Author's Notes:Sorry for being so late on my updates,my grandmother is currently in the hospital after a fall few days after the last update but she's slowly recovering if any of you are concerned though she may have to be moved to a nursing home,nothing else to say except thanks to my readers and I hope you enjoy this chapter!.
Disclaimer:I don't own anything in this story that is related to Winx Club,Star Ocean:Till the End of Time and any other crossovers found in this story but I do own the Ocs and the plot-line.
(70 S.D,Somewhere In Space,Aboard a Ship)
A young man who appeared to be 16 or 17 was currently lying under the console of the cockpit controls,he had long silver hair tied up in a black band,he had a lean but well-built body that was dressed in a black ensemble that consisted of a black trench coat with black pants,dark combat boots and a pair of dark leather gloves that were partly singed,the only thing not black was his white shirt underneath the coat,his eyes were inconsistent as they kept turning from sapphire blue to crimson red as he was calm a moment ago then angry when he was shocked by a jolt of electricity from the wires before something let out a small explosion,covering the youth's face in smoke.
"I told you that it was the white wire." a calm female voice said in his head as another voice that sounded aggressive yelled at the other voice,'Silence Kasua!I know what I'm telling him about!It is the black wire!' the youth grew annoyed at the bickering of these voices, "Will you two please shut up so I can think!Geez,sometimes I wonder how I haven't purged you two from my body in the thousand years of my life. "It's because that our spirits have already fused together with your's too much for you to actually do that." 'Kasua is right Shinryu and if you remove us,your body will be severely weakened and it might even die from the shock,you're just lucky that your a special breed of your species.' the youth known as Shinryu nodded as he got back into his seat as he started checking the ship's parameters.
"I suppose you are right.....At least the life support system is still active....I guess that going through a shortcut that's directly in the middle of an asteroid field wasn't exactly smart was it,eh Mera ?" Shinryu spoke in an accusing manner at Mera the aggressive voice in his mind. 'Silence!After 1600 years of living with experience learned through physical labor plus the ability to learn through the draining of your victims' blood,you should have been able to go through that asteroid field easily!' "Yeah right!The guy I drained the blood from was just a senile old man who was losing his memories of his glory days as a pilot! What were you thinking when you took over my body,you've could gotten us killed!"
'I know that but why didn't you use the Dimensional Slicer technique instead of traveling in this hunk of scrap metal!' but the voice of Kasua answered the question "And have the risk of us being stranded on an unknown world,you know that ever since that last battle with that warlock on Elicoor I ?I don't think so my draconic sibling." while the two voices argued,Shinryu blocked out their voices and tried to operate the console and see if any of the other ship's functions were up but after a while.
"Shit!Most of the ship's system are down....Guess I gotta fix the distress beacon externally,now to create an air bubble...." through his entire life,Shinryu who was the son of a Elven father who was bitten by a vampire and his mother was a Great Dragon,he naturally had an incredible talent for magic and was able to instantly learn any skills or spells through the drinking of a person's blood and since it was too much of a hassle to learn the needed skills to master his power so he managed to track down several rouge wizards and mages who he had immediately eliminated,with the victims losing their heads and drinking their blood,taking their powers into his body including the ability to create pockets of breathable atmosphere to encase his body.
"Now then,time to go outside and fix that beacon" he opened up a hatch on the floor and jump into it as he landed in the airlock and closed the hatch above him. As he secured the hatch,he could still hear the two voices arguing about something that he could care less about it as he secured a safety line around his waist to a nearby railing before opening the hatch that led to outside space. No matter how many times he has seen it,the shinning stars of space always mesmerized him as he admired the twinkling stars while he set to work on fixing the distress beacon.
Unfortunately,repairing the beacon was easier said than done as the argument between Kasua and Mera were intensifying to the point that Shinryu couldn't ignore it any longer "What in the blazes of the the great Dragon Fire are you two arguing about!" the two voices answered back with the similar results "Superiority over the other" 'To see who's stronger' Shinryu smacked his forehead at the sheer stupidity of the argument, "Alright then!To settle this matter once and for all!You two are spirits of the dragons. Kasua,the Dragon of Light and Mera,the Dragon of Darkness,both of you are equally strong since you both are siblings which dragon lore says that if one dragon sibling grows stronger so does their sibling!Got it!" 'I know but-' "Got it!!" Shinryu yelled internally as he subdued the spirits in his vessel of a body.
I even wonder why you two almighty spirits who had refined manners...well one of you were like that..." 'I'd be wary of what you say Shinryu' "...developed personalities that are childish and clash even more with each others." the two spirits within him remained silent as they digested this information which was quite convenient for Shinryu as he fixed up the beacon and pushed the external button to switch it on, "Good,a ship is nearby. It'll reach us within a few minutes." Shinryu just smiled at the calming silence of the two spirits as he climbed back into his ship,waiting for the aforementioned ship to 'rescue' him, "Wonder if there are any powerful warlocks on that ship to drain blood from.....?"
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(Present,Andrew's Location:15th Militia Spaceport)
Although the station was severely damaged,a few areas of the station was left intact,including a training field that simulated an arid environment where soldiers train for battle but instead of soldiers,there were two mobile suits in the training field.
The unit on one end of field was a mobile suit that had a powerful look to it with all the guns and long range equipment on it,the mobile suit was code named Cerberus with it's large powerful frame that was outfitted with equipment that would make a military armory pale in comparison as two massive cannons were hanging on it's back along with other long range equipment such as two beam rifles in each hand,two missile launchers on the leg compartments just to name a few and the pilot of Cerberus was Andrew Heinmann.
Inside Cerberus' cockpit,Andrew was dressed in a Federation pilot suit,as he examined the controls of the Cerberus,he saw that they were quite similar to the Zaku's controls as he heard Reika on the built-in communicator talking to him while he saw Reika's face on a view screen beside him, "Alright Andrew,It seems you know the basic functions of a mobile suit but let's see how well you can do in an advance unit,engage the Cerberus' Phase Shift Armor and get ready for battle. Although he outranks Reika,she was the more experienced pilot so he had to listen to her until he got the hang of it, "Affirmative,engaging P.S Armor now."
With the push of a few buttons,the dull gray armor plating of the Cerberus turned into a dark purple color with violet trimmings,it's eyes then flashed a neon green "Nice,but check this out!" Reika cheered as she piloted her own unit,the Nightshade a little bit forward,while the Cerberus concentrated on long-ranged equipment,the Nightshade was a unit built for close combat as two metallic swords could be seen attached to it's sides while a pair of wing-like boosters hid a long pole behind it's back,the Nightshade's frame was quite sleek and it's Phase Shift Armor was space black with a few yellow trimmings here and there,it's eyes flashed in crimson red,both units went into battle positions.
"Alright then,remember this is just a mock battle so don't get carried away,you'll win when your opponent is cornered and is unable to use their weapons or when their Phase Shift Armor run low on power,understood." David's voice was heard over a speaker system as he judged the battle, the two mobile suits nodded their heads with the pilots' control. "Good,let the mock battle start!"
"Here I come!" Reika declared as the Nightshade grabbed the twin swords as the swords twirled around in it's hands before gripping them like a master swordsman and started running towards the Cerberus which remained still as it's opponent rushed it, "Odd,for a trained pilot,she seems reckless." Andrew whispered to himself as he waited for the perfect moment to move.
"Why aren't you moving ?" David asked himself as he saw the Nightshade unit come closer towards it's target.
"5000 feet...." the Nightshade set the two swords in a cross formation so that it'll be able to deflect any shot from the Cerberus' guns but so far,not a single gun was even ready for firing.
"Don't tell me he's going to-" David then realized the tactic that Andrew was going to use but decided to keep quiet until the match was over.
"3000 feet..." although it was difficult to notice it but the thrusters that were on the Cerberus' back was getting ready for a quick flight.
Reika was still charging her Nightshade unit towards the Cerberus but fully knowing what Andrew was going to do, "You're not going to get me that easily,I still have my 'insurance'" she smirked as her thumb gently moved over a button on the control panel.
"1500 feet...." a large crowd of people were now watching the strange battle as a few were betting on the mobile suit they thought was going to win, "Lieutenant Reika's gonna win this hands down!I bet 3000 Fol on Lieutenant Balfour!" "No way!I bet 5000 Fol that Commander Heinmann will pull off an incredible stunt at the last moment!" the bets piled up as the Nightshade got closer to the Cerberus.
"700 feet....." the Nightshade readied it's blades for striking until the Cerberus... "Now!" ignited it's thrusters and launched itself into the air before firing upon Nightshade with it's weapon as missiles were fired,rifles were discharging beam shots,creating a large cloud of dust which masked the scene if the Nightshade had defended against those shots.
A loud cheer was heard from the people who had placed their bets on Andrew while the ones who had wagered against him were hoping that Reika was still able to fight but the clouds of dust remained unstirred but David interrupted their cheering with the speakers, "It's not over yet." and he was right when a sword penetrated the dust clouds.
"I'm still in the game so get ready Andrew!" the Nightshade flew into the air before Reika initiated her 'insurance' and the mobile suit suddenly disappeared,shocking Andrew as the Cerberus was looking around warily,waiting for the Nightshade to reappear but the sensors couldn't pick anything up, "Very interesting,a unit that has cloaking capabilities but not good enough!"
Nightshade reappeared behind Cerberus,ready for an attack that'll knock his unit down but Reika was surprised when the two cannons on it's back immediately aimed at her and let loose a blast of Creation energy that Reika managed to avoid with a quick burst of the Nighshade's thrusters but both of the swords were incinerated.
"That was too close for comfort...Hey!Watch it,it's still a mock battle!" Andrew replied through the intercom, "Really,cause that attack would've destroyed my cannons which might have caused my Creation Energy Core to overload now wouldn't it." the Nightshade's movement faltered for a moment before adjusting to it's original flight pattern,taking out the pole from it's back.
"Hmm,that pole looks harmless against the PS Armor but I have to be careful just in case." Andrew whispered to himself as he maneuvered Cerberus towards the ground while he occasionally fired a few laser shots with rifles,veering the Nightshade slightly off it's pursuit which bought Andrew some time to fire a charged rifle shot which hit the Nightshade dead on in it's mid-section,lowering the Phase Shift Armor's energy levels quite a bit which made Reika angry as she increased the Nightshade's acceleration and sped towards the Cerberus with the pole ready for an attack,the Cerberus positioned the Dual Creation Cannons on it's shoulders,charging the energy level for a strong attack but one that wasn't too dangerous for the PS Armor as he waited at the right moment to fire.
The Nightshade then used it's cloaking capability once more but thanks to the dusty air,it's outline was somewhat visible so the Cerberus fired it's Dual Cannons at it,seemingly making a direct hit but when the bolt of energy was spent,the Nightshade was still intact though the pole it was holding was emitting a beam blade that curved downwards at the end,making it look like a scythe and by the looks of the electricity crackling around the Beam Scythe,it was obvious that the weapon had took on the attack head-on.
"Incredible,reckless but incredible. Let's see how the fight will end." David smiled before handing one of his subordinates a satchel of money, "There's 8000 Fol in there,bet it on the Cerberus to win. "Sir,are you saying that Commander Heinmann will win ?" "No,not at all. As you know,the space-station is severely damaged and morale is low but by showing the station's commander betting on a fight might raise the people's spirits." the subordinate nodded in understanding before exiting the room. "...besides,the Cerberus has something that can help Commander Heinmann win this,all that he needs to do is find that something." he smirked as he watched the fight continue.
Andrew was having a hard time maneuvering the Cerberus while the Nightshade kept thrusting the pole weapon which had then became a Beam Spear which was very difficult to evade since the Cerberus wasn't exactly built for close combat as the hulking cannons weighed it down,he evaded several close calls thanks to the thrusters but the coolants that maintained the temperature was running out.
"Damn it!At this rate,I'll lose....Hello,what do we have here....?" he saw a button under a see-through glass cover which read, 'Push In Case Of Close-Combat' "What luck!Whoa!" Andrew yelled out as the Cerberus had been struck by a thrust attack which lowered his PS Armor energy levels but the damage wasn't too extensive as the Cerberus managed the push back the pole weapon before it could inflict more damage on it but Reika surprised him when the Nightshade took out a seemingly harmless cylinder but it was anything but harmless as it emitted a short beam blade which was immediately plunged into one of the cannons' power cables on the back when he tried to fire it up close.
"Oh just great!Guess it's time to press it then." he flipped the cover and slammed his hand on it,activating the button's functions. "Time to finish this!" Reika smiled as the Nighshade's pole weapon had created a Beam Mallet that was going to hit the Cerberus but it evaded the attack by jumping to the left in the form of a..., "What the!A three-headed dog!" Reika yelled out in surprise as she never knew the Cerberus' full capabilities along with most of the spectators watching while David just smirked, "It's in the bag."
The Cerberus had transformed into what looked like a three-headed canine,an obvious reference to it's namesake,the Guardian of the Underworld,the mobile suit's arms and legs were tucked into the joints of their limbs while another set of powerful animal-like limbs replaced them and the guns were put away excluding the Dual Creation Cannons mounted on the back,the middle head had a set of saber-tooth like maws while the other two each had a beam blade emitting from the side the head that faced out of the middle head's radius.
"I guess that this is my unit's ability eh...." Cerberus remained still as was the Nightshade as they stared each other or at least that was what it looked like to the spectators. The one that made the first move was Andrew as Cerberus started spriniting towards Nightshade which once again tried the cloaking function making her mobile suit invisible but Andrew caught on to her tactics as he maneuvered the Cerberus to do a 360 degree spin with the beam blades turned on and just as his calculations anticipated,the Nighshade was caught in one of the beam blades as it catapulted the unit a few hundred feet away.
Inside the cockpit of the Nightshade,Reika was disoriented as she had became dazed a bit when she the impact of the beam blades cut her PS Armor energy levels down a dangerous level. "That's it!No more playing nice!" the Nighshade then positioned the pole weapon so that it was holding one end of it before slots on it's sides opened up and an array of lasers came out before coming together to form a Beam Claymore which looked menacing in the eyes of Andrew Heinmann. Andrew made Cerberus crouch low into the earthy sand before the functioning cannon on it's back charged up and fired at it and since the Nightshade was busy setting up it's grip on the Beam Claymore,it had barely dodged the attack but one of it's wing booster was damaged,making prolonged flight impossible as the smoke from the damaged booster covered the area under a veil of smoke.
Reika was frantically trying to see the Cerberus on her radars but the damage received from Cerberus' Beam Blade had damaged the sensors as the radar screen showed only static as she started spinning the Beam Claymore which blew away the smoke but it was too late when the Cerberus pounced her unit,the weight of the canine-like mobile suit pinned hers to the ground,the beam blades on the two other head's sides only a few meters from the Nightshade's upper torso,the place where the cockpit was located.
"It appears that I have you pinned down,do you surrender ?" Andrew's voice said in a confident manner,Reika tried to move either the arms or legs of her mobile suit but the Cerberus had them covered as Cerberus' paws had them secured with beam claws anchoring the limbs and the Beam Claymore was in it's pole-form and it was a good distance away from the Nightshade's grasp so with a groan,Reika replied in an exasperated tone."I give up."
The spectators cheered as Andrew helped Reika out of her unit before they started walking towards the exit. David calmly walked towards the control panel as he switched on the intercom, "The mock battle is over. The victor is Andrew Heinmann of the G Unit Cerberus...... and as for the situation of the gambling...." the spectators who were collecting their winnings suddenly stopped their activities in fear of being punishged. "....Please bring me my winnings to my desk now. That is all." the collecting of bet continued while David's subordinate collected his winnings.
"You know what Heinmann ?" Reika asked as a hover platform came to pick them up "What ?" Andrew asked while he climbed onto the platform before helping Reika up, "You're pretty good with a mobile suit,care to teach me some of your moves ?" Andrew chuckled when he turned and looked at their mobile suits as they were recovered by huge machinery that comically resembled Flamingos, "Sure,but you must do me a favor." Reika looked at him quizzically, "And what might that be then ?"
"Nothing much,just please tell me that there are bigger pilot suits,the one I'm wearing is a bit tight around my middle!"
Andrew then broke into a laughing fit as his laughter caused Reika to laugh as well as she saw that it was a joke. While the laugh fest of two continued,David shook his head at them as he just sat back into the chair and proceeded to read the recent reports that were given to him concerning the station's status and one particularly old report that had somehow wounded up in the pile caught his eyes as the file's title was shown as:Exo-Suit Prototype. "Hmm,Commander Cain did mention something about developing a suit to enhance a person's capabilities..." he opened up the file and started reading
"Hmm,interesting. This might benefit us in the future...." David continue reading the report while the subordinate brought him his winnings, "Thank you,please leave it on the desk....you may go now." the subordinate saluted and exited the room,leaving his superior to his reading.
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(Red Fountain,Medic Tent)
Although the majority of the invasion force was wiped out with the power of Fayt's Destruction Gene,the Specialists remained alert as they fought off the remaining creatures from Army of Decay. Fayt slept on a makeshift bed while Izak carefully applied healing salve on Fayt's more serious wounds while Cliff used his limited knowledge of healing Symbology to heal the minor injuries,Fayt's equipment was laid out on an empty bed so they wouldn't get in the way of the healing.
"Man,I knew that Fayt has incredible powers but that was too amazing. To take down an army with that move." Izak nodded in agreement as he finished up applying the salve before he took off his tattered red trench coat and revealed the top part of his black body-suit which hugged tightly to his lean body which would've suffocated any regular person but as he was an android so it wasn't a problem,the suit also provided stealth in the dark.
Izak pulled out another red trench coat out of the suitcase which he had brought along to Red Fountain, "How many coats do you have in there ?" Cliff asked while Izak put on the new coat,Izak just smiled before patting the suitcase like a little dog, "That my friend,is classified information." he just strolled out of the tent,leaving Cliff alone to finish up the healing. Cliff went for a Blackberry to keep his Mental Powers up for the healing spells when he heard Fayt groaning as he woke up groggily with his hands on his forehead.
"Glad you're awake,how you're feelin' ?" Cliff asked while swallowing the Blackberry down his gullet"Ugh...I feel like I've been hit by a Cutter...twice...." Fayt winced as he felt the wound in his sides acting up as the the salve did it's job of healing it. Fayt looked around the tent and saw that he was the only one here,besides Cliff who was packing up the empty crates of salve. "If you're wondering why you're the only here...well you needed the most time to recover." "How long have I've been out then ?" Fayt asked curiously as he peeled off the dried salve off his body,using his own Symbology to heal himself, "A couple of hours,you sure gave those monsters hell with that move back there...what did you call it again ?....Birth of the Saint ?"
"What are you talking about,I don't remember that part-gah!My hand!" Fayt yelled as he touched his hand that the Juggernaut had crushed earlier,feeling that several bones were cracked as his hand was swollen and too fragile to heal yet,Cliff dabbled a cloth in Healing Salve and quickly wrapped the swollen appendage up,despite the screaming from Fayt, "Geez!Who knew you had such powerful lungs ?" Cliff was knocked upside his head by Fayt's good hand, "That wasn't funny !That hurt like hell-wait a minute,it stopped hurting ?" Cliff just pointed at the cases of Healing Salve in the tent.
"These guys knew you'll need this so they whipped up the best batch of that salve they could,your hand should be ready to swing a sword within the hour,until then..." Cliff tossed the Dragoon Laser to Fayt who caught it in his good hand, "It's time you to see you fight like Maria." Fayt smiled as he touched the gun's handle before he put it into it's holster, "Yeah you're right-" a roar was heard just outside the tent before Izak was sent flying through the opening before landing just beside the two, "Hehe..um care to help me out ?"
Fayt twirled the Dragoon Laser like the way a cowboy would before he shot a Beast Trooper that had entered the tent in between the eyes, "Yeah,I'll need a workout after that nap. Let's go!" Fayt yelled as he suddenly performed one of Maria's move, 'Triple Kick!' as he delivered three kicks in succession at the Beast Trooper and couple that with his Destruction Gene,the monster was instantly disintegrated with the final kick before he charged right into the center of the enemy mass and used Maria's signature gun attack, 'Laser Blast!' and he unleashed a laser bolt in every single direction,damaging the enemy before the whole pattern of lasers went up in flames as the explosion tore the enemies within 20 feet.
Fayt walked through the diminishing flames as he smirked at the Decay Larvae that were trying to find others to merge with but Fayt used his armored boots to stomp these little critters and shooting down any that were daring enough to pounce him while Cliff and Izak just watched in amazement as Fayt shot several of these pests like an expert marksmen while Fayt stopped for a moment when the Decay Larvae were a distance away, "What ?You'd think that playing shooting games don't count as experience in battle ?" his friends accepted the idea before Albel came in riding a dragon clouded in darkness,destroying the monsters caught in the razor sharp wings,leaving his comrades with dumbfounded looks on their faces except for Fayt who was looking at the incoming group of enemies.
Fayt pointed towards the enemy which Albel nodded too before he veered his dragon towards the platoon, "What are you waiting for maggots!Charge!!" he yelled as the dragon flew into the air getting ready for a dive-attack while Fayt ran towards the enemy with Maria's Dragoon Laser in his hand,shooting down the fliers that tried to stop him while Cliff and Izak were close behind him,pulverizing the Beast Troopers that sprung up from the mounds of Decay Larvae before they even had formed properly. Each time he discharged the Dragoon Laser's shots,Fayt felt himself more connected to Maria as the monsters before him went down with each shot and thought for a moment while still firing his gun 'All that's missing is for you to be here' he sighed deeply before his lips curled into a smirk as a Juggernaut towered over him, "So long.." he whispered before the Juggernaut was blown to smithereens when he fired a shot charged with destruction energy.
"Come on!I need reinforcements to end this!" Several Specialists rallied to his call as they took out their weapons under his orders, "First line!You're with me,the rest of you...cover us!" the Specialists raised their weapons in acknowledgment before Fayt fired the shot that signaled the charge as he and his comrades went into battle to wipe the last of the Army of Decay from the school.
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(Elicoor II,Shrine of Kaddan Entrance)
The Shrine of Kaddan,one of Aquaria's most sacred grounds but besides being a holy place for the followers of Apris it is also one of the most ancient pieces of architecture still remaining on the continent,many have wondered who had made the shrine but only a select few knew it's creators or at least the designers personally from the 4th Dimension. Nel and the others reached the entrance to find a number of Aquarian and Gylphian soldiers moving about as they coordinated the defenses but it wasn't made to keep people out but to keep something in and the one coordinating the defense was Elena accompanied by Woltar
"Hey!Elena!It's us!" Nel had expected something like this from Roger as the little Menodix bounded towards Elena who bent down and hugged him like a plush toy while Woltar chuckled softly, "Be careful your Highness,you don't want to overexert yourself,you're pregnant with his Majesty's child." despite Elena tearing up the love letter to her by Arzei,the King of Airyglyph didn't gave up so easily as he made several visits to Aquaria after the war had ended and most of them were made discreetly as he courted Elena on every occasion and eventually,after months of advances made by Arzei,she had relented and became Queen of Airyglyph. Now,she carried her unborn child inside herself as her robes were showing the outline of a round belly.
"Very well Woltar,you win." Elena gently put Roger back onto the ground as he grinned like an innocent child before Adray grabbed onto his head "You idiot,she's pregnant so don't cause her any trouble!" and pushed him lightly into the earth but for Adray,lightly was an equivalent of having one's face being hit by a mallet flying at 10 miles an hour but the ground Roger's face hit was soft but very wet as the mud clung to his face to reveal an amusing mud-mask that resembled the little dragon that had helped them in the Mountains of Barr.
After getting himself cleaned,Roger joined the others as the started the situation report, "Now as you know,these Executioners and Convictors have taken over most of the Shrine and we are currently holding them off with the help of the Thunder Arrows Queen Elena has graciously made for us...for now." Woltar said those words silently but Nel had heard them quite clearly. "So,what's the plan of attack ?" Adray asked as he pointed towards the map of the shrine, "These areas are clearly infested with the intended enemy but what about these areas ?" the man pointed towards several rooms that connected between the corridors Nel nodded to Adray's words, "Yes,weren't those places inhabited by those Crystal Knights ?"
Elena responded through somewhat confusing words that weren't so confusing to the three experienced fighters, "Yes,those fellows were programed to restore themselves after every defeat in two days resuming their intended protection of the tool you people call the Sacred Orb,they have a priority system over Enforcers." Woltar somehow understood the words of his queen, "I see,so if we can somehow control these knights,we should be able to force these evil beings out,is that correct ?" Elena nodded as Roger brought up an interesting dilemma, "That's great and all but how are we gonna control these fellas,the last time I checked,those things don't speak...do they ?" this question then troubled the aforementioned plan of assault but Elena remedied this proverbial 'monkey wrench' in their plans when she took out a tool that was too high-tech for Elicoor to have at the moment,it resembled the laptops that were used in the 4th Dimension.
"This is something that I had developed during my days as a developer at Sphere Company,it should override the Crystal Knight's programming,it'll then obey the user's commands but...." Nel knew the problem and spoke it out clearly, "You're the only one that can use it properly,correct ?" "Yes but I'll need to be at least 10 feet close to use the program on them-" Woltar got off his seat in excitement, "You will not endanger her Highness under no circumstances,do you hear me !" he exclaimed as he sat himself back into his seat.
Elena nodded in agreement as she produced a case and inside it were several lengths of cable wires along with a number of small transmission dishes, "These are transmission wires along with transmitters that I've fashioned from the items I've obtained in Peterny,you'll need to set these up in key locations in the shrine so that I'll be able to simultaneously control the security programs and restore the shrine's safety." Elena connected a short wire to a transmitter before Adray closed the case and picked it up, "You guys heard her,let's set up these things so she can do her thing!"
(Moments Later,Entrance Interior)
After setting up the receiver behind the now overheated Thunder Arrows,Nel tossed the spool of cable wire to Roger along with the case of transmitters, "Hey!Why do I have to carry all these stuff anyway!" Adray smirked as he walked past Roger, "Because you're the smallest and the least noticeable member of our group,you can sneak over to these key areas and set up these contraptions while we'll draw the monster's attention away."
Roger looked through the archway to see several Enforcers that ranged from the hovering robots armed with several guns to the Satan-like creature that used it's wings to fly about as their teeth were gnashing upon a little rabbit that had gotten to close to the dark being,Roger imagined himself as the rabbit and gulped at the mental image, "There's no way that I'll be not noticed!I'll be a sitting duck out th-Mmph!" Nel shushed Roger as she held her gloved hands over his mouth, "Shut up,we need you to be as quiet as possible while we distract those things alright ?" Roger struggled against the gloved hand as he said between gasps, "Yeah!...Just...one...thing,your hands stink!"
"What you'd expect,the blood of my kills are always there..." Nel whispered seductively into the little Menodix's ears, "..and if you do your task successfully...there'll be a nice reward for you..." Roger's ears perked up as he suddenly took up the spool of cables, "You got it!" and without the others providing the distraction,he just ran towards a pillar,hiding behind it before running towards the next one when the Enforcers weren't looking. Adray let out a low whistle as he saw Roger go through the next room after he had set up the transmitter(just a quick plug into the transmitter) "Look at that little raccoon go!" Nel nodded in agreement.
"True but let's not forget that he's reckless,he might bite off more than he could chew with this one." unfortunately,while they were talking,a Convictor had noticed them before it charged towards them, "Let's get this over with then." Adray smirked as he went into his stance with his Heavenly Spirit while Nel took out her Blades of Ryusen,charging it with her Mirror Slice attack.
(Meanwhile,Roger)
While Adray and Nel were keeping the Enforcers busy,Roger was sneaking around the rooms like a midget-sized James Bond as he set up the transmitter in the room before a spider beast caught sight of him but luckily,it was a weak creature which was promptly dispatched when he used his Saint's Halberd to cut it down the middle,exposing the puss-filled insides of the beast but Roger's mind was set on getting the 'reward' that Nel had promised him as he then sneaked around a Crystal Knight, 'Hehe,glad these guys won't attack if I stay away from them.' he quickly slipped past the archway,but came face to face with an Enforcer stood or hovered before him,it's tattered feathered wings flapping slightly as it roared in his face as a large wad of saliva plastered onto his face and to make it worse,there were pieces of a rodent,probably a rabbit's body parts still being digested in the saliva.
After he had wiped the gooey spit off his face with the sleeve of his shirt, "Well...that should scar me for life..." Roger said calmly as he picked off at what resembled a half-digested rabbit ear,he then noticed that a couple of Robo Gunners have surrounded him with the Enforcer as the biggest one and only one technique might save him now as he concentrated his mental powers for an attack, 'Whirling Heat!' Roger yelled as he lashed at the Enforcer with a whip made of Symbology energy,as it wrapped itself around it,before spinning it like a top and when it stopped,it had the look of bewilderment on it's nearly emotionless face.
"Alright!It's confused!" Roger cheered as the Enforcer started to turn on the Robo Gunners,tearing them apart while the others tried to bring the powerful being down but they all fell before the Enforcer's might,after it was done with the Robo Gunners,it roared and crushed it's own head by ramming it against the thick walls of the room while Roger gingerly placed the transmitter and cable wires before he went off to the next room.
(Later,Back to Nel and Adray)
"Hyah!" Nel yelled as she delivered the final blow to the Convictor before it fell onto the ground and dissipated into nothingness, Nel wiped the Convictor's slimy red blood off her Blades of Ryusen as she slid them back into their sheaths but she took them back out again when she heard light but audible footsteps that were running towards them, "I bet that it's the little furball running back here with the cables wrapped around him and crying his head off to get it off of him. Hahahahaha-Gah!" Adray stopped laughing as his foot was suddenly being crushed by a chunk of rock that Roger had grabbed when he heard the insult before he ran up to Nel with a big smile on his face as he jumped about.
"I did it!Every place in the shrine has been placed right where said they should be....so" Roger then looked expectantly at the red-haired woman as she looked at him with annoyance in her expression, "About my reward....so pucker up" his lips was then corked up by a lollipop, "There's your reward,now let's get out to inform Elena about this." she quickly dashed out through the exit,leaving Roger sucking on the lollipop, "Hahaha!She got you again!Ahahaha!" "Don't make me stuff this sucker down your throat." "Fine,either way,we got to meet Elena." Adray strode out through the exit while Roger followed,sucking on the candy before his face lit up with delight, "Mmm,strawberry..." he thought to himself while he walked towards the exit, 'Yummy!I like this reward too,at least I can savor it much better than a kiss'
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(Royal Grace,Business District Plaza)
The rescue party had found the trapped people inside one of the stores in the plaza but unfortunately,so did the Drones as the mechanical beings were hacking away at the barricade that the survivors had put up but they won't last while the Drones used their pincers to attack the barricade. Trevor and the others were also stuck as their only way to the survivors were blocked by 14 Drones which were armed to the teeth as they fired barrage after barrage at the rescue party who were pinned down behind a large concrete wall that was being slowly blown away.
"Damn!We can't just stay here while we risk Her Highness' life in this onslaught. We must retreat!" one of the guards shouted but the next guard punched him squarely in his jaws, "Get a hold of yourself,we're proud soldiers of Eraklion and it's our duty to save those civilians!" Trevor nodded at this, "Your friend is right,the only problem is how we're going to get through." Trevor sent a fireball towards one of the Drones but it missed as he didn't had the time to take aim, "If I could only have a few seconds to use my fire spells."
The guards nodded to each other as they activated their energy shields, "Your Highness,we'll try to divert the Drones' attention while Master Pyris use his powers." Rosa by then had already changed into her fairy form as she shook her head, "No way." the guards look bewildered at her words, "You guys aren't going without magical backup." the guards knew that it was futile to dissuade Rosa from her decision as they relented to her wishes, "Very well your Highness,we'll leave the attack to you then Master Pyris ?" Trevor nodded at this, "You got it though just call me Trevor." the guards nodded at this before the two guards and Rosa dashed and flew to the sides,momentarily drawing the Drones' line of fire to them as the energy shields and magical barrier deployed by the distraction party defended against these shots.
Sera looked at Trevor who was currently gathering his magical essence for his attack,she never knew that the school's delivery boy had this much in him,she then saw him look at her with wide eyes as he dived at her, shouting her name, "Sera!!" he managed to pull her away from her spot before a huge piece of concrete crashed into the spot where she was, "Keep your senses with you,I need you help me gather enough power for me to use my magic." Sera nodded as she tried her best to remember her lessons back at Red Fountain but she couldn't remember any of it but she felt a pair of hands holding hers.
Trevor had decided to help Sera a bit as he whispered calmly to her, "Just imagine in your body,the burning fire that you wish to unleash..." Sera's hand began to glow an amber color as the heat in them rose, "...good,now concentrate on a corporeal form for it to manifest it in,a sphere to be precise..." Sera blushed at the closeness of the two of them as she then manifested a sphere of fire which changed it's shape slightly to that of a heart but Trevor hadn't noticed, "Great,now create a physical form for it while I transfer some of my powers to adjust it for my attack." Trevor shifted Sera's hands as he transferred bits of his powers into the crystallizing sphere of fire but without his knowledge,the Fire Knight also spread a little of his thoughts into Sera's mind and the thought was this when he had suddenly given the same thought to Trevor.
Both of them then shouted out, 'Flame Spark!!' the crystallized sphere of flames then separated in two which flew towards the group of Drones but not before turning into living fireballs that started circling the Drones which fired upon them but the heat from the lasers only made the fireballs bigger before they finally collided with each other,showering the Drones in sparks of fire that instantly blew up,effectively destroying the Cannon Drones and a sphere of light blasted away some of the surviving Drones and the guards rushed in to fight the Drones surrounding the store while Rosa attacked with her magic.
"I feel so tired..." Sera uttered out before she sat down on the ground with her hands supporting her while her back was arched,Trevor chuckled at this, "Yeah,we both used quite a lot of our powers in that attack,by the way...how did you know how to do that attack ?" his question was answered when a red mist manifested itself into the Fire Knight's image, "I believe that I have the explanation to your questions." "Gah!Not here!Not now!" Trevor yelled as he tried to block Sera's view of the Fire Knight but due to her tired state,she believed that she was hallucinating, "Is it me...or is there a guy in red armor behind you." Trevor decided to check her for injuries,Sera looked at him while Trevor was applying Healing Salve to her lightly burnt hand.
'What were you thinking when you came out of there just like that ?' Trevor asked the Fire Knight who was back in his mind "I couldn't explain to you only as it also involves that girl,you two had just performed a Dual Spell Attack,a form of Convergence Magic between a sage and a fairy which can be only used by people who are deeply linked with each other" Trevor took this new info rather well until he said, "What do you mean between a sage and a fairy ? Do you mean that Sear is a fairy ?" the Fire Knight nodded Trevor's head as confirmation, "It would seem so but her powers are unique but I won't know for sure unless she is in her fairy form."
Trevor wanted to ask some more until his full attention was on one of the Cannon Drones that had survived fired a full barrage at Sera who was too drained to do anything to protect herself so Trevor used his powers as he jumped in front of Sera and deployed his barrier though like the glass,a few bullets had slipped through,hitting his injuries that he had bandaged earlier,opening and deepening the wounds. When the barrage fire was over,Trevor charged towards the Drone before his rage took hold of him and literally slashed the drone to ribbons,his energy left him after his wounds overwhelmed him as his blood flowed through the bandages,before he had succumbed to his wounds and into unconsciousness,he saw a swarm of Drones coming at him, "By the Flames of the Dragon Fire....help us...all..ugh."
(Rosa's Location)
After rescuing the trapped people,Rosa was helping the guards escort the civilians towards the mansion's direction until she had heard the barrage fire coming from Trevor's location,a swarm of Security Drones were coming towards them and in their way was Sera who seemed to be out-cold and the limp form of Trevor as he was face-down in a pool of his own blood, "Oh Damn it!Of all the times!, 'Incandescent Sphere!Light!' a sphere of fire and light was sent hurtling at the Drones which scattered to avoid the blast,causing only minimal damage but since Rosa had exhausted the last bit of her magical essence in that last attack,forcefully reverting back to her normal form.
And what a time to be worn out as she had found that more Drones were climbing the buildings at her sides,cutting off any escape routes into the buildings and the guards were far too distracted with the civilians to notice her plight, "Aww cra-" before she could finish her cursing,the Drones were hit by a hoverboard which the explosion suddenly torn to shreds while she suddenly felt reinvigorated as a calm light washed over her, "You know that swearing like that is unbecoming of a princess." Oliver frowned as he used his magic to heal Rosa, "But..the drones.." Oliver just smiled at her, "It's alright,just look." Argus who had arrived was savagely fighting off the drones as he swung his broadsword in a frenzy before he charged the sword with energy and impaled the nearest drone and sent it flying along with the charged broadsword which exploded a few feet away.
"Absolutely no one touches my friends and sister!You hear me metal-heads - NO ONE!!" Rosa couldn't believe that her own brother was right now fighting off a veritable army's worth of Security Drones in his state as she sensed that Argus' energy levels were so high that he should be out cold by now but Argus appeared to be fine as he used the Fire Arts to expend as much energy as possible to lower his magical essence. 'Damn it!I didn't use up enough of my powers to stabilize myself yet!' Argus yelled out the attack that he had used on Undine back in the Spirit Realm as fireballs gathered near his hands, 'Inferno 'Claymore!' the massive sword was formed and due to the excess energy made by the Dragon Fire,the size of the attack was that was larger than even the mansion they were staying at but it didn't meant that it was heavy as Argus slammed it into the mass of Drones as it created several surges of fire that engulfed the entire district.
Rosa tried to protect herself with her arms,expecting a burning sensation but she only felt a comforting warmth similar to the hugs that her older brothers had always given her whenever she got hurt while Oliver just smiled, 'The powers of the Dragon Fire never ceases to amaze me..' When the fire dissipated,the entire district suffered no damages from the attack save for the scorch marks that were created in the wake of the fire and the Drones were found to have been melted into pools of molten metal while a number of them were left with only the bare framework intact. Argus coughed a bit as he got the smoky air out of his lungs, "Man!I hate it when smoke goes into my lungs like that." he exclaimed while he hit his chest a bit harder to rid himself of his coughing.
When when everything was settled for the time being,the civilians were taken to the mansion by the guards and while this was done,Oliver had stayed behind with Argus and Rosa who were currently patching up any wounds that Trevor and Sera might have had on their bodies but Trevor was the only one wounded as Argus used his powers to heal them but after Trevor was healed,Argus had found out that he had only obtained a series of shallow cuts on his arms that promptly healed, 'What the ?' his pendant glowed for a moment and he found that the pendant has gained an second piece, 'Is it because of this pendant...the Red Star ?' "Hey bro,where's Reina ?" Knocked out of his thoughts,Argus turned his attention towards Rosa, "Well...um..Oliver,would you mind explain to Rosa while I check up on Sera's condition."
With Rosa's attention on Oliver who fidgeted under the princess's glare "Well,Oliver...tell or you'll find yourself blinded for the next 5 minutes." Rosa demanded as she held a 'Shiner' spell in her hand, "Umm..er let's se now,it began like this...
(30 Minutes Earlier,Command Bridge,Oliver's P.O.V)
I had managed to get mostly everything under control,but when it seemed that everything would work out,another alert klaxon started blaring,I started rubbing my forehead as my head was pounding from all the noise earlier, "What now."
"Sir!The mages in the engine room says that they are sensing something from the main engine core,we need to shut it down."
Feeling suspicious of the engine core,I quickly typed in a few commands into the keypad beside me and a visual feedback of the inside of the engine core was seen and I didn't like it as a mechanical being was trying to break through the thick metal shell of the furnace-like core which was currently breaking through with each punch it delivered.
"Very well,shut down the main engine core,but request that the mages set up as many barriers around the room before they leave. Get the remaining auxiliary generators online,we'll need them until we can safely reactivate the core." the bridge crew saluted when I turned to leave the bridge. When the door closed behind me,I broke into a run as I made my way quickly to the mansion but a Drone spotted me and opened fire but I ducked back to the back of a container that had fallen over during the tremors,I unfortunately didn't have any other weapons beside a small dagger that couldn't possibly pierce the armor so I tried a spell that my mother had taught me from the last time I had last visited her.
I quickly dodged and raised my hand before shouting out the incantation to use the spell, 'Flaming Ember!' a small fire ignited on my finger tips as I snapped my fingers,sending a small flicker of ember towards the Drone which exploded when it was touched by the ember(think Roy Mustang) but the explosion was too strong as it blew a hole in the wall but fortunately,the Command Bridge was built just above the mansion and the hole gave me a quick route to the one person that might be able to stop the 'thing' in the engine core and jumped through the hole while grabbing an oblong-like shaped piece of the blown wall and put it under my feet,using it as a makeshift board while I used magic to manipulate the air so I could glide down on the board safely and while also seeing a crowd of civilians being guided into the mansion while a large number of Drones were converging on the Business District.
Later,I had landed just in the garden and ran to the room that Lord Argus and Lady Reina were occupying,I saw them asleep in the same bed while all the chaos outside was happening so I did the only thing possible,I woke him up with a Zap spell,jolting him out of his slumber, "Your Highness!The whole ship is in chaos!We need to go to the Business District,it's being swarmed by malfunctioning Drones!" His Highness just stared at his pendant before he answered, "What are we waiting for,let's go!" I looked at Lady Reina as she slept. "But what about.." "Don't worry about her,she'll be safer here if you say those Drones are malfunctioning,there isn't a Drone Depot near here,only the armory which you'll need to visit while I go on ahead on my hoverboard." and with that,we left the mansion,I went to the armory while His Highness took off towards your location.
(End P.O.V)
"So that basically covered it,Lady Reina is probably still asleep back at the manor. Now please,allow me to escort Your Highness to the direction of the mansion while His Highness and I take care of things around here." Rosa tried to protest as she tried to use a spell but the Shiner spell had already drained her magic,leaving her vulnerable as she wasn't trained in the art of physical combat,the only form of combat she knew well was archery but even if she did had weapon,firing actual energy arrows was different from firing regular arrows.
"Fine..." she then got onto the Wind-Rider that Oliver had used to get here and sped off help with the evacuation procedures. "Is she gone now ?" Oliver turned around to see Argus along with Sera who had recovered,she was helping Trevor stand up as his had lost a loot of his blood from those wound before help had arrived, "Yes your Highness,we should go towards the emergency entrance into the Engine Core but why did you wished of me to leave out the part of our intention to go into the core to stop that thing ?" Argus grabbed part of his Specialist Instructor's tattered uniform and ripped the whole thing off,revealing his new outfit,it was based on the one he had worn when fighting with Undine.
"Because,I don't want her to be hurt when she's vulnerable and you two need rest,follow the guards back to the mansion." Trevor popped open a bottle that one of the guards had given him,said that if he needed an energy boost,it'll help and it did as he got onto his feet again, "You hel-helped me and even healed me twice at the cost of your own life and limb so I'll remain with you and help...and besides,I'd love to learn more about the the machines here." as he flashed a simple smile Sera just looked at Trevor and nodded, "I'm going too,you're my friend and friends stick together." "This may be great and all to have your friends join us but regular energy weapons won't help us much against the composite armor that thing's made of,the ship's remaining sensors recommends that we use phantoblades."
Trevor gave Oliver a weird look, "You do know that phantoblades or any Phantoweapons are no longer mass produced ,the only way you can get access to one of those is either you desecrate the memorial site at Red Fountain for them which is punishable by at least 20 years of imprisonment or have one made personally by those expensive Weaponsmiths on Zenith." Oliver then tossed a small package to Trevor and handed one each to the other two, "Open them." they did so and found Phantoweapons in their packages, "How ?" "If you must know,the Royal Family has connections with the current president of Vector Industries on Zenith,now please follow me and they'd be a waste gathering dust in the armory anyway." Oliver moved to a certain part of the plaza which had a number of Drone parts covering it but he just moved them out of the way which revealed a partially revealed manhole with it's hatch blown off. "Well then,shall we ?" Argus nodded before jumping into the hole followed by the others,to their destination of the Engine Core.
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(70 S.D.,Aboard the Star of Passion,Thomas and Sophia's Suite)
Thomas felt Sophia snuggling up to him which assured him that Sophia was still asleep,that is until he heard the door to the suite open and heard footsteps. Feeling threatened,he reached his coat and took out the Astral Blade before jumping out of bed in a hurry before he found himself pointing the tip of his sword upon the throat of a young man wearing dark clothes, "Geez!I went through all that trouble to find a magical source that's coming from an inedible sword,what a let down." Shinryu saw that Thomas wasn't lowering his sword, "Hmm,you might want to put that sword down mortal cause even if you try to slice my throat,I'll just duck out of the way."
While Thomas contemplated whether to test the stranger's words or lower his sword,Shinryu was having an internal conversation with his spiritual companions 'I say we rip this impudent brat's arms out and take his sword as a souvenir!' came the aggressive voice of Mera, 'Come now my sister,isn't that a bit extreme. How about we just take his sword and aim it at his throat just to say we mean business' Shinryu agreed on Kasua's more level-headed idea as he made a grab for the sword pointed at his throat but when he touched the edge of the hilt of the Astral Blade he felt a third presence which promptly repelled him as he was given a quick jolt of energy which made him pull back his partially numbed arms. Thomas continued pointing his sword at Shinryu until he heard a slight yawning from the bed,he quickly put down his sword and went to Sophia's side to make sure she won't wake up and see Shinryu who might make her go into another episode.
Seeing that Thomas had left his guard down,Mera immediately took over Shinryu as a number of reptilian features had appeared on Shinryu's body as parts of his skin turned scaly,his eyes turned red as they became snake-like,the tips of his fingers blackened and hardened into claws before a long reptilian tail sprouted from the tip of his spine and pounced upon Thomas,ready to tear him to shreds for messing with their energies when Shin tried to grab the sword but something unexpected happened when Thomas disappeared with Sophia and landed Shinryu's body on the bed,Mera moved her host's body to a leaping position,ready for strike at this mortal who had suddenly gained a magical aura around him as he once again raised his sword in a defensive stance.
Mera bared Shinryu's newly grown fangs before she attacked as Thomas suddenly found himself hit from behind but he managed to stop himself before he got too far from Sophia's now sleeping form as he had managed to coerce her into sleep and hoped that she'd stays asleep as lured he lured the now reptile-like man towards himself by doing the only thing he could think of at the moment:Blowing raspberries which was ridiculous as well as childish but it worked as Mera's temper got the best of her as she made Shinryu move in for the kill with claws swinging but then she felt her control slowly being taken away from her,as the voice of Shinryu echoed in the deep recesses of his subconscious, 'Mera!Stop this at once!Do you hear me!' Mera decided to ignore those words as she tried to block out Sinryu's struggle for control but Kasua interrupted at the last moment as she maintained the link between Sinryu and his body.
'Now Shin!Stop her now!' Acknowledging Kasua's words,Sinryu sent out a spell that causes unconsciousness to their targets but as Mera was part of him,he was affected as well as his body suddenly went limp but he spoke a few more words right after he took back control, "..Sorry about that...." Sinryu turned back to normal before a number of the ship's crew members were heard running to the suite but not before Thomas managed to put away the Astral Blade, "I'm sorry about this Mr Leingod but this young man ran off suddenly from a crippled ship we'd rescued but we couldn't catch him,it was like he was running at the speed of light or something and despite being unconscious,Shinryu and his spiritual companions could clearly hear those words, 'Close but not close enough' 'Please Shinryu,help me look at Mera,she might pull another stunt like that again' although Shinryu was technically unconscious,he could still clearly hear those words as he smirked inwardly 'You have no idea,fine,let's see what happened..'
"We'll take him to the brig for later interrogation when he wakes up,is there anything we could do for you while we're here ?" with all the commotion going on,Thomas feared that Sophia would wake up and start panicking so he quickly gestured for them to be quiet and move silently out of the room to which the crew nodded and when they were out of earshot of Sophia,Thomas whispered to one of the crewmen, "Call me when he wakes up,I have a few questions I need answered understood ?" the crewman nodded before they carried the silver-haired youth out of the door and just in time as Sophia started waking up,letting out a yawn, "What...happened ?" Thomas just smiled as he knelt down beside her, "Nothing much,just sleep and I'll have breakfast waiting when you wake up ?" he smiled lovingly as Sophia fell asleep.
When he tucked Sophia back into bed,the dim lights from the stars outside in space shined upon her,giving her skin an ethereal glow and he couldn't help but look at her as she slumbered,her lips looked tempting as he found his own body moving closer as the distance between his lips and Sophia's shortened but he stopped himself as he went into the bathroom where he filled the sink with cold water and dunked his head under the freezing liquid, "What are you thinking!She almost got molested by a person at the dance...." Thomas looked into the mirror and for a moment,he saw the silver-armored man which looked like he was chuckling but he couldn't tell since the helmet hid his expression,he thought he had heard the knight talking, 'Smooth move,heh' "Well who asked you...I must be going crazy." he dried his face of on a towel before he decided to prepare breakfast when he noticed that it was 6 A.M, "Might as well as to prepare her a good ol' English breakfast." Thomas reached for his coat and created the ingredients for breakfast, "Let's see,I hope she likes some fish n' chips with her roast beef...or maybe a plate of Kedegree and some Spotted Dick for desert." Thomas started humming a soft tune while he started cooking.
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(Diplo II,Cafeteria)
Jake,Zeak and Cecille were all gathered at a table,looking over the items that Zeak had attempted to auction off earlier,Cecille blushed when she saw a printed copy of the kiss she unknowingly shared with Jake in the Medical Bay which she promptly pocketed as a memento but tore the rest of the copies to make Jake and Zeak think that all the copies are nothing more than confetti now, "I have to ask you Zeak:What made you join the military. I think you're more suited to be a businessman." Zeak's expression became sour which meant he wasn't going to tell but that didn't stop Jake from telling, "You see,he's actually the son of one of the most influential man in the entire economy of the Federation and the most famous individual in the nobility of the Tetragenes race,Archduke Lionel Idonis,founder of Olympus Tech Industries-"
"-and as his son,I was raised from birth to eventually take over my father's company and marry a girl of nobility who will of course be chosen by my parents to carry on the noble name of the House of Idonis." Cecille tried to hazard a guess, "So did you ran away to join the military ?" Zeak started laughing along with Jake who then stopped and shook his head, "Actually no because if that was true,the Tetrageniots would've easily caught him by now and sent him back home before he'd even finished day one of boot camp." Zeak glared at his friend before giving a more clarified explanation, "To be more exact,I actually like being famous but the only snag is that I've got to marry the girl that my folks chooses." Feeling more curious by the second,Cecile decided to prod a bit "And that girl is ?" "Well uh...you won't believe this but its...Amelia Seraphim." Jake and Cecille then showed the disbelief on their faces, "No way!You!My goofball of a friend is engaged to one of the most famous singing duo in the entire universe,the Seraphim Sisters!"
Zeak frowned at tis, "Hey!I may be a goofball but Amelia is really my fiance!Believe it or not but she's really of Tetragenes Nobility,both she and her sisters are one of the few Tetrageniots that have no third eyes since their mom was a Felinefolk from the Expellian Nobles,their genetics rendered their third eye to become underdeveloped but it did enhance their voices." "Well,that would've explained the tickets you've had to their concert on Moonbase,I know that the tickets to that concert have been sold out for months,I should know,my uncle asked me to get them." Zeak and Cecille looked at him, "What!He was bawling his eyes out,acting like a baby. I had to shut him up about it but all I got was squat." his friends tried to imagine Commander Heinmann actually crying like an infant who didn't had his way but Jake knew what they were thinking and snapped his fingers so they'd lose their train of taught, "Don't,it'll make you want to squeeze lemon juice into your eyes to get rid of the image." They nodded in understanding.
"Now then,shall we dispose of these items or do you wish to remain a private ?" Zeak began tearing up photos while emitting slight moans as each item that was up for auction was being tossed into a box that'll be later be incinerated in the nearest Replicator where their basic atoms will be torn apart and become non-existent,a good form of recycling as the atoms will reform into new items later. Jake was about to snap a video chip before his communicator beeped,making him drop the chip which Zeak stealthily pocketed into his jacket for later profiteering. "What is it ?" Jake asked Kevin through the screen,since his communicator was still missing,he used the Bridge's communicators,
"I apologize for my interruption but there's an important call for you,I've linked it to your quarters." "Who is it from then ?" Kevin cleared his throat by coughing a bit, "It's President Scotts on the line sir and it seems to be urgent."
"Understood,I'll be on my way,just ask that the President wait a bit." "I'll tell him that,Lieutenant Stromwell signing off." Jake sighed as he got up from his seat, "Sorry guys but duty calls.." when Jake was halfway out to the corridor,he called out, "Oh,and Zeak,you owe us an explanation on your whole family troubles,you hear me private." this caused Zeak to pop a nerve, "What!" "You'll be back to a corporal when you get rid of those items." Jake raced out before a plastic cup of coffee hit the closing auto-door but it opened up again with Jake smirking and a Firebolt Symbology in his hand, "Missed me but just so you don't try to salvage any of those items,Cecille get down! 'Firebolt'! " the fireball was sent flying towards the pile of items that Warren't destroyed yet and half of those were turned to ashes while the others were barely saved by Zeak who now had a blackened face.
"Aww man!" Cecille giggled at this before Zeak salvaged all that's left of his 'products' which was only a few video chips which made him smirk, 'Hmmm,maybe I can use this...hehehe' he casually scooped up the ashes and scorched chips and photos and dumped them into the box and pocketed the two chips together with the third and handed the box to Cecille, "You go and dispose of these while I go back to my room to clean myself up,kay ?" When Zeak already left,Cecille yelled out in protest, "Come back here!I won't do the dirty work for you guys!" but her friends were long gone by then,leaving her to dispose the 'garbage'.
(Later,Captain's Quarters)
Jake settled into his seat before putting up the connection,the face of Charles Scotts appeared on the screen to which Jake saluted, "It is good to see you sir,what is the nature of your call ?" "I can't explain right now but I need you to come back to Earth on the double,a special gravitic warp gate has been prepared for a fast return." this abrupt command caused Jake to question Charles' decision, "..But sir,why?My forces aren't even done with our current assignment you've given us."
"I know but I require only that you return to Earth with 2 of ships from your fleet as escort,the remaining ships should suffice until we can send more ships." Jake thought this over for a while, "Yes sir but I request that only the Diplo will make the trip home,we've recently suffered the loss of a number of our ships,it's best if you send over my uncle Commander Heinmann to take over this operation." Charles remained silent,in deep thought so Jake waited until answer was given, "To tell you the truth Commander Cain.." 'Uh-oh,he never uses rank unless there's trouble' "..but your uncle never came back,we lost all communications with the Woglinde,though we did receive something that might grab your attention.." a video file was transmitted which Jake opened up.
(Video Start)
It started with a dark room which quickly was illuminated as a fanfare on trumpets and bugles were played out before a large emblem of a serpent coiling around a sword,the emblem of the Schilling family. The scene then changed to that of the former Brigadier General Schilling,wearing the full regalia of an army commander, "I hope that whoever hears this message,prepare yourselves because you'll all soon be participating in the grand rebirth of the Pangalactic Federation!" Schilling then stood aside to show his forces which consisted of soldiers with a number within the hundreds dressed in the red and purple version of Federation uniforms and behind these soldiers were mobile suits,the Zakus,each one heavily armed and they were all inside one of the Woglinde's hangar and signs of blood were evident as it was smeared quite clearly on the wall.
"This is just a mere fraction of my forces,with them at my command,the Federation shall be reborn under my leadership,instead of that weak-minded fool of a president that you have!" Schilling then lighted a cigar and puffed on it a bit, "I hope you're ready Mr President,cause after I'm done with the new dimension that was discovered by Heinmann,you're next." the video ends with Schilling laughing maniacally.
(Video End)
"Well then,what do you think commander ?" Jake balled his hands into fists, "The Diplo II will move out within the hour." Charles nodded before the connection was cut off. Jake composed himself before opening all communication channels on the ship, "Attention,attention all crew members of the Diplo,we'll soon be leaving the area to return to Earth,I'll leave you in the capable hands of Kevin Stromwell who'll be transfered to the Magellan." he shut of the intercom before he crushed the thin frame of the intercom's microphone in his hand,sending shocks of electricity through his body as he hissed in pain. "Damn it!..Damn you Schilling!...I swear upon the graves my parents...and my sister...I will DESTROY YOU!" Zeak,who had been by the unclosed door there since the beginning of the video took all of this in and decided to leave Jake alone for the time being.
Zeak was long gone when Jake stepped out of the doorway,though he did see a black smudges that was in the shape of a cheek to which Jake shook his head, "Oh Zeak..." "Hey there." Cecille walked to wards him with the box of 'garbage' and put it into his arms, "Would you mind helping me with these,a certain someone ran away from his responsibilities. So I'd like to get this done before the Gravitic Warp is started." she winked at him as he was handed the box to which he responded with a slight gulp and blushed to which Cecille giggled which for now,removed the hatred in his heart as he sighed in defeat and relief,following the ship's medical officer like a stubborn puppy on a leash.
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(Royal Grace,Service Tunnels)
Although the Royal Grace is the most sophisticated space craft in the whole Eraklion Fleet,it still suffered from a few flaws,one of which included an extremely pungent tunnel system for repairs that served as the ship's water filtration systems and unfortunately also one of the more direct ways to reach the engine core.
Argus and the others were trying their best to ignore the smell while Oliver guided them, "Yuck! And I thought the sweaty uniforms after drills smelled bad but this takes the cake." Sera complained while making gagging noises, "Why can't you just use your magic to make air bubbles for us to breath in ?" Argus stopped in his tracks but only for a moment before continuing his march which was a bit on the stiff side, "I'm sorry to tell you this but His Highness has yet to master his control on the power of controlling aqua-based spells."
"Why did you have to tell them that!You know those spells make me feel uncomfortable,that's why I transfered to Alfea,to learn more magic,so let's leave it at that alright ? Besides,we've got a colony ship full of people to save!" Sera slowed down a bit to be paced with Trevor, "Yeah,along with a certain girl we know." Trevor snickered at this but the little joke was interrupted when a few Security Drones showed up with their firearms ready to fire but Oliver snapped his fingers and concentrated on the Flaming Ember spell which exploded the drones into smithereens though it also evaporated the slimy fluids that ran through the tunnels,permeating the air with their stench,making it even harder for the group to breath.
"Geez,thanks a lot Oliver!" Argus coughed before he twirled his fingers in a circular motion which created a rush of air to blow through the area,clearing it almost completely of the pungent stench. "That's better,...By the way you guys." Argus turned around to face his friends, "Absolutely using high level blasts in this place,as Oliver has just demonstrated,big blasts like that might have killed us." Argus used the tip of his boots to sweep away a bit of dried sludge on the ground which revealed a tiny but deadly bomb as it had the emblem of Yoshinoiya's household, "Ah,I forgot about these,this is from the war lord's last failed attempt at eliminating the royal household,the records did say his assassins intended to blow the Royal Grace with the royal family aboard, though I thought the explosives were all retrieved years ago." Oliver was wracking his brain for possible reasons why the bombs still remained here
Trevor took the bomb and put it into a satchel, "You wouldn't mind if I took these would you ?" Argus shrugged his shoulders "Sure,why not. Though you'd better disarm any active ones,you hear me ?" Trevor nodded quickly while he smiled at the bomb like it was a new toy to play with,Sera giggled at this behaviour before running to catch up with the others, "Come on Trevor,keep up or we'll leave you behind !" "Right!" he tied the satchel to his sides as he ran to catch as well.
(Meanwhile,Mansion )
Sera had just returned with the guards along with the civilians,the guards left soon after to look for other missing civilians,leaving her to escort the civilians into the manor grounds, "Alright!Everyon please form into a single file and follow me into the manor where you'll all be sheltered until this incident is over." the people all followed Rosa's instructions until she saw a little doll fall before her feet and saw a child reaching for it,she handed the fallen toy to the little boy who smiled at her before running towards a girl and gave her the doll. "Thanks big brother!" the girl hugged her brother as he gave a goofy grin, "C'mon!Mom and dad are waiting for us!" the two siblings ran to their parents who were waiting by the gates. This scene gave a sense of nostalgia to Rosa as she remembered a fond memory of her's when she was only 8.
(10 Years Ago,Eraklion Palace)
Rosa although was only 8 back,her innocent beauty had grabbed the attention of several noblemen who wished for their sons to marry into the royal family,even a number of nobles who were old enough to be her father were even audacious enough to even to propose to her for themselves,this caused several other daughter's of the court's officials and noble families to often bully her in jealousy. Not even her own parents could help her for fear that doing so might instigate an internal conflict in the noble class which left her often going to bed crying.
Only two people were willing to help her and they were her brothers who'd kept the worst of the bullies at bay,letting themselves to mend scratches from the often savage encounters with the haughty ladies of the court,making them very close to each other though one day,Allen was sent to the military academy as their parents decided that he should become the future Man-At-Arms of Eraklion and Argus was sent to the Eastern Palace to learn how to control his Dragon Fire powers,leaving Rosa all alone at the Central Palace,meaning that she had no one to protect her anymore.
Though Argus did leave her a gift,an incantation spell for invisibility,it made running away a lot easier though it couldn't keep her safe indefinitely,leaving her to fend for herself when the jealous girls figured out her trick. Hoping that her brothers would return soon,she goes to bed with tears that were welling up while Kiko tried comforting her,that is until the rose bushes outside her windows started ruffling about. Expecting it to be a stalker or something along the lines,Rosa prepare a ball of light to blind the unknown person in the bush.
"Oww!These rose bushes of yours really hurt you know that sister ?" out popped Argus whose regal clothes had been replaced by simple traveller's garbs and aside from the scratches made by the rose thorns,were torn in a few places where cuts inflicted earlier have already healed thanks to his powers though the shortness of breath he had showed that he had been running. "Brother!Here...but how,why!" Rosa helped her brother climb into her room,Argus promptly plopped onto the velvet sofa,took out a flask and gulped down it's remaining content,causing him to cough.
"First,let me get out of this cloak..." after a while,Argus was now out of the cloak and sporting a simple outfit of a normal trainee mage's robe with linen clothing underneath, "Now,as for how I'm here,I used the invisibility spell to sneak out of the Eastern Palace and ran all the way here and the reason why,is to give you this..." he took out a package from underneath his robes and opened it to reveal a beautiful bracelet with a rose motif. "It's beautiful!Where did you get it...you didn't steal it did you ?" Argus shook his head, "Nope,I made this with my magic,I learned how to do it in a lesson today called...um...it's on the tip of my tongue...ah who cares,I made it for you,that's what counts." Argus slipped the bracelet onto his sister's wrist and she felt a warming sensation go over her.
"What was that ?" Argus was in a cocky pose as he gave a goofy grin, "Yeah,that was the enchantment I had put into it,I had help from my teacher though it's filled with my Dragon Fire,it'll protect you from those mean ladies." Rosa smiled at him before pulling him into a tight hug, "Brother!" Rosa couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she cried,burying her face into his chest,before falling asleep with a happy smile on her face. He sneaked back to the Eastern Palace the next day,his visits infrequent but precious memories to her nonetheless.
(Present Time)
Rosa looked at the bracelet on her wrist,thanks to the power of the Dragon's Fire,it had protected her from those jealous ladies until she learned how to fend for herself properly,though it had lost it luster long ago though the protective magic was still there,though it's power has waned over the years,she kept it on for sentimental reasons. She sighed in frustration as she looked to the direction of the Business District, "Aww,forget it!" she ran towards the armory and thankfully,the guards were busy helping with the civilians,making it easier for her to sneak into it.
"Come on!I know this place should have at least one energy bow around here." Rosa then spotted a package that was in the shape of a bow,she didn't have the time to unwrap it so she quickly grabbed it and made her way out but she bumped into one of the guards, "Princess ?What were you doing in the armory ?" It was a good thing that the guard was a recruit,and a gullible one at that. "Ah,Rad,I was just looking for some Healing salve in here but I couldn't find any. Would you be a dear and go in there to look for some in there ?" Rosa put on her sweetest smile for Rad who flustered with his words, "Y-yes-Uh I mean,Yes princess!" Rad walked mechanically into the armory before Rosa jumped onto the Wind-Rider she had ridden to come here.
"Here I come brother." Rosa whispered softly before the engine of the hover-cycle roared to life which alerted the nearby guards who tried to stop her, "Your Highness!It's too dangerous out there!" Rosa only smirked as she conjured up a Shiner spell with her low reserve of magical energy and blinded the guards before they could do anything to stop her,leaving them disoriented. "Sorry,but I got to help my friends and my idiotic sap of a brother!"
(Service Tunnel Exit)
The group had finally reached the end of the tunnel complex and Trevor had found and disarmed over 12 bombs,some of which were covered in muck,much to the disgust of his companions. "Alright,we're near the engine core so we better get ready for anything,got it ?" Argus explained as he felt the energy emanating just beyond the hatch in front of him,his companions nodded,the whole group was so nervous that they were barely able to concentrate on the fight that will occur as soon as they open the hatch,Oliver typed in the codes to open the hatch. Fortunately it opened silently as they prepared themselves.
As soon the hatch was fully opened,the party went through it to find themselves not in the Engine Room but inside the very core itself as it was lined entirely with crystals and they spotted what looked like an almagam of machine and crystal of a giant pounding at the interior,trying to get out of the core, "Everyone...quiet,we better ambush it than face it head on." Everyone nodded in agreement as they steathily sneaked towards the giant (Author's notes:anyone got an idea for a name for this fella,I ran out of names after the last boss).
"Achooo!" Argus let out a sneeze that echoed in the furnace-like core and the gigantic being stopped pounding and turned around to face the source of the disturbance,Argus warily held his Phantoweapon,a longsword in front of him,his body in a leaping stance,ready to strike at the right moment. The Hybrid of machine and energy started speaking in a static voice, 'Kzz..Analyzing...Analyzing..Four targets confirmed...Kzz...Initiating Attack Protocol..' it's hammer-like fist on it's right suddenly grew crystal spikes while the left inverted on itself until a cannon was formed and aimed it at Argus whose courage faltered for a moment.
"Scatter!" Argus cried out before a full barrage of crystal spears were fired upon him,the deafening sound of blades puncturing flesh horrified his friends as the deep crimson color of blood was evidently seen on the crystals.
(Mansion,Reina's Room)
Reina was moving about restlessly in her bed before her eyes opened wide and screamed in despair alerting several servants that she's awake and apparently crying hysterically and calling out for Argus,the servants had to restrain her from leaving bed as they believed her to be delirious until she fell asleep again,softly calling for Argus' name as tears streamed from her closed eyes,somehow knowing that something has happened to Argus.
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(Andros)
Andros,homeworld of the Fairy Layla,member of the Winx Club. After settling down with Nabu,Andros became peaceful again after recovering from Baltor's invasion,restoring balance to it's pristine environment.
Unfortunately,the same couldn't be said for the current state of affairs on the normally peaceful Realm of Tides as the sea level has receded to reveal more land due to the effects of Ronand's machines as Nostrom observed the mechanical puppets as the necromancer had called them served as labour for the mining 'camp' that was more than a camp while Morak just stood behind him,keeping silent and unresponsive. The 'camp' was actually a large fort completed just a few days ago while the Army of Decay patrolled it's perimeter.
Nostrom's grip on his staff tightened when he saw Ronand walking up to him and his assistant Celina trailing behind him, "How's it going you old fop." Nostrom clenched his teeth together as he held back his desire to kill the boy right there and then, "Don't patronize me boy,I've served Master Kaleb far longer than you did and I'll be sent to damnation if I see you rise higher than I do!" to this threat Ronand only chuckled.
"I see,well either way,you've been ordered to help me on this world but not with the mining of course as you can see for yourself." Ronand said as he gestured to the mining drones that were carting out large quantities of ores of some sort. Soon, the warning for an attack was sounded, "Ah,I see that the Andros' Army is already here,there should be more than enough skeletons in the ocean depths to supply you with an adequate amount of undead to serve you,no ?"
Nostrom just huffed in annoyance before conjuring a magic circle around him, "Very well then,I shall do as you say. Come to me my undead minions!Rise from your slumber and serve your master!" some rumbling occurred before skeletons covered in coral rised from the sea,skeletons of sea creatures long gone roared as they prepared for the defenders of Andros to arrive.
(Somewhere Nearby)
Due to the sea level receding,the mermaids couldn't do anything to attack the invaders though it did create enough space for land battles to which Andros' soldiers could fight on but the Army of Decay was far more superior in numbers for them to actually reach the fort but they were able to keep them from attacking the populace due to the help of one person,a girl to be exact and she was standing on a rock that jutting out from the land,her raven black hair framed her face which would be best described as elegance personified as her icy-blue eyes stood out,observing the undead creatures rising from the deep.
When she finally took her eyes away from the sight,she turned around to face a number of skeletons that had risen from the ground,the girl just smirked at them, "Alright you boneheads,prepare to be defeated..." she grabbed the collar of the cloak she was wearing and took it off in a dramatic way,revealing her outfit which consisted of a white silk shirt underneath an ocean blue jacket embroided with gold that ended at the waistline,along with a pair of jeans that was protected from the knee up by a piece of enchanted cloth that was tied to her sides,making the girl look somewhat frail in appearance but looks can be deceiving as she pulled out two weapons that resembled longswords that was used to cut down a few of the skeletons before she revealed her weapons' secret as they suddenly spread out until a pair of large blade tipped fans that quickly dispatched the skeletal squad.
Later,a small troop of royal guards arrived at the site but there weren't any remains of the enemy to be found,not even a sliver of a bone but they did find the girl,sitting there innocently. Approaching her,the guards knelt before her, "Princess Anastasia,you shouldn't be here. Undead beings are reported being seen in this area. We must escort you to safety immediately." Anesha smiled and replied, "Then we must go at once then,mom and dad must be worried." They were about to move out until Anesha faked a gasp, "What is it princess ?" "I forgot that I lost my Signet Ring." Anesha presented her fingers that was missing the ring while it was actually hidden by her magic.
"Then we must retrieve the Royal Heirloom of the Androsian Family,spread out men!" while the captain had his attention turned away,Anastasia slipped away into the coral bed that was exposed when the sea level went down. "Alright Your Highness,allow me to-" the captain suddenly realized that she had dissappeared, "Oh no...not again..." he picked up a note at his feet which was written as followed: The name's Anesha and don't you forget it! "Oh princess,please don't do this." the captain sighed as he sat down on the ground,wishing that he could get an early retirement.
I apologize to my readers for waiting so long for this update,I was in a writer's slump due to a slight case of depression brought on by my grandmother's current condition but since she's recovering,I got back into this story though I don't know when the next chapter will come out so I made this chapter a bit longer to sastify you,the readers until the next chapter does come out.
Now onto the day's WiVo:
This one will be on Jake Cain who will be making his way back to Hq will encounter life-threatening situations and you the readers can try to guess what they are.
A.)Forced to abort the Gravitic Warp by one of the Stinger Factions
B.)Engine overloads during warp and encounters a few Zakus that were in the area
C.)Boarded by Space Pirates and fights them to keep the ship from being captured
And there you have it,by the way. Did I do justice to the image you have on your Ocs:Shinryu and Anesha ?
This is Argus456 signing off.