The battle of Blue Garden was kicking off strongly. Feather had Nina Roulette surrounded by her and her men. "You like these odds?" Feather repeated, perplexed by Nina's words. This woman was talking like she wasn't completely surrounded and outnumbered.
"That's right!" Nina grinned while snapping her fingers. "Do I really have to repeat myself? Situations like this really get the blood pumping! Fighting people who know exactly what I'm gonna do even before I know it? How could I not be excited?"
"Uh...ma'am...?" One of Feather's men just glanced over at Feather.
"Take her." Feather commanded with a simple motion of her head. They did not have the time to entertain this woman's gambling addiction. On that cue, Feather's men charged towards Nina. Since they were sharing her Ether Gear, they would be able to foresee Nina's actions and react accordingly.
"Let's have some fun!" Nina said while charging towards Feather's men. Even if they knew how she was going to attack, she was still a completely different beast. Nina threw a punch, and while Feather's men knew it was coming, all they could do was block. They didn't have the time to dodge and her punch sent a few men backwards as a result.
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
"..." Feather narrowed her eyes. Nina had more strength than she seemed. Even though her men could keep up, it should've been the other way around. Nina should have been the one struggling, yet as more men charged at her, she was holding her own! "How she is keeping up?"
"We can see what she's doing before she does, but she's so...fast! She reacts so quickly...!" One of Feather's men said. They leapt at Nina, seeing how she was going to dodge. Even though they knew exactly where she was going to move, she was still able to surprise them with her speed, swinging her leg to knock them back.
"Haha, this is pretty fun!" Nina was bouncing up and down excitedly. She wasn't even breaking a sweat while fighting the GIU's finest. "But I think it's my turn to strike now."
"Get ready." Feather said while shifting a stance. It was highly likely that she was about to intervene herself now. Feather saw Nina's actions in advanced, and she was premptively acting. "Everyone, get back!"
Nina grinned and pulled her fist back, water surrounding her entire arm. "Let's get this party started! Tears Wave!" She punched forward, sending a torrent of water barreling towards Feather and her men. Feather was the first one to react, backflipping onto a nearby building while a tidal wave emerged from Nina's attack. While Feather's men could see this coming, the intensity and speed of the attack was something their bodies couldn't react to, so they were swept away by the water.
"Water Ether Gear?" Feather questioned. "No...wait...!" Nina wasn't finished yet. "Gravity too!?"
"Gravity!" Nina lifted her hands into the air, the water swirling up and turning into a pressurized hammer. "Aqua Hammer!" She swung her hands down, the force of gravity causing the water to crash down on Feather. Feather was able to avoid this due to her Eye of Venus, but she could not escape the explosion radius. She was caught by it, tumbling along the ground before coming to a halt in a crouched position, an eye closed as she winced from the impact of the explosion.
"Two Ether Gears!?" Feather grit her teeth.
"No, just one." Nina wagged her finger. "You can see all my actions, but you don't know what's going on in my head, do you? It's my special Ether Gear: Random Chance!"
Feather stood back up and shook herself off. She felt sore, but this wasn't enough to slow her down. "Random Chance?" She repeated.
"That's right. I spin a little wheel in my head, and I get three slots to use various existing Ether Gear." Nina tapped her head. "I got water and gravity...but unfortunately the third one is a dud. Totally useless..."
"I remember your file now." Feather said, keeping a careful eye for Nina's next actions. "You and your sister, Julia Roulette, underwent some experimentation. So this is why such a thing is possible...where is your sister right now? I suspect she's also a part of the Galactic Fleet."
"Right!" Nina grinned while pulling both of her arms back. "But you shouldn't be worried about my sister. Because I'm the one you're fighting!" Just before Nina could actually attack, Feather swiftly moved in, slamming her heel into the opposing woman's cheek. This was a strong enough blow to make Nina stagger backwards, where she was attacked once again with a spinning kick to her chest. "Oof!"
"As long as I know what you're going to do, you don't stand a chance at beating me." Feather may not have had a combat ether gear like the rest of the OSI, but she was still competent in a fight, and her advantage with Eye of Venus, she could win.
"Oh yeah...?" Nina spat some blood to the side, rubbing her cheek. Feather kicked hard, she liked it. "Just because you know what I'm gonna do...!" Feather was about to attack again, but Nina held her hand out, using gravity to catch Feather in the air, and then slam her into the wall of a nearby building.
"Gnk...!" Feather grit her teeth, glaring at Nina.
Nina could see that Feather's men were ready to pounce at a moment's notice. This made her smile widen. Things were really heating up now. "Fighting the Interstellar Union Army is kinda fun..."
.
.
With Alexei's power, he teleported his group in various locations across the city. Hubert and Marshall were together and Hubert took a look around. There were still people unaware of the chaos that was happening. "The government has already arrived, which solidifies that we're all after the same thing."
"But we're not going to lose to them." Marshall grinned.
"A state of emergency has been issued for Blue Garden. Everyone, please evacuate and find shelter immediately. Stay clear of these people." An automated voice called out while displaying the feedback of Alexei and his current crew. The people noticed Hubert and Marshall on the street and they immediately began to flee.
"Looks like we're famous, Hubert." Marshall nudged Hubert with his elbow while laughing.
Hubert ignored this and tapped his glasses. "It seems Noah has activated an emergency broadcast system. So, if I triangulate the location of the signal..." Hubert continued to work, only needing a few seconds to figure out Noah's general location. "I've pinpointed his estimated location. He is somewhere within the south side of the city. That's also where the city's generator is. That's your location, X. Unfortunately I cannot get his exact location, but he doesn't appear to be moving either."
"Got it." X replied through their communications lines.
"So he's running from us?" Marshall tilted his head.
"He knows he can't run...but he's is doing all he can to stall." Hubert answered. "You heard Feather, did you not? She is merely the first wave. We have more of the Interstellar Union Army to deal with. Even with our numbers, we would suffer losses if we tried to battle them here. Our objective is the Shard, nothing more."
"But the Guild Master is going to try and use this chance to trap us? Hah! I like the balls on this guy." Marshall laughed. Despite how serious their situation was, he thought of it as a fun game. "I think I can have some fun here...I might as well give the other Interstellar something to welcome him!"
.
.
Jigan rushed back to the entrance of the Shooting Star guild, where Tobias and Waltz were waiting. Due to his hastiness, the two of them were aware that something was wrong. "What happened? Where's the shard?" Tobias asked.
"Didn't I tell you? It's the government!" Jigan said with an annoyed smirk. "Not just them either. Someone else is here; someone they were expecting! Either way, it looks like we're not the only ones here for the Black Moon Star Shard!"
"I had a feeling this would be the case." Waltz crossed his arms. Labilla was using this chance to sneak away, and due to the severity of the situation nobody noticed. "So we're in a race with the government and a third party to find the Black Moon Star Shard. That's annoying...wait, where did Hanabi go?"
"Some government shapeshifter snatched her." Jigan said while leading the way out of Shooting Star. "So if you see Hanabi again, ask her some specific questions so you can figure out if she's the real one or not. Where'd Weavel go?"
"You know him. He probably sensed something was off and decided to act on his own." Tobias tugged at his scarf. "But where are we going to start looking for the Shard?"
Jigan closed his eyes, focusing. Due to his brief connection to the Black Moon Shard he touched before, he could sense its location. "Heh...I know exactly where it is. Follow me, you two." So the three of them began to follow Jigan without a word. They didn't get too far, because several buildings started to collapse, cutting them off and halting their progress. "What the?!" As the crowd began to clear, they could see someone leaping from building to building, making sure to cut off any pursuers. It was a blue haired woman from what they could see, but they didn't know that it was X from the Galactic Fleet.
"A woman?" Waltz narrowed his eyes. "She looks like she knows where she's going."
"Yeah, in the right direction!" Jigan exclaimed while pointing at X. "She's going for the Shard!"
"I can catch up with..." Waltz paused. Something else was picked up on his scanners. "Wait...he's here."
"Who's here?" Tobias looked at Waltz. X was getting away, so they had to make this conversation quick.
"...My creator." Waltz said, dropping everything to head off into the opposite direction of X.
"Damn it! We don't have time for this!" Jigan groaned. "Come on, Tobias! We're not letting this chick beat us to the punch!" Nodding, Tobias followed Jigan as they rushed after X.
Labilla was still filming the entire incident. Someone had to cover this story! This could be what got her channel back up and running, too! "This is crazy! There's an all out battle happening within Blue Garden and for what reason? Even I don't know, but things are most certainly getting intense! If you're here on Blue Garden, stay staff! It's dangerous out here...!"
.
.
Just as Justice, Victory, and Jesse arrived at Blue Garden, they could already see the smoke from various buildings in the city. "It's already this bad!? Were we too late?" Jesse asked while looking around.
"I'd say we made it just in time." Victory could see a few people running for cover. For the most part, they were safe. "If we focus on the direction they're running from, we should find the source of the problem."
"I have to get to Noah as soon as possible. It looks like Feather has already engaged in combat with the enemy." Justice said. "You two, make sure nobody else gets hurt and apprehend whoever comes your way."
"Yes!" Jesse and Victory nodded, while Justice was prepared to use Meteor, but he was halted when someone called out to him.
"Gentlemen! I'm so very glad you could make it." That voiced belonged to Vanessa. She stepped forward with a grin, bowing before the GIA members. "You're a little late, but we've already started without you. I hope you don't mind."
"Vanessa Viscard." Justice narrowed his eyes at the woman.
"Did you come waltzing up to us, hoping to get arrested?" Victory said while cracking his knuckles. "Because we've got a long list of crimes with your name on it."
"Crimes, me?" Vanessa looked shocked, placing her hand over her mouth. "I haven't done a single thing. Pushing the boundaries of life isn't a crime, is it? I've revived a creature thought to be extinct!"
"And at the cost of so many lives." Justice shook his head. "Your arrest will be a cathartic one. I don't care what sort of intentions you may have had, we are not letting you or your crew slip past us."
"Funny you should say that." Vanessa snapped her fingers, a mist starting to fill the air. "Because I was going to say the same thing. What we're doing here is very important, and I will not have you get in our way. Once we finish here on Blue Garden, we'll have two Shards. The other three will be within reach soon enough."
"The only thing you should be reaching for is the back of your head with your hands." Victory scoffed.
Vanessa just smiled. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"
.
.
And on the other side of the city, as Justice arrived, so did Elsie, Gowen, and Hyoga. "It's a mess already..." Gowen said while looking at the city. It was partially ablaze, while people were making sure to keep their distance from the chaos.
"Did we make it in time...or is this just the aftermath?" Hyoga questioned.
"We're early." Elsie said with a confident grin. "If we were late, there'd be nothing for us to do. "The Black Moon Star shard is here on Blue Garden, as are the people who destroyed the Midi Orbital Gate, and the Government too. We're not alone in this race."
"Do you think Justice is here?" Hyoga looked to Elsie.
"...Probably." Elsie wasn't going to deny that possibility. "Will he listen if I try to talk to him? That seems unlikely. But we have our own mission to perform as well. Shiki's counting on us, and I'm not going to let him down."
.
.
As all of the combatants of the Battle of Blue Garden finally arrived on the planet, Amira dragged the tied up Hanabi to an alleyway that was out of sight and out of mind. Nobody would find them tucked away in this little corner. "Oof. Could you be a little more graceful?"
"There's no time for that." Amira said, setting Hanabi down onto her feet. She then crossed her arms under her chest and looked the other woman over. "You and I are going to have a talk."
