Author's note:Nothing to say except thank you for reading my story and each and every review are very much appreciated and sorry for the long update in the previous chapter,my brother keeps hogging the computer so updates might be slower than usual but to make up for that,I've decided that each chapter from now on will be at least nine to pages long,I hope. Now that's over with,on with the story!p.s:Under the suggestion of Game Master Shinryu,I need a beta reader but I'm new at it so if any of my readers wish to help me with beta reading....can you explain how the process works first ?
Disclaimer:I don't own anything that's related in any way to Winx Club and/or Star Ocean:Till the end of time as well as any reference to Xenosaga and Gundam of all series,I only own the plot line,some of the places shown as well as the multiple Ocs that I've created.
(Space Cruiser,En route from the 15th Militia Spaceport to Moonbase)
Andrew Heinmann was in his seat aboard the latest Destroyer-Classed Cruiser,Woglinde,drinking a cup of coffee while the rest of his officers were mingling with the ship's crew. He put the cup down and walked up to the thick windows to see the endless sea of space,he admired the stars as they shined,but was interrupted when a glowing red 'eye' of a huge metallic head blocked the view, "Gahh!What in the name of the galaxy is this!" he stumbled back onto the floor,the 'robot' pulled up what looked like the muzzle of a huge machine-gun, "Please Commander Heinmann,remain calm and don't do anything sudden,the Woglinde is now being boarded and I would terribly hate it should you get harm in the process. Gentlemen,please escort him to the 4th docking bay." a group of soldiers wearing purple and red versions of the Federation uniform came in and roughly pulled him up.
"Come on!We haven't got all day." the soldiers were obviously in a hurry when they jabbed him in the back with the butt of their rifles. 'I better play along for now' he was confident in his ability to escape as he eyed the Phase-Gun,foolishly strapped to his captors side,they could be easily taken but he'll bide his time....for now. He cooperated with the rough soldier and followed them to where they wanted to take him.
(Docking Bay Area)
Andrew saw that the whole crew of the Woglinde was gathered in the huge docking bay which was empty and after all,the ship was still new and hasn't received it's shipment of fighters yet but he saw in the far corners of the room were a number of huge human-shaped robots that was similar to the one that he saw a while ago,the huge robots had a torso that has thick plates of armor that were dark green with shoulder-guards,one was larger than the other as it looked like a shield with three spikes at the top part of it,the legs ended with wide brims at the foot with quite numbers of thrusters installed,the heads were similar to army helmets with a big crimson lens that served as eyes, and all of this made Andrew's blood run cold, 'Impossible!That project was ended years ago....Project MS....Project Mobile Suit....' his expression became stern as he saw another one of the robots entered the docking bay,the force-field keeping the air in, 'Brigadier General Schilling!That bastard's still alive!'
The 'robot' entering was the one he had saw earlier threatening him with that gun,this one was more distinct than the others as it had shoulder-shields on each side with the machine gun magnetically attached to it's back,it knelt down and a hatch opened and the infamous Ex-Brigadier General Schilling jumped out of it with a smug look on his face as he strode up to Andrew who was glaring at him,the reason he was doing so was that he believed-no,he knew that Schilling had something to do with the murder of his nephew's family but the evidence that proved it went 'missing' at the last moment along with a few members of his officers in that which started the rumor that lied about his mental health which almost ruined his career.
When Schilling was a few steps away,he laughed mockingly in Andrew's face before taking out a cigar from his pocket and lit it with a lighter,he blew out a puff of smoke right in his face, "Well,well,well,if it isn't the illustrious Commander Andrew Heinmann,how's your sister and her husband,oh right. They're dead!" as Schilling laughed Andrew struggled with his fist,trying to punch Schilling who turned his back on him, "See these machines,they're called Zakus. It's a wonder how pre-space aged video games can provide ideas for the construction of these fighting machines,they'll be the main force when this war finally starts and it'll all end with me as a hero!" he started laughing again.
Andrew had heard enough,he grabbed the two guns from the two soldiers that were guarding him and shot all their limbs to cripple them and as he tried to fire on Schilling who remained calm in the situation but he found out that the power-packs in the guns were drained. "I ordered them only charge a minimal amount of power into them. Did you seriously think that I wouldn't anticipate that move ? Well ?....What the!" he saw Andrew setting one of the guns in his hand to overload and threw it at the room's gravity generator and with it's last bit of power,blew up and it took a big chunk out of the generator along with it.
With the artificial gravity disabled,Andrew quickly scrambled towards the nearest machine which coincidentally was Schilling's Zaku,he relatively made it safely inside and pushed the button marked 'hatch' and made it in time as sounds of the outer plating being hit was heard as it was being pelted by a barrage of rifle shots, 'Damn!How do I move this hunk of metal!"
he looked at the complex controls of the mobile suit and quickly found a basic manual that explained the Zaku's system in a simple manner.
"Stop!" the rifles stopped firing as Schilling ordered them, "Don't waste your energy reserves,the armor plates are designed to withstand attacks from Phase Cannons." at that moment,the red lenses of the hijacked Zaku lit up as it stood up and took a huge metal Axe from a hidden compartment and stomped towards Schilling,scattering his soldiers who got out of the way of the huge mecha but Schilling remained calm,still smoking on his cigar. "Aren't you scared ?" the speakers in the Zaku said,pointing the Axe directly at the man, "Heinmann,did you seriously think that I'd didn't come prepared ?" Schilling made a silent command to his men and they each shot three times into the vacuum of space and three more Zakus armed with rifles flew in,ready to eliminate any and all threats, "You see Heinmann,I have the best interest for the Federation,and what's best for the Federation now is to wipe out the beings from that new dimension and take their worlds for our own as well as people like you!" he shouted as he started laughing
Andrew was slightly terrified at Schilling's way of thinking, 'A complete and utter genocide of an entire galaxy!That's madness!' He called out through the speakers, "It's madness Schilling!Total madness!" Schilling stopped laughing and became stern, "You dare object the man who has the best interests of the Federation ? Fine then,I hereby execute you and your men to death!"the three enemy Zakus moved in to attack Andrew who moved his own mobile suit into a defensive stance but before the three Zakus could open fire another Zaku kicked one of them in the head and activated the thrusters at the leg,destroying the head,leaving it virtually blind,two more Zakus tackled the remaining two enemy mobile suits and sent them flying out into space. A screen opened up beside the monitor of Andrew's unit controls to see a two of his officers inside one of the Zakus, "Sir!We should get out of here immediately,the sensors in this unit indicates that the Woglinde is now surrounded." "Alright,tell the others to follow my lead." "Roger that." the screen shut off as the four Zakus made their way towards the exits of the ship and quickly flew out.
"Brigadier General Schilling,shouldn't we pursue them ?" Schilling thought for a moment before answering, "No,and besides,what can they do with four regular Zakus while we have an army of other mobile suits at my disposal." he turn to see the crew of the Woglinde struggling to adjust to the loss of gravity,while he with the help of his men,made his way towards the door, "You the crew of this ship,will you join me in my quest for the betterment of the Pangalactic Federation ?" the whole crew remained silent,afraid of what this madman will do. "I'll take that as a no." he and his men exited the room and once on the other side of the door,Schilling said, "De-activate the force-field in the docking bay,we'll let the cold embrace of space greet them into the afterlife." the lead soldier saluted and pushed in the commands and soon after,the screams of the Woglinde's crew was heard and after that,complete silence.
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(Rosen Castle Ruins,Entrance)
After fixing their injuries their clothes,the James lead Thomas and his friends to the entrance where they had met the Bigfoot that he had possessed during that time,they circled around the hole in the wooden floor. When they made it outside,Fayt breathed in the fresh air and sighed in relief, "I'm sure glad to be out of that musty old place....er no offense James." James looked serious for a minute before he started laughing,the three teens huddled up a bit and started talking in hushed tones, "Man,the history books weren't kidding when they said this guy was crazy!" Thomas decided to partially defend his new friend's pride, "I believe the correct term is eccentric,crazy people are locked up in asylums and besides,he did save our lives." Fayt rolled his eyes, "Point taken but one thing though,what's with the whole silver knight business,where that suit of armor came from ? I mean,are you a super hero or something ?" Thomas was confused at the question but he felt a pulsing sensation before the Astral Blade appeared in his hand which scared Fayt, "Hey!No need to be hostile about it!" Thomas didn't hear anything as his mind was sent into the deep recesses of his sub-conscious.
Thomas Leingod....do you hear me ? Thomas was in his subconscious which was a representation of space and he was floating in it,wearing silver armor and he saw a man 'standing' there,the man was wearing silver armor similar to the one he was wearing, Thomas Leingod,can you hear me ? Thomas nodded as he drifted about in space,the knight 'walked' up to him and pulled the floating Thomas down onto a glass platform which the knight was standing on all along. Good,we need to talk.
The knight pulled out a sword which to Thomas' surprise was the Astral Blade, "Why do you have my sword ?" Your sword ?No,this sword doesn't truly belong to you,the Astral Blade contains the essence of the stars,the essence of my being,I only allow you to keep it until it has found it's destined owner hearing the cryptic message,he was immediately sent back into consciousness to see Sophia wiping his forehead with her handkerchief. "Thank goodness,you're awake." Thomas lean his head upwards to see that he was in the school's hover-bus,currently going back to the city on the Upper Tier,sending their passengers home as it was nearing sunset and the only ones left on the vehicle were themselves and the driver.
"Where's James ?" Fayt who was sitting alone in front of them turned around, "Well,he said that he needs to restore his home,he intends to pretend to be James Rosen the Third....so as to avoid trouble with the authorities." Fayt sighed as he threw a long bundle of cloth onto Thomas' lap and partially on Sophia's and it fell heavily. "By the way,when you faint,keep your things where they belong." Fayt returned to his sitting position while Thomas uncovered the layers of cloth and took out the Astral Blade and a piece of paper fell off,Thomas picked it up and read it's contents, 'I leave the Astral Blade and Red Star Fragment in your care until they decide that their destined owner is ready.' Something shiny fell from inside the note,Thomas picked it up and found a small piece of red crystal,it shined brightly for a moment before it stopped. "What was that thing Thomas ?" Sophia asked him but he shook his head, "Nothing!Nothing at all Miss Sophia." he quickly put the Astral Blade and the crystal fragment into his clothes but she was unconvinced so he tried to pick up a conversation, "...Er,so...Miss Sophia,what's for dinner tonight ?" Sophia was effectively distracted as she started talking about the night's meal.
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(Later that night,Esteed Estate)
Thomas was this time eating dinner with Sophia's parents,although it was dinner time,both males were talking instead of eating, "I see,so the Purifier Sprocket has been recovered,the next part would be what ?" Clive asked as he examined the tiny part in the palm of his hands with a magnifying glass, "Well,that is up to E.C,my Encyclopedia Computer to research the location of the next part but it'll take a while to-ow,ow,ow!" his ears were being pinched by Sophia while Clive's own ear was pinched by his wife,Kyoko who was annoyed just as much as Sophia and both of them said at the same time, "Dinner time is for eating not discussing machine parts!" they simultaneously let go and the two men rubbed their ears to ease the pain and replied, "Yes dear." "Sorry Miss Sophia."
After that,dinner went smoothly as Sophia's parents decided to do the washing,letting the two teens relax as it wasn't a school night. Thomas sat down in the living room with a bunch of folders, "I better prepare next week's learning schedule-hey!" Sophia took Thomas' first folder and threw it onto the table and jumped into the space beside him and grabbed the remote for the holovision, "No working today,we're going to relax,you hear me ?" Sophia said in an innocent but demanding tone,Thomas sighed as he put his folders away, "Alright,so what do we do for fun in the future ?" Sophia fingered the remote "Easy!We watch Holovision....or since it's only 8 O'clock,you can take me on a stroll through the park so we can talk about yourself since you're quite a mystery to the girls in class by now." Thomas knew what a holovision was but he wouldn't want to experience that just yet so he voted for.. "I think a stroll in the park would be nice." Sophia's cheek became a bit red as the stroll in the park was just a joke and that the park is supposedly filled with couples during the night but she nodded as she went to tell her parents about it while Thomas grabbed his coat and headed for the door,followed by Sophia.
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(Radiant Garden)(I know,Disclaimer:I don't own anything that belongs to Square-enix who owns Kingdom Hearts)
As the name described,the park was indeed radiant with it's bushes and fields of flowers all lit up by luminescent lights hidden in the undergrowth. As Thomas strolled along the stone paths,Sophia right beside him but a bit of distance between the two. "I can see why they call it Radiant Garden,the landscape is simply amazing...don't you agree Miss Sophia." he didn't get a response,he turned around to see Sophia silent and shivering and him being a gentlemen took off his coat and covered Sophia's petite body, "Thanks,it's gets kind of nippy during the last day of autumn but won't you be cold ?" Thomas shook his head, "Well no,having lived in London for most of my life conditioned my body to endure the cold...." he suddenly sneezed but covered his mouth to avoid making a mess, "..but only to an extent." Sophia giggled as Thomas wiped his nose with a tissue. "Care to share ?" Sophia rhymed as she uncovered part of the coat to invite Thomas who reluctantly accepted.
As they walked along admiring the scenery that the faunas provided,several other couples saw the two together and had mistaken them for an intimate couple as they both shared the coat. "Aren't they adorable together ?" one young lady asked her boyfriend, "Yeah,adorable....come on let's leave them alone." with that the small crowd dispersed and Thomas didn't notice them at all and the same went for Sophia as she snuggled closer to keep warm but as they started walking off towards a secluded area to get a better view... "Hey you!Give me your wallet!" a man dressed badly in an overcoat with a rather rusty dagger threatened the two, "Oh!And don't think of playing hero,I've got friends." the mugger whistled and two more men dressed in equally shabby clothing came out of the bushes,one was a big guy carrying a rather large pipe while the other was a scrawny little guy with nothing but a short knife.
"Alright then,hand over your valuables and we'll leave you alone." the guy with the dagger threatened as he pointed the rusted blade at the two,Sophia was scared as this was the first time to ever get mugged and the stories she heard from her classmates didn't help the situation one bit 'What are they going to do ?Rob and kill us ?Please leave us alone!' she shivered not from the cold but from fear but she felt a pair of hands steadying her shaking,she remembered that Thomas was with her,he was relatively calm but a hint of annoyance was heard as he called the Astral Blade which was concealed in the coat, "Even when I got to the future,there are still problems with muggers!" the lead mugger snickered, "Hey boys,we've got a loon here,maybe we should just put him out of his misery and take his gal for a little fun." his accomplices snickered but that was a bad move, "That's it!" Thomas threw the coat into the air and lashed out with the Astral Blade as he knocked the dagger out of the mugger's hands and knocked him down onto his rear end before pointing the sharp end of the sword at the throat of the leader of the muggers, "Ah,ah,ah,you seem to have forgotten about your girlfriend and my associates." Thomas saw Sophia was being held by the big guy and the scrawny one was holding the knife at her throat.
"Drop that fancy sword of yours or your lady friend will suffer for it!" Thomas reluctantly dropped the Astral Blade which made the muggers calm down but also drop their guard as the knife was lowered from Sophia's neck and the coat that was thrown into the air earlier fell into Thomas' hands,he quickly used it as cover while he retrieved the falling sword,knocked out the leader with a quick hit with the hilt and while the coat was still covering his actions,he quickly mimicked the first mugger's voice, "Alright,let the dame go,we got what we need." the two muggers,believing that the voice was their leader's,let Sophia go but that was a mistake as the coat was lowered and Thomas dashed towards the two grabbing the scrawny one's knife and jabbed it into the big guy's knee which caused him scream in pain and delivered a sweeping kick that made the big guy fall onto his partner,crushing him under the heavy weight.
"Pretty fancy moves there boy." Thomas swung the Astral Blade and it was met with an energy sword, "Whoa there,be careful,you almost lopped off my head!" Thomas saw a group of people wearing multicolored clothing that was mainly a blue jumpsuit with flowing red capes as well as helmets that kept their faces hidden behind visors and to top it off,each suit had a variety of symbols that glowed in the dark, "Who are you people ?" the man who almost got decapitated replied calmly, "Well,you must be new around here,we are the guardians of the law,we are the deliverers of justice,the ones that makes things right...we are the Patchaman!" their symbols glowed brighter for a moment as the group of five went into weird poses,Thomas was tempted to laugh at this but the situation prevented this,he observed the odd group,three of them were men of regular build with the third a bit on the skinny side,the other two was a woman and a rather huge robot.(Ta da!I present the descendants of the power ranger wannabes from the second season of Winx Club!Think of them as more intelligent than their ancestors,okay,okay slightly more intelligent)
"Thank you citizen for putting these ruffians in their place,we'll take them to the proper facilities." the robot hefted all three of the knocked out muggers and before they went away to who knows where,the Patchaman leader tossed him a device, "Call us if you need assistance but from your fighting spirit,you'll probably have no need for it but just case of course." he slammed a smoke bomb into the ground and vanished as the wind blew the smoke away. "Well,I guess that was an interesting event." Thomas pocketed the device and put his coat again around Sophia and led her the towards their home and as they moved,autumn ended as the first snowflake fell,signaling the beginning of winter.
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(Present,Alfea)
Headmistress Shara Faragonda was sitting at her desk,reading the reports that the specialists had given but she rubbed her head as it ached from doing such a repetitive task. "I'm not sure whether or not should I retire..." she looked at the photos on the wall to her left,it showed the entire faculty having a party in celebration of the defeat of the Army of Decay as well as several others that displayed past achievements that she had as well as the graduation ceremony of the Winx girls,she smiled and sighed contently and shuffle the reports, "Guess I'll continue working here until I can no longer do it but that would probably be forever." she chuckled at the irony of her predicament.
"Headmistress!A Red Fountain ship just arrived here and has landed in the courtyard!" a Specialist informed her as he ran out to see if the ship's passengers were his friends from Red Fountain but were the entire campus be in for a surprise.
(Courtyard)
The Storm-Jet landed and the side-hatch opened up,a crowd of students had gathered there to see the commotion,Griselda went to see the occupants of the ship,Fayt stepped out with Cliff and Albel closely behind,the last one to exit was Izak who carried with him his 'suitcase', "Excuse me gentlemen but can you tell me the reason for your arrival to Alfea." Griselda asked sternly as she would to any other student at the school. Fayt quickly pulled out an envelope and gave it to Griselda who reminded Fayt of an equally stern teacher who used to teach him history before all his adventure started and it seems it's still hasn't ended yet.
"It seems that Mr Wittcomb sends you as a relief team to assist Red Fountain but why stop here at Alfea ?" Fayt quickly covered up the details that the commodore forgot to tell him, "Well,um....er we came here to get information so as to get a better understanding of Red Fountain's situation..."he brought out what was left of his Levantine, "...as well as to find someone that can repair our weapons." Griselda examined the Levantine before handing it back to Fayt, "I see....Very well,follow me." she stared at the crowd of students who quickly opened up a path,unless they wanted trouble of course but who would.
(Faragonda's Office)
Shara had just finished reading and organizing the reports,waiting for the ones that arrived on the ship earlier to enter her office, 'Click' "Right on cue." Shara muttered as Griselda led in a group of four men into the room, "Miss Faragonda,these gentlemen are a relief team for Red Fountain,they wish to see you before they go." Shara gestured for Griselda and the 'relief team' to sit down to talk, "Let's get to the point,you're not a relief team. Are you Mr Leingod" Fayt was slightly uncomfortable as their cover was blown but Shara laughed a bit and quickly calmed down, "Don't worry,I was just having a bit of fun. Olsen contacted me prior to your arrival,so on to the first thing of business,your weapons please." Fayt took out the Levantine and it's pieces and presented it to Shara.
"I see,your weapon is of light,light that was born from the Dragon's Fire." "Er...Dragon's Fire ?" Fayt scratched the back of his head as he had no idea what she just said, "Yes....oh I forgot,you're not from around here....to put it shortly,the Dragon's Fire is the source of all life in the Magic Dimension and your sword was forged and imbued with an extremely tiny fragment of the Dragon's Fire but even the slightest fragment,the Dragon's Fire is still a very powerful source of magic and it appears that it still retains that fragment.....now let's see if I can fix it." Shara started mumbling out incoherent words,which were actually a restoration spell of the ancients.
After a few moments of chanting,a bright light engulfed the Levantine and it's pieces,Fayt backed off a bit,afraid of what might happen but breathed out in relief as he saw the Levantine,repaired and somewhat along the lines of being as good as new as in just came out of the forge. "Thank you Miss Faragonda but would you mind see if you can repair my friend;s weapons as well ?" Shara sip a bit of tea from her cup before Rosa burst into the room,chasing followed by Kiko,trying to catch a book that was flying around and it seemed to be blowing raspberries at the angry girl, "Come back here yo-you-Ahh!"
Rosa screamed in frustration as she tried jumping up to catch it but the book kept evading her and the other occupants of the room just stood there,watching the girl being teased and humiliated by a living book.
"That's it!Rosa Magic Winx!"(I can't help it,it's so catchy,the fairies that will be in Argus' group will use that line) she put up a display of amazing proportions but only to the four newcomers as she transformed into her holy fairy form and after the transformation was complete,she increased the beat of her wings and caught up with the book and made a grab for it which succeeded and transformed back into her normal form but she forgot that she was a few feet high in the air, "Aahhh-Oopmh."
She was caught in Fayt's arms as he had rushed over to her rescue,she blushed as she was in the arms of a handsome man that was certainly older than her, "Hey Fayt!You're married to Maria,remember ?" Fayt quickly set her down and apologized, "I'm sorry...er,Rosa was it ?" Rosa nodded as she saw the evidence of the blunette's marital status,a golden ring on his ring finger,she sighed a bit in disappointment, 'Darn!And here I thought I've found a cute guy and he's already married...oh well,there's still plenty of boys in the Magic Dimension'
She suddenly noticed the bluenette's companions and evaluated them out loud, "Hmm...Big muscles,blond hair with gray highlights,looks like an all brawn and no brains but he seems smarter than he looks" she said as she took a glance at Cliff, "Hey,I'll take as a compliment...I think." Rosa turned to see Albel just turning his face away from her, "Unique hair,lean and slightly girlish figure,has an air of mystery and a hot goth look to boot." Albel raised up his Cyber-Claw which piqued her interest but she decided to avoid Albel and lastly,Izak. "Hmm,cute not too young,not too old....how old are you ?" Izak responded in a jovial way, "Well,considering that I was constructed three years ago and was just activated, I would be three and a half years old and I apologize for my prudence your highness." Izak bowed a bit which surprised his companions that the cheeky girl in front of them is royalty. "I guess you did your homework but flattery will get you nowhere considering your an android,come along Kiko." the pixie bunny followed his owner and blew raspberries at the four. "Why that puny little insect!" Albel unsheathed the Crimson Scourge which still had a little bit of ancient blood on it and they heard a dull thud,and a cry of pain.
"What's going on ?" Fayt ran out to see Rosa on the floor in a fetal position, "Theres..the...there's darkness...here..." and right at that moment,Albel came out with the Crimson Scourge,Rosa screamed as if she was being chased by ghosts and started crawling away from Albel, "Get away!Get that evil blade away from me!" she tried standing up but she felt her energy being drained and collapsed. Seeing her reaction and putting two and two together,Fayt yelled at Albel, "Albel put the Crimson Scourge away. Now!" after having experiencing close calls with Fayt's Destruction Gene in the past,Albel put his weapon away. "Come on,get her some water." Fayt carried Rosa into the office and gently put Rosa onto a couch,her skin was awfully pale but as the seconds passed,she regained her color and woke up, "What hit me ?" she saw the Crimson Scourge in it's scabbard and quickly sprinted for the door,peeking through the door she called out.
"Miss Faragonda,that weapon he has is full of dark energies similar to a vampire's." then,she ran off to escape the Crimson Scourge's dark aura. "I see,Mr Nox. I'm afraid that your sword contains an immensely dark powers which seemed to have conflicted with Rosa's Light powers,you'll have to see my colleague,the headmistress of Cloud Tower,I suggest you visit her first before Saladin of Red Fountain,here." she quickly wrote a letter on a blank sheet of paper and gave it to them, "That will allow you entrance into Cloud Tower,I'll contact her for you."
Fayt nodded and took back the Levantine and felt the comforting warmth that it gave him everytime he held it, "Thank you." Faragonda nodded in acknowledgment before the four men exited the room. Avalon suddenly stopped his illusion spell and got out from behind the couch, "So are they the ones that will help our young savior ?" Faragonda sipped her tea again before she answered, "Yes,he and his friends will help the young Keeper,he'll need all the help he can get to face his destiny." "Indeed....." Avalon nodded as he saw through the window,the Storm-Jet lifting off the ground and sped off in the direction of Cloud Tower.
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(Elicoor II,Irisa Fields)
The planet where most of Fayt and company's adventure took place,a world that was engulfed in war just a few short years ago,brought to peace by Fayt's exploits,now the world is no longer under the UP3 pack and now shares commerce with the Federation as well as other Spacers who wish to trade goods but all this takes place in Peterny,the center of Elicoor's commerce,leaving everywhere else seemingly the same and that included the remnants of the Executioners and that meant that traveling in numbers are essential for safety or if you had experienced escorts.
"All abnormalities in the Eternal Sphere must be deleted,surrender and be assured of a quick death." said the Proclaimer,an angel-faced being as it floated with the assistance of it's angelic wings,but these things were far from being saints as a group of them assaulted a small band of travelers who cowered in fear but they were saved when a pair of daggers came slicing off a chunk of it's wings, 'Mirror Slice!' A red-haired woman declared as she prepared her daggers she just retrieved and launched a flurry of slashes that all hit the Proclaimer's weak points,effectively destroying it.
'Titan's Fist!' A portal opened up as a massive fist crushed another Proclaimer and the man who summoned it was a burly looking old man who was only wearing the lower half of a robe,carrying a sheathed katana before grinning,satisfied with his work,he charged off to the last of the Proclaimers. 'Raging Helmet!' A short little guy jumped into the air and his helmet accumulated a large amount of energy and sent out an array of lasers that created a dome formation,'frying' two of the Proclaimers to a crisp and he pumped his gloved fist into the air before grabbing an axe that was bigger than him and charged towards where his friends were.
'Fatal Fury!' three Proclaimers were knocked into the air as the burly man charged through them with his arms outstretched and the woman started 'floating' upwards and lightning began surrounding her before yelling out, 'Splitting Sky!' she held her hands together and a large green ray of wind and lightning which ripped through the tough material the Proclaimers were made of and to finish it off,the little guy threw his axe into the air, 'Star Fall!' a series of meteors rained down on the weakened Proclaimers,incinerating them but causing no damage to the surrounding.
"Thank you Miss Zelpher for you escorting us." the leader of the travelers said as he offered a satchel of money but the little guy jumped up and took it before using his long bushy raccoon-like tail to hold onto it, "Roger!You hand that money back to them,now." Roger tried using the puppy-dog eyes and it would've been effective as he used his tail to his advantage but his comrades were immune to this, "Aww!Come on Nel. Can't we keep the money...just this once ." Roger Huxley was suddenly picked up by the burly man, "Give the good people their money back you little raccoon or I'll be having Roasted Huxley with Chestnuts for dinner tonight." Roger immediately paled at the comment as he wiggled out of the rather loose grip and gave the money back to the travelers, "Thank you Adray but were you really serious about roasting him ?" Adray started laughing while the Menodix humph with his bushy tail standing straight, "Sorry about that but you should have the look on your face." Adray started laughing again but saw Roger's strongest Symbology attack that he had used earlier being performed and the intended target was him as he quickly ran away,even he can't withstand that attack without ending up in a comatose state at the least..
When the other two had gone,Nel walked towards the damaged stone bridge which connected Irisa Fields to the Sanmite Steppes,she walked across it and into the small path which hid the staircase into the Aquatic Garden of Surferio but she didn't to fight for a while,she continued walking until she ended up on the edge of Sanmite Steppe,she walked towards a large boulder and sat upon it. "It's only been a few days since Albel left,I should be rejoicing....and yet,I feel somewhat empty. Why do I feel this way ?" She sighed as she removed her striped scarf,followed by her Blades of Ryusen,her boots and then,her other items of clothing until she was dressed in only a crude one-piece swimsuit that she always wore under her clothes so that she could infiltrate areas through waterways and the occasional sewage hole but today,she wished to relax as she wade deeper into the river until she stumbled upon a tranquil lake,climbing a bit up to a nearby outcropping tree and used it as a diving board,jumping into the lake,she felt a sense of self-awareness as she drifted along in the cold but comforting feeling of the cool lake water.
'Why does the cold comfort me like the warmth ?' Images of a cold metal arm and a bare arm holding her tightly,both keeping her cold and warm at the same time,it reminded her of the spar they had before he went away but it was more like a duel than a sparring session,she remembered every detail of the session as she laid herself onto the lush green grass and let the sun dry her wet skin as she reminisced about the 'sparring session' she and Albel had before he left....
(Flashback,Three Days Ago,Kirlsa Training Facility)
The Kirlsa Training Facility was the barracks for the Black Brigade,the building itself consisted of four floors with the final floor as an open air arena and two people were having a sparring session using wooden versions of their own weapons. "Hyah!" Nel yelled out as she tried to hit Albel with her wooden dagger but missed as Albel slammed his wooden katana onto Nel but she parried the attack with the larger of the two practice weapons in her hands and used the second dagger to hit his unguarded abdomen but it was met with his artificial arm which was covered in leather to prevent the claws to harm anyone.
'Snap' Although Albel's claw was covered,it didn't prevent him from using the metal limb's strength and snapped the wooden dagger in half,Nel countered by slamming her remaining dagger onto Albel's practice katana,splitting both weapons into splinters of wood. "Hmph!Let's bring this up a level shall we ?" Albel sneered as he whispered this silently into Nel's ear,making her spine tingle with either excitement or fear of him being so close but she just nodded and both of them jumped back from each other before they each brought out their own weapons,Albel used his Crimson Scourge to cut off the binds from his claws.
"Come and get me Maggot!" Nel ran towards Albel,hoping to tackle him and knock the Crimson Scourge out of his hand but Albel anticipated this tactic and moved his sword in a uppercut slash, Air Slash! A wave of wind energy surged towards Nel,forcing her to guard against it but the moment she let down her guard,she saw Albel bring down his Crimson Scourge for a final strike but Nel used the Blade of Ryusen to deflect the attack but she was surprised when Albel suddenly maneuvered behind her and wrapped his metallic claw-arm around her waist,making her feel uneasy as Albel had the upper-hand as he brought the tip of the Crimson Scourge closer and closer towards her face but stopped when it was just a few inches away from scarring her face,she wondered why he did that. "We wouldn't want to scar such a beautiful face now,should we ?" Albel caressed the nape of her neck with his...tongue ?
She was disgusted and yet excited by his actions as he stopped and breathed in the scent of her hair, "Palmira Flowers......." Albel said as he recognised the smell as he intentionally dropped the Crimson Scourge and he wouldn't do such a thing unless it was of utmost importance but Nel also dropped her Blades of Ryusen which was the only thing of her late father's but she didn't care as her feelings were numbed when Albel wrapped his good arm around her waist,linking together with the metallic one,working together to keep her cold and warm at the same time, 'He has such a gentle touch.....' Nel thought as she held Albel's arms with her hands. They started swaying for a while to a non-existent tune as they were suddenly blissfully unaware of their surroundings,both of them didn't care if one of their respective subordinates saw them.
Then he did the most unexpected thing,he suddenly twirled her around and caught her expertly,then bending their bodies downward into an arch,feeling hot and embarrassed at their position,Nel blushed brightly as Albel's face was only a few centimeters from her's. He turned his face a little bit sideways as he whispered into her ear, "I win the duel......Nel...." he gently laid her onto the stone floor of the arena before walking off towards the entrance with his Crimson Scourge in hand,leaving the red-faced Nel behind.
(End Flashback)
Nel became red-faced again as she thought about Albel, "Do I have feelings for him ?" She pondered this until became dark, falling asleep before she could figure it out,she hugged herself closer wishing for Albel's comforting arms to hug her instead but there was no such luck as she fell asleep near the peaceful but lonely lake under the bright moonlight.
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(Lake Fortress of Light Ruins,Courtyard)
Three dark portals opened as Dianovas and a platoon of Beast Troopers,followed by several Juggernauts which were there to replace the ones that were incinerated earlier. Dianovas sensed Ronand's and Celina's presence,he started walking in the direction where he sensed them,followed closely behind by the Army of Decay.
When he reached the location of the only undamaged structure in the entire fortress,the Hall of Meditation, "Army of Decay,stay here." he ordered the monsters behind him as he opened the door inside to see Ronand putting attachments onto his creation,the attachments looked like an extra pair mechanical limbs that seemed quite strong, "Ronand,Lord Cain has requested that you return to your post back at the castle before moving to the Realm of Tides." Ronand ignored the armored man as he too was engrossed in his work to notice but his assistant,Celina did and walked towards him, "Please be patient until he finishes his work.
"Very well,I'll wait but please be cautious as the Keeper of the Dragon's Fire might come to rescue...these statues." Dianovas muttered as he saw the petrified Templars. "I'll be outside if you need me." Dianovas said as he exited the room and Ronand said out while working, "I know he'll be coming,I'm a genius after all. My Mech-Golem will take care of that pesky keeper...permanently...." he chuckled slightly as he continued working on his machine.
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(Space,Near the Woglinde's former location)
Andrew and his officers had barely escaped suffering the same fate of the Woglinde's crew as the high-tech Destroyer was hijacked and went into hyperspace to an unknown location. Andrew and his squad of stolen Zakus saw the frozen corpses of the Woglinde crew,looks of horror etched on their faces,Andrew noticed that one of them was one of his officers that didn't escaped,he had been shot in the back of his head,crystallized blood floated near the gaping wound in his head,Andrew forced himself to look as they were going to need something that might help them get to the nearest spaceport but all they found were a bunch of dead bodies and a few weightless carts of tools that were of no use to them until they stumbled upon a particular item.
"Sir!We've found a crate of boosters!" Andrew moved the Zaku towards a large container unit which was forced opened by his officers,inside were a number of rocket boosters that seemed to have been designed just for mobile suits,either that or a large fighter, "Alright,we'll weld the boosters onto the container itself as it would save the energy we have left in these machines and besides,the machines might break apart as a result of the booster's speeds....but I wonder why would such a cargo would be left behind,guess Schilling's getting forgetful now." his officers shrugged their shoulders as they each found a space-suit within a compartment of the cockpit, "Well,that was convenient...." they all put on the suit and opened up the cockpits and drifted out with a life-line tied around their bodies to keep them from drifting too far.
Grabbing a few abandoned welding tools,the small group of men started working on welding the boosters onto the containers, careful not to blow themselves up in the process,while doing this,Andrew climbed into the container itself to grab more boosters and thanks to the weightlessness of space,the task was easier but welding it on was easier said than done as the boosters would occasionally drift off and had to be retrieved by one of them piloting a Zaku so they left two Zakus piloted so that the mobile suits can keep the boosters in place while they were welded. Andrew looked at the slow pace that this process took and sighed in his headgear, 'This is going to take a while...' he went back to welding the booster rocket.
While they did this,a Zaku from Schilling's forces saw this and reported their actions to Schilling, "Sir,Heinmann and his men are attempting to create a makeshift barge from a large container unit,should I dispose of them while I have the chance ?" a series of crackles were heard as it's communication system was damaged when his unit was tackled earlier by the hijacked Zakus but it finally came on with the image distorted but Schilling's voice was clearly heard, "I see he's still around and as for disposing of them....we'll let them go,all they have are four Zakus and a commander with an 'unstable mind' return to the Woglinde for further instructions" the enemy Zaku quietly slipped away in accordance with his orders.
"Hey commander,did you saw something flying away just now ?" Andrew turned around to come face to face with the face of one of the dead corpses,it's expression of sheer terror scared the living daylights out of him,he pushed it away to escape it's frozen gaze, "One of you guys in the mobile suit,gather up the corpses and put them all in one of the smaller containers....but gather their dog-tags,we'll prepare a funeral..." a Zaku activated it's boosters while grabbing a container unit,coming out of the cockpit and carefully remove the tags which held the names and serial numbers of military personnel and should a dog-tag be found without it's owner for a period of time,that person is considered M.I.A,Missing In Action until that person or at least the person's body is found however in this situation was completely different. The officer drifted about in the clumps of dead bodies,opening collars of uniforms of the dead to find and retrieve the tags,the officer prayed for each and every soul of these men and women to rest in peace as he continued the daunting task ahead of him....
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(Dawn,Red Fountain,Argus' Room)
After sleeping an entire day away,Argus was rejuvenated and decided to leave Reina with a squad of Specialists to keep her safe,after all,what's the use of being an instructor of Red Fountain if you can't use the authority you have once in a while. He quietly opened his closet to grab his spare uniform as well as his equipment,namely the Battle-Armbands,he saw the Red Star Pendant dangling from his neck as he silently changed his clothes but didn't put his boots on since he didn't want to risk Reina hearing the soles squeaking.
'Thud' Argus accidentally kicked a chair and it didn't fall but it did bruise his shins and he wasn't wearing shoes,he wanted to scream but clamp his mouth shut as he hopped about,whimpering as he rubbed it with his hands. "....Teehee,don't be so rough there Argus...." Reina muttered as she moved about in bed,hugging the second pillow closely before snuggling her face even closer,Argus was alarmed that Reina was dreaming about him, 'What did she meant by not so rough there ?' he thought for a moment but his face reddened as a variety of scenarios popped into his mind,the next one being more obscene than the last,he shook his head and hit himself on the head, 'Stupid hormones acting up again,better get out while she's still sleeping' Argus quickly tiptoed to the door and used a silent door opening spell,buffing out the creaking noises.
'Click' the door was closed and Argus made a run for it while putting his boots on at the same time and just as he was about to put on the second boot,he tripped and tumbled into the elevator and to his surprise,he saw Reina waiting for him, "Why hello there,weren't you planning to leave me behind..." Reina said with the obvious intent on sarcasm, "I'm sorry okay...now please,a little help here." Argus was stuck in a really tight situation as his limbs somehow got tied up by his cape when he fell and he looked like a human-pretzel. Reina laughed at Argus predicament, "Haha,very funny. Now that you had your laugh...help me up...please." Reina just giggled as she just tugged at a specific corner of Argus red cape and he was instantly free,albeit slightly dizzy from the blood rushing to his head a moment ago.
He stood up and stared at Reina, "Thank you,but please return to my room,you'll be safer here." Reina pouted, "Naw-uh!You promised me that you'll take me and as a prince,you must never ever break a promise or lie for that matter." Argus sighed in defeat as he gave Reina the standard equipment pack for Specialists, "Alright but if your going to come along with me,you'll have to learn a few more techniques than just swinging a sword or randomly shooting away with a blaster or using fairy magic,you'll need a crash course in my untested course for amateur fighters." Reina gulped as he said the word 'untested', "..unless of course,you want to stay here...." Argus teased which made Reina fume with anger,she was about to push the button for the elevato controls but Argus grabbed her hand before she could do so, "My training grounds is a bit far by foot. Here,go through this..." Argus opened up a portal right where the door was which Argus casually walked through,quickly followed by Reina.
(Red Fountain's Inner Walls,Black Mud Swamp Region)
Red Fountain had expanded since the true destruction of the Trix in their last ditch effort of a final assault on Red Fountain in order to cripple Magix's defenders but was stopped when Bloom appeared along with her friends,wiped out the Trix's army in one fell swoop but the Trix were a stubborn bunch as they wasted all their energy to fight,draining even their life force. In the end,the Trix brought about their own destruction.
Now as a reminder of that epic battle,two long walls were constructed,the Inner Walls was used as a border to the battle site while the outer walls were at the edge of Black Mud Swamp,keeping the site preserved as several lives of Specialists and Fairies were lost in order to buy time for the Winx's ultimate attack which was an adaptation of the three school's headmasters' attack,the Trinity Dome but the Winx's attack,Winx Wave was far more powerful,remnants of that battle could still be seen from the air,a number of damaged energy weapons,a plot of land was set aside for a memorial for the lives lost but fortunately,Reina was taken to the Inner Walls for her training.
"Aahhh!" Reina screamed as she fell headlong towards the ground but Argus jumped to her rescue as he grabbed onto her before using his magic to slow their descent,after setting foot on the ground,Argus told Reina, "A Specialist but in this case,a fairy should be prepared for any situation placed before them and deal with their common sense and do it rationally as well. Now that the first lesson has been taught and hopefully ingrained into your mind." Argus walked towards a rack of wooden weapons,he grabbed two wooden swords and tossed one to Reina who caught it with a bit of difficulty, "First,we'll see how good your reflexes are.." Argus charged towards Reina before delivering weak but numerous blows to see if Reina could handle it but after the first fifteen hits were defended,an opening was seen and taken advantage of as Argus quickly delivered the blow,Reina closed her eyes,waiting for the hit to connect but all she felt was the wind blowing gently at her midriff,she opened her eyes to see Argus' face,inches from hers,she blushed before she felt a weak tap on her skin, "Impressive,fifteen hits were blocked before I got to you but you had the chance to strike me when I went for your exposed abdomen,whenever your fighting,never let your guard down and always look for openings in your opponent's defense." Argus took the swords away and replaced them with staffs.
"Here,we'll be testing out your defensive skills."he tossed the staff like the sword and Reina managed to catch it since it was longer,it was quite easy but handling it was another story as Reina hit herself at the back of her head,Argus snickered at this, "Don't even say it." Argus nodded before he went into an attacking stance while Reina went into a defensive one, "Alright,I won't hold back so don't blame me if you get hurt. " Argus suddenly charged towards Reina,attacking with only half his strength as he didn't want to hurt her but he didn't hold back the skill,he slammed his staff into Reina's middle but was blocked,he used the other end to hit Reina's exposed sides but was again blocked by a magic shield, "Good,you're using your common sense but don't rely on magic too much as it might undermine your fighting strength." Argus twirled his staff above his head before jumping into the air,coming down at a fast rate. Reina readied her staff to defend against the aerial attack.
When the staffs collided,Reina's legs buckled under the strain from the attack but saw Argus left his chest exposed for attacks,Reina quickly delivered an uppercut kick but it was caught by Argus' hand,he released her leg before stopping his attack, "Good,you saw my weak point and taken advantage of it but your opponent may not be so foolish to let you hit them so easily so always prepare another counter-attack just in case your first one was stopped." Reina panted as her stamina was low as she just woke up a while ago. Argus handed her a canteen, "Here,drink up. I'll need you ready and alert to fight when we get to the Fortress of Light." Reina's expression lit up as she accepted the canteen,drinking it's contents,she immediately felt her body regaining it's energy. "Potions made by Eraklion's potion-makers,one swig of this can restore a person's health but only partially,too bad I brought only one canteen-full,you better keep it...just in case." Reina nodded and changed the canteen to a suitable size to go into her pouches.
A drop ship suddenly flew overhead them,the hatch opened up and Trevor came out,just hanging on to a handle, "Hey!We're going to Lake Roccaluce so get on board!" Jake tossed down a pontoon ladder which Argus grabbed onto,he held out his free hand to Reina, "Guess our training session is over,care to come with me ?" Reina accepted and slip her hands into Argus' before the ladder started going up while the drop ship went for the center of Lake Roccaluce, "Huh ?" Argus saw a ship speed towards the distant structure of Cloud Towers, "What is it Argus ?" Reina asked as she didn't noticed the ship, "Nothing....I think..." Argus decided to ignore it and got into the ship.
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(An Hour Later,Above Lake Roccaluce)
The drop ship finally arrived above the very center of the famous Lake Roccaluce,former home to Daphne The Nymph and somewhere in the middle of the pristine lake a 'back-door' to the hidden Fortress of Light.
The hatch opened up and Argus stood near the edge with Bastil beside him,instructing him on how to open the portal, "....all you have to do is to open up a portal just before you touch the water but you must do this at a high speed so as to open it properly,you can think of any destination but it'll take you to the unused entrance of the fortress,we'll follow in the drop ship,just make sure the portal is big enough." Argus nodded as he prepared to jump,Reina looked worried as the height from here could break every bone in his body if not kill him,the impact from such a height would be fatal,even on water,Reina hoped that he would succeed.
"Well....wish me luck..." Argus took a deep breath as he turned to look at the people that would be participating in this mission,Bastil along with the two Templars who tried to attack him yesterday will be guides when they get to the fortress,Trevor and Sera for their strength and agility and Reina was there for her 'own protection' as well as the magic support,he waved at them before he jumped back,out into the air before plunging down towards the lake below,he twirled his body around so he would be facing the water,he started preparing to open up the portal that would hopefully get them into the hidden realm where the fortress was at. 'I hope I do it right,one slight error and I'm done for' Argus had finished his spell and clamp his hands together,ready to release it on command.
The people aboard the drop ship looked at the screens which monitored Argus' fast descent, "By my calculations,he should deploy the portal right here for the highest effectiveness." Trevor pointed at a digital marker which to his surprise,Argus passed through, "What did he do that! He'll deploy the portal too late!" Trevor was about to activate the tractor beam he installed earlier but Bastil stopped him, "No,he knows what he's doing,just follow him." Trevor seemed reluctant but obeyed as he brought the ship slowly into a nose-dive.
Argus was struggling to hold in the increasing magical properties of the portal,making sure that it'll be big enough for the drop ship to go through. Soon he was just a dozen feet away from slamming into the water,he started spinning,creating a twirl in the magic energy in his hands,he put all the magical energy into one hand,raised it above his head and slam it onto the area just above the water,creating a portal of light that quickly grew as Argus poured in more energy. "Come on!Come on!Just a bit more.....Got it!" he shouted before letting himself into the portal,followed by the drop ship just before it closed up.
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(Lake Fortress of Light,Outside Meditation Hall)
Dianovas was currently,testing his sword skills,he seemed to be in deep thought as he performed a cross-slash on a nearby stone pillar,making it topple on top of him but he just walked away,dusty but unscathed. He suddenly felt a tremor in the ground,breaking his train of thought. The doors to the Meditation Hall open up as Ronand and Celina walked out,Ronand was holding a device in his hands as he tossed it to Dianovas, "We're going back but I want to test out my Mech-Golem,be sure to bring it back to me when it's finished with that so-called Keeper." Ronand fished out the three Trix Crystals, "I'll be needing these for some experiments,the Golem might lose some power but it should be more than enough to take care of guy." Ronand walked passed Dianovas, "Oh!I almost forgot,just in case my creation fails. Push that button to blow it up and make sure it takes that Keeper with it." Ranand smirked before bringing out a gun-like device,pulling the trigger,a portal opened up and they entered it. "Bye-bye Mr Dianovas...." Celina blew a kiss towards the stoic swordsman who turned away and walked towards the Meditation Hall to inspect the Mech Golem.
(Sealed Gates)
Ever since Dakar's attack on the fortress,the destruction he caused made the fortress gates unsafe as his monstrous creatures still roam the area,even after the Templars tried sending in their own men in to eradicate the beasts,they were always found drained of their life-force,mere shells of their former selves,thus they sealed the gates and destroyed part of the mountains,burying them but the beasts survived and turned the rubble into a series of tunnels.
A Mastiff growled as it consumed the carcass of an animal it had caught,it growled again before taking it's meal away with it into one of the tunnels. A spark of fire crackled before a portal opened up and deposited Argus onto the ground,giving him no time to adjust his bearings as he fell face first into the ground,he coughed out the dirt that somehow got into his mouth and drank some water from a small canteen in his pocket before gargling and spitting out it's contents effectively cleaning out his mouth but his clothes were covered in dirt but a quick-fix spell remedied it.
"Wonder when the others will get here,I made the portal more than big enough....I think..what's that noise ?" he heard the sounds of engines as he realized that the drop ship has arrived but when he turned around to look,it was heading directly for him, "Aaahh!" he screamed just before the ship stopped right in front of his face and Reina jumped out of the opened hatch,running straight for Argus glomping him, "Are you alright,any injuries,do you need any healing salves ?" Argus was embarrassed as Reina cuddled him, "Aww,how cute they look together." Sera cooed as Trevor tumbled out of the aircraft followed by the trio of Templars, "Sorry about almost hitting you with the drop....ship ?-Sorry,I'll leave you two alone for a while...." he said as he jumped to conclusions,making the two teens blush. "It's alright,I'm just glad that you saw me before I got flattened....um Reina,can you please get off me ?" Reina reluctantly did so but Argus saw a Brute Monster about to pounce Reina so he quickly pushed Reina aside and delivered an uppercut punch below it's head before deploying energy claws from his Battle-Armbands,piercing the Brute's head,destroying it as it faded away into nothing.
"Hope you guys are ready for a little tussle ?" Argus retracted the claws and called for a pair longswords,as he spotted several Hell Mastiffs coming out of their hiding places,the others saw this and brought out their weapons,Sera with a pair of energy claws,Trevor with two rifles,and the Templars brought out their lances while Reina took out a bow from the equipment pack,charging an energy arrow. The Mastiff's pounced at the same moment the fighters charged in for close combat with Trevor and Reina providing cover-fire. Argus sliced off the heads of three Mastiffs with the two swords in his hands with a horizontal slash from each blade before tossing a grenade from his pockets,blowing up a small cluster of Spit Monsters before they could spit out their acidic saliva on them,the Templars deployed a tri-horn charge,with their lances poised in front of them with their shields,dwindling the number of monsters down to about twenty of them which were taken out when Trevor threw an experimental grenade but it did nothing so the monsters just stomped on it but the moment it was stepped on...
'BOOM' the grenade blew up,ripping ten of the monsters to pieces,while stunning the others,leaving them wide open for Argus' attack as he once again performed the Fire Arts,sending wave after wave of fire,burning the monsters,just as the monsters were being burned,Argus created a large fireball in his hands before sending it barreling towards the mound of the monsters carcass,blowing it up and taking the piles of rubble with it.
When the dust cleared,the huge gate into the Fortress of Light was shown,slightly dented in various areas but still in good condition, "Well,at least I shorten the time needed to get in....right ?" Bastil nodded in agreement as he and his fellow Templars walked towards three specific sections of the door before sending out a small resonance of chi energy into it,the door soon opened up, "Hurry before it closes!" the group managed to enter it but some one was missing, "Where's Trevor ?" the familiar humming noise of the drop ship above them, "Thanks for opening the gate,the walls seems to have a barrier that stops and shocks anything." Trevor climbed out of the ship,showing them the ashen remains of his rifle. "Umm,Bastil,I thought you said that the place was teeming with the Army of Decay." Trevor dumped the ashes into a small packet as he brought out a standard blaster, "Your right,I guess their at the Meditation Hall..." as he said those words,a large horde of Beast Troopers jumped out from various places, "It's an ambush!Reina,stay close to me!" Argus dismissed his swords and brought out a broadsword,slashing at a Beast Trooper that got too close for comfort,Reina took out an energy saber from the pack.
The group have been fighting for a while already but the Beast Troopers kept coming to fight. Soon they were surrounded,forced to fight for survival,a Beast Trooper tried to pounce Reina but was saved by Argus as he stabbed it,bursting it into hundreds of Larvae that were immediately incinerated by Trevor's Fire Sage magic,the Templars used their chi attacks to clear a path towards a dome like building in the distance, "Come on!The Meditation Hall is this way!" Bastil blasted a wave of chi to keep the Beast Troopers at bay. The group quickly ran towards the far-off structure,closely pursued by the Beast Troopers. "Ahh!" Reina gasped as she tripped on a piece of rubble,falling to the ground,Argus saw this and quickly ran to her side, "Reina,can you stand up ?" Reina tried standing up but fell back down and cried out in pain, "Aaahh!" Argus checked her foot was facing the wrong way, "Your ankle is sprained,we don't have time to heal it,I'll carry you." he sent out a wave of fire to ward off their pursuers a bit as he picked Reina up with her close to his chest to ensure her safety.
Running at a fast pace,he quickly caught up with rest of the group who had secured a line of defense among the rubble. As he got to a safer location,he set Reina down as he started healing Reina's sprained ankle but creating a slight strain on his own ankle, "Argus...are you using your powers to heal me ?" he didn't want to worry her but he has a vow of always telling the truth but it didn't say he had to tell it so he remained silent as he finished healing Reina's wound,he quickly covered his strained ankle with some healing salve, "Alright,now that your healed let's-" a large explosion was heard as the door to the Meditation Hall behind them burst open and off their hinges and bashing the Beast Troopers away before they were incinerated by a large lightning bolt that hit each and every Beast Trooper,destroying them.
Thinking they were saved,the group turned around to see a menacing machine stomping towards them,with it's four arms bang together,making spikes come out. "I don't think that's a friend.." Trevor said before he was suddenly blown away by a shock-wave that was emitted by the Mech Golem stomping it's massive feet,throwing the rest of the group off balance as they were blown away by the sheer force of the shock-wave but Argus summoned a barrier that stopped the shock-wave from reaching them but he kept the barrier active just in case and it was a wise choice as the Mech Golem sent out rapid blasts of energy at the group,freezing their bodies in place but it was better than being turned to stone but the metallic menace wasn't done yet as it launched several pods throughout the area which quickly created a prism-like dome,trapping Argus and Reina in it.
Argus dismissed the barrier,seeing their predicament,he gathered some energy for a teleportation spell and aimed it at Reina, "Argus,what are you-" she disappeared in a bright light and reappeared just outside the dome,she realized what he did and tried to create a spell to get her back inside it to help Argus but he stopped her, "No,I'm going to fight this thing and I don't need to fight while protecting you!" Argus yelled as he tossed two boomerangs at the Mech Golem,only for it to fall harmlessly off the thick plates of metal,it retaliated by launching a blast of paralyzing energy like it had on the others,Argus tried dodging it but his movement had slowed down due to the strain on his ankle so he got struck in the leg which was immediately paralyzed which started to spread to the rest of his body turning it numb,he was rendered helpless as the Mech Golem stomped towards his and delivered a punch with it's two right fists,sending him flying into the prism wall,although his body was numb,the pain was still great but Argus used the Dragon Fire's powers to release his body from the numbness before jumping back into the fight,discarding the broadsword for the uses of the Fire Arts as he sent a barrage of fireballs at the Mech Golem.
While the fight continued,Dianovas was hidden away in the shadows of a pillar,watching the fight with great interest. "His skills seems to have grown a bit." he turned his attention towards Reina who was gathering the paralyzed members of the group towards a safer area than here as the Mech Golem's stomping caused the surrounding structures to fall apart little by little,Dianovas saw a large piece of debris about to fall on Reina but she didn't see it coming so he summoned out his sword and and jumped towards the debris,slashed through it once before using his powers to warp back to the pillar,letting the debris turn to dust without Reina noticing at all, 'Why did I save her,I had nothing to gain from this' Dianovas shook his head as he dismissed his sword back into it's dimensional pocket. The gem set in the middle of his helmet glowed for a minute as he continued watching the fight.
Argus has stopped using the Fire Arts as it seem to only deal minimal damage against it's seemingly heat resistant armor and the fact that each time he used the Fire Arts drains his energy each time he uses it,he switched to more conventional methods as he used a spell he had learned from Avalon,he focused his magic and held out his hand,a sturdy sword made of metal before he placed his hands upon it reciting the spell Avalon taught him, "Lord of Thunder and Lightning,Voltagor heed my call and help me vanquish this foe!" he gently tapped the sword as it suddenly surge with electricity which surprised Dianovas ' He seems to be different from the other former Keepers,let's see what he can do' The Mech Golem started firing off several blasts of paralyzing energy,thinking that it would stop Argus movement. As the energy blasts hit Argus,he stood there as if he was a statue.
As the Mech Golem stomped towards the paralyzed Argus,Reina banged at the prism dome while trying to cast a teleportation spell but her powers weren't strong enough,she continued banging at the prism dome as she cried, "Leave him alone!Argus!!" the four arms of the Mech Golem were raised as it's spikes gleamed in the light,ready to strike down the defenseless Argus until, "Tricked you,bye-bye sucker! 'Lightning Slash!' " he yelled out as he cut off the arms on the Mech Golem's left side when he attacked the exposed joints,with the arm sockets exposed,Argus stabbed his sword into one of them, 'Lightning Surge!' the sword was immediately charged with power as it fried the internal workings of the damaged robot,which will undoubtedly blow up so Argus decided to make a quick getaway but felt the pain in his ankle increase as the Mech Golem had used it's remaining arms to keep Argus captive,waiting for the self-destruct command to be inputed.
Dianovas held the control in his hand,seeing the flashing button for the self-destruct,he fingered the button before pushing it and the resulting explosion occurred as the prism dome kept the destructive force inside,Reina covered her eyes as the bright flash of the explosion blinded her as the prism dome faded away,she quickly ran into the smoke from the explosion tripping a bit as the explosion created a crater,she wandered inside the smoke as it clouded her vision,she suddenly tripped completely over and fell onto something soft but firm,she got up and saw Argus,he was a mess as his clothes were tattered,revealing several gashes he got from the shrapnel that came from the Mech Golem's destruction as well as the scorch marks he got from the explosion,blood streamed out slowly and painfully as he managed a weak smile, "Guess...'coughs'....being a hero...'coughs out blood' ....isn't...what it's cut out...to be.....arghh!" Argus said as he winced from the pain he was feeling before falling unconscious,Reina hugged Argus lightly so as not to further harm him.
She then remembered the healing potion Argus gave her,she rummaged through her pouches,finding more items she had no recollection of putting there but she finally found the canteen and popped open the lid before gently lifting Argus head,she tipped the contents of the canteen into Argus' open mouth,hoping that the potion will take effect but after a period of time,Argus was still unconscious as his wounds remained open. Reina was fearing for the worse as her eyes started shedding tears but felt a finger wipe away one of her tears, "Now,now,why are you,a beautiful young woman crying ?" Argus joked as he got into a more comfortable position,Reina tackled him as they tumbled deeper into the crater. When they stopped,Reina was crying in Argus' arms while hitting him with constantly with frail punches. "You are an idiot!!. Why!Why!Why do you have to do such reckless things!" Argus hugged Reina tightly before whispering into her ears, "I do these things to protect everything I hold dear....and for the one I love...." Reina blushed as she buried herself deeper into the warmth of Argus body.
While the young couple embraced each other,Dianovas was tempted to strike both of them down as ordered but something in the deep recesses of his mind held him back and told him to release the Templars from their petrified state which he did so as he mumbled a spell,aiming it's effects at the Meditation Hall,returning the Templars to their normal state before he opened up a portal, "You better be prepared to taste the sting of my blade the next time we meet,young Keeper." he muttered as he entered it.
"Oh my,I think we should leave those two alone for a while,shouldn't we ?" Sera giggled as she put her hands over Trevor's shoulders but due to his reflexes obtained from training,he grapple Sera and tossed her in front of him,but Sera didn't knew that, "Why did you do that for!" Trevor immediately reverted to his shy persona and started backing off, "I..uh...I have an...explanation for that..." he suddenly ran towards the drop ship with Sera following close behind while Bastil and his fellow Templars rejoiced as other Templars exited the Meditation Hall
(Moments Later)
"Reina.." "Yes ?" "Nothing..."Reina snuggled closer,sleeping while Argus carried her bridal style towards the drop ship with the remaining Templars forming two lines and their lances at the ready,creating a path towards the the waiting ship, "So Bastil...what are you going to do now ?" Bastil smiled as he shook his head, "Don't worry about us,you have helped recover our home which is more than enough,if there's anytime that you are in need of assistance,you'll know who to call,we'll be more than happy to help." Argus nodded as he got aboard the ship and placed Reina gently into the seat next to him, "Alright,ladies and gents,we'll be soon experiencing slight turbulence as we make our way through the Templar's Gate and back to the surface of Lake Rocalucce,man!I always wanted to say that!" Sera said as she piloted the ship upwards while a slightly bruised Trevor sat in the next chair,operating the monitors. "Geez,what happened to you ?" Argus asked as he gave Trevor some healing salve, "Don't want to talk about it...ow!" Trevor flinched as he applied the salve on his cheeks.
Argus sighed as he watched Reina as she slumbered peacefully,he brushed away a strand of stray hair away from her face before kissing her forehead, 'I hope this is the right thing to do....guess my sister will chew me out when she finds out about this....' he smiled as he drifted off to sleep but he'll wake up to a rude awakening.
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(Meanwhile,Spirit Realm)
The 'knights' have gathered up again as they were discussing miscellaneous subjects about Argus' life nut they all stopped for a reason as Bloom suddenly appeared,the 'knights' knelt down in respect, "Your Highness,what brings you here to this part of the Spiritual Realm ?" Efreet asked as he was wondering why Bloom was here. "I know about your little plan to get Argus together with Reina..." Bloom said in a fake stern tone but the 'knights' didn't know about that.
"Forgive us your Highness,we didn't mean to do this without your knowledge but we needed to do this so that he'll have full and total control over his powers...." Bloom started laughing, "What's wrong your Highness ?" Bloom stopped her laughing but was still giggling a bit as she conjured up a crystal sphere which showed the knights the events that had passed at the Fortress of Light before it disappeared. The knights stood up as they started talking, "I guess our intervention will not be needed then,will it Lord Efreet ?" the female 'knight' who had suggested the plan earlier approached Efreet as he nodded in agreement, "Indeed Lady Undine,I'm just glad that we'll just need to only help the young Keeper as destiny has already preordained for him." The 'knights' all nodded as they later bowed to Bloom, "If you'll allow us,we'll return to our 'posts' " "Alright,but be sure to tell me if you should try anything similar again." "Yes your Highness." the 'knights' opened up their respective portals before entering them,letting Bloom go back to her palace.
Author's note:I hope that none of you mind that I sped up Argus and Reina's relationship but this is just a first stage relationship as they'll have to face through trials and tribulations of normal life as well as those of the dangerous kind,I'll try to speed up Thomas' stay in the past..er future,no I mean...you get the idea. By the way Game Master Shinryu,since you guessed the last WiVo and since you liked Albel and Nel to be together,the above segment with on Eliccor II is your prize,hoped you enjoyed it.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had writing it.
Now it's time for this time's WiVo:
Scenario Vote:
What is the 'rude awakening' that will come to Argus and in what form will it be in ?
A.)Rosa 'chewing him out' at Alfea
B.)Another dangerous mission
C.)A summons for him to go back home to Eraklions
I ran out of ideas for D.) so it's empty and if you have an idea,please do tell me about it in your review.
This is Argus456 signing off.