Ch. 6: Space Invaders

Phil didn't believe that the training could get any harder, but it did.

His training became harder than he could ever have imagined. He was eventually able to do a hundred sit-ups in 2 minutes, a hundred push-ups in 2 minutes, swim a thousand yards in 8 minutes, and, without any weapons, fight as effectively as those with weapons.

Everyday he would have to run a few dozen miles and swim around the island of the Omega Sector in cold water (while often being attack by aliens when he got to the east side) as a "warm up". On the bright side, he would sometimes catch some fish for breakfast or some other meal. He was made to do the monkey-bars. His training also consisted of having his hands tied behind his back and, at first, bringing them forward under his feet in the midst of a fight, and finally fighting effectively without them. He would be blindfolded, having to predict attacks using his ears only. He would also have to fight with his legs and feet tied together.

With each of the previously stated exercises, he would carry more and more weight with him as time passed, eventually reaching 300 pounds, the "usual" weight, whether he was running, swimming, or doing monkey-bars.

"An Agent," Marco once said. "is never left with nothing."

As his training progressed, more and more information was obtained about the aliens' true motives and objectives.

He was driven mercilessly and relentlessly. At times he would feel as if Agent Marco and the rest of the Omega Sector were training him to be a killing machine, annihilating everything in his path, unstoppable…

He quickly turned his thoughts back to the training and the not-so-far-away alien invasion. He was soon timed to see how fast he could climb up Eos Tower while fighting the monsters inside, though the monsters that inhabited the tower proved to be no match against the Agent-in-training. Other times he felt he would faint or pass out, while during the most intense training sessions he wished he were dead, training non-stop for so long. He would often remind himself of how Brent trained. If he can train for 20 hours straight, why can't I as well?

He still had no idea what all this training would lead too. Was it all for the alien invasion? Or would there be something more?

On a night with a full moon, he stood there, watching the scintillating stars. He had too many questions, so many that there would be too many questions left unanswered. Ancient ones like "what is the meaning of life?" and "What is my purpose here on this world?"

He stared at the stars, hoping they would provide him with an answer, or at least, maybe a hint. But they just continued emitting their rays from who-knows how far away.

He sighed and looked at the ground. The grass which had grown to the height where it reached his knees, didn't give him any answers or clues either. It just swayed from a zephyr.

He looked around, then at himself. He was fully dressed in all his Agent equipment—the suit, shoes, receivers, gloves, and sunglasses. He stood in the relaxed position—the Laser Rifle held horizontally. He had his utility belt, holding dozens of items, including the pistol, rockets, and bombs. He also had the Astral Blade in its sheath.

He had so many questions, he didn't know where to start, and when it would end; there was no outside or inside—like a Möbius strip.

The simple word, questions. It encompassed an infinite number of subjects.

He looked at all his equipment again. "These tools, gadgets, are just to help an Agent accomplish his task, whatever mission that lied before him," Marco had also said. "The greatest weapon, however, is the human mind."

Seeing all the great power bestowed upon him, he suddenly had another question. Why me? Why am I the one doing all this heavy-lifting? Why am I the one to become an Agent?

He heard a voice; he was unable to make out even one word. He immediately turned to attack position—the weapon held 45 degrees—and executed the whirl movement—with the weapon still in attack position. He thought maybe that Marco had come out and sneaked up on him. Everyone else had gone to sleep already; he was alone out here. But there was no one and no other sound, save for the howling of the wind.

He paced around the field, and ended up wading aimlessly through the knee-deep grass.

He stopped walking and hitched the weapon across his back. He pulled out his Astral Blade, staring at it. He made it transform into a Nebula Dagger.

Why is all this power bestowed unto me? There were millions of others who strived for power every day, every moment. Those who wanted to wanted to make a name for themselves in the world, to become the best in the world. There were others would give anything for even a fraction of the power he now possessed. Why me? Why?

Not everyone can be…free.

He looked up back at the stars. Seeing he was not getting any answers, he headed back to the building and returned to his room.

-X-

More and more information was collected on what the aliens were doing, until finally it became clear.

"Their primary target is Leafre," they discovered. "They plan to attack the priests and halt the fourth job advancements."

"Fourth job?"

"Yes."

"Fourth Job? Are they serious? Why fourth job? Why not third, second, or first? Do they even know what they're doing?"

"I don't know. All we know is that they're attacking Leafre. So that's where you need to go."

"Why can't we just take them out right here?"

"That's the problem," sighed Agent Marco. "A large number of them have already left Ludas Lake. We're not sure where they went, but probably to a sparsely populated place that is closer to Leafre."

General Maestro came in. "On the day of the invasion, you will board a dropship piloted by Robinson. He will take you to Leafre. From there, you must prevent the aliens from achieving their objective."

Agent Marco stepped forward. "There is one more skill that I would like to teach you. It will only be level one, but I believe it will come in handy."

-X-

Finally, the day came. He was said to leave an hour earlier than the time that the invasion was said to start. As he was boarding the dropship (fully equipped), Agent Marco came over and whispered something to him.

"In the event of…you…"

Phil nodded several times. "Okay?" asked Agent Marco.

"Yes, sir, I will."

Phil had recently sent a letter to his friends, Brent, Celina, and Evelyne, requesting them for "help." Actually, the letter hadn't directly asked for any of their help. Instead, it talked about a "reunion" at Leafre. He knew that they would say yes and head to Leafre. They just didn't know what was in store for them. He had ultimately decided that since he was going to reveal himself someday to them; this might as well be the time.

-X-

"There's nobody here," Evelyne muttered, staring at the ground and kicking the sand. "Didn't he say he would meet us here?"

Celina pulled out the letter and reread it. "That's what he said. Or rather, wrote."

When they had first received the letter, Evelyne had literally dragged Celina out of Henesys, where the three were "resting," saying "C'mon. We're going to see him," as Brent reluctantly followed

"What if it's trick!" Evelyne yelled suddenly, turning around, grabbing Celina and shaking her. "What if he had no intention of coming? Or what if it's a fake letter! Written by someone else?!"

"Who would know our names and want to make us come to Leafre?" replied Celina, brushing dust off herself.

Brent had been silent the entire time, watching them while standing still.

Evelyne turned toward him and said "What do you think?"

"He wouldn't lie," replied Brent. "Perhaps he's running late. Or maybe in a different location."

There was a sudden rustling of trees.

"Maybe that's Phil," said Celina.

One Gray appeared, and then another.

"I don't think that's Phil," replied Evelyne.

-X-

"The aliens are advancing quickly," said Robinson, glancing at the radar.

"At least you won't have to do any of the fighting. That's my job. All you have to worry about is getting me there," Phil replied.

"Yeah, well, we could get amb—" He didn't get to finish his sentence. Suddenly, the dropship rocked violently. Robinson swore, he muttered "We're hit," while looking at the readings.

"This thing has shields, right?"

"If you're talking about the force fields like the one you summon, yes, but somewhat limited."

The ship rocked again. "Shoot. Their weapons are too strong for our shields."

"So we'll eventually get blown up?"

"That seems to be the case."

"I'm going out."

"Out to what?"

"Fight 'em."

"You're crazy. No one can a fight spacecrafts alone without weapons from a vehicle.

"You haven't been watching me train, have you?" Phil replied with a grin.

"Don't. You'll get blown up. Besides, there's too many of them." Phil wasn't listening. He had already opened the hatch and was climbing outside.

"Just drive," Phil shouted back at Robinson. Robinson sighed.

He steadied his Laser Rifle and aimed it at the nearest aircraft. It fired at him and he ducked. Looking through the scope, he saw the following words appear.

TARGET ACQUIRED as the crosshairs moved around the scope.

TARGET LOCKED-ON and the crosshairs settled.

The crosshairs turned red as the words FIRE WHEN READY appeared.

He pressed one of the triggers.

The rocket fired from his weapon impacted against the closest ship, blowing it up.

The second alien ship fired at him, but instead missed him and hit the dropship. Phil fired a few more rounds of the lasers with his weapon, eliminating about a fourth of the enemy ships, and then retreated back inside the ship.

He continued to hear Robinson cussing as he muttered "We've go engine failure."

"What do we do?" Phil asked him. Robinson didn't respond.

Phil read the readings himself and smiled grimly. "The shields are down, too."

"How can you be so calm?" Robinson said to him, almost shouting.

Phil didn't reply. Instead, he said, "I think we're close enough to Leafre. Let's jump."

"Jump? You really are crazy. No one else has jumped before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything."

He climbed out of the cockpit again and saw the ship approaching the trees. Good thing Ludas Lake is so close to Minar Forest.

Unfortunately, Robinson slipped and fell into the ocean, though he was very much alive.

It's a long swim back to Ludas Lake, thought Phil. Though, on the bright side, Robinson had a warp capsule, which he used at once.

Now it was Phil's turn to jump. He ended up crashing through the thick growth of trees. He landed flat on the spot right between the incoming aliens and his old friends.

"Who are—" asked Celina as Phil lifted his head.

"Philly? Why are you dressed like that?" asked Evelyne

"Long story," he said, a little too quickly, as his face reddened.

"And what are those things?" Celina asked him, pointing at the aliens.

"Aliens. They mean bad news," he replied. "Kill them!"

Suddenly, a number of Grays started firing attacks at them.

"Force Field!" A translucent barrier appeared out of thin air and blocked the attack.

"How did you…"

"They're attempting to kill the priests! We have to stop them."

They could hear a no-nonsense tone in his voice and began attacking the aliens.

Phil grabbed his Andromeda Bow and started a Hurricane attack, sweeping left and right, mowing down aliens. Evelyne hurled stars, Celina cast spells, and Brent slashed through the sea of aliens. There seemed to be no end in sight, however, as more and more aliens began to appear.

Brent and Phil moved forward and took the brunt of the attacks. Evelyne and Celina moved to the main "entrance" to Leafre and the priests. Meanwhile, more and more aliens came—Mateons, Plateons Mecateons, MT-09s, Barnard Grays, Zeta Grays, Ultra Grays, and even a few Chief Grays. Obviously, they were counting on overwhelming the opposition with sheer numbers.

Phil continued using Hurricane, and the others attacked with their most powerful skills as well; Brent would use Rush every once in a while and return to his spot.

They were killing hundreds of the aliens every minute. But there were just too many of them.

They've already seen me use Force Field; won't matter much if I use anything else.

He suddenly stopped firing arrows, sheathed his Andromeda Bow, and pulled out his Laser Rifle.

"What is that?" Brent asked, glancing at him as he continued slicing apart aliens.

Phil didn't reply to his question. "Laser Charge, Laser Drill!" A beam of light shot out of his Rifle, slicing through legion the area and killing hundreds of aliens.

He was now using Rapid Blast, killing the aliens faster than ever. And still they came.

"Evelyne! Celina! Come over here!" Evelyne and Celina quickly responded and rushed over to where Phil and Brent was, all the while attacking.

"Why?" they both asked. They moved anyway, still attacking.

"Nova Bomb!" he screamed. There was a colossal explosion, killing about 90% of the aliens. It left a sizable crater, though it wasn't too deep. Phil, however, had fainted from the enormous amount of energy required to use the attack.

This skill is amazingly powerful, Marco had said. But the energy needed to cast it is a great deal as well.

Then, a massive robot appeared. It looked just like the MT-09s. Etched into the front of it, however, was MT-10.

Somehow, he was able to muster the energy for one more attack. "Laser Charge…LASER BLAST!" he roared. The recoil from the attack threw him backwards several feet, eventually causing him to slam into a tree. And through it, breaking the tree. The result of the violent attack completely blew apart the MT-10, sending bits of metal flying all over the place. The three ran over to him and placed him on the soft grass. They then finished the rest of the aliens.

A few minutes later, they returned to him. "Well, that's the last of them," said Brent in a satisfied tone. Phil stood up, only to collapse a second later. They looked over him. The MT-10 had fired a huge laser beam at him right before it exploded, which was now causing Phil to bleed profusely. The grass was becoming a dark crimson from the expanding pool of blood.

"I'm a Bishop," said Celina. "I'll heal you."

Brent and Evelyne remained silent, wishing they were a Paladin and Shadower instead.

"No," he replied, propping himself up with one hand. "The wound is too deep."

"I know resurrection, too." Celina added. He only smiled in that quiet was of his.

"Resurrection," he managed to sputter. "Is…only…an… advanced…healing arte. The wounds… are… too deep for it… let alone…Heal…and…Chakra.

He produced three cards. "These…are…warp cards…and…badges." His voice was failing him. "Go to… the… Nautilus…find Kyrin…and…" he suddenly collapsed again and closed his eyes. They knew he would never open again.

All three were quiet as they left. They knew they had to go to the Nautilus and find Kyrin.

But if anyone had looked back, they would've seen something amazing: Phil's body slowly, but surely, faded away, until there was nothing left. Blood, body, equipment, and all.