Thank you VERY much for waiting on this particular chapter in which it could have been the greatest one if you see it that way. I'm sorry if I didn't leave any answers to reviews yet, so I'm gonna make sure I do my best to give you guys my answers!
Uggh… anyone notice your primary image changing is done so many times out of the many times you notice they don't appear on your story at all? Or maybe it's just me? Anyway, ON TO ANSWERING REVIEWS!
To ClubbingEdge: In case you don't know, Gamerman22, my most avid reader, just made a character that is in direct reference to Ikaros (or Icarus) from Sora No Otoshimono. You can watch the anime. Some descriptions from Ikaros can be seen matching Relius here, although changes might be made since the story can take different twists in the future.
To An0n Author: Thanks for the support on this story! Yup, they're about to meet the queen herself. Read the story to see for yourself. ;)
To EZDay: I've seen your review from Southeast Asian Theater and it's a good thing you noticed it too. I love it. Anyway, about Erica… Well, it's a little slip, I guess. If you read the first arc, you'll see that story. Although, I still wanna see Erica go through that process.
To StoryCritical03: You're really sticking to details, my friend. Thanks for giving me a heads-up and a reminder too. Also, I'm gonna see if the minor characters also get spotlight on the story. Perrine and Peter are definitely good examples on this one.
To Gamerman22: I thank you so much on the support you've given me. Not only were you giving me ideas about the king and queen, but also the tech the Blue Neuroi could use. I'll be in charge of the tech the Red Neuroi had acquired on the way after the destruction of their home planet though, so we would have half the efforts for one whole story. Many thanks, my friend. And are you really serious you can't put your references on any of Doran Maya's or atikabubu's stories? TOO BAD! I love their stories too. Anyway, I'll make sure to keep analyzing and fitting your ideas in my stories. You're a big help.
To Pina Co Lada: Are you really making me blush? That username you're using reminds me of GATE. The character herself, she's hot. If you're hot, then maybe I'd blush more. Haha :D :D Thank you so much for being my avid reader!
So… here is chapter 7! Enjoy ;)
CHAPTER 7
"Let's meet the queen (part 3)"
June 5, 1967… 0938 hours…
The trail Minna's company of witches and Neuroi humanoids were able to follow was towards what seemed to be a ship. What seemed to be the vessel was actually differently made as it wasn't like any of the Neuroi they've faced. Actually, they were seeing a ship that had a completely different hull than from the usual Neuroi hide. Parts of the ship were made of Neuroi hexagonal hide while a majority of it was somehow encased by some sort of metal that was looking strong.
With the length of a football field and a half, Shirley was in awe. "No way… Those lines… They're blue but they're looking friendly, aren't they?" Shirley seemed to notice Ember's face was caught up and frozen. "Embs, you okay?"
Ember smiled at the sight. "It's a good thing it's a friendlier appearance I'm looking at."
"What about it?"
"It's nice, Char."
"I'm agreeing with Ember." Valerie spoke up. "She's seeing its beauty? I'm seeing how their lives are different from the ones we faced. Ya gotta look at 'em quite close, niece-y. We're looking at a completely different aspect of life where they came from."
Yoshika was listening to Valerie. "Sugoi!"
Lynette giggled. "I'm glad you're seeing it with a good smile, Yoshika. I actually like this too!"
"Lynne-chan… This is… It's big and majestic!"
"Fantastic…" Lynette muttered to herself.
Xala looked at Vera who was near Linda in her F-18 form. "Your take?"
Linda responded through her radio. "Design is somehow related to the space-age science fiction stuff I've been seeing. It's got a nice shape to it. I remember it's actually something called a Prometheus class kind of a ship or something. Not that I'm a nerd, but I kinda remember its class for some reason. Mainly, it's normally acting as an escort ship so not much firepower and size is seen from it."
"You certainly kept it hot in your mind." Tyler reacted. "You sure you're not just hallucinating?"
"I'm a teen when I was reborn, so some things came back to me, you know. Haha."
"Hm…" Vera looked at the beauty of the Ulysses. "The Ulysses never changed. This is actually the ship that was first built on her voyage to Earth. There's no doubt of it: Queen Relius wants to meet us."
Minna was granting that when she was seeing the white and blue smoke trail was led to the back of the large vessel. 'I wonder where those four could have been right now?' "Cobra Lead, I haven't heard from you for a while. Where are you?"
"Cobra Lead responding." Delilah's voice sparked from Minna's earpiece. "We're actually inside the Ulysses."
"Fine. Stay there. We'll be seeing you once we land in."
"Roger. We'll meet you inside."
With that, Minna was finally seeing an opening widening upwards as it was opened from the top. "Ladies, a door's opening for us. This is where she wants us to be in, but still, stay vigilant."
"Roger." The rest of them answered.
Reynaldo was seeing the other witches go first and enter the rear opening of the ship. "Everyone's making their way in."
"Kuya, you can do it," Jean said through the radio.
"I agree with her." Peter commented it from behind. "Didn't do this before?"
"I never did, but it's a good experience to go for nonetheless. Hold tight!"
"I'm always on my seat, Rey." Peter chuckled as he saw the Pinasian pilot doing his best to guide the MiG-21 in the opening. As the F/A-18 Super Hornet nearby decided to weave off and give the MiG space for the landing, Reynaldo started his approach. As soon as he gazed at the opening he saw the wide space inside which also includes a runway for any planes that may land. 'That's convenient. Although it isn't made of tarmac, it better work.' He focused as he got past the opening and was already inside the Ulysses when his wheels finally hit the runway's ground as he decreased his speed until he comes into a complete halt.
Linda guided herself while in her Super Hornet form until she got past the opening. She glowed up bright before the shapes formed to herself and Tyler. She held him tight before she hovered and landed on the ground. "Nice ride?" She asked with a smile.
"Can't say it's half bad but the opposite."
Minna saw launch units while she was hovering and knew what they were there for. "That's something. Girls, launcher units are over at the corner here. It looks like they were really anticipating witches to arrive here." As she hovered close to a launcher unit, she turned her back and hovered backwards just before she felt her striker unit felt the holding clamps, signaling its secure position.
As soon as the other girls did the same and docked their strikers before leaving them...
"Hey, Minna!" Delilah was already walking in towards the other witches together with her other three siblings. "Nice to see ya guys were just getting used to the launcher units. We didn't need them but you sure trust the launchers."
"Tch." Mio had to disagree. "Not that I'm trying to trust whatever's around me is what it's supposed to be, but whatever she knows, we know. And right now, we're just not sure of things. If they wanted to kill us with the environment we know, they could have started if those launch units had explosives when we docked."
"Seriously?"
"Ya never know too," Valerie commented.
"At least we got the same mind," Melody replied to Valerie's comment. "Anyway, where is she?" And after she asked, she saw a Neuroi humanoid but somehow looking human since her skin is as such, only it's pale. Her Neuroi armor was a half of purple on the left and red on the right. 'Who is she?'
Vera was walking to the group along with Tyler and Linda when she saw the familiar figure with the half-colors Neuroi armor. Immediately, she walked towards the figure. "Kaziri!"
With no doubt, Kaziri immediately hastened her walking as soon as she saw Vera. "Vera? It's really you!"
"Hehe!" Vera then ran and put her arms wide before she finally hugged her friend. "It's been a while! I'm sorry if I haven't been able to visit yet!"
"It's fine, Vera-san."
"Hey!" Vera then pulled away from the hug. "You called me by my Earth-name!"
"You have a new life, right? I may as well accept the new name." Then Kaziri looked at the rest of the group. "So… you're the bunch that she told me about. I just got back from a mission when I heard of her plan in revealing herself to the Strike Witches."
Minna decided to come forward. "You know us?"
"Honestly, we've been keeping an eye on you since '66. The way you guys handled yourselves against that terrible invention of a Warlock really impressed us. She told us however that it's not the right time to reveal ourselves yet. Saiojin's rather the more excited one than I am. Actually, Barkhorn's the one she's looking for."
"Trude?"
"Is that what you girls call her? Cool nickname. Anyway, Saiojin's rather the fan of Gertrude Barkhorn ever since she was looking at the archives of heroes past. She really made her name in the military with her high kill count against the King's forces. Nice."
"Archive? Are you recording everything?"
"Well… we are everywhere." Kaziri turned her back on Minna. "It's best I lead you to Queen Relius so she could explain. Right now, you're in the cargo bay of the Ulysses. You'll see some more areas around, so follow me." And as she started to lead them, the ones behind followed.
Jean and Reynaldo were together as they walked beside Valerie. They were first led out of the cargo bay, they came across a hallway. Knowing this is a whole vessel and was actually looking huge than what they expected it to be, they were awestruck. "Kuya…" Jean muttered to herself, not even letting Reynaldo hear it out of paying attention to the hallway's details.
"Jean, you could look forward for a change."
"Kuya… Tingnan mo naman ang nakikita ko! (Look at what I'm looking!) It's like the space age or something."
"You have imagination."
"Hey, it's not far from the truth, Kuya. Hmph."
Valerie didn't mind the two siblings as she looked at where Shirley was. She was just right beside her niece with Ember as usual who's beside her. "Hey, niece-y." She whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Think there's something odd about this place?"
"Maybe with you, there is. You never really got into science fiction, you know."
"Hey. I don't believe in UFO's and all that bull, but I always believe we're not alone. There were even those conspiracies from Nevada…"
"Not Area 51 again…"
"Oh, come on, Shirley! I mean, when I was watching the TV shows, mixed with some bad stuff from the science fiction shows, I heard aliens were able to get by, but it could just be experimental stuff made by the military."
"Okay… there's no such thing as UFO's. The military part may be more right."
"Ehem…" Kaziri got the attention of the two. "The aunt and niece should know… UFO's exist since they're not identified to be existing in Earth, but they can also be confused as experimental craft made by the Liberion army or whichever military test runs the craft. Both are existing. Although the fact that there are also experiments made by the army from that same place is not far from the truth. It was based from the visitors who were coming in unidentified in the Nevada and California at the same time. I'm not going to confuse you because in summary to what I know: The military is copying the craft used by the unidentified aliens. Like it or not, there are just many kinds visiting planets anonymously. The reason why it's not told to anyone is because it endangers the sanity of many of the citizens in the two states involved. You wouldn't wanna believe that the military is conducting experiments based on the aliens they were studying, right? If the public knew, they would already say their own constitution has been violated by the military and…"
"O…Kay!" Tyler had to interrupt Kaziri. "Thanks. They get it."
"Huh?"
"Kaziri, right? Look… We don't wanna confuse them."
"You're right. I'm just enlightening them and…"
"Enlightening a person could also confuse him at first. Look… We're not talking about conspiracies and myths or legends. We're supposed to be talking about how humanity would be able to handle the presence of aliens once you will announce your own presence to them"
At that, Kaziri stopped walking and the rest did the same. "You don't want subjects of aliens and conspiracies to come but you want to talk about our purpose here in Earth itself? Out of the confusion your race had faced for the decade, you dare say you're so concerned about our revelation to the rest of you? You can't even seem to accept aliens are a natural thing."
"That's not what…"
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!" Kaziri seemed to be enraged and faced Tyler before she walked to the crowd and easily pulled him out before pulling his collar up. "You along with humanity just assume things and it's not suppose to be the case for EVERY alien you meet! The way you said it… you're saying aliens should just be kept out!"
Vera had to intervene and stepped forward. "Kaziri, stop this! This isn't worth it!"
"I'm only going to gladly put him down once he gets how to be flexible in seeing any alien without any malice."
"Just stop it, Kaziri."
"He's confused and doesn't appreciate aliens and accepts them. Now he's just offending me, personally." Kaziri smirked before with her free hand she summons the energy whip she once used at that Neurified base back at North Baltland. "Ufufu… I like men who show themselves like that."
"LET MY MASTER GO!" Vera slid on her mask and let her frost sword Retarynax appear on her hand. "Just stop this!"
"All he has to say is that he has no problem, AT ALL with aliens residing in his own home! He won't have problems eating with them or even getting to know how their lives are contrasted to the visitors!"
"Alright, alright!" Tyler had to make it clear to Kaziri. "I got no problem with ANY alien I see. I won't mind if they step in my home just like other people do. Everything else follows."
"Hmph." Kaziri gently puts Tyler down before he walks away from her. In exchange, Vera approached Kaziri and without asking, she was slapped. Kaziri felt the strong slap from Vera like it was the pressure she felt from her past.
"Did you have to do that?! It's about your parents, isn't it?!"
"Why shouldn't it be? I'm glad you're back, Vera, but my feelings from past never changed. Humanity just sinks down confused and angered by anything else so different from what they see from their daily lives that even Queen Relius wants to do something new to dampen that approach. When my parents realized that I was following a Neuroi to see the coexistence of their race and humanity's, they felt angered at it and wanted me to move away from it. They told me they were all murderers… monsters. No. I've been looking at the evidence before I could even explain, but my own temper got the best of me. They never regretted getting angry. They never wanted to take it back. I'm sure you remember, Vera."
"You killed them yourself with the very weapon you're about to kill my master with." Vera's revelation made gasps from the group and some even murmured comments with whispers. "You did that out of anger, Kaziri. But the queen herself gave you a purpose again after showing you mercy."
"I just don't want reminders from others who fully reject the Neuroi becoming a major problem. Otherwise… It's something I have to personally deal with."
"If it's my master, I'm sorry, but my feelings for him would have to go first. I stuck myself to him because of the cause. Now with the cause or not… I'm going to protect him."
Kaziri somehow calmed down and looked at Vera straight in the eyes. "You're right. You will. And I suppose you'll see me unworthy to be of duty right now."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. The fault of this is my past that easily caught up again, Vera-san. Excuse me." With that, Kaziri walked away, not even minding the business of others but of her own.
Vera felt sorry for Kaziri but nonetheless was vigilant. 'You've gone through so much since then, but I don't want to blame you.' She slides her mask off to the side and let Retarynax fade into pixels. 'You'll be okay.' She then looked back at the group. "Perhaps I should be the one to lead you now. Follow me." With that, she led the group. While doing so, she lets her armor dissipate as she morphed back to her human form.
Tyler watched how Vera walked, and he saw her rather feeling sad. So he walked just beside her and put his arm on her shoulders. This made her surprised. "Don't feel like that, babe."
"Babe?"
"You're my girlfriend after all."
"Oh." Vera giggled and made a smile out of the frown she previously made. "Thanks for cheering me up. I just needed to take over for Kaziri. She's…" And she just sighed, not feeling she wanted to finish the sentence.
"It's fine. She did the right thing for walking away. And you still tried to reason with her as a friend."
"Well… I reasoned with her as a slave to you."
"Vera!"
"Master, her past is horrible enough. It's not that I want to disown her, but she'll hurt everyone else and it includes you."
Tyler just glanced away in response. 'Harsh reason, but it's still something I don't like.'
When Vera looked straight and had a blank expression. 'At least he isn't angry at me.' "I'm sorry."
"You're not to blame. I guess duty sometimes hurts."
"You may not have an idea on my angle, Master."
Relius…
She was rubbing a smooth watermelon while seated on her throne and smiled at it. 'I remember the first time I held a watermelon. I wonder why it's natural of me doing so and why it's still significant to me though…' And interrupting her pleasant moment was the throne room door being opened while she saw a serious Kaziri walking through as the door closed from behind. "Kaziri?"
She sighed. "Oh… You're Majesty."
"What about them?"
"I lashed out on one of them and it's about my past again."
Relius then stopped the rubbing and gently puts her watermelon down beside her throne and stood up with arms crossed. "You've certainly done something inappropriate."
"I'm sorry. It's… I crossed the line."
"Well it's your past and no one should judge you."
"I felt like he did."
"He?"
"One of them… is named Tyler. Vera-san has a master with the same name, and I almost got in a fight with her because of what I did to him. I didn't hurt him. I was almost going to use my energy whip on him."
"It's not your fault."
"It isn't?"
Relius walked and has seen the doubts Kaziri has. Knowing the troubles the elite guard Neuroi girl has, she only had to do something she wouldn't forget. She stopped just two feet away. "Kaziri… Should I call you Kaz again?"
"It's better, I suppose."
"Kaz, listen to me very carefully. I didn't force you to leave your earthly life just like that. You chose for yourself, but you wanted not to be swayed into anger. You might have failed and left a scar in your heart, but I cannot blame you."
Kaziri lowered her head. "I'm still ashamed. I would stoop so low and kill the ones who raised me when I was still human. I can't find fault for anything else but myself. This is something I must face."
"What do you want to do about it if you're going to do so?"
"The first thing in my mind is to try getting some space. I know I served well as an Elite Guard, but continuing at this pace would only make things worse. I, in fact, am a lunatic as others have claimed. I'm not easy to tame… and I'm not always easy to convince unless you tell me it's alright."
"Where are you going then?"
Kaziri was surprised Relius asked the right question. "Your Majesty… I…"
"I can't just sit and ignore you being like this. I know I took you and gave you a home, but I just want you to know that you need to be safe. These memories shouldn't always hinder you. In the end, you have to choose your own path to play. It's just like Ember's when she decides her own fate to either be a hybrid or a full Neuroi. Maybe there would be a third."
"I wish it's the same with my case, Relius-sensei." Kaziri began to smile. "I thank you even until now. I don't know how to repay you."
Relius then closed the distance, used two fingers to touch Kaziri's chin and gently pulled the Elite Guard to her until their lips touched. The gentle kiss was then accompanied with the use of their tongues, and Kaziri loved it. 'I know every step of the way, she'll be okay.' Then she gently pulled away from the Elite Guard. "At least before you go, let them see you. Saiojin should be around as soon as that general is healed up. You'll be joining her as soon as I've talked to them for the first time. Be here at my side for the meantime."
"Of course, Relius-sensei." And with that, Kaziri nodded and walked towards the throne before she stood on guard beside them.
Relius walked towards her throne and sat down, waiting for her visitors. 'My life isn't important at this moment. They need to get themselves together, and I'm willing to let their own hearts heal naturally.' After those thoughts concerning her subjects especially with Kaziri, Valentin soon walked in. "Ah. Colonel Valentin."
"It's nice to see you. Although, you didn't tell me what you meant by being back soon, with that little wink."
"Hehe…" She chuckled. "You don't want me to have fun with you?"
At this, he blushed until he had a beet-colored face and turned away in embarrassment. "What are you talking about? I don't have any evil intentions."
"Evil? That's naughty, pervert."
"Hmph." Kaziri glared towards Valentin. "You touch our queen with violence, and I'll cut you with my whip in half. Ufufu…" She giggled at her own words of torture. "Don't worry. Your brain will live, although your body won't, if you want."
"Enough, Kaziri." Relius glanced from her elite guard to Valentin. "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't be." Valentin shrugged with it and saw the doors of the throne room open. "Wait… aren't they…?"
"Witches. They are."
"But Queen Relius, are you sure?"
"Of course I am. I led them here." Relius then stood up to see them.
As soon as Vera saw the queen standing up she looked towards the group she led. "Remember to give the queen respect. I'm sure you all have that for any royal in this planet too." With a reception of nods from several heads, she walked back until she accompanied Tyler again. "That's that."
"Here we go…" Tyler muttered as he viewed the group: Minna was focused forward with Mio beside her. Yoshika and Lynette were awestruck in the appearance of the throne room. Ember and Shirley seemed to be curious of the Orussian officer beside the queen. Valerie minded the two of them and was seeing and thinking the same thing. Linda seemed to like him look at her and even winked at him, which made him a bit nervous. Jean and Reynaldo were murmuring whispers that might be comments about the throne room. Peter just looked around seeing the beauty of the throne room. Xala and the rest of the Dragon Witches stayed vigilant for any threats around them in the room. 'The Ulysses is rather a ship not to be messed with, especially with beauty as one thing but power that could be hidden and shown soon if given a chance for others to witness.' "Here we are." Along with the others, he stopped walking as they saw the queen standing with joy as first emotion.
"Welcome, everyone." Relius said it with confidence in front of the group. "I am Queen Relius. I'm sure by your emotions, I could have been an enemy, but it was never the case. Vera told you the first things you needed to know. And now… I'll tell you more." She viewed at the group and saw they were all focused on her. "I'm sure you have questions that need to be asked, so I'm going to tell you our story, and it includes how we got here in the first place. We'll start, from the very beginning…" She snapped her finger before the lights in the throne room dimmed.
12 minutes later…
Relius has been doing well in showing three-dimensional images and evidence of the story of Planet Neuroi, from the time when King Austerys and herself had married, when he was obsessed with finding the remains of the lost expedition team making him pursue their killers, even to the time when he finally took over the militarized planet 'Achshaesteres' as revenge for making him tick. He knew he wanted to spread his new power.
But when he got back, he was a changed ruler. To her, he became a monster. But he was already tempted to expand and even invade planets even before he left for 'Achshaesteres.' What even made Relius more convinced he was solid on his objective was the fact the council of Elder Neuroi have been assassinated. She had no choice but to eliminate the ones who were actually forced to follow King Austerys, vowing to get their children to safety as an act of goodwill. From then on, her own subjects began to form a rebellion in Planet Neuroi and eventually started a war.
What became a war became a loss. Queen Relius couldn't take back Planet Neuroi, and she was almost decimated when Zelian and Austerys ganged up on her. Alas, three Neuroi Elite Guards shielded her and allowed her to escape, leaving the three in the deathly fate against Austerys and Zelian. With her last orders to her people, they made their way out of Planet Neuroi in the hopes of escaping his own wrath. Many were taken down, but many also escaped unscathed to follow her. Some were lost in space. Most who were still there before they really left saw Planet Neuroi destroyed. Relius considered this a failure on their part, and decided to fully retreat.
As Relius was taking her time in exile, a division of Relius' explorer team was able to find another planet but mostly a planet of mostly water and only one continent. The planet was named Lantea. There, they were able to find remains of an ancient but seemingly advanced race known as the Lanteans in the city that they call "Atlantis." The same city that was once myth is actually once here in Earth. Knowing it had the power to leave the planet along with its people, it did leave since they had to start life in another way while leaving a few of their own in Earth to spread and make more life in it, as what they've known. The ancients were able to welcome the Blue Neuroi and have known of the great war that may come. The people there, called 'Lanteans' gave the Blue Neuroi the edge, but they have to use what's given to them to make their own arsenals. And so, years passed and a fleet of vessels capable of travel in the vast space was made. However, even that might not be enough to completely annihilate the large Red Neuroi fleet belonging to King Austerys. And so Relius invested more time.
While she was doing so, she was making forces of her own, as she had known the interest of King Austerys lies in Planet Earth itself. With the plan of making allies with humans in the future, she starts to gather followers from Earth. While gathering followers, she started to reproduce the Neuroi race through the means of human reproduction by mating. And so, Tyrannia was chosen for that purpose. By choosing to take the essences of the man's sperm cells, she gives birth to multiple organic Neuroi humanoids in the hopes of making hybrids, then bred into full Neuroi so they could grow faster. Once Relius was able to assemble an army of her own, she needed to start a few stands against the unaware Red Neuroi. And so, they took only a few areas so they could survey the current war that was happening. Relius was supposed to stop the war from happening, but sections of humanity found a power they thought they could wield. While they were wronged and executed by the ones who they think would help them, their deaths were a reminder to many: The Red Neuroi were summoned like a beast awakening to wreak havoc.
In the years of properly preparing and making smooth on her arrival to humanity as a whole, she observed them more in a personal level, seeing their emotions and what they signify in each life. As they've seen them all closely and with great faith on her revelation to them, she made it clear to herself: Not only do they need alliance, but they also need coexistence with the rest of them. And since Tyrannia was killed during her time in humanity's hands, it might just be their last shot in the hopes of pushing the beastly Red Neuroi back. They were a force to be reckoned with. But with the unity of humanity's armed forces and her own, they'll make sure to be the same thing to the opposition.
1017 hours…
Relius snapped her finger before the lights slowly lit up in the throne room. "You now know."
Minna and Mio were certainly silent in their surprise. 'Amazing.' They both thought.
Valentin looked briefly at Relius in surprise. 'She was able to tell them the whole story without flinching.' And seeing briefly that Relius turned to him and winked at him, he blushed as he looked away. 'Damn you.'
"Hehe…" Relius chuckled before facing the group. "I hope you saw that our story is clear." Then a girl in the group who is somehow tanned raised her hand. "Ah, you have a question?"
Jean slowly puts her hand down and glares at the queen. "How do you know we could all believe that story is legitimate and not some sort of manipulative scheme?"
It only seemed to the queen that the girl wasn't as believing as the others may be in the throne room. "You're still doubting, aren't you?"
"Why didn't you come when we needed assistance?"
"We didn't as we knew if we fought earlier would mean our own demise before your own. We had to wait for the right time."
"Oh yeah?! Does that answer every question anyone in this room has now?! While I was in Liberion, TWO of my teammates died thanks to the Neuroi. You're not mistaken of being friendly to others. But how many more have died in place while you're still waiting for the rest of your forces to fight?"
"Sis…" Reynaldo nudged her arm.
"Kuya, okay lang ako. (I'm okay.)" Jean glanced from him back to Relius. "If you're so smart, tell me this: What have you seen and what have you really learned from us?"
"Good question. I saw you were all living with different cultures, different paths. But what intrigues me most is the freedom expressed at every place I went to. It's something that should still continue, despite your unique differences. But what I'm fearing is what would happen to them if they were challenged not only with one side of the Neuroi, but two. The reason I didn't get to reveal myself fully yet with my subjects is the fact they weren't ready to see their befriending with others unless they receive a benefit from it."
"In other words, you're waiting until the time comes humanity is starting to feel too much pressure from the Red Neuroi."
"From the beginning, it was always your fight. And as long as you show that fight to them, you can keep going. But allowing such thing to happen further will exhaust not only your energy, but lives too. Plus, the rivalry between myself and the king is unlike any other. I once loved him, but I hate him since he completely turned from the one who I knew into a monster with great power wielded for evil deeds. I'm not allowing that power to be abused. Maybe he had a problem with a planet that mistreated his subjects while they explored, but he should have treated that planet with respect, seeing its power. No. His temptation for expanding our influence became a sense of greed in the end and gave him the willingness to conquer and destroy it. He wanted the planet's resources, and he gained so much from it. He has to be stopped, before more lives are wasted in fighting him. And hopefully, the Lantean technology we acquired should pack more punch. Actually, we're giving them signs already. We're fighting them in space. But it's only a matter of time hell will be unleashed in your planet too. He wants to badly get that planet for his own and destroy it. It seems only that he's looking for something specific. What it is, I can't tell yet."
Ember and Shirley were listening when Ember decided to whisper to the other. "Hey Char, ya think that something like that would mean dark magic or something?"
Shirley shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno."
"I've just been hearing rumors from before I got here. In my timeline, there's such a fact that dark magic can be at such, be natural that it comes like normal magic from the soil or certain parts of the world where rites have to be conducted if it would be obtained."
"Obtained? How?"
"The user could absorb it, or they could find magical containers crafted with strong magical materials to contain the strong dark magic itself. Just after Romagna when I was going around Ostmark and Orussia Minor, those things are being used to power up prototype weapons. I'm one of the chosen to take down their major op. You know where their HQ is?"
"Where?"
"Budapest, the Hungarian side's capital of Ostmark. We found them manufacturing weapons and the ones in charge were blacklisted scientists whose sole intention is to sell arms while there's still warfare involved. And that time, the Neuroi were still around. We had to put a stop to it after we saw how destructive it could be when it's weaponized. The only regret I had when I went to taking down their main operations was killing three dark witches in the process. They could have been persuaded to come clean, but all of our hands were forced."
Shirley didn't know Ember had this side that tells the lust of power anyone could have no matter if it's magical. 'She'd go against anyone who abuses dark magic then… It's more of a reason for her to accept the Blue Neuroi, right?'
When Ember's eyes were lowered as she remembered those moments again, she shook her head and those thoughts off her. 'I've done whatever I can. Maybe I regret what I've done but I shouldn't go back to the past.'
"Something wrong?" Relius had to ask since she noticed Ember's out of it.
Then Minna even looked at Ember. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ember sighed afterwards. "It's just… Well… I wanna ask. It's a different topic, if you don't mind." 'I may as well ask something that relates to me more.'
Relius raised an eyebrow. 'She seemed troubled by something.' "It's alright. I don't mind. What is it?"
"Umm… Your Majesty, you think there's any way we could get up to my friends in those pods without a full Neurification?" Ember's question really caught the attention of the group. But without doubt, the queen shook her head. "Oh."
"Xala told you about it, didn't she?" After the queen spoke, Ember looked at Xala with the defector nodding her head. The hybrid turned back to Relius.
"You mean nothing else can help?"
"If the question pertains to you choosing to go out there as a hybrid without full knowledge of being one, it rather makes the path of a fool. Not even hybrids would be able to survive up there. Can you use only your core? None of the hybrids, even Esmeralda for that matter was able to fully utilize her core as her basis for living. It's natural as she's human after all… But at any time she chooses to explore more of being a Neuroi, she's welcome to completely give up her humanity in exchange, and it will be her decision only. Do you understand?"
"Yeah… I got that." Ember frowned after speaking. 'Ah… Hopeless.'
Several more minutes passed with questions coming from the rest, and Queen Relius was finally able to finish her talk. "With that, I think things are clear. I'm going to visit the base and apologize to the others who aren't here. It's a little out of line since not everyone is able to make out a fast flying figure."
Alexandra giggled a little. "Hehe… If they're really chasing ghosts, they'll freaks out if they're seeing a real one! Insecure much? Haha…"
"You said it. Hehe…" Melody chuckled next to Lex.
"Honestly, I call it irony." Frida commented. "They've gone through high speeds and they can't catch a simple…" But she was nudged at her hip. "Ow! Deli!"
"Not a word." Delilah whispered before she spoke up. "What she meant to say is, I think it's a great idea, Queen Relius."
"Ehem…" They all heard another witch clear her throat up. All heads turned to Linda. "I believe I was the one who was trying to catch that simple someone."
Relius looked at Linda and she can tell the shifter witch is somehow upset. "Did I make it hard on you?"
"That was simply fast, Queen Relius. Still… I could have done my job quite well if I did."
"Failing to do something shouldn't always mean it's your fault."
"Does that mean I'm not fast enough?! You're making me look like a fool since the time I first saw you and I gave chase to you! Without my Mach gear, of course I wouldn't catch you. No one could!"
"Eh…" Shirley intervened. "I don't think it's nice to talk about speeds since I'm a speed demon too."
"Shut up, ol' record breaking geezer." Linda insulted Shirley, who was about to approach the shifter witch but was stopped by Ember, and Linda gazed back at Queen Relius. "One day, I'm just gonna be looking for a way to avenge my own failure."
"I know what you're thinking." Mio then glared at Linda. "You're challenging her to a duel, aren't you?"
Linda closed her eyes before she opened them again, revealing her silver eyes. A small dimensional hole opened beside her before she placed her hand in, then pulled an old sword's hilt. Soon, they all saw a European long sword in her hand before the dimensional hole closed. "It doesn't have to be now, Queen Relius, but this is how I want to settle things. I don't care if the odds are against me. I just want to make sure I give it all I got against you."
"I accept." Relius stated it and Kaziri gasped and was immediately in disagreement.
"Relius-sensei!"
"I don't have to repeat myself, Kaziri. You heard me."
"But this is not…"
"I know. It's not necessary. She knows it is since she failed to fulfill her duties."
Minna glared at Linda. "Captain, I'm not forcing you to take it back, but I suggest you do. Even if you somehow make that challenge worth it, she'll still beat you."
Linda grasped the hilt of her sword. "I said no a few times. This won't be one of those times. Nope. Not today."
Mio sighed. 'I still have that duel to go on with Julie. Now Williams is challenging Queen Relius herself? She may not be an idiot, but she's a lunatic.'
Relius smiled. "I'm interested at whatever the result will be. And to tell you the truth, I'm not offended either. At least you're truthful. But let this be a reminder to you: You don't just challenge someone out of the blue."
"Really? I shouldn't challenge anyone who isn't worth it. I always go for the big prize whenever necessary. And right now, you're the prize."
The queen crossed her arms. "Then I'll be waiting for that day."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Well… I guess that ends things." Relius looked at Valentin who was just at the side minding his business. "Colonel, introduce yourself."
Valentin nodded and faced the group. "I am Colonel Valentin Bosconovitch, son of Prime Minister Aleksey Bosconovitch. I report directly to General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev."
This got Minna's interest. "Your father visited our base one time. It was just to see the base itself and see the condition of the fighting witches."
"He's concerned of those bomber witches who got killed during the bombing run made at that Neurified airbase. Can't blame him." And Valentin shrugged at it.
"He's doing his best while he's concerned, Colonel. There's nothing to criticize."
"Tch." Valentin seemed to be irritated and stayed silent. 'He can sometimes be a prick.'
Minna noticed his silence. 'Maybe it's best I don't bug him.'
They all dispersed after a while. Minna was the last to leave along with the rest of the witches before Valentin joined them so he could get to talk to Minna a little more.
Meanwhile, Kaziri was about to leave when Relius stopped her from leaving as she walked to her. "Your Majesty?"
"I'm not forcing you to stop, but start to think deeply, okay?"
Then Kaziri was having her doubt. "Maybe I shouldn't go. You need me here."
"No. You need to let yourself naturally heal. I'm fine on my own here."
"Okay then. Relius-sensei, I'll be visiting one of my friends just before I go."
"You can. I always expected you would do that."
"You expected it from me?"
"Don't think I can't keep track of your absences even if they're the most convenient times for you to leave during your privacy." Relius smirked and chuckled. "Hehe… It's fine. Do what you can for the next two hours, then get up there. Okay? A frigate will be just off the stratosphere to pick up."
"Okay. I'll make sure to get there."
"Good. You can go."
"Please take care of yourself, Relius-sensei." Kaziri bowed to the queen before she turned her back and walked out to the side entrance of the throne room.
Valentin just stopped beside Queen Relius. "You sure you're okay if you're alone?"
Relius looked at Valentin. "Colonel, I've been alone in the beginning days of my exile. I know for a fact that I took care of myself just before I was able to get able Elite Guards again. They have so much value. I'm letting Kaziri be because of her past easily getting on her again. I gave her advice before she understood, but she's not easy to calm when it comes to a situation when she just…"
"…loses it? It's okay. She started off as a human at first. Now she's a full Neuroi."
Relius glanced at him, somehow not thinking of answering him any further and decided to change the subject. "Want to visit Neo-Scandinavia with me?"
"Eh?"
"Queen Relius." Xala was walking towards Relius and Valentin. "I'm here as you said."
The queen nodded and looked at Valentin. "Colonel, Xala will be keeping her ears and eyes open for me while she stays here. She won't find anything to touch here, but she'll stay in contact in case anything comes up."
Xala raised an eyebrow. "It seems you're visiting them again. Alright. I can stay here for you."
"Ehehehe…" Valentin uneasily chuckled. "Okay… You're taking me to their base, by flying me there again?"
"And don't worry. I won't drop you." Relius smirked, knowing Valentin's not always into being in the air while being flown not by the use of a plane.
'Oh, crap…' He thought.
Later at Neo-Scandinavia base in Southern Baltland…
Ursula, Sanya, Gertrude, Chris, Erica, and Francesca were in awe as they looked at Queen Relius as they were in the briefing room together. Peter was with Ursula, and Shirley was with Francesca. Minna and Mio were accompanying them as well. Valentin was seated just near Ursula and Peter.
"Thank you all for coming." Queen Relius made her say while the others were seated except for Minna and Mio who were beside her. "I introduced myself to your other teammates and they accepted me. I hope it is the same as this time."
Shirley was listening to Relius when she looked at Francesca, drooling while looking at the queen. 'What's with her?'
Francesca's eyes were wide as she was in awe of Relius' bust size. 'She's probably an E. Oh… I can't wait! Boobs!'
"I simply have objectives to tell you: Representing the Blue Neuroi faction brings me joy but also a sense of responsibility while I'm present. It's more important to everyone else. Not all of us are what you see from the Red Neuroi as we've integrated into getting stronger in another way: human reproduction. And since they turn to full Neuroi in the process, their growth is faster than what's expected. It's one thing we should consider: Our coexistence brings not only the appreciation from all of us but also your assistance that is most valuable. We're making sure to assist you so you could do the same. In the end, we must get along." And after this, Relius told of her story to them as well, just as a summary to let them understand what's necessary.
A few minutes passed and most of them were surprised of what Relius had gone through just to get things done before they even arrived here. One other fact from her story is that a small division splits from her main group before she got exiled in the lone dwarf planet she told them about. That division was responsible for finding the city of Atlantis in the first place, and it got her to finally move since her subjects were able to learn Lantean technology and its transports after a year from their first discovery.
Sanya then raised her hand. "If that's the case, you took interest and really invested the rest of your time in getting stronger from Lantean technology. The rest of the time, you used in reproducing the army, right?"
"Yes. I'm pretty sure that's what I mentioned. Our Neuroi abilities got stronger too with constant training. It only seems keeping your consistency can make improvements especially when you're training yourself. So that's a tip: Keep improving, or maintaining. It's how your vigilance and preparedness stays intact."
After Shirley heard those words with good impression, she turned her head to where Fran was sat to check up on her and she wasn't on her seat. This made her nervous. 'Oh… Crap…!'
"So… any questions?"
"One. What's your bust size?"
Relius was about to answer when she felt her bust was being violated. She looked down and saw hands were groping her breasts even on her white Astral dress. 'Is this that boob devil?' She blushed and closed her eyes, letting the witch do her thing. 'Whatever it is, it's amazing…'
The others were surprised and gasped at this and Shirley stood up enraged. "GYAAAH! FRAN!"
Mio was about to snap as she stood up. When she approached Fran, Minna stopped her. "Minna?"
Minna was glaring at Francesca's direction. "Let's see what happens."
The queen kept feeling Fran's hands groping her knockers. There was even a silent moan that escaped from her. 'Is she making this a hobby?'
"Your size really competes with Shirley! She's a size F! You're a size E and I'm right about it!"
Relius replied first by letting her hand go on Fran's groping ones. "You have a daring hobby."
"I kinda like doing this more to Shirley if you don't mind!"
"You know… I can do something worse to you when the time comes."
"Eh?"
"Seriously. I like you, but your groping caught me off-guard."
"Aww… You're no fun."
"But be ready to take the punishment in time, because I won't hold back on you either."
Francesca was nervous even as she kept on groping. 'Wow… She might just be as good as Lex is. And she was…' She blushed at the thought of her and Lex that night in the baths. 'Okay… I can imagine what the queen could do.'
"Ehem…" Minna's arms were crossed and Francesca stopped her groping and looked at the commander. "We'll talk later, Lucchini." And she faced the rest of the witches. "You're all dismissed for the meantime."
1433 hours…
Francesca was in tears while she was in the laundry area doing the laundry for the rest of the witches on base. "Boohoo! This is no fun!"
Mio was just leaving the laundry area and going to the experimental aircraft hangar and saw Queen Relius looking at Reynaldo's MiG-21. "Ah, Your Majesty."
"Just… Call me Relius." She turned to see the major stop just out the entrance beside her. "Everything's been stretching you all out in the war, right?"
"I have my share of battles and they have to. You've been watching us for a while, right?"
"Of course. Just to change the subject, what's with Francesca?"
"She got a scolding from the commander. Lucchini shouldn't have violated you like that?"
"Huh? Tch. Haha…" And her laughter got Mio somehow confused. "They have their own way of punishments towards subordinates. I won't mind, but I don't mind how Lucchini does it to me."
"Eh?! But Queen Relius, you must understand."
"I do. I'm a queen, and I should show proper decorum and modesty. But I also understand I have a dark side to show as well. It's not something I could always hide, Mio Sakamoto. I'm as sinful as you all are."
The Fusojin raised an eyebrow. "What are you…?"
"Your hormones are going through the roof, major. I sense it from you especially if you're close to the commander. It only means you have been thinking about her deeply."
From what Mio could tell, Relius was hard to fool. 'Well, she knows her way around people.'
"You even fantasize about her."
"O… kay. I get it."
"Actually, you were doing it with her." She smirked and it made Mio blush.
"Ooo…kay! I get it! I get it! You're no different from us, okay?!"
"That's better."
"Sheesh…" Mio's irritation was getting to Relius in a positive way.
"Hehe… You have spunk, major. You always have it just for Minna herself. Just make sure your feelings are true about her and maintain them as long as you can. Okay?"
"I-I'll try."
"That's good. I hate to see lovers split for nothing. My first love splits because of his unbelievable power and greed for it. He wanted more, and he destroys our planet in the process. Don't let your own lust destroy those good feelings for her, Mio. That's how you maintain a relationship."
"Funny you should mention that. I kinda forced myself to just confess."
"Then you have to make your moments better with her then. You got a head start. Use it to your advantage."
"I'll try."
"Okay. I have faith in you then." She made a small smile and the major did the same…
EPILOGUE…
1926 hours… Forested areas of East Baltland…
Kaziri was in her human form while she looked around as she walked past trees. It was dark at that side of the forest, but she's able to catch on as her sight can be illuminated when she has her night vision ability. Then, a wolf's howl was heard from afar and she stopped walking. She kept her eyes on alert as she looked in vigilance. 'So it's here.'
"So you came…" A woman's voice was heard before Kaziri sets eyes on a woman approaching from a set of bushes. She had a white wolf of a companion with her, but it seems to be bigger than the usual wolf. Her straight white hair was lengthened until her mid back, and she seems to have tanned skin. Her height was 6 feet flat and for a woman, she's got quite the athletic build. Her white wolf companion stopped and growled at Kaziri before it was patted and soothed on the head by the woman, who seems to be its owner. "It's okay, Juny. She's not an enemy." And from the way she spoke, she's an Asiectan or Asian in other words.
"Juny?" Kaziri looked at the big white wolf and noticed the light green eyes. "So it is her. She's able to morph?"
"Hehe… Finally, she's able to."
"About time. She's at her legal age, after all. And she chose not to age like you. What does that make her?"
"My Beta."
Juny was calming down before she was able to growl softly and walk towards Kaziri. 'We'll see, Kaziri.'
Kaziri took the initiative before she slowly put her hand out, careful of not letting Juny sense her as a hostile but as a neutral at first. 'I know Juny as a human, but her senses as a wolf is different. I have to take it slow.' And without fear she puts her hand on Juny's head and she softly rubbed it while Juny made a soft growl, giving Kaziri the message Juny liked it. 'Juny's skin is soft.' "She's amazing. So… she's the start of the new pack?"
"Yes."
"This is great, Jolina. It's a new beginning for you again. How old did you say you were again?"
"Let me see… about eight centuries and two decades now. I don't really fare with a vampire, but I'm getting somewhere."
Kaziri looked at Jolina while rubbing Juny's furry head, while examining Jolina's good curves. "You still have a pretty good shape. You have good years ahead of you, but you still got it."
"Hey. There's plenty of exercise to go around." She smirked at Kaziri before whistling. "Juny, I got your clothes with me. Kaziri needs to see it."
Juny turned her head to her Alpha and nodded before she growled, letting her morph out of her form. Slowly, her wolf appearance was changing and even bone cracks were softly being made as she was making her transformation. Juny finally stood up while her fur was retracted. Her face was just returning to her human form and she looks to be in her twenties. Her hair was brown and is shoulder lengthened. Her height was about the same as Jolina's. Not caring for being bare she smiled towards Kaziri. "Impressed, Kaziri?" She seems to speak with a Liberion accent.
Kaziri shrugged. "Can't say you've changed. I can only see your C-cups getting to be D's."
"Aww…" She eventually caught her clothes Jolina held for her. "You gotta lighten up. You can't keep telling my sizes each time you arrive and criticize them."
"What can I say? I'm a boob person."
"Pervert is more like it." With irritation, Juny then puts on her clothes. "You're lucky I didn't bite you. I would have loved to taste an organic Neuroi's meat."
"You wish. Hehe…" Kaziri then approached Jolina. "So, do you have what I came here for?"
Jolina nodded and browsed her pockets until she was able to hold on to photographs and gave them to Kaziri. "It seems you're right."
Kaziri looked at the pictures and saw the theme of Karlsland soldiers but actually of a different atmosphere as they've been carrying crates, and were even holding different weapons not standard to the Karlsland military at all. "So the Nazi group is really making progress."
"That's not the only place. Bruruil is a temporary staging area, but they're posted around the world like some sort of operations division of a sort."
"True. Karl Dietrich is pretty much known to be steps ahead in science that he needed to get results from everywhere."
"So you know the whole time?"
Kaziri chuckled. "Hehe… Of course I did."
"Then why the hell did you make me take these pictures for?"
"It's only for insurance."
"Insurance?"
"Intelligence is what the League Intelligence Agency is looking. We'll give it to them, and show them we mean business when it comes to taking down assets the Red Neuroi have as well. They're getting dark magic to be used just as resources like they're nothing. It shouldn't even be used for things like this. Austerys is planning something and all our hands are tied. Whatever it is, we gotta find out what it is?"
"So what's your next move?"
"For now, nothing, Jolina. They're out of our reach since Bruruil is our last attempt at getting to get solid leads."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have abandoned my old pack."
"No. You did what you could, Jolina. Even as an alpha who didn't seem to be cultural to other packs, they shouldn't make you some sort of enemy. They should treat you as someone who needs to start over. But how's your pack now?"
"They're… cooperative. I have scouts and herbalists but they're not much into fighting. They can fight, but can take on smaller packs. It's a start."
"You can't always expect them to fit in for the first time on the first day after all. They'll get used to it. For now, take it easy. These Nazis will be hard to track down and I'll let you know of other details." Kaziri then decided to walk away when Jolina stopped her. "What is it?"
"Something's bugging you."
"Is there?"
"You know it. I sense it."
"It's nothing."
"I see. You're lying."
"Could you get any more suspicious of me? Well… I'll tell you when I have the time. Right now, I don't wanna miss my flight for up there."
"Space travel, huh?"
"I need to be with Saiojin for the meantime. Queen Relius and I talked about it and she's fine when she's alone, so she thinks."
"You have to trust her gut. You've been with her for a long time."
Juny just finished dressing up and approached Kaziri. "Are you really going, Aunt Kaz?"
Kaziri made a simple smile at Juny. "Don't worry. I'll be back after some time. I'll see you again."
"Okay."
The Neuroi girl looked at Jolina. "Get stronger while I'm gone. Although Relius-sensei doesn't know about our alliance, your help is valuable. You have a side to liking humanity as you know them."
"Eh… They have their ups and downs. Still, they deserve better even with imperfections. Juny and I even opposed each other before I got to bite her and she accepted herself for who she had become. And you know what she said to me? Her eyes were opened for the first time after finding peace from her troubles in her life."
"Then she'll go a long road with you. That'll be an advantage while you look for potential pack members together."
"I do hope she does go long as I did."
Kaziri glanced at Juny and back at Jolina. "I must go." Then she morphed and let her Neuroi form be accompanied with her hovering just off the ground. "I'll be expecting news whether it's yours or anything related to those damn Nazis when I get back to you."
"Just be careful out there, psycho. You might hurt your nose."
"Hehe… I love being called that. Until we meet again…" Kaziri's smirk was replaced by her suddenly flying up and leaving a sonic boom, making Jolina and Juny stabilized their standing while hearing Kaziri's maniacal laugh as she flew off.
"Tch…" Jolina crossed her arms, seeing Kaziri fly off at high speeds. "The bitch never changes."
"Still a psycho?"
"Yes, Juny. Still a psycho."
Be warned by the way: Next chapter will make this fiction Rated M, which pretty much means there will be possible lemons so I won't tell where they would be! ;) Stay tuned. :D