"And those were the events of several days ago." Noah finished telling the story of the Battle of Bluegarden to Rebecca and the rest of the crew. Naturally, the story had them all shocked for different reasons.
"A-All of that happened while we were busy on Delta Ridge?" Rebecca gulped. That was a lot of information to take on at once. "Galactic Fleet...Alexei...my head is spinning..."
Shiki hardly lived conversing with Noah much. He was still holding onto the fact that Noah put Rebecca in danger...and with a situation as dire as the Galactic Fleet that he was learning about, he didn't trust Noah not to do it again. "You told them about Rebecca?"
"I hardly had a choice this time." Noah said while closing his eyes. "I wouldn't have done it otherwise. Not when it comes to someone as dangerous as Alexei."
"To think that someone could have that kind of military power..." Hermit furrowed her brows. "How could he have gone under the radar for so long? I thought the Government would've picked up on something or someone that dangerous earlier."
"Alexei is aided by a woman known as Vanessa Viscard." Noah explained. The moment he did, Blair visibly tensed up.
"What!?" Geno's eyes went wide. "Cynthia's mom...!?"
"Between her ability to create illusions, and Alexei's power over space...tracking the Galactic Fleet is nigh impossible, even with my eye. All I can do is wager a guess to their vague location." A power that could even elude Noah's Heaven's eye was something dangerous indeed. "That is why the OSI fanned out immediately to try and pin them down before they got too far."
"That's a lot to take in..." Weisz said with a sweat drop. "I wish we knew about these guys sooner. My heart freakin' sank hearing some unknown party already has two shards! That means there's only one left that nobody has..."
"Alexei is a man with power over space." Noah said calmly. "Facing him will be difficult. I know the Eden's Zero is a good ship, but against the might of the Galactic Fleet...it would be wiser to to avoid conflict is possible."
"Great." Sister rolled her eyes.
"Before I leave...there is one bit of information I must share with you." Noah kept everyone in suspense for a bit. "It is best for you to lie low while in the Sakura Cosmos. Nobody will be able to make a move while the OSI is looking around so intently...but there is one place of interest to visit."
"It's not pointing to where the last shard is, is it?" Shiki had to ask. Noah shook his head.
"No. Cynthia Viscard is on the planet near your location. I'll send you the coordinates." Noah said. "But with that, I must make my leave. Do take care...the coming future looks dangerous." The communication ended on that ominous note.
"...Well, shit." Sister grunted. "I thought things were going too smoothly..."
"Question..." Omega said while pointing at Blair. She was even more violent and brooding than usual. "What's with her? She not eatin' enough, or something?"
"Don't bring up food..." Couchpo said, having learned the hard way.
"Vanessa Viscard." Blair spat. When she said that name aloud, it reminded most of the crew about her story when she first joined the Eden's Zero.
"Wait...isn't that the woman you said tortured and experimented on you?" Kleene looked at Blair with wide eyes.
"Cynthia's mom!?" Geno's eyes widened. "Wait, there has to be some kind of mistake..."
"Is there?!" Blair snapped at Geno, snarling at him. "You knew her, didn't you. What kind of research was she doing?"
"Ah...T-Therion, I think...?" Geno awkwardly rubbed his arm. The dots did connect, but he was having a hard time believe that Blair was the result of Vanessa's research.
"Hey, go easy on him." Hermit said, speaking up for Geno. "I know you're upset...but at least you know where she is now. She's our enemy."
"She's my enemy." Blair said with a scoff. "You all can do whatever you want with the Galactic Fleet, but I'm the one who's gonna kill Vanessa for destroying my home."
"W-Wait now..." Geno spoke up again. "I...I don't doubt what you're saying, I really don't. But what about Cynthia? That's her mom, and that Noah guy told us to go and find her, right? Maybe he thinks she can help us."
"I'd said that's a solid guess." Jinn crossed his arms. "Although..."
"Who's to say that girl isn't any worse than her parents?" Blair scoffed. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree most of the time. I'm not taking any chances on her being some kind of saint."
"I've known her since I was a kid. She's good, I promise." Geno swore and placed a hand on his chest.
"Your promises don't mean much to me right now." Blair sucked her teeth. The tension was high. This was obviously a sore spot for Blair for many reasons.
"...I can't say I like the idea of making a detour when things are this tense." Laguna spoke up.
"I agree. I would like to obtain the next shard as quickly as possible." Homura added. "But if the OSI are lurking around every corner of the current cosmos, we hardly have the choice..."
"The coordinates that Noah guy said lead to the planet Seven." Omega said. "Oh, that's a beach planet!"
"A beach planet?" Weisz's eyes lit up. Once again, he'd be able to see the female crew members in bikinis!?
"Perhaps this is for the best." Laguna said. He still didn't like the idea, but this was better than walking headfirst into a trap of some kind. "I would rather not have to deal with the Government if we can lie low. Perhaps this Cynthia can answer some of our questions as well."
"Then we have our next destination. I'll plot a course to Seven." Hermit said. "It'll take us a day to get there from where we are."
"You don't think the Eclipse Ark will get ahead of us, do you?" Kleene asked the others. "We don't even know their status..."
"I think they will be forced to tread carefully as well." Pino suggested. "While we were working with them, I learned that it appears their ship is illegal just like the Eden's Zero."
"Huh. I wonder what Casey's deal is..." Shiki closed his eyes. They worked together with the Eclipse Ark crew purely because of mutual interests. But Shiki was well aware that the next time they crossed paths, they would be enemies. Hermit was charting a course to Seven.
"...I have another question." Blair turned around to Rebecca. The intensity of her stare made Rebecca sweat a little bit. "You."
"M-Me?" Rebecca pointed at herself. Blair was scary...
"What the hell is this Cat Leaper power of yours that guy was talking about?" Blair narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, that..." Rebecca rubbed her arm. She never explained to Blair. But she trusts Blair a lot more now than she did back then. "That is my power. Not only does it allow me to move super fast, but it lets me move through time."
"What?!" Blair, Omega, and Geno all exclaimed at once. Since this was the first time they were hearing about it, it was only natural they were shocked.
"I've had this power since I was young." Rebecca explained. "Although for most of my life, I didn't know I was using it."
"Rebecca's power is amazing." Happy interjected.
"Holy shit. What the fuck." Blair was floored. She didn't think that kind of power existed.
"Mhm. It also allows me to move through Universes." Rebecca said that, and now she just confused the new trio even further.
"New...Universes?" Omega was circling around Rebecca. "If it weren't for the fact I've seen you guys do some insane stuff, I'd think you're full of some hot air right now."
"No...she's telling the truth, now that I think about it..." Blair furrowed her brows.
"It's how she knew Jigan was gonna drop us all that time ago." Weisz said. "Her power has saved us a bunch of times. Hell, she had to use her power a bunch on Delta Ridge. Although, it seems like Athena was able to catch on. The fact we managed to beat her feels like we severely lucked out."
"No kidding..." Rebecca wasn't going to forget about Athena anytime soon. Even if they never saw the Goldstones again, their encounter with the sibling mercenaries stuck deep with her.
"Uh. What's this about other universes, though...?" Geno lifted his finger up. "Are you saying that the expanse of time is so vast, that the choices we make branch off somewhere and lead to entire different outcomes?"
Holy shit. How did Geno figure that out so fast. "This kid knows his stuff!" Sister gave Geno a pat on the back. It was a little harsh though.
"Pretty much." Rebecca nodded. "The first time I really used this power was in Universe 1. We tried fighting Drakken Joe, but we were defeated soundly. Shiki died, the Shining Stars were deactivated...it truly was the worst outcome. But then, my power activated, and it pushed me here into Universe 2. Everything had gone the same up until that point, but with my knowledge we were able to win."
"Whoa..." Geno had no words.
"...So you're saying there are other universes out there, where my life could've done differently? That I wouldn't be cursed like this?" Blair asked while holding up her bandaged arm.
"It's hard to say...but it really is possible." Rebecca nodded sheepishly.
"...How lucky for them." Blair huffed. She was a little bitter she felt like she got the short straw. But it couldn't be helped now. She rolled with the punches this far, and she wasn't going to complain about what she couldn't change now. She did still seem a little bitter, though...
"What kinda crew did I join..." Geno was still in awe at what it was he learned.
Hermit leaned her arm on his shoulder, giving him a snicker. "Welcome aboard. Nobody here is normal."
"...Still, though..." Rebecca had to think about something. "I've been using my power a lot. It's how I fight. But I had no idea I was dragging somebody else along with me the whole time either. Especially somebody so dangerous. Someone strong enough to beat Elsie and Justice..."
"We have a dangerous enemy ahead of us." Shiki was staring out into the Sakura Cosmos. "But we won't lose."
.
.
Amira's infiltration was a rare failure. But at the same time, it was a success as well. She did manage to board the main ship of the Galactic Fleet, but her arms were handcuffed behind her back as she sat in a confinement cell. As Hubert approached to question her, she didn't seem bothered. "You look comfortable for one in chains."
"These things happen." Amira shrugged her shoulders casually. "Being captured is part of the job...along with anything else that comes with it. This is probably the best treatment I've gotten while in captivity so far." Last time she was 'captured' she had to play the role of Labilla, and Drakken really let her have it too.
"Do not smile so easily just yet. I do not think you would enjoy what Marshall would plan to do if we let him in your cell. I, however, think that is rather discourteous." Hubert adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "We've stripped you off all your weapons and equipment. The least we could spare you were the clothes on your back."
"Aren't you kind?" Amira shimmied closer to the front of her cell. Since she was in her very exposed cat suit, she wanted to see what kind of tactics would work on Hubert.
"Put those away." Hubert glanced away. "If you're attempting to get my attention through seduction, you are going to fail."
"I had to try." Amira then stepped back, but not before doing a bit of a jump to get her wrists in front of her. "That's more comfortable..."
"Now then. I have questions for you. And depending on how you answer will depend on if we send Marshall down here or not." Hubert said.
"Okay. Ask away." Amira could already suspect what it was Hubert was going to ask her.
"You are a troublesome one. Your power allows you to pose as someone and even use their memories as well..." Hubert was fully aware how potent such a power was, especially for someone in the government. Had Nina truly been captured, you would have been the perfect mole."
"I thought Feather would've told us if her arrest failed." Amira admitted. "That said, I think this still worked out. My goal was to get on your ship...and I'm on your ship right now."
"Cheeky." Hubert leaned forward a bit. "Now then...how much do you know?"
"About the Black Moon? Only a little bit. Nothing you don't already know." Amira replied.
"The government's plan of attack?" Hubert asked.
"I'm sure you'd like to know." Amira wasn't going to talk that easily. They had a plan for the Galactic Fleet, but she wasn't going to spill it so easily. "Don't mistake me for some fragile, easy capture. I know well aware of what kind of dangers lurk on this ship. I've been through far worse as well. So if you want to get me to talk, you're going to have to do much better than that."
"A true agent through and through." Hubert's arms went behind his back. He snapped his fingers and the cuffs on Amira's wrist shifted a bit. Little soldiers appeared on the cuffs and they stabbed numerous swords into her wrists, causing her to grimace. If her cuffs weren't uncomfortable enough already, this was worse. "The more you refuse to talk, the deeper these swords push into your wrists, and they will eventually hit your veins. If you bleed out, the only mess we'll be cleaning up are the stains your lifeless corpse will leave behind. I can see you have no intention of cooperating unless forced...and believe me. We will force you."
"..." Amira narrowed her eyes. She was really in for it now. But she wasn't afraid. This was part of the job. She was used to this. It was a matter of how long she could hold out... "Bring it on..."
.
.
"Ugh...what a failure that was..." Hanabi groaned. She was on Justice's ship with Justice, Victory, and Jesse. She was lamenting the fact the Galactic Fleet and Jigan got away.
"It could've been worse. We at least managed to arrest some people." Victory was looking on the brighter side of things.
"But it was still bad." Jesse grunted.
"But we lost Alexei." Justice said with a sigh. He lost to Alexei, even when he was working with Elsie. That man's power was too strong for them to fight. "He's a danger to the galaxy. The rest of the OSI are in agreement."
"That's a good thing, at least." Hanabi crossed her arms.
"That's correct." On the other end of a communication line was Holy. Along with her were Eraser, Cure, and Feather. They were holding a meeting of some kind. "Alexei is not the kind of villain that can be allowed to roam freely."
"However, he is difficult to track because of Vanessa's powers. All we know is a vague location in the Sakura Cosmos where they might be." Cure stated. Their job was difficult. Just tracking down the Galactic Fleet felt borderline impossible. Confronting that fleet now was an entirely different story as well.
"So, what are we to do? We cannot sit idly by as the Galactic Fleet collects the Black Moon Star." Feather said.
"It might be too much work to actually hunt them down." Eraser began. "But I have an idea...why don't we just...let things happen?"
"Are you absurd? We cannot allow them to collect that...!" Feather interjected.
"Let me finish." Eraser said calmly. "The Eden's Zero is also collecting the Star, right? It makes sense that their forces are going to clash sooner or later. So instead of focusing on finding the Galactic Fleet, we should just watch where the Eden's Zero goes."
"Clever." Cure said with a nod. " I agree. "If the two Galacticas face off, it will make it that much easier to track them."
"Besides, I'm curious as to what the Eden's Zero can do in this situation as well." Holy hummed. She had something in mind. This would be the best chance to see what the Eden's Zero could truly do...
.
.
On the planet of Seven, a lone woman was tending to a spaceship. She had long black hair that reached down to her lower back, blue eyes, and wore a red two piece due to the planet's beach climate. "Hrm...everything's in order, but am I really just outta juice?" She furrowed her brows. All systems were supposedly green, but she was still unable to take off. "I can't stay on this planet forever. I gotta go back home and see Dad...we still have to find Mom, too. I wonder where is she. I hope she's okay..." She sighed, but then patted her cheeks. "Alright, c'mon, Cynthia. Keep your head in the game! I'll find a way off this planet!"
