"Repede, fetch!" Judith tossed the toy across the ship, they passed the time as they flew back to Zaphias.

"I think he's getting faster," Flynn commented.

"When we get back to Zaphias," Yuri said, "I'd like to visit the lower quarter before all of this, who knows what we'll get caught up in. I'd like to talk to Hanks and Ted and the rest."

Repede wagged his tail and barked, begging for Judith to throw the toy again.

Judith rolled her eyes and tossed it, "I think I'll go check on Raven while you catch up with your buddies in the lower quarter, he and Karol are probably getting into all kinds of trouble."

"That's great. We can all meet up at the infirmary around Sunset to discuss this with Estelle, " Flynn told them.

Judith tossed the toy as far as she could.

•••

"I'm sorry there weren't any vacant buildings, Patty," Estelle spoke to her friend.

"Ah well," Patty said, "You can't win them all."

"I like you, Patty, you're such a positive person."

"Thanks!" The blonde pirate replied.

Several dark figure stood atop a nearby building, and several more on another building, waiting for the proper moment to execute the attack.

Estelle and Patty walked through the alleyway, entirely unaware.

•••

Raven finally stood up, "I think I'm cured. I haven't felt this good in forever."

Karol stood close in case he fell, "Are you sure? Maybe you should rest a little longer."

"Ah heck, " Raven told him, "I ain't getting any younger."

Karol rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, Raven."

The door to the infirmary opened, a large number of footsteps could be heard.

Raven sat up in suspicion, "What do you think's going on?"

Karol clutched his hammer, "I'm not sure."

Chatter could be heard at the front desk, and then the dozens of people entered the back room where Raven and Karol were.

"What?!" Karol screamed.

•••

"I think this is it, " Rita told the doctor, "The machine is nearly complete."

"Yes, " The doctor said, "Soon, we will have built the first synthetic Bhodi Blastia."

Rita brought up the formula and began programming ferociously, "Just like learning how to ride a bike, you never forget."

"Aha, Yes, " Akutō laughed politely.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut and locked, trapping them both inside.

"Hey! Wait for just a second!" Rita shouted, Running to the door and jiggling the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

"The door is locked, " She told him, "Not just closed, someone has barricaded it off. This wasn't an accident."

Akutō sighed, "I see... this isn't good."

Rita began pacing frantically, "If we had someone small we could fit them through the vent, or maybe we could use something to break the door down.

"There's nothing in here but soft tools, " Akutō told her, "Maybe we could pick the lock?"

Rita sat down, defeated, "It's sealed off. Nothing short of an explosion would break it."

Rita snapped her fingers, "Of course! We just have to finish the Blastia and I can blast it down with my magic!"

"I'll help in any way I can," He told her.

"Thanks," Rita told him, "You've been a real help."

•••

Yuri, Flynn, Repede, and Judith landed in Zaphias and entered through the lower quarter.

"Ah, " Yuri said, stretching, "Its good to be back."

Flynn looked at him strangely, "Yuri, we were here a few hours ago..."

"What?" Yuri asked, "I got homesick."

Judith smiled, "Oh, you, boys."

Repede jumped off the ship, panting from his exercise.

"Repede?" Yuri asked.

Repede collapsed on the floor and whined.

"I guess you're tired, huh?" Judith asked.

Repede whined some more.

"Come on then, " Yuri told him, " Let's get you back to the house."

They walked through the lower quarter, and toward Yuri's room. Everything was eerily quiet. Only the sound of the fountain in the center of town could be heard.

Yuri frowned, "Hanks?" he asked the deserted town.

"Ted?" Flynn asked.

"Anyone?" They asked together.

Unbeknownst to them, figures had collected behind buildings and on top of them.

A shot of air cut through the silence, a capture net grabbed Repede and electrocuted him, he whined in pain.

"Repede!" Judith cried out.

The three drew their weapons, forming a perimeter.

"There!" Flynn shouted, "On the roof!"

An arrow with a string attached to it shot and pierced Flynn's armor, narrowly missing his vitals, but electrocuting him via his armor.

Flynn resisted the pain, and Yuri cut the line to the arrow, severing its electrical bond.

Dozens of knights appeared on the ground, marked with the purple symbol of the Cumore Brigade.

"Stand down, Knights!" Flynn shouted, "You are attempting to assassinate your commandant! The punishment for any further aggressive movements may result in your physical injury or death!"

The Knights ignored him, charging them in a group.

Judith rasped and pierced her sword through the armor of one of the knights, like a hot knife through butter. The force of the strike made its way through the Knight's entire armor and stabbed the one behind him as well.

Flynn blocked two swords with his shield and parried another Knight's blade with his own.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Yuri shouted at Flynn as he sliced through two knights.

"I have no idea..." Flynn responded.

A regular arrow cut through the air, whispering at lightning speeds, aimed directly at Yuri's head.

Yuri caught it mid-air and noted that it was not a stun arrow, but rather one intended to kill.

"Flynn!" Yuri shouted, "They want to capture you but kill everyone else!"

Repede regained consciousness and whimpered slightly.

Judith cut him free from the net, "There boy, " she pointed, "On the roofs!"

Repede howled and, with all his strength, hopped on a nearby roof. He drew his blade and sliced the throats of two of the archers.

A barrage of arrows rained down on them, Flynn blocked them with his shield.

Yuri broke free of the Knight's blockade on the ground, running towards the archers that were inside of his home.

"Bastards!" He shouted as he climbed the stairs to his room and impaled one of the two Knight archers that resided within his apartment.

The other Knight shot his arrow. Yuri moved out of its path, and the arrow penetrated through the armor of the Knight behind him.

Yuri plunged his sword into the chest of the remaining Knight and vacated his room.

Judith was using her superior agility to dodge every attack that came her way, using every clearcut opportunity to wound one of the soldiers fatally.

Flynn disarmed one of the Knight's then bashed him on the head with his shield, his wounded adversary plunged into the fountain, his blood turning the water a diluted shade of pink.

"Damn!" One of the Knights shouted, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a communication device.

A muscular man with two swords attached to his back answered, "Yes, Lieutenant?" The man asked.

"Captain, the Commandant, and his friends are resisting more than we thought, we need backup!"

The man on the hologram groaned, "Fine. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you so much Captain D-"

Before he could finish his thanks, the Knight was stabbed in the gut by Repede, who immediately ran off to rejoin the action.

•••

"Let's go back and visit Rita, " Estelle told Patty.

"Aye."

The Princess and the Pirate made their way down the once lifelike alley, which was now eerily silent.

"Patty...?"

"Yeah, Estelle?" Patty responded.

"Where is everybody?" Estelle asked nervously.

Patty slowly unsheathed her knife and gripped her gun, "Something smells fishy..."

Estelle took out her shield, "Hello?"

An arrow sliced through the air and hit Estelle's shield, electricity flowed through it, but her shield had a leather grip that prevented it from shocking her.

Patty instantly reacted, pulling out her musket and firing it straight through the Archer's chest, causing his body to take the two story plunge and splat on the ground.

Dozens of guards appeared in front of and behind them in a scattered formation.

"Do we surrender?" Estelle asked Patty.

Patty glared at them, "Let's give them a fight first."

They charged in small groups, Estelle utilized her sword and shield technique, which she personally designed for larger groups of foes.

"You must do better than that!" She taunted one of the enemies after blocking the attack and bashing his head with the shield.

Patty tried to avoid as many blades as possible, getting in the center of them and weaving through them.

She slid between the legs of one of the guards in a weak stance, slicing at his thigh as she glided through him.

The guards stumbled over each other, giving her time to reload her musket, "This was so much easier with a Blastia..." She said as she packed the bullet down.

Patty had kept them off of Estelle's back, allowing her to execute more of the Knights.

She shoved them back with her shield and planted her foot in one of the Knight's guts, he collapsed.

"We're going to lose..." She whispered to herself.

Patty cocked her pistol and fired it, it instantly killed one of the guards, but the rest relentlessly charged her.

"Listen!" Estelle shouted as she defended herself from the onslaught of arrows and swords, "You are attacking your future Empress, lay down your weapons, and we will not harm you."

"Traitors!" The Lt. Knight shouted, "Capture them!"

Patty's pigtail was yanked, and an arrow ran into her side, electrocuting her unconscious, "Goodbye, my friends..."

"Patty! No!" Estelle shouted before suffering the same fate, an arrow to the back, the last thing she saw was the circle of knights surrounding her.

"Chain her legs too, make sure they're tight. We can't let these two escape, or we will face the wrath of..." His voice trailed off as Estelle lost consciousness.

•••

"Drop your weapons, or suffer the consequences!" Karl shouted at the dozens of Knights that had just entered the cramped room.

Raven winced as he drew back his bow, "Fellas, leave now, and we'll forget you're violating the Empire and Union's contract."

A Knight fired an arrow at Raven, who ducked under it and returned fire, directly to the center of his chest.

Karol fought to defend raven, sliding around with his oversized hammer, getting in the center to make it harder to hit him without hitting each other.

Raven continued to dodge the arrows, and he fired one last arrow before drawing his sword in reaction to the advancing Knight swordsmen.

Raven grunted with every slight movement. He was still in intense pain.

He slashed one of the Knights' chests, leaving a non-fatal injury. The other Knight lunged, narrowly missing him, and Raven delivered the killing blow.

Karol held his own against the onslaught, but the defeat was inevitable, he felt his motions cut sword a Knight's sword across the shoulder.

"Ah!" He hollered in pain and was then electrocuted for good measure.

Raven drew his bow, "Let the kid go! Now!"

The Knights pointed their weapons at him, "The Boss says we need you both alive."

Raven took a strong stance with his blade, "I told you to let him go!"

The Lieutenant shook his head, "Shoot him, " he commanded an archer.

"Not so fast!" Raven shouted and pointed at his chest.

"You hit me with that, and this heart gives out. I die."

"Hold your fire, " The Knight commanded.

"Let him go, " Raven shed a tear and held his blade to his heart, "Or I will destroy this Blastia, which will blow up the building."

Karol shook his head rapidly, "Raven! No!" Tears fell from the young child's eyes.

The Lieutenant fired a regular arrow at Raven's weapon. Raven attempted to move but was snagged on the arm, "Ow! Damn!"

"Raven!" Karol shouted as a Knight clubbed him on the head with the hilt of his weapon, knocking him unconscious.

"No..." Karol said, before being knocked unconscious himself.

•••

"I hope the others are ok!" Judith hollered as she tore through several more knights.

Flynn kicked a knight into the fountain, his neck snapped as he hit the concrete, "Let's focus on us for now!"

Repede slashed another archer on the roof.

Woof!

Yuri smiled and looked up at Repede, "You get 'em!"

Repede was shot midair by a blast of pure electricity. He whined before his limp body fell to the ground.

"Repede!" Yuri shouted, filled with rage.

"No..." Judith cried before she too was hit by a blast of pure energy, smacking her unconscious body to the floor.

"What the hell is that?" Flynn shouted.

Arriving with another squad of knights and a fairly large gun, was the newly appointed burly leader of the Cumore Brigade.

Dorik.

Yuri and Flynn gasped simultaneously.

"No..." Flynn muttered, feeling the weight of his world crashing down on him.

"Dorik, you bastard!" Yuri charged him but was blasted aside by a maroon field of destruction.

Yuri was slammed into the side of a building, blurring his vision, "How?"

"Yuri!" Flynn shouted, feeling the heartbreak of witnessing what could very well be his friend's final moment.

"I trusted you, Dorik!" Flynn shouted.

"Demon Fang!" Dorik shouted, sending a cluster of brilliant, bright light towards Flynn, who barely escaped its wrath.

"Impossible..." Yuri said, regaining his balance.

Flynn spied a makeshift Blastia on his wrist, poorly designed, but it was enough to overwhelm them.

Dorik grunted and shot Flynn with the weapon, "Cuff him, " he commanded.

"Dorik, you bastard!" Yuri shouted weakly.

Dorik walked to him, Yuri threw a disconnected attack, which Dorik stepped away from, letting Yuri faceplant.

"You..." Yuri said weakly, "You... Traitor..."

Dorik smacked him across the face with the oversized gun.

•••

Rita worked frantically on the Blastia, "We're so close..."

Doctor Akutō watched in awe of every step Rita made, "This is all you. I haven't lifted a finger."

Rita shrugged, "Whatever, it's getting done."

Rita molded a circle from a piece of metal and placed it in the device.

"This metal should be able to take the infusion without breaking."

"It just needs coal, " Akutō said, grabbing a shovel.

He threw a scoop onto the fire, which began to heat the water.

Akutō coughed, "How long can we survive in this tight room with so much Carbon dioxide?"

Rita watched, "Not long. Hopefully, the Blastia will be made in time..."

The water bubbled, and the metal began to flicker red.

Akutō reached for it, Rita stopped him. "Not yet. It's almost finished, and then it has to cool."

The metal began shimmering a brilliant, crystal blue.

"It...worked!" Rita shouted in amazement.

The pair began to cough violently, "It needs..." Rita hacked, "It needs to cool... 5 minutes..."

Akutō breathed into the sleeve of his lab coat, "Do we have that long?"

Rita sighed, "I don't know."

The door busted open, a rush of relief ran over them as the fumes cleared.

But in the doorway, stood a buff figure with a gun and a make-shift Blastia.

"Hey!" Rita shouted, "Thats an old Blastia model. Those hurt the planet. You can't use that!"

"I'll be taking that, " Dorik said, shoving the pair to the side.

"Hey!" Rita shouted, "Stop that!" She grabbed his hand with her scarf, "Idiot!"

Dorik reached into the boiling water, wincing in pain as he dove his hand further to grab the Blastia.

Rita grabbed a sword from the corner of the room and lunged at him with poor technique, "Take this!"

Dorik moved slightly out of the way and grabbed her by the neck, "Do not interfere any further, child."

The doctor hid silently in the corner, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Dorik grabbed the red-hot Blastia and pulled it from the water, his hand now charred.

"You idiot!" Rita shouted, "The water was boiling!"

The newly formed Blastia melted in the buff villain's hands.

"See?!" Rita asked, "I told you."

Dorik released his grip on her neck, she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

He closed his eyes, holding his hand against his poorly pieced together Blastia.

"Holy power come to me..." He whispered.

Rita watched the green ring of healing appear around him, " It's not possible.."

"First Aid."

The Blastia healed his arm, but it also leaked air, which shocked his arm.

"Ouch. Stupid thing."

He pulled out the gun and charged it.

"Hey, wait!" Rita shouted.

He glared at her monotonously and blasted her.

"All of your potential foes have been captured. I will bring them to you shortly, prepare my payment."