Chapter 54: What Becomes of Us?
Vergo II, a nocturnal planet teetering on the very edge of the Redline Galaxy. Home to the Halfids, a race of small, very wise creatures whom, only on the one day a year when the sun graces their presence, become powerful warriors.
...Today, unfortunately, is NOT that day.
Their planet was kept under Gravitus' watchful eye during his rule, but ever since word spread of his demise this planet along with many others have come under attack from powerful, fierce usurpers seeking to control the fragmented empire.
Klaggs, one of the most feared warmongering races this side of the Western Universe, have established a foothold on this planet and kept the peaceful Halfids under lock and key. Now, having built fortifications all across the planet's surface, they have but one goal...
"(Deliver Gravitus' strongest ships...Or entire planet...gone!)" [Translated from Klaggsher]
Its been three hours since the threat was given...And now, the fate of Vergo II and its inhabitants rests on the shoulders of an unlikely duo...
Vergo II. Nocturnal Fall Date 17/15/?.
Mission Start.
The black sky was filled with red and yellow stars, guiding two people's way through a dark-brown canyon. They were split into two sides, left and right, keeping communication to a minimum.
The rocky sights soon gave way to signs of technology grafted into the walls. There they pinned their backs to the cold metal surfaces and felt the electricity burn its way towards a mighty fortress erected in the back of the canyon.
Five tiers tall and as wide as an imperial class space battleship. It was armed to the teeth and guarded by hundreds of Klaggs.
The black, rocky scaled bipedal creatures were fitted with foot long rifles pulsating with enough energy to cleave through a dozen people per shot. But the guns had a fatal weakness. They were being fed into by an invisible connection to their spiky chest plate, which had a reactor in the middle.
Still, it'd be unwise to charge in. There were cages of Halfids lined up at the base of the fortress in preparation for taking them offworld.
The poor, pale blue-skinned people were cuddled together, staring into the starry abyss with optimism dwindling from their pitch yellow eyes.
From the cover of shadows, the first of their saviors, Aurian Jupiter, poked her head out and scowled, "Bastards...!"
A sentiment which her partner, Aurian Mars, shared, albeit a little less harshly, "Damn Klaggs..."
The two turned and stared at each other from across the half a mile gap and then sharply looked away. They thought the same thing, "Why did it have to be us...?"
A few hours ago...
Seth was on a solo ride through space towards Catherine's HQ. As he edged closer he wondered, "Sounded urgent, I hope everything's ok..."
Right as the ship was docking he looked to his left and saw another ship entering as well, "Its not just me...?"
And it left him feeling on edge as he exited the ship and kept his eyes on the other arrival. The moment the window popped open he saw Noel stretching her chiseled arms in the air and moaning, "Aaaah! Finally, took long enough!"
And right when she poked her head up their eyes met and her usual energy depleted, "Oh..."
"Oh." He echoed, his climb down the ship slowing to a crawl.
The two stood on the floor and stared at each other, Noel propping a fist on her hip and trying not to linger on him for long.
"Cat called you too?" She inquired dismissively.
"Yeah." He said.
"I'm surprised you responded." She said with a smirk.
Seth narrowed his gaze and turned away, taking the first steps away from the docking bay. Noel pushed ahead of him and cupped her hands around her mouth, "HEY CAT! I'M HERE!"
"Excellent!" Shouted their overeager friend as they dropped down from above and nearly tripped on their own feet.
She quickly stood upright with her arms crossed and shifted their gaze between them both, "I'm glad you both came! I got a mission for you two!"
"A mission?" Seth quietly said.
"For US?" Noel snickered and gestured harshly towards Seth, "Y-You're kidding right...?"
"Nope! You two are the only ones I can rely on to get the job done!" She closed her eyes and started laughing, "C'mon it'll be just like old times!"
Noel and Seth gave a collective groan and glanced briefly at one another. Seth then waved his hand out and asked, "What's the mission...?"
Present...
The two shared another look towards each other and wiggled out a scowl. Then Seth turned towards the fortress and limply laid a hand on his left ear.
"It looks like Catherine's info was on the money. Their forces are a hundred strong and they've set up an impenetrable fortress."
Noel responded in kind with cockiness, "Impenetrable for you maybe! I could knock that over in one punch."
"And alert every guard in the area," Seth said with a sigh, "This is a stealth mission Noel, just-"
"Yeah yeah, take out the Klaggs silently and find the enemy's super weapon. I was listening." Was she? It was definitely in doubt...
"She's not a screw up. I shouldn't worry..." Seth calmed himself with a sigh and then peered around the wall once more. There was a half a mile separating him and the fortress and at least a dozen guards wandering the outer walls.
He was confident in his agility, but it'd take more than confidence to win the day. One wrong move, "BAM", an innocent life is lost.
"The Klaggs are all using weapons Gravitus developed from Catherine's tech..." He reached down into his vest pocket while putting his back to the wall.
He pulled out one of many thumbnail sized chips and positioned it directly before his eye, remembering Catherine's advice.
"Stick these to the reactors and it should disable the guns and send a non-lethal shock through the Klaggs body to knock them out. But remember...it HAS to be on the exact center or it won't work!"
"Exact center..." He poked his head around the corner, the Klaggs had their arms crossed over the reactor, "Easier said than done."
He then noticed that Noel was on the move and quickly gasped into his comm link, "What are you doing?"
"I'm heading out! Don't be slow!"
She got right up to the closest guard and with her iron grip forced his jaw shut and then slammed a chip into the reactor. The electricity fed into his body and left him lying down on the ground. Fortunate for them that the electricity didn't discharge outward...
And then Noel was off, leaping onto the highest part of the outer wall to take down another guard, and then another in quick succession.
"Guess we're doing this...!" Seth grit his teeth and poked around the corner, finding himself face-to-face with one of the guards.
The alien let out a feral gargle and then raised its gun at his chest. Seth quickly pulled out a chip and stuck it to the center of the reactor. The discharged felled the Klagg before he could fire.
From there there could be no breaks. He had to move, fast! His fleet feet allowed him to scale the nearby wall to reach the stationary guard up top. He leaped into the air and tackled them to the ground. They put up a struggle but by the time their barrel was locked onto him he'd already put the chip in place.
He then hopped off before he'd get shocked too and used the shadow of the night to hide away and observe the other guards' positions.
"Two moving south, one moving north. If I can do this right...!" He slid down the rocks and hopped off upon reaching metal, aiming for the solo target.
He whipped out his nunchucks and wrapped the chain around the guard's jaw so that his grunts wouldn't alert the others. He then quickly slammed his skull against the ground to knock him out.
That...couldn't be quiet.
The two behind turned around and he quickly pulled two chips from his vest to fling like shuriken. The guards were knocked out before they got to arm their weapons.
"Whew..." He breathed a sigh of relief and then hopped over the lone body to make a dash for the fortress, disarming the remaining guards along the way.
Once at the door he snuck a quick peek to find Noel had long since taken out her side. He tapped his comm. link and whispered, "Noel? Noel come in!"
No response. And it wasn't cause of interference. Klaggs are too arrogant and dumb to set up defenses like that.
"Tsk! Just have to hope we don't screw each other up...!" He inched closer to the door and waved his hand out. No response. That was both good and bad. Good cause it won't alert the guards, bad because he'll have to find another way in.
"There has to be a window up there..." He said, staring at the second floor.
He leaped above the door and used the frame's half inch width as footing to ascend to the next floor. He stealthily put his back to the corner and saw two guards patrolling his way.
The energy moving through the fortress didn't give his position away, yet. But where were the other guards? His heart beat picked up and he took a moment to sidestep to the opposite corner and peek around. Fortunately the guards there were fooling around with their weapons.
"Too close..." He took a deep breath and returned to the last corner. The guards were a few feet away now.
He readied his nunchucks and sweat fell off his cheek, "Got to be quick!"
He extended the chain of his weapon and then flung it out so it'd fall between the guards' legs. The chain continued to extend as it snagged around the first guards' right leg and then continued to wrap around the second one's left leg.
One more step from both tripped them up. Sound was unavoidable.
"(Noise, coming south!)" One of the guards in the back had been alerted.
Seth rushed out of cover and threw a punch down into the back of the guards necks, knocking them unconscious. He then picked up his weapon and looked around hastily.
"Up there!" He found a small, horned perch on the wall to his right and hopped on top. His footing nearly slipped.
One guard was sent to run reconnaissance and growled upon the sight of his fallen comrades. He charged in closer, looking for a sign of the attacker.
Seth dove down and struck the guard in the back of the neck, putting him down in a pile with his comrades. He then took a moment to catch his breath and plan his next move.
"They'll realize something's up soon..." There were five more guards around the back that he'd have to take down all at once.
"Haaaa..." He rolled his shoulders and then rotated one foot in the air, "Guess I'll just have to be quick, again."
His fleet feet didn't make a sound as he rounded the corners to the remaining guards. He drew two chips for safety and flung them the moment he recognized their positions.
He managed to knock two out while the rest raised their heads in shock. They turned their scaly faces upon him and readied their weapons.
In that time he managed to run up and clock the guard on the left with his nunchucks, hitting the back of their neck against the wall.
As that one slid down he swung his right foot up and pressed down on the next guard's gun, breaking the barrel off. Still just to be safe he flicked a chip into the reactor.
The last guard got in close, aimed at his chest, and pulled the trigger. Seth bit his teeth down and kneed the rifle so it'd fire past his head.
The guard then fired again but he pulled away and roundhouse kicked the guard's neck. The guard blocked with the side of his gun and aimed the barrel down his leg.
"This must be a Squad Captain!" Seth fell on his back to avoid the shot and used his elbow to propel his feet into the guard's chest.
While they staggered back he landed on his feet and pulled out a chip. When he threw it the guard stabbed a claw into it and chuckled.
Seth clenched his fists and muttered "I'm wasting time here" then rushed in and threw a few jabs at the guard's chest. The guard raised his gun and fired, giving Seth ample time to slip around him and karate chop the back of his neck.
After a weak growl, they finally went down.
Just when he thought he could catch his breath, the communicator activated, "I heard some gunfire. Don't tell me you blew our cover!"
Noel's tone was unsurprised but quiet. Seth tapped his ear and remarked back with some impatience, "We're fine. Now where are you?"
"First floor. I've knocked out all the guards and am heading up to the second floor."
"No sign of that superweapon?"
"Nothing yet. But if you somehow find it first, don't touch it. I'll handle it."
Seth turned around and took a couple steps forward, "You know, I did handle a few superweapons when we were a team."
"I guess so." She said with a plain lack of interest.
"Will you relax? You know when it comes to missions I'm always at the top of my game."
"Oh, like how you were on top of Cat?" Her voice got more pissy.
"Is this really the time Noel?" So he got pissy back. And then there was no answer.
"...Haaaa." With a very frustrated growl he threw his hand down and shook his head.
There were bigger fish to fry right now, "The first floor's been cleared, then..."
He ran back around to the edge of the fortress and saw a few of the guards positioned around the cages. He steeled his body and slid down the wall to land quietly behind the cages.
One of the younger Halfids crawled up to the bars and gripped them tightly, his mouth agape with awe. Seth whispered to them to be silent as he inched around the cage and approached the nearby guard.
He quickly wrapped his nunchuck's chain around their neck and pulled them towards the ground. But they got to flail around a bit and, in the process, banged their claws along the bars.
"Shit...!" After that talk of screwing up and everything...
Two of the closer guards looked over their shoulders and froze up at the sight of their ally's unconscious body. He had already dashed off behind a rock protrusion for cover.
The two guards kicked their ally over and then grunted at each other. One walked off with gun armed, while the other aimed theirs at the cage and started taking on a threatening tone, "(Where's the intruder?!)"
The Halfids huddled together in the back corner and the guard stuffed their barrel between the bars with an itchy trigger finger, "(We have plenty of your kind to spare! Choose! Live or die!)"
Seth buckled his fists and ran up, grabbing the guards' skull and smashing it back against the ground before their trigger finger could budge.
The guard that left turned around and Seth grit his teeth in a scowl. He ran up to that guard in a second and delivered a roundhouse kick past their gun to the back of their neck.
He then used his foot to pin them to the ground and backflip onto the rock protrusion behind them. There he flipped around and saw ten more guards staring his way.
They raised their guns his way and the moment they were about to fire he said "Sorry Noel" and dropped to the ground.
His surroundings were covered in blaster fire as he weaved between them, delivering swift kicks to the back of their necks or throwing chips when he saw an opening.
Five guards went down in ten seconds while the rest were scattered by the confusion. Two of them ran at Seth while unloading heavy fire. He ducked beneath and they went for a claw attack instead.
He grabbed their wrists and shoved them into each other's reactors. They got it worse off than their comrades when it came to voltage, but they were still alive, just barely.
He rushed around and tried to keep the gunfire aimed towards the walls. He vaulted over a cage and delivered a diving kick to the back of a guards' neck, then hopped off and spin kicked the guard behind them.
He zipped around and slapped a chip on the last trio's reactors, putting them down for the count. His body had worked up a real sweat but...
Just one look back at the smiles of the Halfids was reward enough.
His own smile turned into a determined frown as he looked back up at the mighty fortress and muttered, "Its not over yet..."
He hastened his way past the cages and ran up the wall, taking a powerful leap off the edge to get to the third floor.
The guards stationed there faced him and received a chip to their reactors for their troubles, then fell to the second floor.
"They were on high alert. Did something else happen while I was...?"
The alarms started blaring throughout the fortress, and the remaining guards would soon be on the move. He grit his teeth with a scoff and turned to the left.
He started dashing for the door when it suddenly came flying off with a poor guard stuck to it. He slid beneath it and stood to find Noel responsible.
She strut out onto the walkway and brushed her hand beside her face, "What did you do?!"
He grit his teeth and the urge to muster a response was ruined by the sight of a guard sneaking up behind her.
He dashed ahead, vaulting over her shoulder to drive his feet into the guard's reactor. The guard was electrocuted unconscious and sent flying out a window.
He nearly stumbled down the staircases on landing. He then looked over his shoulder and said, "Its not like you to miss that."
Noel clicked her tongue and scowled, "Shut up."
"Noel..." He grunted with a hint of frustration.
"(There they are! The Planetary Aurians!)" One of the guards alerted their comrades and then aimed their gun at them.
Noel cracked her knuckles and rolled her head around, "Go ahead and try it you scaly bastard!"
The gun fired and she threw a swift punch to deflect the laser back into the guard's reactor. Then a dozen more guards came piling into the area.
Seth leaped over Noel and spun his extended nunchucks around to deflect the incoming laser fire, "I'll get us in closer!"
"Forget about it, I can handle this!" Noel leaped over him and he shouted at her to stop.
But his voice was deafened by the thunderclap of her fist hitting the air, smashing the ground so hard it slanted it and threw the guards all over the place.
One hit her out of the air and caused her to drop down next to Seth's feet, where it then tried to attack with its claw and teeth.
Noel grabbed both ends of its jaws and forced it open, then stabbed the whole thing into the floor where it couldn't break free. She then slapped a chip onto its reactor and stood up, clapping her hands.
"Noel, what's going on?" Seth said with concern.
Noel turned and gruffly scoffed at him, "What are you on about now?"
"You're acting like a brute," He said, "Is this because you lost your job recently or...?"
"I'm fine ok!" She exclaimed angrily, "Focus on the damn mission!"
The sounds of many guns clicking came from above and they saw the guards lined up on the boundary of the fourth floor.
Seth stood his ground and used the nunchucks to deflect laser fire while moving to the right. Noel dashed away and then upon reaching the end of the road, leaped up to the next fire and wound up a punch to try and bowl the guards down.
Another Squad Captain rolled up and tackled Jupiter off-guard, proceeding to grab her by the scarf and hoist her over the edge.
"(The legendary Bloodfist Demon, snared like a bird!)"
"Noel!" Seth kept his nunchucks twirling and made a mad dash for her location.
She doubled the size of her leg muscles and kicked the guard so hard his armor shattered right off. She then landed on the edge and looked prepared to take a tumble, only for Seth to pull her up in the nick of time.
She swatted his hand away and said, "I can handle these guys myself!"
The remaining guards aimed their guns and she dove right at them, bobbing and weaving around as the laser fire scraped over her rippling biceps and calves. She launched a couple guards into the sky with a punch as two others charged at her and grappled themselves around her waist and tried to toss her over the side.
Seth ran up and kicked one of the guards in the face, allowing Noel to throw the other one straight through to the canyon opening.
Seth had to duck before he was hit in the process.
As he took the lead and deflected more laser fire he remarked, "We can get this done faster if we work together!"
"Teamwork ain't a requirement! Especially not with you!" Noel shouted as she took a leap over his nunchucks and drove her fist into the hard steel, sending a shockwave that knocked the guards into the air.
Seth clicked his tongue and started thrusting both ends of his nunchucks at the guards' reactors, using shotgun blasts to pick off the farther ones.
"You're acting like a brat Noel!" He exclaimed.
More guards were coming. He could feel his patience reaching its limits...
"Its not my fault you're the way you are!" She declared while throwing herself into the deadly fray, taking out a few guards while the rest pile on top trying to get a shot in.
He joined in and attacked the guards with quick strikes to separate them off of her. But as they bumped shoulder-to-shoulder he shouted, "Then what?! How am I supposed to know what's wrong if you won't tell me?!"
She bumped him off and turned around with her teeth tight in a scowl, "What's it matter when you'll do nothing with it like you always do?!"
He paused in shock and took a brief moment to mutter, "What do you mean...?"
She turned around with a scoff and backhanded a guard in the throat, "Forget it."
"NO!" He screamed and stamped his foot down.
She froze in place and looked over her shoulder. He was mad, absolutely so. He stared her straight in the eyes without fear and pressed his finger against her chest, "I've taken enough of your crap trying to get a straight answer out of you!"
"Don't..." She wound her fist back and he immediately ducked under her armpit as she threw a punch, "TOUCH ME!"
She took out a guard behind him and he glued his back to hers. Both of them, drenched in sweat, were being walled in by more guards, armed with deadlier looking guns.
She jabbed him with her shoulder blade while tightening her fists and shouted, "So you'll have the balls to stand up to me but when Cat crawls all over you you sit there and take it?! W-What the hell's up with that?!"
Her stuttering tone was on the brink of mad laughter, a sentiment he felt little sympathy for right now.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't want that to happen?!"
"Oh bullshit! You let it happen, what's it matter what you wanted?!" The two parted ways to fend off the ensuing horde of lizardmen, but their steeled fists were pointed more at one another's throats.
"That's always been your problem! You get in trouble all the time but you never do anything to change that! I-Its like you're satisfied wallowing in mediocrity all your life!" She fired off a particularly loud punch to bowl over the charging guards.
Seth's heart raced and he narrowly avoided the feral scratches of his foes, "T-That's not it at all...!"
"Then what is it?!" She shouted.
"How can I ever hope to stand out when I'm surrounded by such amazing friends?!" His sudden outburst caught them both unawares. But there was no putting the genie back in the bottle now...
He grit his teeth and glanced over his shoulder, "I-I'm not smart like Catherine, or wise like Gabriel. I don't know magic like your sister and Uranus. I'm not that strong either, even Venus can put up more of a fight than me..."
As he felled the remaining guards on his side he hunched over and started panting with his hands on his knees. He tried to look over his shoulder and found Noel slowly turning back to look at him.
"And you? You're strong, you're smart, you're fun to be around...You've always been able to do anything you put your mind to. Its...why I'm still in love with you in the first place."
Noel's silence didn't matter. He said what he wanted, and it got a load off his chest.
"Idiot..." She muttered.
More guards were running in, armed with ultraviolet beam sabers and no reactors in sight. The top of the elite in the Klaggs ranks.
As the two took aim at their foes they wound up stumbling back-to-back, and Noel was trembling. She closed her eyes and remarked, "You have something the rest of us don't have...The biggest heart."
"I-Its not...that big." He muttered.
"God I just...don't get it with you. You never brag about anything, you're always taken life in stride, and you'll foil perfectly good plans if it means saving a life," She cracked a dry chuckle, "Its...why I fell in love with you back then."
"...Where did we go wrong Noel?" Seth said with a relaxed sigh.
"I guess...we should've had this conversation much sooner, huh?"
"Yeah..."
"Everything just kind of...happened so fast after that day. Gravitus died, I lost my job because of what Catherine dug up on him..."
"Noel," The two looked over their shoulders at their eyes, "You never needed that job to prove anything. You'll always be a hero in my eyes."
Her smile wobbled and she quickly turned away with her fists tightened by her hips, "Yeah then...We can't exactly fail here, can we?"
Seth faced the incoming elites and armed his nunchucks, "Ready when you are."
"Lets tear them down!"
It was a massacre of the highest order. These "elites" were reduced to rookies in the face of their teamwork. They had them all defeated in a minute without taking a hit.
The two of them then fell on their butts with their backs together and took a hard, long look at each other. They were drenched in so much sweat that they looked terrible.
"Heh, guess that's the last of them huh?" She said with a bright, pearly smile.
"I-I sure hope so..." Seth leaned his head back and huffed loudly, "Whew!"
"(Not so fast, Planetary Aurians!)" The feral growl of a Klagg, stronger and echoing unlike the rest, came from the roof of the fortress.
This Klagg stood clad in pitch black armor with hold highlights, a foot taller than the rest of his kind. He had no weapons to speak of, just a remote in his right hand.
"The Commander...!" Seth exclaimed.
"Jet Black Ankro!" Noel added on.
The Klagg clicked a button on his remote and the whole fortress quaked. A massive pillar rose from the roof, a pulsating ray gun aimed at the surface surrounded by a thick energy field.
Seth's eyes widened and he gasped, "A Planet Cracker...?!"
"(A parting gift from the late, great Gravitus!)" Ankro stretched his claws out and reared his head in laughter, "(You and this whole planet will soon perish!)"
"And you along with it!" Seth exclaimed.
"(A meager price to pay for the message my death will send!)" Ankro threw his fanged snout towards the two and bellowed, "(Gravitus was Power! Power was Righteousness! You justice loving neanderthals think you'll be able to keep this fractured empire together?!)"
The Planet Cracker started charging up to full power, its energy pulsing through the fortress and down into the planet's surface.
"(HA HA HA! May this planet be the firecracker that sparks anarchy throughout the universe! YOU ARE FINISHED, LONG LIVE THE GRAVITUS EMP-)"
"RAAAAH!" Noel through everything she got into firing an air bullet into Ankro, launching him into the Planet Cracker's barrier. He didn't get out a yell before disintegrating instantly.
She then bent down and leaped up to the roof with Seth following suit with a stunned expression.
She ran right up to the Planet Cracker and stretched her knuckles. Then, digging her fingers underneath the laser, she tripled the size of her biceps and started pulling.
"What are you doing? We have to evacuate the planet!" Seth hollered.
"I-If I can just...flip this thing around...!"
"Noel!" He shouted in a panic.
"What're you standing around for? You can't afford to wait! This'll go off any second!"
It was doubt. She smiled but doubted what she was doing.
Seth arched his brows and ran forward without a second thought to grab onto the laser beside her.
"Wha-!"
"I'm going to put my all into this! We're getting through this together!" He grunted and tugged, overwhelming all his senses.
Noel continued her efforts as the Planet Cracker sent terrifying vibrations through the planet. Every muscle, every sinew put their all into lifting this damn thing out of alignment.
There was sudden, deafening silence, and for a couple seconds Seth felt like he was going to black out. He fell onto his back with a hard "Thud" and his heart beat hastened to fatalistic levels.
The world was quiet for a moment, and then the black sky was lit up by a big, bright green laser. He was sent tumbling out of control, nearly falling off the edge before Noel managed to grab him by the leg.
A rush of blood to the head woke him up a little, and he let out a slight panicked gasp.
Noel tugged him back up as the shockwaves from the cannon faded. He stood and kept staring up into space, as the beam went farther and farther away.
Seth closed his eyes and let out the biggest breath imaginable, "Whew, that was too close...!"
He turned to Noel and said, "You pulled it off, never should've worried..."
She patted him on the back and with a slight blush in her cheeks said, "WE...pulled it off...partner."
With a soft wink she pulled her hand away and the two of them watched the beam continue to speed away.
"...It'll go off eventually right?" She remarked.
"I think so. These things never went off with Catherine around."
The two looked at each other and Seth started to rub the back of his head slowly, "S-So uhhh...Does this mean we're back together now or...?"
She playfully gestured her hand out from her hip and said, "I think we should take it slow, maybe talk it out some more first..."
"Y-Yeah! You're right. Wouldn't want to rush back into things..." He tried to turn away but his eyes locked onto hers and wouldn't budge.
She stared back with a weak smile, and a deep, throbbing lump traveling down her throat.
"Wow, she looks...really good with all that sweat on her face." His heart pounded against his chest very loudly.
He started to close his eyes and move in closer. He collided with her forehead when she tried to go in as well. They backed away and muttered "Sorry" awkwardly and tried to look away.
Nevertheless their eyes met and he said, "Maybe one wouldn't hurt..."
"Yeah, totally..." Noel initiated the second attempt and pressed her lips against his. It was short, but sweet. His heart started fluttering as they pulled apart, like it was wrapped up in a bush of butterflies.
"Whoa..." He whispered.
"Whoa..." She did the same.
The two's eyes widened and they pulled each other closer, locking lips feverishly as they held their waists tight. Their center of gravity plummeted towards the ground, as their intimacy roared into an uncontrollable frenzy.
Above, the Planet Cracker went off as a massive, beautiful explosion to highlight the two's acts of passion.
Sometime later, at Catherine's space station...
Catherine was doing her paces in the docking bay in front of a series of holographic monitors. As her two companions approached she stopped in place and faced them with a smile.
"Welcome back you two! Mission was a complete succ-" Her eyes froze wide-open and her pupils shrank.
Seth's vest was half torn off and his pants were in a slack. Noel's hair was super messy, her bra was torn slightly, and her shorts hadn't been buttoned back up.
Both of them wore a strained smile and rubbed the back of their heads. Catherine blinked a few times and then with a hoarse cough pulled out her fancy clipboard and stared deep at it, "R-Right-o! Anyways, congratulations! We've impressed a LOT of people today!"
Seth perked up and said, "A lot of people? Wait, what are you talking about?"
Catherine perked up and slapped her forehead, "Oh yeah! I totally forgot to mention the important thing!"
She turned to the monitors and a bunch of different aliens appeared across them, "So guys, what do you think?"
The foremost alien, with a fish-like head and delicate business suit, pressed his finned hands together and nodded, "You and your comrades have proven your point Aurian Saturn. The amphibious clan of Planet Relaqua are honored to join the Coalition."
Before any of the others could speak Seth stepped forward and shouted, "Coalition? What?"
Catherine spun around with one hand behind her back and a big, proud smile on her face, "Over the last few weeks I've been spreading the word of Gravitus' acts of deceit, larceny and copyright infringement to many trustworthy allies I could in hopes of assembling a new Galactic Coalition focused on protecting the peace!"
She closed her eyes and nudged her glasses up to give the lens their usual shine, "Your mission to that world showed some of our doubters that we can be trusted to help preserve the peace, that we AREN'T blindly loyal to that old tyrant's ways anymore!"
"C-Catherine, you..."
She perked upright and shouted, "Justice doesn't rest just cause it runs into a roadblock! A lotta races are out there suffering at the hands of warmongers and opportunists. We can't be wasting time on internal politics and bickering! We gotta unite as one and protect those who can't fend for themselves!"
She crossed her arms firmly and declared triumphantly, "Today is the day we form C.O.G.S.! The Coalition Overseeing Galactic Security! Pretty badass name isn't it?!"
Seth and Noel were too tired to even stare blankly at her face. Noel gestured her hand out and remarked, "So are we gonna put the team back together for this?"
"Uh-huh! The Galaxy Riders are officially back in action to headline the security force!" Catherine replied.
"...Can we start justicing in the morning? We're kinda tired." Seth remarked.
Catherine flinched and then boldly declared, "O-Of course! Justice needs its beauty sleep after all! But starting TOMORROW...!"
She pointed one finger up towards the heavenly stars beyond, "LET JUSTICE BE DONE!"
Next Time: An Old Samurai and Modern Times