With flashes of blue light, each member of the group appeared on the transporter platform of the New Diplo one by one. After they all had appeared, one of the crewmembers standing by, a tall muscular man with brown hair, greeted them.
"Welcome to the New Diplo, everyone! My name is Justin, I'm the security guard of this ship." The crewmember said, with a salute. "Lancar, good to see you back here safe."
"Thanks, Justin. Good to see you all safe as well." Lancar replied. "So where's the Captain at?"
"The Captain and Miss Sophia are waiting for all of you at the bridge!" Justin told him. "Please attend to them right away!"
"Gotcha." Lancar said, looking back to everyone and leading them forward. "Just follow me, guys."
The interiors of the New Diplo actually still resembled how it used to look like 2 years ago. It seemed that most of the upgrades made was for the artillery, defense shield and the engine, and not so much the interior. Lancar, Albel, Peppita, and Roger all navigated through the Ship with familiarity, but since Clair, Farleen, Raditz, and Reen were obviously all new to it, they examined the interior with great interest.
"Wow, so this is how a top-class Federation ship looks like!" Raditz commented. "It's so huge! And I bet it's loaded with all the latest technology, too!"
"So this is what you call a spaceship…" Clair commented. "So it's like a large building that travels through sea of stars… this is all quite amazing!"
"Heehee, Clair, would you believe it if I told you this 'Large Building' travelled through space at a speed faster than light?" Reen asked, jokingly.
"Are you serious?" Farleen asked. "Wow, all this is soooo advanced… it's even more complicating than all those things I saw at Greeton!"
"All right guys, past this door is the ship's bridge." Lancar announced, standing in front of the door to the bridge. "We'll meet up with the Captain and plan our next move."
As the group entered the door, Cliff and Sophia, both standing and waiting for them with a smile, greeted them. Overcome with emotion, Peppita ran over to Sophia, giving her a big hug.
"Sophia! It's been so long! It's really nice to see you again!" Peppita said. "And I'm so glad you're safe!"
"Peppita? I didn't know you were with them!" Sophia replied, pleasantly surprised, and returning the hug. "But it's so nice to see you! Wow, you've grown so much in two years!"
"Hehe, but you still look the same, Sophia!" Roger said, greeting Sophia with a wave. "But honestly, it's good to see you again!"
"Cliff, I'm glad to be able to meet you once again. It's been a long time." Clair said, bowing to Cliff. "Thank you for helping us in the time of need."
"Yeah!" Farleen agreed. "It's so nice to see you two once again!"
"Heh, it's a great honour to meet you fine ladies once again, too!" Cliff said jokingly. "Seriously though, good to see you all back here safe! You all have changed so much!"
"Haha, likewise, you big lummox!" Roger teased. "But you're still lazy and slow as ever, aren't ya? You could have picked us up much earlier, you know!"
"Heh, and the little brat is still the same as he always was!" Cliff teased back, turning to Albel. "Long time no see, Albel."
"Hmph." Albel grunted, shrugging his greeting off.
"And our good ol' Albel is also exactly the same as he was before, too!" Cliff said with a smirk, now turning to greet Raditz and Reen. "Haven't seen you two before, you must be the newbies who joined them from Roak. Howdy, I'm Captain of this ship, Cliff Fittir. Nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet you too, Sir my name is Reen Silvermoon!" Reen replied with a bow.
"It's a honour to meet you, Captain! My name is Raditz Farrence, a former member of Clatos Volunteer Corps!" Raditz said, with a salute. "I'm truly grateful for this opportunity of being inside your top class Federation ship!"
"Heh, you guys don't need to be so formal with me… it's kinda embarrassing…" Cliff said, scratching the back of his head. "And Lancar, good to see you again too, of course! We were getting pretty worried, but I'm glad you're all safe."
"Thanks, Captain." Lancar said, turning to Sophia who was exchanging greetings with Reen and Raditz. "Good to see that you have recovered, Sophia!"
"Thank, Lancar. I'm glad you made it back here safe and sound." Sophia replied.
"Haha, this warm and fuzzy reunion is nice and all, but…" Cliff said, his voice turning serious. "There's still business to take care of… Let's rest for a while then meet back in the Conference room. We'll discuss our plans there."
After couple hours of rest, everybody went to the big Conference room of the Diplo, all sitting around at the large table. Lancar told Cliff and Sophia everything that had happened to them so far.
"I see…" Cliff said, in a serious voice. "You guys have sure been through a lot… I would have never thought that things would turn out the way they have so far."
"Yeah…" Lancar said. "We've went into the Daemoneum twice, but we were no match for the Demons there… sorry, Captain."
"It's okay, really… I'm sure it wasn't your fault, but…" Cliff replied, pondering for a second. "You're saying that you can't even harm these demons? Did they have some sort of a defense shield around them?"
"It's no defense shield." Albel replied. "We can't hit them at all. They're like ghosts."
"Yeah, it's as if they weren't even there!" Farleen said. "All of our attacks just went right through them!"
"Hmm, that's really interesting… I've never heard of this technology…" Cliff said. "I was speculating that it might work like how the Ship Invisible did many years ago, but even that was merely an illusion… you couldn't see it but it was still there in physical form."
"They said something about the 'Gift of God'… whatever that means…" Reen commented.
"The 'Gift of God'?" Cliff asked. "They can't possibly mean… no… that would be impossible now… never mind."
"So what should we do, Captain?" Raditz asked. "How can we defeat these demons?"
"Heh, it's no use asking this idiot!" Roger sneered. "It sounds like the Federation has never heard about things like this before, anyway."
"As much as I hate to agree with the brat, he's right." Cliff said. "We're going to have to think about how to tackle that one…"
"So how is the situation with the other planets, Captain?" Lancar asked. "And have we found out anything about Maria?"
"Well, the situation isn't too good, that's for sure…" Cliff replied with a grim look. "Even the most well-equipped planets like Earth, Klaus and Resonia have suffered great damage from the Demons… we're just barely holding them off at this point. Expel seems like it's going to fall any minute, and planets like the Vendeen and Edifice have already been completely destroyed…"
"Edifice? Totally destroyed?" Lancar asked, getting up suddenly from his seat in concern. "But that's where you said Maria was spotted at!"
"Yeah I know… I'm sorry, but we couldn't track her down, and the Planet has been completely destroyed." Cliff said in a low voice. "There has been no other traces of her whereabouts… it's not like there was a spaceship on that planet, either. We're assuming that Maria's…"
"No, Cliff!" Sophia said. "Don't say that… I'm sure she's still out there somewhere! We can't give up hope!"
"She's right!" Peppita agreed. "Miss Maria is strong! I'm sure she survived the attack! Let's all believe in her!"
"That women would never go down without a fight." Even Albel agreed. "She's also too stubborn to have died so easily."
"Let's hope you are all right." Clair said. "Cliff, how is the situation in our planet? Elicoor II you call it, right?
"Unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity to check…" Cliff said. "Sorry, Clair… but it's been a handful for us to just defend ourselves as of late."
"I see…" Clair commented worrily. "Then let's hope for the best."
"We're still in the orbits of Vanguard right now, because I wasn't sure of where to go. Let's discuss what to do next…"
As Cliff was about to continue, he was interrupted by an announcement over the speakers.
"Captain! There is a group of spaceships approaching us from 500,000 kilometres away!" A crewmember reported over the speakers. "I don't know if they're hostile or not, but either way, we need you here immediately, sir!"
"Hmph, I wonder what this is all about…" Cliff muttered, as he got up. "Alright, let's all go check it out, guys."
Chapter 38: The Sacrifice
"Okay, who are these people?" Cliff asked, as he and others arrived at the bridge of the New Diplo. "Identify the ships, pronto! And try to establish communication with them!"
"It seems that it's a Federation fleet just like us, Captain!" One crewmember reported. "They're a fleet from Roak… 5 ships in total. We're trying our best to establish communication with them at the moment."
"Phew, that's a relief…." Cliff sighed in relief. "I had a hunch that it was some hostile party that we didn't know about… I'm glad I was wrong, though."
"Captain, we have established communication with them!" The crewmember reported.
"On speakers!" Cliff ordered. "This is Captain Cliff Fittir of the Diplo. What's the situation over there?"
"…Gwa…g…ahhhhhhhhh!" Somebody screamed over the speakers, with the communication distorted by static. "Esc…pe… now… there's… de… UWAAAA!"
"What the hell?" Cliff cursed. Right at that moment, the five spaceships unloaded their blasts from the Creation Cannons, rocking the Diplo with its impact and knocking everyone down off their feet.
"C…captain! We're being attacked!" A female crewmember yelled in panic. "We've been hit simultaneously by 5 blasts from their Creation Cannons… the shields are already down to 60 percent!"
"Wha…why?" Cliff asked in panic. "They're Federation ships! Why would they…"
"What the hell is going on here?" Albel asked, looking around. "Who's attacking us?"
"There's also been a transporter activity to this ship!" Another crewmember reported. "Someone is coming!"
Right at that moment, the door to the bridge opened. It was Saphiro and Romero, with Saphiro dragging the lifeless body of Justin beside him.
"Justin! NOOOO!" Sophia yelled, shocked at the sight of the security guard dead.
"Why, YOU!" Albel yelled in fury as he unsheathed his katana.
"It's… it's those demons!" Clair shouted.
"It took some time, but we've finally found you mortals." Saphiro said, tossing the dead body of Justin in front of Cliff. "You mortals didn't appear here right away like we expected you to, so we had to put some effort in tracking you down. It's a good thing that you all still somehow lead us back to the girl anyway, heh."
"Give us the girl." Romero said, pointing to Sophia. "She is our target. If you mortals comply, then we might just let you all live, for now."
"Hah, you think we believe you? And you think we'll just let her go like that?" Raditz said, unsheathing his Aura Blade and going into his battle stance. "We're not going down without a fight!"
"You mortals always make it hard on yourselves, don't you?" Saphiro sneered, as a group of 20 demons appeared behind him through the door. "Oh well, then we'll just have to do this forcefully. Capture the girl and kill everyone else, my servants!"
The group of demon servants rushed up to each of the fighters, engaging in battle with them. Everybody fended them off and succeeded in killing them, but the sheer number of the demons made it impossible for them to protect everyone. The demons killed off all the helpless crewmembers one by one.
"NO!" Reen yelled as she burned off one of the demon servants with her Flare Orb attack. "Everyone's… Dying… Stop it!"
"GWAA!" Albel shouted as he sliced and diced his way through number of demons. "Protect the girl! Don't let them get her!"
"Don't worry! They won't lay a finger on her!" Cliff yelled, as he knocked back the demons that were coming Sophia's way with his powerful punches and kicks. "Sophia, just stay behind me!"
"I'm sorry I can't help!" Sophia said as she fended off one demon with her firebolt attack. "I can't use stronger symbology on this ship without destroying the ship!"
"We don't need symbology! Hiya!" Roger yelled as his Whirling Heat attack knocked down another demon. "Just protect yourself, Sophia! Don't worry about us!"
"EEEYYAA!" Raditz yelled as he flied through a group of 4 demons in a flash. The demons were all cut helplessly in half, their corpses dropping to the ground.
"FLYING GUILLOTINE!" Clair yelled as she tossed her Twin Daggers towards the demons like a chainsaw. The attack cut right through 6 demons in a row, effectively taking care of all the demons that were attacking them.
"Huff... Now it's your turn!" Raditz yelled, as he turned towards Saphiro and Romero.
"This time, I'm going to tear apart both of you disgusting demons for good…" Albel said, also turning to the two demons. "Feel my wrath of vengence!"
"Hahaha… you mortals just don't learn at all." Romero laughed, as the demon sword Levantine appeared in his hand. "If we kill you for good this time, will you finally realize that your efforts are futile? You mortals can't ever hope to harm us."
"Take this! UWAAA!" Albel yelled as he lunged towards Saphiro with his Katana held high over his head. Albel slashed downwards, creating a large Crescent moon shaped energy blade with it. "CRESCENT MOON FLASH!" The moon-shaped energy blade flew towards Saphiro, going through him harmlessly.
"You're indeed a failure…" Saphiro commented as he raised his palm towards Albel. "DARK WAVE!" The dark energy wave hit Albel in the chest, knocking him back in pain.
"BURST KNUCKLE!" Raditz yelled as he charged his fists in fire and shot it towards Romero. However, Romero simply reflected his attack right back at him, hitting Raditz and knocking him down on the floor.
"Such weak attacks…" Romero sneered. "Even without the 'gift of god', this would be too easy. The skills of you mortals are pathetic."
"ELECTRIC FISTS!" Lancar yelled as he delivered three powerful lightning punches at Saphiro, which went right through him as usual. "You can't hit us, foolish mortals. When are you going to recognize the obvious?" Saphiro asked as he dropped Lancar with a swipe from his wing.
After knocking Lancar down, Saphiro shot a sharp laser beam towards Clair from his eye. Clair covered herself helplessly as it was too late for her to dodge the lightning quick beam.
Clair!
At that moment, Albel jumped right in front of Clair, intercepting the beam. "GWAAAAAAA!" Albel let out a blood-curdling scream as the beam burned a hole through Albel's right chest, knocking him down unconscious in a pool of blood.
"ALBEL!" Clair yelled in shock. "NOOOOO!"
"Hahaha… just like his father. How foolish." Saphiro sneered with an evil grin in his face. "Sacrificing his own life… how pathetic."
"Albel…" Clair spoke faintly as she rushed to his side. "Why did you…"
"…" Cliff remained speechless as he helplessly witnessed his comrades getting beaten down one by one, thinking deeply about something with his head down.
"Cliff…" Sophia mumbled from behind him, trembling with fear. "They're right… we can't hit them at all… they're too powerful! In this pace, we're all going to… Cliff, I'll go with them. I don't want you all to die!"
"Don't ever say something stupid like that again, Sophia." Cliff said adamantly as he suddenly raised his head in determination. "You're all going to live. I'll make sure of it."
Cliff suddenly stepped back, punching in some commands into the main computer and picking up a device in his hand. He then walked ahead, right in front of the demons.
"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Cliff yelled. "We're going to have to retreat for now! I've activated the Emergency shuttle, you guys all run for it! I'll hold them off!"
"What?" Reen yelled. "But…"
"We don't stand a chance of beating these demons right now!" Cliff yelled. "Sometimes, it's better to run! It's important that we all live first! Run to the shuttle… and protect Sophia at all costs!"
"No! Cliff!" Sophia yelled in objection. "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me… I'll make my getaway… I can get out with the escape pod." Cliff assured Sophia. "I'll join up with you guys soon."
"Alright then… you all heard the Captain… let's escape to the shuttle!" Lancar yelled, as he picked up Albel to run towards the transporter to the shuttle. "Cliff, don't overdo it! Get out of here as fast as you can!"
"Thank you, Captain!" Reen said, as she followed Lancar to the transporter. "Be careful!"
"Please don't overexert yourself, Cliff!" Farleen yelled as she also followed Lancar and Reen to the transporter. "We'll be waiting!"
Roger also started running towards the transporter, but then slowed down in thought, before eventually running back towards where Cliff was standing.
'I can't just leave him alone…' Roger thought.
"You guys can all go…" Roger said, standing beside Cliff. "But I'm staying with him!"
"Roger, no!" Cliff yelled. "Just go!"
"You thought I was just going to leave you behind all alone, idiot?" Roger said as he got into his fighting stance. "We're rivals, we're comrades, and we're buddies… I'm not going to leave you here fighting by yourself! I'm sticking with you!"
"…" Cliff stayed silent, shocked at Roger's decision to stay with him.
"Heh, more foolishness." Saphiro sneered, not attacking yet. "And more useless sacrifices… these mortals just make me laugh even more. Let's watch this hilarity of a moment for a bit, Romero. It's really quite amusing."
"But Roger…" Peppita said. "We should get out of here for now. Cliff will be fine, I'm sure of it!"
"You go, Peppita!" Roger retorted. "But I made up my mind. I'm fighting with him!"
"Roger…" Cliff muttered as he slowly turned to Roger. "I'm sorry…"
Suddenly, Cliff unleashed a sharp but gentle punch right into unsuspecting Roger's midsection, just enough to take the wind out of him and knock him out.
"W…why…" Roger muttered as he fell unconscious.
"Heh, I've wanted to do that to this brat for such a long time…" Cliff said with a bittersweet grin. "Guys, please take care of him… I had to do that… he wouldn't have listened to anything I said. I'm sorry."
"C…Captain…" Raditz muttered, picking up Roger and turning towards the path to the transporter. "O…okay."
"…Cliff… please be careful... " Clair said, as she turned back to run as well.
As everybody ran safely towards the transporter that led to the emergency shuttle, Cliff closed his eyes briefly in thought, then opened his eyes and walked up to the two demons to confront them face-to-face.
"Alright, you demons, now it's your turn." Cliff yelled cockily. "It's time to say your prayers!"
"Heh, you have guts, mortal. I'll give you credit for that." Romero said, holding up his Levantine. "But I can't decide whether this was an act of bravery or foolishness. I'm leaning towards the latter at the moment. We will not let you escape in your pod. You'll be dead before then."
"You have to be insane to think that you can put up a fight with us." Saphiro said. "We're just going to kill you in a matter of seconds and then track them down. Even if they have escaped in that shuttle, it'll be easy enough to track them down with this spaceship. It's all useless."
"Oh, I'm not escaping to anywhere. There aren't any escape pods, anyway. And there won't be too much of a fight, that's for sure." Cliff smirked, slowly moving his thumb over the button on the device in his hand. "But you won't be using my spaceship to track them down, either!"
"What?" Romero asked, confused.
"This ship is loaded with the newest creation engine that produces the energy level equivalent to magnitude 3.5!" Cliff yelled. "Think you are strong enough to withstand such explosion?"
"What? Why you!" Saphiro yelled as he started panicking. "You're not thinking of…!"
"Even if you can somehow withstand that explosion, I wonder if you Demons can survive out there in open space! Heh…" Cliff taunted, "Because us mortals certainly can't!"
"You're going to self-destruct?" Romero shouted in fear, before lunging towards Cliff. "That's not going to happen! DIE!"
'I'm sorry, guys…this is the only way…' Cliff prayed. 'Please everyone… be safe… and save this universe…'
"If I'm gonna go, I'm taking you sonsofbitches with me!" Cliff yelled, as he pushed the button on his device. "Sayonara, motherfuckers!"
'Goodbye…'
Meanwhile, everybody on the shuttle stared out the window towards the Diplo, waiting for Cliff's escape.
"Cliff… come on! Where is he?" Lancar asked in panic as he put injured and unconscious Albel down on the floor. "He should be out of there by now!"
"Uhh…uhhhhh" Roger moaned as he finally came to. "Wh…where's Cliff?"
"He's still in the ship!" Peppita said. "Don't worry… he'll be out any minu…"
Before Peppita finished her sentence, the group witnessed in shock as a blinding flash of light engulfed the Diplo with a deafening sound. When the dust settled, there was nothing left behind.
Diplo had disintegrated completely without a trace.
"CLIFF!" Lancar yelled, completely stunned. "NO!"
"Cliff…" Clair yelped as she weakly dropped to her knees. "Please… no…"
"NO! NO! NOOOOO!" Roger started crying as he started banging on the windows in front of him repeatedly with his fists, overcome with emotion. "YOU DUMBASS! YOU LIAR! YOU STUPID…BWAAAAA!"
"Cliff!…" Sophia yelped weakly as she covered her face with her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. Farleen and Peppita started crying as well, both kneeling down on the ground in despair.
"Captain…" Raditz muttered weakly with his head down, as he went over to console Reen weeping in sorrow.
"Cliff… don't tell me you planned this…" Lancar mumbled in despair. "Why did you do something so stupid…"
As everybody was bereaving Cliff's death, a small meteorite crashed into the rear of the emergency shuttle, rocking it violently and knocking everybody down off their feet.
"AHHHH!" Sophia screamed as she hit her head hard on the floor, knocking her out unconscious.
"Sophia!" Lancar yelled as he rushed over to the control board. "Damn, we've been hit by a meteorite! It completely damaged the rear… the ship is going down!"
"Oh no!" Peppita yelled. "What can we do?"
"We'll have to make an emergency landing…" Lancar said, pulling on the control sticks. "All we can do is… pray that we get lucky… everyone, hold on to something!"
The Shuttle fell rapidly through the atmosphere of Vanguard III, as Lancar did his best to guide the ship into a forest to cushion the fall. The shuttle finally crashed into the Pesotto Forest, rolling along for hundreds of meters before it finally stopped in a heap of smoke.
Chapter 39: Return to Whipple
"Urrg…" Lancar muttered as he slowly got up from his seat in the crashed shuttle "Is everyone ok?"
"I'm… I'm okay…" Farleen said weakly, looking a bit dazed. "How's everyone else?"
"I… I think we're okay…" Raditz mumbled in pain, as he had been covering Reen to protect her from the crash.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but…" Reen said, as she looked to Raditz's wounded arm. "Raditz, are you ok? Oh my god… that's a terrible wound… you didn't have to protect me like that, I'm sorry…"
"No… it's… nothing…" Raditz muttered, holding his badly damaged arm. "Don't worry about it."
"Sophia… are you ok?" Farleen asked Sophia, who was down on the floor unconscious. "… She's breathing fine, but she's unconscious…"
"A… Albel?" Clair mumbled as she also slowly got up from the floor. "W…where did Albel go? Is he alright?"
Albel was crumpled in the corner, lying motionless on the floor.
"ALBEL!" Clair yelled as she rushed over to his side as quickly as possible.
"He's still breathing… thankfully" Lancar said, examining the nasty wound on Albel's chest. "But that's a terrible wound… we need to heal him immediately."
"HEALING!" Clair casted her healing spell right away, trying to seal Albel's wound. However, the wound was too big for her to seal completely with her spell.
"Shit, it's no good…" Lancar cursed. "The spell's too weak to seal such a big wound… the medical kit here on this shuttle wouldn't do much, either…"
"No… Albel… it's because of me…" Clair muttered in despair, before finally getting up. "We need to do something!"
"Where are we right now?" Peppita asked. "Maybe we should go find a doctor in one of the towns in this planet…"
"I'm pretty sure we landed in Pesotto forest…" Lancar said. "So maybe we should head back to Whipple for now… that's right, maybe Meena can help? She was really proficient in healing symbology… she healed us all at once last time!"
"Then let's head there right away!" Clair said. "He doesn't have much time left!"
"Alright, let's go!" Lancar told everyone, picking Albel up to head out. "The village shouldn't be too far away from here…"
"…" Roger just sat in the corner silently with his head down, looking really depressed.
"Roger, we have to leave, now! Albel's life is in danger!" Peppita told him. "And I don't want anyone else dying anymore! So please… let's get going before it's too late."
"…Okay…" Roger replied weakly as he got up to follow the party out to Whipple.
"Meena, do you think you can seal this wound?" Lancar asked her as everybody stood around Albel lying in the bed in Niklas and Meena's house. "You might be the only one that could do it…"
"Umm…ummm… I don't know… the wound's so big…" Meena mumbled, intimidated by the sight of the big nasty wound. "But I'll try…"
"Meena is one of the most gifted healers here in Whipple." Niklas commented. "I know she can do it."
"I'll help out as best as I can…" Clair said, readying her healing spell. "Meena… I beg of you… please try your best… please save his life for me…"
"Okay, I'll do my best… here I go…" Meena said, as she kneeled down to pray. "FAIRY HEAL!" A magical fairy appeared over Albel's wound with a holy light, covering and sealing the wound slowly.
"It's… it's working!" Clair announced in a glimmer of hope, as she casted her healing spell to help out. "HEALING!" The two spells combined together wonderfully, successfully sealing Albel's wound completely.
"He should be fine now!" Meena said with a smile. "Just let him get some sleep and he'll be okay!"
"T…thank you so much, Meena!" Clair thanked Meena by bowing to her. "I am in your debt… you saved his life! I don't know how I can ever repay you…"
"It's nothing really… heehee…" Meena said, blushing. "I'm just glad that I can help others. It's what I always wanted to do!"
"Being a doctor and saving lives has always been Meena's dream" Niklas said. "Please, do not worry about repaying us. We are just glad to help our friends out in the time of need."
"Thank you… once again…" Clair said gratefully.
"But Meena, wow… that's an advanced healing technique that I've never seen before… it was amazing!" Farleen said. "What kind of runes do you have inscribed on your body? Can I see it?"
"Runes?" Meena asked, confused.
"Yeah… runes… isn't that how you casted your healing magic, by using runes?" Farleen asked. "Or maybe you guys call it symbology… or heraldry… or something like that. It's like a tattoo on your body…"
"Umm… I've never heard of anything like that…" Meena said. "I don't have any tattoos… I just pray and wish real hard to heal the person's wounds!"
"Yes, Meena, as I have said, is born with a special gift." Niklas explained. "We do not know how she received the power, or what it is exactly, but it is said in our legends that only the pure-hearted can manipulate such holy powers. Meena is one of the only few with this ability… most of us cannot manipulate such phenomenon, including myself."
"So you can cast spells without any symbols on your body, huh…" Raditz asked. "I've never heard of anything like that… that's really interesting."
"Yeah… hey, I'll heal your arm too, big brother!" Meena said as she went over to heal the wound on Raditz's arm.
"But that was certainly a nasty wound…" Niklas commented, looking at Albel. "How was he injured so badly? This mission of yours must be much more dangerous than I have thought."
"Yeah, these demons are tough." Lancar said, his head down "We've also just lost a comrade in a battle… we're all lucky that we even survived."
"…Oh no…" Meena mumbled, with a sad look on her face.
"…That is very unfortunate. Please accept my deepest apologies." Niklas gave his condolences. "We can't be of much help, but please take as long as you need here in this town to recuperate. We'll do the best we can."
"Thanks…" Lancar thanked him, before turning towards Sophia who was also lying on another bed. "There's no way to cure her state though, right?"
"She's fallen comatose…" Clair commented. "Recovery spells wouldn't really help much in her situation… there's nothing much we can do at the moment. We're just going to have to hope that she regains her consciousness soon."
"Yeah, I'm worried…" Peppita said in concern. "She hit her head really hard on the floor when she fell… I really hope that she'll wake up soon."
"So what are going to do now?…" Reen asked. "The Diplo is gone… and we have no way of getting around… where do we go from here?"
"I don't know… if there is a fortunate in this unfortunate situation, it is that those two demons are now probably dead." Lancar commented. "There's no way that those demons could have survived that kind of an explosion; the magnitude of that blast was strong enough to destroy a single planet. Even if they somehow survived the explosion, I doubt they can survive out there in space..."
"Huh?" Meena asked, confused. "Planet?… space?"
"We don't quite understand… what in the world do you mean?" Niklas asked, also confused.
'Shoot… the UP3… I totally forgot about it.' Lancar thought to himself.
"Um, those are just terms that we use in our own country, far away from here. You wouldn't understand." Lancar brushed the questions off, changing the topic. "Niklas, there's been sightings of Demons nearby here as well, right?"
"Yes… there were few demons seen wandering around in the Pesotto forest." Niklas explained. "From the stories I've heard, they are coming from the Ruins of Coffir. Our village is already preparing for war… we think that they will be an invasion any day now."
"So this village is in danger too?" Raditz asked. "Damn… I'm sorry to say this, but it won't be much of a fight. Those demons are way too strong for you guys."
"We are aware of that…" Niklas said, with his head down and his eyes closed. "But still, we won't just let them destroy our village freely. We're not going to run away… we will fight until the end."
"No! You can't do that…" Reen objected. "I don't want to see anymore innocent lives lost… especially in a fight that you know you can't win!"
"You do not have to worry…" Niklas continued. "We're going to evacuate the elderly and the children to a nearby town… they'll be safe for now. Either way, we have to put up some sort of resistance. We can't just keep running away… they will eventually get to us."
"…" Lancar stayed silent in thought for a while, before finally coming upon a decision. "Niklas… don't worry about the fighting. We'll go to the Ruins of Coffir and clear out the demons."
"What? No, we can't ask you to do such a thing for us!" Niklas retorted. "We do not wish for you to get involved in our war…"
"Don't worry, Niklas. We're also going there for our own mission as well." Lancar explained. "We'll go there to do our own thing, and kill all the demons that just happen to be there! As long as our benefit meets the benefit of the villagers here, it's okay, right? It'll work out for everybody… we'll be killing two birds with one stone!"
"Lancar?" Farleen asked. "What do you exactly plan to do?"
"Well, they said that this Ruins of Coffir place is full of Demons, right?" Lancar explained. "So from there, I'm thinking that maybe we can find a way back into the Daemoneum. We still have the 'Eye of the Truth'... maybe it will also work here."
"Yeah… it might be the only way out of here. We have to take the chance." Raditz agreed.
"You're right… there is nothing much else we can do." Clair agreed as well. "Let's go check it out."
"But the Ruins of Coffir will be really dangerous!" Niklas objected. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"We're going to have to fight them eventually, anyway!" Peppita told him. "So we might as well fight them now… and besides, I don't want all the nice people of this village to get hurt… like you and Meena… you have all been so nice to us."
"… I understand. Then I guess we are in your debt once again." Niklas said, with a bow. "I really can't thank you enough for doing this."
"Ah, don't sweat it." Raditz said. "Anyways, let's all rest for tonight then head out to the ruins tomorrow morning."
Chapter 40: A Helping Hand
Everybody headed over to the nearby Inn at Whipple to rest for the night for free, as Niklas and Meena's house was too small to accommodate everybody. The nightfall came soon enough, and everybody went to their separate rooms for the night's sleep. However, Clair was tossing and turning in her bed, not able to sleep.
'Albel…' Clair thought to herself, before finally getting up to head over to the room where Albel was sleeping. Clair quietly opened the door, and entered the room to see Albel still sleeping comfortably.
'Albel risked his life for me… he would have never done anything like that before.' Clair thought, as she pulled up a chair to sit beside his bed. 'Has he… has he changed?'
Right at that moment, Albel opened his eyes and woke up from his sleep, to Clair's surprise. "…aaahhh…" Albel moaned, his mind still hazy from the deep sleep. "W… where are we?"
"Albel? Are you feeling alright?" Clair asked.
"I'm…fine…" Albel replied, still drowsy. The last thing he could remember was diving in front of Clair to intercept Saphiro's laser beam during the fight in the Diplo. "The demons… what happened to them? And where are we?"
"We're back at Planet Vanguard for now… in that same village we were in before…" Clair told him. "I'll explain everything that happened…"
Clair then explained all the things that happened after Albel had lost consciousness. She told him about their escape from the ship, Cliff's sacrifice, how the shuttle crash landed back in Vanguard, and their plans for tomorrow morning. Albel just listened to her quietly, noticeably shocked at the mention of Cliff's death.
"Cliff…" Albel said. "So he is dead…"
"Yes, he sacrificed his life for us…" Clair told him, with her head down. "We're still in shock about what happened… it was devastating for all of us."
"…" Albel fell silent in thought for a while. Even though he had never particularly cared for Cliff, he felt that he was still a great comrade in battle. Deep inside, he mourned Cliff's loss as well, though he didn't show it to Clair.
"What about those two Demons?" Albel asked. "Are they still chasing us?"
"We're assuming that they were still in the ship when it exploded…" Clair said. "Lancar told me it's almost certain that they were killed in the blast as well."
"Is that so?" Albel asked. At first, he was disappointed by the fact that he was now never going to have the opportunity to avenge his father's death. He really wanted to kill Saphiro with his own hand. He wanted his revenge.
Or did he? Did it really even matter to him anymore?
"So we will leave for that place called the Ruins of Coffir tomorrow." Clair told him, interrupting his thought. "They say that it's infested with demons at the moment. We're hoping that we can somehow make our way back to the Daemoneum from there. Now that those two demons are likely dead, we probably stand a better chance this time."
"I see…" Albel commented. "We'll head out tomorrow, then. Go back to your sleep."
"Alright… make sure you get plenty of rest for tomorrow too, Albel." Clair told him, as she got up and headed back out the door. However, just before she walked out, she turned back to talk to him again.
"Albel…" Clair said. "Thank you for saving my life back at the spaceship."
"…" Albel looked away, avoiding eye contact. "…Don't expect me to save you like that ever again. Be alert in battle at all times... or else you're going to get yourself killed."
"…Right." Clair replied, thinking that it wasn't quite the response that she was hoping for, yet it was quite a typical response from him at the same time. Clair wanted to ask him the question 'Why did you save me?', but she decided not to, as she walked out the door. It didn't seem like it was the right time for her to ask him that question.
As Clair walked out of the room, she ran into Reen, who was standing not too far from the door. Flustered, Clair turned away, while Reen had an amused look on her face.
"Heehee, Clair, you're sneaking into Albel's bedroom late at night? That's so naughty!" Reen teased.
"I just wanted to see how he was doing…" Clair explained, blushing. "How come you're up so late, Reen?"
"Me? Well… I just plain couldn't sleep…" Reen said. "So… what did you guys talk about?"
"I just told him about everything that had happened so far, and about our plans for tomorrow." Clair said. "That's about it…"
"That's it? Pssshhh…" Reen teased. "Why do you guys always talk about the boring stuff? You guys should talk about other things… you know, intimate stuff."
"No…" Clair muttered, embarrassed. "It's nothing like that…"
"You know, sometimes, I think you should be a little more direct with him!" Reen told her. "Try to wrap your arm around his, hug him and things like that… you know, show your affection! He always pretends as if he doesn't like that kind of attention, but deep inside, I know he doesn't mind. Trust me… teehee"
"Um…" Clair mumbled, her face now beet red. "No… Reen, it's really nothing. There is nothing going on between us… we're just comrades…"
"Hah, yeah right! That's a good one!" Reen joked. "You know, it's no use hiding it. It's pretty obvious to everybody already… that you guys are crazy for each other… I'm just trying to help you out here!"
"That's really an exaggeration…" Clair said.
"Really? I don't think so… why else would two people risk their lives for each other?" Reen asked, her face turning a little serious. "I heard about how you saved him at the dungeon back at Elicoor… and we all saw how he risked his life for you back in the Diplo…"
"…" Clair was speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Albel wouldn't risk his life for anyone else but you, Clair. He would die only for you… and no one else…" Reen said, with her eyes slowly getting teary. "I hate to admit it, but after seeing that, I realized I don't stand a chance. You're the one he loves… and no matter how hard I try, that's not going to change."
"Reen…" Clair said, realizing how hard all this was for Reen.
"So try to be a little more direct with him, you hear?" Reen said, smiling with tears still in her eyes. "Don't make it so frustrating for all of us who are watching!"
"Reen…" Clair said, giving her a hug. "…Thank you."
"Okay… heh… before I burst into tears and embarrass myself… I'm gonna go!" Reen said, wiping her eyes and running back to her room. "Good night Clair… and think about what I said, ok?"
"Good night Reen…" Clair replied. She had always seen Reen to be a little bothersome after she forced herself into the party back at Tropp, but had just she realized how she really was as a person. She was truly an honest, kind, and purehearted girl. She was a true comrade; and more importantly, a true friend.
"Niklas?" Meena called her brother as she opened the door to his bedroom. "Are you still awake?"
"…What's wrong, Meena?" Niklas asked in drowsy voice. "Are you feeling sick again? I'll prepare the medicine for you…"
"No, it's nothing like that Niklas, don't worry…" Meena said, as she sat beside her brother on the bed. "I just wanted to talk to you about something…"
"This late?" Niklas asked. "Is this something serious? What would you like to talk to me about?"
"Niklas… I…" Meena mumbled. "… Can I travel with Mr. Lancar and others to the Ruins of Coffir tomorrow?"
"What did you say? You surely can't be serious about that, Meena!" Niklas yelled, dumbfounded. "Do you have any idea about how dangerous it will be there?
"Yeah… I know… but still…" Meena explained. "Niklas, I want to help everybody rescue Fayt and save our village, too! I promise I won't be too much of a burden…my healing powers could be useful if they get injured…"
"No… you don't understand the situation at all, Meena." Niklas said adamantly. "It's really kind of you for wanting to help them, but this is a really dangerous mission… you can even be killed! I don't want that to happen… with out parents gone, you're the only person I have left in this world, Meena. I don't want to lose you."
"But… Niklas…" Meena went on. "I really want to help them… if it wasn't for Fayt two years ago, Norton's gang would still be terrorizing our village! He's the one that brought us freedom… and he fixed daddy's music box… we owe him so much! I just want to do something to help him back…"
"I understand exactly what you are saying, Meena…" Niklas said. "And I agree with everything you said… but sorry… I really can't let you go… and it's likely that they won't let you travel with them, either. You could end up being more of a burden than help to them if you happen to get in trouble."
"But…but…" Meena mumbled.
"Sorry, Meena." Niklas said, as he guided Meena back to her room. "I can't let you go, and that's final. Now get some sleep. We're going to see everyone off early tomorrow morning."
"…" Meena was speechless, frustrated that Niklas didn't give her the permission to go.
The next gray, misty, and drizzly morning, everybody gathered around the town exit at Whipple, getting ready to head out to the Ruins of Coffir. Niklas and Meena also came out to see them off.
"Niklas, Meena, I just want to thank you two once again." Clair said. "We will clear out those demons for you, and make sure that the village will be safe. We promise."
"I wish you the best of luck." Niklas said. "And we are the ones that should thank you. I don't know how we can ever repay you for such a kind deed. We, the village of Whipple, will pray for your safety and success."
"…" Meena stayed silent for a while, before finally speaking out. "Please be careful… and promise me that you'll be back!"
"We'll be fine. Don't worry about a thing, little Meena." Raditz said as he playfully placed his hand over her head, messing her hair up a bit. "We'll come back, I promise."
"Alright, let's go…" Lancar said, lifting still unconscious Sophia in his arms. He then looked back to Roger, who was still depressed about Cliff's death. "Roger, you ready to go?"
"…" Roger merely nodded weakly, his body devoid of the usual energy.
"Aww… it's really difficult to see him like this…" Farleen commented in concern. "He's usually so full of energy and enthusiasm… poor little guy… he's taking this harder than anyone else."
"Yeah… I know…" Lancar said, leaning over to Peppita to whisper something in her ear. "Hey, Peppita… can you try to cheer him up a little bit?"
"Me? Why me?" Peppita wondered.
"Something tells me that you're the only one who would be able to cheer him up…" Lancar explained, as he gently pushed Peppita towards where Roger was. "Just do it…"
"Okay…" Peppita agreed hesitantly, confused on why it had to be her.
"Alright Roger, let's get going! Common! Where's all that usual energy that comes from you? Lift your head high and march on with confidence like how you always used to! You're da MAN, aren't ya?" Peppita joked playfully.
"…" Roger didn't say anything, but lifted his head slightly.
"I know, Roger… I know you're really sad about what happened to Cliff…" Peppita said, as her voice suddenly turned more serious. "But there was nothing you could really do… there was nothing we could do. So don't feel like you're the only one responsible… we all feel that way too."
"Peppita…" Roger mumbled, raising his head to finally look at her.
"And you're not the only one who is sad…" Peppita said with tears in her eyes. "We're all sad that Cliff is no longer with us. But that's what friends are for, right? We can all support each other, and depend on each other in hard times like this. You're not alone, Roger. You still have us... don't forget that."
"…You're right…" Roger agreed, as he got the look of determination in his eyes.
"Cliff saved our lives… and he gave us this chance… we can't let Cliff's sacrifice just go to waste. Let's all go together and defeat all the demons for good, and save our universe once again!" Peppita went on. "That's how Cliff would want it, too!"
"Heh… that's right, Peppita… You know what, I can't keep sulking like this!" Roger said loud and clear, with confidence. "I bet that moron is looking down from the sky right now and making fun of me… heh… I won't let that fool just laugh at me like that! I'll show him, and all those demons that you can't keep a REAL MAN down… I'll show them all what I'm really made of!"
"That's the spirit!" Peppita smiled brightly, wiping away the tears in her eyes.
"Heh, Cliff was right. Deep inside, he's really a good kid." Lancar commented.
"He sure is…" Clair agreed with a smile, along with Farleen, Raditz and Reen.
"Hmph…" Albel grunted, though he had a slight grin on his face as well. "So what are you waiting for, kid? Get moving already!"
"ALRIGHT! THEN LET'S GO!" Roger yelled cheerfully, full of energy like how he always used to be. With that, the group all headed out to the Pesotto forest, towards the Ruins of Coffir.
