I thank you my readers for giving my story a chance,because if it weren't for your reviews,I wouldn't have gotten this far. Ok now,I believe that's enough of the mushyness from me and it's time to go on with the story,but of course,the disclaimer.
p.s:This just an update so that a missing chapter could be inserted in between the first few chapters.
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 most of Ocs and the plot-line.
(70 S.D. Star of Passion,Brig)
Although it was labeled as the brig,it was actually a modest-sized room,complete with various luxuries that normal holding cells or brigs would never have,there were pieces of simple furniture in the room,a dresser,a wardrobe,and a table and on it was a plate of untouched food that consisted of a side of beef with mash potatoes topped with gravy and little radish slices that were oddly enough in the shape of ships(A.N:Fans of Star Ocean will get it)
The room's occupant was on the bed,sitting in a meditative position and his coat off,revealing his white sleeveless shirt that revealed his well-toned body,as he inhaled deeply,wisps of blue energy was absorbed into himself. Shinryu was awakened from his meditative state when the the door's locking mechanism unlocked,he opened his eyes and put on his coat,careful to cover a pair of bracelets he wore.
"You got a visitor kid." the spacer joked as he chewed on his lunch, Shinryu and Mera didn't take too kindly to that little quip so they subtly heated up the man's plate as he dropped it,spilling his lunch on the floor and a bit got on the captain's shoes, "My apologies captain." the man started rubbing the shoe,wiping off the mash potatoes. Shinryu smirked before he saw his visitor.
"Knock on the door when you're done Mr Leingod and he'll let you out." Thomas nodded before the door closed and locked up and turned his attention towards the young man that was in his room last night though minus the reptilian features and the killer intent. "I believe you have asked for me,have you not Mr...er. Um,would you mind telling me who you are exactly ?"
Shinryu smirked as he sat back onto the bed, "Isn't it rude to ask a person's name when one hasn't introduce oneself ?" 'SoKasua,do you sense any magic in him at all ?' "I'm not too sure,it looks like this young man is serving as a vessel for another being." 'So you think it could be another person like us ?' Kasua remained silent and Mera is oddly remained subdued,silent as a grave so he returned his attention to his visitor. "So,your name ?"
"Ah,yes I apologize for my rude behavior,my name is Thomas Leingod and you are ?" Shinryu just went back into his meditative stance, "Name's Shinryu,remember that cause I won't repeat it again. Any other questions ?" Thomas took a seat by the table and began the questioning. "Well,first off Shinryu,how did...um turn into a reptile man last night ?" "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Shinryu looked at Thomas who just looked at him calmly, "Well,try me."
(20 Minutes Later)
"And that's the reason why I can turn into 'reptile man' as you put it." Shinryu expected Thomas to either freak out and run or just start talking to him like he was a raving lunatic as several others did before but when he opened his eyes to see the reaction,he was a bit shocked to see Thomas was still cool and collected as he typed Shinryu's 'memoirs' into his little computer, "Um,why aren't you freaking out ?" he stopped typing as he looked at the silver-haired 'teen' getting up.
"Well,I already met a talking bigfoot,befriended a man that was trapped in a magic mirror and fought a witch that uses gelatin-like blobs as minions and I believe I met a ghost earlier so your story just seems of the norm to me now." he offered the glass of water that came with the dish. "No thanks."
"Ah,right you can sustain yourself without sustenance. Since your story has pretty much cleared all my subsequent questions,I'll need to summarize it to make it clearer,if your two friends don't mind." Shinryu sighed as he checked with Kasua and Mera. 'Fine,let him talk but if he mentions about my temper,I want you to kick him all the way to the netherworld!' Shinryu considered it since he did have that ability from a slain wizard from one of his earlier adventures, "Now,now Mera hold your temper.' he heard Kasua chuckle a little, 'let him speak,I find him quite delightful' Shinryu sighed as he gave the ok sign.
"Okay,first off,you're not human but a mix of elf and dragon,your father was an elf who was bitten by a vampire and your mother was a Great Dragon,a type of dragon that can shapeshift and when you were born,the spirits of the dragon of darkness Mera and light,Kasua merged with yours and due to that you have gained a great deal of power as well as a long lifespan,the extent of your powers which you won't explain." Shinryu nodded at this before glaring at him,as if a challenge to ask him again, "And in short,you've been traveling around,hunting rogue wizards and training under various elder dragons and other beings of power and you were going to your next destination to receive further training but somehow you bought a cheap ship and it broke down halfway there,am I right ?"
"Right on the mark,now if you excuse me,I must break out of here,get back on my ship and be on my way." Thomas stopped him just as he was about to blow the door out with a blast of energy, "Sorry about that but I've got bad news Shinryu,but that ship of yours...um,it blew up when the repair drone tried to fix it." he sighed as he rubbed his head, "Well,now we know why it was sold to us at such a cheap price." "Fine,I'll stay here until I get to the nearest planet,I'll get a new ship there,by the way,where are you going ?" Thomas pulled out his ticket to reread the info, "Let's see,we're going to a world called Expel,to a city called Arlia,that's where Sophia and I will set off on our trip.
"Thanks for the info,now if you'll excuse me." Shinryu pulled back his hand and punched the door out,sending it flying into the opposite end of the hallway,he stepped out moving his wrist. "Knock,knock. Now let me out." the spacer by the door was flabbergasted a "How did that...you!Stop what you're doing and come quietly or-augh!" his throat was in Shinryu's grasp, "When I let you go,you'll listen to what I have to say or you 'll never leave this floor alive,got it ?" the spacer nodded just as Thomas saw the scene, "Are you alright ?" though before he could answer,he passed out
"He's fine,just be glad I didn't use a quarter of the force I used on that door or his head will be rolling down the hall by now. Too bad he fainted,might as well ask the captain." and as if by coincidence,the captain turned around the corner, "Someone call for me ?" when he saw his crewman out cold and Shinryu standing over him,he took out a pistol he had, "Don't move or I'll fire." before he could react,Shinryu closed the distance between them in an instant, "Put the gun away before you shoot someone,I just have a question for you."
"And what would that question be ?" the captain grunted,relaxing a little but keeping his finger on the trigger, "How much does it cost to get a ride on your ship ?" He didn't expect this as he put the gun away, "Um...er..do you want first class,second class or the economy suite ?" he was uncertain at the young man's intention but the sincerity in his tone was quite convincing.
Shinryu smiled wickedly as he pulled out a wad of money, "First Class if you don't mind and please,I want a room with really thick walls,I value my peace and quiet." his eyes flashed red as he said it "Liar,you just want it so you can destroy it" 'Oh shut it Kasua,I need to vent out once in a while'
Taking the money,the captain looked at the amount and his eyes bugged out at the large number, "Well,this will definitely cover it. Right this way um..young man,I lead you to your room." Thomas looked on as he saw Shinryu follow the captain through the hallway,before he remembered he had to go somewhere, "Drats!I forgot about Miss Sophia!" he turned to the opposite direction and ran.
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(Pirate Ship,Docking Bay)
The ship was abuzz with movement as the crew rushed about,besides humanoids,there were other species of aliens aboard,short little creatures with gray leathery skin,carried boxes of munitions to the cannon room,gas masks were over their faces,supplying them with methane to keep them alive. They passed by a couple of aliens that looked like a cross between a bird and a raptor,it wore light body armor on it's small frame,carbines and rifles in their hands as they followed a few humanoids into another boarding craft.
Before that ship could fly off,another boarding craft came crashing in,knocking the docked ship's occupants out. Several pirates gathered around the ship that laid there,the entrance hatch opened up and a grenade was thrown out. "Grenade!" shrieked one of the little grunts as everyone dived for cover,a shockwave knocked a number out while sending a few more flying.
Jake stepped out of the stolen ship,his helmet's amber visor gleamed in the light as he aimed two pulse guns around. "Hmm,looks like that grenade took everyone out..." he guessed wrong as a couple of grunts came out of their hiding place as they fired their small pistols,small spheres of energy striking him. He dodged behind a crate as he examined the plasma burns on his armor,the damage was minor since the armor was very dense "Oh,right forgot to turn on the shields." he then tapped on his wrist before a humming sound was heard and a quick shimmer of blue covered his body before vanishing.
The little grunts then grabbed a large caliber weapon as it discharged a large energy round,destroying Jake's cover but he just stepped out of the smoke and fired his pulse guns,taking down the grunts quickly before the battery charge of the guns ran out.
"Quick!Enemy ran out of ammo!" one of the grunts squeaked before a squad of the raptor-like creatures and other humanoids rushed in,their weapons at the ready though they didn't expect him to rush in,grab a grunt by it's head,toss him away after he took away it's large weapon,aimed it at them and fired,the ones in the blast radius were blown to bits while others were sent flying,the fall killing them as one or two were jettisoned into space.
Staring at the carnage before them,the survivors stared fearfully at the person who had just used a Fuel Rod Cannon point-blank and survived,his armor mildly burnt by the shot but he just stood there as a blue light shimmered around him,before trying something that didn't include anything to do with guns or bombs, "Boo!" his sleep-deprived brain's idea worked well as the survivors ran off screaming, "Help!Demon!A demon has come to kill us!" he chuckled as he discarded the cannon and picked up one of the weapons left behind,a small handheld device as he test fired it on a pillar, "Okay,a pistol of some sort." he tried testing if it could fire non stop but a ball of static gathered at the 'muzzle' that fired off and blew apart a stack of crates,he whistled as he saw the power.
His built-in communicator crackled to life as he received a message, "Hey buddy,we're going to come in on two boarding shuttles,mind shutting down the gun controls on your side ?" "Roger that,maintain radio silence until the cannons are out." Jake sighed as he took a handful of plasma grenades to replenish his own depleted supply,another energy pistol,extra ammo for the carbine and started his trek through the ship but bumped into something big and in red armor. He looked up and saw a creature with four mandibles for a mouth,it growled deeply as it glared at him, 'Of all the rotten luck. If I live through this,I'm going to give myself a good smack for coming here alone!'
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(Argus,Location:Unknown)
Argus was once again unconscious as he got back onto his feet,his clothes was now replaced with those of an adept mage,it was similar to the trainee outfit but the mantle had silver trimmings,he looked around his location and saw that he was back in his subconscious mind as he saw the combined structure of Eraklion's and Sparx's palace towered over him.
"Well,at least I'm not in the Spirit Realm." he then made his way into the palace,once in the chamber where the spiraling staircase was,he walked through a large door,it lead to a room that was empty except for a single pedestal in the middle,there was a shinning red orb on top,he approached it and touched the sphere before he was whisked away to somewhere else.
(Field)
Argus fell face first into a field of grass,the soft grass cushioning his face,he got up and spit out the grass that had fiery red tips,he looked around his new whereabouts and saw a tall structure that reminded him of his trip to Celestia,a world of people who could control specific elements,the structure was of a fire design,he walked in cautiously.. Though before he could look around,he was warped into another location by a pillar of fire.
(Chamber)
A pillar of flame appeared and faded away,letting Argus out into a chamber lined with weapons of various designs,full suits of armor were place at the corners,each armed with different weapons though there was one armor that was moving,a red armor that was doing swordplay with a large sword.
"Efreet ?" the armor stopped moving as it turned around to see him.
"Keeper ? It appears that you've found the gateway to our hidden dimension." he then put away his weapon as it disappeared.
"Hidden dimension ?...So does this mean that I'm now in the Spirit Realm again ?"
"In a matter of speaking,this place and others like it allow you to increase your power to whole new levels. Come,let's relieve you of some of that energy before it puts your physical body in danger once again." Efreet sat down on a cushion in a meditative position before he began breathing deeply,the room temperature rising and lowering as he inhaled and exhaled.
Taking a seat in front of the elemental,Argus started his meditation as well. As he exhaled,he felt a burden being lifted from his body,he opened his eyes and saw a sphere of pure energy that was taken in by Efreet as he inhaled,flames seeping out from the slits in his helmet a small red sphere jumped into the pendant.
"It is done,now your Fire Arts technique are more controllable,using it won't overtax your body as it usually would." Argus stood,up ready to go now but the elemental stopped him. "No young Keeper,going back to your body right now while it's clinging barely to life is dangerous." this made Argus' eyes bug out, "What!? You mean I'm dying ?" Efreet shook his head, "No no,your life is safe though the shock of you going back in so early might kill you instead. Might I suggest we have a spar while you wait ?"
Summoning the Phoenix Blade,Argus took a stance but was a little hesitant as he looked at the small confines of the room,perfect for single swordplay but hardly suitable for a spar. "Ah,I see you noticed our limited space,allow me to remedy that." he snapped his fingers and the walls of the room pulled back and the armor suits sank into the ground and the room suddenly became a large cavern,the floor now a platform of hardened lava with a moat of molten magma heating up the room,a strange creature swam through it like a large whale would in the sea as it splashed the lava around them but it never reached too high as it either hit the sides of the platform or just plop back into the sea of magma.
"Now,shall we start our spar ?" Efreet then summoned his large broadsword in answer to Argus' weapon,the lava splashed up behind him as Argus sweats from the heat, "Are you sure that it's only a sparring practice ?" he raised his weapons just as Efreet crashed his weapon onto the blade. "Who said anything about practice Keeper ? We're fighting to test our mettle in battle!Burning Break!" Efreet yelled as he unleashed his attack but Argus evaded before he went back into his stance. "Ok then,we'll pull no punches or strikes! Burning Break!" Argus yelled as he leaped into the air but Efreet just stood there with his sword at the ready, "Hah!You think that my own element would harm me!"
"No,but a forceful kick might help!" he turned the Phoenix Blade around and unleashed the flames,propelling him at Efreet who felt every force behind the kick as he reeled back from the force. Fire spewed from the slits in the elemental's helmet as he stood up again, "If it's one thing I like in the Specialists nowadays is the creativity they use in the midst of battle and you're the cream of the crop!" Efreet called out enthusiastically as he called out his other weapon,a staff with burning embers at the ends,he spun it around,increasing the ember's flame until it was able to create a wheel of fire, 'Flaming Chakram!' he yelled as he gave the staff a quick swipe,letting the fire fly at Argus who once again dodged it but it turned back like a boomerang and knocked him down while also burning him.
When he got back up again, Argus was no longer wielding the Phoenix Blade but Undine's trident, "Whoa!...How did I do that ?" and Argus wasn't the only one shocked by the appearance of Undine's weapon, 'How was he able to learn that technique so early ?' he smirked under his helmet as he brandished his sword, "I see you've learned how to switch weapons but let's see how good you are at using it!" Efreet declared as he charged at Argus who stood at the ready with the Sea God's Trident as the name flashed into his mind.
Argus quickly filtered through the information that the Trident was feeding him as he used a technique he randomly selected, 'Wrath of Poseidon!' a wave of water rose from no where and slammed onto Efreet who spluttered under the water before it flowed into the moat of magma,a series of loud hisses sounded as steamed rose from the surface,covering the platform in a blanket of mist. The two combatants coughed as they got up,Argus didn't expected to get hit himself but he never was very good at water spells. Efreet let out breaths of fire that was smothered by smoke but after a while,he recovered.
"Well done Keeper,it appears you've learned one of Undine's techniques but you are unskilled in controlling it but that is up to her to teach you when the time comes." he approached Argus who was still coughing out the water that got into him, "Guess I should've used something else but it did the trick didn't it ?" Efreet nodded, "Indeed but it now seems you can return to your body if you want." Argus nodded as he looked around the platform that just disappeared and turn back into the training room,Efreet created a portal that Argus jumped through before he thanked him for the sparring session.
"You can come out now Undine." and as Efreet guessed correctly,the Elemental of Water came in through a door that was behind one of the suits of armor but she was no longer in her armor but an elegant dress of blue and white,her hair flowed gently down her face as she smiled mischievously, "You had no right to interfere with that match Undine,giving him so much information about the Crimson Catalyst so early might have serious repercussions in the future." Undine just sat beside Efreet who's armor was replaced with a suit minus the blazer as his waistcoat remained unbuttoned. "Come now Efreet,you know that the Red Star isn't the gem's true name,just a name created by scholars who had lost the original documents,besides it was just the name." she gently combed her fingers through his red hair.
"Also the fact that you just given him a powerful technique that he has no true control over." his resistance was falling as Undine twirled locks of his hair, "Come now,don't be so frigid like my brother." Efreet then gulped as she mentioned her sibling, "Speaking of your brother Undine,I doubt he'll like seeing us like this." his senses alerted him as he picked up Undine and jumped away from where he was as a bunch of needles embedded themselves into the floor before melting into water.
"Indeed,I would really appreciate it if you get your hands off of my sister right now." Shivan the Ice Elemental walked in,the armor he was wearing was of freezing blue,and his helmet had several markings of ice on it,he sheathed his rapier as Efreet let Undine down, "Come sister,we must prepare for the next meeting as you should do as well Efreet." Undine nodded as she followed her brother,see you later Efreet." the Fire Elemental sighed as he donned his armor again before he vanished in a pillar of fire.
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(Royal Grace,Manor)
The citizens were panicking as the ship had just crashed landed on an unknown world,luckily no one was hurt too badly,as children cried from the shock of the impact,the guards helping them calm down but with the recent scene of seeing the royal siblings hurt, it was difficult to carry out that task than expected as guards were struggling to keep the crowd calm.
With the commotion going on outside,it was slightly better as Reina was helping the healer care for Argus as both their magic closed his wounds though the smell from a bomb Trevor managed to save was making it difficult to concentrate on the healing process,he was forced out of the room,he sighed as he put the bomb away in a tight pack,earning a few curious glances from the guards outside the room, "Be careful with that explosive young man,we have enough problems as it is." Trevor nodded as he looked down on the floor before he decided to sit down right on the floor.
"Now why are you down on the dumps hun ?" he looked up to see Marion carrying a basket of medical supplies for the injured citizens. "Nothing Mam,just a little depressed." the woman huffed as she saw his state before she pulled him up by the scruff of his neck, "Well,hun,if you've got the time to be depressed and such,why not make yourself useful and help the guards with crowd control." Trevor nodded nervously as she let him go before he ran to the entrance.
(Outside Manor)
"Come on people!Women,children and the elderly first!Those who are able can help the injured or disabled. Work with me people!" Sera shouted as she helped the guards guide the nervous people into the large manor,she handed blankets to everyone as they entered the gates. She saw the commotion going on just a few yards away as some of the people were panicking and they weren't enough guards to handle the rowdy crowd. "Aw geez and I just helped calmed the people down too." she let out a groan as she had helped earlier with calming the people and she'd hate it if panic spread through the people again.
"Can I help with anything ?" Sera looked back to see Trevor who was somewhat cheerier than before, "Okay,you can help by giving out these blankets to everyone and help with any lost kids,I got a crowd to cool off." he was then given the duty of babysitting in a nutshell as he felt a tug on his pants,he looked down and saw two kids,a boy and a girl, "Excuse me mister but can you help me find my sister's doll for me ?We lost it when the ground went boom." the girl looked a little shaken up and she'd probably needed it to keep her calm.
Trevor used his eyes to look around and bumped into the trunk of a tree and something fell onto his head and grabbed it, "My doll!" the girl yelled happily as she reached for it. The doll was handed over to the child before the boy bowed to him, "Thanks mister." Trevor smiled at the two before a thought crossed his mind, "Um,do you know where your parents are ?" they both shook their heads, "Mommy and Daddy gone when the ship go boom,we don't know where they are." Trevor nodded before he led them back to his appointed station, "Well..now it isn't a good time to look for them so mind helping me pass out these blankets ?" the siblings nodded as they each grabbed a handful of blankets.
(A few Yards Away)
While Trevor carried out the task Sera assigned him,she was busy helping the guards calm the crowd that was becoming like a mob. She dodged a rock before she put on her Phanto-Claw and slammed it into the ground,silencing the crowd as the ground trembled under the impact.
"Please calm down!The prince and the princess are alright!They need rest and they can't get it if you keep on behaving like an unruly mob!" they quickly dispersed and joined the line of civilians into the manor. One of the guards approached her,it was one of the guards that had accompanied them to the Business District, "Thank you Miss Slifer,without you we would've had a riot on our hands and with the ship crashing...well let's just say we're really grateful you and your comrades kept the ship safe from blowing up."
Sera chuckled nervously as she remembered Trevor's bombs being used on the drone before she nodded, "Yeah but no thanks needed,we did it cause most of us were Specialists." the guards nodded as they were still amazed that such a young girl is a member of the Magical Dimension's finest group of warriors. She sneaked away before they'd ask her how the battle in the core went, 'That was close,I wouldn't want them finding out that I might be the one to cause the ship to crash' Sera breathed a sigh of relief as she rejoined Trevor at the blanket pile.
'Hey Fire Knight!You there....hello...' Trevor finally remembered that he had a question so he was trying to get the Fire Knight's attention but no response,he absent-mindlessly handed blankets to everyone,carrying out his task 'Hello...Fire Knight' 'Aiden' Trevor wasn't expecting such a response,as he looked to see that he had passed on too many blankets onto the boy under his care, "Sorry about that,my mind wandered off a little." the boy being unfamiliar with the term asked him a question that amused him, "Where did your mind go to ?" he chuckled before ruffling the boy's hair, "Nowhere." when the child went back to his sister,he asked the fire knight once more 'What did you say ?Aiden?' 'Aiden Magnus,that's my name,call me that from now on young Pyris.' 'Okay,Aiden then you can call me Trevor,I've got some questions for you but I've got matters to attend to so I'll ask you later.' Aiden didn't reply so Trevor just went back to his task,handing out blankets before a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around his neck.
"Waah!Help,something's got me!" Trevor cried out in a high-pitched scream,before he heard peals of laughter coming from behind him,he turned around to see Sera hugging herself as she laughed herself to stitches, "Haha...man Trevor,you are the only boy I know that can scream that way." she muffled her laughter as she saw Trevor glare at her, "So ? I was born with a high-pitched voice and besides you can take care of the blankets while I help these children look for their parents." he walked off with the children before she could reply, "Geez,I was only joking....then again,it's the only thing I can do to cheer everyone up." she abandoned her station as the pile was already gone. "Might as well help them out.
(Some Minutes Later,Inside Manor Grounds)
When she passed through the gates,she saw people pitching up tents,the guards passing them small mattresses and food,the manor must be too full to allow anymore people inside,either that or they want to keep the commotion inside to a minimum so that Argus and Rosa could rest properly. She then saw Trevor talking with a middle aged man and his wife,probably the parents of the children.
"Thank you kind sir for bringing our children back to us safely." the siblings tugged at his arms, "Come and sit with us,we can share you some of our food." Trevor smiled at the thought, "Sorry kids but I think I have to check on Argus first." the man nodded as his wife handed him a small ring, "Please take this ring young man,it's said to increase one's magic powers." Trevor shook his head and passed it back, "I'm sorry mam by I couldn't possibly-" the woman insisted as she placed it in his hand. "Please I insist,our family no longer have any need for it." Trevor nodded before he bowed and said his goodbyes.
Sera followed him into the manor as the guards let them in, "So are you going to put it on ?" Trevor looked at her before turning his sights back to the ring, "I don't know,increasing my magic powers sounds good but I think I'll only wear it in emergencies." Sera smiled at this before giving him a peck on the cheeks,making him blush and lower his head, "Wha..What was that for ?" Sera giggled as she pinched his cheeks, "That was for saving me earlier." Trevor rubbed his sore cheeks, "And the pinching ?" he kind of liked the kiss but the pinch was harder than his mom's when he left for Red Fountain.
Sera just shook her head, "Nothing,just felt like it,you have really soft cheeks for a boy." she started laughing at his expense once again before Oliver greeted them, "Glad to see that you're happy enough to laugh,since you're obviously free,I'll need you two to investigate where we are exactly,here's a Geo-Scanner,it'll scan the area and identify them,giving us a better idea on where we are." Oliver gave Sera the device,it was quite compact,even smaller than the Specialists' own sleek communicator.
"Alright,we'll get right on it,so the platform generator is that way right ?" Oliver shook his head, "Unfortunately,since the ship is out of power and probably buried halfway in the ground,you'll need to take the emergency route." he led the two to the back of the manor gardens and pulled out a ring that had Eraklion's emblem on it and placed it into a small cavity on a pillar before the ground pulled away as a manhole was revealed, "This is a secret pathway for escape purposes should the ship ever be captured,it'll lead you to the deck,that'll hopefully be not buried." Trevor nodded before he jumped in,followed by Sera who landed on him while he was looking at the passage.
"Get off me!You're crushing my leg!" Trevor whined as he let out tears of pain,Sera just gave an indignant huff in reply, "Are you saying I'm fat!If there's one thing a guy should never comment a girl on is her weight!" Trevor just laid there,defeated in his attempt to free his legs, "Ok,you're right!Now just get off my legs,I'm starting to get numb over there." Sera gave Trevor a good thwack on the head before yelling at him again. Oliver sighed deeply as he heard them argue, "I certainly hope they make it for all our sake."
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(70 S.D,Star of Passion,Arcade Room)
Thomas had arrived panting,his heartbeat now slowing down after all that running through the ship and getting lost twice in the process. Sophia just hopped off of an arcade game that involved snowboarding and spotted him, "Hey Tom!Come on,I want you to come with me for a bit." Thomas took a deep breath and recomposed himself and follow her.
Since the cruise liner was state of the art and built for leisure of it's passengers so it wasn't surprising to find a whole room dedicated to all forms of gaming one of which was a Virtual Revolution Dancer which was the successor of the popular DDR of the 21st century and Sophia managed to convince Thomas to join her in a dance session and from the lists of the songs,she had chosen an old but popular song among the teens today,a song called Beyond the Bounds and Sophia had chosen a dance setting of tango and the moment they stepped onto the 'stage' the virtual projectors changed their clothes to fit the theme.
Thomas' suit changed from that into a pair of tight black pants and a flowing white shirt with ruffles on the front of the collar and also a red sash in place of a belt and a pair of dance shoes replaced his regular pair,Thomas found it a little embarrassing as he hadn't worn clothes like these since his last dance lessons as a kid as well as the looks he was getting from the single girls on the cruise.
Sophia's change of clothes was much more flashier as she twirled around and her clothes changed into a combination of a ballroom dancer with a gypsy girl as her outfit consisted of a small short-sleeved jacket worn over a sparkling silver one piece dress where the skirt had pink ruffles and like Thomas' sash,she had a small white sash that was tied in a tasteful bow.
They took each other's hands as the music started softly and eerily a harp,twittering beautifully soon accompanied by a violin playing with a low base in the backdrop and the music then it picked up as drums and a hypnotic sound that resembled a trumpet and a flute together,making the couple dance to the beat while the lyrics were sung by a recording of the rising stars,the Seraphim Sisters as backup singers joined them in chorus.('...' means that the chorus are singing)
Ranar likul viernopal kar!
Ranar likul viernopal
'Aaaah Aaaaaah!'
Lenar panar virakeral kar!
Lenar panar virakeral
'Aaaaah Aaaaaaah!'
Ehnar lakitu luyarpal kar!
Ehnar lakitu luyarpal
'Aaaaah Aaaaaaah!'
Luyan henar terarkel kar!
Luyan henar terarkel llukaparsi!
Thomas looked into Sophia's eyes with intent as he danced the steps he learned since childhood,leading her through the steps she instinctively followed,not noticing that their bodies were pressed against each other as their movements moved in sync with the rhythm of the violin as it increased it's intensity of it's strings.
Tiernopar ehlkdu rapardu
Lukarmisi porer tirer lupar!
Vierllosa tlarsi tumirpar
Ehkulur latu retie marar!
Tiernopar ehlkdu rapardu
Lukarmisi porer tirer lupar!
Vierllosa tlarsi tumirpar
Ehkulur latu retie marar!
Thomas stopped as he held Sophia's right hand in the air before he twirled her around for a full revolution,her skirt flowing in accordance before stopping and continuing their dance,unaware of the audience they had gathered.
Message of the blowing wind
Erasing memories
Stars are the witnesses of our existence
'Aaaah Aaaah Aaaaaah!'
Change is what the world awaits
Could that be peace or war?
The answer no one knows
Trusting the break of dawn
The blue bird flies away
Their hearts beating heavily but steadily together with the beats of the drumming,their eyes lost in each other,their steps in full symmetry,their skins growing hotter as they continued dancing to the music.
Ranar likul viernopal kar!
Ranar likul viernopal
'Aaaah Aaaaaah!'
Lenar panar virakeral kar!
Lenar panar virakeral
'Aaah Aaaaaah!'
Ehnar lakitu luyarpal kar!
Ehnar lakitu luyarpal
'Aaaah Aaaaaaah!'
Luyan henar terarkel kar!
Luyan henar terarkel llukaparsi!
Thomas took the flower from Sophia's hair when he twirled her once more,smelling it,taking the scent of the flower as well as her hair in before placing it back in her when she stopped her full revolution,her face blushed beet red when his hand came in contact with her cheek, "Come,let's continue." Sophia smiled as she took Thomas' extended hand once more.
Tiernopar ehlkdu rapardu
Lukarmisi porer tirer lupar
Vierllosa tlarsi tumirpar
Ehkulur latu retie marar
'Aaaah Aaaah Aaaaaa!'
Travelling beyond the bounds
We have to take that step
What are we waiting for? It's now or never
'Aaaaah Aaaaaaah Aaaaah!'
Fear to see "The World to Be"
Is why we hesitate
Repeat the same mistake
Hoping to break new ground
The blue bird flies away
Pa laktu vimaturesi
pasi lameta vimaturesi
Lanasidu kisaturesi
makipa sela nitaturesi
'Aaaaah Aaaaaaah!'
Pasira laktu vimaturesi
pasi lameta vimaturesi
Lanasidu kisaturesi
makipa sela nitaturesi
Pasila!
The Captain was now with the first mate on a routine checkup when he heard the music, "Hmm,I haven't heard that song played in a while,let's see what the people in the games room are doing shall we ?" "Whatever you say captain though I think that letting that person we caught have a room right next to the Leingod Suite is a bad idea."
Reaching out to catch the sun
To hold it in our hands
Longing for something strong to hide our weakness
'Aaaah Aaaaah!'
Soon the light may disappear
Nothing is meant to last
Yet we believe our world
Searching for happiness
The blue bird flies away!
The song started slowing down but the violin continued intensifying it's notes as the lyrics were whispered softly as Thomas and Sophia continued dancing as he twirled her faster and faster in tune with the violin's notes as the lyrics created a haunting and hypnotic atmosphere.
Pa laktu vimaturesi
pasi lameta vimaturesi
Lanasidu kisaturesi
makipa sela nitaturesi
Pasira laktu vimaturesi
pasi lameta vimaturesi
Lanasidu kisaturesi
makipa sela nitaturesi
Pasila!
Thomas stopped Sophia's spinning and swept her off her feet and arched her back while lowering his,their noses touching as their virtual clothing dissipated as their normal clothes were back looking to normal and then heard clapping. The captain's communicator beeped silently and answered it, "Yes,captain here."
"Way to go!You got the high score!" Thomas and Sophia looked at the holo-screen which positioned their names at the top with the words 100 percent perfect. "Dude!You've gotta teach me and my girlfriend how to dance like that!" cheers and words like these kept coming forward as the two accepted the congrats and gently denied the requests.
Thomas was surprised when someone clasped their hand on his shoulder,he jumped a little when he found out who that person was, "Shinryu ?When did you get here ?" the platinum haired dragon hybrid smirked, "What do you mean,I got here an hour ago. By the way Sophia,nice job on getting the high score." Sophia giggled at him, "Thanks Shin,I see you've met Tom already,it must be a coincidence huh ?" Thomas put on a fake smile and nodded, "Indeed,you would laugh if I told you how we met."
"Okay,now if you'll excuse me,I'm going to get my tokens now." she walked off to collect a pile of coins that was piling up by the minute as she collected them in a container. Shinryu was immediately put into a choke-hold by Thomas but the thousand-year-old 'teen' was unaffected, "Take it easy mortal,I won't lay a hand on her. I may be a merciless killer but I still got my pride and honor." Thomas let him go just as he walked into a simulator. Sophia came back with a handful of plush toys and stuffed animals,he chuckled as she struggled with the numerous amount of plush. "Here,let me help you with that. It's fair to help since I left you here for so long." Sophia shook her head, "No,it's ok Shin kept me company while you were doing your things." a nerve popped when he heard this but he kept it in.
"Really now...I should thank him later when I find out where he's staying." he then had a imaginary scene of him giving Shinryu a sound beating in his own room but his logical side stepped in and gave a realistic result of that attempt,with him laying on the floor either knocked out or dead and in a pool of his own blood,Shinryu laughing,with his foot over the time-traveler's body. He shook his head as he followed Sophia back to their room.
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(Aftermath,Typhoon)
The Typhoon's interior remained empty,it's gravity generator offline and it's former occupants that had failed to escape were now nothing more than floating particles of blood,the doors to the hangars opened up as several people came through,they were wearing full body space suits,the colors of Schilling's army dominating the suits' color scheme. They were scouts sent in to search the ship for anything unusual and among those scouts were Wayne,Tyson and the other crew members of the Woglinde,though their suit's each bared their own color scheme instead of Schillings.
"Man,it's creepy...do you think a bloody corpse will jump out and kill us ?" Simmons whimpered as he flashed the lights around,annoying Tucker, "Simmons!Quit shining that thing in my face." he just shined it elsewhere,right into a blood covered helmet,making a couple of them scream,namely Tucker and Simmons as they hugged each other. Simmons' flashlight that was released in the screaming,floated in the weightless environment,it was taken by the bloody suit, "What are you two idiots screaming about! Get this blood off of me!" it was Church as his light blue colored suit peeked through the blood splotches.
Caboose came around the corner and saw Church soaked in blood, "Hey Church,what's with the ketchup ?" Wayne was perplexed at how Schilling could even recruit these bumblers as he witnessed them cleaning up Church,until he was somewhat clean again, "Thanks but next time,I'm not going to the escape pod chambers again." Church looked at a person in an orange suit, "So Griff,what did you find in the secondary bridge." Church looked at Tyson who looked away,whistling in his helmet. Griff connected a portable computer on his wrist to a communicator and tapped a few buttons before the ship's lights came back on, "Well I got control of the ship though since the main bridge was destroyed,I'll need to bypass several encryptions and recover the data back...but I'm too sleepy to do it,so get one of the other techs to help you out,I'm gonna raid the ship's food storage and go back to the Woglinde."
"Here,maybe you can hack the system rookie,just don't turn on the gravity yet." he handed Wayne the communicator and drifted off towards the direction of the cargo holds. Wayne looked at the device in his hand and a blot of blood landed on it,he was a bit unnerved that Schilling did this,he thought about his son who could be dead since he found out that his station was attacked. "Yo,Gerard!Tyson to Gerard,you still with us ?" he looked at Tyson and nodded, "Yeah,I'm okay...I'm just a little freaked out by the blood.."
"Oh,so this is your first time on a capture mission...you know,you could wait for us back on the ship." Tyson pitied him as his first capture mission unnerved him but he was used to it by now. "No,I'm okay...let me try and do a little systems check on this ship,I might be able to at least clear a few of the encryptions." he lied as he knew that a ship of this class would usually be carrying top-secret information so he secretly sent a signal for the ship's A.I to transfer the data to a hard drive and disconnect it from the rest of the ship. When the task was complete,he easily brought down the first few firewalls as he knew the system encryption by heart before stopping at halfway.
"Sorry guys but I could only bypass some of the firewalls,guess we'll have to leave it to the techs." he drifted himself in the direction of the hangar before Church grabbed his leg, "You're not leaving until you help us clean up the blood here,we can't possibly take it over with blood splotches floating around us,now can we ?" Caboose handed Wayne a vacuum-like device, "So help us clean up would you." Wayne sighed as he started the 'vacuuming' the floating blood made him sick to the stomach but he had to do this to keep up this facade.
"You better get your gears a'grindin' ya nancies or I'm going to do it for you!" Sarge came through the hall with Griff in tow as he was holding an armful of food as he whined about hating to work on an empty stomach. At least Wayne won't be bored keeping up his fake identity.
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(Elicoor II,Shrine of Kaddan,Sacred Orb Chamber)
Darkar laughed as he launched several spheres of darkness at Nel who dodged them just before they hit,she crossed her Blades of Ryusen before pouncing Darkar with them but it collided with a meta pole instead of the being's face,she stared down at a dark version of Luther's lance,Darkar smirked before pushing the lance out,sending Nel flying and tried to attack her with it as he lunged the bladed tip at her but it was met with Roger's Halberd,the little Menodix was sent tumbling into the corner.
"You mortal fools think you can take me on!" Darkar taunted as he lashed out with the lance,Ble'al blocked it with his crystal katana,he growled lowly before leaping into the air,the lance used as a springboard,putting Dakar off-balance. Poised to deliver the killing blow,Ble'al instead stabbed the katana into Dakar's arm,forcing him to cry out in pain as he struggled to pull it out.
While he did this,Adray summoned up his powers for a 'Titan's Fist' that hit Darkar head on,causing sounds of sickening splatters to be heard but they remained alert and good thing too because just as the fist disappeared,Darkar climbed out of a squashed mound of flesh that no longer pulsed. Darkar just snapped his head back into it's position and glared at the aged warrior, "Do you think your pathetic attacks can harm me!" he pulled out Ble'al's katana and snapped the blade in two. His cape flared as it grew in length,into a familiar form of Luther's wings but twisted and torn. Darkar spewed out a dark mist,enveloping the room with it, "Feel the wrath of my new minions!" creatures that resembled mangled mutations of Enforcers rose from the mist,limbs or body parts were missing as they were replaced by unknown purple clumps of matter,there was even a Proclaimer whose sleeve-like limbs were replaced by ones that resembled those of Darkar,the mask it usually had was cracked,a piece fell off revealing a gleaming red eye.
"What are these things !?" Nel yelled out as she pull back a little to assess the situation,she thought the Executioners were monstrous enough as they were,these amalgams of creatures made her sick as she tightened the grips on her Blades of Ryusen. Roger just looked on as one of the mutated Enforcers looked at him hungrily,his tail now limp out of fear while Adray glared at these new monsters before he smirked and crossed him arms, "Hmph!These creatures seem more powerful..perhaps powerful enough for me to actually use the blade of my weapon once again!Step aside Ble'al!I'm going to draw my sword!"
Nel looked at Adray curiously as there were multiple documents depicting Adray's prowess in the ways of the sword,she thought that she would never actually see Adray ever use a bladed weapon again as the aged warrior stepped into an unknown stance as he drew out his Heavenly Spirit sword,letting it's virgin blades shine as it's hidden power pulsed,searching for a way to channel it as Adray gave it a medium to channel-cutting down a bunch of monsters. "Take this!Lightning Flash!" and suddenly the room was lit with an intense flash,blinding everyone in it.
When Nel covered her eyes,unable to see anything but her ears picked up the definite sounds of a sword cutting into flesh was heard before the metal hitting metal sounded. When she could see again,Adray was standing just a few feet from Darkar who was holding the Heavenly Spirit back with the lance, "What are you doing you fools!Slay this fool!" the monsters tried to move in on Adray's unguarded rear but within a few inches of movement and then they fell apart,into large chunks of mutated flesh,shocking Darkar whose grip on Adray's sword faltered.
"Hmph!You're a thousand years too young to face me and my sword!" with that declaration,Adray went in to stab Darkar but he suddenly transformed back into the battered form of Luther,a dark mist forming into a dark bird,it let out shriek as Darkar's voice came forth from it, "Very well done mortal but I've absorbed enough energy from this vessel to maintain myself. You can have this pathetic mortal back." Adray passed Luther to Nel,she was amazed at how light Luther was,it was like carrying a child but when she saw his weakened and possibly starved body,he was carefully put down in a safe corner of the room with Roger volunteering to guard him.
"I Lord Darkar!The Shadow Phoenix shall destroy you!" Darkar swooped down,firing spheres of darkness at everyone,only Roger and Adray were unaffected as their weapons' holy effects protected them,Ble'al saw that Nel was a bit distracted to actually defend herself so he rushed over to her,using himself as a shield that promptly buckled as his body took multiple hits, "Ble'al !" Nel gasped as she saw Ble'al take damage,the face he had was not of pain but calmness, "Do not worry Maiden,I'm merely a lowly guardian of Kaddan's Secrets...so goodbye." he turned around to face Darkar,materializing the signature weapon of the Crystal Knights,a shield and lance of crystal.
"Hmph!You're nothing compared to me you lowly little whelp!" Darkar let loose a stream of dark fire,causing Ble'al's shield to crack bit by bit as the flames licked at it,making it brittle more and more as pieces fell off the more Ble'al charged,all of his concentration focused on maintaining the integrity of the lance,the weapon filled with his magical power. The flames intensified as Ble'al finally fell to pieces just as he thrust his lance forward,impaling Darkar,his screams of agony was heard, "No!I will not be defeated! Not again!" the lance shattered as the energy in it burst out,enveloping him in a pure white flame. Nel was shocked at Ble'al's demise as she and the others watched on as the white flames engulfed him.
When it was over,they turned their attention towards Luther,who was still coughing blood as he regained consciousness, "Man,he looks seriously beat up,wonder how he ended up here ?" Adray nodded as he wiped his sword before sheathing it, "I know,I thought we defeated him years ago but here he is." When Luther set his eyes behind them,he materialized his lance and launched it,everyone went into a defensive stance but when the lance hit,none of them were hurt. They turned around to see what was left of Darkar,with Luther's lance stuck half way through his torso, "Damn you!I will be back!Even if it takes me another 2000 years!" and he crumpled up into rusted pieces of metal and dried out bones that melted away into a pool of black goo which Nel promptly disintegrated with three Firebolts.
"I...be..lieve you have..questions...for me.." Luther staggered to his feet as he fell down once more before Adray held him up, "Indeed we do Luther but for now,we need to bring you back to Aquaria for treatment." Roger became adamant at the idea, "Are you nuts!? This guy tried to get rid of us and our universe a couple of years ago!" Adray ignored the Menodix as he lifted Luther up, "He may have tried to kill us back then but he saved us just now didn't he ?" with Roger's argument now pointless,he followed Nel and Adray out of the chamber and to their surprise,the clumps and clusters of flesh shriveled up and disappeared and remaining Executioners suddenly vanished just before they were about to be slain.
When they reached camp,Elena walked up to the group and saw Luther, "Ah,it's good to see you again Mr President." Luther looked at Elena and nodded weakly, "Indeed..it is good to see...you too..but can..this wait...until I'm...better ?" Elena nodded before ordering for a carriage to come and get Luther and the others aboard, "The Black Brigade will clear away any monsters for our safe passage to Arias." Nel was perplexed at this, "Arias ? Isn't Aquaria closer ?" Elena had Woltar pull out a map and placed it on a small table in the carriage.
"Unfortunately Lady Zelpher,the roads to Aquaria is far too treacherous as there's been a rise of monster activity and both Aquaria and Airyglyph forces are doing as best as they can to stop them and Peterny is not viable because we don't need any unwanted attention so the Border Village of Arias will be perfect as it's still in the process of being demilitarized." Adray grinned widely as he remembered his daughter will still be stationed there, "Yeah and I can check up and my daughter. Hopefully she's met a good man by now." Nel sighed at Adray while she saw Roger eating a fruit that he must've made at the workshop,for some reason they never rot or go bad which she was grateful for as she took out a packet of Umai-Bo and took a bite, 'Squid ?..It'll do' she shrugged her shoulders before chewing on it slowly.
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(15th Militia Spaceport,Storage Room)
David whistled as he walked up to the large vessel they've just discovered,he touched what appeared to be the hull of the vessel, "This is so unreal..." he jumped back when a gun like device popped out and aimed at him and since no one was even armed,they could only watch to see what it'll do to them. David expected to be vaporized or just filled full of bullets but was merely scanned and was presented with a hologram of Jake.
"Hello Captain Schultz,I said captain because you'll now be the captain of this new experimental ship I've secretly developed for the G Units. The reason for why I built this vessel is to combat terrorists but with the recent activities going on in various sectors and such,I've decide to change it's purpose from an anti-terrorist vessel into a warship,one that might just help save the Pangalatic Federation from someone that's rumored to pull the strings of various stinger factions. I don't know who he or she is but I've got one definite information,this person controls a vessel called the Crimson Noble. As such,I'm giving you control over the vessel that'll protect everyone,I christen the ship,the Olympian Justice."
The hologram then shut off before David looked back to the technicians behind him, "Well,let's check out this ship then." most of the group decided it was better to gather the much needed supplies first while a handful went with David and Andrew.
(Ship Interior)
Through a little bit of prodding and probing,an entrance was found at the front of the ship and when they entered it,they discovered that it was a launch catapult as they went further into the hangar just beyond the catapult,there were nine empty docking bays,four at each side and one in the middle of the hangar,all appear to be made for mobile suits. "You think these will fit the Zakus too ?" Andrew's officer checked one of the docking bay's specifications and jumped back when a slot opened up and a rifle popped out, "Well,at least we know that the engineers will have weapons." David nodded at Andrew's comments as they went through the door that lead to the halls.
After finding various rooms the cafeteria,the medical bay,and now the bridge,the doors to the bridge opened up and saw that it wasn't the conventional bridge used by the Federation as the terminals were sectioned off. After investigation,they saw that the ship's status and communication terminals were right in front of the captain's chair while the navigations and shields control were at the end,they also found the weapon control terminal under the platform the captain's chair was by accident when one of the techs was heard yelling profanity when a laser turret blew his hat into a charred crumple and nearly his head too if he didn't bend over earlier to pick up his tool.
"Commander,you better check this out." Andrew went over to David's side and saw the terminal which displayed a large room,marked armory with a sub-category called Cyclops,next to the barracks which was rather small compared to the armory. "Think we should check it out ?" the two then left,letting the people that came with them look into the Olympian Justice's more advanced controls.
(Armory)
The door to the armory opened as the light from the halls dimly lit the armory,the walked in cautiously as their flashlights suddenly went out but fortunately,the lights turned on one by one,showing it's two occupants it's secret as dozens upon dozen of mechanical suits shined in the light,armed with multiple weapons,a group was armed with gatling guns,others missiles,cannons,pulse guns or a combination of sorts,the sole defining trait of each machine was that their canopy was a deep amber color.
Approaching the machines,a small pillar popped out and like before,Jake's hologram popped out, "This message goes to both Captain Schultz and the other members of the G Project." David looked down at his feet as he remembered the three pilots dying,all by Schilling's forces,he was thankful that Reika had survived.
"As you may have already see,the Olympian Justice has various design alterations that differs from the Federation's standards. Like the Cyclops you see before you,they are the fruits of my research,powered exo-suits that's as powerful a squad of fully equipped marines and able to take twice the damage. I've developed the Cyclops to aid you in the hopes that they'll take down the man behind the Crimson Noble,you'll find out all you need to know from the files I left behind on your desk,you should have found it by now according to my calculations. Good Luck."
The hologram disappeared,leaving the two to ponder on Jake's message,they decided to leave for now and repair the stations but just before the door closed,a ball of light floated around the armory,whistling a tune, "Did you hear that ?" "Hear what Commander Heinmann ?" he strained his ear to hear more but nothing was heard besides the sound of their breathing so he shook his head, "Nothing,must be the lack of sleep,might as well grab one of the rooms in the living quarters. See you later David." David saluted as Andrew walked away. "I wonder how you built all this secretly..."
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(Royal Grace,Manor)
Reina continued healing Argus when the healer had to attend to the injured civilians and guards who had escaped the remaining rampant drones. She looked sadly at Argus' battered body,she weeped softly,feeling that she could've done something to save him from getting hurt so much,she then felt a familiar warmth of a finger and heard Argus' words when he woke up from his near death experience at the Fortress of Light, "Now,now,why are you,a beautiful young woman crying ?" he said weakly before getting up but in his weakened state,his attempt was futile at best. Reina didn't know what to do as she watched Argus struggling to get up.
"You stay still while I get someone to look at you." Argus gladly complied as he laid still,happy that he's still alive though weakened as he is right now. The healer came back as she examined him,Reina looked a little worried as the healer checked his vitals, "Hmmm,well his body has several puncture wounds that are healing quite well,everything seems to check out,his magic levels are stable,the only thing wrong is that his body is depleted of physical energy,in other words he needs food." and as if on cue,Argus' stomach groaned,making the healer giggle and Reina gawked at the absurdity of Argus' condition. "Now that you mentioned it,I haven't had a bite to eat since yesterday morning."
The healer frowned at this as she glared at the prince, "Your Highness,you have got to look after yourself better,you are going to rule Eraklion one day and I'd prefer a king that can at least take care of himself as well as he cares for his people." she sighed as Argus nodded meekly, "Alright,I'll get the cook to whip something up." Argus nodded and she left to attend to her duties.
"So umm.." Argus uttered softly as he looked at Reina who just turned her back to him, "About my engagement...you do know that I had no idea about it right ? And I'm sorry for making you upset." Reina remained silent but turned around,walked up to him and gave him a stinging slap, "That was for making me worry about you!" "Ow!...Ok,I deserved that." Argus rubbed his sore cheek before he was pulled into a deep embrace, "Ok..I don't know if I deserved this but I hope this means that you've forgiven me."
She let him go and sat on the bedside, "I forgive you but it's really unfair...I truly wish I could be with you..." her eyes started tearing up but Argus hugged her from behind,a bit of his energy recovered. "I do too...maybe I could break the engagement and perhaps get our parent's blessings for our engagement." His mind started formulating plans for the future but they were all shot down when Reina said, "No you can't,your 19-year-long engagement can't possibly be broken so easily and it would possibly break your fiancee's heart."
"But what if she didn't know about this engagement as well ?" a drop of hope entered her mind but it dried up instantly, "What if she does ?What if that girl was raised up from childhood,her upbringing focused on the point of marrying you one day..what will you do then ?" this was a question that Argus couldn't answer, "I could....I could do nothing about it...but please,on the hope that the girl that I'm engaged to doesn't know about the engagement as well,you'll wait,won't you ?" Reina stood up,turned to him and bent over to give him a chaste kiss, "I will." she then walked out of the room. When she closed the door she hugged herself, "But I'm not keeping my hopes too high..." she bumped into Marion who was carrying several baskets of food, "Why don't you help me with these dearie" Reina nodded as she took a basket.
(30 Minutes Later)
After eating his food,Argus got dressed in new clothes and went out of his room,seeing that some of the civilians looked at him in awe. He smiled as he squatted down to a man who was holding a wounded arm, "Can you tell me what happened to you ?" the man looked at him meekly, "I was hit by one of the drones Your Highness while ushering my family to safety." he gestured to a woman caring for two sleeping children, "Then allow me to relieve you of your pain." he held his hand over the wound and almost instantly,it closed up as a small scar appeared on his arm,a drop of blood came out before it closed up as well.
"Thank you Your Highness." Argus nodded as he moved on,helping any wounded he could find and giving a boost to everyone's morale. He soon came across Oliver who was informed earlier of his current disposition and ran over to him, "Your Highness!Should you even be moving about ?" Argus put on a grin and said, "I'm the crown prince,the future king of Eraklion,I must see if my people are alright." he walked a few steps away before stopping, "And Oliver,could you do me a favor ?" Oliver stood still as he awaited Argus' orders, "Can you find out to whom I'm exactly engaged to ?" Oliver nodded slowly as he remembered why the garden was in ruins and a number of the guards were battered and bruised.
"Thank you...Hmm,very strange. Have you seen Trevor and Sera,I thought they would be around here somewhere." Oliver tugged at his shirt collar as he composed himself to tell Argus where they were, "T-They were-" "They're going to check on what's our location by going outside of the ship." though of course,the elven advisor was interrupted by Reina who was handing out food to the people. "What !?" Oliver backed away a bit as Argus' eyes glared at him, "Calm down Your Highness,there's no danger at all. The ship's scanners detect no dangers within the immediate area." his communicator beeped, "If you'll excuse me prince,I need to take this."
The moment he turned it on,a small alarm blared,startling everyone within earshot, "Advisor!The scanners have detected a contact in the vicinity and it's headed straight for the ship!" Oliver turned back nervously,expecting Argus to yell at him but all he saw was basket of food just falling onto the floor and the sounds of the door to the garden opening, "Oh dear..." he turned attention back to the communicator, "Resume your duties,I'll need to gather a few guards to help the prince."
"Are you sure it was right to leave just like that Argus ?" Reina asked,following Argus who was running in her fairy form, "Yeah!Besides,he'd only try to stop us." he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, "What's wrong Argus ?" Reina landed next to him and looked at him as he shook his head, "I don't know...but I just felt a familiar presence nearby." Reina then sniffed the air and let out a calm breath, "Hmm..smells like the ocean,wonder if we've landed on a beach somewhere." Argus shrugged his shoulders before they continued on the pathways,the smell of the salty ocean guiding them.
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(Andros,Coral Beds,Exterior of the Royal Grace)
The hull of the Royal Grace was mostly intact after the impact into the dried up coral bed,only a few scratches marred it's exterior and piece of it suddenly launched itself outward,into the coral beds below. Trevor stepped out into the sunlight but didn't notice that the hatch was a few feet off of the ground so he fell into the ground below,he groaned while Sera snickered at his fall before making a comment, "You know,one of these days you're going to break your neck like that."
"I know...ugh..Mind tossing me the Geo-Scanner ?" Sera nodded and threw it out at his open hands but missed and hit Trevor's head instead, "Ow!That hurt...oh the scanner." he picked it up from a bunch of sea weed, "Wait a minute...is this seaweed ?" he poked it and it squelched under his finger, "Let's see if the Geo-Scanner can tell us where we are." The scanner then beeped,indicating it was done, "Ok,it says that we're in the coral reefs of Andros....wait,what ?" Trevor looked at the illustrations and the surrounding area and he still couldn't believe it.
"So where are we ?" Sera by now had sat down,her legs dangling over the edge,expecting to hear the answer, "You're going to need to see this for yourself to believe it." she gently grasped her hands in the the edge of the hatchway and vaulted herself down and walked over to Trevor who was about to hand the scanner to her but something hit it and shattered it against the ground, "What the !Who's there ?" Trevor made a move to grab his sword while Sera armed her claws,both waiting for an attack.
There was no reply,only the whistling of the wind to which Trevor brought out his sword in a defensive stance and it was hit by a giant metal fan that was deflected but instead of falling down,it turned it's way back to it's owner who was standing on the top deck of the Royal Grace. The person was wearing a cloak with a hood over their head so the identity of the attacker was unknown as the fan was retrieved,folded into a sword and the unknown jumped down,two swords at their sides before it opened up,twirling it around,creating a tornado of water,safely landing on the ground.
When the unknown landed,the cloak flapped in the wind,revealing the petite frame of a girl but Trevor didn't let his guard down as he eyed the swords in the girl's hands, "Who are you ?Why did you attack us ?" the girl just went into an attack stance, "My identity is none of your concern but your ship almost crushed me so you're going to pay!" the girl rushed Sera and promptly knocked her claws away before freezing her hands and to a part of the rocks supporting the corals and before Trevor could react,he was also knocked away and frozen in place.
"Damn!That was fast." the girl approached Trevor and looked at him as he looked at her icy blue eyes before looking away shyly, "For two people with Specialist-gear,you must be from Red Fountain but who knew the new generation is so weak." she chuckled and this made Trevor angry as he glared at her, "Aw,what you going to do ? Glare me to death ? Please don't make me laugh,there's no way a wuss like you can take me on." Tevor then used his magic to melt the ice, "That's it!You mad me mad!" and launched a surprise attack that the girl easily dodged.
"Big deal,you can use magic and have a short fuse,you can't beat me!" the girl unfurled the swords into their fan counterparts and charged him,he dodged the attack or so he thought as he then saw and barely took out his shield to deflect the blow, "Looks like the little wuss of a Specialist knows how to fight." Trevor yelled as he sent multiple fireballs at the girl,but a wave of water appeared out of nowhere and blocked it,creating a steamy mist, "Where are you!Tell me so I can send a fireball into your face!"
The girl's taunting echoed through the mist, "Temper,temper or you'll lose focus...not that you had much to begin with." the girl giggled as Trevor lashed out at where he thought the girl was but no one was there. "Trevor!Above you!" Sera yelled when she spotted their attacker sitting on a coral bed outcropping. "Oh darn it,you found my hiding place,you have really good eyes." her words dribbled in sarcasm before jumping into the mist and solidified them into ice,freezing Trevor into place but he once again melted it away. He roared as he sent fireball after fireball after the girl who yawned and let it hit her but it wasn't really her but an illusion created by a pink goo.
"Thought you'd hit me huh ? Well fat chance,you're such a lousy shot that you can't even hit the broadside of a Krakken!" Trevor suddenly lashed out with two blasts of fire but once again missed before he felt a tap on his shoulder,he turned around and saw the girl,and blasted a fireball at her,burning off the hood,revealing a face. "Hey!That was my favorite cloak!Now you're in for it!" she kicked Trevor back,before clapping her hands together,two waves of water appeared and pummeled him and she blew on her hands gently and whispered, 'Freezing Torment' and the waters encasing Trevor started freezing solid until, 'Inferno Claymore!' a flaming sword cut a swath through the ice and melted it and creating a force that sent the girl flying. Argus was standing at the edge of the hatch,a flaming sword in his hand dissipated "Stop this whoever you are ?Anesha ?" Anesha coughed as she laid on her back,her eyes then looked at Argus, "Argus? Is that you ?"
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(Pirate Ship,Hall)
The large creature punched him away as he flew a few inches away,the weight of his armor,keeping him rooted, "Humph!You are the intruder that infiltrated the ship ? I'll cut off your head and present it to the captain!" he roared as he removed a handle and two blades of plasma materialized,forming a curved hand guard and into two straight plasma blades,it charged him,ready to decapitate him if he hadn't sidestep the attack and fired the carbine,each shot pierced a shield similar to his own,fortunately the carbine's plasma-based rounds pierced through it and hit the creature,dealing mortal wounds.
As the creature laid there dying,it uttered out cryptic words, "May I meet my forefathers as I go on the Great Journey." before it died. Jake walked over to the corpse and closed it's eyes. Jake reloaded the carbine and moved on into the halls,running into more pirates glared at him, "Get him!" he ducked behind a corner when they all fired their weapons. In response,he took his two remaining shockwave grenades and tossed them in,the second going a little farther down the hall and crouched back into the corner,the two explosives detonated,dealing with the pirates.
After scavenging some more equipment,Jake fought his way through a few more hallways,encountering more and more pirates, "How in the world does a single ship has so many crew members." he muttered tiredly as he ran while dodging gunfire from the rear,he saw a door in a corner and ran through it before locking it up,hearing that his pursuers missed him. "Phew...that was close." he looked around and found himself in a room with a number of control terminals,he checked the controls and saw they were the gun controls but when he looked down,he saw a few of the pirates tied up with bruises or cuts on their bodies.
"How did they end up like this ?" his armor's radar spotted someone behind him and he turned around to meet a dagger,he held it back with his forearm and pushed back at the attacker and readied the carbine to fire but saw that the one who attacked him was a young girl,16 or 17 at least. The girl relaxed when he put away the weapon, "So who are you ?" Jake looked closely at the girl,the girl's hair was of an ash blond tone,her blue-green eyes stood out of her olive skin tone,she wore a halter top that went an inch above her middle,a sleeveless vest covered it and also held a few more daggers as she sheathed the one used earlier,and a pair of shorts with boots that seem typical of many spacers as they went up above the shin which Jake saw had small knives attached to them.
"I'm Commander Jacob Cain,I'm here to disable this pirate vessel and to continue on my way after I've dealt with the captain of the vessel." The girl giggled before nodding, "Well Mr Cain,my name is Marie Grazyk and I'm on an undercover mission for my captain to bring down this rogue crew and since we're after the same thing,we might as well work together." Jake nodded in agreement before turning to the terminals to shut the cannons off and reestablished contact with Zeke, "Zeke,Jake here. The cannons are out so you can move in the dropships now."
"Roger that,we'll rendezvous with you once we get into the hangar." he then went to the door and saw on his suit's internal radar read that there are several hostiles outside the door, "Come on Zeke,just make a flashy entrance like you always do." there was soon a sound of crashing that was followed by gunfire,the hostiles moved away and Jake opened the door and fired the two plasma pistols' charged blasts,taking out a few of the pirates who had their backs to him before he let loose the carbine on them while Marie threw her daggers skillfully,hitting the retreating pirates though they somehow reappeared back into her hands after their victims fall dead.
"How did you ? Nevermind,come quickly. We'll need to assist my men." Marie nodded but sped ahead of him, "You better follow me since I know these halls like the back of my hand." after a few minutes of running,they opened a door to the wrong room, "Like the back of your hand huh ?" Marie stuck her tongue out at him, "So sue me,at least you can get something better than those dinky pistols." He nodded before he grabbed a weapon larger than the pistols but Marie took it away from him, "Oh,I don't think you should use that gun,that Scarab Gun almost fried everyone when it was tested,here take this plasma rifle." she grinned as she handed him a gun similar to the one he just grabbed earlier,he looked at her with an odd look but Marie couldn't exactly tell as his face was hidden by his helmet as she led him again along the hallways.
Following the sounds of gunfire,Jake came back to the hangar he came in and like he predicted,his men were fighting the pirates,taking the Plasma Rifle,he aimed and pulled the trigger but was sent flying by the recoil as the weapon discharged a large bolt of energy like the ones a battleship's Phase Cannons,only more focused but just as devastating as it essentially cooked the pirates alive.
Zeke peeked out from his cover as he saw Jake,he waved enthusiastically as he ran over to him,the marines with him,came out cautiously,their weapons at the ready in case of enemy reinforcements, "Hey Jake,glad you made it..uh,who's the girl ?" Marie grinned as she introduced herself and unexpectedly,some of the marines pointed their weapons at her, "Stand down marines!She's with us." "But sir!She's a pirate,she might kill us when our backs are turned." Jake stood between the marines and Marie, "I said stand down,I'll take full responsibility for her actions." the marines uneasily obeyed,a little disgruntled.
"Good,now we need to go through the ship,eliminate any hostiles and locate the captain and take him down. That's why Miss Grazyk here will lead us to the ship's bridge." Marie waved at the marines who nodded slowly, "Ok boys,follow me...oh yeah,sorry about giving you the wrong gun Mr Cain they all look alike,here's the real plasma gun." with the overpowered gun replaced,the squad of marines and their leader followed Marie through the door and down the halls.
(30 Minutes Later)
The group had reached the location where Marie said the captain was with little incident and the number of guards at the door"Alright,there's a lot of guards here,I'll distract them while you go through the door." A couple of the marines volunteered to accompany Marie, "Aw thanks guys,we'll go on three...Ready...Three!" Marie yelled as she dashed into the corridor and threw her daggers quickly,hitting most of her intended targets,the two marines giving cover fire before they retreated as several pirates ran after them, "You can't catch me you slowpokes!" she laughed as she ran and dodged bullets and energy bolts.
"Well bud,that girl's either really brave or a real ditz." Jake nodded as he checked the carbine's remaining ammunition count, "Alright,let's go and finished this marines." the remaining soldiers nodded and charged through into the room and came face to face with a man sitting upon a simple swivel chair,the man looked to be in his early thirties as he looked calmly at the intruders before him, "Welcome to my ship,you Federation lapdogs!" one of the marines was angered by the insult and aimed to fire but Zeke stopped him, "It's your call Jake."
"You must be Captain Alphis Dracoy,come quietly or we'll have no choice but to use deadly force." Alphis laughed,mocking them before he got up from his seat and walked slowly down the steps from the ship's control, "My,my for mere pawns of the Federation,you sure are boastful,perhaps I should just kill you and present your heads to Lord Schilling." he pulled out a pistol from his gold trimmed jacket and aimed it at Jake's head, "What!?You mean Schilling is alive ?" Zeke looked cautiously at Jake as his hands curled into fists and with quick reflexes,he took out the carbine and fired,the plasma rounds hitting Alphis dead on.
After using the whole rounds canister,it ejected itself green gas flowing out as it hissed,Jake glared at Alphis as the pirate staggered to his feet and to everyone's surprise,laughed. "You think that I'll be harmed just by that ?" he took out another pistol and started firing,forcing everyone to duck for cover while Jake discarded the carbine and shoot at Alphis with the plasma rifle but the plasma bolts were merely absorbed or deflected by Alphis as Jake tried his best to evade his shots. The marines provided a distraction as they fired at him but to no avail, "Give it up!You can't hope to win!"
"I can try!Take this!" he took a plasma grenade and threw it at Alphis and since he was preoccupied with gloating,it exploded and just to be safe,he fired the plasma rifle until it overheated. "Zeke!Toss me a gun!" a pulse rifle was thrown over to him as he let loose the gun's energy bolts,hearing them pierce flesh, "Gah!I won't lose!" Jake was hit as a stream of energy bolts hit him in the chest,the brunt of the hit was taken by his shields before they failed completely,the small shield generator went off as it hummed to life again,trying to provide a recharge to the shields but it malfunctioned much to his chagrin. With no other weapons to help him and his shields now gone,Alphis sent another barrage at him. He ran as fast as he could before he jumped and crashed into the wall,disoriented from the hit.
Alphis laughed once more as he walked slowly on his wounded leg towards Jake and Zeke saw this, "Open fire!" the marines fired their pulse rifles while Zeke fired a handgun. Alphis didn't bothered as the energy bolts didn't touch him as he aimed both his pistols at Jake,ready to finish him off until Jake's hand grabbed something like a handle and in a desperate move,used it to attack Alphis and luckily it was a sword made of metal that pierced the pirate's armor and into his abdomen, "H..How...Lord S..Schil..ling,why..why did..your gift..failed me." he then fell back as Zeke pulled out the sword and threw it away,he looked at his blood-soaked hands as he remembered the day of his family's death,his vision was replaced with that of his ungloved hands,drenched in blood and instead of Alphis,he saw his family's corpses. He shook his head to clear his head but the stim-pack's effect had worn away by now as he fell asleep standing.
Zeke walked over to his friend as he knocked on the helmet's visor but the best he got was a snore before he fell back,still asleep after the fall. "Wow,deep sleeper huh ?" Zeke turned around to see Marie with the marines who accompanied her. She went over to Alphis' prone body and kicked it and he responded by groaning, "He's alive and coming with me to face a tribunal of the pirate lords." Zeke's communicator beeped as he answered it, "Sir!Multiple Gravitic Warp Tunnels opening up to the starboard and portside!The cannons are armed and ready to fire!" Marie was on her own communicator as she shouted to Zeke, "Don't worry,they're with me." "Well,you heard her,power down those guns." Zeke picked Jake up with some difficulty as he proceeded to take him back to the Diplo, "Man Jake,you really need to cut down on those ration packs. Well,better get you back before Cecille decides to come herself."
Alright my dear readers,here is what I've written for you to read and hopefully,it'll tide you over since I'll be going into a hiatus for a while,how long it'll last,I don't know. Also,before I continue,I'd like to point out that some of the ideas in this chapter was written thanks to Shinryu.(not the character) Thanks for the help.
Furthermore,I believe you've read about the latest addition of Ocs,Marie Grazyk who belongs to White95,a friend of mine from the Tribal Wars site.
Now for this chapter's WiVo:
Since Argus has obtained some control over the elemental magic of water,where do you think he'll get to test it out in the mortal realm ?
A. Krakken's Lair
B. Andros Royal Palace
C. Ronand's Mining Operation Site