Two days since Jigan made his demand. The following day, the Eden's Zero and the Fiertia would be meeting up for the exchange of Homura's wellbeing, and the Black Moon Star fragment. Homura was moved to a spare room in the Fiertia with a bed and a window of space. She wasn't bound, because Blair went ahead and told the crew that Homura was able to subvert the weakness of Ether Gear. As such, they kept her isolated and her wounds from her battle were still untreated to keep her as weak as possible. It was better this way. Blair talked her out of trying anything foolish, which seemed odd to her at the time. "…"
The door to her 'cell' opened. It was the man known as Tobias. He stood at the doorway with his arms crossed. He knew Homura wouldn't fight back. The male adjusted his tie. "Rejoice, Kotgetsu. Tomorrow you'll be back with your crew."
"…" Homura didn't dare turn around. She looked at Tobias from the reflection of the window, eyes narrowing into a slight glare. "Your crew has picked a bad time to pick a fight with the Eden's Zero."
"Oh, we're more than well aware that your crew is playing Hero for the cosmos." Tobias shrugged his shoulders. "But that doesn't matter to some of us. Do you even know what your crew has obtained?"
"No." Homura shook her head. "I haven't been told a thing since I arrived here. All I got was a scratch on my back from your mean maid." The scratch that Blair left on her did leave a mark, but if she got some medical treatment it would go away.
"Hah." Tobias scoffed. "Your crew has obtained something known as a Black Moon Star fragment. I'll spare you the details, but it is something that leads to an incredibly innate source of power. They know this by now, so you should be honored that you have such caring friends. They are willing to exchange something that could change the universe just for your safety."
"…" Homura's expression fell slightly. She felt like she was holding the crew back, but it was always reassuring to know they would give anything to save her. It was something to smile about, but Tobias' tone made her withdraw that smile. "Why are you telling me this? I would learn it when I return to my ship."
"That's the thing. Jigan has ordered me to collect you and bring you to the bridge. He wishes to speak with you again." Tobias said, clapping his hands to signal Homura that it was time to move. "If you can talk, you can walk. Come on now."
"Ugh…" Homura's body was lingering with burns and soreness. "Would it kill them to at least provide me with some burn relief…" She mumbled her thoughts aloud, clearly frustrated at the turn of events she caught herself in. Regardless, she limped and followed Tobias to the bridge, where Jigan, Blair, Hanabi, and a hooded figure were waiting. This was Homura's first time seeing them. It wasn't Waltz, his stature did not match the shorter, hooded person's figure. "Who…"
"You don't need to worry about that." Jigan said, tapping his fingers along the arm of his captain's chair. "Look out there, will you. That empty space is where Nero 66 used to be. That war was the turning point of the fate of the cosmos."
Homura stared out into the dead space. An entire planet used to be there. Her expression faltered slightly as she thought back to that fateful day. The day that she watched Creed die in front of her. The day Witch sacrificed herself to protect the Eden's Zero. "….That war changed a lot of lives." Homura mumbled. "Why here?"
"Because with my digging, I've learned that this area is important to you and your crew." Jigan said with a smile.
"So you seek to damage my crew mentally. I'll have you know, such tricks will not work on us. If you think it will, you sorely misunderstand our type of bond." Homura turned around to glare at Jigan, who shrugged it off. "You intent to fight them…and I can tell you that you and your crew will lose."
"You certainly enjoy talking, don't you?" The leader of the Fiertia crew leaned back in his seat. "So why don't you tell everyone just what your crew is capable of. I don't like flying blind against an Oracion Seis Galatica and his crew."
"…!" Homura's eyes went wide and she shook her head. "I will…do no such thing." Homura could not tell a lie or a secret to save her life. But when it came to her friends, she would bite her tongue until it bled before she ratted out their abilities.
"I expected she'd do that." Hanabi swung her feet, before glancing at Blair. "C'mon, Blair. You have way of calming her down, why don't you persuade her some more?" She teased.
Blair just rolled her eyes and approached Homura while lifting her left hand. "Do you really want to go through this a second time. I think it's wiser for you to just talk."
"…." Homura felt her body shudder at the sight of Blair's left arm. What it did to her last time was hard to forget…but she still shook her head firmly. "Scratch me, claw me…do whatever you wish. I will not turn on my friends."
"She's determined. I respect it." The hooded figure spoke. They were male based on their tone.
"I don't understand you." Blair shook her head and approached Homura, swinging her left arm down. Since Homura was unbound, she could fight back with her sword. They clashed briefly, but Homura's condition meant she faltered and her sword was knocked to the side. That's when Blair slashed her across the chest with her bandaged left arm and Homura let out a scream before collapsing to the ground, weakened.
"GAAAAAH!" Homura writhed on the ground.
"Do you feel like talking now?" Jigan asked. "Let's start with the obvious. The current Demon King, Shiki Granbell. The user of Satan's Gravity."
"…If this is torture, I can endure…" Homura panted heavily, glaring towards Jigan and Blair who stood over her.
"Okay then. Blair." Jigan waved his hand. Blair repeated the notion and Homura cried out. Blood dripped from Blair's fingertips. "Rebecca, is it? I don't know what her power is exactly, but I know you do. So…why don't we start with her?"
That was bad. Homura absolutely could not tell this group about Rebecca and her Cat Leaper power. She just shook her head. "…." Jigan snapped his fingers and Blair raised her hand once again. Homura braced for impact, but…
"All she can do is move super quickly." Waltz casually appeared on the bridge, his body repaired from his battle with Homura and Rebecca. "It can be annoying, but if you are prepared it should be no problem. After all, I had no issue keeping up with her movements." He boasted, although her was greatly exaggerating how the fight went. "I can defeat two Eden's Zero members, so leave the heavy lifting to me."
"You-!" Homura was about to call Waltz out, but someone else did it for him.
"Don't be ridiculous." That came from Tobias. Everyone turned to look at him. "You barely emerged from that fight operational. I did your repairs, and looking over your memory footage, it's a miracle that your core was intact."
"What!?" Waltz scowled at Tobias' words. "How dare you insinuate that I…!"
"I am not insinuating anything." Tobias said firmly. "It is a fact that the only reason you did not become inoperable, is due to Homura's final strike missing your core. Which was intentional."
Homura had one eye shut, her body still screaming in pain. "You were not…a part of Ziggy's army…and while you opposed us, you were…not an enemy we sought to kill…our only enemy in this fight is Ziggy…"
"Hah!" Hanabi snorted. The noise escaped her so suddenly, the others glanced at her. "I-I'm sorry, it's just really funny to hear that Waltz almost lost to a person who was holding back!"
"How dare you mock me!" Waltz snarled, but the hooded person stopped him.
"Relax. The Eden's Zero has androids of their own, I believe. So you can merely take their parts and augment yourself even further if that's what you desire." The hooded man said such a thing as if it weren't horrific. "Your lust for power may take you down a path you cannot return from, however."
"I don't care." Waltz shook his head. This android was one that lusted for nothing more than to be the strongest. "The strongest Android at present is Ziggy…if I can take his core, I will be unstoppable…"
This crew was dangerous. Homura could sense a powerful ether presence from everyone present. She opened her mouth to say something, but the pain she felt overwhelmed her body and she fell unconscious. "Nnn…"
"…Oh." Blair stared down at Homura and shrugged. "She passed out. Guess I hit her too hard."
"Damn it, Blair." Tobias placed his hand on his forehead, groaning.
"Hey, Jigan's the one who told me to hit him…" Blair stared at the blood on her bandages. She bit her lower lip before turning on her heel to walk off.
"You've a funny way of doing things, Blair." Hanabi propped herself on her shoulders. "Heh…it reminds me of the time you saved me."
"Huh?" Blair blinked, utterly confused. "I don't remember doing that…"
Hanabi's smile faltered slightly. "…I guess you wouldn't. But maybe I'll tell you about it sometime."
"O…kay…?" Blair shook her head and just kept going.
Hanabi watched Blair walk off, letting out a quiet sigh. "…I wonder if you remembering is for the best or not…"
"So what do we do now?" Tobias asked Jigan.
"We prepare." Jigan said while standing up. "We're up against powerful foes, but if we stick to our usual tricks, we will emerge victorious in the end." The man was confident in his chances. Homura was the key he needed to emerge over the Eden's Zero. "We have the upper hand after all."
.
.
The day finally arrived for the Eden's Zero to arrive at the predetermined meeting zone. They arrived in the area that was once Nero 66. A planet that was at the center of a gigantic war was now nothing but dust in space. This area brought back bad memories for everyone on the ship. There was nothing good here, and perhaps Jigan was aware of this when he told them to meet here. Shiki crossed his arms, looking out ahead. He could see a ship in the distance. "I guess that's them." Shiki said, narrowing his eyes.
"Are we sticking to the plan?" Rebecca asked.
"As far as we can." Shiki replied. "We don't know what sort of demands he'll spin on us at the last second, but if he's the type of person that Weisz said he is, it won't be simple. But as it stands, we have no choice but to bring the star fragment to him. Hermit, is a com channel open?"
"Yeah." Hermit nodded. "Seems like they're waiting for us. No doubt they know we're here. I'll contact them now." Hermit did just that, contacting the Fiertia. A few seconds passed before Jigan appeared on screen.
"Ah! Quite punctual, Eden's Zero." Jigan smiled towards Shiki.
"Where's Homura?" Shiki wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. They both knew what was happening here.
"Relax. Your friend is alive." Jigan said. The screen briefly turned over to the unconscious Homura.
"…!" Rebecca covered her mouth with her hands. Homura looked worse than the last time they saw her. "What did you do to her!?"
"I didn't do anything." Jigan was technically telling the truth. "But she'll live. All she needs is a little medical attention, which I'm sure you'll happily provide. Now then, allow me to explain how this will work. The Fiertia is going to dock next to your ship. And I want 5 of you to come aboard and we will do the exchange. Do I make myself clear? I don't want any funny business either. If you do anything to that Black Moon Star fragment, your friend's life is forfeit."
"You want us to board your ship?" Shiki honestly expected it would be the other way around.
Jigan's lips curled up into a smirk. "Of course. Think of it as an extension of my goodwill. We will be approaching your ship in a few moments. You better prepare." Jigan then ended the transmission.
"Extension of goodwill my ass." Weisz remarked. "He's definitely up to something."
"But we don't have much choice but to follow his demands." Laguna said.
"What's your plan, Shiki? Want me to go in there and teach them all a lesson?" Ivry was more than prepared to step into the fray.
Shiki thought long and hard about this. They had no idea what they were up again. "We don't have a lot of time to make mistakes or think about this. This actually works out nicely."
"How so…?" Kleene asked.
"Trusting a word out of Jigan's mouth is asking to get stabbed in the back." Weisz said. "He wants 5 of us to go onto his ship, because he wants to leave us defenseless. I guarantee that he's gonna try and have someone sneak in while we're busy."
"One person against anyone left in here sounds like a mistake on their part." Jinn nodded. Although they didn't have a lot of time to talk this over since the Fiertia was rapidly approaching. "Shiki, we don't have a lot of time…"
"I know. This is probably where we're about to fight. You guys know the deal, right?" Shiki turned to the others and they nodded. A fight was unavoidable and they were going to have to hurt Jigan's crew to win. More importantly, they weren't going to kill anyone. "Here's who's going…"
.
.
Compared to the Eden's Zero, the Fiertia was roughly a quarter smaller. The Fiertia parked next to the Eden's Zero, the two ships opening up a door for a large tube to extend and for them to meet. It was a large tube that spanned a several yards long and wide. It was the only thing that linked the two ships together, and the view of space was visible due to its transparency. Shiki, Weisz, Jinn, Laguna, and Kleene were the ones he chose to accompany him. Hermit, Rebecca, Happy, Ivry, Mosco, and Couchpo were left behind to watch the ship. Shiki had the Black Moon Star fragment in an orb of gravity, and Weisz had a suitcase on his person.
The one to greet the group of five from the Fiertia side was…Blair Elfin. She stood with her arms crossed, looking the crew over. "So, you five, huh?"
"A maid…?" Kleene tilted her head.
"That's the maid that hit Homura…" Jinn whispered to his sister.
Blair stared at the Black Moon Star fragment. The amount of Ether coming from a mere fragment…it made her bandaged left arm throb in pain. "So that's it…fine. This works well for us." She then pointed towards Weisz. "The rest of you can go forward. He stays."
"Singling me out?" Weisz wasn't surprised. Considering that Jigan knew him, he figured this would happen sooner or later. "That's fine with me. You guys go ahead."
"Right…" Shiki nodded. He, Laguna, Jinn, and Kleene walked past Blair pensively. The moment they boarded the Fiertia, the doors to the ship closed behind them and bolted shut. "Huh?" And the exact same thing happened for the Eden's Zero, leaving Blair and Weisz trapped within the tube that linked the ships.
"Hey! What's going on?" Hermit demanded to know. "The door locked on its own!"
"Gayaha! That's the safety feature of the Fiertia!" Jigan's voice echoed. "Whenever we board a ship, we lock down the doors so nobody can get in or out as they please! You're playing by our rules, Eden's Zero!"
"So this is why he wanted us to board his ship. We're in enemy territory…" Jinn was tense now.
"His plan is probably to pick us off one by one." Laguna suggested.
"That's fine with me." Shiki said with a confident nod. "That just means we can get to Homura faster! Let's go!"
"Right!" The other three nodded and quickly followed behind Shiki into the depths of the Fiertia, leaving Weisz alone to stand against Blair.
Weisz was calm while standing across from Blair. He put a timer on his watch for Arsenal to appear. For the time being, he set the suitcase in his hand down, and pointed his assault rifle towards Blair. "I'm guessing Jigan told you about me. If he's sending you, that means he's confident you can beat me. I knew this was going to turn into a fight from the very start."
"Don't act like you made some impressive deduction, pretty boy." Blair uncrossed her arms. "We all knew it was going to turn into this. I'd rather it didn't, but I'm not the one calling the shots. But I can, at least, make this quick. If you're gonna shoot that gun, you don't have to worry about the walls. They can take a few bullets."
"Her left arm is the one that made Homura scream in pain, so it must be dangerous. Furthermore, she's completely unfazed that I'm pointing a gun in her face. It's a good thing we brought a secret weapon to disrupt her." Weisz kept his gun trained on Blair and grinned. A fight was absolutely about to break out, and he was going to be the one who shot first. His finger squeezed the trigger of his gun and multiple bullets shot out towards Blair.
The maid bent her knees and took off, a sword ejecting from beneath the sleeve of her right arm. Unfazed by these bullets, she cut them down before they could even come close. Blair then jumped into the air, flipped forward and dove down with one leg extended. A blade was revealed under the sole of her shoe, and an aura of wind appeared around her. "Rising Falcon!"
"I knew it!" Weisz had enough time to dodge, but barely. Blair was fast and that Rising Falcon would've hurt if it landed. "She moves just like I thought she would. If those swords are charged by Ether, then…!" Weisz kicked the suitcase on the floor open, and out from it came Pino. "Do your thing!"
Pino jumped into the air, extending her arms. "EMP activate!"
"What the-!?" Blair hardly had any time to react to the sudden electromagnetic pulse that boomed out. It did affect her swords, causing them to briefly shutdown as whatever Ether coursed through them came to a standstill.
With Blair caught off guard, Weisz had his opening. He modified his gun into a flamethrower, and clicked the trigger to release a powerful stream of flames forward. "Gotcha! Atlas Flame!" The fire flew towards the off guard Blair and completely consumed her. At least, that's what it looked like, but…
"Wait!" Pino said. "Something's wrong!"
Pino was right. The flames stopped in front of Blair and her left hand, funneling into the bandaged limb before dispersing. There were still embers lingering around her, but for the most part, Blair was completely unharmed from Weisz and Pino's surprise. "An EMP? I didn't expect that…too bad that kind of thing doesn't work on me. You would've pulled one over on someone else."
"What the…" Weisz had a sweat drop on his forehead. This chick was completely unbothered by what they just did.
"If that was your opening act, I'm not impressed." Blair's yellow eyes peered into Weisz's own. Even if her blades were temporarily out of Ether charge, they were still swords that could be used, and she intended to do just that. "Now…" She lunged towards Weisz again with a blade extended, much faster than before. Weisz leaned his head to the side, but Blair's sword did cut across his cheek. The maid slid to a halt behind him, noting that the tip of the sword was dripping with Weisz's blood. "It's my turn."