Author's note:Well,it appears that I haven't updated the story in quite a while and I apologize since I was busy with certain matters in my life. Now with that said and done,it is time to start this chapter.
On a side note:I'll be excluding some of the character segments to avoid more spoilers(and cause I'm too lazy).
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.
(Andros,Coral Reefs,Exterior the of Royal Grace)
Argus jumped down from the hatch and made his way towards Anesha who was currently pinned down by Trevor who earlier took the opportunity to tackle and pin her down with his sword,inches away from her face, "So you think you got me pinned huh ?" Trevor remained silent as he glared at her,moving the tip of his sword closer to her face as he was unaware that Anesha was aiming for his rear with a leg made from pink goo and the tip of the feet made of ice but Argus then cut off the sharp tip and took the sword from Trevor's hands, "Stand down Trevor." Trevor was reluctant as he took out a dagger,holding up against her neck.
"Are you crazy ?! She attacked us!She nearly killed me for no reason!" during his tirade,Anesha used the Morfix leg to kick him in the rear and sent him flying a few good feet, "Hello!Your ship nearly made me into a princess pate!" Argus helped her up as he looked at her, "Hey Trevor,you alright ?" Trevor groaned as he got back up and pulled a blaster at Anesha. Argus quickly went to her defense, "Put the blaster down Trevor,she's my friend." Trevor nodded and hesitantly lowered the weapon. "Thanks,allow me to introduce my long time friend, Princess Anastasia Tydiana La Andros but she prefers to be called Anesha." Anesha yawned at this,before giving Argus a noogie to which he protested as he smoothed back his hair, "Thanks buddy but I doubt your friend has time to listen before she freezes her ears off." Argus raised his eyebrow at this comment before Trevor evidently panicked and ran over to Sera who was still trapped in ice.
"G..Gee..g..gla..glad you re....bered me!" Sera was chattering her teeth as Trevor flash melted the ice around her,she fell forward before going into a fetal position,trying to warm herself up,Trevor placed his jacket over her as he created a fireball to warm her up, "Tha..Thanks..thought I would become a Specialist-cicle for bit there...ah a li..little better." Trevor looked as Sera warmed herself with his fire,he decided to ask Sera a question while they were like this, "Sera...are you a fairy ?" Sera looked at him and answer with a hint of nervousness, "You're kidding right ? If I was a fairy,I would've turned into one by now." Trevor nodded and coughed to cover his embarrassment. Sera didn't notice this as she sat closer to the fire
"So Argus,what are you doing here anyway ?" Argus chuckled nervously a bit as he gestured at the Royal Grace, "Well...you see,it's a long story..but basically,we've crashed landed here by coincidence,the whole story best told when we get to your palace." Anesha nodded before she spotted his new armband, "Cool!Is that the unreleased Battle-Armbands GX3000 ?" Argus showed his friend the armbands as her eyes suddenly had an odd glimmer in her eyes as she examined it,while asking questions until she felt his muscle, "Ah...I see you've finally gained some muscles on those skinny bones of yours,at least Red Fountain produced nice lean Specialists if not hot-headed wimps like that guy over there." in response,Trevor sent a small fireball at her but she doused it out with some ice she conjured.
While Anesha chatted with Argus,Reina looked at them,happy that no one had truly got hurt but there was a twinge of jealousy in her heart as she saw Anesha chatting with Argus so happily,she decided to join in so as not to feel left out but tripped and fell out of the hatch but Argus heard her yelp as he dashed over and held out his arms as Reina fell into them in the nick of time, "You okay Reina ?" "Yeah...I'm alright." Anesha approached them as she teased them a bit, "Aw,aren't you two the cutest couple I ever seen,you two on your honeymoon ?." They remembered their position before Argus hastily put Reina down,their faces flushed with red but before Anesha could tease them some more,several skeletons rosed up from nowhere and surrounded them.
"How did these things get here ?" Argus took out twin long swords and went into a defensive stance,intending to protect Reina while Anesha took out her Blade Fans in their unfurled form,taking a few arrows that pinged off of the large surface area of her weapon as she attacked the nearest group of undead, "Reina,get to Trevor,he may need help,I'll go after Anesha." Reina reluctantly nodded as she transformed into her fairy form and flew towards Trevor who was barely holding off the monsters as his movement was sluggish when the side effects of being frozen kicked in,though Sera had the short end of the stick as her body was still too numb to hold even a blaster as she had no choice but to leave the fighting to Trevor but was relieved when Reina joined in the fray with her magic though the fairy wished that her magic was holy-based like her friend Rosa instead of her fire magic as her fireballs were having not much effect as the skeletons were damp from the sea air but she kept using her magic as she had forgotten her pouch belt back on the Royal Grace.
While Reina and Trevor fought off the skeletons on their end,Argus caught up with Anesha who was now fighting a large number of skeletal creatures that were once living sea creatures of Andros' past,a large being made of mangled bones and decomposing scales screeched before making a rush at Anesha's unguarded back but Argus cut in between it and Anesha before it was sent flying off in pieces, "Did I asked for your help ?" Anesha complained as she deflected a few blows and countered as more bones were sent flying. Argus defeated a few more foes before his back came in contact with Anesha's, "A simple 'Thank you' would've been nice!" the two started fighting in synchronization,their moves seemed as they'd complimented each other's techniques as they quickly defeated the monsters in a matter of minutes.
Argus bent over to a piece of bone and examined it before using his armband to analyze it, "Odd...it says that these bones have been buried under layers of sediment and rock for centuries if not a millennium or more...these bones are ancient,they're rock solid fossils,what's going on here Anesha ?" Anesha looked at her fans that were nicked all over as she barely folded them up and put them away, "Well Argus...you see..Andros is.." before she could tell Argus something,a scream was heard and Argus ran off with Anesha in tow though when they reached the source of the scream,they were rather disappointed but relieved that the source of the scream came from Trevor as Sera who had warmed up enough to move properly again was bandaging up his wounds he got in the fight, "Ow!Ow!It stings so much!" he was hit over the head by Sera as she rubbed her forehead, "Would you quit it with your whining." Trevor whimpered but growled when he saw Anesha, "Thanks to your freeze attack,my skin is suffering freezer burn!Argh!" Sera had intentionally bound a bandage a little too tightly to shut Trevor up while Reina quietly healed the burns as best as she could.
"Hehe,aw the little hothead of a specialist can't handle frostbite too well ?" Trevor subconsciously let loose a fiery aura that was suppressed when Aiden inside of Trevor pulled it back in 'Easy there young Trevor,now is not the time to go berserk here.' Argus pulled Anesha away before whispering into her ear, "Why Argus,I didn't knew you had it in you..." Anesha purred teasingly as Argus groaned as he really disliked her teasing at that moment, "Enough Anastasia,it's better to not provoke him if I were you." Anesha stomped his foot as he hopped on one foot in pain, "Well you're not me now are you!And it's Anesha to you jerk!" she sauntered off into the the coral beds before Reina went to Argus, "Are you alright Argus..." Argus nodded as the pain quickly dulled,he brought out a communicator and intended to contact Oliver until the elf himself showed up with a compliment of guards with him.
"Your Highness!Are you alright ?" he climbed down carefully on a rope ladder followed by the guards with him who jumped down instead of using the ladder, "Good,you're here,what's the status of the Royal Grace,is she operational ?" Oliver shook his head, "Unfortunately,the ship will not be able to move she needs replacement parts that aren't even produced anymore." Argus nodded as he looked at the grand ship before him,that had served his family for generations..now a wreck that's possibly beyond repair, "I understand,alright I want everyone aboard the ship evacuated,with the drones gone amok and skeleton soldiers here,the people must be moved to safety."
"Skeleton soldiers ?" Oliver looked around saw the remains of the undead attackers "I see your reasoning Your Highness but where will we go ?" Argus looked in the surrounding area and he remembered something, "The Eraklion Family Summer Home,it should be in that direction,have the guards escort the civilians while we scout ahead." Oliver nodded before he followed the guards back inside. Reina retrieved her belt from a guard who brought it to her as she thanked him,he blushed before saluting and running back. "Alright,is everyone ready ?" Argus turned around to see everyone readying themselves while a couple of guards remained at the hatch,probably to keep the monsters out. "Be careful out there Your Highness!" Argus nodded before they left in the direction of where the castle was supposed to be at.
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(Elicoor II,Village of Arias)
After the war was over,Airyglyph and Aquaria sent supplies to rebuild the border village that had suffered so much during the war and it had came a long way since then as the village was mostly restored. Since the owner of the mansion had permanently moved into Peterny,the mansion was converted into a security outpost though it was only done so as a formality as the mansion remained the same as it did,only a small company of a few soldiers from Airyglyph and Aquaria were stationed there. A carriage outside the mansion was seen as the Lums pulling it were led away to the stables,a few curious children peeked around but was found by their mother as she took them by the ears and went back home with them in tow.
Inside the living room,Claire set a tray with teacups down on the small table before filling them with tea and passed them to everyone, "Thanks Claire." Roger tried to flirt with her but one look at Adray's eyes,he decided to quit before things get out of hand. "Well,how is our patient Miss Lasbard ?" Elena was a little curious about Luther's condition as she drank the tea despite it being piping hot and be unaffected by it. "Well,he's recuperating quite well. No serious injuries were inflicted so all he needed were some minor healing,food and plenty of rest and he should be up within a few days." Footsteps from the creaky stairs were heard before the door opened as Luther walked in making everyone besides Elena tensed, "I beg to differ my dear hostess but I thank you for that humble meal."
Luther leaned over and kissed Claire's hand, "But you should be in bed,resting...how ?" Claire was blushing heavily as Luther looked at her with his eyes, "I am the Creator." he replied simply and turned around to address Nel and the others in a humbled manner,a far cry from what he used to be like, "You've changed..."
Luther nodded as he gestured to his clothes,tattered as they were,they were probably the only things he had now, "Many things has happened since my defeat that day.. I learned that my views were wrong as I managed to reverse the deletion just in time but after that I found myself weak and as helpless as a newborn baby just outside the shrine and was unfortunately found by that Darkar entity and since been confined in that dungeon since then. I tried to resist his attempts to control me until my willpower finally finally gave out...trying to break my soul and take over my body. My last trump card was to summon some Executioners to attract some help,he would have succeeded in taking over my body and if you haven't come,his powers would've devastated your world and countless others if you had not arrived in time. I thank you for stopping him." he bowed to the three and Roger decided to take advantage of it.
"Well,since you're sorry and all,I'm sure if you make me taller I can forgive you." Luther grunted as he created a holo-console and started typing on it before Roger found himself growing taller as his field of vision became higher and when he opened his eyes,he was overlooking everyone, "Cool!I'm tall now!Hey,what are you laughing at ?" Claire and Nel were giggling like schoolgirls which was unusual to say the least,Adray was holding in his laughter with his large hands while Luther and Elena chuckled softly. Roger looked at himself and screamed hysterically as he saw his body didn't exactly became tall,merely stretched like taffy or chewed up gum,his body was disproportionate as his elongated body twirled and wobbled when he tried to move his still short legs, "Aahh!Change me back!Change me back!" Luther complied with a smirk as he changed Roger back to his old self with a single pop. "With the tension now gone,I believe you all have some questions for me." Luther sat down as we prepared himself to answer their questions.
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(Diplo II,Jake's Quarters)
Cecille sighed deeply while she monitored Jake's vitals as he slept like a log in his bed,it's been 5 hours since he was tucked into his bed. Zeke curiously poked and probed the suit of armor that Jake had used in the assault on the pirate ship,it was removed the moment he was back in his room,Zeke tried to put on the gauntlet and flexed his finger,trying to test it's power as he easily crushed a block of steel made from the Replicator and surprised himself as he quickly dumped the crushed cube into the Replicator and removed the glove.
Cecille nearly had a heart attack when Jake moaned in his sleep,she looked at his vitals before calming herself down. "Hmm,Zeke mind getting me some Physical Enhancers from the Replicator ?" Zeke nodded as he punched in the commands but due to the presence of the steel still not recycled,interfered with the process and shorted it out evidently when short-circuited. "Um,maybe I should get them from the Replicator down the hall ?" Cecille's glare told plenty as Zeke jogged if not bolted out of the room.
When she was certain Jake was fine,she put away her medical equipment and for some reason,found herself touching Jake's chest not for medical purposes but for mere pleasure,giggling a bit before she stopped herself and yawned as she stretched her arms up, "So you sleepy yet ?" Cecille yelped when she heard Jake wide awake with a smug smirk on his face, "Wait..you were awake ? Um,you didn't see me touching your chest did you ?"
"Actually,I woke up because of that..what did you do that for ?" Cecille blinked as she suddenly found her fingers interesting, "Um..oh that's it!" Jake was taken aback by her outburst,unexpectedly she confessed her feelings right there and then, "I've been keeping this in for years already and hell if I lose my chance again...I love you ok!" Cecille was trembling in anticipation as she wasn't sure how Jake would react, 'Why did I just let it out like that!We just re-established our friendship a few hours ago for goodness' sake!I hope he doesn't reject me...' she flinched when she felt Jake's hand on her left cheek.
"Cecille..I know you love me...but.." he hesitated as Cecille mentally prepared herself to be let down but got an answer she didn't expect, "..I think that we may have a chance to make this work...but can you please..just be patient for just a bit longer..just until we get back to Earth,ok?" Cecille smiled before she put her hands on Jake's cheeks, "Alright..I will but let me just have one kiss so that I can feel that this is real and not a dream.." Jake nodded as the gap between their faces closed,their lips soon touched and stayed there as they kissed and Jake fell back onto his pillow with Cecille in tow.
"Aw geez,first I shorted out Jake's Replicator and now I punched in the wrong amount of Physical Enhancers to make!" Zeke grumbled as he carried in his arms over a dozen Physical Enhancers as one dropped down and rolled over to the entrance to Jake's quarters,he bent down slowly to get the item before he entered the room as the door silently opened,his jaw dropped as he saw Jake and Cecille making out as he quickly deposited the medicine and turned around, "Maybe I'll come back later..." the two hardly noticed him as they continued kissing.
Zeke let out a sigh of relief as he had expected at least Cecille to react angrily to his intrusion, "What'cha sighing about ?" Zeke almost yelped in surprise when Marie Grazyk seemingly came out of nowhere along with two men dressed in attires that reminded him of colonial pirates from Earth's past but with a spacer's touch to it. "Oh,these guys are representing the Blood Hawk pirates,that's the group that I'm under." one of the representatives approached him and saluted, "Greetings sir,I'm Ed and that's my younger brother Al we're here to meet with your captain."
Zeke then remembered that Jake was in his room,probably still making out with Cecille, "Um..er,he's busy at the moment so would you gentlemen mind waiting for him in the conference room ? Allow me to show the way." the two nodded before they let themselves be guided there but the door to Jake's quarters opened up as he stepped out,in uniform and not a hint of his make out session with Cecille on him as he adjusted his uniform's collar, "I believe that won't be necessary gentlemen,please state your business." the two men nodded as they materialized a large case to Jake's surprise and presented it to him, "This is to show our captain's gratitude for helping us in taking care of Alphis." Jake opened it and was a bit intrigued to see a set of modules that upon further inspection were experimental devices made for the Mobile Suit Project,devices that were supposedly stolen by a renegade group,he eyed the two men presenting the modules to him.
"These modules were discovered aboard Alphis' ship,our captain decided that they'd be more useful in your possession than ours. Now if you'll excuse us,we must be leaving now. Come Miss Grazyk." the two men were then surrounded by swirling lights just as Marie was, "Too bad though,I wanted to stay and see your ship some more. Oh yeah,please move your ship,it'll be getting real toasty soon,well bye!" and with that they were teleported away,probably back to their ship. Jake's communicator beeped as he received a message from the bridge crew, "Sir,the pirate fleet is moving away..Wait,they're hailing us,it's a message to tell us to move away. Should I do it sir ?"
Jake remembered Marie's words as he replied, "Do it and do it quickly." within a few minutes,Jake opened up a monitor in the hallway to exterior view and saw Alphis' ship being scuttled as several explosions inside it caused it to implode as it's engines overloaded. In the aftermath,Alphis' ship remained mostly intact,that is until the pirate fleet opened fire on it,completely decimating it,leaving only scraps of metal which floated in the deep darkness of space and during that time,the pirate fleet had already warped out of the area.
The three looked at the event that unfolded before them and were unaffected by the destruction of the ship but were amazed at the precision of the scuttling. Jake shut the video feed off before walking towards the hangar, "Where're you going ?" Jake replied casually, "To the Hangar,where else ? Oh,and Cecille.." Cecille became flustered as answered back, "Yes Jake ?" Jake smirked,making her blush, "I believe that we can attend the Seraphim Sisters concert once we return back to Moonbase,it'll be a good first date. You can get us an extra ticket can't you Zeke ?" Zeke looked at the two of them before nodding, "Yeah..sure,I think I can get a hold of another ticket." Jake smiled before he walked away,leaving Zeke to ask Cecille some questions about her and Jake.
(Meanwhile,Pirate Fleet Flagship)
Marie was being escorted by Ed and Al to the bridge,they stopped and the two brothers saluted while Marie just waved at the captain who was seated in his chair,a chuckle was heard as he rose from his seat,a wooden cane tapped the floor as the room was slowly illuminated by light sources that were arranged in a similar appearance to runes.
The light revealed the entire bridge as the silent bridge crew worked at their stations,some of which were of the same species of aliens that had served Alphis but wore somewhat faded armor of different colors,the majority being blue,a handful of what appeared to be floating organs were hovering about as their multiple tentacle-like limbs tended to the engineering before they silently left.
The captain now stood before everyone,most people would've thought a pirate captain to be cold and cruel-looking,the type where people expect one to consume the souls of his victims,demonic even but instead of that exaggerated view of pirates it was James Rosen,finishing a piece of taffy as his other hand rested on his cane, "Good work Marie,now that Alphis' crew is in custody,I believe that it is time to chart a course to the Sanghelios,these criminals need to be handed over to them for proper judgment,and it's also an opportunity for the crew to visit their family." some of the aliens cheered as they heard they were going home before they returned to their duties,James sat back down as he looked happily at a photo that he was in,it was with Thomas,Fayt,Sophia and that Shinryu he met during his trip to Expel. "That boy was quite odd for being part dragon." while he reminisced about the past,his fleet changed course to a world called Sanghelios.
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(70 S.D,Aboard the S.S Star of Passion)
Two weeks had already passed since Shinryu joined the passenger list,though of course several events had transpired within that time like for example when Thomas learned that Shinryu was staying in the cabin next to theirs and discovered how many colorful words he knew and how he thanked god that Sophia wasn't there to hear him,other odd and somewhat comedic events occurred which should have forged an intense hatred or at least a strong dislike of each other directed at Shinryu on Thomas' part but instead a great friendship of the Trio was formed and thanks to each other's help , Thomas managed to retrieve 7 more parts for his Time-Watch to boot.
"This is your captain speaking. After these past few weeks of voyaging through the beautiful darkness of space,we will be entering Gravitic Warp and arrive at our destination within a few hours so please prepare to pack up any personal belongings. Good day" Thomas smirked as he eyed Shinryu let out a sigh of relief, "Looks like the captain didn't announce the mishap concerning you gorging yourself on the ship's food supply." Shinryu's eyes flashed red as he spoke again, "Well I forgot that our bracelets couldn't support our body after that run in with those phantoms in the cargo hold,just be grateful that we didn't give in to the carnal cravings we had,it's a good thing the girl didn't see us." Shinryu's eyes flashed blue as Kasua took over, "Indeed,I didn't think we could even use the memory erasure spell even if we wanted to,we better be happy that things didn't get any worst." His eyes return back to normal as he grunted.
"You know you always could warn me before you take over you know." Thomas chuckled as he put his arm over Shinryu's shoulder, "Come on,we better get back to our cabins before Miss Sophia start getting worried,though I'm still surprise how you can stay near her and she remains so calm...you didn't do anything to her did you ? Cause if you did.." Shinryu shook his head, "I already told you,I wouldn't touch her and besides after all that help I gave you to get those trinkets of yours,one might think that'd you give me some trust." Thomas nodded, "I suppose I do,so I apologize."
Shinryu shrugged his shoulders as he turned his head, "None needed,after all I'm known in several worlds as a merciless bounty hunter so trust is often a commodity I find quite rare." Thomas nodded in understanding a bit of guilt plaguing his heart, "Hey how about some drinks,my treat." 'Take the boy's offer Shinryu,your body still requires some sustenance' Shinryu accepted the offer as he was led to the bar.
(Later)
Sophia was laughing at her two companions as they poked fun at each other, "I can't believe that you still drink milk even if your already at your age." Thomas poked at Shinryu's dignity as he mentally glowered at his spiritual companions, 'Go for the milk you said,I should've listened to Mera and took the wine' 'Well you needed the most nutritious drink and I doubt alcohol is good for one's health' Shinryu ignored Kasua as he packed up his small pack of belongings.
"Alright Mr Tea and Crumpets,why don't you help me carry my pack while I go to the departure point." he tossed it at Thomas who struggled under the weight as he was already carrying both his and Sophia's bags and the sudden addition of luggage didn't help as he stumbled over and fell as Sophia's new bag of stuffed animals pilled on him,adding insult to injury as Shinryu chuckles before helping Thomas up.
"You really love messing with me don't you ?" Shinryu shook his head slowly, "Not at all,it's second nature to me by now." Sophia giggled as she helped with the repacking. Thomas stopped when he happened upon a doll that wasn't an animal but a handmade one of an unfinished person,wearing a suit that most englishmen might wear back in his time but before he could look at it even more,Sophia snatched it away and put it into a small box that had fallen out. "Please don't look at it,it's not done yet!" Thomas thought about it and decided to press forward a question, "Miss Sophia,was that a doll of-" he then felt himself being pulled up, "Come on,you'll be carrying the luggage pack boy." Thomas reluctantly picked up the luggage as the three made their way to the departure point where the shuttles will take them to the Orbital Elevator that will take them down to Expel.
(Expel,Shingo Forest)
A young woman dressed like the garbs of a hunter laid sleepily on the grass as she gazed at the blue sky,she frowned when she saw the high column that was the Orbital Elevator,she got up as she then felt an odd presence, "Weird,felt like another sentient dragon's aura,probably just my imagination,might as well get back and cash in on these parts." she picked up her cloak and put it on before strolling away,leaving the Shingo Forest as peaceful as it was before,except for the dead body of a gorilla-like beast,it appeared to have been gutted by a large beast as claw marks riddled it's hide,and the slightly moist sack carried by the young woman indicated where the insides went to. She started whistling a tune as she strolled out of the area before the area experienced a sudden rush of wind and a roar was heard before the girl disappeared.
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(Andros,Cliffside)
After trekking through the coral beds,the group finally reached a cliff face where they could climb up, "Here Reina,let me help you." Reina accepted Argus' outstretched hand before she was lightly pulled up, "You alright ?" Reina nodded before she saw the coral beds' condition from there,the corals weren't the only areas affected by this lack of water as several stretches of water were missing, "What has happened to Andros...?" Trevor looked at the devastation before them as he sought advice from Aiden, 'What do you think happened Aiden ?' a few moments of mental silence passed before a reply was heard 'I do not know,the local spirits nearby say it was not caused by magic and that's all they know'
Sera picked up a piece of coral and it crumbled apart within her hand, "Whatever caused this,has been here for quite a while." before the group could contemplate that situation further,an explosion was heard before sounds of metal clashing accompanied by energy blasts, "What in the blue blazes was that !?" everyone soon saw several plumes of smoke coming from the forest the bordered the cliff area, "We better check it out." Argus ran ahead,leaving no room for protest as the rest followed him,just keeping up as he raced towards the direction of the smoke plumes.
(Village Outskirts)
Argus kept going in the direction of the smoke plumes as thoughts ran through his mind 'That direction!...The village..the people!' he finally came out of the forest as his eyes laid upon a small village where a part of the wall surrounding it had a large smoking hole in it as a few skeleton soldiers lay shattered,as pink morfix covered some of the pieces,evidence that Anesha just came through here. Argus leaped through the hole as he dove in between a number of skeleton creatures and their would be-victims of a little girl and her father who had apparently tried to fight the creatures, "Please save us!" Argus drew out his longswords as he cut the monsters down and charred the remains with a fireball to make sure they won't rise up just in case.
"Get to safety." but despite his command,the family of two didn't move as the father struggled back to his feet as he picked up his cudgel, "Safety?..There isn't a safe place in this village anymore save for the castle but it's being sieged by those blasted skeletons and the Army of Darkness!" the man nearly fell down again before Argus caught him as the man's daughter pleaded with him to stay, "Papa,please you can't fight anymore!" the man relented as he sat back down and took heavy breaths,indicating his exhaustion which Argus remedied with his magic.
"This magic...Prince Argus ?" Argus nodded as he completed the healing spell before the man started laughing for joy, "It made it!The SOS signal went through!We're saved!We're saved!After five long months of attacks by those monsters,we're finally saved!" Argus was a bit shocked to hear that Andros might have been in this condition for so long but the sounds of metal clashing against metal interrupted his train of thought, "Get to the breach in the wall,my friends should arrive soon enough with a number of Eraklion soldiers." the man nodded as he took his daughter by the hand and moved to safety while Argus ran towards the sounds of battle.
Anesha was holding off a creature that looked like a hybrid of a Juggernaut and an undead skeleton as it swung it's bony fist at her deployed Blade Fans but during the onslaught of punches,a skeletal archer slipped through and aimed it's arrow at her exposed back but Anesha sent it reeling as a ball of morfix pinned it to the ground before it went into a spasm and hardened,sealing the undead in it. But while she was controlling the morfix,her grip on her weapons slipped as she was sent flying back before she recovered in midair and dug her feet into the ground,her weapons ready to be returned to their owner but an arrow knocked one to the ground.
Anesha took hold of her only weapon as she created a solid shield of water from a nearby well for defense while the single Blade Fan served on the offense as she cut down a skeleton but somehow a few bloated Decay Larvae latched onto the liquid shield as they unexpectedly exploded,forcing Anesha to lose control of the water and her eyes laid upon a barrage of arrows as they headed for her but this time she couldn't react in time and closed her eyes,waiting for the pain to come but instead of feeling the piercings of dozens of arrows,a brief moment of intense heat radiated in front of her.
Opening her eyes,Anesha saw the arrows turning into ash as the melted arrowheads turned into puddles of slag,and Argus sending two waves of fire at the monsters before using his longswords to finish off the ones still standing,he soon recalled his weapons into the armband,picked up Anesha's weapon and tossed it to her,both of them smirking. "Thanks for..you know saving me." Argus' smirk grew into a grin, "Heh,I finally got a thank you..ow!" Argus flinched as Anesha punched his arm, "Well don't expect that to happen again..oh and two for flinching!" as Anesha punched him again twice.
While the two were distracted,more skeletons and creatures of darkness surrounded them, "Why don't we catch up some more after I deal with this ok Argus ?" Argus smiled as he called for his longswords again while Anesha readied her Blade Fans, "Care to dance ?" "Sure why not ?" the two crouched low before they leaped into the air with a midair flip and landed with the mass of monsters in between them as they performed a spinning motion that increased in speed as they danced into the monsters as their weapons sliced them apart like swirling typhoons of blades before they finished their dance with a swift slashing motion from both their weapons,creating a wave of magic that took out the remaining enemies.
"Well that was a good workout." Anesha yawned as she stretched her arms before putting away her dual Blade Fans, "Now I better check on the people." Argus followed her,his eyes surveying the village ruins as some of them burned, "What happened here Anesha ?" Anesha stopped dead in her tracks,her hands balled into fists but relaxed them as she told him how Andros became like this, "An armada of unknown ships descended upon Andros a few months ago,we've sent a squad of mermaids to scout out the ships,they never returned and within a week,the sea levels lowered as we had lost contact with one of our mining posts which was soon replaced with a massive base. Father established a defense line of several thousand mermaids and soldiers with him at the head of it but they all fell,only a few troopers survived just to bring my wounded father home. Our communication capabilities were jammed when we called for help,it's been months since they started assaulting Andros itself and we've been slowly losing ground ever since.."
"And your father ?..." Anesha shed some tears, "..In a coma,all because of a stupid poisoned dart that hit him during battle,our mages are doing everything in their powers to bring him out of it but they're still unsuccessful." Argus approached her and laid his hand on her shoulder, "Perhaps I can help,after all my Dragon Fire may be able to counteract the poison." Anesha smiled a little as she dried her tears and leaned into Argus who was a little shocked since he remembered Anesha as a tough Tomboy so he just hugged her closer.
After a few minutes,Anesha pulled away, "I know I said you wouldn't here me say another 'thank you'...so um..yeah I won't so there!" Argus chuckled at this, "Same old Anesha,you go ahead while I wait for my friends." Anesha shrugged her shoulders as she walked away, "Fine,meet you at your Summer Home,the guards there would be happy to see you." Argus nodded before they separated for their respective destination but as Anesha was walking through the ruined village,Anesha heard a comment by a hidden individual, "Too bad your father the king is in a coma,and with their king unable to rule,it's only a matter of time before Andros falls." Anesha looked around to find out who said those words, "Who's there ?Come on out and say that to my face!"
The unknown individual giggled before light but audible footsteps of a pair of high heels was heard, "I would oblige you princess but I hate repeating myself." it was Ronand's assistant,Celina. "Who are you ?" Anesha reached for her Blade Fans but Celina threw a dart at her feet which unexpectedly launched a binding spell as her body became immobilized, "Ah,. I wouldn't struggle if I were you,my friends here wouldn't like that." Celina stood aside as two Beast Troopers lumbered out of the shadows,their usual crab-like claws replaced with crude looking crossbows made up of a number of Decay Larvae,one squirmed before it turned into an arrow bolt,ready to be fired at her so Anesha stopped struggling in compliance, "Okay,what do you want ?"
Celina giggled as she sauntered over to Anesha, "No my dear,it's not what I want but what you want..a remedy for your father's condition." Celina held a vial before Anesha,a flash of desperation glimmered in her eyes before she stopped herself, "How do I know it's not poison ?" the woman giggled again much to her captive's annoyance, "It's up to you to whether it's poison or not." Anesha then smirked as she smugly rebuffed the woman's offer, "Well you can keep it cause my friend Argus will heal my father with his Dragon's Fire magic,so you can just choke on it for all I care!" Celina shrugged her shoulders as she sauntered off,the Beast Troopers parting away to make room for her, "Suit yourself dear but if you change your mind,use that dart to call me." she entered a hidden portal before it winked out of existence,the Beast Troopers simply melted into thousands of Decay Larvae that slithered away into the village ruins.
Anesha's enchanted bindings faded,allowing her to move again so she bent down and took the dart into her hand and felt the previous binding spell being turned into a portal spell,a wave of doubt passed over her as she contemplated whether or not to discard the enchanted dart she weighed her faith in either Argus' powers or the one who might have an antidote ready and waiting, "Damn it!Why is it so hard ?" footsteps were heard not too far off before she took out her Blade Fans,ready to attack but luckily stop just before decapitating Argus. "Watch where you swing that thing."
Anesha immediately pulled back her weapons, "So did you encounter any monsters around here ? Argus spotted a few Larvae that just slid into a hole."You could say that,well since we're here and all..um race ya to the Summer Home!" Anesha declared just as she dashed off,leaving the others in her dust. Trevor was ready to take up her challenge but was stopped by Argus, "No,let her be we need you to help us with the escort of the citizens while Reina and Sera help with my sister." Trevor looked back to see the people from the Royal Grace,the guards acting as their escort and by the looks of it,they had encountered the skeleton monsters as there were bits and pieces of bone on the guards' uniforms. "Sire!We need a safe place for the people to rest,they are exhausted and our strength won't hold out long." Oliver huffed as he regained his second wind. "Shall we go to the Summer Palace ?" Argus nodded as he led them to their destination.
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(Red Fountain,Post-battle)
It had taken quite a while but the Army of Decay was defeated as Fayt holstered the Dragoon Laser,giving his sword hand a good workout as he took a few practice swings with Levantine. Rylon walked up to him with a big smile on his face, "Well done young man!You sure gave our students a run for their money,would you consider being an instructor here at Red Fountain ?" Fayt seriously considered it,since the Diplo's crew could only earn their income through missions as mercenaries which more often than not,were quite dangerous but he'll need to talk to Maria about it when he returns, "I'll think about it." "Good,by the way,Saladin wants to see you and your comrades. He's at the arena on top of the tower,he's got something for you." Fayt nodded but he hesitated as he saw the wounded heroes-in-training being carried to the medical tents for immediate treatment.
"Don't worry,we'll handle them,they'll be back on their feet in no time at all. After all,our Healing Salve worked wonders for your hand didn't it ?" Fayt nodded before he started walking towards the tower but he stopped again when he looked at the sheer size of the structure as he remembered he didn't exactly know the school's layout but his problem was solved in the form of a red-winged dragon settling down in front of him, "His partner isn't here right now but he'll take you up to where Saladin is." Fayt nodded before he got into the saddle on the dragon's back and off he flew as the dragon flapped it's wings,making it's way to the tower arena and just in time too as the group arriving for medical attention were the ones from the first and second defense line that suffered severely as many students were barely even walking as Rylon even saw a few that one or two had their limbs twisted in a way that it made it painful just to look, "Good thing there weren't any casualties...yet....better tell the fairies to get ready to use their magic." Rylon's then gave one of the Specialists a hand in carrying an injured student to the tents for treatment.
(Tower Arena)
When Fayt was just above the arena,he patted the dragon on it's back before he leaped off the winged-beast and landed just in front of Saladin who was surprised by Fayt's choice of entrance but gestured for Fayt to follow him which led them to one section of the arena wall where Saladin chanted a spell which Fayt couldn't follow but a previously concealed panel appeared upon which the aged man inputted the codes that did something which caused Fayt to jump back as the arena grounds suddenly opened up,letting a large platform rise out of the ground and when it stopped rising,a device set at the top of the structure let out an array of beams that created a transparent staircase which Arune told Fayt to go up, "There's an item up there,please..Go and see if you can get it for me." Fayt walked onto the first few steps carefully on the transparent stairs until he confirmed it was solid,making his way up.
He eventually reached the top,seeing only an altar that held a sword in a stasis field which deactivated when he reached for the weapon inside it,the weapon felt heavy in his grasps and extremely hot,the heat was even more intense than his Blazing Sword technique but the heat soon died away,leaving only a warm feeling to the weapon and sheathed it into a scabbard that was by the altar and went down to talk to Arune.
Seeing the sword in Fayt's possession,Arune approached him with a more steady pace, "I see you've obtained the Sword of Pyros,a sword that only allows people with a truly noble heart to be their wielders...though of course,I'm not giving it to you permanently,it's true owner has left with his companions on a journey to Eraklion. I believe that you'll cross paths with him and the weapon return to him but until then,the sword might be able to help you develop new techniques in the near future." Fayt nodded, "Thank you Mr Saladin but I must get back down to help out with the injured,my Symbology might help out with the injured." Arune nodded before he whistled loudly and the same red-winged dragon that carried Fayt up here landed beside him.
"He'll take you back down and thank you for the help young Fayt." Fayt just scratched the back of his head while letting out a chuckle, "We didn't do much,just doing what comes natural." the bluenette quickly climbed into the harness on the dragon's back before lifting itself up with each flap of the wing and gently gliding down to the ground below while Saladin pondered the young man's words before smiling softly and walking back into the building to attend to matters of great importance. "Doing what comes natural,eh...how interesting..."
(A few hours later,Hangar)
"Well young man,I'd rather that you and young companions stayed with us at Red Fountain but we understand that you need to be somewhere,and to help you on your journey,we modified your ship with a few upgrades." Cliff whistled as the ship had just received a complete overhaul as it sported new thrusters and weaponry that blended into the hull that now had a more stealthy look. Cliff and Albel suddenly had the same idea as they suddenly argued about what new name they were going to give it but before the argument became too heated,Fayt settled it as he hit both their heads together.
"Will you two grow up now ?" Cliff nodded as he got onto the ship while Albel grunted and followed the Klausian in, "Okay,if they're not going to name it, can I do it ?" Izak suddenly turned his arm into an airbrush gun and gave the ship it's new name the 'Storm Wraith' in a stylish fashion. Fayt sighed as he shrugged his shoulders, "Well that should keep those two quiet now though I'm wondering if I'm the mature one around here." Fayt turned around and looked at the Specialists who came to see him off,including Daniel who was gently nursing his leg,Saladin then gestured for everyone to give a proper farewell as they all saluted him. Saluting them back,he boarded the Wraith as the students and faculty waved goodbye before the vessel gently hovered out the hangar gate and blasted off into the sky.
(Outer Atmosphere,Aboard the Storm Wraith)
"Alright,our mission is completed for the most part so we'll be returning back to the Diplo after I figure out how the warp system on this ship works. Albel ignored him as he was busy reading a book on arcane magic that he had swiped from Cloud Tower before they had departed for Red Fountain. Cliff was checking out the ship's controls when he pushed a button by mistake and a holo-screen appeared,with Kevin Stromwell's face on it, "Ah finally!We've been trying to reach you for hours. I need a debriefing on the double,I'll open up the hangar bay on the Magellan." Fayt looked through the window to see the small fleet of Federation vessels that seemed to be doing repairs as repair drones floated around the ships. One of them opened up their hangar doors as the Storm Wraith was piloted through the doors.
(Aboard the Magellan)
After half an hour of giving his report,Fayt waved a goodbye as he made his way towards the door "Well there's my report and if you'll excuse us,we need to return to the Diplo." Kevin mulled over the information he was just told. After taking some considerations and self-debating,he opened up communications with the bridge, "What is it Lieutenant Stromwell ?" clearing his throat,he gave his order, "Prepare the Magellan for atmospheric entry into the planet below us." the navigator was confused as he asked Kevin a question, "What for sir ?" "What else,we're going to pay a visit to the Commodore." the officer nodded before orders were given out ship-wide for the crew to prepare for the atmospheric entry of the Magellan.
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(Diplo I,Medical Bay)
The ship's doctor monitored Maria's condition as she laid on one of the beds,a holo-screen projecting the going ons in her womb. "Well doctor,how's the baby coming along ?" the doctor smiled as she adjusted the screen, "Well the fetus is developing quite nicely though the accelerated rate of growth is unexpected of Earthlings,it could be the reaction of you and Mr Leingod's Gene of Destruction and Alteration that's causing this." her comment triggered one of Maria's mood swings as she started panicking.
"Is my baby going to be okay!?Please tell me that I won't need to lose my baby!I don't want to lose my baby!" The doctor calmed her down when she realized her slip of her tongue, "Don't worry,there shouldn't be anything to worry about,the baby is going to be fine,the baby's accelerated development only means that you give birth earlier so that you can be a family with Mr Leingod earlier too and hopefully start a normal life somewhere quiet." Maria breathed in deeply as she daydreamed about her future with Fayt and their child.
"Yeah,we'd live in a large house on a world with large fields of flowers,a small town near us and the only worries is to decide what to do for dinner." the doctor blinked as she'd never thought that Maria would want that kind of life but then again,a life of peace is desired by those who have faced such hardships as she had. "Yeah,a nice place for a family to raise." but she soon regretted those words as Maria started panicking, "Oh dear!What am I going to do about our child's education!He'll need friends of his own age to be with..what about the baby's girlfriend..or worst that it'll be a girl,those boys wouldn't leave her be!" if this was an anime,the doctor would've sweat-dropped at the odd and dramatic behavior of her captain.
"Maybe we should have her sedated,wouldn't you agree doctor ?" the doctor turned around to see Mirage entering the Medical Bay as she soothed Maria's mood before she relaxed enough to be administered a sedative by the doctor as she let out a sigh and fell asleep, "Well doctor,what's her status ?" browsing through Maria's charts,her condition was explained, "Well,her body is reacting normally to birth like a typical pregnant woman but her mood swings are rather..er.. too imaginative so she'll probably need more rest in case it's the stress but as we all know her,it's better to keep her lightly sedated at intervals to avoid any chances of her actions leading to miscarriages."
Mirage nodded as she carried the now docile Maria back to her room,being careful not to bump Maria or her soon-to-be baby into anything, "Hmm,I wonder what kind of crib should we get the baby ? Let alone the clothes.." Mirage giggled as she entered Maria's room which seemed to have been redecorated within the short span of time Maria was gone as a cubicle of sorts was set up in a corner of the room,a few stuffed animals were tastefully positioned by a gap in the cubicle,Mirage carefully deposited Maria unto the bed before going to check out the cubicle's interior and smiled at the sight of Sophia and Peppita sleeping beside a baby crib that was recently put together by hand though she wondered how they managed to get grease on themselves when the crib was obviously a snap-together crib. Mirage chuckled as she nudged them awake.
"Huh..What ? Oh Hey Mirage,check out the crib we put together." Peppita yawned softly as Sophia awoke as well, "Yeah,isn't it nice,we had to go through the storage room behind the hangar to get everything." Mirage checked the cubicle again and remembered the day her father sent these items when he thought she was pregnant with Cliff's child,one of his more vivid imagination acting up,she chuckled as she suddenly remembered the look on Cliff's face when she opened the package and the smack on his cheeks when he made a lewd comment. "It's a good gesture but I think we may need to widen the space a little bit since I doubt the baby would want to be changed in it's crib." Peppita looked around the cubicle and remembered one detail that was missing, "Looks like we forgot the changing table..ehehe." the young girl stuck out her tongue. The three started working as they took apart the partition,taking care to make as little noise as possible.
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(Fortress of Light)
With the Army of Decay now gone,repairs were underway as Cordatorta returned to supervise the reconstruction and to an extent a remodeling of the fortress,while he helped with a fallen pillar when Bastil ran up to him,his face had a worried expression upon it, "Milord!Several of our long-term guests have gone missing!" Cordatorta almost dropped the pillar in his shock, "What!Sound the alarms!Get all available men to look for them,drop everything you're doing and search them out!" Cordatorta had a right to be this tense as the long-term guests that Bastil mentioned weren't like the other guests who have rehabilitated right now,those guests were murderers with no remorse,practitioners of forbidden magic and were still too risky to let loose even if they had rehabilitated,there was one occasion where one of them regained their memories and reeked havoc when he tried to escape,many initiates were lost along with a number of templars before they were able to subdue him.
Cordatorta himself was there as he had witnessed his men being killed one by one as the escapee mercilessly snuffed out their lives so quickly before he could intervene. The possibility of several of these people on the loose is a thought that had haunted him after that first incident and now it's coming true as he watched his templars and initiates rushing to locate the missing 'guests'. He decided to go to his chambers to consider any actions need to be taken to sort out this mess,leaving Bastil in charge to organize the search.
(Minutes Later)
"What the!" Cordatorta yelled out as he stumbled upon a tied up templar initiate who had a holo-player in his tied up hands,he played it as Ronand's figure appeared, "Well you stuck up stiffs!If you found this player than that means either you're taking refuge here or that my invention has failed me,either way I hope you don't mind that we took those guests of yours cause they'll make excellent test subjects for my experiments. See ya losers!" with that Ronand made an obnoxious face and the player shut down. Cordatorta was fuming after he'd helped the initiate get loose of his bindings.
"Tell everyone to stop their searches,the prisoners have been abducted,resume restoration of the fortress and tell Bastil to give me a full status report within the hour." the slightly shaken initiate nodded and took off with his orders to be carried out. Cordatorta sighed deeply as he rubbed his forehead before he yelled out in frustration and delivered a chi-focused punch to the wall,shaking off the dust on the sturdy wall as a small imprint of his fist was left in it's wake. "I better inform Saladin and the others." Cordatorta performed a few hand signs before pouring a bit of his powers into the creation of a portal into which he stepped into just as it completely formed,with it's purpose served the portal lingered a little longer before it disappeared.
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(Andros, Ronand's Mining Camp,Laboratory)
Despite the base being constructed a only few months ago,the interior of the laboratory that Ronand used here was already marred by splashes of chemicals that have long dried or have eaten partially through the thick composite wall. It looked like it was in a state of disrepair as glass shards laid shattered on the ground,pieces of documents scattered across the laboratory,the only thing kept clean and in order was the test table as a series of test tubes,beakers,heat stones and glyphs were all connected in some manner or another as they carried out their functions until the result,a few scant drops of green liquid dropped into a test tube which Ronand snatched up when he deactivated the equipment.
"Good!This should suffice for my needs." he then poured the tube of liquid over a stone that was riddled with glyphs and markings,it glowed brightly before it's brightness dimmed. "This better work..." Ronand pushed a button on his wristband as a pair of handles popped out of his pack which he used to operate a set of limbs with tools attached to them as they manipulated the stone until wisps of energy wrapped around them and the young inventor felt a tingling sensation go up his spine but then,he pulled the mechanical limbs away from the stone and turned around and made the limbs touch an old man who was whimpering softly as he was binded to the wall by shackles.
"Oh be quiet!You'll be more useful here than at that stupid fortress where you were prisoners!" the elderly man who was now revealed to be a former 'guest' at the fortress cowered away from the mechanical limbs but it was futile as he remained binded and as the charged limbs touched him,the wisps of energy surged towards him as he screamed in pain for several minutes while Ronand looked on in fascination as he recorded the experiment on a camera he had on hand. By the end of the whole experiment,the lab was now filled with mist,Ronand swept away the mist with one of his back pack's multi-functional limbs.
When the lab was clear of any inhibitions to sight,Ronand looked at where the old man was who was still the same,only he was severely burned,barely breathing as he choked on his breath and was seemingly dying. Ronand sighed as he recorded his findings, "Compound 14 had dire effects on Subject 115,clearly the test subjects from the Fortress isn't as a hardy stock as the subjects from other worlds..wait... Something is happening,Subject 115 appears to be..regenerating." Despite being on the brink of death,the man's body regenerated and kept growing until the reaction stopped at him becoming a middle aged man who was quite muscular,perhaps even more so than Axilles but just as unshaven as the man spoke, "It appears that I've been reawakened,I owe you my thanks little one..hehe but it appears that I'll have to kill you now."
Ronand remained relaxed as he continued recording, "Subject 115 appears to have reverted to it's original state prior to it's imprisonment at the Fortress of Light,Compound 14 may not be a failure after all." the man grunted as he got ready to punch Ronand until the boy snapped his fingers and several robots appeared and produced laser blades from their wrists that hovered dangerously close to the man's neck. "How about you listen to me or do you no longer feel attached to your head being on your body anymore ?" the man grunted as he put down his raised fist,the robots responding in kind as their laser blades shut off but remained ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"You got my compliance boy,what you want from me ?" Ronand went to the table that held the stone as he analyzed it while talking at the same time, "First of,I want your name since we'll be working together for a while." the man guffawed at this before he answered the question, "My name has been long abandoned,but you can refer to me as the Berserker." Ronand stopped his analysis as he chuckled, "Heh,Berserker..a person whose rage gives them incredible strength equal to hundreds of men,interesting but what intrigues me the most is how Compound 14 regenerated your body..perhaps this can be applied to a more recent acquisition here on Andros.."
Ronand pressed a button on an unmarred wall as it revealed an underwater cavern that contained the fossilized remains of the once mighty Kraken. Celina returned through a portal as she quickly picked up Ronand and cuddled him, "Stop it Celina!I'm not your toy!" "Aw!But you are my..huh ? Oh!We have a guest,hello there..my name's Celina,I'm Ronand's assistant and his-" Ronand struggled as he was still in Celina's grasp but after a few failed attempts,he managed to slip out of her arms, "Celina!Get back to work now!" his assistant pouted before getting back to her place at the table, "And as for you Berserker..my robots will lead you to the armory,I think that your fists alone won't be much of a weapon without proper equipment." the man nodded as he was led away by the robots,leaving Ronand and Celina to themselves.
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(Adquistes,Galactical Enterprise)
All was normal within the walls of Adquistes as hundreds of people wandered in and out of various stores and restaurants and it was a routine that Olsen Wittcomb always enjoyed seeing,almost as much as he enjoys watching his son play with his toys,especially with the new addition of Mikey,the little playmate which was now doing back flips over a tower of blocks they made together while Joanna was painting a portrait of the two. Olsen leaned against the armchair Joanna was in as he sighed, "Anything wrong dear ?" Olsen shook his head softly, "Nothing at all Joanna,it's just that peaceful moments like these are the dreams of many soldiers such as myself."
Joanna chuckled softly as she let her magic complete the portrait as she held her husband's hand, "You're not a soldier anymore now,you are a father now so please,forget about war..at least for now." Olsen nodded as he squeezed his wife's hand but this touching moment was interrupted when one of his men entered the room, "I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Wittcomb but there is an urgent matter that just arose and requires our organization's immediate attention." Olsen left his wife's side and took the report from his subordinate,quickly looking through it,his eyes became furrowed as he read on,he then whispered to avoid his family overhearing him "Mobilize the militia,inform the local security forces to be on the alert. Prepare our forces to move out to Magix." the man saluted as he went out to relay the orders
Olsen returned to his family's side and kissed Joanna's cheek, "Honey,please take Johnathan and follow my men to the building's shelter and stay there until I come back." the magic on the brush stopped as it dropped to the paint pallet, "What are you talking about ?" the former Commodore sat down into the chair beside hers, "Joanna honey,it appears that Magix is being besieged by a remnant of the Army of Decay that attacked Red Fountain recently and we've been requested to give support. So please,just take our child and go to the shelter."
Instead of following his suggestion,his wife took the fallen paintbrush and continued painting, "Don't you worry about me dear,I know how to defend myself and our child and besides,I feel confident that you'll return triumphant. So either you can waste your time trying to get me to the shelter or get out there and save Magix." Olsen let out a sigh of frustration as he turned towards the door, "Alright,I'll be home by dinner time." with that he left.
(Outside Adquistes)
After several minutes,a sizable force of hover-tanks,ships and drones was gathered outside the walls of the city,a ship arrived with Olsen on board,once it landed,Olsen stepped out to see several men and women and coughed to clear his throat, "As all of you know,Magix is under attack right now and though most of us aren't native to this dimension,we will do our best to protect it." cheers were heard from the troops. "Very good!Now move out!" Olsen then went aboard a different ship that was to be the command ship for the mission,it looked similar to the vessels used by Red Fountain but had modifications that made the interior look like a Federation ship that soon launched into the air,followed by several fighter jets as the land-bound units followed closely towards Magix with several plumes of smoke rose from within it's walls as markers.
All this while,Joanna was watching Olsen's ship flying towards Magix with Jon-Jon in her arms, "Where Daddy gowing ?" the child pointed at the quickly shrinking dot that was Olsen's ship,Mikey quietly nestled on his hand, "He's just going to beat up some bad guys and while he's doing that,why don't we give you a bath to get ready for dinner ?" Jon-Jon squealed in delight as Joanna carried him out of the room.
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(Andros,Eraklion Summer Home)
Trevor stood in awe at the so-called 'Summer Home' that was more fortress than a place of leisure as fortifications,however damaged it was still impressive to look at,soldiers of Eraklion origins were patrolling the perimeter though they stopped when they saw him and the column of people behind him. "Are you the ones from the Royal Grace that Princess Anastasia told us earlier ?" Trevor nodded, "Uh yeah..please help the civilians get inside." the soldiers saluted as they went to assist the incoming civilians. He walked up to the gates leading in but stopped when he noticed the remains of a recent battle as weapons laid splintered around the area and there was just as many mounds of destroyed Decay Larvae that were once larger Beast Troopers or Juggernauts as they now lay smoldering.
"These guys must've just fought a tough battle recently." he stopped as he happened upon a few mounds of dirt as swords were dug into them,signifying they were grave markers for fallen defenders "Guess some of them didn't make it.." in respect,Trevor saluted at the graves,he then was joined by Argus and Sera who saluted as well, "Come on Trevor,we have much to do." while the guards and soldiers helped the civilians,Argus and the others entered the Summer Home but were greeted by a sight of many wounded soldiers that were being tended to by some of the servants of the castle who were assisted by villagers who had taken refuge in the castle. When one of the guards saw Argus,they all went up to him and saluted him, "We are glad to see your Highness visit us but as you can see,our situation is quite bad at the moment."
"I need a report on our situation,what about the resources at your disposal ?" one of the guards nodded, "We've recently just used up our medical supplies,bandages,salves,potions,everything has been used up after the last assault,we're holding out only on our healers now and even they can't heal us all." Argus looked around as the soldiers had wounds that were only partially healed and saw one healer apparently used all her remaining magic on a wounded man until she fainted,Argus rushed to the healer's side, "Get her some water,I'll take over the healing." some of the soldiers frowned at this, "But Your Highness,wouldn't that harm you instead ?" Oliver stepped in as he explained, "Not to worry,His Highness has developed his powers so that the side-effect of his healing is no longer a problem."
With that,Argus soon found himself healing a long line of people,he was just glad that he had help from Reina and the healers from the Royal Grace but after healing another person,a pair of hands covered his eyes, "Guess who ?" Argus decided to play along, "Hmm,is it my ancestor Daphne..or maybe it's Rylon's old man speaking in a squeaky voice ?" he smiled when he was turned around in his swivel chair but regretted his words when Anesha had a glint in her eyes, "Rylon's old man huh...you're going to pay for that." he was then spun around several times in the chair before he stopped himself by stamping his feet down,then got up,smirked at Anesha, "You'll need to do better than that..." he then walked a few steps before he fell down in a dizzied stupor as he saw stars and fire-breathing dragons fly around his head.
After getting up a bit later,the two were discussing current events while the rest were being healed by Reina and the other healers, "I'm curious on how the Council of Magic could ignore Andros' condition for so long,do you know anything about it Anesha ?" Anesha shook her head, "Unfortunately I don't have much info on that,except signals with a device in that this village here is the location where a communication array was to be built,it was our only chance to pierce the jamming field. Though lately,repelling the attacks has been a more important issue lately."
"Does that explain the lack of supplies being delivered here ? Aren't the people in the village important as well ?" Anesha looked out the open window as she saw the devastated village ruins, "It is but ever since father poisoning,my mother went into a state of depression after 3 months into father's coma,Andros is effectively being ruled by the noblemen now." Argus was a bit shocked by her reply, "Aren't you the princess ? Shouldn't you be in charge if your father is unavailable?" Anesha shook her head, "No,not anymore...most of the noble houses still resent Layla's action of instating a princess's right to rule Andros and took power before I could stop them. They're probably deciding who'll marry me to effectively take over the throne so as you might have guessed,I'm now nothing more than a political pawn for them to use and lock away in a glass case. I have no power over Andros now,I'm just glad that the soldiers were willing to help me get away from the palace."
Argus approached Anesha who was shaking with anger and hugged her, "Stop!I don't need any sympathy from you..!" Argus refused to let go as he let Anesha vent out her anger as she struggled against his hold,she even forced a few ice spheres to attack him but his Dragon Fire aura protected him as the ice melted and splashed both of them. After some time,Anesha broke down as her tears mixed with the water running down her face, "Are you alright ?" Argus' wet hair didn't prevent him from seeing Anesha nodding slowly as his powers dried both of them with a gentle warmth to which Anesha became weak at the knees as she suddenly felt the drain from using her powers so much just now.
Sighing,Argus deposited Anesha onto the sofa,"You always do this whenever you get angry.."Argus sat down beside her as he began transferring a bit of his energy to her. She then got up and huffed in contempt "I know..but what am I supposed to do in this kind of situation ?" Argus was lost in thought for a moment when Anesha noticed how close they were,causing her to react as she slapped Argus but with her unusual level of strength,she sent him reeling onto the floor, "What the hell was that for!?"
Anesha realized that she'd overreacted but wouldn't admit it,"That was for getting fresh with me!"Argus looked confused for a moment before an idea formed in his head,"That's it!I got the perfect plan on how to fix the problem for both this village and you!" Anesha gave Argus a curious but cautious look as she had her arms crossed, "Well,what's your bright idea ?"Argus then went up to her and whispered into her ear,making her face turn beet red before she pulled away, "You want us to do marry each other ?" Argus put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry,it'll work out fine,we'll just announce to those nobles that we're engaged and that should-huh ?" Argus saw Reina by the door as her eyes were tearing up, "Reina I can explain!" but before he could get the chance to do,she ran away, "Reina!Wait!"
Anesha sighed as she hit him over the head, "What are you waiting for you idiot!Go after her!" Argus nodded as he took off after her,leaving Anesha to think over Argus' plan, "Me marrying Argus...what a laugh..." she chuckled a bit until she thought about her friendship with Argus,she smiled as she remembered the summer vacations the Royal family from Eraklion had on Andros,so many fond memories but they were just that,nothing more than friends. She then looked out of the window and spotted a large number of dark mounds swarming over the cliff face area where the Royal Grace had crashed landed. Anesha fashioned a spyglass with ice lenses encased with a morphix shell and gasped at the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of skeleton monsters that appeared to be merged with Juggernauts and Beast-Troopers and all of them appeared to be marching towards the village.
"Damn it,telling everyone will only cause panic among the people...better go handle this myself." she grabbed her cloak,checked her Blade Fans before jumping out through the window and used what remained of the village rooftops to roof hop the way out of the village with no one noticing her as they were still a bit shocked with the recent occurrence of Argus chasing after Reina except for one person who was visiting the graves of the fallen soldiers as he was examining the names upon the tags that were hanging on but then saw a shadow pass over him and by instinct,Trevor pulled out his Phantosword and saw Anesha moving away, "Now what's she up to ?" He then felt Aiden's presence when the fire knight in materialized in it's ethereal form, 'It appears that she's going to try an intercept a large numbers of dark beings that seem to have the same magical trace of the Army of Decay,will you go and stop her ?'
Trevor nodded before made a dash for the forest while keeping Anesha in his line of sight,Aiden's ethereal form following closely behind,serving as an additional pair of eyes and ears and to an extent a seventh sense to Trevor as he suddenly could sense everything that was happening around him,including Anesha who was rushing towards the Army of Darkness, "Is this your doing Aiden ?" 'Indeed,you'll need all the help you can get if we're suppose to fight the enemy' "Thanks Aiden,I appreciate it." Aiden nodded as he fell back slightly behind Trevor before fading back into Trevor, 'It'll be easier if we were together' Trevor suddenly felt an increase in power as he started speeding up,but slowed down to keep pace with Anesha.
While all this happened,Argus was still giving chase to Reina who had somehow eluded him,he then then stopped at what was once the garden veranda and put his hands over his head while just dropping onto his rear, "Just great,all that training and I can't even catch up to her...god I'm such an idiot!" he then heard someone softly crying,he looked around for the source and followed it to a part of the garden that remained untouched by the battle,it looked almost identical to the garden that was on the Royal Grace,he looked around the area until he spotted Reina who had appeared to have just stopped crying as she hugged her legs close, "What do you want ?"
"Reina,let me explain it..please." Argus was given the cold shoulder as Reina huffed and turned her back to him,Argus knelt onto his knees as he pleaded with Reina, "Please Reina,hear me out,I'm on my knees!" he then used something that he learned in Alfea as he morphed himself into a little kitten that had yellow fur with a tuft of red hair on it's head, "Come on,please will you at least look at me ?" Reina couldn't resist as she put her hands around Argus and lifted him onto her lap, "Fine,I'm listening."
Argus started as he explained to Reina in his little feline form as the occasional mew got out in between some sentences which sort of helped lightened Reina's mood during the explanation.
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(70 S.D.,Expel,City of Cross Spaceport)
Centuries after the exploits of Claude C. Kenni,the city of Cross had remained the capital of Expel,trade and tourism flourished here as dozens of traders and tourists walked out of the Orbital Elevator's Terminal departure gates,the main reason tourism and trade thrived here was because of Expel's still pristine condition of it's environment which attracted tourists who desired to see what their homeworlds might have been like in the past and the tourists attracted entrepreneurs from everywhere in the sector who wanted to cash in on the abundance of potential customers and to some,potential suckers as one such character stepped in front of Thomas and Shinryu as Sophia was told to stay behind them.
"Hello my fine gentlemen,I was just wandering around when I noticed you and your group walk out through those gates and it seems to me that you are in need of fine souvenirs for your friends and families back home no ?" the hustler then opened up his his overcoat that hid his worn out suit,the insides of the coat held quite a number of trinkets,Shinryu grinned as if he had just found a new way to enjoy himself, "You two go ahead a bit,I'll catch up with you in a moment." they nodded as they walked off to what they thought was a bus terminal of sorts while Shinryu led the the hustler away somewhere.
"Wonder why Shinryu is late ?The hoverbus to our lodgings in Salva will be leaving soon..oh just great,they left without us." Thomas groaned as he went up to the ticket counter, "Um,excuse me but when is the next bus for Salva will be ?" the ticket girl blinked before she nodded, "Yes sir,let me check our schedule...oh dear,I'm afraid that there won't be any more buses to Salva today,perhaps you could stay at the local inn or hotel until tomorrow when the buses for Salva are ready." Thomas thanked her before returning to Sophia.
"Looks like we'll be staying here for the night,we'll wait for Shinryu..ah,speak of the devil,here he comes..." Thomas' jaw was agape as he saw Shinryu running away from a large mob of angry merchants. "Run!You two!Run!" Thomas hastily picked up their luggage before the three made a hasty retreat, "What did you do!" Shinryu grinned as his teeth became fangs for a moment, "I'll explain later!Just keep running!" Shinryu grinned as he quickly breathed out fire,keeping the mob at bay as they made their escape.
(Later,at the City Gates)
Thomas was hunched over as he was breathing heavily from running while carrying the luggage as well as Sophia when Shinryu's fire breath nearly set both of them on fire,he was thankful his suit was so resilient, "So Shinryu..what did you do to incur the wrath of those merchants ?" Shinryu pulled out a cylindrical device which he pulled at until it split into a see through panel that projected a map of Expel with certain markings on each town or city, "This my friend is a map of Expel that has an auto-update functions for merchants here and it took quite a bit of convincing to get one."
Thomas was a bit miffed that they were chased by a mob all because of a map, "Well,since going back to Cross would be out of the question,I suppose that we might as well start walking to our destination,if that is okay with you Miss Sophia." Sophia smiled, "It's alright,I don't mind walking,besides I always wanted to know what Earth was like in the past and walking through the plains of Expel will be as close as I will ever get." She picked up her bag and walked a few steps before turning around, "Well,what are you two waiting for ?" Thomas shrugged as he picked up their belongings and went to Sophia's side as the trio started their trek towards the town of Salva.
(Meanwhile,City of Cross)
Somewhere in the back alleyway of the city a bunch of people were trying to help the hustler who was literally crammed into a trash can and resembled a Hermit Crab with the trash can for a shell as his fingers were holding on tight to a nearby pole as the can was being pulled but when the can finally came off,a resounding pop was heard followed by the distinct sound of somebody hitting metal as the hustler then dizzily stood up then fell down moaning as his limbs laid sprawled out. Shinryu's acute sense hearing caught the sounds as he chuckled darkly.
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(Location:Space,Schilling's Fleet,Typhoon)
Wayne settled into his quarters at the Typhoon,he still felt a bit unnerved by the fact that he was currently aboard a vessel where hundreds of his comrades have died and the scent of iron was still detectable,a somewhat gruesome picture came into his mind as he imagined how they had died,he wished that it was at least painless for them. The intercom turned on as Church's voice came through, "Alright people since we're still restoring the ship up to it's full capacity..as well as it's environment,I would like to ask that all of you idiots just hold your breath and pray you don't get sucked through the toilet or something cause I'm purging the current air supply."
This made Wayne panic as he quickly breathed in as much as possible as the air in the ship was suddenly vented out,he found it quite hard to calm down as he knew panicking would cause him to lose precious air,it was even more difficult considering the suction force created by the sudden movement of air was strong enough to send him flying out of his quarters and knock the breath out of him when he slammed into the wall,he rubbed his back as the impact hurt but in that instant,he realized that air no longer filled his lungs as he gasped for air that wasn't there,he grasped his neck as his lungs cried out for air,he blacked out for a moment before he found himself able to breath again,he saw Tyson pressing a gasmask over his mouth.
When the air returned to the ship,the intercom went back online as Church's voice came through once more, "Sorry it took so long,Caboose barged in when I was about to restore the air pressure,say sorry Caboose." Caboose's voice came through as he apologized, "Sorry I stalled the air thingy,I hope no one's head popped because of me. Though if it did,I think some glue might help,it worked for my action figures." Church's sigh was audible as he turned off the intercom.
"Good thing I made it in time huh Gerard ?" Wayne nodded as he lifted the gasmask off, "Yes,thank you but how did you know to bring that oxygen tank with you ?...Does this happen a lot ?" Tyson nodded, "Yeah,Caboose always almost kill people unintentionally on a regular basis but he's a good kid,a few rounds short of a full clip maybe but he's a good kid. Too bad he had to get involved in all this." Wayne followed Tyson as he asked some questions.
"So can you tell me everyone's story cause I'd like to know them better.." Tyson chuckled as he tried to sum up their friends' history, "You may or may not know this but Church and Tucker were part of a mercenary group called the Azure Raiders,but despite their mission success rates,their leader a Butch Flowers and yes that's his actual name,died for unknown reason. To put it short,they disbanded for the most part,leaving Church and Tucker as remnants. They apparently found Caboose wandering aimlessly aboard a ship that was attacked by pirates,he was on a school trip poor kid the trauma cause him to lose a large chunk of his memory,reverting him to a childlike persona. Church took him in and raised him up with some help from Tucker though it was kind of hard since Caboose was literally a big kid. Though one day Schilling's forces started moving as they conscripted soldiers from here and there,quite a few signed up out of hatred for the Federation while others like Sarge and his group were different."
Wayne gestured for Tyson to keep talking, "Please continue,I'd like to know more." Tyson complied as he continued the story, "Sarge to say the least was a soldier through and through,he was the squad captain of a group of soldiers called the Crimson Sonics who were tasked with the defense of their homeworld,the Vendeeni saw to it he had no world to protect anymore,he lost quite a lot of his men,he found only Simmons and later Griff. Simmons was fresh out of the military academy as an officer but got sent into the line of fire as he fought tooth and nail for survival but he lost his fellow graduates,that's why he's so willing to help..sort of a way for him to make up for his helplessness to save his comrades." Wayne nodded solemnly as he realized there was a pattern forming around his friends, "What about Griff ?" 'Surely he doesn't have such a tragic past but then again'
"Griff ? Well..he's a different case..he lived with his sister since his parents are dead,he provided for both of them but eventually,when their world was attacked Griff just ran to their home,hoping that his sister was alright,he just came back to see that Sarge found his sister before both him and the rest made their escape. Last time Griff saw her,she was left at one of the Federation Stations but beyond that,Griff kept quiet about that...so,do you feel depressed yet ?" Wayne was a little disturbed by the story behind the faces but shook his head. "No..so I guess the only story you haven't told me yet..is yours." Tyson hesitantly told his tale though it was evidently more detailed than the others as they sat down in one of the ship's rooms.
"I was a student at Bachtain,not the best student since I was a bully there,went a little too far once when I tried to get a girl to be my girlfriend,a friend of hers came in and tried to stop me,I had a gun with me and I tried to take him down but in the blink of an eye and a flash later,I couldn't move my arms properly as I was apprehended by the authorities,I resigned myself in order to repent but the transport that was taking me and a few others to the detention center was ambushed by unknown attackers,the guards were killed,and the prisoners followed them out and I got caught up in the struggle to escape.
I ended up being sent to a boot camp of sorts,told to follow orders and never disobey them,we didn't know that we were going to be Schilling's secret army then,but others found out and tried to leave but were brainwashed to obey,others tried to resist this as well but they all succumbed to the brainwashing,I wasn't part of the program cause I wasn't that noticeable..until we were ordered into simulators,my scores were quite high so I was promoted and got a mobile suit,I along with the rest who survived the training were finally told that Schilling was the one we were supposed to follow in his scheme for toppling the Pangalactic Federation but by then no one voiced any concerns about this..even I was quiet,fear keeping me silent,the others were either the same or totally brainwashed into total compliance.
After that,we were sent out into combat on the outer rings,areas uncharted by the Federation but apparently not so uncharted to Schilling as well as some pirates and mercenaries,we fought and conscripted pirates and mercenaries alike,some join because of the pay others were escaped convicts of the Federation. Most of them had the same goal,to destroy the Federation."
Wayne hesitated asking the question that was on his mind at the moment but his curiosity got the better of him, "What's your goal then ?" Tyson sighed as he looked out the porthole into the darkness of space, "You may think it's weird but I just want to go back home and apologize to three particular people and hope that they'll accept it...all I want is redemption." Wayne kept silent as he left the room,leaving Tyson to his thoughts. Though he didn't expect to come face to face with Sarge who was for some unknown reasons carrying a large butterfly net, "Hey there greenhorn,seen Griff around here ? I need him to recalibrate the ship's system."
Simmons came around the corner and waved over to them, "Sarge!I think I've found Griff!He's in storage room number 2,that's where our food container is stored,he's probably munching into something right now." Sarge grunted as he cursed, "Damn that boy!If he's going to lock himself in a food container like he did before,I'm busting out my trusty friend!" and from out of nowhere,Sarge pulled out a shotgun that as far as Wayne knew was supposed to be banned for it's calibration of being too brutal of a weapon, "You're not seriously considering blowing open a container with that shotgun now are you ?" Wayne came face to face with the shotgun's muzzle and the smell of gunpowder on it indicated that had been used frequently if not recently, "Listen here you greenhorn!Griff actually locked himself in quite a few containers like these before and ate what should've been a whole week's worth of food for a skeleton crew and if you hadn't put 2 and 2 together yet ya Nancy!That's our ration until we get the Replicators back online!" Sarge stormed off into where the storage room and and powerful blast was sounded before Sarge came out dragging Griff who was whining about wanting a nap.
"Well tough cookies Griff,get going and get this ship up and running or I'm gonna run you into the ground and make it your grave and dance on it laughing!" Griff suddenly started running towards the bridge when Sarge released his grip, "Roger that!The ship should be up in the next few hours!" Sarge chuckled gruffly as he rested the shotgun on his shoulder, "Hehe,that always gets him." Simmons shook his head slowly, "Well you almost did carried out that threat once though he did get away before you put the dirt over him,we couldn't find him for days." "That's the beauty of it!He has no where to go in this ship,and he loves to eat and sleep so the only place he'll go to is right behind me!"
Simmons shook his head as he pointed out the flaw in Sarge's plan, "But Sarge,the Replicators will be back online once Griff fixes them,they'll be his first priority!" but Sarge was lost in his thoughts as chuckled at an imaginary scene where he was dancing on Griff's grave with a sticker on his grave marker that said unleaded oil while muffled banging can be heard underground. Sarge continued chuckling as he reloaded his shotgun with the infamous 'hippo' shells before he went walking off,whistling an off-key tune of the Funeral March,leaving Wayne and Simmons feeling a bit disturbed by his whistling though they were given a heart attack when Tyson came out of the room wearing a gasmask and a welding torch in his hand, "So Caboose didn't blow a hole in the hull did he ?" Wayne and Simmons shook their heads, "Is Sarge humming the Funeral March again ?"
"Whistling actually,I'm glad that he avoided hitting the food,I had to pick out 14 buckshots out of my mouth when I had a sandwich last time." Wayne was now reconsidering his option of performing a kamikaze attack against the Crimson Noble but with the Typhoon as the vessel but stopped when he remembered the history of everyone aboard the vessel as he put a shoulder around Tyson and Simmons and led them towards the storage room, "Well how about we rustle up something to eat without the buckshot,eh?" Simmons nodded whole-heartedly as Tyson just dumped the dead weight of a blowtorch and went along into the storage room.
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(15th Militia Spaceport,Storage Warehouse)
The storage area was abuzz with activities as people were rushing about either on foot or vehicular means as they all moved supplies into the Olympian Justice while technicians and drones made repairs that were incurred during Schilling's assault and due to the limited number of personnel and vehicles to actually move the supplies aboard the ship,the mobile suits were used to move the larger supply crates that were comparatively small in the Zakus' hands as they walked into the Olympian Justice's hangar,before depositing the crates onto hover trolleys that were directed by the technicians to the cargo bays while the Zakus went back for more crates though the pilots were a bit taken aback when the Nightshade and the Cerberus units which had both their modules removed since they were both carrying one of the two remaining G-Units in between them as the non-piloted unit to the ship.
The unit had it's small frame in between them,it's body was lightly armored,it almost had a feminine quality to it,especially it's accentuated 'waist' and it's cockpit location being in the upper torso instead of of the abdomen area like the other units as this unit's arms sported streamlined gauntlets and it's legs were just as feminine as the rest of it's body as it was barely armored below the 'waist' except for the skirt-plate that held odd-looking pod-like modules on them,it was obviously built for speed in mind as the legs were mounted with multiple boosters and vernier thrusters on them but despite all these features,one thing was on everyone's mind as they saw it being carried to the ship.
"It's pink!No wonder that had the most tarps covering it in the hangar,it's downright girly!" a few snickers were heard until Reika Balfour's voice was heard painfully loud and clear over Nightshade's speakers, "Any one got a problem with girls !?" the men kept quiet under the threatening glare that came from the Nightshade as it's eyes flashed while the female personnels giggled at their expense. The three G-Units moved into the hangar as it was placed into it's designated corner of the hangar while the remaining unit was transported by the other Zakus as they struggled under the weight of the unit as it was heavily armored,one would think it was overly armored as the unit's limbs seemed too heavy to move,even within a weightless environment,it was definitely a unit built only for suppressive fire as it was armed with multiple pieces of artillery and munition holds built into the body,the largest of the weapons were a pair of double-barreled cannons on the shoulders but due to the volatile nature of the munitions used by the unit,it had a special dock that fully encased the unit,leaving only the top of it's armored head as well as it's shoulder cannons exposed,the Zakus moved back out of the ship to retrieve more supplies that poured in from all over the station as everyone was following David Schultz's new orders: 'Get everyone aboard the Olympian Justice and make their way back to Earth to inform the Federation about Schilling attacking the station and hopefully stop him dead in his tracks.
The only immediate obstacle now is repairing the ship's Gravitic Warp Drive as David was surveying the repairs as a team of engineers were struggling to repair the Warp Drive but their progress was slow at best, "What's the situation ?" the lead engineer sighed as he gave his report while jotting down details on a hand held holo-pad, "Well sir,to be honest,our progress is at a snail's pace,this Warp Drive is quite advanced for us,must be a prototype,our tools aren't enough to get it operational,we need at least the schematics to it to improve our progress." "What about switching this Warp Drive with another you're familiar with ?" this solution was met with disapproval as he shook his head, "We thought of that earlier but the ones we have aren't compatible with the ship,perhaps the schematics are in our databanks somewhere." David nodded, "I believe so,I'll go search for it while you do your best to repair the Warp Drive." the engineers saluted before going back to work.
David searched through the databanks on his PDA while walking through the busy hallways,making sure that he was out of their way but somehow still bumped into a soldier who was carrying a box of folders and the contents went flying,scattering them all over the floor, "I'm sorry sir,I'll get these files in proper order right now." the soldier had bags under her eyes and her hair was frayed,David almost thought the soldier was a dead person moving about so he put his hand on hers, "Don't worry about it,here let me get that for you..." with a swift sleight of his hand,he sent the soldier into a state of unconscious by pressing on a pressure point before getting one of the other more healthier looking personnels to get the soldier to a bed.
Taking upon himself to reorganize and deliver the files,David sat quietly on the floor while sorting through the files until a blueprint caught his eyes, "Well what do you know,the schematics for the Olympian Justice's Warp Drive,I better get these to the engineers,I'll sort these out later." stuffing the other folders back into the box and handed it to someone, "Take this to my quarters will you ?" but before the soldier could respond,David was already a long way down the hall. The fellow simply sighed and went to carry out his order.
Meanwhile,the Cerberus was moving supplies that were next to the ship into the cargo hold until it came upon a large container that was almost the same size as the Cerberus,this made Andrew quite curious as he made the Cerberus move it's hand to open the container but before he could,the Nightshade came up behind him, "Well Andrew,if you have the time to be opening containers,how about moving them into the ship,we're on a schedule you know." Andrew chuckled as he complied with Reika's demands, "Alright then Lieutenant Balfour,mind helping me with this then ? It's rather big if you hadn't noticed." Reika grunted as she moved the Nightshade in to help the Cerberus carry the container which was so heavy,her unit's joints started sparking once the weight was on their units,even the larger Cerberus was forced to use it's flank-mounted railguns as makeshift supports pillars as they were immediately forced to offload the container less they incur crippling damage from the weight but once the container fell,it broke open partially but feeling like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar,they quickly closed it and got the Zakus to help out.
While moving the container towards the ship,Reika opened a private channel to Andrew, "Heinmann,did you see what I saw in that container ?"
Andrew nearly choked on air when Reika's face appeared on the screen,so he cleared his throat before answering "If you mean an incomplete mobile suit then yes." "What do you think it means ?" Andrew shook his head, "I wouldn't know myself considering I thought the Mobile Suit Project didn't exist anymore and here I am,piloting one of the G-Units which I thought there was only five of them." Reika could only nod in silence as her faith in Commander Cain was wavering, 'How many secrets have you been keeping from us commander...' she could only wonder as she quietly piloted Nightshade.
Well that's all I can do right now folks,my mind would be spent if I continued anymore on this chapter and I need it for my finals next week but enough of my whining,on to the WiVo!
WiVo:
Since Thomas,Shinryu and Sophia are going on foot to Salva,what do you think will happen to them there after they settle in the Inn?(pardon the word pun)
A. They find another part for the Time-Watch
B. The merchants finds them,looking for payback
C. Sophia gets 'kidnapped'
D. Hmm..well you get the idea. Unknown
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter cause it'll be quite a while until the next chapter,until next time folks,this is Argus456 signing off