a group who seek to rid this world of Originium. The very energy source we use to run almost all of our energy supply. The problem is we tampered with Originium too much to stop using it now. We just have to be cautious regarding how much of it we use, lest we repeat our same mistakes." Archon Elric stated.
"That's a long story for another time, I'm afraid. What we need to figure out is where I initially went wrong when I first came here." Siege said.
"Indeed. Checking your previous adventure through the Chrono Memory that Lady Magina gave me, it appears you started firstly in the wrong place. Your search for Astrum brought you to Warren Snowfield, where it was most easily accessible. However, that was not the optimal strategy for saving our world." Elric answered. "By the time you realized the nefarious plans of the Heirs, it was far too late to make an impact."
"So where would you have us begin?" Siege asked.
"I suggest your team begin in Astra. A very pivotal event that can change many of the events you couldn't stop happens there first. I won't say what, but I will say this: Look after a girl named Shirli." Elric stated.
"Then Astra is where we begin." Siege said plainly. "Should we send all of our force?"
"No. That won't be necessary. Save much of your force for later. I would only recommend you arrive in a squadron of four. The others may remain here in Hykros until needed." Elric explained.
"Well that's a bit of a bummer. But I understand that excessive force isn't needed." Yang said with an understanding nod.
"Sam, why don't you and I go down together." Siege said as Sam nodded before he looked at Richard. "Any ideas about your companion?"
"I'll keep Mokou with me on this one. She could help clear the field if we meet a lot of resistance on the way."
"Can do." Mokou stated, as she dusted her hands, causing embers to spark from them.
"Then it's settled. I'll send you all down near the place where you need to be. If anyone asks, tell them you're Executors from Hykros. That way, there will be no confusion and you'll all fit in better." Elric explained.
"Executors?" Kaguya asked, with a tilt of her head.
"Executors are special units we send out to help the people on the planet of Aesperia. They're responsible for a number of tasks. As a matter of fact, you'll run into one of them when you arrive at the Astra Base. She was one of our top Executors, but something occurred during one of her missions and she lost her memories… luckily she was saved before the aberration took hold of her…" Elric explained.
"Aberration?" Yang asked.
"A side effect of us overusing Originium. It's a dangerous radiation that infects and turns people into zombie-like creatures called aberrants." Elric explained.
"Yikes. Sounds like risky stuff. So… wait, we'll need something to keep us from getting it, right?" Ruby asked.
"Magina took care of that. There's a spell over all of you that acts as the suppressors we use here to keep us from getting the virus." Elric explained. "And please. Do not hesitate to ask if you have more questions about our world before you are deployed to Astra."
"That should be all." Richard nodded back. "Let's get moving. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can find what went wrong."
"Transmitting you four to Astra now…" Elric explained as he typed into a holo keyboard and sent Siege, Sam, Richard, and Mokou to Astra. The journey to right the wrongs Siege could not on his first attempt was underway…