Act 2, Chapter 13 - Pathfinder vs Sith Inquisitor
'Wait... I know that insignia.' Articho thought, recognizing the emblem on his opponent's shoulder pauldrons as he gets in a defensive stance with his yellow-bladed lightsaber.
That insignia belonged to none other than the Neo-Sith Empire, a rather enigmatic incarnation of the old Sith Empire of which the latter predates the Great Hyperspace War. However, the Pathfinder himself wants to know what a Sith Inquisitor is doing all the way out here in this universe and why. Realizing that now's not the time to speculate, he instantly blocks another acrobatic slash from one of her spinning double lightsaber's red blades.
"Articho!" Ruby exclaims, scared.
Articho then pushes the Sith Inquisitor off of him with his own physical strength and swings his yellow blade at her - using both of his hands, while parrying her own counters simultaneously. His attacker attempts to Force push him, but he immediately evades it by utilizing the acrobatics of Form IV Ataru and performs an acrobatic double jump over her, turning his own body upon landing to face her exposed rear. However, his friends got caught by the telekinetic push, sending them flying back. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured other than the fact that they're experiencing a minor concussion with a ringing sound in their ears.
Yoshiko, mysteriously, landed on a tree branch. But she was fine.
"Ha ha!" Yoshiko gloats. "Yohane has once again evaded danger!"
"All except your panties, zura." Hanamaru points out, lying on the grass from the Force push she experienced firsthand alongside her friends.
"You mean…?" Her childhood friend trails off before blushing furiously. "No fair!"
"Would you two knock it off?!" Riko exclaims. "Our lives are on the line right now!"
Meanwhile, Articho's duel continues on as he effortlessly parries his assailant's deadly swings as she then distanced herself from him again. Soon, her red blades begin to automatically spin a 360 degree angle in an endless loop and she throws her spinning weapon at him like a buzzsaw. He then swats the incoming attack away with his own lightsaber, in which the Sith Inquisitor then uses the Force to call it back into her right hand and the red blades stop spinning.
"Let's see how long you can last against this stance." He smirks.
(Dagan Gera Boss Theme - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor OST plays)
The Pathfinder throws his yellow lightsaber around himself like a defensive barrier, and pulls out his modified Carnifex pistol in his right hand while activating his Omni-blade in his left hand before charging towards his opponent with the yellow blade still telekinetically spinning around him. He shoots several rounds at the Sith Inquisitor, who easily dodges them. This, however, gave him the opening he needed to strike with his Omni-blade. Luck enough, her precognition gave her the edge she needed to simultaneously parry the Pathfinder's lightsaber that's currently spinning around her prey as well as dodge his bullets and parry his Omni-blade as he was going for the critical blow that would be considered life-threatening.
"Your technique is unrefined, I see." The Sith Inquisitor spoke through her helmet's modulated voice. "It'll be your grave."
"Unrefined, huh?" He raises his eyebrow as he parries each blow with his Omni-blade. "Big talk from Jedi Hunters like you that only knows offense. How's that working out?"
This seemed to only piss off the woman, causing her to growl. She swats away the boy's saber with her own, eliminating the rotating defensive barrier in which it has been annoying her and then spun her body to kick him away. Leaving herself exposed again allowed the Pathfinder to slash through her abdomen, easily - and successfully - penetrating through her black armor with red accents. The Sith Inquisitor yells in pain, holding her minor wound with her left hand before shrugging it off as best she could.
"Is that it?" Articho laughs at her pitiful reaction, holstering his pistol, deactivating his Omni-blade, and calling his yellow bladed lightsaber back into his right hand. "How pathetic."
"Don't. Get. So." The Sith Inquisitor mutters before slamming down her hand on the concrete ground, causing it to crack around both of them. "Cocky!"
"Hmm?" He looks down and frowns in annoyance. " Ah, hell. Not this again."
The concrete broke open and at the last second, Articho uses the Flight technique to stay in the air - hovering - while his opponent falls deep within the giant hole. This didn't satisfy him, as he knows that Dark Side users are too stubborn enough to stay dead from anything fatal to a normal person. He then shuts off his yellow blade, just as his friends - having recovered from the concussion they received - ran up to where phase one of the duel happened.
(End of Track)
"You girls all right?" He turns his head, only to find them staring at him. "What?"
"You're flying." Chika says in awe.
"Impossible." Riko utters in disbelief.
"Is this common among Saiyans?" Mari questions.
"Where I'm from, yes." He admits. "Though, it's not just Saiyans that utilizes the Flight technique to move faster than the speed of light."
"What else do we NOT know about you?" Yoshiko snorts.
"Transformations that act as multipliers to my superior power level." He nonchalantly answers.
"Wait, what?" The navy blue haired girl blinked her pink eyes.
"I need to go after her." He looks down at the hole. "Can't take any chances with a Dark Side user running amok, given how stubborn and angry enough for these guys to still be kicking around. My best option would be to bring her in alive, and make her tell me what she knows."
"What about us?" Dia questions, deeply concerned for him. "There's no way in hell you're doing this alone."
"She's a joke compared to me." He scoffs. "I was hardly trying. If I wanted to, I'd have killed her with ease."
"Who was that?" Yō asks.
"An Inquisitor." He explains. "She's one of many that hunts Jedi. But the insignia she bears isn't Imperial. Question is, what is one doing all the way out here on Earth-86?"
"Earth-86?" The girls questioned.
"That's our designated number." He rolls his eyes. "Our universe's, I mean."
"Getting back on topic, how are you going after this Inquisitor?" Kanan questions.
"Each universe vibrates at a different frequency." Articho answers, tapping a few buttons on his Omni-tool. "I can use my Omni-tool to trace the Inquisitor's unique vibration signature she's left behind in the atmosphere."
"You can do that?" The older trio of Aqours - Kanan, Mari, and Dia - questioned in surprise before receiving a glare from the boy in question, forcing them to be quiet for the moment as he works. "Sorry."
A few moments later, his Omni-tool has been calibrated to track down the Sith Inquisitor's vibration signature as its holographic GPS screen shows his fleeing target moving beneath him. Likely a sewer network that leads to a nearby stream where the wastewater ends up in to be purified. No time to waste, he hovers eastward outside of the park to follow the trail he's picked up.
"Annnnnd… there he goes." Mari shrugs.
Articho arrives at the stream and lands in front of a guard rail, where he only finds a small pool of blood on the concrete walkway below. He vaults over the rail, and lands hard on the concrete before crouching and scans the blood for a DNA analysis.
'Looks like she tried to treat her own wound while escaping through the sewers.' He thought before receiving the results of the blood sample he took. 'And DNA analysis shows... Eli Ayase?'
The Pathfinder stops for a moment, confused.
'It doesn't make sense.' He continues thinking. 'The Sith Inquisitor is Eli Ayase? As in, Eli Ayase from µ's? Then why does her vibration signature resemble that of Earth-77's? There's got to be more to this.'
But he'll have to worry about it later.
"Ryouko." He contacts his black and white short-haired wife through a tiny earpiece in his right ear with his fingers pressed on it.
Just as his friends have caught up with him, appearing from the guard rail above him.
"What's up?" Ryouko responds to his call. "My research is currently ongoing, so it's gonna take a while longer than I thought."
"I need you to send me everything we have on the Neo-Sith Empire." He requests. "I've forwarded the results of a blood sample I just took."
"The Neo-Sith Empire?" Ryouko questions curiously and in confusion. "May I ask why?"
"I had a run with a Sith Inquisitor." He answers.
"A Sith Inquisitor?! Here on Earth-86?" She reacts in a surprised tone. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, but she managed to escape." The Pathfinder eases her worries for him. "I'm currently tracking her down, as we speak."
"And this sample belongs to Eli Ayase, the famous ballerina and former school idol?" The scientist questions further in disbelief. "How the hell is that even possible?"
"I'll get that answer as soon as I catch up with her." He says.
"But-!" Ryouko begins to argue.
"I'll be in touch." Articho cuts her off before ending communication and receiving the closed case file he has requested.
As well as another file that's labeled 'Missing' under one name: Eli Ayase.
"Articho?" Chika calls from above.
"I'm alright." The Pathfinder answers. "Just reopening an old case file."
"Another part of your job description?" Yoshiko sarcastically remarks, leaning on the guard rail with her arms. "What are you, a caped crusader or something?"
"Really, Yohane?" He deadpans. "You had to go there?"
"What?" She questions, confused. "Don't give me that look."
"Ya know, this is the first time we've seen another side of you." Yō admits. "Could that explain why your voice sounds like Chris Redfield?"
"My vocal cords were severely crushed on one of my missions to preserve space-time." He frowns. "And secondly, I sound more like a certain guy dressed like a bat in his early years."
"Damn." Kanan says. "I should be shocked about your vocal cords, but for some reason, I'm not."
"Kanan!" Dia and Mari exclaims, fuming in anger at how laid back she's being right now.
"Focus." Riko reminds everyone. "Articho, what can you tell us about this Neo-Sith Empire? Not any Sith Empire I've heard of before."
"You're a Star Wars fan, Riko?" Mari asks with excitement on her face.
"What? No!" The bergundy haired girl tries denying as she blushes. "I just looked up anything that's Star Wars-related on the internet. F-For research, of course."
"Righhhht." Chika and Yō smugly grin at their best friend.
"J-J-Just answer the question!" She screams, before almost tripping.
"I've dragged you into this, so it's only fair that I tell you what I know." He shakes his head. "Two years ago, my friends and I came into contact with the Neo-Sith Empire during our mission to locate an ancient tome - somewhere in the multiverse - called the Book of Destiny. While their origins remain an enigma, even to me, they're an incarnation of the original empire that predates the Great Hyperspace War. And according to an old friend of mine, they follow the Rule of Two."
The Pathfinder copies the data Ryouko sent him and then forwards it to Mari and Riko's Omni-tools so that they can show it amongst the others, as it'll take too long to explain everything to them.
"This should cover the gist of it." He adds. "Now, time for me to get going before she gets too far. Bringing you all along is dangerous, so head back to the penthouse and wait for me there."
"You sure you don't need any help?" Chika asks.
"No." Articho answers. "I work better alone. You'll just get in the way."
The girls gasped from his behavior.
He then emits a literal white jagged aura and then blitzes off in the sky at hypersonic speed, completely out of their line of sight.
"Whoa!" Hanamaru, Yoshiko, and Ruby awed.
"He's right." Dia says. "We should make our way back to the penthouse, and take a look at these files in the meantime."
"No shit." Yō deadpans. "Following him would be close to suicide."
"So were NOT going with him?" Yoshiko concludes with a blank face.
"Didn't you hear what Dia just said, Yoshiko?" Riko glares at the navy blue haired girl.
"Yohane." She says as usual.
"You've seen that woman in action." The bergundy haired girl points out to her and then looks at everyone else other than Dia. "All of you did. We get in the way of their second round, she's gonna use us as meat shields against Articho. Especially if she thinks that one of us is his girlfriend. I'm telling you, she throws her double-bladed lightsaber like a frickin buzzsaw. A laser buzzsaw, in case you hadn't noticed. And on top of that, she has the Force."
"Riko..." Chika wanted to argue.
"I'm sure Articho knows what he's doing, Chika-chi." Mari assures. "Let's just do what he says for our own safety because I don't plan on dying prematurely."
"I'm siding with Mari on this one." Kanan agrees with a nervous smile. "We just got back into the world. No damn way I'm gonna help him in a fight that's out of my league, and end up either as a hostage or a corpse."
"Zura." Hanamaru joins in with her hand raised.
A black Sith inquisitor helmet falls down on the ground with a loud thud. The alley she's in is so dark that her face is concealed. Although she has managed to cauterize her own wound from the Saiyan's Omni-blade, she barely could stay conscious. After that, she opens the palm of her right hand to open communications, as a small hologram appears in said palm. It was a man. Six feet and two inches tall - four inches since he's in a pair of combat boots - as well as having a buzz cut hairstyle. He also bears a scar across the bridge of his nose and sports blue eyes.
"Yes?" The man in his forties answers.
"Things didn't go as planned." She reports with a venomous tone in her voice. "More importantly, you left out the part where the target is a Saiyan."
"Had I told you, the boy would've suspected something wrong too soon." He says, unfazed by her menacing aura she's giving off. "Your master had assigned you to keep the target preoccupied until MECH's operation on Skull Island is mostly done. It's hardly a surprise that he's easily bested you, Fifth Sister."
This causes the young woman to scoff in annoyance, before her face was finally revealed. She is a young woman - supposedly in her late twenties but has the physical appearance of a teenager - with long blonde hair and blue eyes, and has a slim build. Her name was once Eli Ayase, but now? Now she's known as the Fifth Sister.
"It won't happen again." The Fifth Sister declared. "I'll make sure of it."
"It matters not." He says otherwise. "Just buy us a little more time."
The hologram fades, ending communication in time for the Fifth Sister's TIE Interceptor to arrive where it then hovers overhead.
"Perfect." She sarcastically mutters.
But before she gets ready to enter her craft, something blasted the ship. It drops onto the ground hard, damaged and leaves behind smoke. The Fifth Sister quickly spun around and saw that it was her target, who had somehow caught up to her - despite completely lowering her Force signature, so that he wouldn't sense and track her down - and just fired a yellow ki blast from his left hand.
"Going somewhere?" Articho quips, igniting his yellow-bladed lightsaber in his right hand.
'How the hell did he find me?!' She questions herself in disbelief. 'And this quickly?! I just concealed my Force presence from him!'
Angered that her only escape has been shot down, she unholsters her own lightsaber and ignites only one red blade.
"So my hunch was right." He confirms his findings. "You're Eli Ayase. Oh yes. I know your name. Your past. And most importantly, about the Neo-Sith Empire. What I don't know, is how? How did you get mixed up with them? And why?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She sneers at him.
Instead of attacking her, the Pathfinder extinguishes his yellow blade and holsters the hilt on the back of his belt horizontally.
"Take your shot then." He dares her with a cocky smirk on his face.
The Sith Inquisitor let out a battle cry and charged at him, using only one hand to slash down at him with her saber.
Many years ago...
Mount Paozu
Earth
Age ??? (Universe 7 Calendar)
"Ow!" An 8-year-old boy with wild, jet black spiky hair - resembling that of a palm tree - and a monkey tail while wearing a red bandana around his head exclaims in pain, as he lands on his back hard in the middle of a bamboo forest.
This was none other than Articho. Or at the time, this was Son Goku Jr.
"Again." His mother Reiko, wearing a martial arts gi instead of her usual kimono says with her hands beside her hips.
"But it hurts, Mom!" Goku Jr. whines, slowly getting back up. "I just keep failing!"
"That's the point." She says otherwise, but then sighs. "Look, I know it's hard but... but this? This is life and death. And as your mother, I'm responsible for you. The only way that I can protect you, is to teach you how to protect yourself."
"I wish I had a father." He lowers his head. "Mine may have died before I was born, but it would be nice to know one."
"Who knows?" His mother giggles. "Maybe I'll find another love out there somewhere. Waiting to be alone no more."
"Please tell me you're not fantasizing again." He groans in disgust and annoyance.
"I'm just messing with you." She says. "Lighten up, Junior."
"Don't call me that." The stubborn boy frowns. "I'd rather be named something else other than the one that belonged to an idiot."
This earned him a finger flick to the forehead, in which he starts rubbing where it hurts.
"While I can't deny how true that is, you shouldn't be talking down to our ancestor like that." She lectures. "But that's besides the point of this lesson. What I'm saying is that you won't always rely on energy blasts or flight in a real battle one day. Sometimes, it's always best to fight on my level. Despite the fact that I don't use ki like our other ancestor."
"Yes, as you've said countless times before." He rolls his eyes.
"Well, if it's going to be like that, then perhaps I should start pushing you even harder." She mischievously grins.
"Uh-oh." He pales in horror, knowing what's about to come. "C-Can't we talk about this?"
"Nope." Reiko answers, pulling her arm back.
She then throws a fast punch at her own son.
Present Day
The Fifth Sister's red plasma blade was about to land over the Pathfinder's head, only for her to gasp in shock that he literally caught it with only one hand. And before she could react, he then surprises her with a headbutt that was loud - completely knocking her down and losing her grip on her own hilt, incapacitating her as a result. Articho flips the Sith Inquisitor's lightsaber in the air, and catches it on the hilt before shutting off its red blade.
"Lightsaber-proof gloves." He admires a pair of black leather gloves that cover both of his hands. "She never saw it coming."
Walking past the unconscious woman that was once Eli Ayase, Articho opens the top hatch of her damaged TIE Interceptor with telekinesis and hops inside of the cockpit to get his hands on any data from the ship's nav computer. Unfortunately, he became displeased and annoyed.
'Damnit.' He curses in his head. 'She must've remotely purged the data from the nav computer after I shot her TIE down. No way to know for sure if the Neo-Sith Empire is here in this universe.'
The Saiyan then glanced at the unconscious woman on the ground, realizing that there's another option. He jumps out of the cockpit and then contacts Ryouko through his earpiece.
"Ryouko." He calls. "Contact Shiage and have him dispose of the TIE Interceptor I've shot down."
"Have you caught her?" Ryouko asks through the encrypted comm channel.
"She's been subdued." He confirms, looking at the unconscious woman's body. "I can't take her to Capsule Corp or the Acceledrome. Not after what happened last time with the Racing Drones from Earth-35. I'm bringing her to Arisa's penthouse instead."
"I hope you know what you're doing." The scientist sighs. "Be careful."
"I always am." Was his answer before hanging up on her.
He then uses his Omni-tool and pulls a video call on Honoka's phone, using her cell number.
"Hello, Who is this?" Honoka answers before seeing the boy that's looking at her on his holographic screen. "Oh, hey! Something I can do for you?"
"I need to speak with you and your friends." The Pathfinder says. "It's urgent."
"Sure thing." She nods. "What is it?"
"Meet at this address." He says, forwarding the location of Arisa's penthouse to Honoka's phone. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
Before Honoka could question any further, he ends the video call and then proceeds to pick the Fifth Sister up and carry her over his right shoulder while holding her red double-bladed spinning lightsaber hilt in his left hand.
5:55 P.M.
There was a knock at the door, getting Chika and her friends' attention as they were sitting together in the living room.
"That could be Arisa and her daughters." Yō thinks.
"I'll go get it." Chika said, heading towards the door. "Coming!"
She unlocks the front door and opens it, and was surprised to see it's Honoka, Kotori, Umi, and even Hanayo instead. However, THEY were more surprised to see Chika here.
"OH, it's you girls again." Chika says. "And to think that it's only been a few hours since we parted ways."
"Yeah." Honoka agrees. "Articho contacted us to come here."
This confused Chika.
"Any idea why?" She asks.
"He didn't say." Umi answers. "Mind if we come in, though?"
"Of course!" The coral orange haired girl nods. "Anything for you guys."
"Thanks." Kotori smiles.
Soon, the young women entered the apartment.
"We didn't know you and your friends were living in a penthouse." Honoka admits, awed and somewhat jealous of her surroundings. "I mean, an apartment for three people was all we could afford here."
"You live in this building, too?!" The former leader of Aqours exclaims. "That means we could be neighbors!"
"Five floors below our feet, but sure, why not?" Kotori agrees.
"Guys, it's our friends from earlier!" Chika informs the other girls in the living room as she returns. "Turns out Honoka, Kotori, and Umi are our neighbors."
"Oh, wow." Ruby exclaimed. "So cool!"
"What are you guys doing, anyway?" Hanayo asks.
"Huh?" Kanan says, noticing the four legends. "Sorry, we didn't see you there."
"This is a surprise." Riko utters.
"Nice to see you again, zura." Hanamaru greets.
"Are we interrupting anything?" Umi asks. "We could just wait by the front door till Articho's here."
"Articho?" Dia questions in confusion. "What for?"
"He's asked us to come here." Hanayo explains. "Says that it's urgent."
Right as Hanayo has explained, Articho appears on the penthouse balcony - via Instant Transmission - and opens the balcony doors before walking inside and carrying the unconscious Fifth Sister in his arms rather than on his shoulder.
"Guys, I'm back." The Pathfinder calls from the other end of the penthouse.
"You took your sweet time." Mari crosses her arms.
"Had to tie up some loose ends out there." He briefly explains. "Is everyone here?"
"They're here alright." Yō confirms, but still confused. "Though, none of us understands why you invited Honoka and her friends over."
"Wait..." Umi notices the Fifth Sister's face and long blond hair, before immediately recognizing it as her eyes widened in surprise. "Eli?"
"Eli?" Hanayo, Honoka, and Kotori were confused until their own eyes widened as well. "Eli?!"
Everyone else in the room were all surprised as they jumped out of their seats on three sofas - two of which are couches while the other is a chair. Especially Dia, who's apparently Eli's biggest fan.
The Saiyan continues to head inside, being careful with the woman in his arms.
"It really is Eli." Dia gasps in horror. "But... why?"
"I don't know." Articho shakes his head.
He reaches a wall and steps on a biometric floor sensor, opening up a hidden room that only he has access to.
"You have a secret room?" Umi questions as a few girls follow him inside.
"My friends and I built places like these all over Academy City, following the M.U.T.O.s incident three years back." He admits before placing the Fifth Sister on a bunk inside of a holding cell and then uses his Omni-tool to bring up an energy barrier.
"Why are you placing our friend in a holding cell?" Honoka questions.
"She's an Inquisitor." He answers. "Those cuffs binded on her wrists prevents her from using the Force and she can't disable the barrier since I placed its generator where no one can find it but me. And only me."
"An Inquisitor?" Umi questions. "As in, Jedi-hunting Inquisitors from Star Wars?"
"Yes." He nods. He nods. "But they're not the same expendable Jedi hunters affiliated with the Galactic Empire. See that emblem on her pauldrons?"
This got everyone's attention as they look at it. Those familiar with the Star Wars franchise notice that the insignia on both of the Sith Inquisitor's pauldrons doesn't bear the iconic authoritarian cog of the Galactic Empire.
"I don't recognize it." The dark blue haired girl says. "However, it does resemble a mix between the original Sith Empire's and the Sith Eternal's."
"Sith Eternal?" Riko and Mari questions.
"Oh, right." Articho deadpans. "You guys went missing a few months before The Last Jedi came out in theaters. Spoilers: It was garbage. And don't even get me started on The Rise of Skywalker."
"Garbage?" Mari raises an eyebrow. "Those movies other than The Force Awakens can't be that bad, right?"
Honoka and her friends all cringed at that. 'Bad' would be an understatement. It's clear that Riko and Mari have zero idea about how much the Sequel Trilogy fucked over everyone that's enjoyed the unforgettable and good storytelling since 1977.
"They're the worst." Honoka, Kotori, Umi, and Hanayo grumbled in unison.
The former Aqours all looked at each other, confused, but decided to shrug it off.
"Back on topic, Eli's affiliated with the Neo-Sith Empire." He reveals to the former µ's members. "Everything I know very little about them is in the files I'm having these girls look over."
"If this is the great Eli Ayase, how long did you know about this?" Dia questions him with an upset expression.
"Since I took a blood sample from the fresh wound I gave her earlier." The Pathfinder answers, which then angered her at the fact he kept this information from her and the others. "Don't give me that look, Dia. You wouldn't have believed me since you obsessively idolize the woman that attempted to kill us. Can't come to a conclusion without facts. Without proof. And you're pissed at me for what a master detective does, figuring out something that you can't? Your anger is misplaced."
The black haired girl scoffs.
"So what happens now?" Yoshiko asks.
"All in due time." He says, pulling up his Omni-tool as he then receives a notification of his pink haired wife and two daughters entering through the penthouse's front door. "Speak of the devil."
"Papa!" Febrie runs up to her father, jumping into his arms for a warm hug.
"Papa?!" Honoka, Kotori, Umi, and Hanayo exclaimed in shock.
"Don't ask." Riko waves off.
"How was your day, kiddo?" Articho asks his eldest daughter. "Were you on your best behavior while running errands with your stepmother?"
"Uh huh." She nods happily.
"And look who we ran into." Arisa smiles towards her older twin. "Isn't that right, sis?"
"Not too busy with remedials, are you?" He asks.
"Still am." Ruiko answers. "Thought I'd check up on my loving husband and the daughter that we procreated together."
"Everyone, this is Ruiko Saten." The Pathfinder introduces her. "She's Arisa's older twin and Febrie's mother."
"Pleased to meet you." She greets before eying specifically at Aqours. "My little sister's told me everything about you nine. You as well, Kazuno."
"Please, just call me Leah." Leah says.
"Could I have your autograph?" Ruiko suddenly bows her head and holds out a whiteboard for the former founding member of Saint Snow. "I didn't think that I would get to meet a former member of Saint Snow. It's really an honor."
"What's with her?" Articho asks the pink haired girl with a whisper.
"You know how much of a fangirl Ruiko is when it comes to heavy metal?" Arisa whispers back. "Saint Snow is among her playlist on her smartphone."
"Ah." He nods in understanding.
"O-Of course." Leah stutters before taking the girl's whiteboard, writing her signature on it in large kanji, and then handing it back to her. "There you go."
"Never thought Saint Snow still has fans." Honoka mutters to herself. "After their disastrous performance in Hokkaido, that is."
"Honoka!" Umi quietly hissed.
"You look unpleasant." Ruiko notices her husband's expression.
"That obvious, huh?" Articho jokingly questions.
"Not always." She shrugs.
"Best you and Arisa grab a seat in the living room." He suggests. "There's an important matter we need to discuss."
One long explanation later...
Febrie is currently playing tag with Juliet and her cousin Alice, who came with Ruiko to the apartment as well.
"So they're here on Earth-86." The black haired 16 year old realized. "I thought we've broken their power after sending 'you know who' back to his universe."
"We don't know if the Sith ARE in our universe." He says otherwise. "Not yet, anyways."
"And Eli?" Ruiko continues in shock and disbelief. "She's an Inquisitor?"
"Not for long." He assures her. "I've informed Shutaura of the situation. She's on her way here with Touma and Index right now."
"Wait." Alice exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. "Papa's coming?"
"Yes." He nods at his niece.
"Hello!" Touma's voice calls outside of the living room. "Anyone here?"
Touma then enters the room. And following from behind were Shutaura and Index, whose appearance was surprisingly new since the last time they saw her as the silver blue-haired girl has grown slim and a few inches tall around the same height as Mikoto. Her hair is now tied back into a ponytail to match her brand new body, courtesy of the training that Articho's mother put her through the ringer for.
"Thought we'd missed the party already." Index jokes. "Tell me you still have something for me to eat because I'm starving."
"Even after permanently curing your medical condition, you still haven't changed at all." Articho sighs in amusement. "It's good to have you back, Index."
"It's good to BE back." She emphasizes with a prideful smirk before lunging her own javelin at the boy as the weapon's tip was a few centimeters off in front of his face on purpose. "Your new and improved nun can finally kick ass on the field!"
Articho didn't even flinch when the silver-haired girl pulled that stunt on him, as he's all too familiar with his mother's training regimen.
"Uh huh." He says, casually pushing the javelin's tip to the side with his index finger (no pun intended). "Just don't get cocky when one of us sees you in action."
"Hehehe, no promises." She smirks with a grin. "Well, now where are Alice and Febrie?"
"Big Sister Index!" The two children cheered excitedly as they ran up to her for a reunion.
"Hey girls." The 17 year old nun smiled, embracing the young children. "So happy to see you."
"We missed you." Alice says.
"And I missed you, too." Index says back releasing fhem from the hug.
"Ahem!" Shutaura interrupts, wanting to get down to business immediately.
"Right." Articho nodded. "Touma, anything to report?"
"Ryouko had already filled us in on what we're dealing with while you were busy entertaining our 'guest'." The wielder of Imagine Breaker explains. "Other than that, no. Nothing to report."
"Speaking of our 'guest'…" Arisa speaks up. "How the hell are we going to deal with her?"
"Don't worry." The Pathfinder assures his pink haired wife. "It's not like I have any intention in killing someone that represents a legendary school idol group that Chika and the others have looked up to. Eli was likely tortured and brainwashed into embracing the Dark Side, becoming an expendable enforcer and assassin as a result. We can easily erase her memories during her time with the Inquisitorius, reverting her back to the girl she used to be, but..."
"Go on." The Supreme Kai of Time urges. "I'm used to when things go wrong."
"To put it bluntly, we'd be using the exact same method that the Jedi Council used on Revan at the height of the Jedi Civil War." He deadpans. "Only this time, however, Eli's Inquisitor memories will be erased. Permanently."
"I'm onboard with this idea." Shutaura agrees with her older half-brother. "At least we don't have to resort to using the Dragon Balls for every problem on Earth that needs resolved."
'Dragon Balls?' μ's and Aqours thought, confused but simultaneously curious.
"So what's the catch?" Index questions suspiciously.
"Eli's muscle memory." Articho points out. "Without someone skilled and trained in the Force to properly teach her self-control, we'd be looking at a ticking time bomb. And I don't need to remind all of you what that means."
"Good luck trying to find a Jedi Master." His younger half-sister rolls her eyes, arms crossed. "Kai and Cassus went through great lengths into keeping their respective universes hidden from prying eyes, and we're no closer into finding either one or both."
"Let's not forget that we still have an Initiative to primarily work on." Touma reminds his friends. "Our goal's to find Tellus, reach the other side of the nebula surrounding the Kvi Cluster that our golden world's located within, and then make alliances with the natives to prepare and stop an even bigger threat that's willing to do anything in order to make his triumphant return into this universe."
"But we don't have an interpreter." Ruiko says before looking at her husband. "Hey. I've been trying to get in touch with Kazari. Is she okay? I'm getting worried."
"Kazari can take care of herself." He says to ease her heart. "Ame and Hayley are already on Skull Island to see why she's taking so long in getting communications back up and running. If we don't hear back from those two, I'll go see what's wrong over there."
"The instant that you do." She sighs, shaking her head.
"She'll be fine." He answers with honesty.
Hearing this at least placed a small smile on her face. Just then, everyone in the living room hears a knock at the front door.
"Why don't you go start making dinner for everyone?" The Pathfinder suggests. "Kinuho and Maaya aren't back from Capsule Corp, so we'll have to eat without them."
"Alright." Ruiko nods. "Though, I could use some help in the kitchen."
"Mari, Yō, and Yoshiko can help with that." He offers. "And before you ask, yes, they can cook."
"Yohane!"
"Sorry." He corrects himself. "Mari, Yō, and Yohane."
"Yohane?" Ruiko questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Just roll with it." He facepalms. "Yoshiko's more of a mask to her than a real name."
"Like Batman." She deadpans.
"Basically." He sighs, walking out of the living room as knocking at the front door is heard again.
"Now then." Ruiko turns her attention to the three specific members of Aqours with a smirk. "Let's see what kind of dishes you can make for tonight's feast."
