Shu POV:
"You see, I wasn't really being honest when I said that I found the Killer Bat Shadow on a whim. Though it was out in the outskirts of Jibral, it was Nene who appeared before me and gave it to me willingly after he saw me slaughtering enemies that were trying to invade Jibral, those being some more Steel Eating Tigers," Zola explained, me in awe at what she was telling us.
"You mean you actually were working for Nene at some point?" Kluke asked.
"Nene kept close tabs on me, as I was the most powerful with the Killer Bat and he looked pleased with the results. But then I met you guys... when I heard of what Nene really does to people from the Talta villagers and Anya, I knew that Nene was not the good guy. I kept to myself most of the time, but I warmed up to you guys when you fearlessly joined me in taking out the Flying Fortress. Especially Anya, who Nene never even mentioned before. I could actually see it in her eyes when I mentioned the name of the flying ship was a Mechat. She was suspicious of me from that moment on, but still trusted me enough to let me take out the final Eternal Engine," Zola said with a frown on her face, as per usual.
"Does Nene know anything about this?" Jiro asked, though I could tell by his expression that he was upset at not being able to defend Anya from Nene and how we were powerless to try and help out Kluke.
"As far as Nene knows, I still work for him and he still thinks I intend to give him a leg-up if he so decides to become stronger by absorbing your powers through the light spheres he has in you and myself. But after Anya's sacrifice back there... and after King Jibral gave me this ring... I'm not going to stand idly by and let Nene continue with his mad quest. When the moment is right, I'll use my Corporeal attack with all of the anger that I have towards Nene. And then, once I have become one with the Killer Bat, I'm going to cast his spirit of the Killer Bat out of my body and toss it into the deepest, darkest ocean I can find," Zola said with a sternness in her voice.
"Whoa... you really are mysterious, Lady Zola," Marumaro said, him still gawking at her despite having this information told to him. We eventually found what looked to be a town up ahead, but something was immediately off when we saw it.
"The whole town... it's covered in a green barrier! Could this be Nene's work?" Kluke asked.
"My guess would be yes. Let's see what we can find out... and if we can even go through the barrier," I said as I then touched the barrier and I gasped at how I fell right through, the others joining me in the process. When we got inside of the barrier, I frowned at how the entire village had a green tinge to it from them being confined in a cube of green energy.
"Let's ask around and see what we can find out," Zola said. When we approached our first townswoman, however, she was quick to look at us with worry.
"Did you just come in here from the outside world?" she asked.
"Yeah, we did," I said.
"Well, that was probably the worst thing you could've done. Anyone who enters this town through that barrier is unable to leave... it's all Nene's fault," she frowned, me seething at the name Nene again.
"Nene... he did this to your village?" Jiro asked.
"You say you've encountered him before?" the woman asked.
"Have we encountered him before? He killed 30 people in my village, poisoned Marumaro's village with a Devour Forest flower, turned a Noluta villager into a robot, and attempted to flood Jibral Castle Town all in the span of 10 years," I frowned angrily.
"He turned a Noluta Villager into a robot?... We actually have a Noluta resident right here in this village... the item merchant. He'll tell you if he's heard of this woman before," the townswoman said, us nodding and going to the item shop. And when we saw the person, we immediately asked him the question.
"Excuse me, but one of the townsfolk said you were originally from Noluta Village, right?" Kluke asked him.
"Yes, that would be true... haven't left this place for 9 years, though... I wonder how my little Annie is doing..." the man said, me pondering about that.
"Annie... her full name wouldn't happen to be Anya Sinda, would it?" Zola asked, the item merchant gasping at that.
"Oho! You say you've seen my Annie somewhere? Fine young woman, isn't she? Raised prim and proper ever since she was a wee one. So how'd you meet her?" the merchant asked. I sighed and then told him the hard truth.
"We met her when we were abducted by Nene almost a week ago," I said, the merchant gasping at that.
"What?... You saw her with Nene? That wretched fiend! What has he done to her to make her side with him?!" the man exclaimed.
"He didn't side with him. She was also kidnapped... though we escaped unscathed because of her assistance, she... on the other hand..." Jiro frowned.
"What?... Come on, tell me. I can take it..." the item merchant said, worry strewn on his face.
"Nene turned her from a human into an android," Zola said, the merchant gasping at that. "Almost every nook and cranny of Anya's body is now completely robotic. The only parts that aren't are her eyes, her mouth, her brain, and her bones. Everything else is either made of metal or has weaponry in it..." Zola sighed.
"M-My poor Anya... why would he do this to my poor little girl?!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.
"But that's not the worst of it... from what her friend Toripo said when she first reunited with him in Gul Mountains, shortly after she disappeared from Noluta Village because of Nene, everyone in the town was encased in icy prisons, their bodies unaging and immovable," I sighed.
"THAT BASTARD! It's bad enough he's encased Pachess town in a barrier we can never leave from, but now he does this to my village, my wife, AND my DAUGHTER?! HHRRAAAGGGHH!" the shopkeeper exclaimed as we were about to check on him before we gasped as something came out of his backside. Something blue. We all then gasped as the creature came out of his backside and we smiled at how he didn't even realize that he had it.
"What are you staring at?!" he asked angrily.
"Um... turn around... something just happened to your shadow," Kluke said, Anya's dad doing so and gasping when he saw his shadow. It was now in the form of a centaur with a flail in his hands.
"My word... no wonder Anya was able to become a magic user... I have it too..." he gawked as he looked at his shadow in awe.
"Um... I hate to ask this of you, but do you happen to know anyone who might know how to defeat that barrier? Anya kinda needs our help right now," I said.
"Oh! Of course! Go speak to the town's elder! His house is at the very top of the hill. Tell him you wish to rescue Annie Sinda from Nene's clutches and you need to remove the barrier to do so. He will tell you what to do from there," Anya's dad said.
"Thanks, we're heading out right away," Zola said, our group rushing out of the place faster than a Snakeface in heat.
Anya POV:
I knew very well where I was, even when Nene had my eyes blindfolded when he led me to a cell room. I was in his fortress, which was almost impenetrable to anyone who dared to enter it. But I knew that the others would come to rescue me, so I simply took it like a champ and went wherever the robots were leading me to. They then took the blindfolds off of me and I was pushed into a cell that I frowned at. The interior of it was a green barrier, one that my allies didn't have. And I knew that only the robots and Nene would be able to enter and exit it without hassle. I, however, was stuck in place.
"So, you finally decided to show up," I heard a voice from behind me say, which is then that I discovered that my cell had two doors. One that led out into one hallway, and the other cell door was leading to a containment unit for the Four generals. And the one speaking to me currently was Raging Kesu.
"I should've known that Nene would rebuild you four from the ground up. He just can't leave well enough alone when it comes to you four and Szabo," I frowned.
"Hmph. I don't really wish to share a cell with you, traitor, but we are forced to share it. Do you want to converse for old time's sake, or are you still miffed about being captured again and being permanently rooted for a change?" Kesu asked.
"I know I'm rooted right now, but I'm the only one that Nene got. The others are still out there, almost all of them having become one with their shadows. When they come for me, I'm going to bust out of here and take the fight to Nene," I frowned at her.
"I know that all too well. But we are still built and are made to follow Master Nene's instructions forever. So tell me, why do you hate Master Nene so much?" Raging Kesu asked. I felt my neck and saw that I still had Himiko's necklace on me, simply taking it off and opening the pendant on it to show the picture within.
"Does this female Ancient look familiar to you at all, Kesu?" I asked her. She looked at it for a bit, not taking it away from me before something jogged in her pointy, metallic head.
"My word... that's Master Nene's most revered servant... one that he said he viewed not as a servant, but as a love interest... where did you find this necklace?" she asked.
"My trader friend found it after the Flying Fortress sank into the sea. He gave it to me just outside of the underground entrance to the Ancient Factory, saying that it was bad luck... honestly, I think that just might be the case, considering the predicament I've gotten myself into," I sighed at her.
"If you would like, I could try to talk to Master Nene about how he viewed Mistress Himi-" she was about to say before I stopped her with a simple "No." "Why not?" she inquired.
"Master Nene hates it whenever someone asks about Himiko. I mentioned Himiko's name to him constantly when he was trying to attack us both outside the Ancient Factory and in the Ancient Prison. He even said that he would've killed Kluke if I mentioned Himiko's name once more while he had her in his clutches... he didn't factor into the account that my mastery of Mystic Mermaid allows me to have created brand new spells he's never seen before. Like a spell that prevents any and all incoming damage to allies for 10 minutes and a spell that allows me to trade places with anyone by warping our bodies to each other's locations... but if I'm in a barrier, that doesn't seem like a good place to try and do that spell," I frowned.
"Well, why don't you try it out and see what happens?" Kesu asked.
"Couldn't hurt, I guess... hmm..." I frowned, as I tried to think of who I could swap places with that I didn't like. I then eventually decided on Heat Wave Sai and tried to cast to spell to swap with him... but I only warped to the edge of the green barrier, right next to Kesu's face. "Damn... it didn't work..." I sighed.
"You may as well get comfortable, here. With the size of this fortress, it'll probably take awhile for your friends to reach this floor, if they even manage to cross the ravine," Kesu frowned. I remembered that ravine. It was near where Pachess Town was. I simply sighed and placed my hands together.
"Shu... Kluke... Zola... Maro... and my lovely Jiro... I hope you will find a way to help me..." I sighed to myself, Kesu knowing well enough to not say anything as she left the door. I needed some alone time and she was kind enough to respect that, despite her title saying otherwise... the other ones, however..
"HEY! It's that traitorous bitch from before?! OOH You are going to get it now, sweet stuff! Gahaha-OW!" Sai exclaimed the last part when Kesu slapped him across the face.
"Kesu, what was that for?!" Sai growled angrily.
"Leave her alone... She's had enough for one day," Silent Ku said, me smiling at how even Ku had a soft side to him.