Heroic New Era: Fantasies of Heroism
Final Chapter: The Tale Comes to a Glorious End/An Invite from Hope?
The group had been doing their best to make the space rift be able to send up more people, and had successfully done so… only for them to receive Siege and the original group, plus his Digimon and the other four Angels of Clemency.
"He's here." Lucia said with a smile as everyone stood to attention at the returning of the group.
"Hey, what's with the large animals?" Sam asked as he noticed the Digimon.
"I think those are Digimon…" Yang said with a hum. "Siege told me about them some time ago."
"Well, how'd it go?" Klora would call out as Siege smiled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, at ease. The time machine has been shut down and all threats have been quelled or converted. Our mission is accomplished!" Siege declared with certainty.
"Sweet!" Lynestra fist pumped.
"That's great! I knew you guys could do it!" Shirli smiled.
"And here I was starting to doubt you." Brazera chuckled.
The rest of the group was showering the heroes with praise, but Siege was scanning the area, looking for Valkyrie.
'I'm not leaving without you. It was our promise.' Siege thought as he scanned the area in search of the last Angel of Clemency.
Siege would spot Valkyrie off from the rest of the group, as she seemed to be looking across the landscape, as well as tending her wounds a bit, as Siege would move past the crowd and make his way next to Valkyrie, sitting down next to her.
"I've seen this before." Siege said as he sat next to Valkyrie. "A conflicted soul looking across the landscape, wondering where her path should lead next. Am I right?" Siege asked.
"You have the right idea." Valkyrie admitted.
"Talk to me. What's going through your head?" Siege asked.
"It's funny, really… I thought that I actually was happy with everything that had occurred… but to notice that I was so easily cut out of the plan by malevolent forces who wished for the opposite of what the Sage intended." Valkyrie remarked solemnly. "It's disheartening really. And then to be unable to witness how the Sage himself was ended along with his ambition. I suppose that it was Frigg who did the deed then?"
"No. One of my friends there did it. Specifically the creature with the large bow." Siege said, gesturing to Ty who was mingling and introducing himself among others of the group. "None of this really went how we expected… I even tried to sway Sage himself, showing him what happened in my last run through of this world… he acknowledged it… but didn't change a bit.":
"I see." Valkyrie answered back. "He was always headstrong on his beliefs, even if it would one day kill him. I only hope that he did not cause more problems before he was finally stopped. We had plans for another realm… but I suppose those are no longer needed, considering that the Heirs of Aida are all gone, save for those of us who survived."
"A lot of you guys survived. The Angels of Clemency, many of the Elite Soldiers, and a lot of the normal soldiers too." Siege explained as he looked at Valkyrie. "I do apologize we did not arrive sooner, to partake in another grandeur duel atop the Tower as I'm sure you truly wanted. I'm just glad you're safe and alive."
"It's better that you have saved me, than to waste my life trying to fight a pointless battle." Valkyrie answered back. "I would rather live to have a proper fight further down in the future, than right now, when there are more important matters at stake. Even I am considerate on that matter."
"Then know that I'm still serious on my offer for you to join us. You'll have plenty of opportunities for fights like that, plus, perhaps some revenge on the ones who robbed you from the fight on the Tower." Siege explained. "The rest of your fellow Angels of Clemency have already made it clear they're coming to our side. It wouldn't feel right to not have the entire set now, would it?"
"Hmph. It would be." Valkyrie remarked, with a satisfied smile on her face. "Then you have my spear, Siege Sukui. I know that you'll find it of great use in the future."
"We're more than glad to have your aid." Siege smiled. "Now come, you won't want to miss the festivities back on our vessel. We never properly finished from a previous celebration of ours, so it's gonna be a splendid time for sure." Siege smiled as he stood up, with slight difficulty thanks to his wounds.
"Are you well enough?" Valkyrie asked back. "I have heard from the others that you and your companions have suffered many injuries fighting to get to the Sage. You are certain that you do not need someone to help you?"
"I thank you for the concern but I've walked straighter with worse wounds. These won't keep me down, and even if I wanted to, my medical staff probably won't allow me to move much before seeing I'm quickly and properly treated for the wounds I have." Siege chuckled.
"Hey! You two gonna keep bein' strangers over there or are ya gonna join the lively talks a bit!?" Aegis called out to Siege and Valkyrie.
"Yeah! Come and meet all the nice people, Valkyrie! Come play with the Digimon!" Seele called in her childish manner.
"Digimon…?" Valkyrie remarked, turning to Siege, before then sighing. "Well, you don't need to tell me anything. I'll figure it out, when I see them for myself."
"If you ever get confused on terms they use or how they refer to themselves sometimes, I'm more than willing to clarify. They're quite interesting creatures, believe it or not." Siege mused.
"I'll believe in that." Valkyrie stated, as the two of them headed over to meet back with the rest of the group.
As the group mingled a bit before heading back to the Golden Blaze, Siege was suddenly approached by Brazera, Shirli, and Samir.
"Hey. I just got finished talking with Archon Elric about something and it pertains to you." Brazera asked.
"Alright, I'm listening." Siege stated.
"Well, my discussion was about what we should do next, Shirli, Samir, and I, since there's no more Heirs of Aida left for us to pursue, and really not much left to do here." Brazera said.
"We did leave you guys without much left to do in this world." Siege mused with a smile.
"And the decision we came to was this, you're gonna like this!" Shirli giggled.
"Archon Elric wants to start forming a separate branch of Executors that travels to other dimensions for the good of those worlds, and he wants to establish that branch with you guys!" Brazera smiled.
"Well… this is a surprise!" Siege said with a genuine surprised look before turning to Richard. "Oi! Rich! Get over here and listen to this!"
"You rang?" Richard remarked.
"Samir can sum up what we just told Siege." Brazera said, nodding to Samir.
"Long story short, raven-hair, we're sticking around with you guys, because we got promoted to a multiversal branch of Executors." Samir stated. "Who knows, I might actually be able to find some things that might be worth researching… and might help Flora live a normal life once she wakes up again."
"Well, welcome aboard, you three." Richard remarked, giving the trio some shoulder pats, as Samir winced slightly, before she then turned away with a slightly flustered expression.
"I've been checking on Flora a lot by the way, Samir. When I can anyways. And I have some great news." Siege smiled. "Our medical team has put in great bounds to curing her and getting her to wake up. She's been brought back to consciousness in very stable conditions. They believe they've gotten Flora through the worst of things, and now it's but a matter of a few weeks of rest and medicine before Flora is fully cured."
"I'm… I'm glad to hear that." Samir stated, as she did her best not to break down into tears of relief after realizing that her one wish was about to come true, if only after a few weeks.
"Hey, it's okay to let loose, Samir." Siege smiled. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, let me be that shoulder for you to let out your feelings."
"No, I'll be fine." Samir answered back, as she took a few soft breaths to calm herself down. "But thanks for the offer. If I really need that shoulder… I know that you'd definitely be nearby to rest my head upon."
"Of course, we don't leave our teammates alone, without anyone to support them." Richard smiled brightly. "That's just how we Future Seekers roll."
"Well, seems like you just hit a Grand Slam compared to last time." The familiar voice of Franz spoke up as he walked into the scene.
"Ah, Franz. How's things back at Hykros?" Richard asked back.
"Things are great. The Archon sends his blessings upon you all for your work in not only stopping another Cataclysm, but also disbanding the Heirs of Aida. We can rest easy now." Franz smiled.
"Yeah. I may not have been able to get any spare Astrum in an attempt to revive anyone… but I'm glad I changed things here." Siege smiled.
"Now just hang on a sec. You really think there's no spare Astrum left? Heh, there's rare reserves all over. But I know where you can get one super easily." Franz stated.
"You're joking." Siege deadpanned.
"Not a bit. There's a tournament being held back in an arena off the coast of main land Astra. And the reward? One fully charged, shimmering piece of Astrum." Franz smiled.
"Hot damn…" Richard remarked, before turning to Siege. "This is your chance to bring back one of our fallen! Siege, we can't miss this opportunity!"
"I know… I know!" Siege exclaimed. "Sam! Get over here!"
"Si, boss?" Sam asked.
"Tag Team Tournament, one piece of Astrum for you guys. You in or out?" Franz asked.
"Hah! I'm in… but I need a partner. Hm." Sam stated, looking around at allies old and new for a fitting one. His eyes fell to Frigg, as he smiled, hoping to test the boundaries of new teamwork. "Amiga! You interested in helping us get some Astrum?"
"If that is your wish." Frigg nodded back. "I would not mind fighting alongside you, to see where our teamwork leads us."
"Agreed." Sam smiled as he looked at Franz. "I've got my partner."
"Then get to that arena for the sign ups. The space rift there is active, so you guys can just take the nearest space rift over there." Franz explained.
"Gracias." Sam nodded as he and Frigg headed to the nearest space rift, soon warping over to the arena grounds.
Arriving there, they'd see a good amount of fighters looking to vie for the Astrum, as Sam and Frigg would approach a man in shades and black clothing, who had red hair.
"Hello there! We're here for the sign ups to partake in the tournament." Sam greeted the man who looked at the two.
"You look capable. The last spot's now filled by you two. Head to the waiting area, they'll call you for the first match. Good luck." The man stated in a low and gruff voice.
Frigg nodded, before the duo headed to the waiting area, as they silently bided their time, observing their potential opponents, as they passed by.
One of the sets of opponents walking by was a duo of brothers, both looking like former Hyena members, as they were bickering and bantering over who got to raise the trophy high after the fight was over. Murmurs from the crowd regarded them as "champions" or "the best of the best!"
This elicited a scoff from both Frigg and Sam simultaneously, as they noticed it, staring at each other for a moment, before then going back to checking the rest of the opponents out.
There wasn't much more opposition that looked impressive or appealing. A couple rookie executors, a battle droid duet controlled by a boy. There were even an Heirs of Aida soldier duo, an Elite Wing Unit and an Elite Dual Wielding swordsman, who seemed to be quite intimate with each other in stature and action.
"For a tournament for the Astrum, I was expecting more opposition than this…" Sam stated.
However, he would eat his words as he looked ahead. Two CP4 Agents, male and female respectively, simply resting far off from everyone else, and looking as if they were waiting just like everyone else was. The female had various weapons on her person. Dual pistols, dual blades, even some hand axes on her leg armor. Her hair was dark purple, and her eyes were a fierce blood red. She looked at Sam and Frigg, eyes narrowed.
"So the Future Seekers did take notice of the Astrum." The female spoke in a stern voice. "We may not fight till death like our other allies in CP4, but the Astrum must be secured in our hands. You won't be getting it, if we have to kill you for it."
"What the hell do you want the Astrum for?" Sam questioned with a head tilt.
"That is a matter that you will not get your answers to." The male one answered back, as he cast his own hat off to reveal blue hair underneath, and brown eyes, as he wielded a series of throwing knives, as well as a set of magnetic rings on both hands. "If you want your Astrum, then you will find yourselves empty-handed. We will not relent on our pursuit."
"I see, then words are pointless." Frigg remarked, before she then reacted in time to parry a triplet of throwing knives away, before the rings on the male agent's hand glowed, as the knives slipped right back into his hand.
Suddenly, a flaming scythe dropped down between both parties, as they looked to see the man that registered them glaring at them.
"You're both registered teams. Save the fighting in the ring. After all, if you wanna tear each other apart so badly, make it a spectacle in the squared circle, why don't you?" The red haired man suggested as he grabbed his scythe, as the female CP4 Agent nodded.
"He's right, partner." The agent looked at her male companion. "Save the animosities for in the ring, where we can properly tear each other apart in blood for the crowd to witness."
"Hm, it seems that I have acted rashly." The male agent remarked, before then placing his hat back on. "My partner makes a clear point, perhaps a serious fight is at hand when we inevitably clash. We'll see who will take the Astrum when our turns are up."
"I have a feeling we'll most definitely be meeting in the finals. The rest of the competition doesn't add up much." Sam stated as he smirked. "Matter of fact, you two are the only ones I want to tussle with in the finals. So if you want to at least have a respectful duel, don't disappoint us with an early drop out."
Sam left things at that before he and Frigg walked away, as Sam soon contacted Siege.
"Boss. We have a problem." Sam stated.
"What do you mean we have a problem…?" Siege groaned, not wanting to hear any more headaches.
"CP4 is here, and trying to get the Astrum themselves." Sam explained.
"CP4!?" Siege exclaimed. "Oh mother of… Whatever you do, you do NOT lose to them! I'm having Richard and Kaguya warp over to your location to monitor the situation." Siege added. "Astrum… what the hell does CP4 want Astrum for… unless… no… they couldn't be…"
"Come again, boss?" Sam asked.
"Call this a wacky hunch but… they might be trying to amplify the Seraphim using Astrum supply." Siege guessed. "I can only wager that guess, but it makes a lot of sense considering the Seraphim we took out."
"...Seraphims…" Frigg remarked. "Those were the same weapons that resulted in the casualties of several of your own companions…"
"Exactamente, amiga." Sam stated with a dark tone. "If they attempt to enhance them using Astrum…"
"Then God help us all…" Siege finished as a sukima opened up next to Sam and Frigg, as they saw Richard and Kaguya walk out of it. "Richard and Kaguya are at your location now. Do me a huge favor and keep this stressful thought out of my mind and secure that Astrum."
"Can do, boss." Sam stated before signing off, looking to Richard and Kaguya. "I guess you two overheard the big dilemma."
"Yeah, I noticed." Richard stated. "We can afford to be a lot less lethal here, but we can't let CP4 return with a boon to give the World Government. It will tip the balance away from the others who are still fighting them over there."
"Exactly." Sam stated. "We'll do our part. But who knows if they brought reinforcements."
"Well, if they try to force it… they'll have another thing coming." Kaguya sneered.
And thus, the tournament got under way. As was expected, none of the other teams lasted against both CP4 Agents nor against Sam and Frigg, with even the red-haired scythe-wielder having been defeated, along with his own partner by the CP4 agents, as the finals were set, as Sam and Frigg hoped to see the names of their opponents, one of them being "Hethral", and the other being "Aslant".
"Hethral and Aslant…?" Sam asked as the CP4 Agents walked up.
"Our names are now known. Let them be burned into your memory as we rip away the Astrum from you in the finals." The woman, Hethral, stated firmly.
"Let us settle this on the arena grounds." Aslant remarked with a slight tip of his head. "Know that whatever powers you have that allowed you to prevail against our late leader… we will not allow ourselves to fall into the same kind of power."
"Hmph. We'll see if that's all talk, or if it has merit to it." Sam stated as both teams entered the arena on opposite sides, a robotic announcer appearing over them both.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! It is time for the GRAAAAAND FINALLLLS!" The robotic voice exclaimed as the cameras panned to Sam and Frigg. "Introducing the first of our two upstart teams! These swordmasters have cut through all the competition! Can they do it again!? It's Jetstream Sam and Frigg!" The announcer called as the crowd roared before the cameras panned to the other end. "The mysterious warriors from seemingly another world! Their near lethal tactics have fallen all before them! Give it up for Hethral and Aslant!"
"Hm. So you aren't going to resort to killing for this?" Sam mused.
"Killing shouldn't be done in a professional venue. It may be a blood sport, but a safe blood sport at that." Hethral stated.
"We will respect the laws of this tournament, only for the sake of keeping under the radar." Aslant remarked. "We have no need to make pointless kills. If we do intend to kill someone… it would be the both of you. But that is very unlikely, without drawing the wrath of those travel with, so settling with simply incapacitating you will do… although leaving you crippled will ensure that you will not be in the way of our other operatives for a long time."
"Such arrogance." Frigg scoffed. "Fine then, let us see on what basis you intend to hold those words with."
"Heh. In other words." Sam smiled as he drew Murasama.
Cue: The Only Thing I Know For Real - GO! Light Up!
"Let's dance." Sam smiled as he took his stance.
Aslant then immediately tossed a series of throwing knives into the air, before rapidly throwing them at both Frigg and Sam, with the former parrying the blades away, while Sam merely evaded the knives. He charged right for Aslant, launching various slashes from multiple angles as Frigg would suddenly have two Hand Axes flying for her head courtesy of Hethral.
"Try harder!" Sam taunted as he attacked Aslant, making sure his attacks were varied enough to keep him guessing.
Aslant seemed to be able to evade a good amount of the strikes, although Sam's unpredictability caused him to take several hits, before he then raised a hand, as the magnetic rings activated, drawing the knives back to him, blade-first, as Sam noticed this, and quickly rolled to the side, and then used his blade to immediately block the spread of throwing knives that he throw right at Sam, as soon as they touched his hand.
Frigg was also fighting off her foe with relative ease, as she was blocking most of the varying forms of attacks that Hethral was throwing at her, before she then flash-stepped to break her guard with a rising slash.
Hethral scoffed and blocked with her dual blades, locking Frigg's blade in them as she attempted to maneuver Frigg into a disadvantageous position. Upon success, she would take one of her pistols and aim it for Frigg's blade arm, looking to take out her strong blade arm for the fight.
However, Frigg immediately used her own blade as a lever against Hethral, allowing her to have the moment as Hethral's eyes widened, her pistol firing off as the shot bounced off the barrier towards Sam and Aslant's fight, as her shot nailed Aslant in his foot, as the male agent grimaced in pain.
"Damn you…!" Hethral growled as she was able to retrieve one of her Hand Axes from nearby and swung it at Frigg quickly and harshly, who blocked the strike with ease.
Meanwhile, Aslant immediately recovered his stance, before he leapt into the air, and then casting down a barrage of throwing knives, as he used the magnetic rings on his hand to shift the trajectories of the knives towards Sam, resulting in an attack from multiple directions.
Sam simply focused as he blocked each attack with focus and precision, every parry causing a disadvantage for Aslant which caused retreat before retaliation could hit, and even as he shifted to a new angle, Sam would do the same thing again, and on one of the attacks, Aslant was sent off balance, as one of the knives was sent flying back at him, wide open as Sam looked to capitalize with multiple slashes mid-air!
Aslant was knocked to the ground, bloodied from the wounds, although he staggered back up, and began to throw his knives up, before then raining them down upon Sam's surroundings, before he then pulled a pair of large kukris, as he then engaged Sam himself, swinging like a cyclone of blades, leaving no room for Sam to attack, only to counter.
Hethral saw this as she smirked, having locked blades with Frigg yet again, and trying to push Frigg into the tornado of knives as well, as Sam was countering all the blows to the best of his abilities, though some attacks were breaking his guard.
"Sam! We need to switch targets!" Frigg exclaimed. "If we let them get accustomed to us for too long, they might actually find a way to counter us!"
"Sure! I can switch on the flip of a- ack! Coin, amiga!" Sam grunted as he wasn't in the best of places for a target switch, considering the salvo of smaller blades and Aslant assaulting him on all fronts.
"I have it handled!" Frigg remarked, before she then immediately charged her blade up, before then rushing forward, as she left a trail of ice along the path, before slashing through the rain of throwing knives hard enough, that most of the knives were flash-frozen from the attack, leaving them unable to move, as well as Aslant being sent flying back from the attack.
"Gracias!" Sam smiled as he flip kicked into Hethral, sending her into the barrier as the same kicked into her multiple times, Hethral yelling in pain.
"Damn, no, no!" Hethral yelled.
"This is over!" Sam yelled as he thrust his blade through her chest, as Hethral gasped before she collapsed onto the ground, on her hands and knees as she coughed blood.
"Urgh… I'm not going to let you win, even if I have to break my own arms and blades to do so!" Aslant remarked, as he rose back onto his feet, before he then gathered the remaining knives he had, before then creating a massive blade with them, as he swung it right towards Frigg and Sam.
However, the both of them immediately pulled off a simultaneous parry, which the impact resulted in the knives clattering apart, before Frigg flash-stepped right before Aslant, and launched a horizontal slash that cut through the tendons in his arms, rendering them both useless.
"Argh!" Aslant remarked, as he fell to a knee, with both arms slumped.
Theme end
"And that's gonna do it ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer bot exclaimed. "Hethral and Aslant have been rendered unable to battle! Presenting our NEWWWW CHAMPIONS, JETSTREAM SAM AND FRIGG!" The bot exclaimed.
Sam smiled and sheathed his blade, looking at Frigg. "Well done. That was a splendid performance." Sam complimented Frigg.
"Indeed." Frigg nodded back, fairly satisfied with their well-earned victory.
The duo left the ring, as Hethral cursed as she dragged herself to Aslant.
"Dammit all, dear… are we… still too weak…?" Hethral asked Aslant as she hugged him tightly. "Maybe Shin was right about us after all…"
"There's nothing we can do." Aslant remarked with a disappointed tone. "If they could have defeated Shin and slain him, then we would be throwing our lives for nothing… At least we are still alive to make a report to the World Government about what had transpired here. Some prudence with these people is needed. We have already lost a great amount of men from two CP branches, because we didn't realize the extent of their powers."
"You're right… let's get ourselves back up and go to the World Government to report…" Hethral said, as she got to her feet, coughing some more blood as she helped Aslant up.
In the meantime, a wave of relief set in on the heroes once again, as Sam received the Astrum from the tournament host, as he smiled.
"It was an honor to fight in your arena." Sam smiled.
"You gave us one hell of a show. Come back any time." The man in black smiled as Sam turned to Richard and Kaguya, tossing the Astrum a couple times in victory.
"Well, it's all said and done now." Sam smiled.
"Good, it seems that the situation went as well as expected." Richard remarked. "Seems that even the infamous CP4 knows when to fold their hands."
"Let's bring this to Siege, and give him the good news." Kaguya suggested.
"Hey, boss, you copy?" Sam asked.
"The rest of us have returned to the Golden Blaze, Sam. Reading loud and clear." Siege said. "Please tell me it's good news."
"Crack that champagne, wine, whiskey, whatever drinks you have, boss! The Astrum is in our hands!" Sam stated, as the group would hear a roaring applause from the other end of the communicator, as Sam winced a little from the sudden loud sound.
"Thank God!" Siege exclaimed as he laughed. "You two deserve a good drink for this one, Samuel, Frigg! Get your asses back here and let's all have a good time!" Siege stated.
"Roger that! Beam us up when ready, boss!" Sam chuckled as he signed off.
Aboard the OSA Golden Blaze…
Rachel was operating the teleport controls as drinks and food were being brought out to be shared by all. It was finally prime and proper time to resume Onigashima celebrations, and double them, they had utterly and completely succeeded in not only saving another world, but securing a proper power supply to reanimate and revive one of the preserved bodies within the Golden Blaze. But first, Sam, Frigg, Richard, and Kaguya would be seen beamed back up to the Golden Blaze to see all kinds of festivities being prepped, from a local tournament in the sparring rooms, to some of the members setting up a Nintendo Switch for a Smash Bros. Tourney, you name it, it was being prepped, as Siege would soon rope Sam into a brotherly hug.
"That's why I hired you on you son of a bitch, I knew you'd get the job done!" Siege laughed.
"Haha! And a quick reminder: this is why I don't work for cheap!" Sam chuckled.
"Okay, ya could have left that bit out." Siege laughed, as Richard did the same.
"What do you expect from the Jetstream himself?" Richard remarked, slapping Siege's shoulder playfully.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Siege smiled as he looked at the Astrum as Sam handed it to him, as the two looked at one another, Siege nodding. "We'll join the festivities soon, everyone… you guys know what we have to do."
"We understand." Noah said as he saw the look on Siege's face.
"Go on. Make the choice. I know we can't have them all back… but any one of them are still gonna be welcomed back with warm arms and tears." Yang said.
With a nod, Siege led Richard and Sam to one of the deep chambers within the Golden Blaze, as they opened the door, revealing multiple pods holding the bodies of those who had fallen alongside them… including those that Siege summoned on Onigashima: Geina, Nia, Camilla, and Hana.
"So who's first on the list…?" Richard asked Siege solemnly. "I have a feeling that you might be leaning to a certain one first, considering your connection to her…"
Sam looked at Siege. "It's up to you, amigo. You know who I would want but…"
"You understand don't you." Siege said as Sam nodded.
"Yeah. She means a lot to you." Sam said with a sympathetic smile.
"Don't worry Sam. Hana's next on the list." Siege smiled as he soon inserted the Astrum into Geina's pod, as the machine whirred to life, and began to make the pod glow, as it glowed brighter and brighter for many minutes… before finally growing dim.
Silence filled the room after the machine stopped… but then, the pod opened, as a hand was shown pushing it open, as out of the pod walked out Geina, hair black and blue, her clothing still torn from the battle she fell in, and her blade still broken down to just a few inches above the guard, as Geina groaned, holding her head as she looked up, and saw the trio, her eyes widening as she looked at herself.
"Am… am I… am I dreaming…!? This… this isn't real, I'm still dead…" Geina said quietly before Siege walked up, and placed his hand on the flat of her chest, as Geina's eyes widened, tearing up as she looked Siege in the eye.
"...No, dear. You're back… you're back in my loving arms once again." Siege smiled as he hugged Geina, as Geina dropped her useless blade and hugged Siege tightly, crying with Siege as they shared the emotional embrace.
Sam couldn't help but smile for Siege as he looked to Richard to see his reaction.
"Welcome back, Geina." Richard told Geina, with a warm smile.
"Richard… that's you isn't it?" Geina asked as she saw him. "Siege told me a lot about you during our spiritual connection in his sleep… but to finally see you and meet you… You're everything Siege told me you were." Geina smiled sweetly. "I can see why Siege calls you his Brother in Arms."
"Come now. Let's get you some new clothes and get you introduced to the rest of the crew, shall we?" Siege asked Geina, as the group of four headed up, as Geina would soon come out donning a new black Japanese short sleeved gi, complete with her signature katana at her side this time, as she walked back with Siege for a long heartfelt reunion and introduction with all of the cast.
Now, with everything said and done, for the world and reviving Geina, the celebrations got underway! The Angels of Clemency even got in on a lot of the fun, with Aegis and Valkyrie partaking in the tournament hosted by Hitomi Uzaki and Eruza Nakinishi, as Numa and Seele were at the gaming area partaking in the Smash Bros tournament, everyone sharing moments of joy, wonderful drinks, and wonderful food with one another.
As for Siege himself, he sighed as he and Geina sat together overseeing most of the festivities, with Richard near them as Siege looked his way.
"What'll it be Richard? Soda, sake, alcohol?" Siege would ask.
"Sake. Lord knows that I prefer some oriental liquor to help cool my nerves a little, and heat up my heart a little." Richard answered back.
Siege would procure two bottles of sake, one for Richard, one for Geina, while Siege himself grabbed a bottle of specially tailored moonshine, popping the cap off of it as he raised his bottle up. "Cheers for a grand success." Siege said to Richard and Geina.
"Cheers for my return to the living." Geina smiled, raising her drink as well, as she looked to Richard for his input.
"Cheers to a victory against tyranny and evil both." Richard remarked, as he clinked his cups against the other two.
With that, the trio shared a nice swig of their drinks, basking in victory, and were about to join their friends in the festivities. That was, until something else decided to make itself present in the situation. A familiar blue and red portal suddenly opened up, making Siege jump and nearly spill his drink, while Richard managed to keep his calm enough to set his cup down quickly.
"That's the portal that's made on the device I gave Hope!" Siege exclaimed, standing to attention as he set his drink down.
"How did he figure-" Richard was about to say, before he then stopped himself. "Ah right, I suppose that he might have done some convincing with Magina, if he came over here without much notice."
A few seconds later…..
"AAAAAAAGH!" a familiar voice to the ears of everyone, cried out as a familiar blue streaked by flew out of the portal an crashed onto a table carrying a boatload of food and drinks.
"Not the fooooood…." Seele whined from afar as the game and, well, pretty much all festivities paused on the dime.
"Alright, who the hell do you think you are-" Mokou was about to say, as flames appeared on her hands.
"No worries, no worries, I'll fix it." Siege said as he began to use his magic to fix the table and replace the food. "At ease people, it's Hope the Victor, one of the heroes from Onigashima."
"He certainly knows how to make an entrance. A messy entrance." Yang snickered.
"Not the best first impression, if I say so myself." Kaguya stated, before she then smirked. "But it's quite adorable actually, in it's own way."
"Hope, this either better be not serious or an emergency, because I don't need to be stressed. I just had the freaking time of my life, giving a world its best timeline yet, securing a boatload of new allies, and even reviving Geina as you can see here!" Siege stated, gesturing to the alive and well Geina who awkwardly waved at Hope.
Hope got up from his crash and dusted himself off. "Well hello to you too, Siege." he replied. "And hi, Geina. Good to see you in the flesh."
"Heh, I gotta say, you look a lot goofier than what I observed on Onigashima in spirit." Geina chuckled, referring to the nachos and cheese stuck in Hope's hair now.
"Agh… could someone please get the nachos outta my hair?" Hope asked.
"Here ya go!" Shirli smiled as she threw a water balloon, as it splashed all over Hope, soaking him, but successfully got the nachos and cheese off his head.
"Anyway, that was a boatload of info you just dumped on me, Siege…but im not here for any of that." Hope said. "I came because of a different reason. I used the portal device you gave me to come here instead of calling you. Did you know it can be used two ways?"
"Yep. Magina designed it that way." Siege smiled. "Glad it's not for anything serious, my friend, so, what's up? Came by for just a visit? Wanted to tell me something, or…?"
"...I came to invite anybody who's willing to come to something exciting." Hope smiled. "Is anybody in attendance at this party familiar with… the Perfect Link Tournament?"
"Heeeey! We just finished binging the last one! Yeah! I know what it is!" Yang called out with a bright smile.
"Turns out, there's a second one on the way." Hope explained. "Even bigger than the last one, with tons of contention. New faces, old vets, and of course the Alliance ourselves are in it. And, me and the guys back home were thinkin' maybe you'd like to give it a try."
"Well, considering I just got my wounds cleaned up, had a load of stress from the World Government last go-around and, well, been a while since Onigashima… yeah, you can count me in." Siege smiled. "I'll get Reshina in prime shape for the upcoming tournament."
"Yo Siege! Add me to the list!" Yang called out.
"You got it, Yang!" Siege called back.
"Wait, do you even have a pokemon to call your partner?" Hope asked the older and slightly stronger counterpart of his own Yang.
"Uhh, yeah!" Yang smiled as an Infernape gijinka popped out from around the corner and smiled.
"Yo! Wassup!" Indy called.
"Alright, that'll work. But one thing, creature forms only for Gijinkas." Hope said.
"You got it boss! No human me, only monkey business!" Indy called as she transformed into her Infernape self as Yang laughed.
"Stop it, your puns are getting as bad as my own!" Yang laughed.
"Anybody else?" Hope asked as he looked around before eyeing Rutega. She seemed eager to get asked, evidenced by her and Zana already discussing stuff like the type of adventures they'd have, their battle strategies, and so forth. Hope smiled at this. "Hey, Rutega!"
"Oh- yeah?" Rutega asked with a knowing smile as she and Zana perked up.
"...Wanna go?" Hope simply asked.
"Yeah!" Rutega fist pumped as she and Zana high fived.
"I'll ask Rinkah about it. She found her Perfect Link not too long ago and could be willing to join in on the Tournament." Siege added.
"Okay. Any takers from Unmei Force?" Hope asked.
"That you'll have to ask the guys back in your reality. Don't worry, I'll pass the requests along to the other Gus on your side of the multiverse." Richard answered back. "I'm sure that he'll find some time to bring some notable participants over. Would help to deal with the gloom with what happened to the other me. And Hope, mind if I ask if I speak with you alone, once we are done discussing matters? You can come with us too, if you need to hear, Siege."
"What's this about?" Hope asked.
"I'm rather curious about it myself." Siege said, before turning to Hope. "If anyone else from my team speaks up about joining, you'll be first to know, FYI."
"...I suppose that's all you have to say, Hope?" Richard asked back. "Then come with me, we can discuss what I need to tell you, with Siege."
Richard then gestured for Siege and Hope to follow, as Richard immediately placed a silencing seal in the entire room, reinforced with several layers of magical protections.
"Hope… I just want to make sure of one thing, and also tell you two things that I believe you should be privy to… Both of which are essential to inform your fellow alliance members about." Richard spoke with a fairly serious tone and expression. "The thing I must ask you: Other than those who are closest to you, and yourself… Does anyone know of the existence of this portal device?"
"No. I made sure to only let the others know about it. Nobody else." Hope said.
"And to clarify, who are those others?" Richard asked back firmly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Richard. I need to stop you for a second." Siege said. "You're talking about a portal device that Magina made. More specifically, she made this portal device custom made for Hope on my request."
"...Meaning…?" Richard asked back, with a raised eye-brow.
"Meaning that only Hope can activate the portal device. Well, he and his team alone. Jexi can't access it. David can't access it. No one else can get it to work unless it's Hope himself, or anyone directly in his team." Siege informed.
Richard was silent for a moment, as he was about to open his mouth to debate further, before it then closed, and he nodded slowly. "I suppose that's good enough, if that means that those 'others' are high-ranked members on your own team, or maybe one or two out of the rest of the leaders." Richard relented. "But don't take refuge in that fact, Siege. Malice always finds a way to circumvent even the best of failsafes. Even so, I am being a bit too forceful, so I ask that you forgive me on that."
"Sorry about that, Hope. I was fearful Richard might react this way on learning you held a gateway between our dimensions. Rest assured, Richard, Magina has taken every precaution to ensure Hope and Hope alone, and a few of his team he deems for it, can use this device." Siege reassured.
"Yeah…" Richard sighed, before turning to Hope. "Look, let me tell you why I'm so concerned about all of this. Yes, I baited the World Government to come here, but I expected that they would have been wandering for a while before they even managed to get here. Their almost sudden arrival in a matter of days has been tugging at my head for a while. How did they even possess any kind of technology to get over here? Other than diabolical intervention, it is not possible without being quick."
"One word." Hope said. "Vegapunk."
"Vegapunk… but he barely even knows we exist, just by the one encounter alone… Even if he figured out the relative coordinates to transfer realities, that just means that someone could easily replicate that method." Richard answered back, before he then leaned his head back. "It's not a good image for my own plans."
"He's the greatest scientific genius in Luffy's world. Would it even be impossible for him?" hope questioned.
"Putting it in that context, no." Siege grumbled. "And what's worse: He knew about Astrum somehow, and sent CP4 Agents to try and retrieve it… for what… I don't know… nor do I want to know."
"That's not possible!" Richard exclaimed, hitting the table with both of his hands. "Vegapunk may be devoted to the pursuit of perfect science. But he has no control over CP agencies, only the Gorosei or the one above has that kind of authority!"
"Richard! Did it not cross your mind that those people could have the same communication methods and tech that we do!? THIS IS FUCKING VEGAPUNK!" Siege yelled at Richard. "There were probably CP4 and CP5 when they were around tagging us as we were talking about Astrum and relaying the information back! That could very well be why CP4 made one more effort even when the World Government was all but gone from the world!"
"But even so… That means-" Richard responded back.
"BOTH OF YOU, STOP!" Hope cut in, bringing them both to a halt. "I don't think Vegapunk authorized Cipher Pol to attack you. It's possible he created a way for them and other Bounty Hunters to invade your dimension, but the guy is still under contract from the Government. All he does is make really cool, but extremely dangerous weapons of mass destruction for them. Don't overthink this. It's simple. Who has the authority in the World Government to organize a full scale invasion like that?"
Richard then looked towards Siege, waiting for his answer.
"Good and fair points…" Siege clicked his tongue before he looked back at Hope. "But it still doesn't explain it. CP4 intentionally and blatantly stated they were after Astrum. To understand the potential of what it can do, Geina's alive because of Astrum. If loaded into a weapon, the power output of just one pound of Astrum would result in the splitting in half of an entire continent, Hope." Siege explained with a dark tone. "It's potent fucking stuff. Rare, but potent and deadly. And CP4 not only gave the knowledge to the WG remotely, but were ordered to grab it. For what purpose from making a mega cannon to enhancing Seraphim, I don't know." Siege said as he folded his arms. "And that prospect alone scares me."
"...Look. I didn't come here to talk about stuff like this. I can assure you, someday, me and the guys are gonna ask all these questions to vegapunk himself and see what hes gotta say." Hope said. "I just came to invite you guys to a good time."
"Sorry Hope. I got carried away." Siege sighed. "I… just don't want to see things go south fast. It's bad enough the WG is on us. Even worse that Cataclysm and Echo are directing all their forces straight to us upon them entering the dimension on suicide marches."
"Well, you guys were celebrating a victory when i came in, so theres really no need to worry right now, is there?" Hope asked. "Cmon, you need this, Siege. You said it yourself. Come to the tournament when its time, and enjoy yourself."
"Alright. Not like I was changing my mind in that regard." Siege smiled. "I do need this. And hey! If you guys bring the Royal Knights, I can introduce them to my Digimon friends!"
"That'd be nice, Siege." Hope smirked. "Catch you later. You'll know when the tournament is ready to roll. I'm going back to get ready for something were gonna do before it starts. And i'll be bringing somebody here back with me."
"Alright." Siege smiled back.
"Just before you go. I still have two things to tell you, although you might be able to guess the first after what we were discussing." Richard answered back. "Considering that Seraphims are made… you should know there are Seraphims for the Hero Alliance Leaders. So far we have counted 4 so far. One for you, and three more for David, Jexi and Mark. And these are just from admission by one of the CP agents."
"And the other thing…?" Hope asked back.
Richard then considered something for a moment, before then shaking his head. "...I suppose that it won't be a concern for a while, and just being a spoil-sport has soured the mood a bit. I would rather not degrade it further by breaking some news that you might not take so well." He stated.
The trio left the room before they were greeted by the new mail carrier they met in the previous world, Lynestra.
"Hey Siege, I was thinking of joining the Perfect Link Tournament too." Lynestra said with a smile.
"Oh? And you have a perfect Link Pokémon?" Siege asked.
"Mhm!" Lynestra smiled as she sent out an Ambipom.
"Oh that's a nice choice!" Siege smiled.
"Yep! Little fella is great with painting too." Lynestra smiled as the Ambipom jumped for joy. "So, am I allowed?" Lynestra asked Hope. "I'm used to fighting on my wyvern, Nolde, but if you guys don't want that, I can adapt to fighting on the ground."
"They'll allow it. Whatever is comfy. But we'll get to that soon." Hope said. "I'm off. We're set to explore something new soon."
Hope then went back out to the party as he approached Rutega, the Saiyan
"Hm? Oh hey Hope, what's up?" Rutega asked.
"I was gonna head back home, but I got a little proposition for you." Hope said. "Remember our adventure in Hisui?"
"Oh yeah, I remember that well. Zana and I became a stronger pairing because of it." Rutega smiled. "What about it?"
"There's a new Region that's set to open to the public. It's called Paldea. It's big and full of new pokemon, with all sorts of possible new adventures to be had." Hope explained. "We have six groups on hand, but i was wondering if, well, as a little warm up for the PLT… would you like to tag along for the journey?" he asked.
"Are you kidding!? Hell yeah! When do we leave!?" Rutega asked.
The alliance leader checked his watch. "Right now," he said, activating the portal device. "We were just getting ready to go there, actually."
"Come on Zana!" Rutega smiled as Zana transformed into her Pokémon state with a happy howl.
"You go have fun, Rutega! See you at the tourney!" Siege called.
"Same to you Siege!" Rutega called back, ready to leave with Hope.
"Take care." Richard told Rutega with a nod.
"I will! I've got Zana with me!" Rutega beamed before following Hope through the portal he made, as Siege and Richard watched it close, Geina walking next to them.
"Well, I think she's gonna have a lot of fun." Geina smiled.
"Indeed. Speaking of fun. Woop!" Siege said as he and Geina ducked, allowing Richard to be splashed by a water balloon from the mischievous group of Shirli, Seele, and Heiwa, who all giggled.
Richard merely brushed the water off his face, before then coalescing it into a ball of water, as the young trio immediately booked it, as he flipped his fingers, as the ball of water honed right towards them, chasing them through the group, and maneuvering through the maze of people in the party.
Siege and Geina laughed as eventually the girls collapsed on each other, being splashed by the water which caused a larger laughter from the rest of those in the party, with Siege, Geina, and Richard clinking drinks once more and taking a swig. This party was just getting started, and was gonna last all the way to the PLT.