I don't own anything. All characters and all rights belong to Ichiei Ishibumi*
M for mature topics. No children allowed. *
The Broken Boosted Gear
By Try Another Time
With young Asia at the lead, the trio continues to advance through the endless maze of halls and stairs. Yukime was now resting on her father's back after exhausting her powers, leaving Tannin and Asia momentarily as their only reliable fighting force.
Marble floors and tall golden ceilings were found in each corner, with few signs that told them exactly where to go.
The group would have lost their way long ago if it wasn't for Asia and the map Rossweisse gave them. Thankfully they had also evaded meeting any guards, which was great for their mission.
"We need to turn left and go down a set of stairs until we reach the lower levels," Asia said as she pulled the map again.
"You can understand all of those details?" Yukime questioned the girl as she popped her head for a moment.
"Yes. Although it is not the easiest to read, Rossweisse-san put a lot of effort into making notes about the path to follow. The fruit of knowledge also makes it easier for me to read it and understand it. It might seem like a bunch of unreadable runes to you, but it is clear as Italian to me. My teacher also has a habit of placing me in maze-like environments for training, so finding my way around won't be as hard." Asia says as she puts the map away.
"Mazes like what?" Tannin asks as he considers her age and what sort of training would a young girl like her have to endure for training.
"Curse places. The first time Gabriel-sama took me away for training, we were inside an abandoned psychiatric hospital in South Korea for a week. The place was known as one of the most haunted spots worldwide and was one of my scariest experiences. The curse bent space around us, and the deeper we went inside, the harder it got for me to continue. Rooms that defied gravity, ghostly apparitions that tried to drag me around, and more than once, I feared that I wasn't alone with Gabriel. It was rough." Asia said as she led the team to the stairs.
"Wait a moment; you aren't talking about Gonjiam, right?" Yukime asks.
"I think that was its name," Asia replies.
"What is this, Gonjiam?" Tannin asks.
"Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital is one of the most haunted and cursed places in the human world. Humans claimed many normal reasons why the hospital was shut down, but the reality is that the curse became uncontrollable for even the most daring exorcists to purify. The tragedies that took place inside that place gave birth to one of the most twisted curses I ever read about. Those unlucky to wander inside often don't return as the curse swallows them up. Few have survived and come back to tell the story." Yukime says as she remembers the things she had read before. "How did you escape?"
"We purify the curse," Asia admitted with a calm voice.
"You did what?" Yukime sounded astonished by the words of the young in-training exorcist.
"We purify it. Gabriel-sama has been training me to become a true exorcist. She's not a teacher with conventional methods. I had several rips broken, and I almost lost an arm once. I'm a child in human terms, but to Gabriel-sama, I'm her student, and she's determined to raise me into an exorcist that can't be matched by the previous exorcists that the old church raised. This is why I'm here." Asia said as she continued forward.
Neither could deny her abilities and determination as they see her as not an ordinary child but a fellow alliance agent like the other kids under the direct supervision of the Welsh Dragon.
A young in-training exorcist that could match legendary humans.
A reincarnated devil that could match Sirzechs and Ajuka in the future.
The wielder of the holy grail and possessor of a ghostly melody.
The only dhampir who has eyes that can affect time itself.
Two young magicians with the potential to grow into unmatched mages.
And finally, the first daughter of Welsh, which could one day become a new dragon king under the right conditions.
None were normal, and even if they tried to live everyday lives, their fates were attached to the alliance and the fights they might face in the future. All would join the alliance's efforts to protect the future of many realms, not just their own.
Their descent to the lower levels remained silent as they tried to observe their surroundings. The endless spiral stairs continue for several moments until they finally reach a sign that signals their destination.
"Cell area. We were lucky to get here undetected." Yukime said.
"Let's move forward. There's no time to waste." Tannin said.
The group advanced into the cell area for a few moments until Asia stopped the group as she detected a runic defense system set up to prevent anyone dumb enough to approach the cell area without the knowledge or right to do so. If one were to put a foot in the wrong place and activate the system, an alarm would alert all of the castle's inhabitants while also creating forcefields that would trap the group in place.
"Do you know how to take care of it?" Tannin asks Asia as they check the runic symbols on the wall.
"Rossweisse made a note about this. We can't entirely deactivate it, but we suspend its functions for at least 15 minutes. So we will be in trouble if we're inside the cell area by the end of those 15 minutes." Asia says as she makes a small cut in her finger and writes a new rune to suspend the system. "Come on, we need to move, or we're screwed."
Tannin and Yukime nodded as they followed the girl deeper into the cell area. They rushed through the cram halls without a second thought as they continued to look for the target cells.
It took them not less than 2 minutes until their eyes found the chained god of thunder. His red Norse braids hid his tired eyes, yet a smile crept in as he saw the group.
"Thor?" Tannin called his name. His eyes couldn't believe how injured the god was.
"Who else could it be?" Thor said with a tired voice. "Liv, I think this is them."
The blueish silver-haired Valkyrie looks up at them with indescribable hope. The group could see the resemblance and differences between Liv and Rossweisse. Liv is much taller and muscular, while Rossweisse is much more feminine, yet they share many facial similarities. It was as if they were twin sisters and not just cousins.
"She did it. Everyone, wake up. We're getting out of here." Liv said.
"Dad, put me down and destroy those cells. We have no time to waste around. Asia, give them basic aid; we must rush out as soon as possible." Yukime said.
"Right." Tannin carefully puts his daughter down before he summons his claws.
In seconds, the dragon aims and quickly cuts the bars to Thor's cell. "Off with those chains as well." Tannin then goes after the chains that had imprisoned the god.
Thor's bloody body falls to the floor with a loud sound. "That hurt. Damn, Dad made a work out of me."
Asia approaches the god while Tannin goes to the other cells. "Multiple broken rips, dislocated shoulders; I might even say that you have internal injuries that would have killed a human in just a few minutes. Just how can your own father do this to you?" The young girl asked as she got to work on healing the god.
"He…. he has gone too far, or it was always this way. I didn't see it back in the day, or I just tried to ignore it. Children don't want to think that what their parents are doing is wrong, miss healer." Thor said as he tried to sit.
Asia said nothing as she continued working on Thor's injuries. Slowly but surely, many of his injuries started to heal slowly. Asia smiled, but she felt the pressure of the slow speed. Her powers were extraordinary, but even she had a limit, and knowing that she had others to heal, she made a choice.
"This might take too long. I might need to use that in this case." Asia summons a small white pistol before she checks the bullets. "Trust me on this. It won't hurt too much."
"A gun?" Thor is surprised by the weapon in her hand.
Asia aims as she focuses her healing powers on the gun and shoots several bullets into the god's chest.
Thor gasps for air as six bullets are buried deep within his chest. "How?" The god sees his chest and realizes that none of the bullets have left any wounds. A warm sensation invades his chest as his internal injuries begin to heal.
"Last Miracle Bullets. I can imprint my power into these bullets and make them work inside the body of my target even if I'm not touching them. They can't heal everything and make you join the battlefield, but they will allow you to move. The effects of my powers are slightly boosted thanks to the bullets' contents. Who's next?" The young healer said as she reloaded her gun.
The remaining members of Thor's group could only cringe at seeing a small girl aiming her gun at them.
"Don't be scared of her. We need to move." Yukime said as she finished recovering some of her powers. The Yuki-Onna hybrid grabs a small device she uses to type a small message before a tiny insect detaches itself and flies away at an impressive speed.
"What was that?" Liv asks as she gets shot by Asia. "Ouch! Watch out with those bullets."
"Just doing my job," Asia replies.
"A fly messager. We have been using several technologic devices to keep our information transmission a secret from your fellow Asgardians. That insect should deliver the message to the train before we leave." Yukime says as she puts the device away.
"Alright, there's no time for chatting; we need to get out of here," Tannin says as the last of the injured is shot by Asia.
"The bullets will heal only the necessary minimun. Do not get involved in a possible fight. I can't keep healing you on excess." Asia says.
"You heard, miss healer. Let's follow them. Thrud should be waiting for us to signal her once we leave this place." Thor says as his wife approaches him and helps him to walk. "Thanks."
"Is my job as my your wife." Siff the golden says as she helps him. "Alright, kids, follow our new allies."
The group begins to make their way out of the cell area.
"Thanks for coming for us and helping us out," Thor tells the alliance members.
Tannin shakes his head. "You came to Gaia's aid first; I respect each of you for doing so. That shows that you and your group can work with us. A lot is happening, and having all of you on our side is more than welcome."
Thor smiles. "What kind of God could I be if I ignore the prayers of believers when they need me the most? Humans don't need gods often, but there are exceptions. The end of the world is an obvious one."
"You don't know how close we're to it. Gaia's planet is only the beginning of what is to come." Tannin says.
"Ragnarok, isn't it? Father is obsessed with it." Thor admits. "It has consumed his mind beyond salvation, yet he doesn't tell us everything that will happen. He gave us minimal information about it. He said once that Surtr would burn the realms to ashes. He also claimed that only a few of our pantheon will remain and that the human world will be destroyed."
The alliance members looked at each other as they continued to move forward.
"I'm not so sure that Odin has the same idea of Ragnarok that we have. Shiva can see the future, and not once has he mentioned Surtr. I feel your leader is leading all of you off the real Ragnarok. Shiva's prophecies leave no survivors. No realms will survive if Ragnarok plays as Shiva saw." Yukime claims.
"No survivors? What kind of Ragnarok is that?" Liv asks the hybrid.
"The one that Shiva saw... I can't tell you all the details now, but you better be ready to hear what we will face. Surtr is the smallest of our problems if Ragnarok plays out as Shiva saw." Yukime said.
Thor's group looked astonished by such revelations. The questions arise in their minds as the idea of Ragnarok becomes more challenging for them to understand. They had grown with prophecies that Odin had told them, and now they were challenged by the alliance's prophet.
The primordial god of destruction claimed to see the future, while Odin did the same.
Who was wrong and who was right became a much more critical question for the group.
Meanwhile, The Infernal Express. Eury's POV.
The train continues its path to the capital with an impressive time.
"If we keep going like this, we're going to arrive in less than 3 minutes," Hephaestus said as he checked the holographic map in front o him.
Eury didn't look too confident about it. The train was still in the sight of several long-range weapons, and several enemy units still chased after them.
Although Ddraig's team had attracted most of the Asgardian forces' attention, the goddess didn't feel confident.
"Something is bound to happen," Eury said as she changed the direction of the train once more.
As the goddess did this, a small alarm went off before her. "A beacon signal? Shite, it has to be Midgardsormr and his family." Eury quickly pulls the microphone and makes an announcement. "Due to an emergency signal, we're going to change paths right now. So expect our time to be delayed by at least three minutes or less. Defense team, I need your help to make up for this."
"It was too good to be true. Should we increase our speed?" Hephaestus asks his daughter.
"Wait for my signal. Gasper Welsh, show us what you can do." Eury says as she smirks.
Gasper's POV.
Gasper held a small blood vial in his right hand as he took several deep breaths. He had barely one year of experience with his sacred gear, yet he had taken massive steps in its mastery. His sacred gear was one that usage was troublesome, but with the proper training, he could reach the near impossible for most.
And on this night, he was about to push himself once more to use such an ability for the sake of the alliance.
Gasper opens the vial and drinks its contents before placing his hand on the floating sphere. The blood he had just consumed made his eyes twitch erratically as he felt a surge of power coursing through his whole body. The boy could barely contain it, but he knew he needed to do it. "Brother, give strength."
"We're ready when you are." Le Fay said as she stood on the left side of the sphere.
"Deep breaths. You can do it." Elaine said as she stood opposite Le Fay.
Each magician held their magic staff, ready to activate the spell they had prepared.
Valerie stood not too far from them. She couldn't say a single word as she saw Gasper's eyes changing shape. "I believe in you, Gasper."
The room grew darker as Gasper's power started to activate. Nobody could see anything else besides the red eyes of Gasper, which were looking for something within the density of the endless darkness.
"Look for it."
"That which lies beyond normal reach."
"Within the darkness, you might find it."
"The near impossible."
"That which only the Father of Time can obtain."
"Grasp it with those eyes of you."
Within the darkness, he chases after it until his eyes find that which few can hope to reach. A large clock which existed, and at the same time, it didn't. It is a concept that many desire to control, yet nobody besides the deity who created it could control it.
Gasper placed his eyes on such a mysterious exitance as his eyes and dark tendrils reached out to stop its function. The ghostly figure of his mother worked alongside the tendrils to completely stop the passage of time. The tendrils and the ghost struggled to keep the clock's hands from moving forward, yet they did their best.
"Forbidden Balor's View: Thief of Time," Gasper says to himself as his eyes focus on the concept of time and stop it for a few seconds. "Do it now, Elaine, Le Fay."
Outside the train.
Time had stopped entirely for everyone who wasn't in contact with the train at that moment.
Athena and her team watched as projectiles and enemy units approaching the train were utterly stopped while the infernal train continued forward with its course.
"Holy Gaia, the kid did it," Athena said as she saw what was happening.
"Athena-sama, that's not the only thing that's happening," Tosca says.
The train started to split itself before multiple exact copies took shape. Each one had a precise copy of Athena's team standing on the ceiling of each train to continue to mirror each tiny detail of the real train. Each copy was frozen in time as they fully separated from the main train, but each seemed set to move in different directions.
At least 64 copies were created, each as real as they came. Once time resumed, nobody would know what to think as it was nearly impossible to guess which one was real.
Then Athena and her group felt the train increasing its speed as it turned to the left and followed a path that differed from its intended target.
The small communicator in Athena's ear vibrates a few moments before she receives a message.
"Athena, be ready to pull our new passengers to the train once they are within sight. We can't stop the train even for them." -Eury.
The goddess smirks as she understands her newest task. "Tosca, does thou know how to fish?"
The young Aegis dragon smirks as she hears the question, "Yes."
"We're about to fish us a fellow dragon and his family. Everyone heard me out. Get ready to grab the targets; we're doing this once. There's no place for failure. We'll try to do it while the time is stopped." Athena orders the team.
Everyone nods as they start to make preparations. Several golden ropes are pulled from inside the train carts as they will be necessary for the next step.
"Thou and I don't need such ropes. Show me thy fishing technique with that tail of yours. I shall show you mine as well." Athena says with a cheerful attitude.
"Leave it to me," Tosca says.
Time resumes as Gasper loses his hold over time.
The team watches as the copies of the train start to run wild in all directions leaving the enemy's forces confused.
Sixty-five trains ran amok through Asgard, and knowing what was real wouldn't be easy for the Asgardian forces.
Back to Gasper.
The boy was now on his knees, coughing blood. His eyes were profusely bleeding as he had done something nobody else had ever done.
"Gasper, take it slow. Drink some of this. You did great." Valerie said as she approached him with a different vial of blood. "Drink it slowly."
Gasper did as told as he replenished the blood he had lost. His sacred gear was still active, so the boy had to keep them close until the next time stop was to take place. "Is hard. I don't think I can do it for long."
"We take what we can get, Gasper. Don't force yourself to push it farther than this. I counted 12 seconds." Elaine says as she controls half of the copies of the trains outside.
"Even five seconds is amazing, Gasper. I don't think anyone else has done something similar. Magicians all around the world would do anything for such an ability." Le Fay follows as she does the same as Elaine.
"Gasper Welsh, good job. This has allowed us to get away from the enemy forces. We'll hope to use your ability once more with the emergency targets. We'll be there in 2 minutes. Try to activate the ability around the 1:50 second mark." Eury says as she communicates with them.
Valerie takes out a pocketwatch and looks at the time. "Ok. Mom, keep singing for now, just in case we're attacked. I'll help Gasper. Up you go."
The ghost nods as it keeps singing her melody.
Valerie helps the boy to stand up as she supports his weight. "I'll give you the signal, so focus on the stopping time. If necessary, I'll use the power of the Holy Grail to heal you."
"Thanks," Gasper said as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Thanks for always being next to me, Val."
Not too far from the train, Midg POV.
The dragon king of the end and his family stood in the open pastures of Asgard while waiting for the alliance to pick them up.
"Are they really coming for us? Don't you think that Tiamat was lying to us?" Fafnir said as he leaned against a rock.
"Stop. We need to trust Tiamat. She has never lied to any of us. Don't let whatever Odin did to your soul cloud your judgment. We, members of the first generation, should trust each other even if we disagree. We fought together many times, and that won't change now. If mom trusts her, so do we." Midg said as he held the beacon in his hand.
"Honey, ignore Fafnir. He's only mad because he must say goodbye to his mistresses." Mira says with a cheeky smile.
"He must be thinking, "Danm it. I won't get to enjoy another night with them." Lustful lizard." Eika follows suit.
"If you like them so much, why didn't you marry them?" Fara asks the dragon.
The tree wives continued to tease the dragon, who was blushing and trying to ignore them.
"Kids, please don't be like Uncle Fafnir. If you truly like someone, settle down at some point. Few have the patience to wait centuries for someone to mature and choose to have a family." Midg said as he threw even more salt to the wound of Fafnir.
The children of Midg share no sympathy for Fafnir as they turn their faces to the side in disgust, and not even the wolves seem to respect him.
"You are all assholes. Is it that bad that I don't want to settle down? I just don't feel ready for parenthood or forming a family." Fafnir claimed.
"The problem is not you being afraid of it. The problem is you have so many mistresses and destroying their hopes as you decide not to take it seriously. How often have you dragged girls along for years only to say that you don't want to marry them? Fafnir, you're not a young dragon anymore. So stop playing around with girls' feelings. Don't sell them an illusion." Midg said in a concerned tone.
Fafnir said nothing as he reflected on those words.
Before anyone could say something else, their ears detected the sound of the incoming train. Their eyes looked around until they saw the blazing train coming their way.
"Uh, honey, are they going to stop? That train's speed is way too fast." Mira asked her beloved.
"I think that we might have to jump. Everyone get ready to jump on top of the train-"
Midg didn't even get to finish his sentence as time was stopped once more.
Athena's POV.
The goddess and her team saw Midg's group in the distance.
"Alright, prepare those ropes. We're doing this in three, two, one, now!" Athena said as time was stopped once more.
The members of her teams started to spin their ropes around before they threw them at the children of Midg before securing them.
Time then resumed for all kids, who looked confused as they noticed the golden ropes around their bodies. Then, Midg's children were pulled to the train one by one, including the small wolves that yelp in surprise at being forcefully dragged.
Tosca transformed into her dragon form and used her extended tail to grab Fara and Eika. The elves cried in surprise as they were pulled up to the moving train.
Several purples soldiers created a large chain which Athena used to capture Midg, Fafnir, and Mira before pulling them to train as well.
They all looked confused as they found themselves standing on the moving train.
"Time stop?" Midg asks the goddess as Athena releases him and the rest.
"Time stop. Take thy family to one of the cars and secure thy seatbelts. It is a rough trip ahead, and we must make up time for this small divergence in our original route." Athena says.
Midg nods and leads his group to a hatch that allows them entry to the cart.
"Good job, Tosca," Athena says before she uses her communicator. "Eury, we have the dragons and their family. So let's go back to the capital now."
Time then resumed once more, a few seconds after that.
Eury's POV.
The goddess smirked as she received the news. She held the microphone again as she decided to make a new announcement. "Welcome aboard, Midgardsormr and his family. I'm your conductor, Eurydice, and it is a pleasure to welcome you to the infernal express. This train's route is towards the Asgardian capital for pick up of our other team. We ask that you stay seated at all times and obey the orders of Shiva and the rest. Only those with fighting capacity should exit the train. Thanks for listening, and please enjoy the snacks."
Then as she released the same microphone, a new signal reached the train.
A single message appeared in a small window before her, making her smile. "We got one. Thor and his group have been secured. We're closer to the end of this mission."
Her father couldn't hide his smile either as they saw the mission progressing without no problems until now.
But even the most glorious of moments had their moments of tension.
Back with Asia and Thor.
The group stopped their advance as they met a large group of security forces awaiting them in the many halls of the castle.
The valkyries and Asgardians pointed their weapons at them, but none moved an inch as they awaited the orders of their leader.
With an aura that appeased even the most violent of enemies, Baldur stood in front of the forces of Asgard without a single weapon but a face that showed disappointment.
"Why Thor? Why are you abandoning your home for the alliance?" Baldur asks his brother as their eyes meet.
It was time for the brothers to talk face-to-face once more. Maybe for the last time as their paths diverge.
*Gasper's ability: Gasper's Time Thief is a supportive ability that requires concentration and an outside booster (blood) to be used. Gasper ingests the blood of the Welsh Dragon to make this ability work. While using it, Gasper is under a lot of strain and requires blood to keep it active. Those that are not in direct contact with Gasper or, in this case, under the protection of the sphere will be affected by the ability's effect. The effects can continue to be ignored if one is in contact with Gasper directly or indirectly. Shiva, Ddraig, Ajuka, Azazel, and Raphael are behind Gasper's ability training as they discuss the possibilities that such a sacred gear might open in the future. It doesn't reverse time or advance it; it only forcefully stops it for a few seconds, in which Gasper is heavily weakened as the task is near impossible. Few beings can evade the effects of this ability, as time affects almost everyone in the cast.
Spell use by Elaine and Le Fay: Living Mirror of Illusion. High-class spell. Requires more than one spell caster as the complexity of the copies created can severely vary from target to target. All spell casters involved in such spells should concentrate on maintaining the copies alive, as any damage they receive will dispel them. Copies can possess smell, temperature, and even act independently from the original target, but all of it depends on the ability of the spell casters. Uses high amounts of power, which can render the casters useless against any enemies.
Last miracle bullets: Asia has been trained to become able to use her healing abilities even when not in direct contact. The rifle and pistol are the only way in which these long-range healing options are available. Bullets won't injure the target, and once inside, they will only continue to work for a term of 1 hour as they were made to dissolve after such term leaving no remains left. It is physically taxing for Asia, so the more used bullets, the more tired she'll become.*