Justice, Victory, and Jesse encountered Vanessa Viscard from the Galactic Fleet. They knew she would be on the planet, but they never expected to run into her so soon. Mist began to flow from her extended fingertip, rapidly filling the space between her and the three OSI members. It wasn't very long before this mist completely shrouded her from view. "You look like you're in a rush. I'm just here to buy a little time."
"What's this mist?" Jesse said while looking around, keeping his gun extended. They couldn't see anything five feet in front of them.
"Be careful!" Justice warned. "Vanessa Viscard is extremely dangerous and so is her Ether Gear! If we're not careful..."
"Not careful?" Vanessa popped out from the mist, in front of Jesse. He seemed the most trigger happy, and she thought right. The moment she appeared, Jesse fired his gun and the bullet went straight through her...literally. She was a form of the mist and vanished. "Oh! I was right! You are a little trigger happy, aren't you? I wonder how many people you've killed with that knee jerk reaction?"
That made Jessie sweat a little. That's exactly how he killed Creed - knee jerk. He managed to pin that blame onto Homura, but it felt like she was seeing straight through him. "You shut your mouth!"
"Hey, calm down!" Victory said while activating his Ether Gear. He had a plan, using his gigantic stature to blow away the mist. It seemed to work as his arms worked as large fans, blowing away the mist from their location. He could see Verona not too far away from them as a result. "There she is!"
Jesse fired his gun at Vanessa, but made sure to switch it to a stun setting since they needed to take her in alive. The bullet hit and Vanessa let out a short scream before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. "I got her!"
"Was it really that easy?" Victory was doubtful.
Justice was the one who went to go check. He approached Vanessa and looked her over carefully. In a matter of seconds, Vanessa's form changed to that of a regular civilian. "...!"
"Ah...!?" Jesse gasped. "I shot a civilian?! But there weren't any around us..."
"And the real Vanessa isn't even here..." Victory sucked his teeth in annoyance. They were being stalled! Vanessa wasn't joking when she said she was just buying time. "What the hell happened?"
"The Veil." Justice said while letting out a heavy sigh. "Vanessa Viscard's Ether Gear is named the Veil. It's extremely dangerous and we just fell for it, even for a split second."
"The Veil?" Victory looked to Justice.
"Everything in the cosmos is controlled by either. Vanessa Viscard's ether gear allows her to manipulate the very Ether around her to alter the perception of anyone she chooses, or to change how something is perceived by a group of people. The mist is likely just a visual trick." Justice explained. "To put it simply, it is a very strong illusion power."
"That's annoying." Victory shook his head. "So she could've tricked some civilian into thinking they were running somewhere safe, while we ended up thinking we were dealing with the real her?"
"That's the long and short of it." Justice said. "It would be a problem if she was actually running rampant in the city. It would be chaos everywhere until she decides it ends. Before we can capture Alexei, we must deal with her first. I will hunt Vanessa down. I have a plan in mind. Victory, you will go protect Noah. Jesse, I need to you to asset with the evacuation and shelter efforts. There are surely people that need our help."
"Yes, sir!" Jesse and Victory nodded. They had their assignments.
As Justice activated his Star Drain Ether Gear to fly off, he made contact with Noah via their communication link. "Noah, do you copy? There is an urgent matter that I require your power for. If we cannot find this person, the situation on Blue Garden will spiral out of control."
"You don't need to phrase it so drastically. I am well aware of the situation." Noah responded calmly. "Who are you looking for?"
"Vanessa Viscard." Justice said.
"Ah. I know exactly where she is." Noah's power allowed him to easily glean Vanessa's location, even with her power of illusion. Noah was also aware that Elsie was on Blue Garden as well, but he opted to keep this information from Justice for now. If Justice was made aware of this, he would no doubt tunnel on Elsie the moment he knew. For the good of the operation, Noah had no choice but to keep this information hidden.
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Jigan and Tobias were chasing down X. The woman was unaware of their presence, and the distance between then was rapidly increasing as well. Jigan and Tobias were quickly falling behind and losing track of her. "Damn, she's fast...!" Tobias grunted. "We'll never catch up to her at this rate. She'll get to Noah before we do!"
"What do you mean she will? She's led us far enough!" Jigan said with a widening smirk. "We're in the south part of the city, there's not much further for him to go. I know he won't leave this city. So the next part of the plan easy. All we gotta do is flush him out! So, Tobias. Make these buildings fall. Let's get rid of that woman before anything else."
"Heh..." Tobias smirked and nodded. He raised his foot and violently stomped on the ground. His Ether Gear activated in that instant and a seismic quake shook the area. "Earth Shatter!" Nearby buildings began to collapse and topple over as a result. There were some people who were fleeing the scene nearly caught up in the collapse of everything, but it was clear that Jigan and Tobias did not care about the collateral.
Despite her distance, X wasn't able to avoid this either. In fact, it's because of this that she realized there was another party here. "What the hell!?" The building she was on was starting to collapse on itself. She grumbled and had no choice but to leap down onto the ground, where she saw Jigan and Tobias. She didn't recognize them at all and just stared at them with an irritated look on her face. She had the easiest job of hunting Noah down, and suddenly these no names were getting in her way?! "Who the hell are you?"
"Jigan King! The man that will surpass Elsie Crimson and become the most feared space pirate in the cosmos!" Jigan said while pointing at himself proudly.
"Uh-huh." X did not care. "I literally do not have time for this."
"Well, neither do we. But you're in our way." Tobias pointed at X. "Heading for Noah, aren't you? To get the Black Moon shard?"
That made X's eyes widen slightly. Who the hell were these guys? How did they know about that? "Okay. So you guys are just telling me that you're something I should get rid of as soon as possible." The woman said, letting out a sigh at the fact she was about to put in some work. But it was work she was taking seriously. "But like I said, I don't have time to deal with you."
"That's too bad." Jigan said while rearing his hand back, his Ether Gear activating as lightning began to gather within his palm. "Thunderbolt Cannon!" He fired off a gigantic orb of electricity towards X, grinning confidently as it soared towards her.
"Rage." X said while holding her hand out. A multicolored blade appeared within her hand and she drew it back, only to swing it backhandedly at the incoming orb. She completely deflected it into the nearest building, not even watching the explosion that followed. Both Tobias and Jigan were shocked at this feat.
"What...!?" Jigan gasped. He knew he had gotten a little stronger since his encounter with the Eden's Zero, but to think this woman was capable of something like that!
"It was her sword!" Tobias pointed at the blade. "That must be her Ether Gear. A blade that can deflect ether?"
These guys were quick on the uptake. X's sword changed once again. "Wrath." She said before stabbing the sword into the ground. Tobias and Jigan were expecting some sort of attack as darkness began to pool out from the blade and the area around it. "I told you, I don't have time. So you can deal with these guys instead." As she spoke, multiple skeletal soldiers began to crawl from the darkness. With a sizable army of dozens and dozens of skeletal soldiers at her command, X pointed her finger forward. "Go." The soldiers charged and X ran the opposite way, continuing her pursuit of Noah.
"Damn!" Tobias grunted. "I didn't know she had more than one blade!"
"It doesn't matter! We're wasting time!" The old man brought his knuckle into the air, lightning charging around it. He also still retained just a bit of power from the Black Moon Star shard and was making use of it, allowing it to course through his veins. "Lightning Knuckle!" He slammed his fist into the ground, a shockwave of lightning exploding outward towards the skeletal soldiers. The explosion was very visible in the city. They were extremely frail and shattered pretty quickly upon the contact. Jigan expected a bit more effort, but he just laughed. "Hah! As I thought, she only managed to buy herself a few seconds."
"As expected of you." Tobias said with a nod.
"Shut up, Tobias. I didn't ask for your ass kissing." Jigan snapped and Tobias did, in fact, shut up. They were about to continue onward when something unexpected happened. Someone landed in front of them. "Huh?"
"Who...?" Tobias tilted his head.
It was...Elsie Crimson. "...You're not Noah." She grunted. "My scanner detected a trace of the Black Moon Star's power for a split second, so I thought I found it..."
"Is that...!?" Tobias' eyes widened.
"Elsie Crimson..." Suddenly, Jigan wasn't in such a rush. His eyes were wide with shock and excitement. To think, his own personal target would land right in front of him! "I've been waiting for you."
"Huh?" Elsie just blinked. She didn't recognize Jigan at all.
"Jigan! That woman is going to get away!" Tobias pointed.
"Then YOU go after her!" Jigan barked. "I got a personal score to settle with Elsie!"
Groaning, Tobias had no choice but to dash past Elsie. Elsie, however, just stared at Jigan, confused. "A personal score? I'm afraid I don't know you."
"Ho ho ho ho!" Jigan let out a laugh, slamming one fist into an open palm as black lightning faintly sparked around his body. "We've never met until just now. I am Jigan King, captain of the Fiertia. I am the man that will defeat you and become the most feared space pirate in the cosmos! To think you'd run into me right here and now. It's as if fate is truly on my side! It's not just enough to become a feared criminal in the eyes of the government, I intend to crush them too so nobody can stand in my way."
"Jigan King..." Elsie repeated that name, and that's when it hit her. "Oh, I know you. You're the one that gave Shiki and his crew a hard time, aren't you? I also heard that he beat you rather soundly." She said, arms crossed. Jigan didn't seem like much of a threat, but she wasn't going to take him lightly either. Something about him seemed...off.
"That punk got lucky!" Jigan snarled. His defeat at the hands of Shiki was seared into his memory. It was the first loss in such a long time that he'd ever experienced since he left Norma. "And I'm not the type to make the same mistakes twice. Now, unfortunately for you, I have to make this quick. Because destiny is calling me, and if you're just a mere stepping stone in my rise to glory, so be it!" Jigan's lightning exploded around him and he flew towards Elsie at high speeds.
Elsie grit her teeth. Great, just want she needed: to be wrapped up in a fight with an enemy commander. "Fine, if it's a fight you want, I'll show you your place." She said as a blue aura wrapped around her body, her appearance changing slightly in response to the ether of Blue Garden. "Star Drain: Blue Garden!" She then made use of Meteor and charged at Jigan, the two of them throwing their fists forward. They clashed, and an explosion boomed out within Blue Garden.
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Alexei had a very specific goal in mind. He teleported himself to Noah's very own office. Of course, he knew he wouldn't find the person he was looking for there. "How much do you know..." Alexei made his way to Noah's personal computer. There was no reason for anyone other than Noah to access these files. Noah was often the only person in this room, and as expected, there was a password involved. Scoffing, Alexei pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the USB slot of the computer. "This flash drive from Hubert overwrites any and all security measures." As he thought, it worked after a few seconds and he had full access to Noah's database. "There we go. Julia, do you copy?"
"Copy loud and clear." A woman's voice responded on the other end. The other Roulette sister who was back with the fleet near the planet. Unlike Nina, she was a brunette with blue eyes and wore a Chinese dress. She was currently looking over the files that Alexei was copying to the main ship's database. "Everything that Noah knows is flooding into our systems! There's a lot of stuff here."
"Excellent." Alexei nodded slowly. "I knew he wouldn't be in his own room when we came knocking. So this is the perfect chance to see what the enigmatic Guild Master is hiding." Alexei was also going through the files manually, just glancing upon things that may be of interest. Nothing of interest, but the data was useful to have. He was going to pull the flash drive back when he noticed something that did caught his attention. A file by the name of Leaper. "Hm? Do you see this file?"
"I do." Julia responded. "Leaper. I wonder what that is? Do you wish to open it?"
"I am." Alexei responded, clicking the file. It was then that he was given the sight of a picture of Rebecca Bluegarden, along with a description of her power. Noah kept some things written down for himself, since he had been keeping track of Rebecca's leaps since she was a young girl. "...Who is this?"
"Oh! That's Rebecca from the Aoneko Channel!" Julia said excitedly. Clearly, she was a fan. "She's one of the most popular B-cubers out there, right next to Couchpo's Food Channel! She's so entertaining with her crewmates!"
"Crewmates?" Alexei was ignoring Julia's fangirling. Instead, he was focusing on what the file said. Rebecca Bluegarden; currently aboard the Eden's Zero as a crew member. "Her power, Cat Leaper, allows her to move not only through time, but other worlds and universes as well..."
"Huh...!?" Julia's jaw dropped. "Boss, I'm sorry, can you repeat that? Worlds and universes?" She was reading over the same file Alexei was, but she couldn't believe it. The knowledge about the multiverse was not something most people knew about.
"She was unconsciously using her power for the longest time, moving from world to world when she was in mortal danger, until the shift from Universe 1 to Universe 2. And again, I believe, into Universe 3..." Alexei continued reading. Noah was under the belief that the shift in universe was due to Rebecca using her power at some point. However, what nobody knew at the time, was that this wasn't the case. She wasn't the one that did this.
"Um. What is all this?" Julia asked, worriedly. This felt like information far too great for her to understand.
"...I believe some things are falling into place for me." Alexei said calmly. "A power that warps through time itself...? It's clear that I need to meet with this Rebecca Bluegarden when we are done here. Pay no heed to this file, you won't understand it. I, however, have gleaned everything I need to from this."
"Y-Yes sir..." Julia had her questions, but she would stay silent as Alexei commanded. Instead, something else had her attention. "What? Nina's in trouble? Ugh, that girl...!"
The communication line was cut. Alexei folded his hands behind his back, staring at the image of Rebecca. "Are you the one that has been dragging me around through the infinite worlds...?"
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"Hm...as expected, they're going after Vanessa first." Hubert said while tapping his earpiece. He was able to intercept the communication between Noah and Justice, which only confirmed his location. "Two things, everyone. First, Vanessa, Justice of all people is coming your way. I suspect he intends to capture you first and foremost. Do me mindful. As for you, X..."
"Bah." As Hubert was giving Vanessa and X information, Marshall ended up growing board pretty quickly. All of the people he wanted to terrorize managed to flee successfully. This meant that there wasn't anyone around he could scare. "C'mon! I thought there were people here who could fight!?" He then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A civilian that was trapped between a rock and a hard place. It was a young woman. Marshall's eyes briefly flashed pink before stepping forward. "Oh, never mind. I think we can have some fun here after all.
"W-Wait! Stay away from me...!" The woman pleaded.
Hubert was remaining pretty hands off. Marshall was free to do whatever he wanted. That was until he sensed some unfamiliar ether powers rapidly approaching their location. "Marshall, wait!"
"What?" Marshall snapped to look at Hubert, glaring at him for daring to nearly interrupt his fun. But then he sensed it. Some fire was heading in his direction, so Marshall quickly jumped back and turned his attention to the attacker. Gowen and Hyoga appeared, standing before the woman who was trapped. "Huh?"
"Good thing we made it in time." Gowen said with a slight grin.
"That was close. You, get outta here." Hyoga said to the woman. Without a word she nodded frantically and sped off as fast as her legs could carry her. "As for you two..."
"Who are these punks?" Marshall turned to Hubert.
"Your saving grace." Hubert said while adjusting his glasses. "These two happen to be from Elsie Crimson's crew. You said you wanted a fight, did you not? They've come to deliver."
"Finally." Marshall gave a heinous grin while staring down the fire and ice user of Elsie's crew. "Danchou said I could cut loose. So you two better be ready to die."
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Noah used his Heaven's Eye to direct Justice to Vanessa's location. Her power of illusion with the Veil was going to cause chaos across Blue Garden if left unchecked. But that didn't mean he was unaware of the other people who arrived on the planet. The city was a mess and he was in the most danger. He was standing in an empty building with the Black Moon Star shard in his hand. The sound of a shattering window alerted him that his location was finally compromised. It was only a matter of time until someone found him. His eyes closed and he remained calm. "...So, you were the first one to find me..."
"That's right. You hide pretty well." X admitted, flipping her hair as Noah turned around. "So, hand over the Shard and I won't kill you. You know you don't have a choice. Blue Garden can get razed to the ground."
She was right. Noah didn't have a choice. So, he took slow steps forward. "As long as Blue Garden is unharmed when you leave, then I'll do what I must. That is my only condition."
"That's up to the boss. But maybe I'll swing it past him." X said, reaching out for the Shard now that it was within grasp. And just as her fingers began to curl around it, the ceiling of the building caved in. Noah and X had no choice but to leap back. "What the hell!?" From the smoke and debris, she could see a gargantuan figure towering over her.
As the smoke cleared, the figure in question was revealed to be Victory. He looked down at X, standing between her and Noah. "You're under arrest."
